Warlock of the Magus World 1-596

by Wen Chao Gong

  Hot sweat rolled down Aaron’s face as he gasped.

  “Again and again! This disease from my adventure in the wastelands is wasting away my spiritual force…”

  *Bang!*

  At that moment, as if unable to withstand his frustration, a piece of the floor rose up. A black gleam immediately caught Aaron’s attention.

  “What… is this?” Curiosity piqued, he dug out the black object and placed it on his palm. It was a ring with ancient writings on it, one whose surface was coated in black. Aaron’s heart skipped a beat.

  “A ring?” He twisted it around, “It’s still giving off faint energy waves, is it a magic artifact?”

  Magical artifacts, regardless of size and grade, will save your life on the battlefield. As his thoughts turned towards that direction, Aaron couldn’t help breathing heavily.

  All of a sudden, he felt a surging pain from his hand, a prick which caused him to shout and almost throw the ring to the ground.

  “What’s this?” Aaron looked at his forefinger, stunned, as blood dripped onto the ring from the punctured skin. A small thorn could be seen on the edge of the black ring, which was what had hurt him just now.

  *Xiu!* The blood drop was immediately absorbed like water on a sponge. The black ring flashed before turning grey. Simultaneously, the energy waves it was previously giving off vanished and the ring seemed to lose all power, now just an ordinary object.

  “This… is it the ‘Binding Ceremony?’ in myths” Aaron scratched his head with uncertainty.

  Although Aaron did not know much about magic artifacts, he was aware that some high-grade magic artifacts that were extremely rare required a ceremony to bind them to oneself. And the catalyst to begin these ceremonies… was blood!

  “Hahaha! Kid, you’re right!” At this moment, a voice sounded in Aaron’s head.

  “Who is it? Who’s there?” The sudden voice bewildered Aaron and he began to look around. He could see no one..

  “I’m in the palm of your hand!” replied an aged voice.

  “You are… the ring?” Aaron’s eyes suddenly widened.

  “Mm! Kid, how about we make a deal?” the old man laughed heartily.

  “No! I will not make any deals with you, nor will I sell my soul to you!” Aaron said firmly.

  Magi were not reclusive people. Aaron had heard stories about ancient beings and exotic creatures that made deals with humans, toying with them and harvesting their spirits.

  “Really? You don’t want to restore your aptitude anymore?” The old man’s laugh was sinister.

  “Re… Restore my aptitude?” Aaron’s heartbeat quickened.

  “I’ve grasped the mysteries of the soul. If your aptitude had been this low originally, it would have been difficult to increase it. But it’s still possible to reverse the effects of the damage to your soul…” the old man explained.

  “Who are you exactly? Why would you help me?” Aaron asked, reigning his emotions in.

  “I am the ancient legendary Magus, Merlin…… ‘s memory fragment!” the old man paused, causing Aaron to slip.

  “Memory fragment?”

  “Yes. My physical body has long since decayed, but this fragment has remained here, stuck in this ring…” The old man seemed to be reminiscing.

  “As for why I’m helping you, I told you before. I want something in return!”

  “What do you want?” Although Aaron was desperate for a cure to his problem, he was still alert and vigilant.

  “Don’t worry, you’re someone destined for death. How much can I really ask of you? I’m not a devil that is here to collect your soul!”

  Merlin chuckled, “I need you to gather my remaining fragments! And in return, not only will I cure your disease, I’ll even pass on a complete high-grade meditation technique to you and help you advance to become an official Magus…”

  ……

  “High-grade meditation technique, an official Magus!” Aaron was delighted, but this was immediately followed by piercing agony. Originally, he had hopes of achieving all these, but now….

  “Your remaining fragments? What do you mean?”

  “I’d originally made many magic equipments into which I’d placed fragments of my spirit. I’d been expecting big misfortune, and prepared them to tide it over. You need to help me find the remaining fragments of my spirit…”

  “Every artifact you find will be of great help to us!” Merlin reassured Aaron upon noticing his hesitation. “Besides, the current you is too weak to help me, so I’ll also help you increase your strength as much as possible!”

  “What are you trying to do? Do you intend to resurrect yourself?” Aaron guessed.

  “Hehe… The rules of Death aren’t something a trifling Magus like me can interfere with. I’m only a remnant filled with unfulfilled desires, and I’m unwilling to remain cooped up in a ring forever. I need your help to find my remaining fragments. Do this one thing for me, and we will be even. I swear on my own spirit!”

  “You don’t need to swear, I will help you!” Aaron fiercely said.

  “You’re right! What have you to gain from fooling a dead man like me? For that woman to abandon me for her own pleasure, I will not stand for it!” Aaron said with red eyes.

