Versatile Mage

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Dawn Island was around fifty kilometers away from Wanggui Town. The town was a few dozen kilometers away from the sea, and the island was a distance away from the shore, too.

Dawn Island was a part of Wanggui Town, but was quite distant from it. Therefore, it was no different from a desolate island, since no one was looking after it.

After leaving the teahouse, Mo Fan, Lingling, Zhao Manyan, and Jiang Shaoxu headed to the coast. Wanggui Town did not have a port, it only had a river flowing out of the town to the sea. They followed the river to the sea and noticed there was no shoreline, but a tall cliff instead.

The cliff served as a natural dam blocking the seawater. As a result, Wanggui Town was not greatly affected by the rise of sea level compared to other places. The sea monsters did not bother invading the town, since the seawater could not reach it.

“There’s a tower over there!” Lingling pointed at the cliff.

“Let’s take a look.”

The foursome went to the tower and stumbled into two members of the Enforcement Union patrolling the area. They were smoking while carrying out their duty. They seemed rather relaxed. They asked the group a few questions before heading in the opposite direction. Mo Fan also heard them cursing someone at the tower under their breath.

They went inside the tower, assuming it was abandoned. However, they were surprised to see how clean the place was at the entrance.

The tower was built with stone. The colors of the wall on the outside had already faded away from prolonged exposure to sunlight. The contrast was obvious even at night. The tower had obviously been around for some time.

“Someone seems to live here. There are clothes being dried over there,” Zhao Manyan pointed at two sticks nearby.

“There definitely is,” Mo Fan agreed.

A tall figure slowly came out of the shadows inside the tower.

Their face slowly became visible. It was a face worn down by the vicissitudes of life. Dark freckles scattered along the man’s slightly tanned skin. His eyes inspected the group of uninvited guests. The alert in his eyes indicated that he was not just a normal guardian.

The man was slightly hunched over, yet he was still more than half a head taller than Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan. It clearly showed how huge the watcher was when he was younger!

“Kids shouldn’t be playing around here. Demon creatures might kidnap you and slice your belly open if you wander around late at night!” the watcher spoke up when he realized the visitors were a few young adults.

“Are you the watcher here?” Mo Fan asked.

“Why do you even ask? Go back to town, the sea has been a little rough lately,” the watcher answered gruffly.

The watcher was likely an old soldier. He was still wearing an old military uniform.

“We just want to ask you about Dawn Island. You must have been here for many years. Do you know roughly how many Featherless Birds are there on Dawn Island?” Mo Fan asked.

“Just leave, it’s no place for busybodies like you,” the watcher said impatiently.

“Have you heard of the Totem Beasts?” Mo Fan pressed.

—

The watcher had no intention of interacting with them. He dismissed Mo Fan and the others right away.

The group wandered aimlessly along the cliff after failing to learn anything useful. Jiang Shaoxu recalled Mo Fan’s last question. She could not help but ask, “Mo Fan, do you think Totem Beasts are as common as cabbages? Did you really just ask a random person if they knew about the Totem Beasts?”

Mo Fan scratched his head and explained awkwardly, “Isn’t that the common setting for a strange-tempered old man living in an abandoned place in a drama, video game, or a novel? They are usually protecting something. I thought the old soldier might be a guardian since there are traces of Totem Beasts around here, so I asked right away.”

“…” Lingling, Zhao Manyan, and Jiang Shaoxu were left speechless. Speaking of a mentally ill person and his wild train of thoughts…

“It’s better if we investigate the place ourselves. There’s no point wasting our time here,” Zhao Manyan stated.

Zhao Manyan had come for the Totem Beasts that he desperately needed, so he was surprisingly energetic. He brought out his spectacular pair of golden wings and confirmed the rough direction of Dawn Island.

“I’ll go scout first. Wait for my news here,” Zhao Manyan said.

Twenty kilometers was not too far for someone with the ability to fly. Zhao Manyan beat his golden wings and soared into the sky. The others could faintly see him flying across the calm sea and disappearing into the distance.

Watching Zhao Manyan heading toward Dawn Island, Mo Fan exclaimed, “This is my first time seeing Zhao Manyan taking the initiative to do something!”

“He must be irritated,” Lingling said.

—

The dark sky only had a faint silver glow originating from Zhao Manyan’s back. It felt like the sea and the sky had merged into one when the moon and stars were absent. It was impossible to differentiate between the sea and the sky.

The most troublesome thing about it was not to differentiate between the sky and the sea, but to tell the right direction.

The moon and clouds were not suitable to be treated as references, since they were constantly moving. It was impossible to keep moving in a straight line in such an environment, similar to walking in a straight line with one’s eyes closed. The person would most likely stray away from the line.

The island was quite a distance away, especially since Wanggui Town was already a remote location along the coast. The island was basically cut off from the rest of the world. Due to the terrain, there were hardly any boats that would pass by the island, either.

Zhao Manyan was not flying quickly. He was slower than a helicopter. His Wing Magical Equipment was generally slower than a Wind Mage’s Wind Wings, since a Wind Mage could use the airflow and their control of the wind to surpass the speed of most flying equipment.

The Wing Magical Equipment consumed energy, too. Zhao Manyan noticed an irregularly-shaped island just as he was wondering if he was flying in the right direction.

The island had a diameter of over ten kilometers. The thick plants on it were stacked into layers. The tallest spot on the island was similar to the mountains inland, while the lowest spot was a jagged beach.

Zhao Manyan could only see one side of the island. The island was big and he was not flying at a great altitude, so there was only so much he could see.

Dawn Island was very quiet. It looked like a desolate island covered in vegetation instead of being overrun with untamed demon creatures. Zhao Manyan continued forward without a care, when he suddenly heard the water splashing fiercely underneath him!