Chapter 2512 The Fourth Level <TOC> Chapter 2514 Amesa
Translator: SumTLMan
Angel, during his time in the Savage Grottoes, had once encountered Ms. Melo. At that time, Ms. Melo, just as Shalem described, exuded elegance and a classical aura in every gesture. Her crisp, efficient manner was reminiscent of an etiquette instructor from a traditional noble family.
Now, Ms. Melo’s face bore a look of worry, yet the sense of elegance that emanated from her core was undiminished.
“Sybil… Gloshi…” Ms. Melo, dressed in a long black gown, sat on the slightly damp stone bed, whispering softly with an expression of concern.
Suddenly, Ms. Melo’s worried expression changed abruptly.
She stood up quickly, looking around in confusion.
There was nothing around; the cramped space was as oppressive as ever.
But she had clearly heard something rustling in the room. The cell outside was encircled by a large magic formation; it was impossible for insects or rats to be active, so what could that sound have been?
Or was it just her imagination?
As doubts arose in Melo’s mind, she failed to notice that the outside of the cell had become eerily quiet, unlike the usual noise of fellow prisoners.
It was only when Melo inadvertently glanced at the cell door that she was startled to see, at some unknown time, a faint mist had enveloped the window outside the bars.
Was the mist appearing in the corridor, or was it just her cell that was experiencing this anomaly?
Instinctively, Melo wanted to walk to the door to look outside.
However, she had barely taken two steps when she stopped abruptly. Because she heard noises in the room again, this time much clearer: footsteps!
Right behind her!
Melo turned around slowly, a bit stiffly, and not surprisingly, there was indeed an additional person in the cell, now leaning against the wall not far away.
He was a man with red hair and golden eyes. Melo was certain she had never seen him before.
Melo didn’t know who the visitor was or his purpose, but anyone who could bypass the external magic formation to appear in her cell was no ordinary person; he was either a high-ranking official from Princess Castle or a formal wizard.
Either way, from Melo’s current perspective, this was not likely to be a good thing.
However, regardless of what she thought internally, Melo did not show any signs of weakness; instead, she gracefully extended her hand, indicating that he could sit down.
The only place to sit in the cell was naturally the stone bed.
“A lady’s bed, I dare not sit casually, as that would be a disrespectful transgression,” Angel paused: “even if it’s a bed in a cell.”
Melo spoke softly: “Isn’t refusing a lady’s invitation also a form of rudeness?”
Angel chuckled and did not continue on this topic. He used so-called etiquette as his opening remark, feeling that it might suddenly appear and possibly make Ms. Melo nervous or uncomfortable. But now it seems that Ms. Melo, truly deserving of Shalem’s praise, remained composed even in unexpected situations.
Therefore, it was harmless to speak plainly.
Angel: “As for the issue of being rude or not, if we really need to discuss it, I think changing the venue would be better. How about at Old Porter’s tavern?”
Hearing the name ‘Old Porter’, Melo’s pupils contracted slightly. Old Porter had always been lurking in Princess Town, and almost no one knew of his connection with the Savage Grottoes. The sudden mention of this was clearly hinting at something… or perhaps a threat.
“Old Porter’s tavern is indeed a good place to talk. But that place is quite remote, how did you think of there?” After speaking, Melo’s gaze was intense, staring straight at Angel, as if trying to discern something from his expression.
“Because, I just came from there not long ago… Hmm, and there I also met someone who claims to be your friend. She previously rushed recklessly into the castle to save you, and as a result, was chased for hundreds of kilometers,” Angel delicately disclosed.
Ms. Melo remained silent.
“Aubrey,” Angel softly provided the answer.
Upon hearing the name ‘Aubrey’, the calm demeanor Ms. Melo had maintained finally changed: “…Is Aubrey alright?”
Angel: “She should be fine, and has met a rather good companion.”
After a pause, Angel continued: “I almost forgot to introduce myself.”
With that, Angel’s figure slightly elongated, his facial features rapidly changing, eventually reverting to his true appearance.
“Ms. Melo, we have met before, if you haven’t forgotten.”
Melo, staring at the person in front of her, was momentarily speechless before stuttering: “Pa… Lord Pat?”
Angel smiled slightly: “It seems Ms. Melo really does have the good memory that Shalem described.”
While it appeared that Angel was complimenting Ms. Melo’s memory, he was actually deliberately mentioning Shalem to confirm his own identity without doubt. After all, only those related to Shalem would know such an inconspicuous apprentice.
And Angel, was Shalem’s best friend. This connection, as Shalem’s senior, was certainly not unknown to Melo.
“Lord Pat, it was rude of me.” Upon confirming his identity, Melo immediately exhibited almost self-restrained etiquette.
“Don’t mind it, you’ve done very well.” Angel had said he almost forgot to introduce himself, which was naturally not true; he was curious about this person whom Shalem had highly praised, so he deliberately saved his introduction for the end, making a small test out of it. And Ms. Melo, indeed performed as calmly as expected.
“I’m here on behalf of Aubrey and Old Porter to take you away,” said Angel to Melo.
Melo’s heart leaped with joy at this, but her expression quickly dimmed. “Lord, forgive my presumption, but in leaving the Savage Grottoes, I’ve taken on the role of a guide. May I ask if it’s possible to also take with us those talents I’ve found?”
“This isn’t presumption; it’s precisely why I’m here,” Angel responded.
Talents are considered assets to any wizard organization and could potentially become key pillars in the future. Thus, it was unlikely for Angel to forsake them.
Upon confirmation, Melo finally relaxed.
“I don’t yet know which talents you’ve recruited; you’ll need to identify them for me.” After a pause, Angel slowly walked towards the door: “Please, follow me.”
Without any doubt, Melo promptly followed.
