All the apprentices watched in surprise.
They all gathered around Phantom Island just to get inside earlier and try to find their destiny. But someone just came and waltzed in like that? This was unfair!
Several apprentices who were not convinced secretly landed on the edge of the island. When one of them tried to reach his magic cane deeper, his weapon was immediately cut in half by the magic array. The apprentice quickly backed away in fear.
At the same time, a group of scary-looking beasts emerged from the woods and stared at the intruder.
“The protection is still on. How did that kid get inside?” Someone yelled in discontentment.
No one responded. They were all wondering about the same question. But after being among wizards for some time, they knew when to speak and when to remain shut. Inexperienced kids should do the yelling for them.
On a small piece of cloud dirt, a charming woman in a shiny, transparent veil who only covered her chest area and hips with violet silk gently leaned on the shoulder of a black-robed figure. Her smooth, white thighs and finely curved waist were all exposed in the air.
“Dear Nanagi, you won’t want to watch me die of curiosity, hm? Tell me please, who is that little handsome boy?”
Nanagi, in her black robe, remained calm as she answered, “Just a kid who got very lucky.”
“Just a lucky boy? But why did I sense envy in your words?” The woman whispered beside Nanagi’s ear, releasing gentle air which flipped Nanagi’s earlobe a little.
When everyone quieted down, an old man with grizzled hair suddenly said, “I know him… Isn’t he the child everyone was talking about several months ago?”
The old man’s voice and identity were soon recognized by people.
“You know that kid, Hoff?”
The elder nodded. “You all forgot? In the distribution hall, he received a transmission from Sunders.”
“Now that you mentioned… Wait! That’s Sunders’ new student!”
Words of realization came among all the apprentices.
Someone took out a crystal ball and read a message from several months ago – a message which told them that a new talent received a golden poster from Sunders.
When the image contained in the message showed up, they all recognized that young man who just entered Phantom Island.
On the sky bridge, Becker moved closer to his boss with a worried look. “What—what should I do, boss? I think I just offended that kid. I didn’t know he’s Sunders’ student!”
Their leader remained silent for a while before saying, “Don’t worry. He’s just an apprentice who had a golden poster. Wizards usually don’t care about conflicts between apprentices. Do you remember Sunders’ other student, Flora? Before she turned into a wizard, she got badly wounded several times when people were hunting her down. She even angered a wizard, but Mister Sunders never helped her.”
“Uh, boss? Is Mister Sunders… so merciless?” Becker wondered.
“It’s not merciless. It’s how wizards treat others. If we’re lucky enough to become wizards, maybe we’ll be like that too.”
“I don’t know how wizards work, but when I’m a wizard, I’d never leave you in danger without helping out,” said the “coward”, Teuton.
“Now that’s something I like to hear. Hey, didn’t you just grow taller, Teuton?” Becker joked. But he quickly slumped down again and said, “I know the boss is right, but the kid must have some really powerful talent if Sunders wants him as a student. I mean, all the golden poster ones broke through like it was nothing! Maybe the kid will grow way stronger than me really soon. If he comes back and gets revenge, I’m done for!”
Becker squinted his eyes as he said, “He’s just a level-1 apprentice now. Maybe we should…”
He put his hand at his throat and made a slitting gesture.
Teuton frowned at Becker’s bold suggestion. “I don’t think that’s necessary. He doesn’t look like someone THAT narrow-minded.”
Their boss also agreed. “You should listen to Teuton. You already know he always makes the best judgments.”
Becker shrugged. “Okay. You say the words, boss!”
On the other side, Angor, who just drew the attention of everyone, was on his way into the depth of Phantom Island. He had been here many times, so he knew his way well.
Angor was still thinking about what happened just now. He was a bit frustrated at how the trio stopped him. However, he did not intend to hold grudges since they seemed to be doing their job and did not actually do anything bad in the end. The important thing was, why were there so many apprentices?
Did they come because of the professor’s Sorcerer’s Garden?
