Chapter 24: The Cold Reality

Compared to the Old Earth, the Land of Revelation could be considered a “real” continent while the Old Earth was only a remote, marginalized island. The Land of Revelation was still far from Fey Continent when it came to importance, but at least wizards still considered the place worthwhile.

Dove was an exchange student appointed by the Silverheron Royal Wizard Group. He was going to the Tower of Hurricane at the south of Fey Continent to “exchange study”.

At least Dove said those himself.

However, every talent on the ship knew the fact that this Silverheron Royal Wizard Group was merely created by apprentice wizards from the Tower of Hurricane who could not break through into formal wizards after they left their mentors. Thanks to the relationships they previously had in the Tower of Hurricane, they could earn themselves some quota for recommended talents.

The “exchange student” was complete nonsense. An organization with thousands of years of history and groups of formal wizards would exchange students with an apprentice group built by weaklings? Seriously?

Everyone knew, but no one spoke that out, for they would not dare to offend Dove. They were weak, but they were still supernaturals. Rumor said that there was an apprentice in the Silverheron Royal Wizard Group who was very close to a formal wizard. This man returned to the Central Empire in disappointment because he could not find his destiny for a breakthrough.

The relationship, added by Central Empire’s great financial resources, was enough reason for everyone to avoid offending Dove. He might be an arrogant, spoiled playboy, but people around him could only bear with it.

When Dove stepped into the dining hall, conversations quickly quieted down.

Thanks to the sudden silence, Angor heard someone whispering nearby.

“Huh… Did he come alone? Where are his lackeys?”

Dove heard it too. He glared at the speaker with a violent expression and laughed out when he saw his target get back to his meal with a terrified expression.

However, Dove’s arrogance immediately vanished once he left the crowd.

He tried to find his men just now. All rooms were shut. No idea where they went.

“Bastards,” Dove cursed under his breath. Without his servants, he had to fetch his meal on his own.

He was used to his self-ego among talented people. When he heard about the background of The Redbud, he too did not find any trouble with the chefs. Instead, he took his meal carefully and sat somewhere vacant.

Angor only glanced at Dove when he came in and never paid any attention to him again.

Angor was thinking about something though. He was sure he heard the door panel clicking twice when Dove came, but Dove was the only one there.

Maybe he just heard things because he was too tired doing his puzzles?

Thanks to Jon, Angor learned to be sharp about his surroundings. This was not for avoiding trouble, but for capturing details in the environmental reality so he could gain inspiration and opportunity from everything. Simply put, the sharp sense was for refining his own knowledge.

Angor was always confident in his instinct to capture tiny details, but the instinct seemed a bit off today.

Shaking his head, Angor gave up on wondering about the strange matter. It was not his problem, and it was not worth the time.

Angor knew how to enjoy a good meal. He sometimes even lost himself in the process. However, he needed a “good meal” first. What he was having now could only be considered filling. Acceptable, yet not enjoyable. As he ate his fill, Angor’s mind wandered off again to his unsolved calculations.

Someone not far screamed, interrupting Angor’s roaming mind.

“Ahhhrgh! Who the f*ck are you? Show yourself!” A high-pitched male voice pierced the air in the entire dining hall, followed by the noise of shattering plates.

Angor frowned and looked towards the ruckus.

The arrogant third prince from the Central Empire now had stains all over himself. He grasped his neck with one hand. Blood was running between his fingers. He was waving the tablecloth using his other hand, breaking the porcelain dinnerware everywhere.

Dove was baring his teeth at the air like an angered pit bull, to no avail. There was no one around 20 meters of him.

“He’s mad again? Hey wait, he’s bleeding?”

“There’s a knife wound on his neck!”

Someone muttered, “But nobody was there.”

“Don’t tell me the place is haunted!”

All talents in the hall talked, but not a man went there to help Dove. Apart from his terrible temper, people were terrified of the strange situation as well.

“The blood is coming out fast, but not to the extent of gushing out. Maybe a cut vein,” said Angor. He glanced around and spoke to himself, “Even if it’s only a vein, judging from the blood flow, he’ll be dead without aid within the next ten minutes.

“A blade cut, but no one was holding a blade…” Angor looked around Dove without seeing anyone. Then he recalled hearing the second door click just now.

“Interesting.”

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Someone invisible? An apprentice? Or just another talent?

Angor inclined to the latter. An apprentice wizard would not have to do it concealed, and that one hit would have killed Dove.

Dove was still rampaging when Angor measured the situation. As time passed, Dove’s yelling became weaker. He suddenly heard something and grabbed a wine bottle before hurling it against a window southeast of him.

