There were also many cute-looking toys apart from the card soldiers. More importantly, Mister Bunny, who had been reading a book, was also floating in front of Angor, staring at him with its tiny crimson eyes.
Angor was not sure what the bunny was thinking about but those emotionless stares sent a chill down his spine.
The cuteness he felt a moment ago no longer existed. Everything in front of Angor only terrified him.
One of the card soldiers suddenly lunged at Angor. With a start, he grabbed the book on the table and threw it at the soldier.
A bloody maw burst out of the cover image of the violet-covered image book. It instantly mulled the card soldier to pieces and gulped it down. Angor was terrified motionless by what he just saw. When every creature around him had their attention on the monstrous mouth, Angor bolted out of the circle and dashed away from the hall as fast as he could manage.
“Heeheehee. Don’t go, Shava, let’s have some fun!” A ghost-like female voice came from his back.
Angor heard the voice, though he did not make any stop. He kept running towards the next corner. The closet was just around it as long as his memory about the place was still true.
The closet is safe!
Angor did not know when that idea came about his mind or whether it was correct. He did not have the time to tell anyway. This was his only choice.
The door to the closet was just ahead. Angor sprinted towards it.
As he stepped into the door, a great pain on his back made Angor fell to the ground.
He turned around and saw a red-haired, heavily powdered woman with lots of stitches on her face. She was wearing an elegant but heavily decorated dress with dark stripes on it, and a tiara with a black heart pattern.
Angor did not know who she was, but considering the sharp pain coming from his back and the drops of blood on her blade-like nails, Angor was immediately sure that was his own blood.
The woman showed cruelty in her eyes and screeched non-stop. However, no matter how loud she screamed, she never stepped past the door, as if the door of the closet was a barrier separating two worlds.
Angor watched for a while and made sure she could not get in before he finally let out a sigh of relief.
However, he became worried again soon after.
He was still facing another trouble.
Angor checked out the closet again. There were chairs and the desk, a lit candle, and a red crystal ball—Abelles’s Eye, the Talent Sphere.
Looking at the sphere that had been giving out a red light, something inside Angor told him to approach and try putting his hand on it…
…
“Har har har! Never thought I could have found my destiny to break through, let alone finding another talent, in this remote little town! God bless Mara, god bless my family!” Mara’s laughter reached Angor’s ears.
After a bit of confusion, Angor found himself back at the “real world” again. Everyone around him was looking at him with either pleasant surprise or admiration. Nothing seemed wrong here.
They… don’t know I just transmigrated? Or was it not transmigration at all, but the “change” when a talented one would face when taking the test? If so, that “change” was downright scary!
As Angor was still thinking about the strange experience he went through in the “parallel world”, something grasped his hand. He looked aside and saw Leon pinching his palm since he had been spacing out.
“Stop staring, Angor. Mister Mara was asking about your ‘change’,” Leon smiled.
“Oh…” Angor responded. He was not feeling any joy from becoming a talent, only exhaustion, after escaping all that great danger. “When I touched the Talent Sphere, I found myself floating in the air…”
Mara interrupted him, “Floating?! Yes! A change, that is! You’re a talent, there’s no doubt about it!”
Angor was going to tell them his experience in the “parallel world”, but when Mara stopped him, he decided to stay silent instead. He only nodded in return and went back to his seat with a polite smile.
“Mister Mara, now that I do have the talent, can I become your student and study wizardry?” The unpleasant travel in the parallel world affected his mindset greatly, but it did not change his will to become a wizard.
Mara put away his Talent Sphere and smiled, “I’m an apprentice myself so I’m not qualified to teach you. However, I came to the Old Earth to look for talents for the academy. You’re one, and since you’re willing to step onto this path, you can follow me and leave for the academy tomorrow. The White Coral Floating Island Academy isn’t big, but it has good fame among all wizard organizations from the south. They’ll not let a talented one down.”
Angor hesitated upon hearing those words.
He had to leave here and go to the unknown academy?
He already expected something like this, but he still could not make up his mind when it finally came to it.
Could his teacher hold on until he made enough progress to come back?
Additionally, Angor agreed to his brother to accompany him to the succession ceremony, which was tomorrow as well. When would they meet again?
Angor’s expression darkened. He did not even realize that he had been fumbling around his thumbs—a gesture showing that he was faltering over something.
Of course, Leon was reluctant to let his brother go. However, he still stepped up and put an arm around Angor’s shoulders as he whispered to him, “Don’t you worry. You heard Mister Mara. It was just an academy, a school. Like how you go to the Waterford Exclusive School every spring. It won’t take too long. I’ll wait for you in the manor.”
“But…” Angor hesitated.
As his brother, Leon already knew what Angor was trying to say.
“If you’re still worrying about old Jon, when I go to Waterford this time, I’ll find the best doctor there is to help him. I’ll keep him alive and wait for you to save him, even if I have to spend the last coin in the family.”
Angor did not reply. He was the only one knowing the fact that the world’s consciousness was rejecting Jon, not some kind of disease. No one could save Jon except a wizard.
As Angor was still faltering, Mara, who had been listening to their conversation, spoke up.
“You can’t leave your teacher behind?”
“I can’t.”
Mara was not sure why Angor was so committed towards Jon. Jon was just a child’s teacher, not Angor’s lifelong mentor, nor a close family member. Mara could not understand the tight bond between them.
Mara gave Angor a thoughtful look before he said, “Back at the Crimson Auction, I once spent my two-years’ saving on a magic scroll called the Ice Coffin of Healing. It cannot cure your teacher, but it will sustain your teacher’s life temporarily, only for five years. What do you say?”
Five years? Angor’s pupils became larger. He could do many things in five years. He did not think he could actually become a wizard in such a time but… it would give him a chance, give him hope.
Before Angor could answer, Leon walked up and bowed to Mara. “I don’t really know about the wizarding world, but there is no free lunch in my world. As Mister Mara said, wizards are human beings too, and humans can never escape being bound by relationships and favors. Now, Mister Mara is willing to use the valuable item on Jon, but what do you expect in return?”
Leon’s words cleared Angor’s mind. Mara was just a guide. Talents were rare, yes, but as a talented one himself, Mara should not be caring for Angor too much. So… when Mara offered to use his Ice Coffin of Healing scroll, what was he expecting?
Mara looked at Leon up and down with a little bit of approval in his expression. “In five years, it is almost impossible for Angor to become a wizard, so my scroll could be considered used for nothing. However, I can still give it to you, as long as Angor accept my condition.”