Throne of Magical Arcana

Night fell rather early in this cold winter. Rentato, the city in the north, was shivering in the freezing cold wind. Every pedestrian walking on the street had pulled up their collars and accelerated their pace.

To them, the biggest difference was that the streets in Rentato now had been lined with bright magic crystal light. In the past, only the busiest streets had arched lamps. At that time, most citizens would walk back home in thick darkness, and the only light source might be the moon, stars, or a dim lantern.

Nasdell got off the last train following the stream and stepped onto the smooth floor of Hexagram Station. Rentato City still had the city gates and walls for the purpose of defense.

Therefore, magic steam trains could not drive into the city after nightfall. After the gate closed, the trains could only stop at the temporary station outside of the city.

Nasdell enjoyed his trip very much. Like the books said, magic steam trains were indeed very fast and comfortable. He exhaled and saw a cluster of white fog rising.

He was wearing a white shirt, a brown sweater, a black top hat, and a double-breasted suit. In his hand, there was also a walking stick. It was a typical Holm dressing style.

His muscles bulged the shirt. Obviously, he was a man of great strength.

Nasdell looked around at the station and felt it a pity that magic steam trains could not drive through the Dark Mountain Range. Maybe Silver Moon Wasteland could be an option.

The Dark Mountain Range was full of dangerous space gaps and magic creatures. Very likely a magic train would never come back once it entered the mountains.

Silver Moon Wasteland was a dimension under the control of werewolves. Unlike what the name suggested, it was a rich and prosperous wasteland. The werewolves insisted the name a few thousand years ago, and the original name had been long forgotten.

There was nothing else special about the station. Nasdell pulled his suit and walked out of the station.

Nasdell felt very proud that Prince Dubenal chose him to be the one who carried out this mission, which required a clear way of thinking and very strong observation skills. His pace was accelerating.

Prince Dubenal was an idol of Nasdell because of his intelligence and strategic talent. Nasdell tried to follow how the prince behaved and thought. Although other princes and vampires often laughed at Dubenal for his recklessness and simple mind, Nasdell never believed them. They did this simply out of jealousy!

As soon as he stepped out of the station, Nasdell’s eyes suddenly lit up by the lamps on the street, as if they were stars shining in the city.

All the lights connected with each other—street lamps, household lamps, car lights, and coach lights. All of them looked so bright and warm. The joint lights were even brighter than the stars in the sky.

In one direction, two high towers rose up from the ground and overlooked the entire Rentato. The two towers were decorated with pure and bright crystal lamps. Nasdell was deeply impressed by the sheer beauty.

Nasdell stood there. The brightness seized his heart. His heart was thudding.

“Your first time here in Rentato? The higher one is Holm Royal Magic Tower, and the lower one is Holm Broadcasting Station and National Council of Electromagnetic Waves…” A passerby took a glance at Nasdell and explained.

A council? Wasn’t that something only existed in the Congress of Magic? Were there even councils higher than the national council? What about the headquarters? Nasdell had lots of questions in his mind, but he did not ask. He felt hurt by the amused look on the passerby’s face.

That was the look staring at a countryman! Nasdell had to control his anger to complete the mission. He had to know more about this city to pretend that this was not his first time here.

He had very strong self-esteem that was rare even among werewolves.

Taking the baggage, Nasdell hired a coach and headed for the busy street.

Passing by a square, Nasdell saw hundreds of people gathering. He was very surprised as it was very cold outside. How could they stand the cold wind?

Nasdell asked the coach to stop, and he got off. Standing on the margin of the square, he saw the huge speakers in the middle of the square. A sweet voice was coming out from the speakers.

“The next part is Body Secret, the part that is loved by everyone! Tonight we’re lucky to have Viscount John Wellesley who is a grand knight and is very experienced in exercising. He’s going to share with us how teenagers should work out when their bodies are not yet fully grown and the best way to work out.”

Nasdell’s eyes lit up. He took out a pile of material and started looking for something.

He was leafing through the booklet while listening to the broadcasting carefully. Finally, a big smile appeared on his face.

That was Arcana Voice! The information was correct!

Nasdell then got very surprised by the viscount’s sharing. What the viscount was saying was how a knight would exercise. Wasn’t that supposed to be a secret?!

He was shocked as this never happened even in the most open-minded Aalto. One would have to become a knight squire first to access such secrets.

Nasdell wondered to himself if the nobles here ever protested this kind of broadcasting, or they were allowing this to confront the Church. But soon, he became totally obsessed with Arcana Voice. He had never experienced such a way of entertainment!

In the Dark Mountain Range, because of the harsh conditions, it was very hard to receive the signal of Arcana Voice.

Nasdell listened to the radio attentively. He was glad that he had this opportunity to listen to Arcana Voice here. Obviously, the radio program was very interesting to him.

After the crowd dispersed, Nasdell sneaked up on the big speaker but found nothing special other than some wires and simple devices.

Following the wires, Nasdell walked around the corner and came to the other side of the wall. He saw that there were over ten strange holes in the wall, three in each group, one above and two below.

Nasdell had a close look at them but could not figure out the usage of the holes. He wanted to ask someone, but he did not want to be looked down upon. So he decided to figure it out on his own.

Growing up in the Dark Mountain Range, Nasdell knew that he had to be cautious with everything he did not know well even if that thing looked very ordinary. Therefore, in great alert, he took out a steel stick from his luggage to use it as the extension of his fingers.

The holes were right in the wall without any covers or protection. Thus, Nasdell believed that they wouldn’t be too dangerous.

Looking around, after making sure that there was no one around, Nasdell poked the holes with the steel stick.

Buzz!

Electric currents shot out along the needle stick and hit Nasdell right away. There was no chance for him to avoid it.

Nasdell’s body was covered with electric currents and was shaking fiercely. Something smelled burned. He tried to pull the stick out, but he just could not.

After a while, Nasdell had half returned to his werewolf look. His muscles bulged, and a mist of black air surrounded him. He suddenly used his strength and finally got rid of the steel stick.

Lightning… Magic circle…

How could the nobles and sorcerers in Rentato allow such dangerous things to be here in the wall in a public square?! Nasdell could not even speak, and he felt extremely annoyed. If he had not been an adult werewolf, he would have been killed!

Just after he returned to his human look, a young man in fancy clothes walked to him. He took out something connecting to a wire from his pouch and plugged in the holes, and then he plugged the other end in a fine alchemical item in the shape of a rectangle.

Seeing that there was a man lying on the ground and looking at him in great confusion, the young man grinned and explained, “This is the latest mobile communication device. It no longer requires a permanent magic circle for electricity because it can now save the energy. The price has been greatly lowered because of it. I’m not super rich, but now I can afford it.”

Then he smelled something burned in the air. He took a glance at the man on the ground again, and the man’s face also looked burned black.

“My friend, you don’t look very well. Did you just touch the electric current magic circles?”

“No, no…” Nasdell hurriedly denied.

The young man grinned. “Good. Arcana Voice and the council have been promoting people’s awareness of using electricity safely. Even kids in Rentato now understand how important this is, unless it’s someone who has never used electricity before.”

Even kids knew it? Nasdell was glad that he instantly denied himself earlier.

Nasdell decided to leave the square as soon as possible out of the feeling of embarrassment. Dragging his half numb body, Nasdell walked slowly to the quiet street.

As he was walking, somehow, he suddenly lost his footing and fell into a hole!

Bang!

On the square, the young man heard something. He turned around but saw nothing.

After the charging was done, he recalled something—the broadcasting had been warning citizens that they should avoid remote and quiet streets and use extra caution when walking as recently some thieves were stealing sewer lids.