The spilled dark red wine did not hang onto the wooden wall as everyone expected. It stopped in mid-air about five meters in front of the wall.

The wine slowly flowed downward, exposing a red human figure.

“Someone’s over there! He’s invisible!”

A man yelled while pointing to the soaked figure, “Is that a wizard?”

“You can’t be serious. A mighty wizard will never come and assassinate the likes of us in this way. They just need a glance and we’ll die the most painful death,” sneered someone.

“Wait a minute, and we’ll see him,” said one of the talents. He pointed towards the assailant. “Mister Komoen mentioned these spells. There are the Phantom Shift which cloaks people under an illusion, the Dimension Cloak which lets someone hide in another space, and a spell that deceives your eyes using light and shade. The first and second are only available to formal wizards, and there’s only one cantrip that can make you invisible, Optic Confusion.”

Mister Komoen was the guide from the wizard organization, Gravity Forest. He was a Level-2 Apprentice Wizard.

“The caster of Optic Confusion will be exposed if something touches him. Of course, he might be using some kind of alchemy item too. But even Mister Komoen couldn’t easily afford those things.”

When he finished talking, the invisible man soaked in wine already showed up.

Angor looked at him with a raised eyebrow. A young man wearing tattered cloth, and a handsome face, which was now filled with a rebellious emotion.

Angor did not know this man, but his clothing and details in his movement were enough to tell Angor that he was from a poor family.

The poor versus a rich noble.

The man looked at the bleeding Dove with an unyielding delight. He then let out a bloodthirsty grin, satisfied by his revenge.

The once arrogant prince looked at the man with disbelief and hatred. There was also regret behind his angered expression.

“Nice. The story behind these guys is sure to keep Mana talking for a whole year.”

Angor recalled the moment when he heard Head Maid Mana gossiping about the infamous, cheating Waterford noble scum.

Angor shook his head and prepared to leave the dining hall. He did not have time for such outdated plots.

When he stood up, a middle-aged noble lady with silver hair appeared on the scene.

Angor heard about the elegant lady before. She was Lady Merlin, a Level-3 Apprentice Wizard stationed on The Redbud. She was from Tower of Hurricane.

Since Lady Merlin was here, the poor young man’s fate should be clear—wait! What? Angor watched in surprise as Lady Merlin stepped to the center while completely oblivious of the dying Dove lying on the ground. She looked at the young assailant up and down with delight on her face instead.

She waved a hand and all taints on the young man’s body instantly vanished.

“What’s your name?” Lady Merlin asked him.

“Easley, Lady Merlin, ma’am. My name is Easley,” said the young man as he responded politely. He did not say his family name because he did not have one. A family name represented family inheritance. He was an orphan and “Easley” was the name of a hound belonged to a nobleman he once served. To get himself a name, he fought with the hound for his life until he finally snapped the beast’s neck. That was when the noble gave the name “Easley” to him.

“Easley… Good, I’ll remember that. You’re good. You channeled your mana pool very quickly. Maybe your spiritual power talent is beyond 20?” Lady Merlin reached out a hand and put it on Easley’s forehead.

“As I predicted, you were born with a spiritual power of 23. It will help you save much time. You will train ten times faster than ordinary talents. No wonder you can channel your mana so quickly,” said Lady Merlin. She smiled and spoke to the young man, “I only told you the principle of Optic Confusion half a month ago, and you can already cast it. This means you understand the knowledge of light and shadow well. Splendid. Truly splendid!

“Remember, all spells are based on a wizard’s knowledge and mana. They are mutually important. You have stepped into the gate of an apprentice wizard. Move to the top floor from now on.”

With that, Lady Merlin left without looking back.

Dove, on the other hand, was taking his last breath on the ground now. As Lady Merlin’s figure disappeared from the dining hall, Dove’s expression changed from despair to stiffness. No one helped. His body turned cold under everyone’s indifferent gaze.

Easley, the killer, looked at the corpse on the ground. He then grinned and left the room as well.

No one complained. No one stopped him. At least Easley made a difference on this ship and became someone who could dominate over another’s life.

Angor left the hall in silence. Now he truly understood that there was no black and white in the wizarding world. Justice or evil did not mean a thing to them.

The Silverheron Royal Wizard Group belonged to the same organization as Lady Merlin. Even then, Lady Merlin did not care about Dove, not even a glance. This completely explained how cruel wizards could be towards common people.

After this incident, Angor tried even harder to conceal his presence. Without protection, Death’s scythe was constantly placed against his own neck. This was a reality – the uncovered, brutal reality in the world of wizards.