A Wizard’s Secret

“Merilung’s situation. I do know a little about it.”

The black-robed old man’s voice was hoarse and let out a hollow laugh. The sound of it was sharp to the ears.

“Merilung belongs to the Abyss Fort!” the old man lowered his head and said in a calm voice. His sharp gaze scanned Count Selin’s face and gave him a meaningful smile.

“the Abyss Fort?”

Count Selin’s face turned instantly pale. His whole body began to shiver uncontrollably. Although he had tried to hide it as best as he could, Merlin caught that sharply.

“How can he belong to the Abyss Fort?”

Count Selin’s eyebrows were furrowed and his face was slightly pumped red.

Merlin looked at the muscular Cook who seemed confused as well. The latter obviously did not know what was the Abyss Fort which the old man spoke about was referring to.

“Wizard Hill, can you tell us about the Abyss Fort in detail?” Merlin asked suddenly. From Count Selin’s reaction, he faintly realized that there must be something with the Abyss Fort or the usually calm Count Selin would not be so fretted.

The black-robed old man looked at Merlin. His face that seemed like an old tree’s skin showed a playful smile as spoke in a hoarse voice, “The Abyss Fort is a strong Spell Caster organization. I believe Sir Count has heard about it before.”

After a pause, the old man set his gaze tightly on Merlin and continued, “Wizard Merlin, it seems you’re the same as an old man like me. We’re both free wizards! Hehe. O’ free wizards. Free and without worries. It sounds free, but is it so? We’re just a bunch of roaming wizards! In the Kingdom of Blackmoon, other than roaming wizards, there are some strong Spell Caster organizations. These organizations provide spells, some knowledge, and experience of strong wizards regarding Spell Models, Potions class, Alchemy class, and more. In short, joining a Spell Caster organization provides the opportunity to become a strong Spell Caster. It’s totally different from us, the roaming wizards.”

Merlin listened attentively. He had become a Spell Caster according to old man Etha’s Spell Manual. He was not clear about the situation of Spell Casters in the Kingdom of Blackmoon.

Now that he heard about the Spell Caster organization from the old man, Merlin slowly began to grasp the overall organization of Spell Casters in the Kingdom of Blackmoon.

The most spread out, or the largest in number, was these free wizards. They were not bound to any force and were free. However, on the other hand, they were mostly Entrance-level Spell Casters and were weak in strength because they did not possess a new Spell Model. Without strong Spell Caster teaching knowledge and experience about Spell Model, many free wizards could not progress any further. They could only forever be Entrance-level Spell Casters.

Therefore, free wizards were also known as roaming wizard. They were the most pitiable group of people amongst the Spell Casters.

The second was Spell Caster organizations. These Spell Caster organizations gathered all sort of strong Spell Casters and their influence was the greatest amongst others. They had many resources and could provide lessons for Spell Casters.

Thus, the Spell Caster organizations basically had the largest force. Some large Spell Caster organization even had the force greater than the whole kingdom.

The third was the Spell Casters in the army. These Spell Casters were mostly roaming wizards. To attain some Spell Models or potions or casting tools, they had no choice but to join the army. After they served the army for a while, they could receive all sort of rewards.

There were some Spell Casters staying in Ravens Castle. In fact, they were roaming wizards who have joined the army.

“In this case, Merilung belongs to the Abyss Fort?”

Merlin frowned. He raised his head and took a glance at Count Selin to find the latter was pale. His darting eyes showed restlessness in his heart.

The black-robed old man nodded. With his hoarse voice, he continued, “That’s right. Merilung belongs to the Abyss Fort indeed! Hehe. He’s a lucky one. It isn’t easy to join a Spell Caster organization even if the Abyss Fort is only a relatively small Spell Caster organization. If he has no letter from the Abyss Fort or isn’t valued by the core members of the Abyss Fort, he has no chance of joining the Abyss Fort.”

The old man did not hide his envy toward Merilung in his words. Maybe the old man wanted to join a Spell Caster organization all this while but he was unsuccessful. That was all.

“Wizard Hill, if we kill Merilung, will Abyss Fort support him in attacking us?” Count Selin who had been silent all this while finally asked.

This was the most important question. Would Abyss Fort attack them? This was related to Count Selin’s attitude toward Merilung after this. It was extremely crucial.

The black-robed old man nodded and said in a serious tone, “Merilung is only the son of a normal baron. What sort of letter does he have to join the Abyss Fort? Thus, he must be valued by the core members of the Abyss Fort. That’s why he can join them. If we kill Merilung on purpose, we can’t be sure that we won’t anger the core members in the Abyss Fort.”

Suddenly, Merlin raised his head and a smile escaped him. If the strong Spell Caster supporting Merilung would really attack them, then would Wizard Hill still accept Count Selin’s invitation?

Therefore, the black-robed old man surely knew some hidden facts.

After seeing Merlin’s smile, the old man also knew that Merlin had guessed it. He no longer hesitated and said directly, “Although the Abyss Fort is scary, Sir Count, the Abyss Fort is truly too far away from Prakash City. This place is not under the Abyss Fort’s influence. Instead, it’s under the force of the Dark Magic Region!”

“If a strong Spell Caster from Abyss Fort dares to attack Prakash City, that will bring about a detrimental consequence. It can possibly cause a war between the Dark Magic Region and the Abyss Fort!”

“A war between Spell Caster organizations, huh. It’s an outcome that no one can bear to have! Thus, Sir Count, even if killing Merilung can cause anger of a certain group of strong Spell Casters from Abyss Fort, you don’t have to worry about the Spell Casters appearing in Prakash City.”

When he mentioned the war between Spell Caster organizations, a hint of fear escaped from the black-robed old man’s face.

“Phew…”

After hearing the old man’s analysis, Count Selin heaved a sigh of relief. His face slowly became flushed again and he smiled. “That’s right. Even though the Abyss Fort is strong, Prakash City is under the influence of the Dark Magic Region! Even if the Dark Magic Region won’t mind these little things, if strong Spell Casters from the Abyss Fort come here, then the talks will be different.”

Upon thinking about this, a killing aura faintly leaked out of Count Selin’s body.