Warlock Apprentice

Rein’s Tower was built on the tip of the Tree of Eternity, which was visible to all inside Brute Cavern, no matter where they lived. Those who came to Brute Cavern for the first time would quickly consider the landmark as a sign of direction, as well as a symbol of might, after they learned who owned the tower.

Angor too, could not help but get nervous upon approaching this place. He wondered if the inside of the structure was also made gorgeous and orderly like Sunders’ mansion.

He suddenly saw a flock of pigeons coming into his view. At first, he thought they were common wildlife that did not hold much interest. But then he noticed that these birds were following a strange route in the air as one as if they could find where the primal mana in the environment was rich.

He slowed down his movement as the strange sight reminded him of something familiar.

…

Inside the wizard tower, Rein Mute opened his eyes and looked in Angor’s direction.

“As expected. He found the course of mana so soon.”

…

Angor was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard noises coming from the tower.

The main door of the tower opened up on itself when he wasn’t looking.

He quickly disregarded his earlier fancy and headed to the entrance so that he did not keep the supreme leader of Brute Cavern waiting.

The solemn and nearly depressive aura inside the structure immediately forced him to quiet down and move as carefully as he could. After almost tiptoeing through a short hallway, he came to a large space, which was as big as a small park, where a clear fountain was reflecting sunlight that shone through the glass window above.

A strange-looking statue stood in the middle of the still water. Angor could not see its face because it was strangely covered in shadow, even though there was no obstacle nearby.

The statue was accompanied by several spheres, each of which had a human mouth with flame-red lips. Angor spent a moment to look at the clashing designs in awe. The statue itself seemed tranquil and even dignified, yet those “mouth spheres” appeared as if they were constantly entangled in a spar of words.

The strangest thing was, he felt someone’s strange attention directed at him when he gazed at the statue. It felt almost like a Prophet looking at the depth of his soul.

The droplet-like crystal on his right shoulder suddenly glowed. As his Crimson Aegis exerted its power, Angor soon found the inquisitive awareness repelled and gone.

He quickly looked away from the statue. The response of Crimson Aegis just told him that somebody did try to scan him. It would be best if he stayed away.

“This is the ‘Wordless Deity’, a special embodiment of belief studied by certain Prophets.”

Out of instinct, Angor wanted to question who just sent that voice directly into his head. However, he realized he couldn’t make any sound at all.

“You cannot speak where the Wordless Deity is watching. Keep climbing. I’m waiting for you at the topmost floor.”

Squeak!

Angor saw a door nearby opening up.

It was clearly Rein Mute who just talked to him. Without tarring, Angor walked through the door and stepped onto a staircase leading upward.

He came to a guard rail at the end of the stairs, from where he could gaze upon the fountain from above. When he did, however, he failed to find any water in the fountain. Instead, he saw images being reflected in the fountain as if the water had turned into a magical screen.

He saw himself in the images. It was his younger self, who was rapidly growing up as the images changed.

But the “screen” did not keep on for too long. As soon as “young Angor” reached teenagehood, a flash of red light swept past the fountain before the sight was replaced by calm water.

He had a hunch that his Crimson Aegis just protected his “privacy” again. The fountain and statue must be something used for checking someone’s secrets, and he just escaped from the effect.

“Come in. I can answer your questions.” The distant voice came again.

Angor turned around and saw another opened door behind him. Inside, Rein Mute was quietly sitting in front of a large crystal ball.

Upon entering Rein’s room, Angor saw several shelves around that had many more crystal balls placed on them. Each one had his distorted image shown inside, and it made him uncomfortable.

He heard it before that Rein Mute was somewhat obsessed with crystal balls. Seemed the rumor was quite true.

He suddenly remembered that Lady Mirror once told him to deliver a message to Rein Mute, that Brute Cavern should redesign their transmitters so that they didn’t use “crystal balls” for more than ten centuries. Though Angor absolutely wouldn’t bring that up right now. As an alchemist, he knew people would feel offended if others disapproved of their “custom”.

“Come.” Rein Mute pointed to a seat gracefully. His moves were brief and precise, just like his kempt style.

Angor hurried there and sat down on the opposite side of Rein’s table. The large crystal ball between them almost blocked his view.

“You were interested in that statue, right? Anything you want to know about it?” asked Rein.

Angor opened his mouth and realized that he could no longer feel the silencing power. He then slowly looked up at the great wizard in front of him. Right now, Rein Mute appeared as an ordinary old man in his view. But his instinct told him never to let his guard down because that plain look hid an unparalleled might behind.

He took some deep breaths to calm the surging anxiety in his mind.

“Mister Rein. What-what are those pictures shown in the fountain?”

Rein Mute showed him a comforting smile. “It was a result given by the Wordless Deity. I was using its power to check how much more potential you held. But… It seems that you have something that stopped my trick.”

He set his gaze upon Angor’s right shoulder, where a glowing crystal was attached to Angor’s shoulder pad.

“An alchemy tool that prevents detection?”

Angor nodded. Crimson Aegis was designed to stop Prophets. Though it wasn’t wrong to say it countered detection.

Rein nodded and did not keep talking about Angor’s protection.

“I didn’t really have to do that since most of the wizarding world already acknowledged your aptitude. Today, I only wish to meet with you up close and see what kind of young man got every alchemist upset in such a short time. Relax, we’ll only have a friendly talk and nothing else.”

A friendly talk? Angor didn’t believe someone like Rein Mute had the time for a “friendly talk” with an apprentice. But he didn’t have an option here.

Besides, he did have something to ask of Rein.

“I saw you looking at the pigeons outside my tower. What did you find?”

Angor was a bit surprised by such a question because he thought Rein would request for his alchemy work as everyone else did.

When he couldn’t figure out what Rein wanted from him, he simply tried to answer as cautiously as he could.

“I think they were traveling in a specific way. There’s a path in the sky. I can’t tell what it is, but I recognized a pattern.”

He didn’t get to watch the birds till the end because Rein’s invitation interrupted him. Now that he had time to think it over, he believed he almost grasped the mystery that had been bugging him.