Revelation Continent was what truly counted as a continent compared to Old Earth Continent. Old Earth Continent was, at most, a fringe island. Though Revelation Continent still could not be mentioned in the same breath as Prosperous Continent, at least in the Wizarding World, its importance was acknowledged.
Dev was an exchange student personally appointed by the Silver Heron Royal Wizard Corps, headed for Hurricane Tower in the Southern Region of Prosperous Continent for "academic exchange."
That was what Dev himself claimed.
In truth, all the gifted knew that the so-called Silver Heron Royal Wizard Corps was merely something cobbled together by Hurricane Tower apprentices who had failed to advance to Formal Wizards after leaving their teacher's tutelage. Through old connections at Hurricane Tower, they could obtain recommendation slots for a few gifted individuals.
So, "exchange student" was utter nonsense. Would an organization with a thousand years of heritage and Formal Wizards at its helm exchange knowledge with a Wizard Apprentice organization made entirely of the old, weak, sick, and disabled? Had they not woken up yet?
Though everyone knew, they kept silent, because no one dared offend Dev. After all, however old, weak, sick, and disabled they might be, they were still transcendent beings. Rumor had it that the Silver Heron Royal Wizard Corps even had a close apprentice of a Formal Wizard, who had returned to the Central Empire in dejection only because he had no hope of advancing.
With that connection, coupled with the Central Empire's abundant wealth and resources, no one dared offend Dev too much. No matter how arrogant and profligate Dev behaved, they silently endured it in their hearts.
The moment Dev stepped into the restaurant, the surrounding clamor immediately quieted considerably.
That was why Angel heard someone whispering nearby, "Eh, why is he alone today? Where are all his lackeys?"
Dev seemed to have heard it as well. He viciously glared at the speaker, and only after seeing the man lower his head in fright and shrink into himself over his meal did he laugh loudly and leave.
Yet when Dev walked out of the crowd, his arrogant expression instantly turned cold.
He had just gone to find his lackeys, but all their rooms were shut, and he had no idea where they had gone.
"Those damned bastards." Dev cursed through gritted teeth. Without his lackeys waiting on him, he even had to fetch his own food.
Though Dev was accustomed to throwing his weight around among the gifted, he had evidently heard that the Bauhinia had a powerful background. Thus, he did not clash with the chefs and obediently carried his tray to an empty seat.
Angel had merely glanced at Dev when he entered, then paid him no more attention from beginning to end.
He was presently caught in a small doubt. When Dev entered the restaurant, Angel had clearly heard the door panel sound twice, yet only Dev had come in.
Had he overworked his brain these past few days and begun hearing things?
Ever since childhood, Angel had been trained by Jon to instinctively observe his surroundings. This training was not for Fortune-Seeking and Disaster-Avoiding, but to capture details and combine them with self-realization, drawing inspiration and opportunities from all things. In short, it was meant to reflect and verify one's own knowledge.
Angel had always taken pride in his instinct for catching inconspicuous details, but today, it seemed to have malfunctioned.
Shaking his head, Angel gave up thinking about this somewhat eerie detail. It had nothing to do with him; dwelling on it would only waste time.
He enjoyed the explosion of flavor that good food brought to his taste buds, and could even become engrossed in food, but that was only if it was "good food." As for the barely filling fare on his tray, he accepted it without indulging in it. As he ate, his thoughts once again hitched up their carriage and began mentally calculating answers to unresolved questions.
A scream rang out from nearby, interrupting Angel's thoughts, which had already flown off to who knew what planet.
"Ahhhh! Who are you? Come out!" A shrill male voice tore through the entire restaurant. It was followed by the clattering crash of shattered tableware.
Frowning in displeasure, Angel looked over.
Not far away, the once-proud Third Prince of the Central Empire stood in utter disarray. One hand clutched his neck, blood gurgling out between his fingers. With his other hand, he had lifted the tablecloth and was wildly swinging it around, while ceramic dishes lay shattered across the floor.
Like an enraged bull terrier, Dev flailed his claws and fangs in every direction. Yet it was useless, because there was not a single person within twenty meters of him.
"Eh, has he gone mad again? No, wait! Why is he bleeding?"
"Didn't you see the knife wound on his neck?" someone muttered softly. "Strange, but there's no one beside him?"
"Could it be a ghost?"
The onlooking gifted discussed it heatedly, but not one of them considered stepping forward to help. Setting aside how vile Dev's personality was, the bizarre situation before them alone was enough to make them hesitate.
"His blood is flowing quickly, but not spurting. It should be a severed vein." Angel glanced over and silently thought, Even if it's only a vein, at that rate of blood loss, if he doesn't receive emergency treatment within ten minutes, he'll certainly die.
"A knife wound, but no one holding the knife." Angel's gaze swept around. Seeing no one near Dev, he suddenly recalled the strange second sound from the door panel earlier. His brows relaxed, and a gleam flickered in his eyes. Interesting.
An invisible person? A Wizard Apprentice? Or perhaps a gifted peer?
Angel leaned toward the latter. If it were a Wizard Apprentice, there would be no need to assassinate someone while invisible, and even less reason to miss with the first strike.
As Angel pondered alone, Dev continued raving, though his voice grew weaker with every passing moment. Suddenly, as if he had heard something, he snatched up the red wine from a nearby table and violently splashed it toward the southeast window.
The crimson wine did not strike the wooden wall as expected. Instead, it was forced to halt in midair five meters away.
