Thirty minutes later…
“I’ll be waiting for you, Angor!”
Even across her mask, Angor could tell from her cheerful voice that the woman was smiling widely.
The woman then spoke to Sunders politely, “Thank you, Mister Phantom. I’ll not take any more of your time now.”
Sunders nodded while the woman quickly disappeared into the crowds.
Angor looked at the crimson crown in his hand with a sad look. For some reason, this “fake treasure” had found its way back to him.
Earlier tonight, Angor was very confused when Sunders said that they would be meeting the provider of Travel In Dreamland, who requested to meet Angor personally.
Until Angor realized that Irisa was this “provider”.
Also, this was not the only coincidence. During their brief meeting, Irisa claimed that apart from the scroll, she possessed another item that came from the shelter mentioned in Travel In Dreamland.
Angor recalled what he heard outside the inspection room yesterday and realized that this second item was what the appraiser asked Irisa to sell at the auction.
It could be clearly seen from Sunders’ face that the gentleman REALLY wanted to get this item.
Irisa summoned Angor just to discuss this matter. She would give the second item to them if Angor could help her grant a Mystery effect to the fake crown.
Of course, Angor would like to refuse just like how he did yesterday. For one, he didn’t want to be involved in Irisa’s business, which was potentially dangerous. And secondly, he did not know how to create Mystery effects.
However…
Angor moaned and gave his teacher an even sadder look. “Why would you agree to something like that? You know it’s impossible for me to finish such a request.”
They were talking inside Sunders’ luxurious carriage, around which Sunders had deployed a soundproof ward.
“It doesn’t matter. I was the one that agreed to her request, and I’ll not occupy your time or effort.”
“Uh, are you going to enchant the item yourself, sir?”
Sunders almost rolled his eyes. “You know, you’re better as an alchemist than me. How can I do something that you can’t do?”
“Then… do you know another alchemist who can help?”
Sunders shook his head again.
Angor suddenly reached a shocking conclusion.
“Are you perhaps—” … Going to break your promise… or even dispose of Irisa?
When Sunders agreed to Irisa’s request, he received the said “second item” from her. It was a wooden lock full of nightmare energy. After making sure the item was real, Sunders put it away in his gravity garden.
Given that Irisa trusted Sunders so easily, Angor didn’t expect that the other end of their deal would end up like this.
Sunders chuckled at Angor’s terrified look. “Well… I can certainly make her disappear. But I’m not the type to go back on my words.”
“What’s our plan then? Just in case, there’s no way I can even try to make an attempt at it.”
“We can probably count how many people who once reached out to Mystery-level items with one hand. You’re the only one known to the public and the easiest to find. Even if you can’t do it, it’s not like she can find another person to help, so we don’t have to pretend at all. Just tell her that we can’t do it, and everything’s settled.”
Angor’s mouth fell agape. Why did you accept her request in the first place?!
Sunders sighed when he noticed that his student still didn’t get his idea.
“Do you know why I want this lock?”
“I… I don’t, professor.”
Sunders glanced at him and took out a small vial from his storage in which a worming Twisting Protozoa was crawling about.
“Ohhh… you want to find the shelter by using this lock?”
“Correct. However, I’m not interested in the shelter or the Mystery items inside because we probably can’t take any back even if we find them. I’m planning to explore a new location, and Irisa’s lock is a ‘seed’ which can take us there.”
In other words, Sunders meant to remove “fog of war” on his expedition map so that they would have one extra destination to explore later.
“Once we find this new place, we’ll no longer need this lock. I’ll then return the item to her and tell her that we have failed. There’ll be no promises broken because I have never said that I’ll complete the crown for sure.”
Even so, this was still an embarrassing thing to do since it damaged both Sunders’ personal image as an educated gentleman and as someone’s teacher.
Angor finally understood the entire thing. Sunders wanted to earn a free ticket to a new site in the Nightmare Realm without paying anything to Irisa. At most, he might earn several negative comments, which would be acceptable.
Thinking about this, Angor put away his earlier concerns—the whole business had nothing to do with him.
“But you should still try to do something about this crown,” Sunders said as he glanced at the item in Angor’s hand. “We cannot tell whether my next destination is an outer or core area, so I don’t know if I can come back in time. If I don’t, you should at least pay her something.”
