Warlock Apprentice

After Rhein’s sigh, he shifted the topic to Angel: ”Yesterday, because of the Living Line incident, I didn’t have the chance to properly congratulate you.”

”Congratulations on becoming an official Wizard.”

Through days of conversations with various predecessors, Angel also understood that responding to compliments with modesty, like he used to, might not make him appear humble but instead create a sense of estrangement, as if wearing a mask.

So this time, faced with Rhein’s congratulations, Angel smiled: ”The pursuit of truth is still a long road. This is just the first step.”

Rhein said, ”Nowadays, most Wizards talk about pursuing truth, but very few can truly see it through. I hope you are one of them.”

Angel nodded. If he had an obsession, perhaps his greatest one was the pursuit of truth. Since he has chosen this path, he naturally won’t give up halfway.

”Now that you are an official Wizard, is there anything you wish to obtain?” Rhein asked.

Angel: ”What do I wish to obtain?”

Rhein nodded, smiling: ”Consider it a small reward from me. As long as I can manage it, I’ll try my best to fulfill your wish.”

Is this a perk? Angel was a bit puzzled, thinking why his mentor never mentioned this?

Although Angel was unaware of this tradition before, since Rhein offered it, it didn’t seem appropriate to refuse now.

Angel deliberated for a moment and said, ”Getting the Illusory Spirits on the Path of Magic Draining is already great.”

”The Illusory Spirits from the Path of Magic Draining are already your benefits as an official Wizard, including permanent access to the Source of Flow’s extradimensional laboratory, borrowing rights at the Cloudtop Library, free residency establishment... and so on. These are all things you would naturally have.” Rhein explained, ”What I mean by benefits is not these common ones, but what you desire.”

What I desire? Angel desires many things, but those that can be bought with money, he doesn’t urgently need. And those that cannot be bought, Angel doesn’t think Rhein would have either.

He pondered for a bit, hinting at a few rare demonic materials.

Rhein gave Angel a deep look: ”As long as you can pay the price, the Resource Hall has the demonic materials you need. I believe you’re not short of a few Magic Crystals.”

Angel opened his mouth but didn’t speak. What Rhein said wasn’t wrong, but if he didn’t ask for demonic materials, he couldn’t think of anything else.

After a moment of silence, Rhein said: ”How about this, let me make a decision for you?”

Angel casually nodded: ”Sure.”

Rhein didn’t hesitate at all, turned his hand over, and a crystal-clear Crystal Ball appeared in his palm.

”This is for you.”

After taking the Crystal Ball, Angel examined it carefully and found that in the center of the sphere, there was a three-dimensional image of a tailed Magical Beast that looked vivid and lifelike.

Angel looked at Rhein in confusion: ”This is...”

”You should know about the All Souls’ Garden, right?” Rhein explained: ”This is the activator for the All Souls’ Garden, but it only has one use.”

Angel was stunned for a moment, not expecting Rhein to give him an admission ticket to the All Souls’ Garden. The All Souls’ Garden is one of the top-tier Witchcraft Gardens in the Southern Domain. Baroque lurked in the Barbarian Cave for so long just to enter the All Souls’ Garden!

It shows how beneficial entering the All Souls’ Garden can be.

Angel had been to quite a few Witchcraft Gardens, but he had never entered a high-level one, mostly visiting mid to low-level gardens.

Now, he had the opportunity to enter the top-tier Witchcraft Garden and couldn’t help but feel a bit excited.

He had gained many benefits from other Witchcraft Gardens and was really curious about what surprises the top-tier Witchcraft Garden would bring.

Angel was very pleased to accept this Crystal Ball, thinking it was just a reward from Rhein. However, he didn’t realize that this gift was heavier than he imagined.

If Angel had listened carefully earlier, he would have heard Rhein mention the ”activator for the All Souls’ Garden” rather than the ”admission ticket for the All Souls’ Garden.”

Rhein didn’t offer an explanation. After watching Angel pack away the activator, he smiled and asked, ”By the way, Tree Spirit told me that you’re not planning to hold a banquet. Why is that?”

Although Rhein seemed to ask casually, he was actually very focused on observing Angel, wanting to discern Angel’s true attitude through this.

Angel: ”I don’t think it’s necessary to hold a banquet. Formality will never be as meaningful as practicality.”

”You could use it as an opportunity to meet other Wizards.”

”If there’s someone helpful to me, I’ll find a way to contact them privately. Even if I meet them at the banquet, it would only be a superficial exchange.”

Rhein raised an eyebrow: ”Generally, someone born into nobility should enjoy socializing more. It seems you’re an exception.”

Angel: ”Though I’m nobility, I’m from a small town, a minor noble in a secluded area. Except for my family, there were no other nobles in our town. So, there wasn’t much opportunity for socializing.”

”And, I prefer doing research over wasting time on socializing.”

Rhein: ”You’ve always been like this since childhood?”

Angel: ”Yes, I had an excellent mentor for enlightenment.”

Rhein nodded, not making any further comments.

Angel continued: ”However, if I have to hold a banquet, I wouldn’t be opposed. It’s just that this time, I might not be able to do it, mainly because...”

”Someone’s targeting you?” Rhein: ”Tree Spirit told me.”

Rhein adjusted his posture to a more leisurely one: ”Can you tell me the details? Maybe I could help solve your problem.”

Angel: ”This matter almost led to City Lord Rosen’s demise, so it’s quite difficult to solve. However, since I’m not currently at the center of the vortex, maintaining a low profile is what I need to do now. That’s why I don’t want to make a high-profile appearance.”

Rhein didn’t quite understand Angel’s implication, but hearing ”Rosen almost met his end” caught his attention.

The involvement of the Sky Mechanical City’s lord’s life indicates something significant occurred. What exactly transpired?

The calamity of Seedlings is not just a matter for Sky Mechanical City, it could very well involve the entire Wizards’ Realm. So, Angel did not hide the details and explained everything from beginning to end.

”This matter started with the disappearance of an old friend of mine...”

In the silent space, only Angel’s voice echoed around.

To ensure nothing was missed, Angel recounted every detail of the narrative, including his psychological changes, the situation with Rosen, Muse’s speculation, and the reasons behind his decisions.

After hearing Angel’s story, Rhein was a bit dazed.

He hadn’t expected such a complex situation behind the scene, involving not only the life and death of large Witcher Organization leaders, external Wizards but also that eerie Mysterious Object!