  “Haha! Alright, even if I’m a mere fragment, I still possess a huge amount of knowledge. All you need is that to become Twilight Zone’s premier genius! Then, you can easily rise above the others once again!” Magus Merlin laughed heartily in Aaron’s head.

  “Then, let’s summon the Trial’s Eye and sign a contract?” The fury on Aaron’s face disappeared, and he calmly stated this condition.

  “Of course!” the old man said after a brief period of silence.

  Aaron’s eyes flashed and he immediately summoned the Trial’s Eye hologram as a witness.

  “Under the witness of the Trial’s Eye….”

  In the room, the voices of two people swearing an oath could be heard.

  ……

  “It’s done!”

  On the other side, Leylin who was in the laboratory laughed, looked at his own body bound by Trial’s Eye and held a pitcher with the solution of a Nefarious Filthbird’s feathers.

  That thing was sent on purpose by the ring.

  Merlin was just a limited AI, but it could fool the inexperienced Aaron. Furthermore, at critical moments, Leylin could control him from afar.

  All in all, this was just a counterfeit of a certain ring and grandfather.

  “With what I’ve given you, how will you affect the wind and waves of Twilight Zone? I’m looking forward to it!” Leylin chuckled, and an intense light flashed in his eyes.

  ……

  As a nervous atmosphere permeated Dolon City, all the commoners were evacuated. Within days, many darkness creatures surrounded it, and among them could be seen the faint silhouettes of people.

  “Sir Leylin! Sir Fendix has invited you to the City Wall!” A middle aged man wearing golden armor respectfully informed Leylin.

  This middle aged man was Duke Fendix, the commander of the army. The Fendix Family had consecrated numerous official Magi, many of whom were famous. Furthermore, this included two of Fendix’s own descendants.

  But in front of Leylin, they were required to lower their heads like a commoner in the presence of a noble.

  “Got it!” Leylin said as he slowly closed the big book in his hand and arrived at the City Wall.

  Because this was the first attack, not only were there numerous soldiers and generals, but Magi were also present to watch.

  “Sir Leylin!” Fendix greeted Leylin, floating in mid-air.

  Leylin laughed as he flew up to join him. The two looked at a black line at the difference that was rushing at them like a tide.

  “Magnificent, is it not?” The beginning stages of the war would be fought by cannon fodder. These creatures did not possess much strength, and Fendix’s expression did not even change.

  “Magnificent indeed!” Leylin could not hel
p but say lightly as he looked beyond the wall. There were hundreds of thousands of darkness creatures down below.

  He had not expected so many darkness creatures to be here. And this number was only that of those in the area. The total number of darkness creatures in all the armies was definitely astronomical.

  “Darkness creatures, human beings, and the other species; this land cannot support all of us. Thus, every once in a while, all these races go to war…..” a female rank 2 Magus said softly at the side.

  “Among all the races, war and alliance both have occurred countless times since long ago……”

  “This war will have no winners and losers. Only after all groups have used up nearly all their resources, supplies and soldiers, only then, can the war end…..”

  Bestowal

  Upon hearing that, Leylin turned silent.

  History showed that, when both sides in a war had equal military strength at all levels, this was indeed the largest possibility.

  With the lifespan of the protector of Twilight Zone being at an end, they were actually at a disadvantage. Although the entire race wouldn’t be exterminated, the humans would lose large amounts of their territory.

  “Our strategy this time is to rely on using the three cities to defend. Every city has three rank 2 Magi stationed there, as well as a large army. The protector of the east is on standby, ready to reinforce any of the cities as required!”

  Leylin stroked his chin. “The bloodbath here will truly be terrifying….”

  “Hoo.. Hoo….”

  As if tired of waiting, many darkness creatures started an uproar as they charged towards the city’s walls.

  Ten thousand horses charged on the field, causing the ground to tremble a little.

  Fendix’s face remained unchanged and he used a secret imprint to pass a message. “Engage the first layer of defense!”

  Instantly, many runes appeared on the massive city walls of Dolon, radiating light that shaped itself into a barrier.

  *Boom!*

  Flames! Tongues of flame shot out, swallowing the darkness creatures nearby. They gradually grew larger, slowly spreading out further.

  “Isn’t it a little early to be using fire elemental formations?” Leylin cringed his brows.

  “These darkness creatures may not be strong, but there are too many of them. We cannot let them exhaust our strength in numbers with just the first exchange. In addition, we need our troops to have high morale. We still have a lot of magic crystals in reserve and these outermost formations don’t consume as many. There’s no need to worry!” Fendix gazed at the battlefield and explained to Leylin casually.

  Raging flames burned like a giant torch in the middle of the night, attracting innumerable Dark Moths to them.

  Aaron stood at the top of the city, his face pale at the sight before him. The burning corpses had a pungent odour which sent shivers down his spine.

