Abe the Wizard

“This should be the central continent,” Able murmured to himself. The energy emitted from the super teleportation circle beneath him had yet to disappear completely. At the same time, he felt that his portal divine item, “Valaya’s ring,” was shaking on its own. This was because Valaya’s ring had already declared its owner. He was able to detect any change that was happening.

This time, it was the crystal angel statue. Once his power of the Will entered the “Valaya’s ring,” he could find that the change came from a piece of Tyriel’s corrupted soul that’s transformed into a crystal angel crystal. Once he connected his power of the Will to it, countless messages poured into his brain like tides during the night. He tried to remove his power of the WIll away but realized that it was stuck to the crystal angel statue itself. It was like the two had merged into one.

Abel’s soul was quite complicated. While he was mostly a human, he also possessed a giant dragon’s properties from absorbing the dragon essence of a blue dragon crystal and the fragments’ spiritual properties that Archangel Tyriel left.

Originally, the crystal angel statue was without the power of faith. It appeared dead without the energy to power it up. That was until when Abel came to the central continent. It’s like it was starting to feel the power of faith, so when Abel’s power of the Will first made contact with it, this was when the angel symbol automatically switched itself on.

The ridiculous amount of energy made Abel’s brain hurt very badly. He had to quickly switch to his druid spirit to make himself feel better. Whilst seizing this chance, he turned on his world stone fragment’s digitalization ability to get a better read at the incoming messages.

“Please forgive my sins, my spirit. I have cut a tree in my neighbor’s house.”

“My spirits! Bless me so that I’ll pass the exam this time.”

“My spirits, o my spirits, I beg you. Please, may I and Ming Ni, the love of my life, come together as lovers.”

“Save my dog, o my spirit. It’s about to die now.”

“My spirit, my mother is sick. I hope you cure her quickly enough.”

…

Thousands over thousands of messages were sent to his brain. He was lucky to have the world stone fragment help him sort through these. In a very short period of time, it organized them so that they became very easy to read. He was finally to get a sense of what these messages meant. They were mostly content for praying to the spirit, so it seemed. He couldn’t quite understand why he understood it now, but whatever the case was, there was just so much he had to process that he couldn’t think of anything else.

This was when a light flashed across the world stone fragments inside his pineal glands. From there, the crystal angel statue flew straight out of his Valaya’s ring. An imaginary crack appeared between his eyes, and the statue flew into it. After that, the messages disappeared. The crack disappeared with it as though it was never there, to begin with.

Abel didn’t know what to do in the face of this situation. He would make use of the crystal angel statue’s power, but it was coming back into his pineal glands. The world stone fragment was clearly trying to suppress its powers. Still, if he tried to think about using the crystal angel statue, the countless messages of prayer would quickly be sent to his brain. He could also do the reverse by thinking about switching them off. Yet, despite having made the voice disappear, the sounds of prayer were simply muted, but they didn’t stop going inside his brain. Thin threads of the power of faith continued to form inside the crystal angel statue.

Speaking of which, it seemed like the central continent’s worshippers had mistaken their own spirits with the archangel that the crystal angel statue represented. It probably had to do with the fact that they were so similar, so it kind of made sense that they would get the two mixed up.

Before, Abel couldn’t find anyone to ask what the crystal angel statue was, but now that the situation came to this, it became even harder to ask people about it. If it had something to do with spirits, it must be some sort of divine-level item. This wasn’t the Holy Continent. If it was, he would’ve been a lot more confident to ask people questions, but he thought that he should try to be more vigilant in a place that he wasn’t familiar with.

“A new wizard! Please, come with me,” a wizard dressed in white came to speak to him. The energy around them was just about to stabilize, and the door inside this hallroom was opened.

Abel followed the white-robed wizard towards where the super teleportation circle was located. Once he went out of it, he began to see many pillars with spell runes drawn all over them. The pillars were about ten meters tall. There were about a hundred or more that surrounded this entire building. He could sense that they were absorbing the mana that was in the thin air. The mana concentration was very thick here. It was actually much better than where the large-sized mana gathering circle was. Perhaps this was the legendary super mana gathering circle. He didn’t have a way to know that for sure, though.

Not a lot of people on the Holy Continent knew about the central continent. A few knew, but no one really bothered talking to him about it in detail, so he had to guess about them himself.

Abel asked the white-robed wizard as they walked, “My name is Abel, you honorable wizard. How would you like me to address you?”

Wizard Grover spoke in a friendly tone, “The name is Grover. As you can see from my crest, I’m a level seventeen. You don’t have to call me by my title, though.”

Abel went on to ask, “So where are we going, Wizard Grover?”

Wizard Grover walked and explained, “I’m taking you to an identity registration. This way, the Wizard Union will know all there is about you. It’s the only way that the Wizard Union will acknowledge you.”

