Warlock Apprentice

“A tiered music box??” Someone mumbled, “Some alchemist made such a boring toy? Really?”

Dave also shook his head. “Such a beautiful design… for a music box? Now I think about it, weren’t you planning to make something simi-”

Dave wanted to tease. However, he was surprised to see Angor holding something down on his chest with a really anxious look.

“Stop! Toby! Get inside! Now!” Angor ordered.

Angor got a bad feeling when he heard the name “Land on the Sky”, and his concern was justified when he saw the item.

The innovative crystal tubes, the ocean waves, and the glittering surface and illusion nodes… that was exactly the same music box he crafted the other day!

Why was it being sold at the auction?

Before he could think about the question though, something moved restlessly on his chest.

Toby was becoming wild for some reason.

Angor could feel Toby losing control slowly. He was sure the bird would do something really bad at this rate.

But this was the inner stage of Twilight Auction where countless powerful wizards gathered!

Angor quickly pressed Toby down and ordered in a low voice, “Keep it together! We don’t know what happened yet, don’t scare yourself!”

“Ark! Quark!” Toby’s sad voice came from his pocket.

“I made a second music box for Lady Mirror yesterday, maybe that’s what we’re seeing,” Angor lowered his head and whispered.

Toby stopped struggling for just a brief moment before he began to move again.

Angor quickly comprehended the bird’s intention. Toby sensed his own smell coming from the music box on the stage.

There was no doubt now that Twilight Auction was selling the very music box Angor gifted Toby.

But there was nothing they could do since it already happened right in front of their eyes.

When Toby told Angor that the music box was lent to someone, Angor already assumed the worst. Angor did not say it because the music box was not really valuable, and Angor planned to use this chance to teach Toby how to avoid being used by bad guys. Angor already had a plan in mind that he would talk and conclude the “lesson” with Toby once they got back to Brute Cavern.

He had not expected the lesson to happen so early, and at a bad time too. Still, it seemed the lesson left a pretty deep mark in Toby’s mind.

Just yesterday, Toby happily lent his precious music box to his partner, and the cold truth hit him hard the next day. The bird lost both his “new friend” and his music box, which was now being sold in public. It had to be really hard for a bird who always lived a carefree life.

Despite his bad mood, Toby never looked at Angor’s eyes.

And Angor fully understood it. Toby did not know how to face him after losing the precious gift to someone so fast.

“Don’t worry, I can make another one. I’ll get to it once we leave the auction. An even better one.”

…

Angor had been talking to Toby in a really small voice. Dave could not hear them. However, he somewhat grasped a tip of the truth when thinking about the sad Toby, and how Angor once mentioned that the music box was meant for Toby because the bird loved music.

Dave got an idea of what happened even though he was not sure of it yet.

Twilight kept explaining the item to everyone, “Later, I’ll show you the special properties of the music box. For now, please look at here.” Twilight put a finger on the box’s energy chamber and unleashed her mana.

Quickly, an aura was spread from the music box which calmed everyone’s mind.

“A tranquility effect?”

“It’s a Tranquility Rune! I’m sure of it! I saw something similar in Floating Mech City, a pillow enchanted with the same thing. Man, that night was damn comfortable!”

“But it makes no sense. What’s the point of Tranquility Rune when the box tingles our eardrums?”

Twilight nodded and smiled. “Correct, the Tranquility Rune. As for your question, you’ll understand after watching me.”

Both Dave and Prome looked at Angor. Angor already told them about applying a Tranquility Rune onto the music box he was going to make.

And Angor was probably the only person in this world who could use such a strange combination.

They were almost sure that the music box was Angor’s. So… however did it end up here? Angor came to Twilight Well with them. They never saw Angor sending anything to the auction for review.

Dave saw both Angor and Toby grew calm and tried to ask in a small voice. “What’s going on, Angor? That’s… your music box, right?”

His words caused Toby to go berserk again.

Angor only said “Let’s talk later” before trying to comfort Toby again.

It was not like Angor could really hold Toby down considering the bird’s ability. It was just that Toby was unsure of what to do himself. He knew he made a huge mistake, and he did not want to anger Angor. Angor’s calm expression comforted Toby just a bit. However, Toby felt anxious again when he suspected that Angor was acting all calm because Angor was going to break up with him.

Angor clearly knew that even if he had ten extra hands, he would never be able to suppress Toby if Toby meant to attack for real. Toby was fumbling up and down in his pocket simply because the bird was trying to distract him, similar to how kids cried to their parents for candies.

And Angor gladly played along.

Dave watched the interaction between his friend and a bird and sighed. “Master Prome, I guess there’s some kind of reason behind this. Maybe someone stole Toby’s music box.”

“Angor can tell us if he wants to, or he can keep it private, I won’t mind. Look carefully, Twilight’s going to show us the music box. I always want to find out what special properties Angor created on his invention.”

As an alchemist himself and even though they studied different subjects, Prome could not help competing with Angor over their alchemy skills. The man never revealed his idea. Prome always believed that his path of synthesis was superior to Angor’s enchantment, so he always considered himself on a higher level than Angor.

But now, something was troubling him. Usually, Prome could get some of his items sold on the ordinary auctions, but not the Grand Auction. Angor’s music box though was presented at a Grand Auction so easily. And it was placed later in the queue too. Also, the auctioneer spoke highly of the item and even addressed ‘Flaming Lotus’ Lydia personally.

It gave Prome a terrible feeling as if Angor was a better alchemist than him.

He really wished to find out what was so special about Angor’s item now.

…

Twilight carefully placed the music box back onto the stand. “As a music box, the most important factor is, of course, music. To protect the privacy of our potential buyers, I’ll only play a portion of the music. Please listen to it and decide whether you’ll make the purchase.”

People did not seem interested at all. They simply considered it as taking a break.

Lydia sat in Chamber 1 and stared at Twilight’s movement carefully.

They saw Twilight covering the music box under a strange-colored cloth and that she was operating a winding key.

The Tranquility Rune soon covered the entire stage.

The power of the Tranquility Rune was fully displayed. But thanks to the cover cloth, neither Angor’s music nor his illusion could be observed.

Everyone looked at each other, not knowing what Twilight was up to.

“What are you waiting for, Twilight?” Lydia’s impatient voice came again.

“Just a minute, Lady Lotus. I already activated the music box. I need to cover it for the sake of the final buyer. I’ll remove the cover to allow you to enjoy the ending of the music.”

People knew what Twilight meant and decided to stay put.

When the inner stage had enjoyed Tranquility Rune for five full minutes, Twilight finally spoke to the yawning audiences, “The music is almost finished. Please take a good look now.”

She slowly uncovered the item, when a strange light came from under the cloth, along with gentle melodies.

Before anyone could comment, they saw ripples appearing in the air.