Chapter 318: "Fair" Chance
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Lydia kept coaxing and pestering, hoping to get something from Angor, but Angor remained completely unresponsive.
When Lydia grew so impatient that she would use force, another female voice suddenly came from her pocket. “Enough, Lydia. We are keeping it from you for a good reason. If you really wish to know, join Brute Cavern personally, and I’ll tell you myself.”
It was Lady Mirror’s voice.
Back at Tree Spirit Palace, Sunders told them that the solution to the current crisis was to send Angor to Twilight Well.
He never said why. Tree Spirit and Lady Mirror seemed to have an idea, yet they didn’t tell. They only gave Angor several meaningful gazes for some reason.
And neither Tree Spirit nor Lady Mirror could leave Brute Cavern easily, so Lydia offered to escort Angor to Midnight Sovereign. At the same time, Tree Spirit left a connection going since he “had too much energy to spare”.
“Fine, since Lady Mirror said so,” Lydia huffed and shut her mouth.
A long moment passed in silence. The only thing Angor could hear was the sound of the flying lizard piercing the wind.
About an hour later, the lizard stopped in the air.
Under Lydia’s command, the creature descended down inside an abyss-like pit. Upon reaching the bottom, Lydia pointed toward a small platform on the side.
“We’re here. This is the most convenient way to the underground world. Wizards usually go through here.”
She left the lizard outside and led Angor into the passage.
Angor was here for the first time. He carefully followed behind Lydia for five minutes before they reached the underground world where Midnight Sovereign resided.
There were still several kilometers to go before they could reach the city. However, they could already see the dense mist that shrouded the place in the distance.
They could also see the obscured structures across the mist barrier.
“Strange. That’s definitely not natural.” The bare-bodied image of Tree Spirit suddenly appeared beside them and accompanied them on their path toward Midnight Sovereign.
“According to Tepikkhu, the abnormality started as soon as the mist appeared. I think the parasite is hiding in there,” Lydia said.
“It’s such a pity that I cannot go there myself… or I can check out whatever that is.”
Angor remained quiet while Lydia and Tree Spirit talked. The grayish-white mist didn’t seem so different from the ordinary mist, yet… Angor sensed something familiar coming from it.
He took a guess that it was the same mist that covered himself when he opened the nightmare passage.
And he immediately felt a headache.
This whole matter might have something to do with the nightmare passage he accidentally created. Sunders didn’t say so, but Angor was getting nervous nevertheless.
Things wouldn’t end up this way if Twilight had not tried to kill him, but Angor believed he should still take some blame.
He felt sorry for the countless residents in Midnight Sovereign and the innocent wizards and apprentices in Twilight Well.
Yet he had no regrets—he did so to survive.
When he was receiving teachings from Jon, he learned that anything done by people when in danger was out of instinct. Besides, he had no idea he would bring such a serious consequence when he made that decision.
Morality might improve human society and lead to better lives, but it wasn’t a human instinct. In certain situations, morality was something that restricted a human’s potential. It was also a tool used by rulers to restrain their subjects.
Angor was glad that he learned about morality. At the same time, he wouldn’t satisfy morality by giving up his own life. Neither he nor Jon would consider this the right choice.
After walking for about ten minutes, they came to a small farm outside Midnight Sovereign.
The farm was in good condition, but the owner was already dead by suicide. An old man, who was wearing a tattered gray robe, was hung by a rope on a roof beam while a chair laid not far from his feet.
“He died recently… and he wasn’t controlled, judging from his clothes,” Lydia said as she inspected the dead man and considered. “It’s completely normal since this place isn’t affected by the mist yet. And he still chose to die… such a fragile mentality, typical mortals.”
Lydia beckoned Angor to keep moving.
Angor looked at the farm for a while and left.
Before they could step into the mist area, Angor heard a familiar, hoarse voice reaching his ears.
“Come in alone, Angor.”
Sunders used “Distant Sound” to send him a message because they were already within Midnight Sovereign. “As for Lotus… you should wait outside the city. Do not enter the mist.”