Abel nodded and asked, “Oh, sure. Wizard Grover, why are you not using the instantaneous movement? We don’t have to walk there, do we?”

Only a few wizards would choose to walk to where they wanted to go on the Holy Continent. The “instantaneous movement” was just too convenient, so they never really bothered using their legs.

Wizard Grober stopped as they came to a dark-grey building, “Since you are a newcomer, Wizard Abel, let me explain some of the rules to you. Don’t use the “instantaneous movement” while you are here, because that is going to be perceived as provoking the defensive circle. The circle spirit would target you if you tried to do anything unusual.”

Abel looked towards the building that was in front of him. He could tell that the building was built for defensive purposes. There were defensive runes drawn over the dark grey surface. With a scan of his sign card, Wizard Grover opened the door for him.

WIzard Grover reminded him, “Before careful here, alright? This is the patrol point of the super teleportation circle.”

Abel followed and walked into the door. He could tell that a scanning force was sweeping across his body. It quickly disappeared, though, as his identity was immediately verified and accepted.

Once he came in, he saw that there was a big hall with not a lot of people inside. There were only five wizards that he could see. One was an advanced wizard, whereas the others were beginner wizards. The four beginner wizards were sitting at the office table, so it was easy to tell that they were supposed to do administration work. The advanced wizard had a slightly fat belly and a big, clean smile on his face.

Wizard Grover pointed towards a beginner wizard next, “There, Wizard Abel. You can do your registration there.”

The beginner wizard said humbly, “Please, sir Wizard, hand your crest to me.”

Abel took off his crest and passed it over. The beginner wizard took the crest over and placed it on top of a small-sized circle on the table. Quickly, after a white light flashed across it, he took the crest off and returned it to Abel.

Abel asked curiously, “That was pretty quick.”

The beginner wizard nodded and spoke, “Your information has been verified, sir Wizard. From now, you will receive a monthly tribute from the Wizard Union. You just have to go to any one of the branch buildings to collect it.”

“There’s a monthly tribute?”

The beginner wizard explained patiently, “You are an advanced wizard, sir Wizard. Every month, you’ll be able to collect a tribute of five intermediate gemstones from the Wizard Union. If you decide to work for the Wizard Union, or, if you were to help the Wizard Union complete its missions, you’d be able to receive more rewards in the future.”

Five intermediate gemstones a month. Abel quickly lost interest when he heard this number. He didn’t think that the income would be so low for an advanced wizard like him. Like, if this was his only source of income, it would be nowhere close enough for his own training and magic towers. The disappointment on his face was clearly showing to the other wizards that were here.

The fat advanced wizard came and asked kindly, “By the way, newcomer, I think you should get something good to protect yourself. It is quite dangerous here.”

Abel turned towards the fat advanced wizard, but the corner of his eyes realized that the beginner wizard next to him had a strange expression on his face. This fat wizard sounded friendly, but he couldn’t sense any friendly intentions coming out of him. He was right about one thing, though. After dropping his gears, rune custom, and physical combat equipment, all that he was wearing now was an expensive robe. Right now, there was nothing special between him or any regular advanced wizards. It was just like the advice of Wizard Dunn. Wizard Dunn advised him not to reveal his identity as a knight, so he didn’t bring anything related to knights.

“Wizard Dickens!”

Just when Wizard Grover was about to stop Wizard Dickens, Wizard Dickens went in and stopped him with his hand. Wizard Grover wanted to say more to stop, but he didn’t seem to want to upset his friend.

Wizard Dickens took out a magic armor from his portal bag, “Have a look, eh? It’s just 1000 intermediate gemstones. Looks pretty good to me.”

Abel could tell that this was just an ordinary piece. He could also tell that this was a piece that was made with techniques of the dark world.

Wizard Dickens said in a more certain tone, “Look! Reduced spell damage 4 and 30% increase in defense! It’s just 1000 intermediate stones. What are you waiting for?”

Abel tried to be polite, “I’m just a wizard, Wizard Dickens. Thank you, but I don’t think I’ll have much use for this.”

“Very well, very well!” Wizard Dickens said as he took out more, “Here’s a leather armor for you if regular armor doesn’t do! Here, I’ve got a magic one if you need it. It’s not as effective as the other ones, but I’ll take just 800 gemstones from you for it.”

“Thank you, but I don’t need them.”

If Abel wasn’t a grandmaster blacksmith that happened to know about the dark world’s forgery, he would’ve easily bought these and been fooled by Wizard Dickens.

Wizard Dickens persisted, “Are you sure that you don’t want to consider? The outside is very dangerous, you know! Without the proper protection, it’s very likely for you to get injured!”

Wizard Grover couldn’t bear watching anymore, “Um, Wizard Dickens, I suggest you take a good look at this wizard’s age.”

