“Oh, Great Sky Black Demon, you—you have already arrived.”
Upon seeing the figure draped in a black robe, Melinda and Allen instinctively wanted to kneel in worship, but a sudden bad premonition arose in their hearts, causing them to hesitate.
Logically speaking, they hadn’t yet begun summoning the Great Sky Black Demon to descend; they weren’t in the same space as it.
“Descend? No, no, no, children, you are mistaken; I have always been here, this is my home, I have not gone anywhere.” The robed figure shook its head and spoke leisurely.
“Impossible!” Melinda was the first to disbelieve; she was confident she could not have misjudged.
“Look at my damned memory, I’ve forgotten that you’ve already forgotten.” The robed figure slapped its own head and continued, “Let me talk to you, where to start? Initially, Miss Melinda happened upon a mid-grade magic stone, and she was so happy. Then, under my guidance, you came here—”
“Silence! Let me finish.” Seeing Allen about to argue something, the robed figure didn’t give him the chance.
“Then you found a large number of mid-grade magic stones; the five of you had an internal conflict, and only three survived, though all of you were seriously injured.”
“I came, healed you, and helped you increase your power, but in the process, I tinkered a bit, just adjusted your memory slightly.”
At that moment, a soft black wind brushed past, and both of them suddenly recalled many images—those forgotten memories that made them feel something was amiss but could not pinpoint why.
After the internal conflict, they had nearly exhausted their own strength and were gravely injured, only for the monster before them to take advantage of their vulnerability; henceforth, their memories were obscured, and they fell into a trap.
Their expressions changed.
Energy particles vibrated, and the two uncoordinatedly launched an attack; their spells hit the robed figure, causing its body to disintegrate into particles and scatter with the wind.
“Hahaha, children, enjoy your last moments.”
Though the robed figure had dissipated, its voice clearly reached their ears.
“Ah, damn beast, I’ll fight you to the death.”
“You ugly monster, you won’t die a good death, go and die.”
They had thought they could become official sorcerers in one step, but now they realized their own memories had been tampered with; the extreme disparity was too much for them to bear, and they frantically attacked the barrier in front of them.
The barrier was too sturdy to break, their efforts futile.
In the center of the four cages, the robed figure now stood on a small array dais, a sinister grin of satisfaction spreading across its face: “Fear, all of you fear! I enjoy the taste of souls that fall into corruption through fear; they will be a delectable feast.”
A shadowy figure emerged from it, slipped through the barrier, and fell into another cage.
“Sorcerer apprentices from Mongna Ant Land Cottage, greetings, welcome to my domain as guests.”
Ivan, a 3rd Class apprentice, was sitting in meditation, when out of nowhere, a voice arose, accompanied by an additional presence in the cage, or better said, another kind of intelligent creature.
The three jumped up, eyeing the robed figure warily.
Upon seeing the figure’s appearance more clearly, a hint of shock flashed in Ivan’s eyes.
With two horns as long as one’s palm on its head, a face resembling that of humans but with bestial pupils and sharp teeth, and wearing a priest’s black robe, wasn’t this the very creature from the hallucinations induced by drinking Magic Stone Water and Magic Crystal Water? The very figure that had repeatedly harassed him from the shadows in those hallucinations.
Now, the creature from his hallucinations stood before him; what was going on?
“This is Kanda magic stone mine, belonging to the Mongna Ant Land Cottage. Your words are rather biased,” Heidi said with displeasure.
“Such a Mongna Ant Land Cottage, cack cack cack.” Her words seemed to have hit a sore spot for the man in the black robe; his face and smile distorted, “Just wait, once I’ve merged with your power, I will infiltrate Mongna Ant Land Academy using your identities.”
“It seems your identity is the most noble. Well then, I will reluctantly make use of your body and then return to tell them that I’ve settled everything—just encountered some minor troubles, and everyone else sacrificed themselves. Isn’t it perfect? Sorcerers never care about the lives of the weak anyway.”
“You must be dreaming,” Heidi said, her face ashen.
“Once I’ve accumulated enough strength, I will find an opportunity to destroy Mongna Ant Land Cottage—with your identity, cack cack cack. By then, everything belonging to Mongna Ant Land Cottage will turn to dust,” the man in the black robe rambled on, his eyes full of hatred, a hatred seemingly directed at the academy.
In his agitation, wisps of resentment and deathly aura escaped from his body, along with a special aura identical to that of the magic stone mine.
Heidi hurled an ice spike at the overly excited man in the black robe, scattering him and making him vanish from the sight of the three of them.
“Sacrifices, enjoy your last moments of peace.”
The voice of the man in the black robe echoed in the cage, and the three fell silent for a while.
“I suppose you’ve all seen what it is. Can you tell me what kind of monster this is?” Ivan broke the silence. He hadn’t been at the academy long and hadn’t had time to learn many things.
Cooke hesitated, indicating he found something familiar, then shook his head. He clearly didn’t know what creature the other was.
“Have you seen it before?” Heidi looked at the two with suspicion.
Hearing her words, the two also looked at her in bewilderment.
“Heidi, you haven’t used Magic Stone Water before, have you?” Ivan thought of a possibility.
“Magic Stone Water is just one of the lower-grade mental power potions, with mediocre quality. I used other potions when I was a 1st Class apprentice,” Heidi said truthfully, unaware of the connection.
Just as expected, Ivan immediately informed her about the illusions caused by Magic Stone Water.
“So, its birth is very likely related to the magic stone mine; otherwise, it wouldn’t consider this place its own territory. Does anyone know how the magic stone mines are formed?”
“How could I know such secret information?” Cooke said, looking towards Heidi.
“I know a bit. It is said to be the remains of some fallen creature, but the specifics are unknown,” Heidi admitted, unable to provide a clear explanation.
The truth actually wasn’t important; the pressing issue was that its birth was related to the magic stone mine, and it had meticulously set this trap to lure both groups into a snare. Soon, it would use them all as nourishment for its own growth.
It might even use Heidi’s identity to infiltrate the academy and turn Mongna Ant Land Cottage upside down with its hatred.
It was clearly the mastermind behind everything. Now that the mastermind had revealed itself, the urgent task was to figure out how to escape, or at the very least, to send a message back to the academy.
Time ticked away, and they were helpless against the barriers surrounding them, with no recourse but to fret.
“It’s a pity. If only we had brought the Raw Stone Array Disc we found in the basement, we might have had something to consider,” Ivan sighed. He had not yet had time for Comprehension, and the heavy item was simply not something one could carry around.
“I brought it.” Heidi pulled out a scroll from her pocket, unfurling it to reveal a set of runes.
Ivan recognized it; this was a set of runes composed of the rather precious ‘Transfer Sealing Runes.’ Your next journey awaits at empire