Warlock Apprentice

Inside his study, Sunders picked up Angor’s “Monument Loop” and examined it.

He soon found a mark engraved at the bottom of the item’s base, which showed a lion trapped in thorny vines. Almost immediately, Sunders knew what this meant.

“Oh ho. The boy is steadily becoming a professional.”

Instead of testing it out right away, he placed it at one corner of his desk where the demon falcon statue was located. The two items of different qualities easily showed Angor’s growth in skills.

“Keep going, Angor. You need it.” He smiled in content.

The door to the study was knocked open, and Flora barged inside in rage. “Damn it, Little Red! Why would you give Angor those roses every time you see him? You ruined my plan!”

“Did Angor trouble you?” Sunders raised an eyebrow.

“No. He’s not the problem here.” Flora was glaring at Sunders openly, so her meaning was obvious.

“I asked you to take the door so that you learn how to stick to the rules.”

“What’s the point of rules?! I’m a wizard, not a freaking mortal! If obeying rules makes me a truth-finder, then I’m all yours!” Flora rolled her eyes and noticed a second item placed by the demon falcon sculpture. “Oh, what is that? It looks funny. A… strip twisted in a weird way?” She moved closer to get a better look at the Monument Loop.

“This is ‘Monument Loop’, something that is more interesting on the inside.”

“What’s inside?” Flora took it in her hands and looked all over it.

“Don’t worry about it for now. I called you here to tell you something important. I’m entering the Nightmare Realm again.”

Flora quickly turned serious upon hearing these words.

“I understand.”

…

“You looking for me?” Angor opened his door and saw Hobbiton stepping back and forth in front of his bedroom.

He knew Hobbiton had been here since he returned to his room. Using his spirit feelers, he saw Hobbiton mumbling something under his breath while pacing right at his door anxiously.

Upon seeing Angor come out, Hobbiton looked both delighted and worried. “Mi-Mister Padt, I have some-something to ask you.”

Angor leaned on the door frame. “What, you still want to hear about Peter Pan?”

“Peter Pan?” Hobbiton looked puzzled. “Oh, I’m curious about that as well, but I have something else in mind. Have you seen Ananda recently, Mister?”

Ananda?

The image of a sexy-bodied woman flashed in Angor’s mind. As he remembered, Ananda was the gang leader in Midnight Sovereign and the daughter of the guard captain in the city. Also, she was Hobbiton’s best childhood friend.

Previously, Hobbiton really resented Angor for taking him to Brute Cavern but without bringing Ananda along. Angor didn’t mind the childish accusation, though.

“Why do you ask? I don’t know anything about her,” said Angor, “cause I didn’t go to Midnight Sovereign again. Is she missing or something? If that’s the case, you might as well go and ask her family.”

Hobbiton looked as if he was about to cry. “When grandfather took me to Windmill Town to get provisions, we saw her father, Captain Neboa. He told us that Ananda has disappeared.”

Windmill Town was a small town located near the mirror entrance. The entire town, as well as its airport, were under the administration of Brute Cavern.

“Suppose she’s gone for real, why do you mention it to me?” asked Angor.

“Captain Neboa said that Ananda wished to challenge her chance after listening to your words, Mister. She’s been away from her home for half a year!”

My words? Angor frowned. Did I say anything special to her?

“What kind of ‘chance’ she’s looking for?”

“Wizardry. She wants to become a wizard, Mister. You told her that she has a slim chance at it, right? Her father told me.”

Angor frowned again. He knew about Ananda’s ambition.

But that woman had a spiritual power indicator of lower than 10, which prevented her from becoming a talented apprentice. This was also the reason why Angor did not take her to Brute Cavern.

Did I tell her something like that?

Angor slowly recalled his “shopping spree” in Twilight Well, during which he hired Ananda to help him carry stuff. When resting, Ananda asked whether she could become a wizard, and Angor revealed some information to her since he was in a good mood.

However, he did so because a special magic array governing Twilight Well would erase the recent memories from all mortal visitors, if any of them got inside, which meant Ananda would forget about what she heard soon.

Did she note it down or something?

“I told her that her spiritual power isn’t strong enough. I told her one way to solve this problem, which is to get a vial of the Potion of Austere Night. Maybe she left the city so that she could look for it?”

“But there aren’t many places for a mortal to look for such potions. Do you know where she might visit?” Hobbiton didn’t look reassured.

Angor shook his head, and as Hobbiton looked at him in great disappointment, he handed an empty food plate to Hobbiton.

“She’s an adult with her own ideas and dreams. Your concerns won’t change her mind.”

With that, Angor closed the door.

He walked onto the balcony and saw Hobbiton leaving the mansion while Butler Goode was shaking his head nearby.

He didn’t tell Hobbiton that running into obstacles also made people stronger. But then he decided not to say such a thing, since anything in this world was possible. Maybe by some miracle, Ananda’s persistence would help her reach her goal.

Even mortals might find wonderful destinies in the course of their lives. Nobody could tell their future.

Angor looked aside and checked Sunders’ study. From here, he could only see that the room was lit, but that was about it.

Did the professor go for the Nightmare Realm yet?

A single thundercloud suddenly moved into the vicinity of Phantom Island. Soon, lightning and heavy rain came down upon the island.

Angor left the balcony, gazed at the blurry scenery across the window, and closed up the curtain.

…

He stretched his arms when he felt the sky outside bright and peaceful again. He spent the whole night crafting five different illusion items with manifestations of Mystery inside, which were five demon falcon statues but with different postures.

The clock on the wall told him that it was seven in the morning.

He wondered if his professor had returned yet. To someone in the real world, a journey in the Nightmare Realm only took a very brief moment.

He collected the statues and prepared to visit Sunders’ study.

While walking past the hallway on the second floor, he saw Goode leaving the kitchen.

“Good timing, Mister Padt, we prepared fresh milk imported from Windmill Town, butter wheat beard, and several fruits—”

Angor stopped him from reading the menu. “Place my breakfast in the dining hall. I’ll go there later.”

Goode nodded.

“And, Butler Goode, have you heard anything from the professor? I mean, something like, did he tell you what he wants to have this morning?”

“No. Master has not had any meal for some time. He only orders dishes during special occasions.”

“Did he ever come out of his room today?”

“No,” Goode considered and added, “but I believe Miss Flora left from the study yesterday morning.”

Flora left? Angor felt comforted all of a sudden since this meant Sunders also returned in one piece.

After leaving Goode, Angor went for Sunders’ study.

He heard Sunders speaking to him in a tired voice before getting to the door, “Something you need, Angor?”

“I’ve finished the illusion items, sir.” Angor quickly took out his newly crafted items from his bracelet.

It took a moment for Sunders to respond. “I see.”

An energy beam swept past Angor’s position, taking all the statues away.

“Anything else? If not, go mind your own matter.”

It seemed that Sunders did not wish to see him right now.

Angor pondered and decided to try anyway. “About the treasure vault you just visited—”

“We’ll talk about it next time.”

Angor nodded and left obediently.

Inside the study, Sunders looked at the bloody floor as well as the blood dripping from his body and breathed a sigh of relief.