Warlock Apprentice

It was a long and tranquil hallway lit by the occasional wall lamps. Angor silently followed behind Kazar.

Angor didn’t know who Mithra was. He only heard Shadow mentioning such a name before, but he never paid much attention to it.

He wondered why this figure suddenly wanted to see him.

Considering how Kazar acted, Angor assumed Mithra was at least another wizard. A wizard personally came to meet with an apprentice… Angor knew he should show up in time.

He didn’t feel stressed at all. No matter who Mithra was or what he wanted, at least nothing would go wrong inside Bogula’s home.

After taking another turn, Angor was surprised to see Shadow waiting for him.

“Leave the rest to me, Butler Kazar. Return to your job,” Shadow said and approached Angor. “Not expecting me, huh? Let’s move. I’ll take you to Mister Mithra.” Shadow beckoned. “Don’t worry. It took me quite a lot of effort to get him to come. If you can develop at least some relationship with Mithra, my professor’s going to think carefully before he can do funny business to you.”

Angor nodded. Shadow provided him a lot of help until now. He should definitely return the courtesy.

“I want it too!” Toya moved closer and winked at Angor.

Shadow pushed to boy away. “Away with ya. Adults are talking.”

Toya pouted and asked Dodo to bite Shadow’s arm.

“Yaaawch!”

Shadow ordered Gummy to join the fight.

When the sofa had become a cover for a battlefield between a cat and a tiny Krakok, Mithra looked up and removed his monocle.

“Have you come up with a name for the weapon?”

“This is a ‘gun’. I call it the ‘Prelude to Rebirth’,” said Angor.

“Prelude to Rebirth…” Mithra mumbled and put a finger on the cylinder. “This magic array, I have not seen it either. Something to eliminate undead, I assume? But what is in this slot here?”

“It’s ammunition for the weapon. But… I don’t know its exact effect,” Angor replied.

Mithra confirmed Angor was telling the truth and nodded. “Using Narda’s Vision, I can see the Mystery energy inside these bullets. This must be what was brought by the half of your Mystery soul.

“I’ve looked enough, and learned enough. Thank you very much for your generosity.” Mithra handed the weapon back to Angor.

The old man then inquired something else about Angor’s crafting work while not going over a certain boundary as to peek into Angor’s secrets.

Mithra also seemed satisfied by the knowledge Angor displayed. By the time they were done talking, Toya was yawning non-stop beside them. Mithra finally stood up and prepared to leave with the bulky man.

“I’ll be staying at the Elixir Hut these days. Feel free to drop by, and please do,” Mithra said before leaving.

“Oh, yes, yes!” Shadow said before Angor could. “I’ll take Angor there tomorrow!”

Shadow saw Mithra off and turned to Angor. “That should get you out of this base for now. Mister Mithra just promised you a favor, no? Now, my professor will not trouble you when Mister Mithra is watching.”

Angor returned to his bedroom and thought about the unexpected meeting. For the first time, he, as an apprentice, talked with a powerful wizard on equal ground.

Skills and knowledge over strength and ego. Such was the poise of a master alchemist.

Still, Angor had a question. Who was that muscular man who came together with Mithra?

And why do I feel like I met with him before?