136 Shadowglen

"I heard from my uncle…"

Mason's opening remarks were still the same. Lin Li had heard him say the same thing at least ten times in the past few days since he'd arrived in Alanna, so much that Lin Li was curious who this "uncle" was, and how he was so well-informed. Not to mention the major decisions of the guild, even some lace news and gossip could not escape him. Lin Li made up his mind that he'd have Mason introduce him to his uncle one some day.

"Tomorrow's mission will be beyond our imagination."

Lin Li's interest was piqued. "What's the mission that's so impressive?"

Mason's face stood to reason. "I don't know."

"…" Lin Li was almost infuriated by him. He had been talking mysteriously for a long while, and in the end, it had finished with an "I don't know". Where was the important part? The important part was gone—what was the difference between this and an eunuch?

For a moment, even Orrin couldn't stand it. "Idiot without any professional ethics!"

"Listen to my explanation…" Mason quickly excused himself, seeing that he was about to offend the majority. "Tomorrow's task is decided by the Supreme Council. Don't mention my uncle, even President Aldwin might not necessarily know."

"For real?"

The more Lin Li thought, the more puzzled he felt. Although the trial was initiated by the Supreme Council, the latter had not interfered too much. After all, there were countless Guilds of Magic in Anril; the Supreme Council might not necessarily have time to oversee Alanna.

What medicine had they mistakenly taken to take charge of the mission suddenly…

"What missions do you think the Supreme Council will issue to us?" Mason was apparently excited. The thought of the Supreme Council's mission excited one easily.

"Devil knows…"

Lin Li pouted his lips; he had no awe for the Supreme Council. His headache at present was how to sleep tonight. Sean was already dozing over there—he was sitting in a rattan chair with his head leaning back. Lin Li reckoned that, in a short time, he would shock the whole building with his snores.

Lin Li pondered, and had to wake Sean up. "Sean, wake up first…"

After the day's ordeal, Sean was already worn out. Though he was shaken up by Lin Li, his eyes were still half closed as he asked in a daze, "What happened, Mr Felic?"

"Sleep in my room."

"How could I?" Sean woke up half in shock upon hearing this. He shook his head, and said, "No, no, Mr Felic, I'll just sleep in the living room."

"Cut the crap with me." It was no use discussing with this fellow. Lin Li's face stiffened, and he said in a commanding tone, "If you don't want to go back to Jarrosus, go to my room to sleep!"

Sean dared not decline anymore upon seeing Lin Li's hardened expression. However, he was still hesitant. "Then… Mr Felic, where would you be sleeping?"

"I want to sit down a little longer. When I want to sleep, I'll come in and wake you up."

With this remark, Sean finally put down his worries, and answered honestly, "Orh…"

Lin Li helped Sean to close the bedroom door, then sat back in the rattan chair. With a tired look on his face, he said to his two roommates, "It's not early anymore. Let's go to bed earlier. There's still the trial mission tomorrow…"

"You are good to him." Orrin praised Lin Li, which was something rare, and then gently closed the door.

Lin Li smiled, and did not give any explanations. He whispered in his heart, "I'm good to you too…"

Seeing that both roommates had closed their doors, Lin Lin opened the Ring of Endless Storm once again, and took out a crystal pen and a bottle of star sand from inside. Then, he quietly laid a Ward of Secrecy on the doors.

After all these, Lin Li could finally put his heart down and sleep. With the Ward of Secrecy as a shield, let alone Sean's snoring, even thunder couldn't reach the living room.

Lin Li had been bone-weary from the day's events. Now that he had nothing to worry about, he slept soundly even in the rattan chair.

It was not just Lin Li that slept well, but Mason and Orrin too—as well as Sean, who was shielded with the Ward of Secrecy.

While they slept soundly, someone was crying in front of Darian.

It was Madrick—the unlucky brat who had hit a snag.

"Uncle Darian…" Madrick lay on his bed, covered with bandages and looking like a mummy. A little movement from Madrick would affect his wounds and cause excruciating pain all over his body.

"Shut up. You're a grown man, what's there to cry about with minor injuries?" Darian's face was livid, and he was frustrated by Madrick's cries.

He already knew what had happened. Darian had never thought that the kid from Jarrosus would have the guts to take such strong actions.

Although he had said "Nothing to cry about", Darian knew very well that it was not a minor injury.

In fact, he was startled when he saw Madrick's wounds.

The body was covered with bruises, and the wounds on the legs were as deep and long as if they had been cut open by a knife. The trace of the Flaming Hands on the chest still exuded a strong burning smell. His back was even more horrible—almost half of his body was blown up, and even the ribs were exposed. Fortunately, Madrick was lucky enough not suffer injuries to the internal organs; otherwise, he would probably have died already.

Madrick's injury reminded Darian of the trial many years ago.

All this seemed to be a repetition of that year.

Back then, he was lying on that bed in almost the same condition as Madrick at present. He was seriously injured, and had almost died; the man who did that to him was also from the Jarrosus Guild of Magic, and his name was Gerian.

Darian could not help gripping his fists at the thought of Gerian's disgusting fat face.

