Abel bowed to Hoover, “I’m so sorry, Master Hoover. You have done so much for me today.”
Hoover replied with a bow of his own, “No worries, Abel. Anything for a brother in the Blacksmith Union. Besides, if I couldn’t stop Cliff back there, then no one would feel safe to be a member of our association.”
“Wait, you are Abel?” Wizard Cliff widened his eyes as he saw the young man who was also a master blacksmith.
Abel said after switching glances with Morton and Hoover, “Yes, Wizard Cliff. If you really think that I’m the one responsible for the Keyen Magic Tower Incident, then I’m not going to waste my time arguing with you. I don’t want to let other people get hurt because of me.”
Wizard Cliff said with a sense of admiration, “Oh? Are you saying that you’re coming with me, then?”
“Master Abel!” Hoover called out.
“Abel!” Wizard Morton frowned.
Abel said calmly, “About that, Wizard Cliff. As you have found out just then, if you take me with you now, the entire Blacksmith Union will be after your head.”
“So how about this? Give me a day to run in whatever direction I want. After that, I promise you that no one will stop you from capturing me.”
“Half a day,” said Wizard Cliff after thinking for a while, “I’m only giving you half a day, got that?”
By this point, all the teleportation circles in this duchy had denied access to Abel. He probably wasn’t going anywhere, but Wizard Cliff wasn’t quite sure yet. After all, this weak-looking boy has never lost anyone before. Nothing good has ever happened to those who challenged him. That’s not something that could be explained as “luck.”
And that’s why Wizard Cliff gave him half a day. No matter what Abel could do in half of a day, he could be hunted down with an “instantaneous movement” spell. Besides, the Wizard Unions had eyes and ears everywhere. As far as most people saw it, there’s only one outcome that’s waiting for this young man.
“Su-sure, Wizard Cliff. Half a day it is,” Abel replied whilst pretending to be a little worried. On the inside, though, he was very happy with the amount of time he’s given. As long as he could fly away with White Cloud, no one was able to go after him.
While the two were negotiating with each other, Hoover tried to observe the expression on Abel’s face. Because of how determined Abel appeared to be, he decided that he wasn’t going to stop this deal.
“Are you sure about this, Abel?” Wizard Morton asked.
Abel replied with a relaxed smile on his face, “I’m given a chance now, sir. Don’t worry about it. I’ll remember to send you letters when I’m away.”
“Okay, sure. As long as you’ve made up your mind, but before you leave, I have something that I want to give you.”
Wizard Morton continued as he took out two sheepskin books from his portal bag, “Here, I’ve got you some books that you’ll need to study. You are learning way too fast, so I’ve prepared you some extra “textbooks” in advance.”
Instead of looking through the books, Abel said softly to Wizard Morton, “I’ve got you some wine, sir. When I leave, go check the cellar in my mansion.”
Wizard Morton tapped Abel on his shoulder. Even in a time like this, this student of his still remembered his promise.
Abel said to Morton, “Please release Black Wind now, sir. I have to go now!”
Having heard Abel’s request, Wizard Morton disappeared from the scene. Not for long, though. After a while, he re-appeared to the same spot with Black Wind on his side.
“Black Wind!” Abel called out as he jumped on top of Black Wind, “Let’s go!”
Wizard Cliff looked kind of tense at the start, but his eyes were clearly starting to loosen up. No matter how fast a mount wolf could run, it was never going to run out of his reach if it couldn’t use the teleportation circle.
Suddenly, Abel turned his head around and asked Wizard Cliff, “Master Cliff! Is your magic tower located inside the Kingdom of St. Ellis?”
The three men who heard Abel say this all had their own reaction. On the one hand, Wizard Morton wanted to hold back his smile because of his disciple’s bold question. On the other hand, Hoover was drowning in his own thoughts as he switched his glance from Abel to Wizard Cliff.
For Wizard Cliff, his face was starting to pale. While Abel was the scapegoat that’s been set up to be held responsible for the Keyen Magic Tower incident, what if, and this was never thought of before, what if this young man here, this young, innocent-looking master blacksmith here, what if he was actually the real culprit?
Wizard Cliff felt like changing his mind now. Instead of doing what he promised, he felt like shooting down this potential terrorist right here. Sure, that sounded much better than to give him the chance to have his revenge.
While Wizard Cliff was struggling to make a decision, Abel was already starting to sense the murderous intent that was coming after him.
“Full speed, Black Wind!”.
Since Black Wind could feel how agitated Abel was being, instead of running on the big, open road, it decided to jump off the mountain hill and move between different trees and slopes. Soon, they were completely gone from the sight of others.
“What a fine mount that is!” Hoover complimented. Unlike the two wizards that were standing beside him, he understood how rare it was that a mount wolf could be so powerful and flexible at the same time. What the case was, he knew that Black Wind wasn’t just any ordinary mount wolf.
That being said, most of Hoover’s attention was on what Abel has just said. If Abel was the one who invented a device that could blow up a mountain, even if it was just him who had access to this technology, the entire Blacksmith Union would still gain a whole new level of recognition.
While Hoover was still thinking to himself, Abel was already at the road that was below the mountain. He was going straight for the castle gate. When the guards saw Black Wind from over the distance, they quickly opened up the gate and let him go through.
There were some noblemen who saw this. Yet, just when they were about to make a comment about how preposterous this “wolf-riding person” was being, they were quickly silenced by the sight of the fearful looks on the guards’ faces.
And now, he was here. After arriving at the Triumph Boulevard mansion, Black Wind didn’t even bother going through the front gate. Instead, it just jumped over the fence, which made the guards very panicked.
When Ken was about to go to the yard to see what was going on, he could see that Abel was telling the guards to back away.
Despite realizing the solemn look on his master’s face, Ken decided to ask, “What happened, master?”
“I don’t have a lot of time, Ken. Have you finished the business in Bakong City?”
“Yes, master! It’s all ready now!”
“Good. I want you to drop everything that you’re doing in Bakong City. After that, bring ten black-armored warriors to the Harry Castle. Remember, do it as quickly as you can. When you’re at the Harry Castle, tell Uncle Marshall that I’ll be gone for at least two months.”
“That’s if I’m lucky, though. It might take me an extra few years, but tell him not to worry about me. Also, if he needs some assistance, tell him to visit the Morton Magic Tower.”
“What happened, Master?” Ken asked nervously.
“Nothing big, really. I’ve pissed off a wizard, and now I have to go out to hide for a while. Let me make this clear, Ken: You don’t worry about my family and friends because of this. With my teacher on my side, no one is going to be involved or harmed in any way.
Abel continued as he remembered something, “Also, ah damn- I won’t be there for Zach’s wedding. Here, take this magic armor and weapon. Apologize to my father for me, and remember to explain what happened to Zach when you see him.”
With a wave of his hand, Abel revealed a magic armor and an ice magic sword from his portal bag. He has prepared them for a while already. If it wasn’t for Cliff, he was going to give them to Zach at the wedding himself.
“Understood, sir!” Ken complied with a bow. For all the time he’s served under Abel, he knew that the situation was definitely direr than how it was described to be.
One thing was certain to Ken. While he wasn’t exactly an expert on wizards, he knew how famous Abel’s teacher was. After all, he was a huge figure in the Duchy of Carmel.
Abel commanded, “Bring the ten black-armored warriors to me. I need to send them my orders.”
After leaving a while, Ken returned with the men that Abel requested.