The two had been close friends with paths of their own, one aspiring to be a scholar, the other to be a Royal Knight. But when the Eternal Night Country suffered from the catastrophe of the dome, they were forced to become refugees. After many twists and turns and by sheer chance, they were fortunate to come to the Barbarian Cave.
Angel was not particularly interested in the backgrounds of these two newcomers, but hearing that they were refugees from the Eternal Night Country stirred something in him… after all, he bore some responsibility for the events in the Eternal Night Country.
“This is Angel, the only alchemist in the Barbarian Cave who specializes in Metallography. He is also the only one in the Southern Domain who has had contact with the mysterious levels of Alchemy,” the Tree Spirit introduced Angel with great enthusiasm, “… Anyway, once you enter the Wizards’ Circle, you’ll hear about him from various channels, without needing my introduction.”
This introduction by the Tree Spirit made the two newcomers secretly size up Angel. Merlin, unable to see, was described everything through Arthur’s eyes, which faithfully conveyed what he saw.
Faced with this powerful alchemist, who seemed their age or even younger, Arthur and Merlin both held a sense of awe.
They respectfully saluted Angel.
Angel nodded at them, then turned to the Tree Spirit, “Lady Tree Spirit, are we ready to begin?”
The Tree Spirit was about to nod when suddenly, he paused, his expression growing strange as he said to Angel, “Can you wait a moment? A few more apprentices wish to join.”
Angel nodded indifferently, the energy consumed in triggering the Ocean Rhythm was fixed, a few more participants wouldn’t make a difference.
After Angel’s agreement, not long after, a Witch emanating a night fragrance, accompanied by three slightly uneasy Apprentices, appeared before them.
“If you’d mentioned this earlier, I would’ve arranged it for you,” the Tree Spirit said, moving closer to the Witch with a smile.
The Witch nodded to the Tree Spirit without much expression but let out an enchanting smile when she saw Angel, “Angel, I’m counting on you for this time.”
Angel glanced at the Tree Spirit, who seemed unscathed, and replied to the Witch, “Lady Nysarvei, this is no trouble. After all, Lady Tree Spirit asked for my help, and helping two or a few more makes no difference.”
Angel recognized the Witch, known as ‘Leaf Blossom’ Nian Nysarvei. Rumor had it that the Tree Spirit harbored affection for Nysarvei.
Whether it was true or not, Angel’s response highlighted the role of the Tree Spirit, which was not a bad thing for himself.
After hearing Angel’s words, Nysarvei’s eyes twinkled before she turned to the Tree Spirit, “Thank you for this time, Lady Tree Spirit.”
The Tree Spirit beamed, “No problem, Angel isn’t giving his help for free. These two have been assigned a forced task and will need to heed Angel’s call in the future.”
When Nysarvei heard this, she seemed to think of something and turned to the three apprentices behind her, “You three add this forced task as well.”
Hearing Nysarvei’s words, the apprentices, already reluctant and uncomfortable, now looked even more dejected.
Angel interjected at the right time, “No need, Arthur and Merlin are bound by a forced task in exchange for lacking Magic Crystals. For them, just providing Magic Crystals will suffice.”
Angel’s words brought a flash of joy to the eyes of the three apprentices. Although Magic Crystals were precious, they were certainly preferable to an unknown forced task.
Consequently, they all looked at Angel with gratitude.
Contrarily, Nysarvei shot her own apprentices a look of irritation. These fools were given an opportunity and yet failed to make the right choice.
Nowadays, the wizards of the Barbarian Cave had basically figured out Angel’s character. Undertaking forced tasks with Angel may not bring many benefits, but certainly wouldn’t result in harm.
But since Angel had spoken, and the apprentices had failed to grasp the situation, Nysarvei had no choice but to agree, “So be it, then.”