Translator: Leo Editor: Leo
Angele acquired a lot of information about rare resources through the Dark Wizard Tower’s intel system in the recent years. He was only interested in the resources that would help him progress, but the main problems were the danger levels and the distance. Without Hikari’s letter, he would not notice that there was a decent treasure ruin around a small city like the air transportation city.
‘However, the Iverson ruin is known for its enormous size and it’s different from the other ones I’ve visited. The half-body lizard will aid any wizard under rank 4 greatly. If Dark Wizard Tower has the intel, the other organizations might’ve already found out about it as well.’
Angele’s expression changed, he was pondering if he should join the team.
Angele spent many years to stabilize his mentality and learn level 2 spells, nothing really changed. Advancing to rank 2 and rank 3 was relatively easy when compared to rank 4, but his body might suffer permanent damage if he failed. That was the reason why wizards would try to advance to the next rank only when they were fully prepared, even with the advanced meditation techniques.
It seemed like Hikari acquired the information related to the treasure and wanted to test her luck, but exploring the ruins was extremely dangerous. The danger level of the ruins was 3 but anything could happen when there were so many wizards going for the treasure.
Angele’s last several visits to the ruins did not end well. Most of the members in his teams were killed during the exploration.
The wizards in the central continent were different from the wizards on the west coast, they had clear goals and progressing with the advanced meditation techniques would be a much better choice than risking their lives in the dangerous ruins.
Only the wizards that enjoyed adventures or did not have access to complete copies of advanced meditation techniques would explore the treasure ruins.
The Elemental Hand already recognized the relationship between Vivian and Angele; he doubted if Vivian would trust Henn’s words if she somehow told Vivian about the truth.
The half-body lizard was nearly impossible to find under normal circumstances and it could help Angele during the meditation. He could ask the wizards in the organization to explore the ruins for him as he did not want to risk his life.
Also, it would take him a while to travel to the air transportation city from the mansion.
However, Angele missed Hikari and his other friends. He decided to attend the meeting first and decide if he wanted to join the exploration team later.
He rubbed the ring again and the words on the table disappeared as the light screen faded away.
Lyn!
Yes, master.
A young girl with a black ponytail stepped out of a bedroom on the first floor. There were several drops of ink on her sleeves and it seemed like she was writing something down when Angele called her name.
I’ll be leaving the mansion in several days.
Angele stood up.
Make sure you’re fully prepared as I might need you to aid me during battles.
Understood.
Lyn followed Angele’s order without any hesitation. Angele liked her a lot just for her obedience. He gifted the girl a lot of resources and enchanted items as rewards for what she did for him.
The girl did not age at all after ten years, just like other wizards—they had so many ways to make sure that their appearances did not change.
Should I inform master Vivian about it?
she sent the words through energy particles.
It’s fine. We’ll be back before she notices and you’ll protect me, right?
Angele responded.
Lyn was one of the strongest rank 2 wizards he had ever met and that was the reason why Vivian sent her to Angele as a bodyguard.
Understood.
Vivian, Lyn, and the Black Earth all knew that Angele was carrying an item that would save him from the worst dangers. Also, there was no reason for him to tell Vivian about every decision he made.
Alright, go prepare now.
Yes, master.
The air transportation city.
The sun was setting and the city was quiet.
There was a white carriage with silver vine engraved on its body parked outside the gray walls of the humongous arena in the center of the city.
The door of the carriage was opened—inside it was a girl with long black hair. The girl had a pretty face and elegant bearing. There was a silver scale embraided on the chest of her long white robe.
The coachman was a muscular man in gray armor. Currently, he was taking a nap on the seat.
There were several pedestrians passing by on the street, most of them were wearing thick coats.
The light from setting sun did not bring warmth to the land.
Time flew.
The woman in the carriage was looking at the street silently.
Finally, a smile slowly appeared on her face as a tall man in a black cloak walked toward the carriage from the street. The man stopped in front of the carriage and jumped onto it quickly.
