Warlock Apprentice

The disappearance of Si Man, within this Wizard World teetering on the edge of disorder, truly doesn’t count as a major event. Moreover, Angel and Si Man aren’t particularly close, so he had no reason, nor desire, to get involved.

However, since Helen seemed so concerned about Si Man, relaying a message to the Enforcement Squad for her wouldn’t hurt.

Helen’s eyes lit up upon hearing Angel’s words.

In the eyes of the Enforcement Squad, Si Man’s disappearance was definitely not a big deal—after all, she wasn’t anyone important. Even if she was abducted right in Sky Mechanical City, it likely wouldn’t stir up much of a commotion, let alone nearby the city.

But if Angel were to speak on the matter, using his status as someone from the Research and Development Institute to notify the Enforcement Squad, they would undoubtedly take it seriously.

With the help of the Enforcement Squad, perhaps there would be news of Si Man!

Thinking of this, Helen eagerly nodded to Angel and proceeded to recount everything that happened that day in full detail.

Time shifted back to half a month ago—

Just as Xiao Liu had said, that day Si Man unusually didn’t go to the Endless Corridor but instead expressed the desire to accompany Helen on a casual outing.

At the time, their trip was genuinely nothing more than aimless wandering. After all, Sky Mechanical City was the first enormous Extraordinary City Helen had ever seen after stepping into the Wizard World. During the New Star Tournament, Helen barely had time to explore, but now, with Si Man accompanying her, she naturally carried a sense of intense curiosity while exploring the city.

After a whirlwind tour of half the metropolis, Si Man seemingly concluded there wasn’t much of interest in the overwhelming metallic fortress-like structures and proposed visiting other cities in Yirong Country.

Helen readily agreed, but she hadn’t expected their outing to take a sudden turn.

Three hundred kilometers north of Sky Mechanical City, they encountered a strange group—a group that abruptly emerged from a crack in the Void, traveling inside bizarre spindle-shaped vehicles.

At the time, they deliberately avoided them, but unexpectedly, the spindle-shaped vehicle stopped right in front of them. The people inside disembarked and blocked their path.

This odd group appeared to converse briefly among themselves before finally fixing their gaze on Si Man and, without any explanation, abducting her.

”Did they say why they took Si Man?” Angel asked, puzzled.

Helen shook her head, ”No.”

”Could they be Si Man’s enemies?” Xiao Liu asked.

Helen shook her head again, ”No, Si Man said she didn’t know this group of people. Besides, the leader of this group was an Official Wizard—Si Man couldn’t possibly have crossed paths with someone at that level.”

Precisely because the leader was an Official Wizard, the oppressive aura he released overwhelmed Si Man, allowing her to be captured instantly, while Helen herself suffered severe injuries, fainting on the spot.

When Helen regained consciousness, the area was deserted. Forcing herself to endure the pain, she used the flight feather Si Man had given her to return to Sky Mechanical City.

After Helen finished her tale, her gaze still carried layers of complex emotions—anger, helplessness, and grief.

Having listened to the entire story, Angel couldn’t extract any meaningful clues. However, abducting someone for no apparent reason did seem odd.

Angel mulled this over and voiced two of his pressing questions.

First: Who was that Official Wizard?

Regarding this question, Helen—since she hadn’t been in the Wizard World for long—wasn’t familiar with the appearances of many Wizards. However, through Helen’s description, Angel recreated the individual’s likeness using an Illusion Technique.

It was a stern-looking middle-aged man with a square face and a very prominent hooked nose.

After the illusion vividly depicted the person’s appearance, Angel’s gaze flickered with confusion. He didn’t recognize the man at all. Despite having recently supplemented his knowledge extensively—though not to the point of knowing every Official Wizard—he was familiar with prominent figures.

But this man sparked no memories in Angel whatsoever.

Even Xiao Liu, who managed the White Dove Library, was at a loss. As a librarian, Xiao Liu’s daily work involved handling books. Her depth of knowledge might be less than Angel’s, but when it came to recognizing Official Wizards by appearance, she far surpassed him.

Since even Xiao Liu didn’t know him, the individual’s identity remained shrouded in mystery.

Having hit a dead end regarding appearance, Angel posed a second question: What did the spindle-shaped vehicle look like?

While distinguishing appearances wasn’t Angel’s specialty, identifying alchemical tools was something he excelled at.

Once Helen described the spindle-shaped vehicle’s design, Angel seemed to make a connection.

He quickly conjured an illusion of the vehicle’s image, and when Helen confirmed it was accurate, Angel found himself momentarily stunned.

Though Angel had never seen the spindle-shaped flying vehicle before, its activation mechanism was something he was familiar with.

This mechanism had been documented in alchemy books he had found in Nightmare Abyss City, though its application to a spindle-shaped vehicle involved improvements. Still, the essence of the mechanism remained unchanged.

Angel was stunned because this particular mechanism wasn’t prevalent in the Southern Domain. The key material used in this mechanism—Bairen Water—was not produced anywhere in the Southern Domain or its nearby Pan-Dimensional Plane.

This material, along with the specific alchemical mechanism, was commonly found in the Northern Territory Wizard World and the Origin World.

If that were the case, then this group wasn’t from the Southern Domain at all... but rather from the Outer Domain Wizard World?

While Angel was lost in thought, Xiao Liu was conversing with Helen: ”If this group wasn’t an enemy of Si Man’s, could they have a grudge against Shaloo Ridge and targeted Si Man as revenge instead?”

Helen pondered for a moment but shook her head again, ”If they had a grudge against Shaloo Ridge, why wouldn’t they attack me instead? Besides, at the time, we were both dressed in ordinary clothing without any Shaloo Ridge emblems on us.”

Xiao Liu: ”I see... Then, what were they intending by abducting Si Man?”

Emblems? Xiao Liu and Helen’s discussion caught Angel’s attention. He thought for a moment and then asked, ”Did they have any distinctive patterns or insignias on them?”

”Good point!” Xiao Liu’s eyes lit up. Although she didn’t know who the Official Wizard was, identifying their emblem might reveal their origin, allowing them to investigate the corresponding organization or family.

”Distinctive emblems?” Helen fell into deep thought again. However, since the incident happened half a month ago, while she remembered their faces, many other details had faded from her memory.

Just as Helen was struggling to recall, a cooling pulse suddenly flowed into her body, sending a refreshing sensation straight to her mind.

It felt as though cold water had been poured over her amid a scorching summer day—her chaotic thoughts began to align.

Helen looked up and realized it was Angel’s fingertips glowing faintly with shimmering light.

”A small illusion technique to assist you with recalling memories,” Angel explained softly.

Helen understood his intent without speaking further, seizing the moment of clarity to quietly reflect.

Scenes from her memories emerged like a sequence of images. While only their general outlines and appearances remained distinct, much of the details were obscured. Yet, as the cooling sensation permeated her mind, those previously shrouded areas bit by bit became clear. Details she couldn’t remember earlier now came to light.

Helen’s eyes suddenly snapped open—

”I remember!”

”Although the clothes they wore were varied, they all bore a similar emblem!”