The wine slowly trickled down, and a red figure gradually emerged.
"There really is someone? And he was invisible!" someone cried out, pointing at the man whose body had been revealed after being drenched in wine. "Could he be a Wizard?"
"A Wizard? Don't joke around. How could a lofty Wizard lower himself to sneak in invisibly to assassinate us? If a great Wizard wanted us dead, all they would need to do was spit, and we would die ten thousand deaths with no chance of rising again," someone scoffed.
"Just wait. We'll know who it is soon enough." A gifted individual nearby pointed at the invisible man. "I remember Lord Kormoen mentioning invisibility spells before: Illusory Invisibility, which relies on illusions; Divine Concealment, which hides one in another space; and invisibility that uses light and shadow to create visual misdirection. The first two can only be learned by Formal Wizards. Below formal spells, the only Level 0 cantrip capable of invisibility is Light and Shadow Interweave."
The Lord Kormoen this person mentioned was the guide from the wizard organization Gravity Forest, a Second-Level Wizard Apprentice.
"Anyone using Light and Shadow Interweave will definitely reveal themselves if touched by an external object."
"Of course, we cannot rule out the possibility that he used an invisibility-type alchemical item. But even Lord Kormoen couldn't afford that kind of alchemical item."
As the man spoke, the invisible person splashed with red wine revealed his true appearance.
Angel looked over, raising a brow. It was a handsome youth dressed in tattered cloth, his face filled with unyielding defiance.
Angel did not know him, but judging from his clothing and the details of his movements, this gifted individual likely came from the lowest ranks of the poor.
A poor youth from the bottom rung, and a noble, profligate prince.
The poor youth's face was full of defiance. Looking at Dev, who continued bleeding without end, his lips split into a wild, bloodthirsty smile, faintly carrying the pleasure of revenge fulfilled.
After seeing the poor youth's true form, the once-noble prince's eyes filled with disbelief, venom, and fury. Amid his savage expression, there was even a trace of regret.
Interesting. The story behind these two could probably be melodramatic enough to keep Mana gossiping for an entire year. Angel smiled as he recalled the time Head Maid Mana had gossiped about Waterford's notorious cheating scumbag noble.
Angel shook his head and prepared to leave the restaurant. He had no desire to waste time on this kind of melodramatic plot.
Just as he rose to his feet, a silver-haired middle-aged woman with an aristocratic air appeared at the chaotic scene.
Angel happened to have heard of this elegantly dressed and noble woman: Lady Meline, the Third-Level Wizard Apprentice overseeing the Bauhinia, from the wizard organization Hurricane Tower.
Since Lady Meline had appeared, the fate of the poor youth who had stabbed someone to death should have been foreseeable... or so it seemed... Huh?! Angel's eyes suddenly sharpened. Lady Meline had entered the center of the room yet completely ignored Dev, who lay half-dead on the floor. Instead, her face was filled with delight as she examined the knife-wielding youth from head to toe.
Lady Meline raised a hand, and the filth covering the youth's body was swept away.
"What is your name?" Lady Meline asked the poor youth.
"Isley. Respected Lady Meline, my name is Isley," the youth said respectfully. He did not give a surname, because he had no "surname." A surname represented the inheritance of a Lineage. He was an orphan, and his name had once belonged to a wolfhound owned by the nobleman he served. To obtain that name, he had fought the wolfhound until his entire body was drenched in blood. Only after he snapped the wolfhound's neck did the nobleman grant him the name "Isley."
"Isley. Good. I will remember your name."
"You are very good! In such a short time, you have already guided out your Magic Power Source... Could your innate spiritual power be above 20?" Lady Meline suddenly extended a hand and directly touched Isley's forehead.
"Indeed. Your innate spiritual power is 23 points. This will save you much time in the early stages—at least ten times faster than ordinary gifted individuals! No wonder you guided out your Magic Power Source so quickly." Lady Meline beamed and said to the youth, "Only half a month ago, I explained the principles of Light and Shadow Interweave to all of you. The fact that you can use Light and Shadow Interweave means you already understand the fundamentals of light and shadow. Very good, very good!"
"You must remember that a wizard's spells are built upon knowledge and magic power. Neither can be lacking. You can now be considered to have stepped through the gates of an Elementary Wizard Apprentice. Starting today, move to the top floor."
After saying this, Lady Meline turned and left without looking back.
Meanwhile, Dev had already entered his final moments. When Lady Meline's graceful figure disappeared from White Hibiscus Restaurant, Dev's despairing gaze slowly became vacant... In the end, no one offered him help. Under everyone's watchful eyes, Dev's body became completely cold.
The killer, Isley, looked at the cold corpse on the ground and smiled faintly before turning to leave as well.
No one condemned him, nor did anyone dare call out to him. At least aboard this ship, Isley had completed a transformation and become someone capable of deciding another person's life and death.
Angel quietly left. He now deeply understood that wizards truly had no distinction between black and white. To them, good and evil were not worth mentioning.
The Silver Heron Royal Wizard Corps behind Dev came from the same wizard faction as Lady Meline. Yet even so, Lady Meline had still watched him die without lifting a finger. She had not even spared Dev a glance. This showed how cold and cruel wizards were toward mortals.
After this incident, Angel worked even harder to erase his own presence. Before he possessed strength to protect himself, Death's Sickle would forever rest against his neck. This was reality—the naked, unvarnished reality of the Wizarding World.
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