It was the greatest shame of his life—being defeated in front of hundreds of people by a fat man whom he had never taken a look at before.

Darian had never suffered such humiliation in his life. After an Air Bomb had defeated him, the fat man who deserved to go to hell spat in his face, and said, "If you have the strength, you can be arrogant too."

"Focus on healing your injuries. I'll deal with this matter." Darian took a deep breath, and tried to force down the years of hatred.

"Uncle Darian, you must help me out…"

"I will."

After Darian came out of the room, he did not look for Lin Li directly. Instead, he returned to the guild hall, went up the stairs to the second floor directly to Aldwin's door, and knocked on it.

"Why are you here?" It wasn't Aldwin who was asking, but Macklin, who was second to Aldwin in the Alanna Guild of Magic.

"Good morning, Mr Macklin." Darian's voice was very respectful. He had always feared the man with the goat-like beard; Macklin was lacking in strength as compared to Aldwin, but at the Alanna Guild of Magic, people who were afraid of Macklin were far more than those who were afraid of Aldwin.

Although Aldwin was a legendary mage—even surpassing that of legendary-level with his level-21 strength—he had always acted with the principle of generosity. He was a kind and wise elder in everyone's hearts. But Macklin was different; the goatee was a real pestilence. Darian was considered mild; just look at the young mages in the guild—everyone saw Macklin as if having seen a ghost.

However, today…

Darian had to stand in front of Macklin even though he was afraid of him. The reason was simple—the man he feared most was the trial mentor of the Jarrosus kid.

"Darian is here?" While Darian was hesitating to open his mouth, Aldwin looked up from a pile of books. The old man had a gentle smile on his face, which was like a spring breeze to others.

"Good morning, President Aldwin." After the respectful greeting, Darian took another glance at the book in the President's hands. It seemed to be written in the High Elves Print.

"You've come to me so early. There must be something of the matter?"

"Yes, President." Darian nodded his head, and showed some indignation on his face. "I shouldn't have bothered you so early, but unfortunately, a very serious matter happened in the guild last night. A mage who took part in the trial actually wounded Madrick, President Aldwin. I think it is necessary for you to take care of this matter."

"Oh?" Aldwin paused slightly, and put his book back on the table. "Which guild is the trial mage from?"

"From the Jarrosus Guild of Magic; he seems to be called Felic."

"You mean… Felic?" Before Aldwin could speak, Macklin's eyes were already wide open.

"Yes, Mr Macklin."

"Then take care of what cra—"

"Macklin, Felic's trial mentor seems to be you?" Macklin was about to curse, but was stopped by Aldwin on the other side.

"Yes, President Aldwin."

"Then, great. You'll do as you deem fit."

"Okay."

How could Macklin not understand when the President's hint was so obvious? The so-called "do as you deem fit" naturally meant to do nothing about it. No kidding… Deal with Felic? You'll deal with it and see… If that old fellow Andoine flares up, are you going to pacify him, or is Aldwin going to do it?

Furthermore…

After dealing with this kid, will you settle the bet with the Adventurers Guild for us?

"Darian, is there anything else?" Looking back at Darian again, Macklin suddenly felt that this fellow was seriously not pleasing to the eye. He cursed inwardly, Damn it, can't you do anything right at such an age already? You only know how to find trouble for me…

"Ah?"

Darian was waiting for Aldwin to announce the solution, and was taken by surprise when Macklin asked him out of the blue. When he finally woke up to reality, he realized that the solution had been announced. The President had not even asked for his own opinion, and had given Macklin full authority to deal with it.

"Why, do you not rest assured that President Aldwin has left this matter to me? Are you worried that I'll be biased?" Macklin looked at him with a vague, somewhat ill-intentioned look.

"No, no…" Darian was almost scared out of his wits upon hearing it. This was no joke; even if he were given 100 times more guts, he wouldn't dare admit it before Macklin. For a moment, he was sweating buckets in fear as he shook his head repeatedly in denial.

"Then, that's good." Macklin nodded in satisfaction. "Go back first. I will handle this matter."

"Yes, Mr Macklin." Darian dared not stay any longer upon hearing it. He'd be in trouble if Macklin had misunderstood him again. After saying goodbye to them, he respectfully left the room.

"Heh heh, this Felic…" Watching Darian's receding figure, Aldwin chuckled helplessly.

"This little rascal! He's only creating troubles for me!"

"What do you think of this matter?"

"What can I think?" Macklin shrugged his shoulders, and his face looked even more helpless than Aldwin's. "This little rascal is now my living ancestor; I can't fight nor scold him. I'm just short of paying tribute to him… Darian's nephew can only accept it as his bad luck… He could have provoked anyone, but he went for that fellow. It's his luck that he's not killed…"

"No…" Aldwin shook his head. "I mean, what do you think of this Felic?"

Macklin scratched his head. After mulling it over for a while, he choked out a single word. "Monster."

"Oh?" Aldwin was slightly stunned. "How's that?"

"This is a long story…" Macklin sighed, and his face revealed deep emotions. "You know about yesterday's trial, right?"

"Mhm."