“Why? My men are trapped inside, I need to help them,” Lydia said. She seemed irritated.
“As a wizard without the knowledge of the truth, you can’t resist the parasite. Of course, I won’t stop you if you insist,” Sunders said in his usual emotionless tone.
Lady Mirror’s image appeared beside Tree Spirit’s. “Sunders is right, Lydia. You already saw, apart from Devildare, everyone from the three clans has fallen. It’s very likely that you’ll end up in the same place if you go in there.”
Lydia scratched her hair in discontent. “I didn’t come here just to escort the kid. I have a covenant with the Moa clan. If they’re wiped out, I’ll suffer backfire from my contract.”
“The little servant beside Goode is a Moa, right?” Lady Mirror asked as she tilted her head. “As long as he’s alive, the Moas won’t be considered ‘wiped out’.”
Lydia shook her head. “He doesn’t count. That boy has the blood of the Moxas, and my contract explicitly says pure-blooded Moa.”
No one protested further. As she said, staying outside probably meant getting wounded by the contract backfire. It was nothing lethal. But to wizards, “lethal” wasn’t always the worst consequence.
“Mister Sunders, won’t Angor gets affected if he goes in there?” Lydia suddenly asked.
Lady Mirror and Tree Spirit were wondering about this as well. Sunders did say that Angor was their “solution”, but the gentleman never said why. Also, he said it as if Angor would have no problem coming here. Now they wanted to know why a mere level-1 apprentice could stay safe inside the mist.
Angor wanted to know about it too.
But the question was met by silence. After a long time, Sunders finally gave them a brief response.
“No, he won’t.”
The REASON behind this was what they wanted to know. But since Sunders didn’t tell, they didn’t insist on pushing for an answer. Sunders probably would never satisfy their curiosity.
Lydia thought for a while before she said to Angor, “I have a quest for you. Help me bring the Moas out of there. Only one would do.”
Angor looked at Lydia, then at Tree Spirit and Lady Mirror. He gulped and tried to resist the suppressive aura of a powerful wizard.
“Do… What do I get in return?”
Lydia squinted her eyes malevolently. “You’re asking for a price, from me? I see. No wonder you’re Sunders’ student. You’re the first level-1 apprentice who dares to bargain with me.”
Lydia intentionally displayed her aura, and Angor almost knelt down under the great pressure. Lady Mirror and Tree Spirit only watched from the side out of interest without any intention to intervene.
Angor bit his lips so hard that a drop of blood came out.
“Alright then,” Lydia said as she removed her aura. “What do you want to get?”
Angor panted badly. He was thinking about asking for the eyeless man, but he gave up on second thought—he overestimated his place.
He could ask such a thing only on the condition that Lady Mirror and Tree Spirit helped him. From what he saw, no one really considered him a necessary asset even though the Midnight Sovereign was in a dire situation.
The bane of being a weakling.
“I wish… hah… hah,” he said with cold sweat on his face. “I wish Lady Lotus can grant me a ‘personal chance’—”
Lydia almost moved to slap Angor.
How dare this ignorant brat covet my body?
Lady Mirror and Tree Spirit also exchanged a surprised look at Angor’s bold move.
“… Ha… I hope you give me a chance to purchase the eyeless man,” Angor said. He finally finished his sentence.
Everyone remained speechless.
Lydia didn’t kill Angor already because a pair of cold gazes had been watching her back. And what Angor just said convinced her that her anger wasn’t necessary.
“The eyeless man?? I see… You did all those hubbubs at the grand auction just for him, right?” Lydia considered it before she said, “Fine. If you bring me a Moa alive, I’ll give you a fair chance to buy him. As for the price… 3 million crystals. If you can pay the money, I’ll give you the eyeless man, in one piece.”
Three million magic crystals. Ten times the final bid of the slave!
Even wizards would never collect that kind of money easily. Not even half. And Lydia simply presented such a price to Angor.
Angor nodded without a second thought. “Okay. I accept!”