The Wizard World

The strong sea waves surrounding the island crashed onto the shore as the serpent roared.

Their boat was pushed away by the furious waves and was almost destroyed.

The water of the sea stomped on the surface of the deck like a heavy rain.

Angele stood by the helm and prevented the water from going into his eyes with his hands. The metal string he created helped him in standing still.

The whole boat was shaking, Angele was trying his best to keep the boat balanced.

The huge wave behind them was about ten meters tall that looked like an enormous blue wall and was about to capsize the boat.

Angele turned his head around and looked up into the sky.

The tall blue screen hovered overhead and its shadow covered the whole boat.

*BAM*

The water from the sea splashed onto the dock and started bubbling on the surface of the deck.

The mast of the boat was crushed into pieces and sank into the sea within seconds.

Angele did not block the water with the forcefield, so his robe was completely wet. It felt cold and uncomfortable; the water was also dripping down his hair.

"Are you ready yet?!" Angele used the energy particles to send his words to the stern, but the strange energy flow around the island was interrupting the message.

"Done!" Isabel responded after several seconds.

Suddenly, white light flashed upon the stern.

Starting from the deck, the water on the boat froze into ice quickly.

The cabin, the stairs, and the broken mast — everything was coated with the glowing ice.

The ice barrier was created by Isabel and it provided protection for the body of the boat.

The surface of the sea became peaceful after the wave dropped onto the boat. Angele tried to use the Fire energy particles to dry his clothes.

*ROAR*

However, the snake moved its body again before he could do anything.

Another enormous wave started rushing toward the boat.

The wave chased after the boat after pushing it forward a bit.

*BAM*

The water splashed on the boat again. However, this time, the ice barrier absorbed most of the damage.

The boat finally left the danger zone. Angele stood by the railings and surveyed the island. The metal strings returned into his body.

Isabel walked to Angele. There was a flashing blue magic circle under her feet.

Angele sighed. He felt relieved. "Can you keep the barrier up?"

Isabel nodded. Her robe was soaked in water, revealing her sexy body, but she did not seem concerned.

"The ice barrier will keep the boat stable. Any creature with an intention to attack it will take Ice damage. They’ll be frozen into ice cubes unless they have enough magic resistance."

"Range and duration?" Angele wiped the dirt off his robe and started drying his clothes with the Fire energy particles as steam rose from his body.

"I can keep it up for 15 days. After that, I need to recover my mentality. The range is within 50 meters." Isabel responded, "The spell should be cast on people... It’s my first time doing something like this."

Angele nodded. Without the ice barrier, the boat would not be able to survive the second wave. They both turned around and stared at the island that already turned into a small black dot in their sights.

"Only you and me now... I heard that Melissa and Ainphent already explored the ruin several times. Something must’ve surprised them this time..." Isabel shook her head. "Thanks for... helping me. Sadly, I didn’t find the heart of the tree for you. Don’t worry, I’ll ask my family to look for the heart, and I’ll send it to you if we find it."

She waved her hand, "Margarita, bring me the..." Isabel stopped after realizing there was no one around. The only two surviving followers still had not woken up yet.

Isabel’s expression changed. She looked depressed.

"What happened in the ruin? How did you get hurt?" Angele changed the topic.

Isabel hesitated for a second and then started explaining.

"We were trapped in the darkness. The only thing I could see was the stone staircase... We could only advance as the stairs behind kept disappearing. It felt like walking on floating stairs in a space without any light." Isabel lowered her voice, "After that, strange monster-like shadows appeared in front of us. They started attacking us from all angles, and no matter how many spells I cast, they never left..."

"Same thing happened to me." Angele rubbed his chin, not mentioning that he did not see any beasts.

"The tunnels were shifting. I thought I was around the entrance, but in the next second, I saw a deep dark tunnel in front of me. A few moments later, I somehow returned to the stone staircase."

"That’s just an illusion..." Angele’s brows furrowed.

"I thought it was an illusion too, but I almost died... and I’m sure those monsters hurt me directly," Isabel spoke with a serious expression.