Wizard Dickens didn’t bother doing this until he heard. Quickly, he could sense that the wizard in front of him was ridiculously young and vibrant. Unlike those who were sent here when they were about a few centuries, this one seemed very promising. It was one thing to fool an old man, but trouble would surely come if he increased his power to fool someone as young as this.

Wizard Dickens quickly left, “Um, many apologies, Wizard Abel. I’ll be off since I’ve something to do.”

Wizard Grover tried to explain, “Don’t blame him too much, Wizard Abel. I’ve been looking over this super teleportation circle with him for about a century now. The mana here is pretty neat, but apart from that, there really isn’t a stable source for us to get an income. What we get each month is just enough for our training, so if anyone new decided to come, he would try to sell them his second-hand equipment.”

Abel smiled in response, “That’s okay, Wizard Grover. I don’t know that much about the central continent. Actually, do you have a map or something I don’t even know what this place really is?”

Wizard Grover replied, “This is the very edge of the central continent. The city that we are at is called Annual City. It’s the meeting point for the eighteen continental super teleportation circle in the west. If you need a map, you can make a purchase at the map shop outside. Remember, though. Everything that you buy here must be bought with a magic stone.”

The eighteen continents of the west. Abel couldn’t help but feel very shocked to hear that. Just how big was this world? He’s traveled the ocean before, but he’s never known that there were eighteen continents in the west. According to what Emmanuel told him, the dragons guarded a radius of ten thousand miles from the Holy Continent. Perhaps the world was really much larger than what he had imagined.

Abel thanked Wizard Grover as he prepared to leave, “Very well. Thank you for your company, Wizard Grover. I guess I’ll be off now.”

Wizard Grover tried to send a last reminder, “I suggest you stay longer at Annual City. The Wizard Union has already sent over your information. You are a pretty talented man yourself. I’m pretty that the wizard organization there would welcome you to join. Also, once you are in the Wizard Organization, you’ll receive immediate protection from the central continent. You’ll be able to receive a lot more resources for your training than if you’re doing it on your own.”

Abel tried to be safe about it, “Hmm, alright. I guess I’ll look for the lightning kin Wizard Organization, then. Do you know where its branch is?”

“The lightning kin?” Wizard Grover looked at Abel with a concerned expression, “Are you planning to pay a visit to you senior? It’s very difficult to get into the lightning kin, you know.”

Abel took out his sign card, “No, no-no. I have a sign card that belongs to the lightning kin. It should be fine if I was to make an entrance there, no?”

Wizard Grover’s expression stiffened at the sight of the card. He was a little afraid and jealous when he saw the sign card Abel was holding.

Wizard Grover spoke in a humble voice, “It’s located at the land of the Lightning Fall. You can go there from the teleportation circle at Annual City.”

After bowing to show his gratitude, Abel left this spot from the hall room’s front door. When he was gone, Wizard Grover couldn’t help but look at Wizard Dickens.

“Best if you stop doing this, Wizard Dickens. It’s not worth the gold. It’d be really bad if you run into people you don’t want to mess with.”

The hallroom inside the waiting room wasn’t too big, so everything Abel said was already heard by the wizards here. Wizard Dickens, especially. He was quite shocked when he heard about the lightning kin that he was referring to. He was a rank seventeen advanced wizard himself, but if he was facing a rank sixteen wizard, he was sure that he wouldn’t stand much of a chance at all. The lightning spells were quite notorious for wizards.

As they walked out of the stopping point, he went to follow the front of the avenue. That was when he saw a fence that surrounded the end of the door. There were no guards at this door. As he went close to it, he saw that the door opened quite quickly after it verified his identity. The door quickly closed once he went inside. The world inside and outside the fence was like two separate worlds, so it seemed. While the inside was filled with mana, the outside seemed like any other ordinary human city.

As Abel perceived it, this city didn’t seem all that different from human cities on the Holy Continent. There were regular vendors on either side of the street. He was ready to take a rest for the entire day. He wanted to make sure that he understood the local culture before making his next move.

He entered an inn, then saw that there was a waiter coming to him. However, a fat middle-aged man interrupted to do the greeting himself.

“Honourable wizard! The name is Darry. I’m the owner of this place. Is there anything that you need?”

Abel said after giving a place a quick scan, “A clean room, please. Actually, I want some lunch as well.”

Darry, the owner, said with a very wide grin, “Yes, honorable wizard! A room will be prepared very quickly for you. You! Get the best room ready. Make sure you clean it fast.”

The servant quickly bowed and rushed to the upstairs.

Darry carefully bowed, “So what would you like, honorable wizard? I’ve got some fresh beef just butchered today. There are also some vegetables and red wine that was moved here from Gundlach City.”

Abel spoke rather casually, “A serving of steak, please, and two of your chef’s best dishes. I don’t want the red wine, though. Do you have any juice here?”

