Warlock Apprentice

“Natural ability?” Torras shook his head. “Is it even possible for a mortal like us to have such power?”

“Then can you tell me when you learned to do it when you were an undead?” asked Angor.

“I… may need some time. What I can remember are all random and broken pieces…” Torras lowered his head and became silent.

Angor could tell that Torras wasn’t lying, which meant this man didn’t know anything about that strange teleportation skill when alive. He could use it as an undead soul, but not anymore.

Those moves were pretty deadly too. Torras even ambushed and killed an apprentice. Without his gun, Angor believed he would have a very difficult time when fighting against Torras as well.

But could an undead soul left behind by a mortal learn something like that?

He had read books that explained certain abilities typically gained by undead souls, such as using their scream or dark energy to harm living creatures. But no one had recorded dimensional abilities that allowed a soul to teleport around freely.

Perhaps Torras, or his soul, had something special?

Torras knew that he was now completely at the mercy of Angor with no hope of fighting back, so he decided to obey Angor’s orders and tried his best to recall anything he could.

Besides, he was also curious about his strange ability

After searching his mind for a long time, Torras managed to notice a particular scenery among the memory fragments.

“I think I know when I first learned to do it,” said Torras while frowning.

“When is it? Did something special happen to you?”

“I… couldn’t remember time and date in that state. But I think it’s really, really long ago. Oh, right, can you tell me the current year, sir? How long has passed since the year of 223 in the Age of Silver?”

“That should be over two thousand years ago.”

Torras looked down in sadness. “I see. Then what I just saw must be over a thousand years ago. I was sleeping in a dark cave underground. Then I woke up because I smelled something unpleasant… I figured out that there were other people on the island. I… I was mad. The only thing I could think of was slaughter. Trust me, it wasn’t in my nature, but I just couldn’t control myself.

“I used to run all the way to those people. But after a certain point of time, I could teleport to my targets in a blink of an eye.”

“You mean you didn’t learn it as soon as you became an undead?” Angor frowned.

“Correct. It was like something suddenly struck my mind one day, and it just happened.”

For now, Angor didn’t believe that Torras’ soul was special because he didn’t notice any unusual energy on Torras yet. The negative energy that was shown by “undead Torras” felt the same as any other undead souls.

Perhaps Torras obtained his special skill from elsewhere.

As for what granted Torras his power… it was very likely to be the “real treasure” being hunted down by both Song of the Deep and Summerdew Ridge.

Before asking more about the unknown source of power, Angor decided to dig for other clues.

“How did you arrive at the small island in the first place?”

“I was a pirate, sir, I guess you already know. When I was 25, I overthrew the government controlling Valhalla Isle, and when searching their storage, I got my hands on some interesting books. That was when I learned about the existence of the wizarding world, and from there, I spent a lot of effort looking for this amazing place.

“In the year of 222, Age of Silver, just when I hit 28, I followed a clue that led me to Fey Continent. But on my way, my ship was trapped inside some really thick mist. When it cleared up, I was already at the dead island.”

“That must be Gearwheel Grave… Did your ship appear right inside the ‘Ship’s Grave’?”

“Huh? Oh yes, the last area I knew was called ‘Gearwheel Grave’. As for the second place you mentioned… I don’t know. I was sure I saw no other ships when I just arrived at the island.”

Angor widened his eyes.

“You were alone?”

“Yup. It was completely empty then. I knew more ships arrived after I died and became an undead, but I don’t know where they came from.”

Angor lifted a hand and placed a small illusion in Torras’ room that showed an ancient-looking expedition ship with a fan-shaped figurehead. It was Lucas’ ship, The Feather Fan.

“Check this. Are you sure this ship wasn’t there when you just arrived?”

Again, Torras tried his best to grasp everything from his chaotic recollection. He seemed to be at a complete loss at first, which was followed by the look of suspicion. This meant the ship did mean something to him.

“It looks so strange…”

“What is it?” Angor was a little bit excited for he almost felt that the true mystery hidden on the island was in reach.

“My last answer still stands, that my ship was the first one to arrive. As for this one…” Torras tilted his head. “I think it showed up on the second day. I saw it right under a cliff wall when I was out exploring. I thought it was a ghost ship and was too scared to get inside myself, so I asked one of my men to check it out. He told me that he found nothing. Later, I went inside and looked for myself. Still didn’t find anything.”

“But… there should be a corpse in the captain’s room. Did you go there and see it?”

“About that…” Torras showed a hesitant look. “I did see it, but it wasn’t there at first.”

“Huh?”

“Since we were stuck, I sent my men to dig up a place we could live in, while I kept searching around the island for anything we could use. I went to that ghost ship again one day and saw a skeleton inside. But trust me, it wasn’t there before. It just… sat there like he was still the captain, and it spooked me out.

“Then the head suddenly began to glow and scared the hell out of me. I used my sword and cut the skull off, and it stopped shining. I didn’t know what got into my mind, but I took the skull with me. Back in my cave, I put it beside my bed and saw it as my trophy. Guess I couldn’t forget the way of a pirate, heh.” Torras grew a little embarrassed and looked down.

Angor just got himself a bigger question in his mind. Lucas’ head was taken away by Torras? Wait… wasn’t there a skull on the bed when I and Toby went inside that secret stash?

For now, he could tell that Lucas and his ship did not enter the strange dimension at the same time.

But how come? Could Lucas’ skeleton move by itself?

Since there was a teleportation array that led straight inside Lucas’ ship under the dried well where Lucas killed himself, it was likely that someone else came later and took Lucas’ corpse through the portal.

Angor didn’t know whether this theory was correct. But right now, he was once again curious about another important matter, which was Lucas’ “fortune telling” ability.

Everything in Lucas’ stories, including the flowerbed, the Tree of Blessing, and the “sword in the wheel”, all existed in the course of history, but with some details off the mark.

“Torras. The ship with an ox at the tip. That’s your ship, right?”

Torras nodded.

“Why was there a sword stuck inside the helm?”