Dark Well

"Using spiritual power as a guide to activate one's own magic power?"

Gelin muttered to himself.

"Magic power is an energy without any attributes. It is guided through a wizard's control and is the special energy wielded by wizards. In other words, magic power itself has no combat power at all?"

This was already the fifth day Gelin's group had spent at Zelato Harbor. Just that morning, Gelin had successfully activated his own magic power according to the Meditation Guide.

It left Gelin excited for the entire day.

But before long, another problem stumped him: if a Wizard Apprentice had not mastered any witchcraft knowledge, then even possessing magic power was completely useless.

A wizard's magic power was a wondrous energy, infinitely malleable and capable of guiding any known form of energy.

Yet in terms of its essence, it was a mild, gentle, harmless energy. Its gentleness made it difficult to directly apply in battle or use to cause destruction.

"Knowledge... How can I obtain knowledge?"

Troubled by this question, Gelin lay sprawled across the table, tugging at his hair in frustration.

After Lafi had cast a magical spell that day, Gelin and the other Wizard Apprentices had indeed been stirred up, their hearts filled with yearning for wondrous witchcraft.

What kind of Wizard Apprentice was one who could not wield witchcraft?

"Gelin, Gelin!"

Loud shouting came from the courtyard of the little estate. There was no need to look—Binhanson had arrived.

Gelin felt a headache coming on. He had never seen anyone as talkative as this fellow, and now merely hearing him speak was enough to make Gelin's head hurt.

Still, he was already troubled by the matter of witchcraft knowledge, so he might as well see what that fellow wanted at such a late hour.

"I'm coming."

Gelin put away the Magic Guide, extinguished the candle, and opened the door to step outside.

"What is it?"

Gelin straightened his clothes and asked in surprise.

Over the past few days, Gelin had received more or less some benefits in every city they passed through. By now, he had bought himself two sets of luxurious, well-fitting clothes.

Clothes made the man. His golden curls hung casually down his back, a trace of deep solemnity between his brows, coupled with the wild air he had acquired growing up among beggars. He had a certain distinctive charm now, at least enough that Lafi and Wade, who were in the same group as him, no longer avoided him.

"Hehe, have you heard of Zelato's Dark Well?"

Binhanson asked mysteriously.

"Hm? Dark Well? What is it for?"

Over the past few days, Gelin had barely left his little estate. He had devoted himself wholeheartedly to studying the Meditation Guide; otherwise, he would not have successfully activated his own magic power.

"It's even better if you haven't heard of it. Come on, come on. You'll know when we get there. I guarantee you'll never forget it for the rest of your life."

Binhanson grabbed Gelin and dragged him outside, as if afraid Gelin might run away.

The estate assigned to Gelin stood in a relatively quiet part of Zelato Harbor. A dozen or so estates were scattered around it. Those who could own an estate here were either wealthy merchants or nobles, so it was quiet at this hour.

Gelin found it strange. Binhanson's father was a baron, so Binhanson had seen his share of the world. What could possibly make him act so mysteriously?

As they passed through a bustling market district, Gelin had to admit that Zelato Harbor was far more prosperous than Bissell City.

Cries of vendors rose and fell, the streets were brightly lit, and even at night people still streamed back and forth without pause. There were even foreign merchants trading overseas goods, while the girls dressed far more openly.

Unlike Bissell City, where after nightfall, aside from grand banquets held among the nobility, there was not a single person on the streets.

Panting, Binhanson dragged Gelin to a large estate thick with lush trees. This estate was far bigger than the one assigned to Gelin. Young people emerged from it in twos and threes from time to time, laughing and smiling with looks of delight.

Binhanson led Gelin to a small hut filled with an air of mystery. Moonlight fell upon the giant trees, their shadows swaying across the windows in the wind, and the atmosphere inside the hut was somewhat oppressive.

After Binhanson handed over twenty gold coins, the wrinkled old woman in the hut tremblingly passed him two transparent stones. Her cloudy eyes swept over the two of them, and she revealed her uneven yellow teeth.

"Enjoy yourselves."

Gelin was still completely confused. Binhanson handed him one of the stones and said with a wicked grin, "See those wells over there? Those are the Dark Wells. As long as you throw this Dark Stone into one, you can have a date with a lifeform from another world. Of course, some unlucky people have encountered strange creatures, but overall, it's very exciting."

A date with an otherworldly lifeform?

Hearing of such a novel thing, Gelin perked up as well.

There were around seventy or eighty Dark Wells in the courtyard. About half were already occupied. Some people whispered toward the wells, and soft laughter drifted out from time to time.