The iron door, covered in magic runes, now seemed as transparent as glass, utterly incapable of hindering their passage, they walked straight through the barred gate, appearing in the corridor beyond.
It was only then that Melo realized the mist she had seen wasn’t filling the corridors but was merely enveloping Angel… and now her as well.
This must be some sort of concealment illusion, Melo thought.
Angel continued forward, and Melo quickly caught up.
Once in the corridor, the familiar murmurs of the other prisoners finally reached her ears.
Most of these prisoners were like her, caught by the princess using various underhanded schemes. Although Melo hadn’t spoken much with them over the past few days, she felt that they were not truly culpable, and some had shown her kindness.
Hearing the familiar murmurs, Melo sighed softly.
She really wanted Angel to rescue them as well, but she also knew that making excessive demands was impolite.
All Melo could do was hope silently that they could hold on for a few more days; once she was out, she would inform their organization to come for their rescue.
As for the wandering wizards, Melo would also notify the Cross, though it was unlikely that anyone would come specifically to rescue them. After all, wandering wizards were mostly struggling themselves and hardly had the resources to help others.
“How have you been these past few days?” Angel asked casually.
“Other than the psychological pressure and worries about the talents I’ve recruited, not much else,” Melo paused: “The guards on this level are two gargoyles; they never come inside. So, staying here isn’t too bad, although no one brings us food.”
Melo, already a peak apprentice, could manage without food for months.
“It seems that the fourth level of the dungeon isn’t too bad,” compared Angel, thinking of the previous levels.
Melo responded: “Are you saying, Lord, that the talents I recruited in the first three levels of the dungeon are having a harder time?”
Angel replied: “To be precise, they are only on the first two levels of the dungeon. You can see for yourself how well they’re doing.”
Earlier, he had heard from a fat guard on the second level that the talents brought by Ms. Melo were mostly on that level. Compared to the third and fourth levels, the situation on the second was indeed not optimistic.
Melo detected the implications in Angel’s tone, and her expression grew somewhat grim.
They reached the magic formation corridor, where the poker card was still stuck in the energy conduit, allowing them unimpeded passage.
Outside the corridor, however, were those two gargoyles.
Angel’s method of dealing with them remained the same as before; Eremy enveloped them, making it easy to evade detection.
Upon reaching the third level.
Their pace began to slow; Melo needed to check each cell to see if her recruited talents were there.
Fortunately, this dungeon had no forks in the path, allowing them to search while moving forward.
The third level mainly contained transcendents, mostly first or second level apprentices. Although they all looked pale, they did not bear many signs of torture.
This gave Melo a silent hope that her talents would be in a similar condition.
However, after touring the entire third level, they did not find a single talent.
This meant all of Melo’s recruited talents were on the second level.
This made sense, as the second level mostly held ordinary people, and although the talents had abilities, they had not yet manifested them, so they were still categorized as ordinary people.
Bypassing the third level guards, they finally reached the second level.
They had not yet started searching when they heard a noise.
From the discussions in the surrounding cells, they learned that the fat guard from the second level had collapsed during his rounds, suddenly falling to the ground, dead or not, they could not tell.
Angel immediately contacted Daus using the mental connection.
Although that fat guard had been affected by his illusion, Angel had not physically touched him. The guard’s collapse was unlikely to be caused by that; probably only Daus could have achieved this.
Sure enough, Daus confirmed from the castle that he was now inside the second level dungeon: “It was me; I gave that fat pig a clout on the head.”
As for why, Daus explained that he had come to the dungeon to rescue a wandering apprentice, and upon arrival, he had seen the guard extorting the apprentice.
This extorted wanderer had once visited Daus’ Cross Bar, and Daus recognized him.
Even if he was not a friend, he was a patron of his bar, and Daus could not stand by while the guard used a club against his patron.
Thus, the matter of the stealthy strike from behind came to be.
“Don’t bother with that dead fat pig; with no guards around, I’ll set the prisoners free myself later.”
After exchanging location information with Daus, their conversation came to a halt. As Daus was also on the second level, continuing upwards was bound to lead to a meeting.
“We shall continue…” Angel turned to speak to Ms. Melo, only to find that she was no longer by his side.
Upon closer inspection, he saw that Ms. Melo was outside a dungeon cell, conversing with someone inside.
“It seems we have found the first talent,” Angel muttered as he walked over.
The expression on his face shifted to surprise upon seeing this so-called first talent.
The person in the cell was the black-haired girl with the indifferent expression that Angel had noticed earlier when he passed her cell, vaguely sensing a spark of inspiration. Unexpectedly, she turned out to be the talent Ms. Melo had recruited.
Moreover, from the warm exchange between them, Angel deduced that their relationship extended beyond that of guide and talent.
Perhaps they were even closer, familiar acquaintances, or even relatives?
Considering it was not the time for extended conversation, Ms. Melo asked a few brief questions and then approached Angel: “Lord, her name is Sybil, and she is the talent I recruited.”
Perhaps noticing the confusion in Angel’s eyes, Ms. Melo added, “I was her teacher for a while.”
Angel nodded in understanding; they indeed seemed to know each other well.
Without overthinking, Angel lightly waved his hand, and the door to Sybil’s cell swung open.
Sybil had heard Ms. Melo’s voice but had not seen where she was until the cell door opened and a mist enveloped her, after which she finally saw Ms. Melo.
Sybil’s expression visibly softened from indifference to a radiant smile upon seeing Ms. Melo.
However, her smile quickly faded when she noticed an unfamiliar man beside Ms. Melo.
“My indifferent miss, your face-changing technique has improved again,” Ms. Melo joked, then introduced Angel’s identity.
Upon learning that Angel was a formal wizard, Sybil, like Ms. Melo before her, performed a deep, respectful bow.
From a ceremonial perspective, the tradition indeed continued.