Chapter 701 The New Dome <TOC> Chapter 703 The Ancient Sea
Translator: SumTLMan
The teleportation formation of Twilight’s Edge was not established at their headquarters, but on the Eternal Night Mountain.
The Eternal Night Mountain is a gathering camp that Twilight’s Edge had developed in recent years. They claimed it was for the convenience of various organizations to set up their bases, but many people rumored that it was actually to compete with Sleepless City. Since Sleepless City had an Eternal Day City, they established a Lightless Mountain, which they called Eternal Night Mountain.
Although it sounded childish, sometimes it didn’t matter as long as it could provoke the opponents. Moreover, the Eternal Night Mountain had played its role, and its name was just a gimmick to irritate the other side.
When Angel arrived at Eternal Night Mountain, he found that the number of people there had surged, but they all hurried along, mostly heading towards the teleportation formation.
There were many people at the teleportation point, and Angel activated his Boundless Silence to blend into the crowd.
As the queue moved forward, Angel gradually understood why so many people had gathered here. It was mostly because of the dark dome over Snowy Peak City. The transcendent beings were not fools; they could see the awkward situation of Twilight’s Edge. Since Snowy Peak City had a dark dome, Twilight’s Edge might also become the landing site for the dark dome.
Even if it was just a possibility, it was better to leave this place for self-preservation.
Angel himself felt that Twilight’s Edge was very likely to be chosen as the attack site by the Nightmare Plane’s creatures since it was full of tempting transcendent beings.
Angel arrived early enough and quickly got his turn.
Following the instructions of the on-site apprentice, Angel stepped onto the teleportation formation.
Ironically, he should be thankful for the dome over Snowy Peak City. Many official wizards also planned to leave Twilight’s Edge, either to seek help or to evacuate. The place Angel was heading to, White Shell Seaport, happened to have a wizard transferring from there.
This wizard appeared cold and didn’t talk much, but as long as you paid a certain price, he didn’t mind providing protection for the apprentices boarding the teleportation formation.
Although the cost of protection was high, amounting to three digits, it was equivalent to buying a life. Long-distance teleportation without the protection of an official wizard would make apprentices prone to getting lost or perishing.
After paying the protection fee and the number of people on the teleportation formation reaching the limit, a flash of light occurred, and the space shifted.
After a moment of darkness and weightlessness, Angel smelled the salty scent of the sea.
Opening his eyes, the surroundings had changed dramatically, and he could hear the sound of the waves. The sunlight broke through the clouds and lazily shone on his skin.
The Eternal Night Mountain was devoid of light all year round, while this place was bathed in sunlight; it must be White Shell Seaport.
The apprentices around him were still dizzy from the aftereffects of the long-distance teleportation. The official wizard had already taken big strides, walking towards the outside of the teleportation formation.
Upon passing Angel, his eyebrows raised in surprise, as he didn’t expect someone to withstand the dizziness of spatial teleportation. After all, he was only responsible for their safety, not for shielding them from these negative effects.
However, he only took a curious glance, wondering in his mind, “Could it be a space-related apprentice?”
Then he left toward the outer perimeter.
Angel was unaware of his thoughts, but even if he were, he would just dismiss them with a smile.
He didn’t pay attention to the apprentices still wailing within the teleportation formation, instead quickly stepping away from the teleportation point.
Once out of the range of the formation, taking advantage of the lack of observers, Angel’s face instantly transformed from a handsome young man to a plain, square-jawed face. At the same time, his presence significantly diminished, his eyes dull and despondent, as if a stone were tossed into the sea among a crowd.
This was the effect of simultaneously activating Illusion Transformation Spell and Boundless Silence.
Although Angel didn’t think the Rat Ant Underground Society would arrive so quickly, he took concealment measures just in case.
White Shell Sea City was a wizard market near the coast of the Guman Kingdom, not very large, and not many people usually came here. However, White Shell Sea City had its advantages; first, it was not backed by the Guman Kingdom, but by Sky Mechanical City.
Furthermore, it was located along the southern coast of the Vast Continent, with boundless seas to the south and various continents across the sea.
While most of these continents were mundane territories, each had its own rich resources, and Sky Mechanical City was willing to establish a wizard market here to act as a transit point for these resources.
Hence, although White Shell Sea City was not very large, it was a relatively significant resource transit hub.
While strolling along the streets lined with buildings reflecting White Shell Sea City’s unique style, Angel even discovered some crafts with a sea wave style, characteristic of the Sea Wave Dynasty, an island nation adjacent to the Goldfinch Empire. When Angel left the Old Land Continent, these two countries were still at war, with the Pat family continuously supplying resources for the front line.
Even though the Sea Wave Dynasty was an enemy of the Goldfinch Empire, Angel felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity upon seeing their crafts here.
Angel didn’t linger long on the streets, instead heading directly to the Savage Grottoes outpost.
There were few wizard organization outposts in White Shell Sea City due to the direct supply of resources to Sky Mechanical City; without profits, the area would be neglected.
