A Wizard’s Secret

“Whoosh.”

Merlin made his way out from the Spatial Passage. When he raised his head once more, he saw that he was already at the Glorious Palace. He could even see that massive, lofty palace building in the distance.

“Wizard Mogan’s castle earlier is surely not in the mountains…”

Merlin carefully recalled the place where Wizard Mogan’s castle was. It seemed more like an isolated world which was not affected by the external world. According to rumors, some powerful Wizards were able to create a unique, stable subspace, a most secure place where one could go at the first sign of trouble. Even an Honored Legend would be unable to track down a subspace unless they had some special method.

Perhaps Wizard Mogan’s castle was set up in a stable subspace, so he was able to witness the blooming of flowers and the beaming sun in the sky because this was all simulated by Wizard Mogan’s spell.

Merlin stroked the nameplate in his hand and walked toward the Glorious Palace. Seeing that the doors were shut tight, Merlin was not worried. Although there were no Glorious Wizards to lead the way this time, he had the nameplate. With it, he could pass through the Glorious Palace unobstructed.

Holding out the nameplate, Merlin easily pushed open the large doors of the palace. There were still many Glorious Wizards within, grouped in twos or threes, discussing among themselves.

Only a small number of them had noticed Merlin. They were rather shocked upon seeing that Merlin had opened the doors of the Glorious Palace by himself.

Merlin glanced around casually and spotted a familiar figure in front, which was Wizard Dara. At the moment, Wizard Dara had already left the Glorious Pavilion at an unknown time and had begun chatting with a few Ninth-level Glorious Wizards.

“Eh? Wizard Merlin, where did you go? I didn’t see you after I left the Glorious Pavilion. Thereafter, I looked for Wizard Gritte, who would only let me wait for you here.”

Wizard Dara saw Merlin as well and hurriedly stood up to ask him.

Merlin smiled and did not know how to reply. Conversely, it was the Ninth-level Glorious Wizards beside Wizard Dara who glanced at Merlin and asked in somewhat puzzled tone, “Wizard Dara, who’s this?”

Wizard Dara gave a quick introduction. “This is Wizard Merlin. I’m able to come to the Glorious Pavilion this time in large part thanks to Wizard Merlin!”

These were Ninth-level Glorious Wizard who occupied grand positions. They would not take note of most Wizards, but this time, Wizard Dara, who had completed a mission and entered the Glorious Pavilion, seemed to have reaped great benefits. He was almost sure to become a Ninth-level Spell Caster, and even a Glorious Wizard. Therefore, these Ninth-level Spell Casters would choose to befriend him.

One could see that Wizard Dara had gotten along well with these Ninth-level Wizards. Nonetheless, they did not regard Merlin as highly. After all, even if Merlin was extraordinary, he was merely a Fourth-level Spell Caster.

“Oh right, Wizard Merlin, we’ll have to leave the Glorious Palace soon. I’ve waited here just for you.”

The Glorious Palace would only accept Glorious Wizards. Most Spell Casters below the Ninth-level could not stay on in the Glorious Palace for a long time. Even if Merlin and the rest came here to submit their mission, they could only stay for one or two days.

Merlin cracked a slight smile. “Wizard Dara, I might not be heading back for a while. I’ll even have to ask a favor. When you’ve returned to Dara City, tell Darknight and Lady Phillie that they should head back to Bisque City first.”

“Huh? Wizard Merlin, why aren’t you going back for now?”

Wizard Dara’s face shifted slightly. Merlin’s words caused him to be at a loss. Even the Ninth-level Glorious Wizards beside him exchanged consternated looks. They had never heard of a case where the Glorious Palace would keep a Fourth-level Spell Caster.

Merlin did not explain further, and instead raised the nameplate in his hand and handed it over to Wizard Gritte. Upon seeing the nameplate in Merlin’s hand, the faces of those Ninth-level Wizards changed subtly.

This was because only the Glorious Wizards of the Glorious Palace would have a nameplate!

“Wizard Gritte, Wizard Mogan had made me his disciple. Please arrange a quiet residence for me for I require seclusion immediately!”

Silence, incomparable silence!

All the Spell Casters in the palace hall were Ninth-level Wizards. Although Merlin spoke softly, they could distinctly hear everything. These Glorious Wizards, who were not paying much attention at first, immediately fell silent after hearing “Wizard Mogan’s disciple”. Their burning gazes fixed upon Merlin.

Wizard Mogan, being a Legendary Wizard, was the most powerful Wizard in the entire dimension! As the master of the Glorious Palace, Wizard Mogan could pick out the best and brightest among countless Spell Casters to become his disciple. However, in these long years, Wizard Mogan had merely selected three Spell Casters to become his disciples.

Merlin was the fourth one, and the only Wizard to be taken on as Wizard Mogan’s disciple before he was a Ninth-level Spell Caster.

Wizard Gritte was slightly taken aback and took the nameplate from Merlin. He observed it closely. Indeed, it contained Wizard Mogan’s unique force. Only Wizard Mogan’s disciple would possess this nameplate.

“He’s right, he really is Wizard Mogan’s disciple! Wizard Merlin, come along, I’ll show you to where you’ll be staying.”