She suddenly stopped and stared at Angele.

"Green, what’s your first name?"

"It’s Angele, why?" Angele answered.

"How did you get me out of the illusion? You helped me, right?" She shook her head again. "Never mind, I need some rest, I hope the room is not messed up."

Angele watched her walking into the cabin.

"I shall have some rest..."

Isabel repeated her words. She sounded exhausted.

He pursed his lips after Isabel walked down the wooden stairs and returned to her cabin.

Angele did not want to go to the cabin. The whole boat was frozen, and it must be cold down there.

He stayed on the deck and took the keys down his belt.

There were about 10 keys on the ring and Angele found them in the compartment of the laboratory.

‘I don’t think I’ll be using any of them in a while.’ There was a bitter smile on Angele’s face. He was close to the Area 4, but he had to retreat, and it seemed like a wise decision.

If he did not meet Isabel, he might’ve failed to escape in time. Angele still had no idea where that serpent came from, but he was certain that no heart bomb would deal any damage to the monster.

Angele shook his head again. There were many mysteries to solve, but he did not think he would come back here anytime soon.

****************************

Inside the tunnels of the ruin.

The laboratory.

A man slowly stepped into the room and walked to one of the glowing sapphires in the corner.

He raised his hand and pressed on the surface of the sapphire. It was a bleeding hand with no skin attached to it. The red flesh and white muscle were exposed to the air, giving the impression of an anatomical model.

*KA*

The sapphire loosened and started moving left, revealing a square compartment.

The diary and the keys were no longer there, what was left was a pile of black ash.

The man stood in front of the compartment until the sapphire returned to its original position.

*Crack*

Suddenly, all the glowing sapphires in the room broke into pieces.

The light extinguished from the room and the laboratory sank into darkness.

************************

Angele threw the keys into the air and caught them with both hands. He decided to tie them to the belt again.

The black keys suddenly started glowing.

They turned into a black string and went into the signet on his left palm.

"Huh?" The pain in his left palm was intense. Angele raised his left hand and saw the black string twisting in the center of the signet like a snake.

"What’s going on?!"

His sight blurred and saw the black keys lying on the palm quietly.

"That was an illusion...? Interesting." Angele thought that he acquired something incredible and he wanted to know what those keys were made from.

He threw the keys into the air again, and the signet on the left palm heated up. It meant the keys were the source of the illusion.

Angele’s back numbed. He could hear a beast breathing behind him close to his neck.

Again, the illusion disappeared after his sight blurred.

It made Angele even more interested in the keys.

He threw the keys into the air one more time.

*ROAR*

The beast got even closer. Angele leaned to the side and something chilly passed by the side of his face.

It felt like his cheek was lacerated by a blade, and the illusion disappeared again.

"Wait... I’ve read about something like this in the books..." There was only one possibility. His eyes shone.

However, something was dripping down his chin. He rubbed his cheek with his right hand; there was a wound.

Angele’s expression changed. He looked at his hand.

His fingers were covered in blood.

"The tale was true... I need to start the experiment after I get back," Angele muttered.

‘Zero, why didn’t you warn me about the attack?’ Angele questioned.

‘No threat was detected.’ Zero’s mechanical voice echoed in his head.

‘Scan and analyze those keys for me.’ Angele carefully held the keys in his hand. He decided to be cautious this time.

Blue light dots flashed in front of Angele’s eyes, and after several seconds, rows of information were listed beside the hologram of the black keys. That information list was being refreshed every second.

Angele skipped most of the unnecessary information and stared at the most important data.

‘Weight of the keys, 0g.’

‘Forcefield detected.’

‘Mentality wave detected.’

‘Its structure can’t be scanned.’

‘Zero?’ Angele could feel the weight of the keys. It was about 500 grams, yet the chip said it was zero grams.

The information of the keys was still being refreshed in Angele’s sight. After about two minutes, the analysis was finally completed.

The last row indicated the material used to craft those keys.