A Wizard’s Secret

Old Wilson took Merlin to the castle’s backyard, followed by the two ugly Wizards and Wizard Bammou. However, along the way, the few people did not speak, and only Merlin scanned curiously at the changes of the castle.

“Father, has the castle been expanded again? I remember that it wasn’t so big here last time…”

Merlin’s tone seemed calm. After returning to Wilson Castle, his mood was very relaxed.

Old Wilson nodded too. “Yes, the castle has been expanded, and the Wilson family is finally back on track, even more prosperous than in Blackwater City back then…”

Old Wilson paused. He knew that the changes in the Wilson family were all because of Merlin. Since Merlin became a Spell Caster, especially after he entered the Dark Magic Region, although he had not returned for a long time, things had changed. Just by looking at Count Selin’s attitude toward the Wilson family, one could see that they were extremely respected.

Perhaps the others did not know about Merlin’s situation, but as the supreme commander of the entire Prakash City, Count Selin must have known something about Merlin.

After a moment, Old Wilson took Merlin and the others to a shack. It could be seen that the shack was built for a temporary basis. It was very simple but the ambiance was commendable, and there were glowing runes around it. It should be the residence of a Spell Caster who was proficient in runology.

Wizard Bammou’s eyes narrowed as he moved in front of Merlin to slow him down, whispering, “Merlin, there are three Spell Casters inside!”

“Three?”

Merlin seemed rather astounded. With the shrouding of the Runic Magic Circle, he could not check the situation in the shack either. Only Wizard Bammou, who had powerful Mind Power which could rival that of a Great Wizard, was able to see through the situation beyond the Runic Magic Circle.

On hearing the words of Wizard Bammou, astonishment showed on the faces of the two ugly Wizards. They initially thought that Merlin was already scary enough but now it seemed that this “follower” beside Merlin, Wizard Bammou, was even more unfathomable.

“Creak…”

At this moment, the door of the shack opened, and two figures emerged. Merlin lifted his head and looked up. When he saw the two figures, there was clearly a shocked expression on his face.

A tall Laurinka, who was donned in a long dress, and Emma, who exuded a delicate and elegant aura, had stepped out of the house.

“Master?”

“Teacher!”

When Laurinka and Emma saw Merlin, they could not hide the joy on their faces. Although both of them had not become First-level Spell Casters, they certainly had some changes after such a long time in the Dark Magic Region.

Particularly Emma, whose Mind Power was already enough to construct a fourth Zero-level spell. However, she had not constructed it yet. It seemed that she was still contemplating whether to become a Four-elemental Spell Caster or a First-level Spell Caster immediately.

At this time, it portrayed the benefits of having Merlin as a “teacher”. Even though Merlin brought Emma to the Dark Magic Region, and had given some specific guidance, he had indeed left her for a long period of time without supervision. This was not much different from Wizard Leo who left people to their own devices. The guidance for Emma was really lacking.

“I’m relieved that you both are here. Emma, Laurinka, you’ve been in Prakash City for so long. Why have you not returned to the Dark Magic Region?”

One of the reasons for Merlin’s return to Prakash City was to find out if something had happened to Emma and Laurinka. Now that he saw both of them were fine, he could finally put down the worries in his heart completely.

“Initially, we intended to go back, but Snake Elder…”

Emma blushed, seemingly very excited upon mentioning “Snake Elder”.

Even Laurinka smiled and nodded as she continued, “Master, Snake Elder is really not simple. His knowledge is very profound. He’s very accomplished in spells, runology, alchemy, and so forth. He has even counseled us in constructing Spell Models. Throughout our lengthy stay in Prakash City, we’ve been given a lot of guidance by Snake Elder and benefited tremendously.”

Merlin seemed a little surprised. However, if he thought about it carefully, he could understand that the Dark Magic Region was merely a spell casters’ organization. If you encounter a dedicated “mentor” like Wizard Nasha, for some young Spell Casters, it would be undeniably lucky.

However, if they were like Wizard Leo or Merlin, always leaving the Dark Magic Region for a year or half, even if those young Spell Casters had some talents, their progress would still be delayed for various reasons. Laurinka may not be a natural talent, but if he had done his best in guiding her back then, she could have possibly become a First-level Spell Caster.

Now that they encountered such a mysterious and powerful “Snake Elder” in Prakash City, it did not really matter anymore. They seemed satisfied, which was why they did not plan to return to the Dark Magic Region for the time being.

Whether it was Old Wilson or the two ugly Wizards, or Laurinka and Emma, they were all constantly talking about this “Snake Elder”. It would not be hard to imagine that this “Snake Elder” was the Spell Caster responsible for this huge Runic Magic Circle.

Willingly helping the Wilson clan so selflessly, even having the time and heart to teach Emma and Laurinka, for sure this “Snake Elder” had some ulterior motives.