After visiting Phantom Island last time, Angor looked into some information about Sorcerer’s Garden and checked about the “laws” that would generate in these gardens. Unlike real laws in this world, the laws in the gardens were unstable. They acted like some kind of particles in the air or fragments left behind when a real law fixed itself. These fragments would go away slowly with the passage of time. It did not matter if a law that did not do anything to humans disappeared. However, a beneficial law, such as the “purification” law in Floating Mech City, would slowly get exhausted if too many people used it.
Such a law in Sorcerer’s Garden could slowly recover on itself though. When exhausted, it would come back in time.
Angor was curious about which law Sunders’ garden had. If it could benefit them, it could not possibly serve so many people.
The Sorcerer’s Garden in Floating Mech City was sealed away for centuries and had its law energy fully saved up. Even then, they still set a restriction on who could use the garden.
From a brief glimpse, Angor believed there were at least a thousand people gathering around Phantom Island. A newly-built Sorcerer’s Garden could not hold much law energy. It would benefit a hundred people or at most, two hundred.
As Angor went over his questions in his mind, Butler Goode appeared on the path ahead of him.
“Good afternoon, Mister Padt,” Goode greeted the boy while inspecting Angor up and down, using eyes that were hidden behind his mask. “Mister Padt really broke through in one month? The master will be very happy about this.
“The master is still staying near the Sorcerer’s Garden. Please follow me, Mister Padt.”
On their way, Angor tried asking about the situation outside.
“Oh, those people? They only wished to find their destiny here,” said Goode as he chuckled.
“Did the professor make a restriction like Floating Mech City, that anyone who meets the condition can use the garden?” Angor asked.
“Not quite. When a newborn Sorcerer’s Garden receives its law, it’ll naturally generate a ‘rhyme’, as if the world’s consciousness bestows a certain law to a toddler as its parent. Anyone who approaches Phantom Island will sense the newly risen rhyme. This, is the destiny they’re trying to find.”
“I see…” Angor wanted to ask what “rhyme” could do, but he already found themselves entering the vicinity of the garden. Sunders was not far from them now.
The Sorcerer’s Garden was still under construction, but it already gained a basic shape now.
Just like the outer area of the island, many people had gathered around the garden too. However, these people each carried a deep and mighty aura. Every movement on them seemed to bring a mysterious ripple in the air. Just looking at them gave Angor great fear.
“These are all wizards?! They’re… so scary,” Angor thought to himself.
No one paid attention to the boy’s arrival. To them, lifting an eye at an ordinary apprentice meant wasting energy.
No one, except Sunders.
Sunders took the boy to a private spot nearby.
“Now that you’re an apprentice, what’s your next goal?” Sunders did not ask if Angor used another locator method. The man did not find it necessary to ask.
“To improve myself and challenge the Sky Tower,” Angor answered.
Sunders was a bit surprised. Then he smiled. “Having a goal is good. I believe you already have a plan on how to improve yourself.”
With that, Sunders turned to leave.
Angor looked at the man’s back and revealed a bit of disappointment.
A burst of eerie and charming laughter suddenly reached Angor’s ears. “Angor, sweetie, what’s that look for? Something on your mind?”
The charming voice seemed to have magic in it. Without realizing it, Angor spoke his mind straight away, “I thought the professor could teach me spells. But he didn’t mention anything like that.”
“Alas, spells? I can teach you.”
Angor looked up abruptly and saw Flora, who he had not met for a long time. She was floating in the air, covering her smile with a hand. Little Red, who was still behind her, greeted Angor by turning the flames in the eye sockets into the shape of a crescent moon.
“Can you?” Angor brightened up. The first step of becoming stronger was naturally studying spells. But he had no idea what spells to start with.
Flora grinned. “Of course I can—”
“Flora!” Sunders stopped her.
Flora rolled her eyes and changed her words quickly. “—Of course I can not.”
Angor displayed a sad face.
Seeing the boy’s look, Flora added, “Oh my. The professor’s being so nice to you.”
Without explaining her words, Flora stepped in the air and floated away. She left something else before leaving. “Oh right, if the half-blood asks for me, tell him I’m away for work. I’ll come back when he made a good achievement in his training.”