  After waiting for the fire to burn out, the darkness creatures charged to the base of the walls and were about to enter battle with the city guard.

  Out of the corner of his eye, Aaron noticed a ferocious beast with sharp claws and fierce, pearly white teeth drooling. Immediately, he looked at the grey ring on the forefinger of his right hand and shouted out within his mind: “Grandpa Merlin! If you don’t help me now, I’m definitely dead meat!”

  “Fret not. With me here, nothing will happen to you!” Merlin’s voice sounded inside Aaron’s head. This was not Leylin talking to him, but the limited AI.

  “Originally, you could simply have defected and run away, but it’s a pity that we are now in the middle of war! If you try to escape, all the magicians in Twilight Zone will be left with no choice but to immediately hunt you down!” Merlin seemed to sigh.

  If this was during times of peace and Aaron had defected and escaped, naturally only the members of his own guild would be hunting him down. But all that changed during war,

  “Of course I know this!” Aaron panicked.

  “Move three steps backwards! Use the Secondary Energy Fireball Technique! Aim 50 degrees to the right!” Merlin commanded with a cold and stern tone.

  Aaron’s body could not help but obey the voice, and he moved three steps backwards, avoiding the claws of a beast.

  “Quack! Quack!”

  A huge black crow spiraled downwards and upon seeing Aaron’s escape, an almost human glint of regret flashed in its eyes.

  “Dammit! I. Want. To. Kill. You!” Aaron said quickly as he paused at each syllable and swung his right hand at the bird.

  A small fireball cut through the air and struck the crow.

  *Boom!* A scarlet red flame burned the crow to cinders within moments. The creature did not even get to make a sound before it was burnt to a crisp.

  “Just now, that was……” Aaron’s eyes lost focus.

  He was certain that his fireball had been aimed nowhere close to the crow. Still, it seemed to have foolishly flown into its path.

  “Foresight! This is something you must learn quickly if you don’t wish to die on the battlefield!” Merlin said from within the ring.

  And Aaron looked at the admiration in the eyes of the acolytes surrounding him, and clenched his fist tightly in the dark: “I will….”

  ……

  A few hours later, the sound of a desolate beast’s howl travelled from afar, and like the tide, all the darkness creatures retreated. Fendix nodded his head: “It seems like today was just a probe. Let us head back!”

  At this moment, several dark elf knights on their Underground Winter Spiders stood on the mud slope before the horde. Gazing at the scene, one of them nodded.

  “The enemies’ three rank 2 matriarchs are gathered here; this is where the battle shall occur. Send the signal!”

  One of the knights said a few words to a white carrier pigeon and released the bird immediately after.

  The white carrier pigeon circled in the air and flew away into the horizon.

  ……

  Night had fallen, and military curfew had made the entirety of Dolon quiet. Back in that small, moldy room, Merlin was talking to Aaron with assurance.

  “You have already been sent here. No matter what reason you have, escaping your duties is a one-way street to death. There is only one thing you can do now, and that is serve! Accumulate a lot of contribution points, and use them to speed up your advance to a rank 1 Magus! Magi all have the power to make their own decisions, which will greatly increase your chances of survival……”

  Although the entire battlefield was full of danger, there was still some hope.

  At least for the magicians, the war council had set up a reward system. This allowed one to exchange contribution points for resources.

  It is difficult for one to rise to power in periods of peace. War, however, produced countless heroes. It was a time when high risk met high reward.

  “Of course, I know this!” Aaron thought deeply: “But my aptitude and meditation technique….” He hesitated.

  “I’m working to fix your aptitude. After yesterday’s minor operation, you felt it too, didn’t you?” Merlin chuckled. The only thing manipulating him now was Leylin, who was free at the moment.

  It was Leylin himself who had harmed Aaron’s aptitude in the past. Now, with the A.I. Chip and the information he had obtained from his time in Nature’s Alliance, this sort of minor injury was easy to heal.

  Hearing this, Aaron’s expression relaxed. Ever since Merlin had conducted an operation on him, the pain from his injuries had alleviated, and his aptitude had been restored.

  “However, just this is not enough!” Merlin continued explaining, “Your aptitude is only in the third grade, and this is your limit. Magi who can increase your aptitude have long since gone extinct. Although with your current rank you can force yourself to practice your guild’s high-grade meditation technique, it doesn’t really suit you….”

  Aaron’s face sank. The high-level meditation technique passed down in this Guild was Blaz
ing Heart, and it didn’t have many requirements. As long as one had affinity for the fire element and possessed an aptitude that was at or above the third rank, they could practice it.

  But there was a problem here. His primary affinity was not fire, but water. Fire was only a secondary affinity of his. Furthermore, for a magician to practice Blazing Heart, the higher the aptitude the better. His third rank aptitude just barely met the standards.