Nothing changed, Stigma, nothing changed.
The woman smiled.
Yeah, Hikari, nothing changed.
The man took off his hood, revealing a pale face. The color of his hair and pupils changed from black to dark purple, but it was hard to notice.
Where are they?
Stigma questioned in a low voice.
I don’t know if they’ll meet with us here. Although we’ve been still exchanging information with each other throughout all those years, no one is talking about their progression due to the restrictions set by the organizations. I’m not sure what they were doing recently,
Hikari explained,
How are you doing in your family?
I’m doing well. Believe or not, my sister and my mother still think that I’m a rank 3 apprentice. However, the situation is getting worse and worse in recent years. If everyone comes this time, I want you to help me solve my problem. It won’t be too much trouble.
Stigma went straight to the point, he had nothing to hide.
It’ll be an easy task I presume.
Hikari was a bit surprised.
Yeah. A very easy task.
Stigma chuckled.
Sounds good.
Reyline joined the wizard’s guild and Green joined the Elemental Hand. That’s all I know. It takes months for the messages sent using the signal obelisks to be delivered. I don’t even know if they read my message.
Hikari sighed.
I hope they all come. I prepared a special gift for everyone.
Stigma looked at Hikari.
Well, I told them what you said in the message. Don’t disappoint us.
Hikari shook her head slightly.
Come on, I’ll never lie to my friends, and we’re all from the west coast.
They chatted for a while in the carriage.
Let’s head to that coffee shop and wait for them there,
Hikari advised.
Sure.
The coachman just woke up and heard the words. The carriage started slowly advancing and headed to the opposite side of the arena.
The carriage went down the empty street and arrived at the coffee shop; it was the location where they had their last meeting.
The brown sign of the shop was shaking in the chilling wind. The name of the shop was written on it: Snow Mountain Coffee Shop.
Stigma and Hikari jumped off the carriage. They stepped into the shop after the carriage left.
There were not many people buying drinks. There was a middle-aged chubby woman standing behind the counter—she was still a pretty girl when they last met in the shop.
There were several pretty girls standing beside the counter. They were wearing tight white pants that looked like washed jeans and their legs looked quite attractive in those pants. It was cold outside, but their outfits were still quite revealing.
Most of the customers were here just for those pretty girls.
So many years have passed. She was still a young girl the last time we met.
Hikari sighed with mixed emotions.
Yeah, I know what you mean. It feels like we’re trapped in time.
Stigma nodded slightly.
Let’s find an empty table.
Well, most of the tables are empty.
They walked to the corner and tried to find the table they sat at the last time, but it was already taken by a bald man wearing a black leather suit. He was having a conversation with a waitress.
PA
You. Take the coin and walk away. We want this table.
Hikari dropped a gold coin on the table.
The bald man hesitated for a second and glared at the two strangers. He quickly checked if it was a real gold coin.
It’s yours.
The man looked excited. He stood up quickly and dragged the waitress to another table.
The two strangers’ interaction with the bald man attracted the other customers’ attention.
The middle-aged woman behind the counter was a bit confused. The two strangers looked a bit familiar to her.
The atmosphere in the shop was getting heavy. The customers knew that the two strangers were wizards and most of them were short-tempered. Wizards would just kill those who offended them without any hesitation. Some of the bandits and violent people from the canyon would also wear long robes. The citizens would never try to mess with people like that.
Several minutes later, the customers paid their bills and left the shop. Only the waitresses and the middle-aged woman were still in the shop.
The sun disappeared on the horizon and night fell.
The door of the shop was pushed open again as Stigma was still chatting with Hikari.
A young man with long brown hair slowly stepped into the shop. He was wearing a black suit with a dark red armband on the right arm. There was a mysterious silver glint on his skin. A beautiful girl with a black ponytail was following behind him—she was also wearing a black outfit.
Green, I thought you were not coming.
Stigma stood up and looked at the man beside the door.
Long time no see. I’m just here to meet my old friends.
There was a gentle smile on Angele’s face.
