Warlock Apprentice

It was Sailum who just spoke. The boy was 15, one year younger than Angor, and at his prime age of growing. It was only half a year, and he was beginning to surpass Dave in terms of height.

The boy also looked more grown-up, except that he was still wearing that white "bedsheet" as his wizard robe, which didn't help him to stand out among all apprentices.

"I used Synthesis to make my first tiered weapon in my career. Then I thought about Angor… Where is he now?" Dave greeted the two customers with a smile. Ever since he met them in Angor's villa, they had become good friends since they didn't have any reason not to.

Sailum also looked down in sadness.

It was the second eldest presence, Nausica, who tried to lift the grim mood. "It's just half a year, and you all make it like he's been away for a decade."

Apart from the fact that her feminine features looked ever sexier due to her Bloodline training, Nausica didn't change much. Her close-fit soft armor did nothing to hinder those grown breasts and outstanding hips; in fact, it made them more alluring.

Dave couldn't stop looking at Nausica since he was just at the right age where he started to learn about women. He could only stare at the strangely-shaped weapon hanging on Nausica's waist. According to her explanations earlier, Dave learned that the short-bladed weapon was called "Solefly", one of the weapons Angor created at the beginning of his alchemy career.

Nausica was smoking her pipe without minding Dave's gaze. "Wizards always train for years each time they start one, right? Just consider it like, a really small one for Angor."

"But Angor didn't say anything… to me or to you. Isn't he going to do something about your arm?" Sailum wasn't convinced.

"Angor isn't obliged to anyone. He can decide his plans and whether to tell them to us. It's fine. Remember, as his friends, we should not restrain him in any way."

Nausica suddenly recalled her stories while she was still dominating Blackberry Waters. "I told you that I once traveled to Versailles Principality at Land of Revelation, right?"

It was Sailum's home, a small nation famous for its rose-related products.

"The day before I made that decision, I planned to watch a show at Ocean Theater at Tristan. But that night, I suddenly missed the smell of Rose Ointment, so I took a small boat and sailed to Versailles Principality on my own, and I didn't go back to my men until a year later," Nausica said as she described her carefree lifestyle, which was clearly seen among her words.

"If one day, I would suddenly disappear from this place, don't think too much. Maybe I'm traveling somewhere again. And even if I don't ever come back, I'll be living a happy life out there."

Both Sailum and Dave tried to digest those words in silence.

Even Prome grew a little surprised at Nausica's story. He heard lots of people mentioning such lives before, but most of them were men. Maybe it was because there were too few female wizards in Brute Cavern?

As the young ones recollected their spirits, Nausica was wandering around the shop out of curiosity.

"Hey, Sailum, do you need something from the shop?" Dave asked.

Sailum had decided to put Angor's matter aside after listening to Nausica. "Oh, I'm just hanging out with Miss Nausica. She wanted to buy some potions."

Prome was a Tooling alchemist, but he had many friends who placed their various products on sale at his shop.

"Potion? You're going on a mission?" Dave knew that these two were on the same adventure team who often accepted all kinds of quests. Dave even joined them several times. However, he still preferred doing his alchemy training alone.

Nausica was already returning with a sealed jar and several glasses of Glowing Velvet Potion in her hands.

"Not doing mission. A wizard accepted OUR escort mission."

"You're going to purification garden now?" Dave quickly realized what Nausica meant.

The bodies of apprentices were too weak to go through long-range teleportation. To travel to Floating Mech City, Nausica had to ask a wizard to protect her or she would find her body breaking down in the middle of the magical tunnel.

Nausica once mentioned that she had gathered a group of winners from Sky Tower, who would all provide some magic crystals so that they could afford the protection of a wizard.

It was a rare case that a wizard would accept a quest posted by apprentices unless the quest was very simple like this one, which only cost the wizard minimum effort.

"Yes. The wizard asked us to meet up at Sleepless City a week later."

There was no portal toward Floating Mech City inside Brute Cavern, so they had to go to another organization. The closest one was Sleepless City, which was just inside the Evernight Kingdom.

