Dove was baring his teeth at the air like an angered pit bull, to no avail. There was no one around 20 meters of him.
“He’s mad again? Hey wait, he’s bleeding?”
“There’s a knife wound on his neck!”
Someone muttered, “But nobody was there.”
“Don’t tell me the place is haunted!”
All talents in the hall talked, but not a man went there to help Dove. Apart from his terrible temper, people were terrified of the strange situation as well.
“The blood is coming out fast, but not to the extent of gushing out. Maybe a cut vein,” said Angor. He glanced around and spoke to himself, “Even if it’s only a vein, judging from the blood flow, he’ll be dead without aid within the next ten minutes.
“A blade cut, but no one was holding a blade…” Angor looked around Dove without seeing anyone. Then he recalled hearing the second door click just now.
“Interesting.”
Someone invisible? An apprentice? Or just another talent?
Angor inclined to the latter. An apprentice wizard would not have to do it concealed, and that one hit would have killed Dove.
Dove was still rampaging when Angor measured the situation. As time passed, Dove’s yelling became weaker. He suddenly heard something and grabbed a wine bottle before hurling it against a window southeast of him.
The spilled dark red wine did not hang onto the wooden wall as everyone expected. It stopped in mid-air about five meters in front of the wall.
The wine slowly flowed downward, exposing a red human figure.
“Someone’s over there! He’s invisible!”
A man yelled while pointing to the soaked figure, “Is that a wizard?”
“You can’t be serious. A mighty wizard will never come and assassinate the likes of us in this way. They just need a glance and we’ll die the most painful death,” sneered someone.
“Wait a minute, and we’ll see him,” said one of the talents. He pointed towards the assailant. “Mister Komoen mentioned these spells. There are the Phantom Shift which cloaks people under an illusion, the Dimension Cloak which lets someone hide in another space, and a spell that deceives your eyes using light and shade. The first and second are only available to formal wizards, and there’s only one cantrip that can make you invisible, Optic Confusion.”
Mister Komoen was the guide from the wizard organization, Gravity Forest. He was a Level-2 Apprentice Wizard.
“The caster of Optic Confusion will be exposed if something touches him. Of course, he might be using some kind of alchemy item too. But even Mister Komoen couldn’t easily afford those things.”
When he finished talking, the invisible man soaked in wine already showed up.
Angor looked at him with a raised eyebrow. A young man wearing tattered cloth, and a handsome face, which was now filled with a rebellious emotion.
Angor did not know this man, but his clothing and details in his movement were enough to tell Angor that he was from a poor family.
The poor versus a rich noble.
The man looked at the bleeding Dove with an unyielding delight. He then let out a bloodthirsty grin, satisfied by his revenge.
The once arrogant prince looked at the man with disbelief and hatred. There was also regret behind his angered expression.
“Nice. The story behind these guys is sure to keep Mana talking for a whole year.”
Angor recalled the moment when he heard Head Maid Mana gossiping about the infamous, cheating Waterford noble scum.
Angor shook his head and prepared to leave the dining hall. He did not have time for such outdated plots.
When he stood up, a middle-aged noble lady with silver hair appeared on the scene.
Angor heard about the elegant lady before. She was Lady Merlin, a Level-3 Apprentice Wizard stationed on The Redbud. She was from Tower of Hurricane.
Since Lady Merlin was here, the poor young man’s fate should be clear—wait! What? Angor watched in surprise as Lady Merlin stepped to the center while completely oblivious of the dying Dove lying on the ground. She looked at the young assailant up and down with delight on her face instead.
She waved a hand and all taints on the young man’s body instantly vanished.
“What’s your name?” Lady Merlin asked him.
“Easley, Lady Merlin, ma’am. My name is Easley,” said the young man as he responded politely. He did not say his family name because he did not have one. A family name represented family inheritance. He was an orphan and “Easley” was the name of a hound belonged to a nobleman he once served. To get himself a name, he fought with the hound for his life until he finally snapped the beast’s neck. That was when the noble gave the name “Easley” to him.
“Easley… Good, I’ll remember that. You’re good. You channeled your mana pool very quickly. Maybe your spiritual power talent is beyond 20?” Lady Merlin reached out a hand and put it on Easley’s forehead.
“As I predicted, you were born with a spiritual power of 23. It will help you save much time. You will train ten times faster than ordinary talents. No wonder you can channel your mana so quickly,” said Lady Merlin. She smiled and spoke to the young man, “I only told you the principle of Optic Confusion half a month ago, and you can already cast it. This means you understand the knowledge of light and shadow well. Splendid. Truly splendid!
“Remember, all spells are based on a wizard’s knowledge and mana. They are mutually important. You have stepped into the gate of an apprentice wizard. Move to the top floor from now on.”
With that, Lady Merlin left without looking back.
Dove, on the other hand, was taking his last breath on the ground now. As Lady Merlin’s figure disappeared from the dining hall, Dove’s expression changed from despair to stiffness. No one helped. His body turned cold under everyone’s indifferent gaze.
Easley, the killer, looked at the corpse on the ground. He then grinned and left the room as well.
No one complained. No one stopped him. At least Easley made a difference on this ship and became someone who could dominate over another’s life.
Angor left the hall in silence. Now he truly understood that there was no black and white in the wizarding world. Justice or evil did not mean a thing to them.
The Silverheron Royal Wizard Group belonged to the same organization as Lady Merlin. Even then, Lady Merlin did not care about Dove, not even a glance. This completely explained how cruel wizards could be towards common people.
After this incident, Angor tried even harder to conceal his presence. Without protection, Death’s scythe was constantly placed against his own neck. This was a reality – the uncovered, brutal reality in the world of wizards.