Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Angor checked their distance and went over some calculations in his mind. He then shook his head.
“You know Levitate?” Shadow asked in surprise.
Levitate was only a level-1 cantrip, but it required many years of effort to learn and an even longer time to acquire the necessary knowledge. Wizards didn’t need this cantrip because they could use their superior mana control abilities to fly around without spending much energy.
Shadow was confident in becoming a wizard, so he never tried to learn Levitate. Therefore, he was very surprised to see Angor rejecting his help.
“I can’t fly, but I don’t need that to get over such a small distance.”
With that, Angor did a high jump and cast a spell he already prepared under his feet.
A small tornado pushed him forward, and each time he fell back down, another tornado would boost him up again.
Using three tornadoes and three great leaps, Angor successfully reached the sphere and landed on top of it, nice and sound.
Shadow also arrived shortly after. His beautiful cloak had left a colorful trail behind him, which looked extremely showy.
“That isn’t Levitate, right?” Shadow quickly put his cloak away. “It looks like something to hurt people.” He already felt sharp wind hidden in those tornadoes. It was definitely not used for flying.
“You’re right, but I can totally use it in another way,” Angor admitted.
He learned about this trick when he was studying in Pocratee. It wasn’t difficult, but it asked for quick mental calculations and a proper, spacial environment to use. He had to build the next spell model before crashing, which could be achieved by using his axes of the universe.
“Three tornadoes… Was that one cantrip used three times?” Shadow grew curious again.
“Why does it matter?” Angor glanced his way. “Too many questions, my friend.”
Angor clearly knew that Shadow was trying to figure out whether the tornado was a Quickened spell. No wizard or apprentice would answer such a question which could be used to evaluate their true strength.
Shadow laughed it off and changed the topic. “Let’s move,” he said as he pointed ahead, “the portal should be right there.”
The surface of the sphere wasn’t smooth. There were rises and falls, and Shadow was pointing at the tallest point they could see.
Upon reaching their goal, Shadow looked down at the magic array beneath him. “Yup, we got it here.”
Angor nodded. “Something triggered by magic crystals.”
There was a crystal slot in the center of the array. It seemed they had to spend three crystals to activate it.
“Shall we do it now?” Angor moved ahead.
“Wait up.” Shadow suddenly closed his eyes and said, “Don’t reject me.”
A mind connection visibly left Shadow’s forehead and reached Angor’s, bringing some sharp spirit ripples to him.
“This is… the level-3 cantrip, Spirit Bond,” Angor commented.
“Yes. We better use this to talk once we go invisible.”
Angor nodded and released his own spirit around him. Their different spirits were now connected by the simple bond.
“Ohh, a nice spirit you got there. Flexible and sturdy.” A trail of emotion reached Angor through the bond.
This method of communication was similar to the level-1 cantrip “Spirit Synchronize”, but the caster of Spirit Synchronize could more or less dominate the communication. The caster could invade the spirit of the receiver if he or she wanted to.
Spirit Bond, however, was neutral. They “talked peacefully” through their bond by using pure spirit power.
“Let’s go now,” Angor said. He then fully activated Infinite Reticence which both decreased his visual appearance and presence.
Shadow put on his invisible cloak and slowly disappeared into thin air. Three magic crystals appeared out of nowhere and were put inside the magic crystal.
“Now!” Shadow’s voice came.
Bright light engulfed them both.
When Angor could see again, he found himself standing among lush trees and chirping birds. The smell of fresh grass and flowers was a great contrast to the deathly air outside.
The trees around him looked similar to the woods in Real World. There were also several ruined structures at the edge of the woods, which looked suitable for humans to live in.
“The Krakoks can travel away using their ‘door’, and people from Dark Castle always go to the capital through that plane passageway. This portal array has not been used for a long time. There used to be Krakoks guarding this place but not anymore,” Shadow spoke through their connection; the man’s true location could no longer be sensed.
“I guess the Krakoks felt so safe that they forgot about possible enemies?” Angor commented. It seemed the Krakoks had forgotten about their disaster so soon. Such naive creatures would definitely go extinct without the protection of Dark Castle.
“Yup. Peaceful times kill people quicker than looming troubles,” Shadow said with a chuckle.
“So where do we go? Where’s Gummy and the Krakok brothers?”
“They can’t help us any further because of their discipline, so I asked them to leave us,” Shadow said. He paused for a moment before he continued, “I think we should get away from these trees first.”
There were a good number of buildings around. They each picked somewhere to explore and parted their ways.
But a brief look around didn’t yield any result.
In the end, they simply headed outside the woods. It only took them about an hour to leave the trees, and what they saw next shocked Angor greatly.
The trees prevented them from seeing much a moment ago, but now, they could see a number of floating islands above their heads which were connected together by thick chains.
The interior of the sphere was full of floating islands. Angor couldn’t see the edge of the sphere. There were only islands with rich lands and a habitable environment on them that were scattered in the clear sky.
No wonder the Krakoks enjoyed their lives.
As they observed the islands, they suddenly heard someone singing.
“O the first warrior, he who brought his sword upon the morning garden and found the first rose for the red queen…
“O the second warrior, who hides in the lands of serpents and waits for the next dawn, away from evil humans…
“O the third warrior, who spreads his wings and joined the song of Grand Priest. Together, they waited for the third beloved patron…
“O the fourth warrior…”
Words of a poem-like aria recited by a gentle girl’s voice reached Angor’s ears.
Following the sound, he saw a small girl in a green miniature bubble skirt singing toward the sky while she sat on a small hillock.
“My my my. Here comes our answer.”
Angor felt a wind brushing past him when the singing girl suddenly fainted.
Shadow re-appeared behind a tree while he carried the small human-like figure in his hand.
“First time I see a white-skinned Krakok. She looks pretty! A pity she isn’t blond or blue-eyed,” Shadow said as he poked at the “Thumbelina” playfully.
Before the man could check what was hidden under the girl’s skirt, Angor quickly took the Krakok away.
“Aw, come on. Let a man satisfy his curiosity!” Shadow spoke in a perverted manner while sniffing his finger madly as if he really wanted to keep the smell of the small girl.
Angor didn’t mind his words. With a snap of fingers, his Nightmare Domain was brought out.
Angor walked to a dining table and placed the girl on it.
He then thought about something and took out a box of cream and a glass of milk from his bracelet. With a quick freezing cantrip, he made some iced milk smoothie and left if beside the Krakok girl.
Shadow joined him and inspected the luxurious castle hall around him. “Woah man, you’re part-time pastry chef too? Can I have some of that?”
Shadow took a seat and noticed Angor didn’t answer him. “So good to have a space storage… You can bring anything you like.”
He put a finger on the tableware and realized the illusions looked too real. Before he could ask something else though, the Krakok girl slowly opened her eyes.
“Ummf…”