“Less than ten. Geez. Those infidels are going to chatter again, about revoking our death chamber recruitment or whatnot.”
Sunders only smiled, “Don’t mind them. Those people should know that if we use the same mass recruitment method like The Redbud, the Brute Cavern would have already fallen out of the Top 10 in the southern region. Only a battle for life would make someone understand the rules of the wizarding world.”
Flora made a sourpuss’ face, “Whatever. Hey teacher, when you find Barbie’s Restaurant, just drag Greya away with us so we don’t have to go find her every time we need locations. This is so tiring!”
Sunders only shook his head with a smile. Greya was not much of a fighter, but she created all sorts of strange spells. If he personally confronted her, he might win, but he certainly could not capture her alive.
“Sigh. If I had not sealed the hemi-passage on me because of my desire for a better level back in the years, I would have…” Sunders exclaimed inside his mind.
…
It was another hazy night. Hurricane and storm created a waterfall outside without any signs of stopping. The surface of the sea shifted in the wind, giant waves swayed The Redbud back and forth like a cradle out of control.
Angor did not get any sleep for the entire night because all he could do was trying to steady himself until the sea calmed down under the sunlight the next day.
Angor dragged himself to his bed using his toiled limbs and finally fell into a deep sleep while still carrying a feeling of weightlessness.
The sleep lasted until the moon hung high in the sky.
As Angor climbed out of bed, he felt poked by the pendant in front of his chest. He took it out from his shirt and looked at the oval, transparent crystal fixed in the middle of the netted metal pendant.
“The Alien Eye…” Angor watched in silence. It reminded him of his home, his brother, and Jon, now tens of thousands of kilometers away.
He was about five months away from home, and he still had not reached the wizard continent. Could he really make it back home after five years?
With a sigh, Angor put away his troubled thoughts and put the pendant back into his shirt, close to his chest. The glaze sphere accompanied his teacher to this world, and there must be something about it. He needed to keep it safe.
Angor continued his redundant life: meals, puzzles, and sleep.
Routine.
Another week passed. When Angor walked by the dining hall one day, he unintentionally looked at the mercury mirror by the door.
Inside the mirror, Angor was no longer himself. The energetic, handsome noble boy had become gloomy. His eyelids were hanging, decorated by dark circles. His lips were dry and chapped, his face pale and dark.
Exhaustion and pressure had forced him into this shape in such a short amount of time.
He could no longer recall when he had a good laugh last time.
He went to the wash basin and planned to calm himself down by putting his face in the cold water. The five-year promise had led him astray, and those noble manners and politeness carved inside his bones were beginning to crumble.
His mind was not right. Yet Angor did not intend to change it, at least not before he solved the puzzles left by Teacher. He would keep his spirit tensed up for now.
Besides, The Redbud did not have any facilities for relieving stress. The other talents could train meditation. But what could he do, apart from solving puzzles?