Yet, what was there to obtain from the Wilson clan? Definitely just Merlin himself, or rather, his identity as a genius Spell Caster in the Dark Magic Region.

“Wizard Merlin, Snake Elder invites you to go in and see him!”

The two ugly Wizards said respectfully to Merlin as they came gently to Merlin’s side.

Merlin nodded and then walked into the shack.

“Whoosh…”.

The moment Merlin stepped into the shack, he noticed a pungent fire smell. The interior decoration of the shack was very simple. On a long table, there were pieces of white paper scribbled with some runes or Spell Models.

These Spell Models were so casually placed on the table. Merlin swept through them casually, and could not help but be amazed as these Spell Models were actually some First-level or Zero-level spells, and were Spell Models constructed by various methods.

Each of these Spell Models were very stable. Merlin roughly estimated that although it was not as good as the reconstructed Spell Models by the Matrix, it was much better than the Spell Models built by any general Spell Caster.

There were also some Spell Models that Emma and Laurinka needed. Deep down, Merlin understood that it must be the mysterious “Snake Elder” in this shack who was mentoring Emma and Laurinka all these while.

At the thought of this, Merlin lifted his head, and the first thing he noticed was various kinds of weird hair which looked like hard thorns which twisted and turned on his head. The hair wiggled occasionally, looking like countless “little snakes”. Viewing from afar, it gave off a scary and weird vibe.

Not only did this old man have strange hair but also purplish-green skin. From the neck down, and even on his thin arms, there were faint scales which gave off a glint of silvery brilliance, which would make anyone shudder with fear. He was clearly a half-human and half-snake monster.

“Snake Elder?”

Merlin’s heart moved. When he saw the strange appearance of this old man, he had already guessed his identity.

The weird-looking Snake Elder looked up. His face did not appear to be terrifying. Instead, there was a feeling of friendliness and kindness. He grinned and said, “You must be Wizard Merlin. It’s not surprising that you’re a genius Spell Caster in the Dark Magic Region. Except for his Royal Highness the eighth prince, no one can still be so calm after seeing my face.”

Snake Elder’s face looked very composed. He reached out and pointed, signaling Merlin to sit. He gave off an incomprehensible feeling, so he should be a very powerful Spell Caster.

However, Merlin had seen Wizard Leo, Wizard Bammou, and had felt the power of a “Legend” for a period of time on the ship of Nikola. Even a stronger Spell Caster could no longer give Merlin a shock. Therefore, although he felt that Snake Elder was a bit weird, he was actually more curious about him.

Merlin then sat on the small wooden bench in front of the Snake Elder. He did not speak, only looking down at the messy Spell Models on the white papers.

Snake Elder also pointed his finger at the Spell Model on the white paper. “Apologies, in front of Wizard Merlin, I’m like teaching a fish how to swim! However, Emma is indeed very talented. I used to have a student too, but unfortunately, she encountered some mishap because she followed me, so I never had the chance to teach her again…”

The Snake Elder’s tone revealed a deep sense of desolateness, which made Merlin feel that this was, after all, an ordinary lonely old man, and seemed no different than the old man Etha of Blackwater City.

“Tick!”

Suddenly, a ticking sound was heard from the white paper. Merlin looked up and found that a large piece of green scale on Snake Elder’s neck had surprisingly begun to darken. Drops of fresh blood fell onto the white paper, painting it with a dark red hue.

Snake Elder grinned. He was not bothered at all. He reached out his hand casually and directly pressed on the huge scale on his neck, and then tore it off with force.

“Skraak!”

The sound of cloth tearing rang out and a trace of blood was turned into a string of water drops, which fell to the ground. A strange smell was already permeating the shack, and now there was an additional pungent bloody stench. That made Merlin very uncomfortable.

“Wizard Merlin, sorry to let you see that.”

Snake Elder held the bloody scale in his hand and threw it directly into the trash can in the distance. Merlin’s sharp eyesight had already caught that there were many scales in the trash can.

After losing the scale, Snake Elder’s neck seemed to have quickly grown a dark red spot. This dark red spot quickly meshed into a scar, which looked very horrifying.

Seeing the appearance of Snake Elder, Merlin faintly understood why there were so many rooms in Wilson Castle, but the mysterious “Snake Elder” still had to build a separate shack. The body of “Snake Elder” was indeed weird and different from ordinary people.

Snake Elder had been observing Merlin, but no matter how he scrutinized him, Merlin displayed a calm look. Thus, he put on a positive look too, and muttered, “Wizard Merlin, I believe that you’ve realized too, that you and I aren’t the same. I can’t even be considered a human, but rather I am of the alpine Snake People!”

“Swish…”

The lights swayed, and when the words “alpine Snake People” was mentioned, it seemed as if the atmosphere in the entire shack had turned gloomy.