Angor’s relaxed mind immediately tensed up. Must you jinx us like that?!
The discussion ended here, and since he now had free time, Angor began to inspect the magic crystals he just earned.
After paying Sunders 150,000 crystals and the auction commission, he still had about 100,000 magic crystals left.
With a bright smile, he gently stroked his space bracelet while admiring the shiny money stored within.
Sunders looked at Angor’s silly expression and tried not to say anything about it.
Such a blessing to be young…
…
When their vehicle arrived at Sunders’ manor, Number One was already waiting at the entrance.
Sunders asked the machine butler to handle the horses and spoke to Angor again, “Prepare your things. We’re returning to Brute Cavern tomorrow.”
“Oh, okay. When are you going to explore that new place, sir?”
“Well… It’s not urgent since Irisa gave us ample time.”
Angor noticed Sunders dodged the question and decided not to ask again.
He went to the garden area and saw Greya sitting on the grass in the middle of flowers. Greya was gazing at the starry sky while Toby accompanied her.
The sorrowful expression sat well on Greya’s little-girl body, which was a rare sight.
While Angor considered whether he should go talk to her, Greya lowered her head and sighed.
“Come over here.”
While moving closer, Angor reached out a hand to catch a bird who rushed at him to kiss his face.
“Lady Greya, is there… something wrong?” Angor wasn’t sure whether he should ask a mighty wizard such a question.
“Nah. In this new body, I’ll get bad mood swings every now and then. Funny, right? For someone like me to be affected by mortal sentiments…”
“It will not affect your condition for real, right?”
“No. I’m just worried, that if I ever get used to this weak body, I’ll start to like it this way and give up what I should have,” Greya said while the speed of her speech got slower and slower.
Angor considered for a moment before he replied, “You’ll be strong again as long as you don’t lose the heart of a heroine.”
Greya chuckled. “Aw, I see you’re smarter than me in this matter. Now speak. Do you have something to say in the middle of the night?”
Angor tried to strike a topic so that he could hopefully learn why Greya was staying at Sunders’ place. However, it seemed like she didn’t want to talk about it.
“Lady Greya, I’m going to go back to Brute Cavern with my professor tomorrow, so I’m planning to use tonight and start working on that second accessory that you asked for. What kind of illusion should I use?”
“Nothing too complicated. The white feather that you showed me last time was pretty good.” Greya considered the last illusion she experienced and said, “Especially the secret area inside that mountain. It felt just like the Nightmare Realm. You’ve been there, haven’t you?”
Angor scratched his head. This was supposed to be a big secret between him and Sunders.
“Okay, okay,” Greya said as she shrugged, “that old bachelor gagged you, didn’t he? Fine, keep it to yourself. I hope you can blend something you learned from the Nightmare Realm into the illusion. Something new is even better.” Greya sipped some tea with her legs crossed before she said, “There’s… something in your illusion. I can’t tell what exactly, but I think it helps me gain new insights.”
“Uhh, really?”
“Yeah, like, learn new spells, sorta. Let’s just say, maybe your illusions work wonders like Sonance Abysm.”
Angor frowned. He believed the witch was overvaluing his potential.
“You can mix your own knowledge and emotions into your illusions. That’s usually something impossible for other illusionists. Once you become a truth finder someday, you might be able to help people learn new spells in this way.”
“You flatter me, Lady Greya.”
Greya smiled. As a truth finder wizard herself, she knew that her comment about Angor wasn’t an overstatement.
Felicia is busy doing something; otherwise, she’d be here asking for Angor’s alchemy service too. Pity for her.
“You don’t have to rush it. Take it easy and think carefully. I’ll go look for Sunders again within a month. That’s when you should have it ready.”
Greya would go to Brute Cavern?! Again, Angor wondered what was happening between Greya and his professor.
Greya saw Angor’s curious look but did not explain. As she believed, traveling to the Nightmare Realm to retrieve her body was too difficult a task and that Angor should not know about it.
“Now off you go. Remember to take Toby with you tomorrow. My training’s almost done. Oh, and trust me, the next time something bad happens, Toby’s going to surprise you big time.”