"I see." Dave nodded as he checked Nausica's purchase. "Glowing Velvet Potion, 3 portions. A jar of Karoline Witch Stew… That'll be 12 magic crystals."

"Make it ten. Consider the discount as my blessing for your journey," said Prome, who had been listening in to their conversation. "The purification garden has little effect on a high-level apprentice; otherwise, I'd happily join you guys."

Nausica thanked Prome and paid with her bone card.

"I think Angor won himself a ticket too," Dave said while packing the items for Nausica. "Maybe you can meet him at Floating Mech City. Make sure to say hi for me."

"And me!" Sailum raised a hand.

"That's no problem. Just leave it to this lady."

…

Phantom Island, Sunders' Manor.

Sunders was staying inside his study when he suddenly heard someone knocking on his window.

The gentleman didn't look up from his work. He was still researching on a brand new application of the nightmare illusion. He caught the innovation from Angor's demon falcon statue.

The visitor was still knocking, which failed to attract Sunders' attention. She rolled her eyes and asked Butler Goode to show her in through the "normal" route.

Then, she knocked on Sunders' door.

"Come in."

Flora immediately began to complain about her professor's stubbornness. She could have saved the effort and enter through the window since the window was available.

"What do you want? If nothing…" Clearly, Sunders was getting impatient already.

Flora made a duck-face. "Can't I pay you a friendly visit? I'm your student! A student should ask her professor questions."

"You're Bloodline Wizard, and I'm an Illusionist. I can give an apprentice some pointers, but I have nothing to teach you now."

Flora halted her complaint. Sunders was right. Besides, she would not have become Sunders' student if not for an incident where Sunders adopted her.

"I just got a message. Song of the Deep has butted in the matter. Guess who's leading them? Sliv, that stinky fish." Flora narrowed her eyes as she recalled the unpleasant encounter last time. She felt uncomfortable all over her body every time she thought about Sliv's face.

"Song of the Deep?" Sunders frowned. "And Mister Monkey agreed?"

Flora sighed. "Yup, he did."

"They meddle with land affairs instead of staying put at the bottom of the sea?" Sunders considered. "As I recall, Song of the Deep has never joined plane expeditions before, and therefore, they're on bad terms with Moonfrost. How could Mister Monkey let them join?"

"I don't know what they came for, but I think I know something which might be relevant."

"Let's hear it."

Flora took a moment to arrange her wording. "About 30 years ago… I ran into a betrayer of Song of the Deep who just escaped the place. He said they obtained a treasure."

"A Mystery Item?"

"I don't know, but it's possible. He didn't tell me what the item was. He told me the information to trade for his life." Flora shrugged casually. "I didn't really care about the clue so I still killed him."

Sunders stared at Flora, speechless.

Flora let out an adorable chuckle. "I said it's relevant because the betrayer also said the treasure has something to do with the true name of a demon lord."

"A demon lord's true name?" Sunders' eyes brimmed with realization. Mister Monkey's plan was to wrestle with an abyss demon to fight for his destiny, and the source of a demon's power originated from its "true name".

If what Flora said was true, Mister Monkey would ignore all grudges he held against Song of the Deep and drag them into his plan at all cost.

"Well, if I had known that it has something to do with a random matter 30 years later, I'd pry his mouth open." Flora spread her hands.

Sunders thought about the new clue and decided to consider this new piece of information as another uncertainty in the coming arrangement.

They talked about some other facts about the plan before Sunders decided to send Flora away.

Flora glanced at the demon falcon decoration on Sunders' desk and rolled her eyes. "I heard you accepted an escort mission from someone, right?" She floated closer to her professor. "But the purification garden won't open up for another month. Why so early?"

Sunders was a little surprised when he smelled something coming from Flora's body. It was the same smell Angor once carried—the essence of Glutton Flower Lord.

Again, the gentleman wondered how Angor was doing.

"I need to buy something in Floating Mech City," Sunders said. He then decided to add something else, "I think something wrong happened to the garden too. I need to check it out."