A Wizard's Secret

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Darkness Vortex was said to be able to devour all Mind Power including a Spell Caster with strong Mind Power. Once caught in Darkness Vortex, one's Mind Power would be engulfed, thus falling into an illusion.

This was only a Third-level Darkness-type spell, and its main role was to induce hallucinations. There was also the Fourth-level Darkness-type spell - Darkness Nightmare - known as the ultimate Hallucinating spell, capable of making people delirious, plunging them into an incomparably realistic fantasy realm. In addition, the multiple layers of illusions would cause opponents to be unable to distinguish between reality and imagination, just like a nightmare, frightening people out of their wits.

Whether it was a Third-level Darkness-type spell or a Fourth-level Darkness-type spell, both worked to induce hallucinations. However, Merlin knew that even if he constructed the Third-level spell, Darkness Vortex, with the enhancement from Darkness Heart, it could perhaps drag any ordinary Sixth-level Spell Caster into an illusion.

However, for Seventh-level Spell Casters, it was impossible to make them fall into the illusion. The Mind Power of a Seventh-level Spell Caster was leaps and bounds ahead of a Sixth-level Spell Casting, so it was no surprise that they'd be able to resist the illusion effect.

Therefore, Third-level spell, Darkness Vortex was basically the limit of illusions. In the future, if Merlin wanted to construct Fourth-level spell, Darkness Nightmare, there would not be much improvement anyway.

This was what Merlin was concerned about. If the Matrix was not able to deduce a new spell in time, he would be forced to choose the Fourth-level spell Darkness Nightmare. Even if there was the fusion with Darkness Heart, it could not affect a Seventh-level Spell Casters because of its hallucination limits. By then, the construction of the Fourth-level Darkness-type spell did not really have that much of a use for Merlin.

"Beep. A total of one hundred and twenty-eight thousand six hundred and forty-five spells have been analyzed!"

After just a brief moment, the Matrix had reconstructed over one hundred and twenty thousand Darkness Vortex's Spell Models.

Based on stability, compatibility, and power, Merlin combined the data of these three aspects and finally selected the most fitting Spell Model. This Spell Model was complex, but Merlin's Mind Power had far exceeded the standard for constructing Darkness Vortex. Therefore, it was not difficult to simulate Darkness Vortex's Spell Model.

The immense Mind Power was mobilized by Merlin and he began to slowly simulate Darkness Vortex's Spell Model.

One hour, two hours…

For six hours, Merlin had fully concentrated on simulating the Darkness Vortex's Spell Model with his Mind Power. When darkness almost descended, Merlin's entire body shuddered, and traces of ominous Darkness Elements rapidly converged toward him, just like a storm.

"I've finally succeeded!"

Merlin opened his eyes and breathed a long sigh of relief. In his Awareness, Darkness Vortex's Spell Model was constantly absorbing and transforming the Darkness Elements of the outside world.

However, by solely depending on the Mind Power that was transformed by the Spell Model itself, the process was indeed too slow. Merlin saw that the sky was starting to get dark outside, so he took out some Darkness-type elemental crystal stones from the ring to quickly increase the Mind Power within the Darkness Vortex's Spell Model.

Since Darkness Vortex had been condensed, Merlin seemed to have felt some changes in his Darkness Heart. However, these changes were not obvious. Darkness Heart must be incorporated into Fourth-level spells in order to unleash its full potential.

Merlin's Darkness Heart was of the third type. If it was integrated into a Fourth-level spell, it could increase the power of the spell by five to ten times. This increase was absolutely frightening, and it was larger than the increase garnered by the Pandora Demon Ability, Fuse Earth.

However, it was a pity that the Fourth-level spell, Darkness Nightmare, was a Hallucinating spell. Though it was powerful enough to make any Sixth-level Spell Caster fall into an illusion, there was already a qualitative leap of change for the Mind Power of Seventh-level Spell Casters. Hence, illusions were no longer an issue for Seventh-level Spell Casters because even a stronger spell would not be able to plunge them into illusion.

