Warlock Apprentice

The deep-blue lake water slowly covered his ankles. He could see the water ripples shifting around his legs, yet he didn’t feel anything wet on his feet. Actually, he felt lighter as if he were stepping on something afloat.

When looking through the water surface, he could notice the weeds moving at the bottom of the lake. However, he couldn’t see his feet. The surface of the lake was like a mirror that separated the two worlds.

When he was fully submerged, he reopened his eyes and found himself standing at the foot of a giant mountain.

A door that led to nothingness stood behind his back, while a path upward laid in front.

He held up his name card again and injected some mana into a small hole in the middle of the card, where a red beam was unleashed from the hole and moved toward the sky.

Vice told him that the red beam was a signal to summon the “Iron Fortress”.

Vice didn’t tell him what was an Iron Fortress or where exactly could he find the ethereal laboratory. “You’ll see” was the only thing Vice said in the end.

Back then, Angor complained to Vice that the man was making things unnecessarily complicated, and he still believed so as he looked at the strange light beam that pierced the sky.

He waited in front of the void door for about ten seconds before he heard metal noises approaching from one side of the mountain.

Clunk, clunk…

He also heard the sound of a steam whistle.

“Is that a train? But it’s getting closer too fast,” Angor mumbled and looked around without finding any railway.

He then saw a trail of grayish-blue smoke showing up around the woods on the mountainside.

Next, he saw an iron house with feet hopping down the mountain. The metal noises were created when the iron chunks on the house clashed against each other when the house moved.

Using its slim iron legs, the house rushed toward Angor.

Angor also noticed that a chimney on top of the house was giving out the whistle sound.

The iron house ran for a small distance and jumped into the air before it glided in front of Angor like a kite.

When Angor was still trying to comprehend what he just saw, the iron legs of the house bent down, and the house door opened up, revealing a hunched, silver-haired old woman who was dressed in blue and white.

Angor was shocked again when he saw the woman landed in front of him skillfully with two or three swift jumps. It seemed the woman wasn’t as slow as she appeared to be.

“May I know your name, ma’am?” Angor tried to be polite.

The old woman smiled kindly. “You must be Angor. Come closer and let granny check you out.”

She looked at Angor up and down, which embarrassed him a little. He wasn’t sure if he could move already.

“Hmm! Good boy. A handsome gentleman, you are. It’s a pity that Sunders found you. You’ll make a better student for Wallace,” the woman said. She then signaled Angor to follow her. “Little Vice already told me. You can use your name card to come here in the next five years.”

She climbed back onto the house and turned around, only to see Angor still watching her from the ground.

“What? Hop on.”

Angor was still confused. “Um, how may I call you, Granny?”

The woman slapped her forehead. “Ouch. I forgot about it. I’m the manager of the Iron Fortress and the caretaker of the entire Tributary.” She then put a hand on the iron wall of the house as she said, “This is the Iron Fortress. When you want to get to the labs, just call for me, and it will send you there.

“As for my name… call me ‘Iron Granny’. I forgot my real name a long time ago.”

Iron Granny beckoned Angor again. This time, Angor gladly complied.

“Since it’s your first time here… I shall take it slow and tell you about the rules around here,” Iron Granny said. She then told Angor to find a seat.

There were three stories inside the iron house. Angor was now on the first floor, where all kinds of objects were placed. Machine parts, flowers, bread… A great number of things were arranged in fine order. There was a wooden square table in the middle of the room covered under a blue-and-white checkered tablecloth. Two cups of hot tea were on it.

“Come, have a drink,” Iron Granny said as she lifted a cup in front of Angor.

Angor hesitated for a bit upon sensing the smell of rose. “Thank you, Granny, but I’m not thirsty.”

Iron Granny didn’t force him. She sipped her own tea slowly and let out a deep breath.

“There are a total of 138 ethereal laboratories inside The Tributary, while only 36 of them are rented to outsiders. You’re the 36th.”

“What about the other 102?”

