Chapter 114: Shadow Reappears

The mirror image returned to the underground magic laboratory to report Joanna’s status and his speculations to the host body.

“If we can’t find her, we can’t find her. It’s not a major issue.

We are one entity. When you mention it, I also get that feeling of foreboding. You must closely monitor the situation in the fortress and the people coming and going. Once I recover enough, we will move the laboratory immediately.” The host body Ace said.

“What about Daina?” the mirror image asked.

“The eaglet needs to grow on its own. The situation is increasingly deteriorating. Our future organization requires people who can endure hardship. Since she chose to gather with the remaining Enchanted Wizard Apprentices, if she cannot hold on, how can she shoulder great responsibility later?

Only those who survive the crucible will be the seeds of the future. The war between Wizards and Divine Descendants has only just begun. We have a long road ahead.”

“Whoever can preserve themselves in the chaos, and even manage to unite other Wizard Apprentices and strengthen the group, will be the good seed of the future. As for the apprentices in the fortress, we will deal with them after we move the laboratory.”

The host body Ace spoke with some inner struggle. His heart was not as cold as his words suggested. He was also worried about Daina.

He closed his eyes in the meditation room, beginning to meditate, slowly recovering his Soul Sanctuary and soul essence.

The mirror image Ace bowed slightly and turned to leave.

In the bushes beside the relief home, Arno was scratching his head, struggling to study Elementary Mathematics. He looked like a monkey tied up and thrashed, about to sprout wings and fly away.

“Ollie, Ollie. I truly don’t understand what trigonometric functions are. Can’t we just skip this?” Arno looked pitifully at Ollie and secretly winked at the weathered knight resting against the tree trunk opposite.

Ancestar saw Arno’s pitiable expression. He immediately turned his head and pretended to be asleep.

“Brother Arno, no, you can’t. You must study seriously. Only then can you become an excellent Wizard Apprentice. Brother Arno wants to protect Ollie, right?” Ollie smiled at Arno, her eyes betraying a hint of steel.

“Of course! I am a Hero, a Hero with true Heroic qualities, hahaha!” Arno said, suppressing his voice.

“Then you must study mathematics diligently! Otherwise, Brother Arno won’t even be able to construct the rune for the Minimal Meditation Spell!”

I must study hard. I want to walk farther down the path of Magic with Brother Arno, Ollie thought silently.

“How can this be!” Arno let out the despairing wail of a failing student.

The weathered knight, Ancestar, looked at Arno and Ollie, a smile playing on his lips. This is the life I always wanted!

Unfortunately, it cannot last long! Arno must quickly master the fundamentals of meditation. Otherwise, Ancestar might not have time to pass on his half-formed experience of infusing his creed into his Inherent Mana.

He looked gently at the two studying, especially the failing student Arno, and seemed to recall something. His eyes held a mix of nostalgia and sorrow.

Meanwhile, the mirror image Ace did not immediately take the mechanical magic lift up to the surface. He stopped at the huge crystal sphere on Sub-Level 1, stroking the sphere with a hint of nostalgia.

“I will first check the movements of the apprentices in the fortress and gather enough information.”

Accompanied by his gesture and strange cadence, scenes appeared on the crystal sphere.

The apprentices within the fortress, after nearly a year of development, had mostly met and even formed certain regular, loose gatherings.

Due to the recent tension, the apprentices had all activated the Grimoire’s signal shielding function and exchanged for the Lesser Spell Mana Fluctuation Concealment. However, a few apprentices were still discovered by the legion, and their entire families mysteriously vanished.

From the records in his Grimoire, he learned the fate of several missing apprentices. They were severely tortured, but constrained by the Covenant Magic, they could not betray the Torch-Bearer and ultimately died tragically in despair.

“This is only the tip of the iceberg of the war. Accepting the opportunity of the supernatural and becoming a Wizard Apprentice also means accepting the risks and the price.”

The mirror image Ace lamented. Just then, the fate of one deceased apprentice caught his attention.

This apprentice was not captured by the legion for casting spells. Instead, he encountered a strange person. The apprentice possessed excellent mental perception and had learned Ultrasound Perception.

In his black-and-white field of perception, he detected the anomaly of this person and tracked him.

The apprentice entered a slum area. A crowd of strange people were performing a bizarre ritual. The leader of the group seemed to notice the apprentice and instantly charged toward him. The wave of strange energy that followed—the record stopped there.

The apprentice’s covenant with Ace was severed. His Grimoire had self-destructed. He was likely beyond saving.

“Judging by the few frames of the recording, these rituals somewhat resemble the bizarre ritual I saw in that village. It seems my fears have materialized. The dark worshipers may have already infiltrated.”

“Logically, the fortress’s several entrances are guarded by Wonders that detect evil. It should be difficult for dark worshipers to infiltrate. Do they possess a method to shield themselves from detection?”

The mirror image Ace pondered this as he rode the mechanical magic lift up to the surface.

He secretly attacked and dragged the average-looking resident physician to the underground magic laboratory for confinement. He then transformed into the likeness of the average-looking man and practiced medicine at the hospital with composure.

He had no intention of continuing to act as Ace. He would let Ace vanish from the fortress’s view. This was the best way to protect his family.

Perhaps Ace can resurface in the Northern City-States in a few months to practice medicine?

The mirror image Ace thought this while skillfully beginning the treatment.

In the fortress marketplace, Bayen carefully observed for a day, then found an excuse to leave the caravan and never returned.

“The most important task now is to find Ace or a clue to his whereabouts. But the most urgent task is to find a way to obtain a legal identity.” Bayen thought this after leaving the marketplace.

“Given the updated version of the Grimoire, I had the original single-user version. Now it is a general-purpose version. Since the general-purpose version can alert me to other Wizard Apprentices and includes the Fellow Traveler function, the Wizard Apprentices must have formed some kind of loose or even tight-knit covert group over the past year. I must find a way to integrate into the local Wizard Apprentice covert groups to gain more information.”

Having formulated his plan, Bayen began looking for a suitable candidate in the fortress. The weather was frigid. Bayen pulled his clothes tighter.

“The person I choose to replace should preferably have few friends or family, a small social circle, and ideally no fixed job. This will ensure the best disguise.”

He pondered this while observing his surroundings.

Bayen was very cautious. In public places within the city, he minimized the use of spells, including perception spells. He relied instead on his own eyes and life experience to identify candidates.

A few days passed. After discreet inquiry and observation, he successfully found a suitable candidate.