Warlock Apprentice

The dead larva was still inside the nest. It seemed this one did not transmute into a Mutation Larva.

Angor tried poking it and realized that the body had been sucked dry. Only the skin remained.

Since he now knew that Akeso’s blood could help with the growth of larva eggs, he thought about doing some experiment on this and see what would happen.

He placed the nest on his desk, applied some blood to a pile of eggs, and readied a notepad nearby. To prevent surprises in case any larvae came wandering about, he also put an illusion around the nest.

He suddenly looked through his window, only to see lit lamps outside and the shadows of trees in the distance.

He went to open the window and invited some cold air into his room.

He did so because he felt someone’s inquiring attention directed at him, but he failed to locate where it came from.

“There’s only one person here who can do so without letting me notice her…”

He didn’t know what Eureka wanted from him. He just felt uneasy about it. Even if he wasn’t doing anything he would like to hide, being monitored by someone was always unpleasant.

He considered and closed the window before he channeled some nightmare energy that slowly covered up his room.

…

Eureka was gazing at the night sky on the balcony of the “stilt house”. As soon as Angor was aware of her, she closed her eyes.

“That’s some sharp senses… just a bit weaker than a wizard, but close.” Eureka grinned. “Hey, Red, a mortal who studied wizardry for just a few years achieved such a level. He has the sequence of gravity, space storage, and maybe more secrets we don’t know of. Aren’t you curious?”

There was no one around her, but as soon as she finished her phrase, a large rosebud on the balcony slowly went into bloom and revealed a red-haired puppet head in its center.

“Kill him and interrogate his soul, or restrain him and use hypnosis spells,” the puppet said in a cruel voice.

Eureka shook her head. “He’s Phantom Master’s student. And he’s a member of Brute Cavern.”

“You can’t do it? Then you should leave the job to me. Wait until I return.”

“He’s Leon’s kin. Do you really want to see Leon lose his dear brother?”

“Leon must learn to give up mortal emotions if he were to set foot in the wizarding world.”

Eureka sighed. “Every wizard has their own path. You shouldn’t force your way upon your student and limit his potential. Besides, you have a sister, no?”

The puppet didn’t reply this time.

Eureka yawned and looked at Angor’s direction again. “He cast an odd illusion that I can’t see through in my current state. Well, he studies from Phantom Master, so this is not surprising.”

She waved a hand and closed up the rose.

…

Inside his nightmare domain, Angor found a comfortable spot and started reading his hologram tablet for all the books he recorded in either the Nightmare Realm or Sunders’ collection room.

Two years. He had to find out how to completely save Jon’s life within two years.

He had totally forgotten the passage of time while he was reading. Two weeks later, Leon suddenly came to him.

“Look at your face. You should at least spend some time outdoors. How about I take you out on a hunt later?” Leon appeared very energetic and vigorous in his knight armor, which was in great contrast with Angor’s pale look.

Angor did feel a little tired after reading for so long. However, he still refused the offer. “I don’t have much time. I need to stay focused.”

“Sigh… What if you can’t find anything at all?”

“If I can’t in half a year, I’ll go out there and seek help from other wizards.”

This was always his plan. Jon’s existence was already known by outsiders, so letting more people get involved wouldn’t bother too much. He could always talk to Sunders, or Greya, if Sunders was away. There was no doubt that Master Mithra would help as well.

However, Angor would like to depend on himself unless it was absolutely necessary to ask for assistance.

“We will all eventually die someday—” Leon tried to comfort Angor, but he was interrupted immediately.

“No. Me, or you, will become immortal as soon as we step onto the path of truth.” Angor didn’t give his brother a chance to say otherwise. “You didn’t come to invite me to hunt, right? Is there something you need?”

“… Yes. During the last two weeks, we captured 33 refugees lurking around Grue Town, 15 of which had criminal records. Both according to our plan and our laws, I’ll execute three of the worst offenders tomorrow and send the rest of them back to the refugee camps in Yamei after giving them some good caning. I hope you can come with me and watch it.”

“I don’t have time for it. I’m wondering though, is it fine to set them free like that?”

“Most of the refugees are innocent people who lost their homes to the war. I’ll give them food for their journey. Or if they agree to enter Grue Town as good citizens, I’ll give them work and lands for rent.”

“Did Waterford respond to our complaint? Why do they insist on sending so many refugees to our town?”

“When sending the letter, Jordan saw the suburbs of Waterford overflowing with them. Guess it can’t be helped.”

Angor held his chin. “Can Grue Town take in more people if they keep coming?”

“Yes, for now, as we still have some unused land and houses left. But food might be a problem. One more thing, more refugees meant more troublemakers among them,” Leon moaned in frustration.

“You can go and talk to the Moonlily Fairy about food shortage. It knows how to quicken the growth of crops. Just make sure you don’t rely on it because this will result in more lazy and greedy freeloaders.”

“Guess I don’t have many choices, huh?”

“You do.” Angor shrugged. “I can help you put an illusion around Grue Town, and no one would be able to get in. Out of sight, out of mind.”

“Is there more I can do on my own though?”

“As the lord of this town, you can force our law upon them and make sure everyone follows our rules, down to every word and clause, or face trouble. The war might end one day, but rules must always be rules.”

Leon still looked hesitant.

“Sigh.” Angor put down his pen and put a hand on Leon’s shoulder. “No matter what you choose, I’ll support your decision, brother.”

“Heh… I’ll try my best.”

Grue Town would always remain in the same place, while different people traveled in and out. If the townspeople kept accepting every single wanderer with all their kindness, they would suffer from grim consequences sooner or later.

…

Leon went to George’s office.

“Sheriff, I’ve made a plan. Instead of giving them farm work…” he explained his idea.

“You want to enslave them?!” George yelled in shock.

“It’s not completely slavery. They still get paid. However, they need to pay five times more than what they received from us. As soon as they pay their debt, we’ll acknowledge them as our legal civilians.”

George frowned. “I’m afraid the case has become a whole lot more complicated just now. The refugees probably won’t stay with us even if we treat them with fairness.”

“Why’s that?”

“I received a message in the morning. General Morn was killed in action at the Northern Oil Field.”

The Northern Oil Field was on the northern coast of Yamei Province. Many refugees fled to Yamei because this place was protected by the Morn Family.

But if an important general was defeated…

“I didn’t mean to keep the news from you.” George showed a worrying look. “I’ve been waiting for Miss Mana to come. Mister Viscount, should we… tell our people to evacuate?”

“No.” Leon shook his head. “Let’s proceed with what I just said.”

“But if Yamei Province fell into enemy hands—”

“It will not. This, I can promise.”

George suddenly remembered the “moonlight rain” created by Angor half a month ago and felt a lot more reassured.