After Merlin had successfully constructed Darkness Vortex, he kept thinking about the problem of the Fourth-level Darkness-type spell, but he could never figure a solution.

Perhaps there was a way, which was to quickly enrich the database of the Matrix, so he could perhaps derive new spells.

…

The night passed by quickly. When the first ray of daylight cracked through the clouds, Merlin had already woken. After a night of transforming Mind Power with elemental crystal stones, it was already enough to release Darkness Vortex for quite some time.

"It's time to go meet Snake Elder."

Merlin stood up and thought about how Snake Elder had waited for a month. It was about time to know what message had the eighth prince sent.

"Bammou."

"Master, is there anything I can do for you?"

"Go and inform Snake Elder that I'll meet him now."

Wizard Bammou nodded, but his gaze stayed on Merlin for a brief moment. His eyes glimpsed. With the Mind Power of a Great Wizard in addition to his unique vision, how could he not realize the changes in Merlin?

In a short period of time, Merlin had reconstructed another Third-level Darkness-type spell. Wizard Bammou, who knew everything about Merlin, was also shocked.

Regardless of how shocked Wizard Bammou was, he would not inquire further either, and soon, he followed Merlin's instructions and went to inform Snake Elder.

…

"Snake Elder, it's been a month, and Merlin hasn't shown up yet. We can't just go back like this and return to His Royal Highness the eighth prince."

There was a hint of anger in Wizard Hasbro's voice. They had always been treated generously all the while they had been following the eighth prince. Any Spell Caster would act respectfully when they saw them, so they did not expect to be ignored by Merlin for an entire month in Wilson Castle.

Moreover, there was also that annoying Wizard Bammou who liked to appear and disappear out of nowhere, not to mention his unfathomable power. Even if they wanted to force a way in, they must also carefully consider the consequences.

Snake Elder's expression was extremely gloomy too. When he was about to say something, a faint voice suddenly came from outside the door. "Snake Elder, Wizard Merlin wants to see you."

"Swoosh!"

Snake Elder and the others immediately stood up and pushed the door open. It was Wizard Bammou who stood outside the door.

"Wizard Merlin wants to see us?"

Bammou nodded with an emotionless face and answered, "Yes, come with me."

As the voice landed, Wizard Bammou abruptly turned around and left.

Snake Elder and the others looked at each other and nodded too, then swiftly followed behind Wizard Bammou.

…

In the small house, Merlin's eyes were constantly scrutinizing Snake Elder, Wizard Hasbro, and Wizard Sacra. Both parties did not speak, and the atmosphere seemed tense.

After a long moment, Snake Elder could not help but speak, "Wizard Merlin, you've let us wait for a good whole month."

"I'm truly sorry. I was preparing a potion. It was very important, so I've delayed some time. By the way, these two Wizards must be sent by His Royal Highness the eighth prince, so is there any news from His Royal Highness?"

Merlin half-heartedly brushed aside the part where he had made Snake Elder and the others waited for an entire month. Although Snake Elder and the others held some grudges about it in their hearts, the mission that the eighth prince had asked them to accomplish still required Merlin's cooperation, so they could only endure it without further complaints.

Snake Elder took in a deep breath and then muttered, "Wizard Merlin, His Royal Highness the eighth prince originally intended to personally come to Wilson Castle. However, he was riddled with something at the Imperial City hence he couldn't show up in person. Thus, we'd like to ask Wizard Merlin to pay a visit to His Royal Highness the eighth prince at the Imperial City as he has an urgent matter to discuss with Wizard Merlin."

"Go to the Imperial City? Do you know what's this matter that His Royal Highness the eighth prince speaks of, Snake Elder?"

Merlin's expression did not change at all as he continued asking in a calm manner.

Snake Elder shook his head and replied, "His Royal Highness the eighth prince had only invited Wizard Merlin to the Imperial City. We're not aware of the specific reason why."

Although Snake Elder refused to reveal the reason, Merlin could have guessed that it should be related to Wizard Leo.