Wizard Gritte’s words undoubtedly confirmed Merlin’s identity. The entire Glorious Palace would be in a furor because of this. Wizard Mogan had not mentioned any desire to take on disciples for many years. Now, he had made Merlin his disciple.

“A Fourth-level Spell Caster. I can only sense that Wizard Merlin is just a Fourth-level Wizard.”

“That’s right, he’s a Fourth-level Spell Caster. I wonder what is it about him that’s so special, causing Wizard Mogan to take him as a disciple.”

“Wizard Mogan has had three disciples before, all of whom are now the best among Great Wizards. Surely, this Merlin that he had taken won’t be any different. I’ll have to talk to this Merlin more often from now on and build a good relationship.”

Many Spell Casters looked at Merlin, revealing a trace of envy in their eyes. Merlin was relatively fortunate to become Wizard Mogan’s disciple.

Wizard Dara was still unable to formulate a proper response. He stared at Merlin, and after half the day had passed, he finally asked haltingly, “Wizard Merlin, you’ve really become Wizard Mogan’s disciple?”

As a Spell Caster at the peak of the Eighth-level, Wizard Dara naturally knew the difference between a disciple and an apprentice. Merlin was Wizard Mogan’s disciple, which meant that his position in the Glorious Palace was even higher than those Great Wizards. One could say that, in this one leap, Merlin had become one of the most revered Wizards of this dimension.

Merlin nodded and reminded Wizard Dara once more, “Wizard Dara, I’ll have to trouble you. After you’ve returned to Dara City, tell Wizard Darknight and Lady Phillie the specifics of the arrangement, and ask them to return to Bisque City to oversee things.”

Wizard Dara drew in a deep breath when he heard Merlin’s personal confirmation. He then bobbed his head in a hurry. “Be rest assured, Wizard Merlin. I’ll surely convey the message.”

Although he was flabbergasted, Wizard Dara was elated after he had calmed himself and thought about it. His relationship with Merlin was not an ordinary one, having completed a mission together. Merlin had risen in status, becoming Wizard Mogan’s disciple. In that case, when he entered the Glorious Palace later, he would surely be more than an ordinary Glorious Wizard.

Therefore, it was necessary to maintain good relations with Merlin.

“Wizard Gritte, let’s go.”

After Merlin had settled things, he spoke to Wizard Gritte. Following that, Wizard Gritte led Merlin directly out of the palace, flying toward another direction in the peaks.

“Swish.”

Soon enough, Wizard Gritte brought Merlin to a small, quiet building. It was very peaceful with a good environment here. It was shaded by greenery, and there were also grasslands beyond.

Around the building were three more structures which were similar to the first one. Wizard Gritte explained, “The other three buildings belonged to the three disciples that Wizard Mogan had taken previously. However, they had all left this dimension, and haven’t returned in a long time.”

Merlin nodded. It looked like this was a residence prepared especially for Wizard Mogan’s disciples.

“Very well, I’ll be here then. Sorry to trouble you, Wizard Gritte.”

Merlin smiled as he spoke to Wizard Gritte.

“If there’s anything else you need, you can look for me in the Glorious Palace at any time.”

Wizard Gritte promptly left after he spoke.

Merlin entered the building. After a short bout of sorting things out, he calmed himself and began to focus on the construction of the remaining two Fifth-level spells.

At the moment, the only Fifth-level spells Merlin had not constructed were the Ice-type spell and the Thunder-type spell. He would need to use the Matrix to derive the new Fifth-level spells.

There was only a little left of the Flame Maxim and the Ice Maxim. Naturally, they could not be further used to derive new spells. Merlin could only utilize the most robust Maxim, which was the Thunder Maxim.

The Thunder Maxim was truly massive, occupying a tremendous amount of space in his Awareness. Even both the Ice Maxim and the Flame Maxim combined were still far smaller than the Thunder Maxim.

Thus, deriving two Fifth-level spells would not use up much of the Thunder Maxim.

With this in mind, Merlin decided to construct the two Fifth-level spells as soon as possible to become a Fifth-level Wizard even earlier.

“Matrix, derive Ice-type and Thunder-type Fifth-level spells!”

Merlin had initiated the Matrix. The Matrix was already familiar with deriving spells, so it immediately began its process. At the same time, Merlin vigilantly observed the changes in the Thunder Maxim.

As expected, as the Matrix began to derive the spells, it immediately consumed the Thunder Maxim. The Maxim began to diminish slightly. If Merlin had not been paying close attention, this would have been hard to notice due to the colossal size of the Thunder Maxim.

Merlin observed for a bit more and saw that the Thunder Maxim was shrinking at a continuous, steady pace. There were no unusual or unexpected occurrences, so he gradually relaxed.

“Beep. Spell derivation complete!”

It was after an unknown period of time that Merlin was woken by the beeping of the Matrix. He saw that the Matrix had already derived the new Fifth-level spells, and his Mind Power vibrated in anticipation.

“Derivation is finally complete!”

Merlin was somewhat excited. Once he had constructed both spells in his awareness, it would mean that he had become a genuine Fifth-level Spell Caster!