After seeing Binhanson run excitedly toward one of the wells, Gelin casually weighed the Dark Stone in his hand and walked toward a Dark Well with no one around it.

The water level was high, only about seventy centimeters below the ground. It was as still as a mirror, and the hazy moonlight scattered across its surface, adding a touch of mystery.

Excited and nervous, Gelin tossed the Dark Stone into the well. With a splash, it sent ripples across the water before sinking. The surface gradually became calm again.

To Gelin's astonishment, a somewhat blurry figure appeared on the water's surface, curiously observing him from the "other side."

It was a humanoid creature with a silver-gray horn growing from its head. Judging by human sexual characteristics, it should have been female. It also appeared to possess its own culture. Its eyes regarded Gelin with considerable scrutiny; it was clearly not some mindless, savage race driven by slaughter.

"A human from the Wizard World?"

A somewhat unfamiliar voice entered Gelin's ears.

Though Gelin could hear the questioning voice, he was absolutely certain it had not been heard by his ears. Instead, the other party had used some special method to let him directly sense its thoughts.

"Who are you?"

Gelin asked.

When the creature on the well's surface saw Gelin open his mouth to speak, it clearly frowned. Then its voice appeared in Gelin's ears again.

"Human, do you not know that communication with lifeforms from other worlds is conducted through the soul? The civilization of human wizards in the Wizard World is powerful, but its influence has not reached this far."

Gelin frowned. The soul?

As a Wizard Apprentice who had not even received systematic instruction in the most basic wizard knowledge, Gelin did not understand profound knowledge such as the use of the soul at all.

Moreover, some lifeforms from other worlds could not understand the human language of the Wizard World. Some strange lifeforms did not even possess hearing. Therefore, language as a method of communication was simply too powerless for interaction between different races of lifeforms from other worlds.

The other party seemed to see Gelin's predicament and sent another message.

"All right, human. I'll ask you questions, and you can nod or shake your head. Is that acceptable?"

Gelin nodded.

"Mm, are you a human from the Wizard World, or a wizard from another world conquered by the Wizard World? If you are, nod. If not, shake your head."

Gelin was greatly shocked. The Wizard World had conquered other worlds?

Though he did not know about such matters, Gelin was indeed certain that he was an orthodox human of the Wizard World. He still knew that much basic common sense, so he nodded.

"Then, are you a wizard? If you are, what level wizard are you?"

This time, Gelin shook his head without hesitation.

What a joke. He could not even cast a proper spell and was not even a formal Wizard Apprentice. How could he possibly be a wizard?

Gelin could sense the other party's disappointment.

"Ah, merely an ordinary human? I finally traded for the coordinates of the Wizard World, only to find such a weak human."

The Astral Spirit shook her head.

"All right. According to the Otherworld Equal Exchange Principle, you may ask me two questions. But since you cannot communicate through the soul, I'll assume that you have asked me the same questions. I am an Astral Spirit from World-Star World, or rather, a member of the Star Child Race. I am a fourth-rank Astral Spirit, with an energy level equivalent to somewhere between a second-rank and third-rank wizard in your Wizard World."

Afterward, this lifeform from another world ignored Gelin's reaction entirely and dissipated completely from the ripples.

Perhaps that powerful lifeform had no interest in wasting time on a weak human like Gelin.

Gelin awkwardly rubbed his nose and secretly glanced toward Binhanson.

Binhanson was sprawled excitedly at the edge of a well, his head nearly sticking inside.

A short while later, Gelin and Binhanson became two among the many young people leaving in low voices. Binhanson said excitedly, "The Snow Spirit Lifeform on the other side was so surprised to see a human! It even asked me whether I was a wizard. Hahaha, I told her right then and there that I was a formal wizard!"

"The other side could understand you?"

Gelin looked at Binhanson in surprise, not bothering to criticize him for deceiving the lifeform from another world.

"Uh... what do you mean? Don't tell me the otherworldly lifeform on your side couldn't understand what you said?"

Binhanson looked at Gelin with equal surprise, wearing an incredulous expression.

After returning to the estate, Gelin kept recalling the otherworldly lifeform on the other side of the Dark Well. Though he had learned over the past few days that, beyond the Wizard World where he lived, there were countless lifeforms from other worlds.

And if lifeforms from two different worlds happened to meet in reality, most would not be so friendly. That was why this experience of communicating with a lifeform from another world felt so wondrous and meaningful to Gelin.

Right, during the Wizard Apprentice qualification test, were those strange beings that appeared also lifeforms from other worlds?

What kind of talent was that?

Countless questions filled Gelin's mind.