A Wizard’s Secret

The snowfield stretched as far as the eye could see. The pure white blanket of snow weighed upon the branches, making them crooked. Moreover, a fresh drift of snow was still fluttering from the sky, bringing a chilly wind that cut to the bone.

Nonetheless, even on such a cold snowfield, a horse carriage was slowly making its way through the forest, leaving two deep track lines in the ground.

The coachman, Old Quincy, had a face full of wrinkles and was wearing a fur overcoat that was lined with thick, shaggy cotton. Nevertheless, he was still shivering in the chilly wind.

Old Quincy was shivering but he still urged the horse on, passing the undergrowth. He turned back to look within the carriage but his sight was obstructed by a curtain and he could not see inside.

However, Old Quincy knew clearly that the passenger within was a mysterious Spell Caster!

This was Subzero Snowfield, which was chilly all year round. There were few Normies who lived in Subzero Snowfield, and Old Quincy was one of them. Old Quincy made his living by driving the carriage.

Having lived in Subzero Snowfield for most of his life, Old Quincy was very familiar with the place, and he knew almost every corner. A few decades ago, when he was very young, Old Quincy learned that there lived a group of mysterious people who called themselves Spell Casters in Subzero Snowfield. They possessed strange and unfathomable powers.

Thereafter, the Spell Casters of Subzero Snowfield suddenly grew in number, and they had established Frost City. This was an enormous city entirely founded by the mysterious Spell Casters, and Old Quincy had been there before.

A few days ago, Old Quincy had met this enigmatic black-robed passenger on the roads, who had casually tossed ten glittering elemental crystal stones at him, saying that he wanted to go to Frost City. He asked Old Quincy to show him the way.

Naturally, Old Quincy was overjoyed. Perhaps Normies would not know the purpose of elemental crystal stones, but Old Quincy, having been to Frost City, knew that each elemental crystal stone could be exchange for many gold coins in Frost City.

Even if one could not exchange them for gold coins, one could obtain precious treasures not to be found in the outside world. Any of these treasures would fetch an inconceivable sum in the outside world.

However, Old Quincy had taxied many passengers, a few of which were Spell Casters too but they had all used gold coins. It was the first time Old Quincy had met someone like this mysterious passenger who immediately took out ten elemental crystal stones.

Therefore, even though Old Quincy knew that hastening on this journey in such extreme weather would be dangerous, he could not care about that for the sake of the elemental crystal stones. If this journey was a success, he would be able to return, no longer needing to toil away in Subzero Snowfield.

“Hoo…”

A gust of cold wind, carrying sleet and snow, battered Old Quincy. Old Quincy forced his head up and saw that there was an open space before him. On his left, there was a river that stretched into the horizon.

Currently, the river had formed a thick layer of ice crystals long ago.

“What river is this?”

A deep voice came suddenly, and Old Quincy’s heart jumped. He hurriedly turned around and saw that it was the mysterious passenger in the carriage, who had pulled the curtain aside as he stared at the frozen river.

Old Quincy smiled as he replied, “This is the Triad River of Subzero Snowfield. The layer of ice on the river would only melt for eighteen days in the summer. Other than those eighteen days, it’s frozen over in a thick layer of ice.”

“The Triad River? How far are we from Frost City?”

The enigmatic passenger asked softly.

Old Quincy thought about it for a moment, then carefully answered, “If the weather is good, we can reach in a day but with weather like this, we’ll still need two days.”

“Two days?”

The mysterious passenger furrowed his brow, and Old Quincy felt an unpleasant jolt, knowing that his customer was not satisfied. Therefore, he glanced at the wide, frozen surface, and clenched his jaw. “If you’re not afraid of danger, then going across the ice would only take us half a day to reach Frost City.”

“Going across the ice would only need half a day? So what danger is there in doing so?”

“The ice is thick enough so there’s no worry of falling in. It’s just that, according to some stories, there’s a powerful monster living below the frozen ice. If we encounter this monster, we’ll be in danger.”

Old Quincy gazed at the solid ice layer. He still had some misgivings about the fabled monster.

The enigmatic passenger laughed, and said in a breezy manner, “Then let’s go across the ice and reach Frost City earlier. What monster can there be here?”

“Alright, since you agree, we’ll go across the frozen river.”

Old Quincy wished to reach Frost City as soon as possible in order to exchange those elemental crystal stones for gold coins. From then on, he would not have to drive around in such a dangerous place as Subzero Snowfield.

With that, Old Quincy made a few simple changes to the carriage’s furnishing to ensure its ability to travel across the slippery ice. Then, he gradually changed direction, and headed toward the frozen ice.

“Clip-clop clip-clop.”

A rhythmic beat rang out as the horse’s hooves clipped across the ice.

In the carriage, a black-robed man shut his eyes tightly. His hand clutched a white bead that was glowing with white light, appearing extraordinary and mysterious.

