A Wizard’s Secret

“Ka-chak.”

The doors of the psychedelically translucent room swung open to either side. The gray-robed Wizard pointed inward and told Merlin, “Please enter, Wizard Merlin. If you can’t hold on any longer, just give us a signal. We’ll stop the Alchemy Creature immediately.”

The gray-robed Wizard might have said that they could put the Alchemy Creature under control, but having to battle in such a narrow space, it would be virtually impossible to stop the Alchemy Creature promptly.

Thus, challenging the Alchemy Creature had its own risks. The reason the gray-robed Wizard said that was only to assure Merlin that they prioritized his safety.

Merlin took a glance at the Alchemy Creature. It wore a mask and had a body full of spikes. He then nodded in a calm demeanor. Soon after, the gray-robed Wizard forcefully slammed the door shut, locking the translucent room. All the gray-robed Wizards at the lounge diverted their sights to the veluriyam room.

The Alchemy Creature in the room acted as if it received some kind of command. Its eyes which were initially closed opened abruptly, and the spikes on its body increased in size, becoming extra pointy. It glowed with ice-cold illuminations, ones that would make a person shudder.

It was the first time that Merlin had seen such a fearsome Alchemy Creature! In addition, Fourth-level Alchemy Creatures were very difficult to produce. Even in Floating City, the strongest Alchemy Creature was only Third-level.

It was an immense qualitative leap from a Third-level Alchemy Creature to a Fourth-level Alchemy Creature, and it was in no way simpler than a Third-level Wizard promoting to a Fourth-level Wizard.

“Roar!”

Besides spikes, the Fourth-level Alchemy Creature’s body was wrapped with a thick black iron chain too, much to his shock. Following its loud roar, a puff of white steam spewed from its mouth, which instantly transformed into a sharp spear, hurtling toward Merlin.

At the same time, the Alchemy Creature swung its huge iron chain toward Merlin. The whistling sonic noise that was produced felt like an imposing threat, even for Merlin.

“The Fourth-level Alchemy Creature’s physique is surprisingly strong, so much so that even my physique wouldn’t be up to its level… Still, I’m a Spell Caster, I don’t have to outdo the Alchemy Creature in terms of physique!”

Though Merlin’s physique had significantly improved after practicing the fourth relief sculpture, when facing an enemy, his first thought would naturally be using spells, he was still a Spell Caster after all.

Meanwhile, this Fourth-level Alchemy Creature was very aggressive, so Merlin dared not shield the attacks with his robes alone, because chances were, even his robe could not protect him.

Therefore, Merlin did not show any hesitation. He stretched out his hand and pointed in front with force, and exclaimed, “Pandora Demon Ability, Glacial Finger!”

“Swoosh!”

Instantly, a chill was sent toward the Alchemy Creature. This Alchemy Creature was only superior in strength, but in terms of speed, it was not even close. In addition, it was incapable of evading Merlin’s Glacial Finger.

Merlin did not muster his brute force to hoist the Alchemy Creature’s iron chain either. Instead, he unleashed Wind of Freedom, granting him almost seamless agility, and the ability to navigate the tightest of spaces with ease. This too had highlighted Wind of Freedom’s special characteristic. If it was a Zero-level spell like Gale, it would not enable him to move around so elegantly within such a narrow space in the room.

“Boom!”

The Alchemy Creature’s huge iron chain struck the ground with great force, and the ground felt like it was quaking. It even made Merlin worry that the entire veluriyam room would collapse in a second.

Nonetheless, it did not take long until complex-looking runes started appearing in the room. The Alchemy Creature’s attack earlier could not even cause the room any damage.

“What a strong force…”

Merlin mumbled under his breath, and a strange expression flashed in his eyes. A Fourth-level Alchemy Creature was indeed petrifying. If he had chosen not to unleash Wind of Freedom to dodge the chain but to depend on his robe to hoist the chain instead, that strong force could have torn his robe apart.

The Alchemy Creature’s iron chain hit the ground forcefully. This was its first attack, but it could also be its last as Merlin’s Glacial Finger had already wrapped around the Alchemy Creature’s iron chain. The sub-zero freeze radiated from the iron chain to the Alchemy Creature in swift speed, enveloping the Alchemy Creature’s body in the blink of an eye.

“Ka-chak! Ka-chak!”

The surface of the thick black iron chain froze into a layer of crystalline ice immediately. Moreover, the tough black iron chain started cracking apart the moment those crystalline ice emerged, breaking into several segments.

That was the impressive element about Glacial Finger. No matter how tough the raw iron was, it could still freeze and crack them apart, much less a human body made of flesh. Therefore, no matter how strong this Alchemy Creature’s physique was, Merlin was still confident that the frost from Glacial Finger could encase the Alchemy Creature in an Ice Seal.

As anticipated, with Merlin’s Glacial Finger, a layer of crystalline ice started condensing on the sturdy Alchemy Creature’s body. Yet, the Alchemy Creature was quite powerful as it unexpectedly dislodged the ice with a single shake of its body.

The ice might have been shaken off, but how could that be it for Glacial Finger’s freeze? Along with the dislodged ice, a huge area of the Alchemy Creature’s flesh too had shed off from its body. In the blink of an eye, the Alchemy Creature turned into a hideous monster with fresh blood all over its body.

“Is that not enough? Come again then. Pandora Demon Ability, Glacial Finger!”

