The Wizard World

Bubbles rose to the surface as Angele put the pouch into the lake. The water was clean and cold. He could see the fish swimming through the waving grasses underwater.

There were thin ripples on the surface of the water, and Angele saw a palm-sized silver fish moving toward him. Strangely, its head was flat, and it almost looked like someone had cut it in half. Its face looked like a tiny depressed human with sharp teeth under the lips.

The strange-looking fish saw Angele’s hands in the lake, and its eyes filled up with greed. It quickly swung its tail and charged forward.

*CHI*

A silver needle appeared on the tip of Angele’s right hand’s index finger and penetrated the fish’s body.

He grabbed the dead fish, dragged it out of the water, and started observing curiously.

It was identical to regular silver-scaled fish except for its head. The fish was still moving after it was dragged out of the water, blood dripping down its tail.

Angele’s actions attracted people’s attention from one of the groups that had already left after washing their faces. A young man and a girl from the group beside the campfire watched him killing it. They were interested in the spell Angele had just casted.

Angele dropped the dead fish onto the ground and walked to the people beside the campfire.

They were wearing clothes with identical sigils. Some of them were in hunting suits while the others were wearing robes and dresses. White arrow marks were on top of their left shoulders; it looked like they were made of metal.

Angele took a glance at their carriages and also found the white arrow marks there, on the black doors. They looked simple but high-quality.

A young man stood up after seeing Angele walking over to them. He was wearing a brown leather coat and long boots. It seemed like he was the leader of the group.

"How can I help you?" the man asked in standard Anmag. It was the universal language in this area.

The other five people looked at Angele and stood up as well. Angele took a glance at them and checked their status with the chip.

Three rank 2 apprentices and 3 rank 3 apprentices. They were also carrying weapons like swords and scimitars.

"My name is Green, it’s my first time here. Can you tell me some information about the Land of Opulence, Nola?" Angele answered in Anmag with a smile, making up the name on the spot.

He slightly swung his hand and a regular magic stone appeared on his palm. The leader observed Angele for a second and smiled after seeing what was on his palm.

"Sure, no problem. Come have a seat."

The leader waved his hand and asked the others to make space for Angele.

Angele walked to the campfire and sat down by it.

"Can you tell me about the organizations around here first, I really have no idea about the situation."

The leader sat down by Angele and pointed at a young girl wearing a leather skirt.

"Asuna, explain it to him, you know the most about the organizations."

The girl nodded, looking happy. The other people around shook their heads. It seemed like they all liked the only girl in the group.

"Sure, I need the money anyway." The girl turned her head around and looked at Angele.

"The situation of the organizations here is simple."

She cleared her throat.

"Nola has three major wizard organizations: Six Ring High Tower, White Tooth Castle, and The Snake Bird Cliff. The Six Ring High Tower has the most power, while White Tooth Castle is located at White Tooth Highland, and it is second in power. The Snake Bird Cliff is at the third place.

"The Six Ring High Tower is famous for its enchanted items and potions. The White Tooth Castle is the strangest organization among the light wizards, and The Snake Bird Cliff is not funded by humans. Also, there are many small wizard organizations in the area just trying to survive with their specialties, and that concludes the situation of the wizard organizations."

Angele nodded. "How about the mortals? The cities and the towns?"

"There are not many mortals here, most of the people are apprentices and they’re from wizard families. The organizations need to trade resources with each other, so many towns and cities have turned into trading markets. Also, the wizards brought radiation energy to the residential areas, so the mortals here had to leave. The people left here are all related to the wizard families," the girl explained.

"There are many wizards and apprentices entering the land from outside to trade for resources or knowledge. One of the largest resource points on the land is also in the middle of the countries in the area."

Angele rubbed his chin, grasping the general idea of the situation here.

"So, this area is pretty much run by wizards and apprentices?"

"You’re right. Nola is surrounded by many wizards’ residential areas and they’re the source of daily supplies. Actually, Nola is the center of this land."

The girl nodded.

"It’s yours."

Angele smiled and threw the magic stone to the girl. The girl caught it and put it in her pouch.