Thirty minutes later…
“I’ll be waiting for you, Angor!”
Even across her mask, Angor could tell from her cheerful voice that the woman was smiling widely.
The woman then spoke to Sunders politely, “Thank you, Mister Phantom. I’ll not take any more of your time now.”
Sunders nodded while the woman quickly disappeared into the crowds.
Angor looked at the crimson crown in his hand with a sad look. For some reason, this “fake treasure” had found its way back to him.
Earlier tonight, Angor was very confused when Sunders said that they would be meeting the provider of Travel In Dreamland, who requested to meet Angor personally.
Until Angor realized that Irisa was this “provider”.
Also, this was not the only coincidence. During their brief meeting, Irisa claimed that apart from the scroll, she possessed another item that came from the shelter mentioned in Travel In Dreamland.
Angor recalled what he heard outside the inspection room yesterday and realized that this second item was what the appraiser asked Irisa to sell at the auction.
It could be clearly seen from Sunders’ face that the gentleman REALLY wanted to get this item.
Irisa summoned Angor just to discuss this matter. She would give the second item to them if Angor could help her grant a Mystery effect to the fake crown.
Of course, Angor would like to refuse just like how he did yesterday. For one, he didn’t want to be involved in Irisa’s business, which was potentially dangerous. And secondly, he did not know how to create Mystery effects.
However…
Angor moaned and gave his teacher an even sadder look. “Why would you agree to something like that? You know it’s impossible for me to finish such a request.”
They were talking inside Sunders’ luxurious carriage, around which Sunders had deployed a soundproof ward.
“It doesn’t matter. I was the one that agreed to her request, and I’ll not occupy your time or effort.”
“Uh, are you going to enchant the item yourself, sir?”
Sunders almost rolled his eyes. “You know, you’re better as an alchemist than me. How can I do something that you can’t do?”
“Then… do you know another alchemist who can help?”
Sunders shook his head again.
Angor suddenly reached a shocking conclusion.
“Are you perhaps—” … Going to break your promise… or even dispose of Irisa?
When Sunders agreed to Irisa’s request, he received the said “second item” from her. It was a wooden lock full of nightmare energy. After making sure the item was real, Sunders put it away in his gravity garden.
Given that Irisa trusted Sunders so easily, Angor didn’t expect that the other end of their deal would end up like this.
Sunders chuckled at Angor’s terrified look. “Well… I can certainly make her disappear. But I’m not the type to go back on my words.”
“What’s our plan then? Just in case, there’s no way I can even try to make an attempt at it.”
“We can probably count how many people who once reached out to Mystery-level items with one hand. You’re the only one known to the public and the easiest to find. Even if you can’t do it, it’s not like she can find another person to help, so we don’t have to pretend at all. Just tell her that we can’t do it, and everything’s settled.”
Angor’s mouth fell agape. Why did you accept her request in the first place?!
Sunders sighed when he noticed that his student still didn’t get his idea.
“Do you know why I want this lock?”
“I… I don’t, professor.”
Sunders glanced at him and took out a small vial from his storage in which a worming Twisting Protozoa was crawling about.
“Ohhh… you want to find the shelter by using this lock?”
“Correct. However, I’m not interested in the shelter or the Mystery items inside because we probably can’t take any back even if we find them. I’m planning to explore a new location, and Irisa’s lock is a ‘seed’ which can take us there.”
In other words, Sunders meant to remove “fog of war” on his expedition map so that they would have one extra destination to explore later.
“Once we find this new place, we’ll no longer need this lock. I’ll then return the item to her and tell her that we have failed. There’ll be no promises broken because I have never said that I’ll complete the crown for sure.”
Even so, this was still an embarrassing thing to do since it damaged both Sunders’ personal image as an educated gentleman and as someone’s teacher.
Angor finally understood the entire thing. Sunders wanted to earn a free ticket to a new site in the Nightmare Realm without paying anything to Irisa. At most, he might earn several negative comments, which would be acceptable.
Thinking about this, Angor put away his earlier concerns—the whole business had nothing to do with him.
“But you should still try to do something about this crown,” Sunders said as he glanced at the item in Angor’s hand. “We cannot tell whether my next destination is an outer or core area, so I don’t know if I can come back in time. If I don’t, you should at least pay her something.”