Merlin saw that the Alchemy Creature was not dead, so he unleashed Glacial Finger once more. The Fourth-level Alchemy Creature was indeed a tough foe to take down.

The truth was, Merlin’s current, first stage of Glacial Finger, or the first form of Fiery Collapse was limited to reaching the frontiers of a Fourth-level spell, or of those extremely destructive Fourth-level spells.

If one wished to enhance the powers of these two Pandora Demon Abilities, one could only wait until becoming a Fourth-level Spell Caster to do so.

This was why when facing a Fourth-level Alchemy Creature, Glacial Finger could not possibly kill it in one hit.

Merlin unleashed Glacial Finger once again, and the eerie chills wrapped the Alchemy Creature once more. By now, the Alchemy Creature was already sapped of energy and was merely struggling in vain. Even its roars became hoarse.

“Ka-chak!”

Finally, the Alchemy Creature’s body was completely frozen in ice, just like a lively, crystal clear ice sculpture.

“Crack!”

Merlin called out softly. Instantly, the ice crystals cracked apart. Like eggshells, the burly figure of that Alchemy Creature shattered into countless fragments, scattering onto the ground.

Merlin took a glance at the ice fragments on the ground and proceeded to knock on the room door. The gray-robed Wizards who were staring into the room from outside started showing solemn looks on their faces.

“Pandora Demon Ability, that’s Pandora Demon Ability!”

“Since he has Pandora Demon Ability, it was not surprising that he was so confident. A Fourth-level Alchemy Creature is not even his match!”

“Haha, this time, there’ll be a new addition of gray-robed Wizard into us, Fort Udon.”

These gray-robed Wizards could tell at one glance that Merlin had used a Pandora Demon Ability earlier. However, there were no greedy looks expressed for his Pandora Demon Ability, instead, the gray-robed Wizards were all very delighted.

“Creak”.

The door opened, and Merlin walked out from the room. That gray-robed Wizard who was with him earlier had smiles all over his face as he spoke, “Wizard Merlin, the spell that you’ve used earlier was a Pandora Demon Ability, right?”

Merlin furrowed his eyebrows and watched the gray-robed Wizard cautiously. At such an unfamiliar place, he could not tell exactly what these gray-robed Wizards were actually thinking.

Yet, these gray-robed Wizards had silent eyes, clear of any hints of greed, so Merlin felt albeit relaxed. Besides, he had already showcased Glacial Finger, and could not refute it anymore even if he wanted to.

Hence, Merlin nodded and said, “That’s right. What I’ve used was a Pandora Demon Ability.”

Seeing Merlin admitting it himself, these gray-robed Wizards responded with a mere chuckle. They seemed to have noticed Merlin’s reluctance. The gray-robed Wizard reassured Merlin, “You don’t have to worry. Do you know why Fort Udon could cement a place on the Kurdmansla Islands?”

Merlin shook his head as he really did not know why. Everything he knew about Fort Udon was through the knowledge from Wizard Gerson’s brief explanation.

The gray-robed Wizard suddenly put on a serious face and muttered, “We, Fort Udon don’t have the most members or resources on the Kurdmansla Islands, but how are we the most powerful?”

“It’s because we, Fort Udon hold true to one principle – unity! In Fort Udon, excluding the privileges, we treat each and every member equally in every other matter. Those who dare exploit a fellow Fort Udon member would receive the most severe punishment, no matter what the reason for that action was.”

“Due to our unity, we even dare to call ourselves the number one faction on the Kurdmansla Islands. Be it the Gray Wing Alliance or Wizard’s Tower, they are both a level below us when face to face with us, Fort Udon. Wizard Merlin, it should now be clear to you, that even though we know you have a Pandora Demon Ability, we’ll not have any sly thoughts toward you. Actually, when you’ve officially joined Fort Udon, and understood how things work here, you’d naturally start liking Fort Udon.”

Merlin expression looked odd.

“Unity?”

Upon hearing the Fourth-level Spell Caster in front of him uttering the word “unity”, Merlin felt somewhat puzzled. In the Dark Magic Region, there was competition everywhere, how could there be any sort of unity? Even in a normal human being’s world, it would still be hard to find a group who could be entirely united.

However, the clarity in these gray-robed Wizard’s eyes made Merlin hold some degree of anticipation in them.

“Wizard Merlin, maybe you don’t believe me, but I shall repeat the same words. Once you’ve officially joined Fort Udon, you’ll get to know us better. We hold our greatest respects for our three fort leaders, who are all Ninth-level Spell Casters. At the same time, the three of them are each other’s closest friends and had been together since the very beginning, when they were still Entrance-level Spell Casters. After several hundreds of years had passed, they became Ninth-level Spell Casters together. This alone is a non-replicable feat. Through the toughest hardships, the three of them would still help each other, never leaving anyone behind.

“With such precedents from our three Castle leaders, it wouldn’t be unusual for such camaraderie to exist within Fort Udon.”

After a brief pause, the gray-robed Wizard glanced into the room, looking at the remains of the Alchemy Creature which was reduced into numerous fragments of ice. He then smiled at Merlin and said, “Wizard Merlin, you’ve already defeated a Fourth-level Alchemy Creature, you can now become a Novice gray-robed Wizard of Fort Udon! However, you have another opportunity. You can go and challenge any Middle gray-robed Wizard, which is a Fifth-level Spell Caster. Once you succeed, you can then become a Middle gray-robed Wizard. There are distinct differences between these two.”