“Phew…”

After an unknown period of time, the black-robed man awoke, wearing an exhausted expression. He looked down at the white bead in his hand, following which he said helplessly, “I’ve been carrying out simulations in the Illusory World for so long but I’m still not assured enough.”

This black-robed man was Merlin who had returned to the Glorious Land.

Upon his return, he found himself in a land of extreme cold. After some inquiries, he learned that it was Subzero Snowfield. In the past, he had stayed in Subzero Snowfield for some time, and finally, he learned from his inquiries that Frost City was established in Subzero Snowfield. It seemed that it was founded by an external faction called the Dark Magic Region.

Therefore, Merlin had flagged down Old Quincy’s carriage on his way, ready to hurry to Frost City.

All this while, Merlin had not been relaxing. Instead, he was simulating spell fusions in the Illusory World but he had discovered that fusing Darkness-type spells or Thunder-type spells was very difficult.

Even after he had been simulating for a long while in the Illusory World, he was still not assured of success. Thus, Merlin dared not attempt to fuse the Spell Models.

Pulling aside the curtain, Merlin stared at the white expanse of ice, and familiar memories sprang up in his mind.

…

After an unknown amount of time, Merlin was suddenly awakened by a bump.

“What’s going on?”

Merlin frowned, and threw the curtain aside, questioning Old Quincy.

Old Quincy’s face was presently drained, and he was trying to stop the carriage with all his might.

“In front… There’s a crack in front. We must leave quickly!”

Old Quincy explained loudly. Cracks were forming over the ice. This was rather similar to avalanches and the like – it was nature’s most fearsome power.

“Those aren’t natural cracks!”

Merlin narrowed his eyes. He sensed that below the thick ice layer, there was a formidable life force gradually awakening. After this force was aroused, the splits in the ice grew in number like a spiderweb.

“Boom.”

Finally, a massive head thrust out from beneath the ice, and a ferocious force swept all around. The surface of the ice shattered instantly.

“It’s the monster, the fabled monster beneath the river. We’re goners for sure this time…”

Old Quincy was so frightened that he was shaking uncontrollably. He had met the fabled monster of the frozen river. Just the massive head alone caused him so much despair.

A strange look flashed across Merlin’s eyes. He glanced at Old Quincy, and immediately flew out of the carriage. With a gentle lift of his hand, a powerful gale carried Old Quincy and his carriage back to the riverbank.

“Crack.”

Finally, the layer of ice was smashed completely. Two other heads popped out from below the icy river. It was a frightening monster who had three ugly heads with two colossal wings on its back.

The three-headed monster exuded a tremendous force. As it roared furiously, the violent soundwaves caused more cracks in the distant ice. Thereafter, it opened its mouth and spat a storm filled with sleet that whistled as it approached.

“That’s something. Its life force is comparable to a Great Wizard!”

As he watched the storm, Merlin pressed forward gently with his hand, and the spells in his hand quickly transformed into a gigantic palm. The massive storm spat by the three-headed monster was immediately crushed to bits by Merlin’s palm.

Powers on par with a Great Wizard was nothing much to Merlin who had the Four-Elemental Wizard Heart. The disparity was too great.

Nonetheless, Merlin was highly interested in this three-headed monster. The Glorious Land could not compare to the Void Zone. In the Void Zone, there were too many foreign civilizations, and monsters on par with mere Great Wizards were a dime a dozen.

However, in the Glorious Land, Great Wizards were essentially the preeminent strength. This monster must practically be an overlord-grade existence in the Subzero Snowfield.

“Flap.”

Soo enough, the three-headed monster’s great wings extended, and it flew to the sky. The three heads glared unwaveringly at Merlin as if disgruntled that Merlin dared to provoke it.

“Swish.”

The three-headed monster flapped its wings, following which it sped toward Merlin like the wind. Its claws obviously contained terrifying strength that was comparable to the Giant Tribe.

Merlin’s face turned icy, and the spell in his hand swiftly transformed into countless pikes of flame. They hovered in the air, aimed at the three-headed monster. His Four-Elemental Wizard Heart was capable of innumerable transformations now, and casting spells was of unprecedented convenience.

More importantly, Merlin’s Four-Elemental Wizard Heart was too powerful, even comparable to a Great Legend with two Maxims. The three-headed monster would die in one blow.

“Merlin, don’t be so hasty to kill it! This monster has powerful strength but its willpower is flimsy. If you want to learn the state of the Illusory Heart, you can try to control it, and use it to do so.”

Titus’ voice rang in Merlin’s ear, causing a slight falter in Merlin’s movements.

“Control this monster? Learn the Illusory Heart?”

Merlin’s Hallucinating spell had reached the third stage yet he was ultimately unable to approach the realm of the Illusory Heart. He only knew that the Illusory Heart mainly targeted one’s spirit, and could even control an opponent without any trace nor sound. It was fearsome indeed.

“Alright, I’ll listen to you and give it a go!”

Merlin nodded, following which he waved his hand. Those pikes of flame instantly turned into a fiery red net which was cast over the three-headed monster.