The number of Wandering Wizards is quite large. Many wizards, when traveling outside, often disguise themselves as Wandering Wizards, resulting in a period when Wandering Wizards were very common.
But Wandering Wizards aren’t entirely unorganized. As Angel knew, they do tend to huddle together for warmth. For instance, the Rat Ant Underground Association, which dared not confront Sanders but targeted Angel, is composed of Wandering Wizards.
These kinds of group organizations are quite loose, without much restraint, and they don’t restrict freedom, which is why many wandering wizards are willing to join.
The largest of these group organizations is called "Cross."
Angel doesn’t know if "Cross" is the actual name, and even some wandering wizards who have joined don’t know. The reason it’s called Cross is because their robes all have a black cross symbol.
Previously, when Angel saw Esos at the Star Pond Ruins, he had the cross symbol on him.
Since Esos is part of "Cross," his disciple should also have ties to Cross.
Cross should have similar stations or gathering places at the Wizard Market. Maybe once the Cross base is found, Esos’s disciple’s whereabouts can be discovered.
The base of wandering wizards is usually well-hidden. The service staff at the Elysium Pavillion likely don’t know, but the people inside the Elysium Pavillion might.
With this thought, Angel nodded to the service staff and strode into the Elysium Pavillion.
...
Without trying any of the activities inside, Angel went straight to the point.
Though Elysium Pavillion is mainly for entertainment, entertainment venues are often where information flows most freely. Hence, there’s dedicated personnel responsible for trading intelligence.
After a few minutes, Angel arrived in a luxuriously decorated room.
A woman with a charming posture walked in gracefully. She wore transparent thin gauze, slightly revealing her well-proportioned figure, adorned with numerous accessories over her corset and short skirt.
Angel took one glance and knew this was a third-level apprentice, who must have injected some kind of sea demon bloodline, as there was a faintly visible aura of moisture and some substandard spiritual charm.
The reason it’s considered substandard is because Angel once experienced the charm of the Pannas Charm Demon in the Abyss. That kind of charm is truly top-tier. Compared to the Pannas Charm Demon, this female apprentice’s charm is like comparing a firefly to the sun.
"Save your tricks; I’m here just for trading information," Angel said in a deep voice.
The female apprentice, who was about to sit beside Angel, paused, then slowly walked over to the opposite side of the table and sat down.
This time, after sitting down, she didn’t release any charm. Without the charm, she instead gave off a contrast of a more sacred vibe.
"Mysterious strong one, may I ask what you need?" a gentle voice wafted from her mouth.
A single sentence revealed that she recognized Angel as an official Wizard. However, Angel didn’t mind, as he hadn’t planned on concealing his strength. The reason for his collected aura was simply to avoid troubling ordinary people or other apprentices.
"I want to know about No. 818 and where the shopkeeper is at this moment."
"10 Magic Crystals, but I can only answer the former question. We don’t know the answer to the latter."
The price was fair, not cheap, but not too expensive either. It implies that there wasn’t much worth noting about No. 818, and Esos’s disciple probably isn’t one to make trouble easily.
Angel took out 10 Magic Crystals, placed them in front of the apprentice using Hand of Magic.
After collecting the Magic Crystals, she began to recount the circumstances surrounding No. 818. The information wasn’t vastly different from what the service staff had said, just included more details and explained some functions of No. 818.
Previously, Angel wasn’t sure what Esos’s disciple sold in his shop, but now he knew it specialized in selling one-time Spatial Capsule and Spatial Extension Package. Neither item is particularly rare; Spatial Capsule is disposable, and the Spatial Extension Package merely adds some space tricks, allowing it to store more internally, but the weight remains. Thus, its effectiveness is relatively ordinary compared to true spatial artifacts.
But this is more than sufficient for ordinary apprentices.
Most of the information provided by the female apprentice was rather trivial, just allowing Angel to learn a bit more about Esos’s disciple. Beyond that, there wasn’t much else.
Nevertheless, Esos’s disciple is indeed quite a regular and non-troublesome wizard, making Angel breathe a sigh of relief. He would prefer not to deal with a troublemaker.
After the inquiry about the first question, Angel proceeded to ask the second.
"In the Sandworm Market, where is the Cross... or rather, the wandering wizard’s station?"
The female apprentice glanced lightly at Angel: "I intended to remind the guest of this, but unexpectedly, the guest thought of it first."
"So, where is their station?"
"50 Magic Crystals."
Angel frowned at this as the price seemed rather steep.
Seeing Angel’s displeasure, the female apprentice explained, "There are incessant disputes among wandering wizards, and they tend to disregard rules. If they know the information leaked from us, the Elysium Pavillion would also bear the risk."
Her assertive explanation seems logical, but in reality, everyone in the Wizards’ Realm knows that besides the strong one who returned after a thousand years as prophesied, no one dares assault the Elysium Pavillion.
No large wizard organization would dare strike the Elysium Pavillion, so what can loose wandering wizards do?
However, Angel was too lazy to argue, as the opponent provided what seemed like a respectable reason.
Throwing out 50 Magic Crystals, the female apprentice’s smile widened.
"In the Sandworm Market, wandering wizards have two stations, one above and one on Sandworm Long Street. Their stations are Mana Huts, capable of moving anytime, without a fixed location. However, finding them isn’t difficult."
"Simply possess a token and use the most basic prophecy system trick - the Guidance Spell, to locate them."
Angel knit his brows: "Token? Guidance Spell?"
"Rest assured, we have the token here." Using Spell of Whispering, the female apprentice said something implicitly. Half a minute later, a man clad in a black robe walked in, placed two items on the table, and silently left.
The female apprentice pointed at the table: "Here it is. One is the token, and the other is a small device with the Guidance Spell attached."
Looking at the table, Angel realized the so-called token is actually a stone slab, merely carved with the wandering wizard’s cross symbol.
The so-called device with the Guidance Spell attached was a blackwood wand, simply imbued by a prophecy apprentice using some method, with limited usages available. To Angel, it’s just a toy, hardly touching the threshold of alchemy.
"The token is 50 Magic Crystals. As for this wand, if you know the Guidance Spell, there’s no need to purchase. But if you don’t and require it, I’ll give it to you for 30 Magic Crystals," the female apprentice smiled sweetly.
Angel: "..." This method of earning Magic Crystals is remarkable, and she keeps tossing one deal after another without giving a breathing space. You want to refute, but find no ground, even thinking their service is quite considerate, covering all aspects for clients.
No wonder they’ve managed to expand the Elysium Pavillion across the entire Flourish Continent.
Angel hasn’t delved deeply into divination systems and only learned "Lucky Choice," commonly known as "Lucky Pick-One," from Popota previously... but hasn’t mastered it yet.
Looking at the female apprentice opposite with a smile like crescent moons, Angel knew that this time, there was no escaping the cost.