A Wizard’s Secret

In a spacious room, the heavy breathing gradually calmed down. Merlin caressed Laurinka’s back gently as he looked at her curled up in his arm like a kitten. Merlin calmly said, “Laurinka, follow me to Dark Magic Region. You don’t have to be in the clan and spend another day feeling helpless and lonely.”

Merlin could tell from the state of Laurinka’s room and the attitude of the people around her that she did not have a smooth life in the clan. Just like what Laurinka had said before, being expelled from Dark Magic Region had deemed her as someone without potential. The clan would no longer provide her with resources. Her life would become less comparable to those of roaming Wizards.

Seeing the reality as it was, what Laurinka had said was not, in any way, exaggerating at all.

Laurinka nodded obediently and said softly. “Sure, but I still need to explain to my father about the situation before going back to Dark Magic Region. No matter what, I’m a part of Shadison clan.”

Merlin nodded. Then, he thought of the tight security in Shadison clan. Many Spell Casters seemed to be hiding around the manor and the atmosphere was rather heavy.

“Laurinka, what’s going on? There are so many Spell Casters hiding in the Shadison clan.”

Merlin asked Laurinka inquisitively.

Meanwhile, Laurinka’s expression stiffened at the mention of this. Then, she lied close to Merlin as she explained to him. “This matter is not a secret in Tolle City anymore. A month ago, our clan found a treasure incidentally.”

“Treasure?”

“That’s right. Treasure. It’s a legend that has been passed down since the age of Molta Empire, the first volume of the Neverending Book!”

After Laurinka said it, Merlin immediately recalled some information regarding the Neverending Book. He was no longer the rookie who had just stepped into Dark Magic Region; he naturally knew a little about the infamous treasure, Neverending Book.

The legend of Neverending Book had been passed down since the age of Molta Empire. Any ordinary Spell Caster would know about it, but its appearance in real life had truly shocked many people.

“It’s only the first volume of the Neverending Book that records some First-level to Third-level spells. Not many Wizards from Spell Caster organizations would be interested in it.”

Merlin knew that the first volume of Neverending Book only contained First-level to Third-level spells; it did not interest him at all. He only found it unusual for such a legendary object to exist.

Many Spell Caster organizations possessed all sorts of spells, Alchemy and Runology; it was rather easy to obtain the spells within the first volume.

Laurinka shook her head slightly. “The Wizards in Spell Caster organizations are very proud in their trade; naturally they would not be interested in the first volume of the Neverending Book. Maybe the second volume may intrigue them, but that doesn’t mean other Spell Casters would not be interested as well. In Tolle City, the Doret clan, another Spell Caster clan, has wanted the Neverending Book for a long time.”

“There are other roaming Wizards vying for it as well. They are interested in the spells recorded in the first volume. The higher ups of the clan know about the risk in this. If they don’t respond to the people soon, the Doret clan will possibly gather the roaming Wizards and harm our clan.”

Merlin nodded knowingly. Shadison clan had too little of influence. The strongest of all was at most a Fourth-level Spell Caster. Their overall ability was only slightly more powerful than the Delman clan of Floating City.

Shadison clan was carrying an immense burden right now. It was no wonder the Shadison Manor was so strictly guarded now.

Laurinka continued on. “The higher ups know that they can’t keep the first volume no matter what in this situation. But they didn’t want to give in to Dorets’ threats, so they plan to publicly disclose the first volume to all Spell Casters who come to Tolle City in two days time!”

“Publicly disclose the Neverending Book?”

Merlin was surprised. However, when he thought about it carefully, he agreed on their decision and this was the best solution to the situation. This way, the Doret clan would have no way to force the Shadison clan to hand over the Neverending Book. Additionally, publicly disclosing it would also shut down the Doret clan’s scheme to gather the roaming Wizards.

This was killing two birds with one stone except that the spells of the Neverending Book would no longer be the Shadison clan’s personal possession. This would definitely have a certain effect on the Shadison clan.

However, as compared to the potential crisis of the clan’s destruction due to pocketing the Neverending Book, such a loss was nothing significant.

After understanding the whole situation, Merlin also understood why Tolle City was bustling with people. Many Spell Casters were rushing to Tolle City because of this. During his journey here, he had met the siblings who seemed to be rushing to Tolle City because of some matters. It might have just been related to the Neverending Book.

Merlin was simply curious about the Neverending Book. As for the First-level to Third-level spells, Merlin was not attracted to them since he had a lot of contribution points in Dark Magic Region. He was capable of exchanging for any spells, ranging from First-level to Sixth-level spells. Thus, the spells contained in the Neverending Book did not attract Merlin at all.

“Laurinka, tell your clan now and follow me to Dark Magic Region!”

Merlin said in a low voice. He did not want to stay outside for too long; he would have preferred to return to Dark Magic Region as soon as possible. As he accumulated his Mind Power slowly in the Bell Space, his Mind Power would be sufficient for him to construct a Second-level spell by the time he returned to Dark Magic Region.