Merlin started pondering while Snake Elder and the others stared at him anxiously. Wizard Hasbro and Wizard Sacra were both arrogant Spell Casters, so before this, they did not think that they would face any difficulty "convincing" Merlin. With the prestige of His Royal Highness the eighth prince, and with the personal escort of two Spell Casters comparable to Fifth-level Spell Casters like them, no one would refuse such an invitation.

However, after the previous warning from Wizard Bammou, and the fact that Snake Elder had told them that Merlin was not any ordinary Spell Caster, it made Wizard Hasbro and Wizard Sacra perturbed.

If Merlin had indeed refused to go to the Imperial City, they would not know what to do either. However, one thing they surely could not do was to go back to the eighth prince empty-handed.

On the thought of this, Wizard Hasbro took a step forward and said sincerely, "Wizard Merlin, His Royal Highness the eighth prince values you greatly. Before this, he specifically sent Snake Elder and the others here to protect the safety of the Wilson clan. Now, he has again sent us to personally escort you, Wizard Merlin. Once you arrive at the Imperial City, His Royal Highness the eighth prince will personally give Wizard Merlin a grand welcome…"

Suddenly, Merlin looked up and asked Wizard Hasbro, "I've heard that the royal family of the Kingdom of Blackmoon owns a Spell Library that was deemed the most complete. I wonder if it's true?"

Snake Elder and the others were slightly stunned, not knowing why Merlin would ask this question.

Nonetheless, Wizard Hasbro still nodded and answered, "That's right, the royal family has one of the largest spell libraries. The many different types of spells curated there are the most complete, which no other spell casters' organization could compare."

Merlin continued to ask, "Then, does the eighth prince have the right to enter the Spell Library?"

"His Royal Highness the eighth prince certainly has the right to enter the Spell Library. It's possible that Wizard Merlin may not be aware, but His Royal Highness the eighth prince has the utmost trust of His Majesty the King. He's in charge of half of the Imperial City royal guards, and he holds great position and power. He's the most hopeful candidate for becoming the new Blackmoon King in the future…"

Merlin had no interest in listening to the rest of what Wizard Hasbro had to say. He was only most concerned about the spell collection of the royal family of the Kingdom of Blackmoon, which had a variety of spells that were far more complete than that of the Dark Magic Region.

After all, the royal family of the Kingdom of Blackmoon was very different from the Kingdom of Light. The royal family of the Kingdom of Blackmoon itself was equivalent to a large spell casters' organization, and could even be the most powerful force among large spell casters' organizations.

If you add some factions which were loyal to the royal family, it would be even more terrifying. Precisely because of this that although the Kingdom of Blackmoon was composed of individual city-states, which seemed to be disintegrated, no city-state dared to defy the royal family's orders.

Moreover, the royal family was also inextricably linked with some large spell casters' organizations, so there were no spell casters' organizations which dared to provoke the royal family.

Which was exactly why the royal family of the Kingdom of Blackmoon still looked rather formidable as it was able to control the situation in the kingdom and maintain basic stability.

"Alright, I agree to go to the Imperial City."

Merlin accepted it straightforwardly. A large part of the reason was the topic he had mentioned earlier - the royal family held the most complete and largest number of spells in the Spell Library.

In addition to meeting with the eighth prince, the reason that Merlin promised to go to the Imperial City was also to personally thank the eighth prince for protecting the Wilson clan. The more important reason was to rely on the eighth prince to enter the royal family's Spell Library in order to enrich the database of the Matrix.

Merlin did not worry about the database of the Matrix but as his strength became stronger, he would soon consider building a Fourth-level spell. By that time, if he continued constructing common spells step by step, there would not be a big improvement to his strength.

Therefore, it was necessary to augment the database of the Matrix as soon as possible and then integrate the data to derive new spells - the earlier the better.

This was Merlin's real goal!

When Snake Elder and the others saw that Merlin had agreed, they were naturally delighted, so they hurriedly asked, "When will Wizard Merlin be ready to leave then?"

"This shan't be delayed any further. I think the sooner the better. After I'm done informing the necessary people of the clan, I'll leave immediately!"

Snake Elder and the others nodded too. They began to prepare themselves while they silently waited for Merlin to complete his clan's affairs.