However, it wasn’t completely devoid of them. There were still some wizard organizations with outposts here, choosing to station themselves for resources, primarily human resources.
Sky Mechanical City sought special resources from other continents, but they had no particular interest in attracting talent like the gifted. They were well aware that any monopolistic behavior could easily provoke backlash. Even if they had the strength to suppress dissent, the resourceful Mechanical City would never resort to exhausting all resources. To establish Sky Towers and teleportation circles, and even export their steam culture and mechanical products, they had to cooperate with major wizard organizations, otherwise, even the well-established Mechanical City would not be able to withstand the cold reception.
Savage Grottoes was one of the few wizard organizations that established a base here. Following the Eternal Tree’s emblem, Angel quickly arrived at a domed building erected by the Savage Grottoes.
There were no wizards stationed here, only a few wizard apprentices, the strongest of whom was an elderly man with a white beard that touched the ground, just barely reaching the level of a third-level apprentice.
Upon Angel’s entry, he drew everyone’s attention, and they all looked at him with fervent gazes. While Angel was still puzzled, the white-bearded old man approached him, leaning on his cane, “Old man Boro, may I know how to address you, sir?”
“Pat,” Angel followed the etiquette of the nobility and whispered.
“Sir Pat, what brings you here?”
At this point, a young man with passionate eyes came up, “Old man Boro, just ask him directly what mission he has accepted. Your pedantic talk is making my skin crawl.”
The young man had distinctive features: his right eyebrow was naturally raised high, and the tail of his eyebrow drooped slightly. Although he was handsome, his unique right eyebrow made him look amusing.
Seeing Angel staring at him, the young man grinned, “You can call me Hemi, but I prefer to be called ‘Right Demon Eye,’ which is my nickname, certified by Sky Tower!”
Angel forced a smile and greeted them, then curiously asked, “What was the mission you were talking about just now?”
Hemi and Boro exchanged glances, then asked doubtfully, “Aren’t you from the headquarters?”
As they explained, Angel gradually understood the ins and outs, as well as why those wizard apprentices looked at him with such fervent eyes.
Because at their location in White Shell Sea City, few outsiders visited. Generally, those who came here were from the headquarters. And people coming from the headquarters had only two purposes.
First, to accept a Guide Mission and set sail from here. Second, to accept a garrison mission and stay here on guard.
There was basically no third purpose, and those who accepted Guide Missions mostly arrived in the spring when the frozen sea routes had thawed, allowing access to more continents and increasing the chances of finding the gifted.
Many times, discovering talented individuals proves to be time-consuming and challenging, and although the rewards are good, it is highly possible to hinder one’s progress. As a result, few apprentices are willing to accept Guide Missions. In the end, these missions fall to the hands of official wizards, who rarely visit outposts. Therefore, the apprentices present all believed that Angel had accepted a second mission, a garrison assignment.
Being stationed here, the rewards for each mission were decent, but far from the headquarters and with limited resources, apprentices couldn’t receive guidance from their mentors. Consequently, most of the wizard apprentices eagerly hoped for someone to replace them.
Thus, when Angel arrived, the group of apprentices gazed at him with fervent anticipation.
“Hey, if you say you’re from headquarters, then what mission are you taking? It must be a garrison assignment, right? Come on, let’s get this handover done quickly, I’ve had enough of the bland days here,” Hemi raised his eyebrows, and his already high brow ridge appeared even more prominent. His right eyebrow seemed to be packing its bags, ready to part ways with his eye, creating a comical look.
“Hemi, why should I handover with you? You were the last one to arrive. If anything, it should be me; I’ve been here for almost two years,” an apprentice immediately protested.
“I have bigger fists, that’s why!” Hemi threatened menacingly.
“Boss Demon Eye, please give me this opportunity. I’ve been a second-level apprentice for so long, and I haven’t even learned a few first-level tricks,” another apprentice feigned sobbing.
Hemi only responded with a sound of disdain.
Angel found the situation amusing and turned to ask the smiling old man Boro, “Don’t you want to go back to headquarters?”
Boro replied, “I do, but my lifespan is reaching its limit, and my mentor has already taught me all he can. I’ve learned what I should, and I probably won’t learn what I can’t, even if I go back. It’s better to stay here and see if I can find an opportunity for a breakthrough.”
“Is there a chance for a breakthrough here?” Angel asked, puzzled.
“This place is adjacent to the Devil’s Sea, and wizards often come and go. You never know when you might pick up a piece of wisdom left behind by a wizard,” Boro paused before continuing, “You know Phantom Master, right? The war god from our Savage Grottoes?”
“Of course, I know him.” Not only did Angel know him, but they were also quite familiar with each other.
“Last time, Phantom Master rode a cloud whale to sea and killed a tiger-striped giant squid while passing through the Devil’s Sea. He only took a portion of the cartilage and casually threw the rest into the sea. Many people benefited from it, and some may have even advanced to become wizards because of it,” Boro sighed, “That’s the opportunity I’m talking about.”