Warlock Apprentice

When Angel emerged from seclusion, it was already the morning of the third day.

Pushing open the laboratory door, the first thing Angel saw was Sharley dressed in a full set of magician’s attire, leaning against the wall in the corridor, absentmindedly teasing the little otter, Gulu.

Upon hearing the sound of the door opening, Sharley had yet to steady herself, but Gulu was the first to react with a startled expression. It leapt from Sharley’s palm, landing on the spout of a floating teapot adorned with rose patterns, and promptly burrowed inside and disappeared.

Once Gulu had completed this sequence of actions in one fluid motion, Sharley only belatedly turned her head.

”M-Master, you’re out?” Sharley hesitated briefly, but soon flashed her signature professional smile, her tone becoming smoother.

”Why are you here?” Angel asked flatly.

”I’m here because...” Sharley stole a quick glance inside the laboratory. She had heard that Angel was conducting alchemy experiments there but didn’t know what he was refining... Could it possibly be something meant for her?

”Hm?” Angel frowned as Sharley hesitated to answer, closing the laboratory door on his way.

When the laboratory door shut with a loud thud, regret flashed in Sharley’s eyes. Under Angel’s suspicious expression, Sharley cleared her throat and said, ”I came because Lady Greya instructed me to deliver a message to you.”

”Did she need me for something?” Angel asked, walking toward the exit.

Sharley hurried to catch up. ”Yesterday morning, the witch Melisa visited the manor. She brought the alchemy preferences for the top three candidates of this year’s New Star Match. But since you were secluded in the laboratory all this time, she handed them over to Lady Greya.”

Melisa bore the surname of Beast Emperor Rosen. The only one who could be addressed as the witch Melisa was Rosen’s daughter—Melisa herself.

”Lady Greya instructed me to wait here and relay this information to you.”

Angel’s face reflected confusion. ”She could’ve simply used telepathy to convey this message to me. Why go through the trouble of sending you?”

Sharley playfully batted her eyes. ”I volunteered.”

Volunteered? Angel glanced at Sharley, noticing her whole demeanor radiated an unmistakable ”Ask me why I volunteered!” signal.

”Oh.” Angel offered no further comment, continuing forward.

Sharley’s expression faltered briefly upon noticing Angel’s lack of response, but she quickly adopted a flattering demeanor, sidling up to him again. ”Master, I heard you’ll be crafting personalized alchemy creations for the top three candidates of this New Star Match?”

Angel noncommittally nodded.

Encouraged by Angel’s acknowledgement, Sharley promptly seized the opportunity, feigning a tone of admiration. ”I didn’t expect the research institute to assign such an important task to you for those alchemy customizations. That’s absolutely wonderful!”

Sharley initially hoped Angel would ask her, ”Why is that wonderful?” Yet, observing Angel’s serious silence, she quickly realized there was no point in waiting. Instead, she began talking to herself. ”When I heard this news, I’ve been thrilled ever since. Even though my performance in this year’s New Star Match was subpar and I regret not ranking in the top three, I remembered you had promised to craft a magician-themed item for me. Doesn’t that count as alchemy customization as well?”

”I didn’t rank in the top three and yet I get rewards meant for the top three. How could I not be excited?”

After finishing her speech, Sharley maintained a complex expression that balanced gratitude, flattery, and excitement. Angel gave her an assessing look, somewhat impressed by her layered display of emotions.

By now, Angel understood Sharley’s intentions: she was fishing for information about the alchemy projects. However, he chose not to indulge her curiosity, preferring to see how Sharley would proceed with her solo performance.

Seeing Angel remaining silent, Sharley did not grow discouraged. She pressed on, ”Master, since the alchemy preferences of the top three candidates have already been submitted, I was wondering if I should present my own ’preferences’ to you as well? Or... have you already completed the refinement?”

As Sharley spoke about her ’preferences,’ she subtly emphasized the curves of her chest, partially obscured by her magician’s uniform, using a suggestive tone. However, her real intention was to surreptitiously entice Angel into loosening his lips.

This time, Angel finally granted her wish by speaking, although it wasn’t inspired by Sharley’s antics. Instead, the reason was more straightforward—they had already stepped out of the manor, arriving at the courtyard where Greya was waiting nearby.

”I haven’t started refining it yet, but I don’t go back on my promises. That being said, your talent ability has to genuinely benefit Toby.” Pausing briefly, Angel added, ”Moreover, you needn’t showcase your ’preferences’ to me; I already have a detailed plan in mind.”

Even though Angel didn’t disclose specific details about the refinement, this was far from a complete rejection. Sharley shrugged, following Angel closely as they approached Greya.

Upon seeing Angel, Greya handed him an unopened special letter. ”Sharley likely informed you about this—Melisa brought this over.”

Angel nodded, taking the letter and storing it in his bracelet without opening it. ”Did Melisa mention anything else?”

Greya responded, ”She just asked you to contact Antonio when you have time. He’ll fill you in on the details.”

After finishing her message about Melisa, Greya’s curiosity came forth. ”By the way, I’m quite intrigued. These past few days, you’ve been secluded in the laboratory without saying a word—what were you working on?”

Sharley’s curiosity was similarly piqued. Earlier, she had assumed Angel might be crafting her exclusive item... but unfortunately, Angel had already denied that theory.

Angel answered, ”Refining the platform to carry ’Destiny’s Boiling Tune.’

Greya froze momentarily, surprised that Angel had started refining it so soon. She had thought he’d first go searching for the Demon Flower Sprite Demon Bloodstone... Wait, Greya suddenly realized something. If Angel had already begun refining the Mana-bearing Array platform, did that mean, ”You’ve acquired the Demon Flower Sprite Demon Bloodstone?”

Angel nodded. ”Yes, the quantity is satisfactory—it’s enough to support Sharley using ’Destiny’s Boiling Tune’ approximately a hundred times.”

”I’ve been asking around for the whereabouts of Demon Flower Sprite Demon Bloodstone these past days, yet I hadn’t expected you’d act so swiftly.” Greya made an admiring remark while growing increasingly curious. ”And the platform for carrying ’Destiny’s Boiling Tune,’ have you successfully refined it as well?”

Angel didn’t respond verbally. Instead, he retrieved an item from his bracelet.

It was a palm-sized crystal disk, which, at first glance, resembled a glass vessel. Upon closer inspection, however, one would notice the disk lacked any concave area for holding liquid—making it more akin to a jade bi-disc than an ordinary container.

The crystal disk was unadorned, appearing plain at first. However, when tilted slightly, faint silver patterns could be discerned within the disk, shimmering like molten mercury under sunlight.