Iron Granny smiled and asked something instead, “Do you know how many wizards we have in Brute Cavern?”

Angor tried to recall Abelle’s introduction when he came to Brute Cavern for the first day.

“A hundred and eighteen?”

Iron Granny shook her head. “There were 118, on the day you came. This year though, eleven of them died, three betrayed, three voluntarily left, one apprentice broke through… Today, there are 102 wizards in Brute Cavern.”

Angor quickly realized that these wizards had to be the ones occupying the remaining 102 labs. However, he was more concerned about how Iron Granny’s simple explanation contained a bloody fact.

Within a single year, 11 wizards perished, while only 1 apprentice joined the rank. Angor felt a chill crawling on his back—the number of wizards was decreasing. Fast.

No wonder the great wizarding world was a mere legend to mortals.

Angor put his unnecessary concerns away and asked in a small voice, “Are the 102 labs reserved for these wizards?”

“No. They are gifts, given to them by the organization. Each time a wizard dies, another allowance becomes available for you apprentices.” Iron Granny took out a map and showed Angor the locations of the current 102 wizards. “Only less than five of these labs are currently in use. Still, do not trespass on their territories. Many wizards would place traps around their labs, and you definitely cannot survive them.”

Angor nodded carefully.

“You’re free to use yours however you like. But you must pay compensation, should you break anything in it.”

Iron Granny enjoyed her tea while she told Angor about the regulations inside The Tributary.

“… That should be everything you need to remember. Oh, one more thing. If you bring your friends, make sure that they stay close to you at all times. Without a name card, no one will go and rescue them if they run into ‘troubles’ in the mountain woods,” Iron Granny said with a smile as she pointed toward Angor’s chest.

Inside the inner pocket that she was pointing at, Toby was sound asleep with his legs sticking upward in an awkward manner.

“Understood, Granny,” Angor chuckled.

“Okay, we’re here. Feel free to call me if you need to come or leave this place again,” Iron Granny said. She then walked upstairs. “I’ll not see you off this time. The other lab closest to yours is a hundred kilometers away, so don’t worry about attracting curious folks with your omens.”

With her last “friendly reminder”, Iron Granny disappeared into the second floor.

Angor scratched his head in embarrassment. Iron Granny, who lived in this quiet place, also heard about his alchemy omen, which meant he created a really big fuss out there.

What Iron Granny just said reassured him. If nothing went wrong, the next space storage he was going to craft would be another mid-tier item. Letting it known by too many people would be really troublesome.

An alchemy omen did not necessarily suggest the work of a master alchemist. However, it was still uncommon, considering how Brute Cavern only witnessed such omens two or three times each year. If he brought a different omen every other day with his competent alchemy attempts, people would soon consider it a very serious matter.

In his mind, Angor thanked Vice again for granting him such a safe place to do his job.

Even if someone would wander near his lab, they wouldn’t actually enter his territory, which was one of the most important rules inside The Tributary.

…

The “Lab #13” building was a composite, castle-like structure with three levels and about ten meters high. Like the Iron Fortress, the lab was also built with iron.

The interior of the lab also showed great craftsmanship just like the distinctive design of the outside.

All three levels above the ground were designed for daily activities. Angor took a small tour and found all the basic furniture he might need. The basement was turned into a lab room—a large lab room, which was divided into several dozen different sections for different purposes. He even found some weaving and tailoring tools.

The alchemy section alone was ten times bigger than his basement back at the villa, and it had more advanced tools. Angor picked up an engraving pen that sped up enchantment work and couldn’t help admiring it for a long time.

He cast a Dust Removal. Once it was done and before he woke Toby up, he checked all the magical devices in the lab to make sure there were no traps or fishy tricks.

Toby released all the materials stored inside Snowy Feather onto the floor, and Angor carried them to the material section. This section came with a number of greenhouses and gardens. There were also devices that transferred sunlight from the outside as well as culture chambers for the observation of live specimens. The tools almost covered the needs for the use of all possible materials. To Angor, this alone was worth the trip.