"By the way, which organization are you guys from? Can you tell me?"

Angele stood up.

"Certainly, we’re not from any of the three major wizard organizations. We’re apprentices of the River Arrow."

The girl smiled.

"How long will it take to reach the town?"

"About two to three hours. If you’re not in a hurry, you can join our group," the leader said, joining the conversation.

"Sure, much appreciated."

Angele nodded.

They shared some food by the lake and started traveling together.

More and more people appeared on the road ahead, and it was the first time Angele saw people wearing blue robes.

He observed the group while having a conversation with them. It seemed like they trusted each other a lot. The people here were different from the ones in the area that was full of dark wizards—they were willing to help and trust each other.

The atmosphere here was peaceful.

"Nola is the largest residential area for wizards on the west coast and most of the wizards here are light wizards. They’re responsible for keeping the area peaceful and safe."

The leading man was driving the carriage and talking with Angele, who was riding a white horse.

"It’s so peaceful here..."

Angele sighed.

"Yeah. Any form of fighting is forbidden here, it doesn’t matter if you’re an apprentice or a wizard. The rule itself is enforced by the three major wizard organizations. Its purpose is to provide apprentices and wizards that come here to study or do research a safe heaven. Actually, only dark wizards and Labyrinth College fight all day, the wizards in other areas would rather spend the time on studying. It takes years to learn the basics, but I think you already know that," the man explained.

A man with a mustache joined their conversation.

"I heard a ship was destroyed in an accident by the coastline of Labyrinth College awhile ago. The light wizard in charge went missing as well. It’s the biggest news I heard this year. Some say the dark wizards did it. We barely fought any magical creatures... No way could we win a fight against a dark wizard."

"Of course... The dark wizards are put into dangerous environments the moment they become apprentices. We’re light wizards and most of us just study our own projects, but the wizard hunters are an exception. The only thing the dark wizards care about is power. Apprentices die every day in the dark wizards’ organizations."

A middle-aged man on the side sighed.

"Most of the apprentices are psychos. I can’t even imagine what they’ll do after becoming wizards..." the girl said, pursing her lips. "We’re more civilized than those dark wizards for sure."

Angele did not say anything, just listening to their conversation with a smile on his face. The group kept discussing the things they knew about Nola, and Angele learned a lot.

He finally realized that he had only seen the dark side of the wizard world. According to the information these apprentices shared, most of the residential areas were controlled by light wizards, and they were usually safe.

Nola, Labyrinth College, and the land of dark wizards were all on the west coast.

The size of the land here still exceeded Angele’s expectations.

"So, people here must join the organizations and families once they become apprentices? And they’ll focus on the subjects they’re good at? I lived in a remote area with my master and it’s my first time learning the basics of wizard organizations," Angele said in a calm tone.

"Yeah." The girl nodded. "Here, more programs and research projects will bring more power to a major wizard organization. The Six Ring High Tower is definitely at the top. Five years ago, a humongous tornado hit the Silver Ring City, and I witnessed wizards from Six Ring High Tower eliminate the tornado with ease. They have a faculty that specializes in dealing with natural disasters."

"What? There are wizards specialized in dealing with natural disasters? How strong are they?" Angele asked curiously.

"They’re weaker than the wizards specialized in fighting for sure..." The girl rolled her eyes.

"Also, there’s a hunter force in the Six Ring High Tower. The members of the team are specialists in killing and city-level defensive skills. They’re the only people that can fight the strongest dark wizards."

"A hunter force?"

Angele memorized the name.

Light wizards were not interested in engaging in wars or fights. The people living here thought that they had created an ideal society, and the hunter force was like the army and the police. They considered dark wizards as terrorists and uncivilized thugs.

Angele thought for a while and asked, "What if the dark wizards disguise themselves as light wizards and enter Nola? Won’t that be dangerous?"

"It’s not a problem. There are way more light wizards than dark wizards. They can stay here as long as they don’t break any rules, but the necromancers are never allowed to enter Nola, they stink... Also, the hunter force has recruited several dark wizards already, it’s not a big deal," the girl explained.

"Interesting."