Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 405: Back to the Garden

Angor pressed a hand against the bathroom wall. “We can use the portals now. But we still need a guide since we don’t know where this thing takes us to. Is she alive?” He pointed at the black-haired woman on the floor.

Shadow tossed a “Detect Disease” her way. “Alive and kicking. Just need to wake her up now. I mean, impressive. I almost died back there, but she’s still fine?”

Angor looked down. “I have no idea that it can be so dangerous, and I completely overlooked environmental factors. Sorry about that.”

“Nah… it came out good, right? Can I take a look at that weapon? I REALLY want to know.”

Angor handed the silver revolver over.

“My my… The first time I put my hands so close to Mystery energy,” Shadow murmured as he fiddled around the strangely-shaped item and quickly got used to the ergonomic design meant for human hands. “Machine alchemy and enchantment…” He carefully examined the complicated runes. “Wait, it’s a magic array? How old are you again? Man, I feel like a loser.”

Shadow shot the gun toward empty space and released near-invisible energy ripples toward a wide, fan-shaped area in front of him. The ripples did nothing to the environment, which meant the weapon was meant to harm ethereal beings.

“Quite handy,” Shadow remarked as he returned the weapon to Angor. “So the magic array is for killing the undead?”

“Prelude to Elimination. Yes.” Angor twirled the gun around his finger.

Shadow was surprised again when seeing Angor’s move and tried to imitate it. “Sh*t. It looks good, it works well, and you can play cool with it. Hey, can you make me another one? I’ll provide the materials.”

“Sure. It’s called ‘Rebirth’. The last customer paid me 15,000 crystals in cash and some materials of a similar price. Since we’re a team, I’ll make a discount. 20,000 crystals and it’s yours.”

Shadow quickly slumped down at the scary price. However, it was totally acceptable. Such a weapon that was effective against swarms of undead souls could sell for an even higher price at an auction.

“I see how you can carry that wealth around,” Shadow mumbled. Before meeting Angor, he thought he was one of the god-chosen elite talents. But now, he felt defeated.

Next, they talked about their plans. Angor intended to stay in Dark Castle for a while. So did Shadow, who still had to complete his personal mission.

“I’ve no f*cking idea if Lady Butterfly will bother me again, but I’m going to get Naga no matter what.” Shadow seemed very determined as he said, “It decides whether I can become a wizard. I must not miss it.”

Angor wouldn’t question Shadow’s goal at this point. “Let’s get out of here first. Everything else has to wait. Can you wake her up now?” He pointed at the unconscious woman.

“I don’t think so. Let’s… bring her along and enter the portal first. We can always wait for her to get up or use Fiona.”

Angor nodded and triggered the portal array in the blood bathroom. A light beam carried their bodies away.

When Angor could see clearly again, he saw himself standing in a brightly-lit castle hall. Most of the decorations were of a dark theme, which made the place look a little desolate.

Here, he felt like a wealthy noble gentleman who lived far away from civilization. All the treasures and valuables couldn’t fill the emptiness in his heart.

They were not alone. Felicia was sitting on the other side of the hall working on some wine, while a maid in black-and-white dress waited nearby.

Felicia raised an eyebrow at the visitors. “Angor, don’t forget to join me for dinner tonight.”

She ordered her maid to take Angor to a guest room.

“As for you… You’re looking for that puppet, right? Go help yourself,” Felicia glanced at Shadow as she asked him to leave, somewhat impatiently.

Shadow couldn’t wander around the castle without knowing the directions, so he could only follow behind Angor for the moment.

They arrived in a large bedroom. It looked pretty dark due to the ocher-colored floor and walls. A French window and a small balcony allowed them to observe the outside.

“Sir, a mute servant will come momentarily. Please tell her if you have any needs,” the maid said and left them.

Shadow tossed the woman he had been carrying onto the floor and threw himself on the bed. “Ahh, nice. Been some time since I slept on a proper bed.”

Angor moved to the window and checked the clear sky above the castle. A Thunder Eagle was soaring, which quickly reminded him of Toby.

He didn’t plan to stay because of Isabelle’s promise. In fact, he wanted to stay with Toby. Greya might look a lot different, but her love for Toby was unchanged. And since Toby’s real owner was here… Angor probably needed to enjoy his last moment with his feathered partner.

All good things had to come to an end, especially for wizards. Angor already expected to say farewell to Toby someday. He had to learn to bear with loneliness if he wished to walk on the path of wizardry further.

He thought about lots of things and slowly grew sad until Shadow’s call dragged him back into reality.

“Let’s get Fiona out. Or at least we should throw her back to Hippocrotee.” The man had transferred all the blood and dirt on him to the bedsheet, but he didn’t seem bothered at all.

“Let’s. I told the priest I’ll be back in Soul Genesis Garden before the ceremony. I can still make it to the ceremony and maybe use the chance to purify my soul.”

He never told Shadow how the garden produced Soul Orbs. Now that he mentioned purifying his soul, Shadow quickly grew interested.

“You learned how? Oh, it’s a Soul Genesis Garden then? That’s really valuable stuff since wizards always need hell lotta souls. But I don’t think this one can actually purify souls. Is it like a really powerful one?”

“It’s not the garden. According to the priest, purification and Soul Orb production all rely on a certain treasure,” Angor frowned as he explained. “I assume it’s another Mystery item. Maybe we can check it out.”

Angor stuffed the black-haired woman in his bracelet and left the room.

A servant was waiting outside. It was a middle-aged woman with weak energy signatures. She probably exhausted her potential, so her only choice was to remain a lifelong servant for another wizard.

“We’re going to Soul Genesis Garden in Midworld. Can you take us there?” Angor asked.

The servant nodded and led the way.

While walking past the main hall, Felicia only glimpsed at them without speaking. She was focused on her work. Those crystal clear drops of wines would occasionally become dancing fairies which showed amazing power; they would probably taste divine.

Their trip was peaceful this time. The mute servant took them into Black Forest while holding a strange-looking cane. The cane released a low-frequency noise which kept all undead spirits away.

Angor’s alchemy omen already scared off most undead. They probably would not get troubled by any even if the servant didn’t use the cane to chase off the souls.

Also, Angor did wish to test his gun and find out what Isabelle meant by “small trace of Mystery energy”. But it seemed he couldn’t find any target now.

The servant took them to the portal and waited there, while Angor and Shadow traveled back to Soul Genesis Garden.

They appeared directly on top of the holy altar. They immediately concealed their physical forms and moved away.

Inside the temple, the Grand Priest instantly sensed their arrival.

“Prepare a hummingbird. I’m going to Centenary Palace and meet with our guests from Citadel,” he ordered a guard.

Upon returning to the palace, Angor’s first move was to release Fiona from his bracelet.

Soon, the old priest was outside the palace door asking for an audience again.

“We meet again, young mister.” The old man bowed politely.

Angor asked him to take a seat on the table with a smile. “You were right. Toby needs Soul Orbs. Thank you for telling me, or I don’t know what will happen to him.”