Angor’s relaxed mind immediately tensed up. Must you jinx us like that?!
The discussion ended here, and since he now had free time, Angor began to inspect the magic crystals he just earned.
After paying Sunders 150,000 crystals and the auction commission, he still had about 100,000 magic crystals left.
With a bright smile, he gently stroked his space bracelet while admiring the shiny money stored within.
Sunders looked at Angor’s silly expression and tried not to say anything about it.
Such a blessing to be young…
…
When their vehicle arrived at Sunders’ manor, Number One was already waiting at the entrance.
Sunders asked the machine butler to handle the horses and spoke to Angor again, “Prepare your things. We’re returning to Brute Cavern tomorrow.”
“Oh, okay. When are you going to explore that new place, sir?”
“Well… It’s not urgent since Irisa gave us ample time.”
Angor noticed Sunders dodged the question and decided not to ask again.
He went to the garden area and saw Greya sitting on the grass in the middle of flowers. Greya was gazing at the starry sky while Toby accompanied her.
The sorrowful expression sat well on Greya’s little-girl body, which was a rare sight.
While Angor considered whether he should go talk to her, Greya lowered her head and sighed.
“Come over here.”
While moving closer, Angor reached out a hand to catch a bird who rushed at him to kiss his face.
“Lady Greya, is there… something wrong?” Angor wasn’t sure whether he should ask a mighty wizard such a question.
“Nah. In this new body, I’ll get bad mood swings every now and then. Funny, right? For someone like me to be affected by mortal sentiments…”
“It will not affect your condition for real, right?”
“No. I’m just worried, that if I ever get used to this weak body, I’ll start to like it this way and give up what I should have,” Greya said while the speed of her speech got slower and slower.
Angor considered for a moment before he replied, “You’ll be strong again as long as you don’t lose the heart of a heroine.”
Greya chuckled. “Aw, I see you’re smarter than me in this matter. Now speak. Do you have something to say in the middle of the night?”
Angor tried to strike a topic so that he could hopefully learn why Greya was staying at Sunders’ place. However, it seemed like she didn’t want to talk about it.
“Lady Greya, I’m going to go back to Brute Cavern with my professor tomorrow, so I’m planning to use tonight and start working on that second accessory that you asked for. What kind of illusion should I use?”
“Nothing too complicated. The white feather that you showed me last time was pretty good.” Greya considered the last illusion she experienced and said, “Especially the secret area inside that mountain. It felt just like the Nightmare Realm. You’ve been there, haven’t you?”
Angor scratched his head. This was supposed to be a big secret between him and Sunders.
“Okay, okay,” Greya said as she shrugged, “that old bachelor gagged you, didn’t he? Fine, keep it to yourself. I hope you can blend something you learned from the Nightmare Realm into the illusion. Something new is even better.” Greya sipped some tea with her legs crossed before she said, “There’s… something in your illusion. I can’t tell what exactly, but I think it helps me gain new insights.”
“Uhh, really?”
“Yeah, like, learn new spells, sorta. Let’s just say, maybe your illusions work wonders like Sonance Abysm.”
Angor frowned. He believed the witch was overvaluing his potential.
“You can mix your own knowledge and emotions into your illusions. That’s usually something impossible for other illusionists. Once you become a truth finder someday, you might be able to help people learn new spells in this way.”
“You flatter me, Lady Greya.”
Greya smiled. As a truth finder wizard herself, she knew that her comment about Angor wasn’t an overstatement.
Felicia is busy doing something; otherwise, she’d be here asking for Angor’s alchemy service too. Pity for her.
“You don’t have to rush it. Take it easy and think carefully. I’ll go look for Sunders again within a month. That’s when you should have it ready.”
Greya would go to Brute Cavern?! Again, Angor wondered what was happening between Greya and his professor.
Greya saw Angor’s curious look but did not explain. As she believed, traveling to the Nightmare Realm to retrieve her body was too difficult a task and that Angor should not know about it.
“Now off you go. Remember to take Toby with you tomorrow. My training’s almost done. Oh, and trust me, the next time something bad happens, Toby’s going to surprise you big time.”
