Chapter 1986 Old Acquaintances <TOC> Chapter 1988 Young Girl Jane
Translator: SumTLMan
Angel vividly recalls his first encounter with Ludwig. This man presented an image of a reliable and mature individual, markedly steady compared to his impulsive close friend——Orlando, Ludwig was the epitome of stability, so much so that Orlando overly relied on him for everything. This dependency led to their separation when assigning mentors; one was placed in the Mirror World, and the other outside of it.
Ludwig was the one who spent years training outside the mirror.
To Angel’s surprise, the Ludwig he once knew, who favored black and white attire and always carried himself with mature elegance, had undergone a noticeable change.
Now, donning brown-black leather trousers, a wine-red shirt, and a glittering gold overcoat, he looked more like a dapper gentleman ready to attend a gala rather than the austere man Angel remembered.
“What has Ludwig gone through all these years? Why such a stark contrast in his fashion sense?” Angel wondered, puzzled.
Unaware of Angel’s musings, Ludwig, standing behind the mirror, stroked his perennially unchanged mustache and smiled warmly at Vonman. “If I’m not mistaken, you must be the newcomer butcher hailed from Sky Tower, right?” he asked.
Vonman, absorbed in activating the mirror passage, didn’t respond.
Undeterred by Vonman’s demeanor, Ludwig continued twirling his mustache, saying, “Young man, climbing Sky Tower is merely a test of your strength. Harboring too much killing intent isn’t good, you know~”
After a long pause, Vonman finally squeezed out a response through clenched teeth, “Thanks for your concern.”
While his words seemed to accept the advice, his sneering expression seemed to convey a different message altogether, one that might sound like “What’s it to you?” to anyone listening.
Ludwig seemed not to understand the implication in Vonman’s words and continued, “It’s good that you understand.”
Following that, Ludwig began to ramble, “This is the advice of someone who has been through it. You need to know, when you…”
Despite Ludwig’s seemingly gentle and concerned ramblings, they only served to darken the increasingly sullen expression of the usually rebellious Vonman. However, Vonman dared not erupt in anger, especially since Ludwig had reached the pinnacle of a second level apprentice, while he was merely at the latter stages of a first level apprentice.
Had Vonman still been a mere mortal, he could have acted recklessly according to his desires. But having experienced the brutal realities of the extraordinary world, he understood deeply that a difference in level was like a chasm between heaven and earth.
Even though he was filled with extreme resentment, he didn’t dare to act out in front of Ludwig.
A fervent piece of advice was met with extreme hatred in the heart.
This strange scene unfolding before them caused all the mortals present to dare not look or listen too closely. However, Angel found it quite interesting.
He thought Ludwig had changed, but now it seemed that perhaps only his attire had changed; his penchant for preaching remained the same. However, Ludwig was not facing the mindlessly faithful Orlando, but Vonman, who had turned dark early in his childhood. No matter how earnest the preaching, it only had the opposite effect on Vonman.
Eventually, Ludwig seemed to realize Vonman’s emotional issues and sighed in regret, closing his mouth and saying no more.
This allowed Vonman to breathe a sigh of relief, and he hastened the activation of the mirror passage.
Finally, under a flicker of soft light, the mirror passage opened, and the mirror beneath their feet seemed to transform into a sea of light, slowly swallowing them up.
This peculiar sensation of falling was something that the frequently traveling merchants had grown accustomed to. However, for the young girl carrying bags big and small, this was her first experience with such a miraculous phenomenon. Her eyes, filled with both terror and longing, curiously scanned every detail around her.
“This is the world of wizards, isn’t it? Wow, it’s magical,” she murmured, her eyes sparkling with wonder.
“Yes, this is the world of wizards. Do you long for it?” Ludwig responded to the girl’s murmur.
The girl nodded: “Yes, I long for it.”
“When I was in the town before, I told you, the world of wizards is not as peaceful as you imagine. It’s filled with cruelty and killing, yet, do you still yearn for it?”
From Ludwig’s words, it was clear that this wasn’t the first time he had met the girl. Previously, he had a reason for helping this mortal girl, not just an impulsive sentiment.
“Still yearn for it, because I also want to see his world.”
“His?” Ludwig caught the unusual tone in the girl’s voice.
“Yes, the one who saved me on the snowfield, who guided me and my people to jump down the chasm to find a place to settle. I think, he must also be a transcendent, right?” Longing shone in the girl’s eyes, but in a blink, it was replaced with regret: “Unfortunately, I was very dizzy at the time, in a severe feverish state, and I can’t remember what he looked like, I only remember, only remember…”
The girl thought hard, but in the end, she could only recall an unclear silhouette.
Ludwig pondered for a moment and patted her shoulder: “Although this reason makes your longing for the wizard’s world seem a bit rash; however, the choices made in youth are often impulsive. Just like my close friend Orlando, who left the Black Continent to come to the Wizarding World and become a wizard, was actually just a random decision made on a whim.”
“And I, randomly decided to join my close friend on the path of a wizard, so I came too.”
“Since you aspire to become a transcendent, after you’ve traded goods at the underground market, you can visit the Tree Spirit Hall, where you can test if you have a talent.”
Ludwig was sincerely offering advice to the young girl. However, others nearby, upon hearing his words, held no hope for her becoming a talented individual. As merchants who dealt with extraordinary beings, they were well aware of how rare it was to become a talent. Countless young people in Windmill Town aspired to this, but the reality was that no one from the town had possessed the aptitude to become a wizard in the past five years.
A girl who had fled from the Eternal Night Kingdom likely had even slimmer chances.
Yet, unaware of this, the girl nodded vigorously after hearing Ludwig’s words: “Thank you for the advice, sir. I will give it a try.”
As she spoke, unknown to her, a thread-like mental power circled around her.
Ludwig seemed to sense something, furrowing his brows and turning to look, eventually fixing his gaze on a red-haired man. He could sense a shift in the surrounding energy, something only an extraordinary being with unclear strength, like Angel, maintaining the stability of the passage, could achieve.
Ludwig didn’t understand Angel’s intent, but since there was no further action from him, Ludwig didn’t say anything.
The person Ludwig was observing, naturally, was Angel.
He hadn’t concealed his mental power earlier but was simply curious to check the girl’s mental strength.
He wondered if Ludwig’s advice for the girl to check her talent was because he was certain of her potential to become a talent?
However, Angel was slightly disappointed to find that under his mental sense, the girl hadn’t reached the threshold of becoming a talent.
That meant it was unlikely she would become a talented individual.
It seemed, then, that Ludwig’s words might have been just a form of consolation.
Chapter 1986 Old Acquaintances <TOC> Chapter 1988 Young Girl Jane