"I bet you'd never imagined what that kid did…" Even Macklin couldn't help feeling sour when he recalled yesterday's trial mission. "That kid unleashed two level-two instantaneous spells and one level-three spell right under my nose…"

"Level-three spell?" Aldwin was shocked to hear that; level-three instantaneous spell meant a strength of at least a Magic Shooter. This Felic might be a magic genius, but he was still young. He looked to be just barely over 20 years of age, so how could he possess strength close to that of a Magic Shooter?

"Don't be surprised yet. I haven't finished…" Macklin sighed, and then gritted his teeth. He said, "And these three spells were released almost at the same time, the interval between the spells was only one second!"

"…" Even with Aldwin's strength, he hissed as he took in a cold breath sharply in spite of himself. What was the concept of two instantaneous level-two spells and an instantaneous level-three spell? Even among the Archmages, perhaps there weren't many who could do it, let alone a young man who was only 20 years old…

"And then, this kid completed a breakthrough!"

"Breakthrough to which level?"

"Broke through from level-12 to level-13."

"How can it be…" Aldwin's eyes widened upon hearing level-13. Even the pride of the Alanna Guild of Magic, Gryffindor—who was also the number one magic genius in the Felan Kingdom—was only 23-year-old when he broke through level-13, and that was also due to special reasons. How could this Felic from Jarrosus be so powerful? He had already reached level-13 at age 20; when he reached the age of Gryffindor, wouldn't he be breaking through to the realm of Archmage straight away?

"If not, why would I call him a monster…?"

"A monster indeed…" Aldwin shook his head as he sighed with emotion.

"Oh, right…" Macklin mused, and then remembered something. "There's one more thing you can't imagine…"

"What's that?"

"If I'm not mistaken, this kid is most likely a pharmacist!"

"How do you know?"

"I saw it with my own eyes. Andoine took out a bottle of potion to ask him for advice. You didn't see the scene at that time, or you'd be dead from laughing. The old guy was like the apprentices from our guild in front of him, and was lectured till he dared not lift his head…"

"This is too…" Aldwin uttered a few "toos" in succession, but there was nothing that followed. Finally, he shook his head helplessly, and his eyes were full of incredulity.

"In short, this kid is a real monster!" Macklin concluded with this sentence, then squinted his eyes, and asked in a consultative tone, "I say, can you think of a way to get this kid to Alanna? What future does he have staying in the countryside of Jarrosus? Why don't you discuss it with Gerian?"

"Will he come to Alanna?" Aldwin's eyes lit up all of a sudden when he heard Macklin's words. If such a perverted genius could join the Alanna Guild of Magic, he would not have to worry about having no successor. It was only a matter of time for a level-13 Magic Shooter at age 20 to break through to the legendary realm, not to mention he was still a pharmacist… Oh, right, right. He almost forgot—this fellow was a blacksmith who could forge magical equipment…

"I didn't ask, but Alanna is the capital of the Felan Kingdom. Our guild is ten times stronger than Jarrosus guild. Why does he not want to come?"

"It's hard to say…" Aldwin shook his head, but was equally reluctant to give up. "But I'll try, let me find a way."

Two of the most powerful men in the Alanna Guild of Magic were in the room, engaged in a discussion; the target of their discussion was a young mage of only 20 years of age.

They were so engrossed in the discussion that they completely forgot the time. It was almost in the afternoon when Macklin suddenly slapped his head, and exclaimed, "Oh, no, I forgot the business at hand!"

Then, he rushed out of the room without giving Aldwin an explanation.

Like the day before, Lin Li was awakened by a sudden knock at the door.

"Good morning, Mr Macklin…" Lin Li greeted Macklin with a sleepy face.

"Why are you sleeping in the living room?" As soon as Macklin entered the door, he saw the two rattan chairs joined together and a blanket that had slid to the ground.

Lin Li yawned, and used an excuse. "It's cooler in the living room…"

"…" Macklin almost couldn't catch his breath. What kind of mess is this? What month is it now to be sleeping in the living room because it's cooler?

"Come on, hurry and tidy up. We must set off right away. Today's trial mission is a bit of a hassle…" Time was running out, so Macklin did not ask further. Halfway through the conversation, he asked in puzzlement, "By the way, where are those two guys?"

"Both sleeping. They stayed up too late yesterday."

"F*ck! These two loafers…" Macklin's face darkened.

Just as he was about to wake them up with an Arcane Missile like yesterday morning, the doors of the two rooms opened almost at the same time. When Orrin and Mason came out of the room, their faces revealed some jollity. Fortunately, they were early today; otherwise, they'd have to receive two Arcane Missiles…

"Very well, luckily you've gotten up fast today…" Time was too tight today, so Macklin did not have the time to lecture anyone. He merely shot a warning look at the two of them. "Pack up and go with me, your trial mission today will be completed in the Shadowglen."

"What?" Not to mention Mason, even Lin Li could not help but have his jaws drop. What kind of joke was the old man making? Was it somewhere that humans could go?

Going to Shadowglen to complete the mission… This was like buying people's lives!

That was the legendary Heaven of the Dead. It was full of the bones of the dead, and was covered with poisonous fog. Even if a cockroach were to crawl in, it would most likely turn into a corpse.