Laurinka nodded, then got dressed and left the room. Merlin hesitated for a moment, but still trailed behind Laurinka.

…

“Clan leader, many powerful Spell Casters have appeared in Tolle City these few days, especially those Fourth-level roaming Wizards. They have all begun to show up.”

“That’s right, there are already many Third-level Spell Casters. Now with the Fourth-level Spell Casters, albeit roaming Wizards, the situation has become more terrifying now. These roaming Wizards were able to become Fourth-level Spell Casters. Who knows how difficult that would have been? These people are trouble.”

“Especially the Doret clan. They seem to still be contacting these Third-level and Fourth-level Spell Casters. Clan leader, when we publicly disclose the Neverending Book in two days time, what shall we do if the Doret clan attacks us?”

In a small room, about ten Spell Casters were squeezed into the small space. These Spell Casters all wore a worried look as they reported on the information they had collected.

Rhind appeared calm as he sized up the Spell Casters present in the room. These people were the core forces of the Shadison clan; they were Third-level Spell Casters.

The Shadison clan had obtained the first volume of the Neverending Book recently. This was supposed to be the clan’s chance at succeeding, but the chance had turned into great trouble instead after the information was leaked. Without taking proper care of the issue, the Shadison clan might forever disappear from Tolle City.

In the past month, Wizard Rhind, as the clan leader of Shadison clan, seemed to have aged a lot; he was thinking of possible solutions with all his might every day.

Finally, he came up with the idea to publicly disclose the Neverending Book, so that he could dismantle the Doret clan’s scheme to gather the roaming Wizards and attack Shadison clan.

However, before the Neverending Book was disclosed, all sorts of accidents could appear at any time. During these last days, the whole Shadison clan was stiff with anxiety; they could not afford to let their guard down.

After hearing the reports from these Third-level Spell Casters, Wizard Rhind slowly stood up and calmly announced. “Don’t worry about it. These roaming Wizards are only here because of the reputation of the Neverending Book. In two days, they’ll naturally go away after I disclose the spells contained in the Neverending Book.”

“As for the Doret clan, hmph. We have fought for so many years in Tolle City; we won’t shy away from another fight. If they really do attack us, Shadison clan won’t stand down easily as well. We must be prepared for this, so get ready. In two days, during the disclosure of the Neverending Book, we can’t have anything go wrong. I’ll request for the presence of a Fourth-level Wizard!”

Wizard Rhind had a low voice which calmed people down. Many Spell Casters who were initially agitated gradually calmed down now.

“Alright. It was clan leader Rhind who had obtained the Neverending Book anyway. A Spell Caster in the clan had unintentionally leaked the information, thus largely affecting the clan. Then, it was you who suggested to publicly disclose the Neverending Book to resolve this issue. We’ll listen to everything you say!”

Many Spell Casters seemed to trust Wizard Rhind a lot as they listened to anything Wizard Rhind had suggested.

Wizard Rhind nodded and was satisfied with their reaction. He had a high prestige in the Shadison clan, an almost absolute authority figure. Shadison clan was able to slowly stand against their rival, Doret clan, these past few years because of Rhind’s effort.

“Good. You should proceed with the preparations…”

Before finishing his words, a young Spell Caster walked into the room in a rush. He carefully said to Rhind, “Clan leader, Young Lady Laurinka is here. She said she has some important matters to discuss with you.”

“Laurinka?”

Rhind frowned and recalled for a while. He had many children. To expand the clan, Rhind had married many women and had countless children, many of which were not particularly excellent. He did not even remember their names.

This was very common amongst Spell Caster clans since not every child would possess the Spell Caster Quality. To continue his bloodline, he had to have enough children.

After thinking for a while, Rhind finally recalled Laurinka as she had joined Dark Magic Region before this. She was one of the more excellent Spell Castes in the clan.

However, after Laurinka was expelled from Dark Magic Region, Rhind no longer regarded her as important. After a few years, Rhind could not remember that he had such a daughter anymore.

“Can’t you see I’m discussing something important with the Wizards? What matter does Laurinka have to discuss? I’m not seeing her!”

Rhind’s expression darkened as he responded coldly.

“Clan leader, there seems to be an unfamiliar Spell Caster behind Young Lady Laurinka. He was wearing the robe that is meant for an official member of Dark Magic Region!”

This Spell Caster was also a First-level Spell Caster. He was knowledgeable enough to know about the robes of Dark Magic Region, so he dared to report it to Rhind.

“Official member of Dark Magic Region?”

Rhind’s expression softened a little. After a moment of pause, he replied, “Alright, I’ll meet them. Send Laurinka in.”

Wizard Rhind nodded. He did not care about Laurinka who had no potential any longer, but he must treat the official member of Dark Magic Region properly.