Darry quickly gave a response, “Yes! Juice, is it? I got mountain pear and crystal grapes. Choose, and I’ll have someone crush them into juice for you.”

To be honest, the inn was never meant for fine dining. The regular customers preferred rum with whatever that they were eating. The juice was not something that a lot of people would get. But, very well. Abel was a wizard. If he ordered it, then the order must be completed.

“Is there any water spirit fruit, by any chance?” Abel asked but quickly realized that there was no way that there was any, “Actually, nevermind. I’ll get a snow mountain pear juice.”

“Pfft!”

A louder came from the other table. There was a group of guests that were eating at table number one. It was noontime time now. There were five tables that were occupied, which was about half of this entire inn.

The laughter came from the young female adventurer. There were three men that were sitting with her. Judging from how she carried a bow even while she was eating, it was easy to tell how much she valued it. As for the other two, one was a strong middle-aged man that had a large shield and lance on the ground next to him. Seeing how rude the young female adventurer was, he stood up and stared at her.

He bowed to Abel, “Many apologies, sir Wizard. Bethy here is still, um, she’s just a young lass.”

Young Bethy argued back, “Hey, why are you apologizing to him, captain? Isn’t it funny that he’s ordering a water spirit fruit juice? In a crappy shop like this?”

Abel didn’t seem to mind as he made a bow, “Sorry, I was rude back then.”

After saying that, he found an empty table and sat there. The captain seemed quite shocked, though. He saw the wizard crest on Abel’s chest, and it made cold sweat fall from his forehead.

Captain’s stare was getting more serious, “Apologize to the wizard, Bethy.”

Bethy wasn’t dumb. She had been out venturing in the wild for too long. All the quests she did was making her forget how to behave in the city.”

Bethy stood up and apologized, “I’m sorry, sir Wizard.”

Abel stood up and returned a bow. As it turned out, maybe he was only the one that understood what the wizard crest was supposed to symbolize. The tables quickly got back to their chattering and whatnot, but the table that Abel was in was very quiet. Most adventurers wouldn’t feel comfortable eating with an advanced wizard in the same room. It was a bit of a shame. He was hoping to get this chance to know about the central continent, but he was the only person that was sitting at his table.

Abel listened to the chatters as he enjoyed the lunch here. It was not as good as what the chefs of Harry Castle made for him, but he could still tell that the food was made very carefully. When he was done, he also heard something that he’d like to know more about.

So apparently, the leader of Annual was the city mayor. He was a royal with the title of viscount, and there were about a thousand lancers with him to keep the city safe. Despite being the bordering city of the central continent, due to its geographical location, there were a lot of spiritual beasts that resided in the forest. This made Annual City a favorite among adventurers. Everything here was just about the same as when it was on Holy Continents. The royals kept the cities running while the adventurers tried to find opportunities to become rich. It was the same in some regards.

There was something that seemed very peculiar, however. Out of all the conversations that he’s been eavesdropping on, the word “Knight” was never mentioned. It was like the knights never actually existed. How, then, would the royals maintain their authority to rule over the cities? Was it the lancers that were with him?

Perhaps it was time for him to try to actively understand the situation. He stood up, went to the table that the adventure just left, and grabbed a chair to sit on.

“Hello there, everyone!” He smiled and called for everyone’s attention, “A toast to everyone! Waiter, get a cup of fine wine for every gentleman here.”

The captain asked cautiously, “What are you after, sir Wizard?”

It was easy to tell that Abel had no ill intentions, but Bethy just made fun of him. This could go very badly. Annual City was not the most advanced city there was. No one was really capable of stopping an advanced wizard if he wanted to commit murder.

Abel tried to break the tension with his smile, “I just want to ask some simple questions, alright? I came from another continent. There’s not a lot that I knew about this place. Since you seemed quite experienced yourself, kind sir. I’m just here to ask some ordinary questions about the cultures and whatnot.”

The captain seemed to relax, “Oh, that’s quite alright, then. Ask me anything, sir Wizard. I’ll do my best to answer them.”

Abel asked, “Um, for starters, are there knights here?”

That question quickly made the captain very anxious. If Abel didn’t tell him that he just came to the central continent, it was not hard to imagine that he wouldn’t be sitting here.

The captain quickly whispered, “The knights are symbols of evil. Eeeeevil, get it? They are a taboo on the Holy Continent.”

Now it was Abel’s turn to be shocked. Knights were evil? As far as he saw it, while there were some absolute scumbag knights on the holy continent, most of them did follow through as disciplined representatives of the idea of righteousness and justice. In times of war, they were usually warriors that rushed to the very frontline.

Abel went on to ask, “Why are they considered evil?”

“Because here on the central continent, where there are knights, there is the nation of evil is!”

The nation of evil. As soon as that name was mentioned, pure hatred started showing on the captain’s face.