A Wizard’s Secret

“Croak… Croak… Croak… Croak…”

It had just drizzled. A few frogs leaped out from the pond, taking turns to croak, disturbing the tranquility of Wilson Castle.

Charise, dressed in a long, pure white skirt, was playing with Celia in the hall, but her mind seemed to be somewhere else. Occasionally, she would look out from the hall.

“It’s been so many days. Why isn’t Merlin back yet? Has something happened to him?”

Charise was somewhat concerned. Avril had gone to rest, leaving Charise alone waiting in the hall. As more time passed, she became more and more anxious.

This time, Merlin had left suddenly. Although he explained briefly that it was to resolve some matter of the Wilson clan, he did not specify what the matter was. Not even Old Wilson knew what it was.

Avril was still her same old innocent and carefree self, not worried about anything. Still, Charise kept on worrying deep down. She remembered that the last time Wilson Castle was threatened, the attackers were not Normies, but were instead powerful Spell Casters. If Snake Elder had not hurried over, Wilson Castle would have been in grave danger.

Therefore, Charise guessed that Merlin’s current departure from Wilson Castle had something to do with the Spell Casters who had invaded Wilson Castle previously.

Charise’s understanding of Spell Casters was even better than Old Wilson’s. After all, she was from the Royal Family of Light, so she knew exactly how terrifying Spell Casters could be.

“Rumble!”

In the skies outside the castle, a thunderclap crashed fiercely, scaring Celia until she howled in tears. Following the rumbling of the thunder, it began to rain heavily outside.

As she saw how dark it was getting, Charise estimated that it was too late and that Merlin would not be coming back today. Thus, she brought Celia along as she prepared to retire for the night.

“Creak…”

The large doors of the castle were slowly pushed open, and a figure rushed in from outside, still dripping with rain and looking rather forlorn.

“Charise, you’re not yet asleep at this hour?”

This figure was Merlin who had rushed back to the castle. Although he and Wizard Bammou were both very quick, they only made it back to the castle by late night. Moreover, they had encountered the rain, and their robes were soaked through.

“Merlin, are you alright?”

Upon seeing Merlin drenched in rain, a smile spread across Charise’s face. Thereafter, she hastily called for a servant girl to bring a set of clean, dry clothes for Merlin.

“Celia, greet your father.”

When Merlin was not paying attention, Charise quietly told Celia.

Celia blinked her wide eyes lightly and looked at Merlin somewhat shyly. Nonetheless, after Charise’s urging, Celia cried out in a soft voice, “Father, I hear that you’re a great Spell Caster. Can you also create fireballs like Grandpa Hill?”

Merlin was slightly taken aback. It was the first time he had heard Celia call him “father”, and an indescribable warmth spread in his chest. Without realizing it, he had come into this world, with a wife, and a kid. He now belonged completely to this world!

The “Grandpa Hill” that Celia spoke of must be that black-robed old man. During these few years that Merlin was not around, the black-robed old man would come to the castle when he had time and had become familiar with Celia and Conxion.

It might be that, in Celia’s eyes, being able to create fireballs was enough to become a great Spell Caster.

“Of course, I can create not only one, but many fireballs.”

Merlin knelt down and looked deeply at Celia. Following that, he pointed lightly with one finger, and five small fireballs instantly appeared in the surrounding air.

The five fireballs floated quietly in mid-air, burning with a scorching temperature. However, under Merlin’s control, they would not hurt Celia and Charise in the slightest.

“It’s really fireballs, and these are bigger than the ones Grandpa Hill created, and prettier too. Father, I want to become a great Spell Caster too in the future and create these pretty fireballs!”

Celia longed for the future when she would become a great Spell Caster and “create” these pretty fireballs.

Merlin gently pinched Celia’s smooth cheeks. At this moment, there was only a warm fuzzy feeling left in his heart. The tyrannical mood, induced in him by the repeated slaughtering of the past few days, vanished without a trace.

“Alright, clever Celia. In the future, you’re sure to become a great Spell Caster!”

Merlin gave a rare smile, yet Charise looked on with a complicated expression. Celia had no Spell Caster Quality at all, so she was destined to never become a Spell Caster.

“Charise, has my father gone to rest?”

Merlin stood up and looked toward the second floor of the castle as he asked softly.

Charise shook her head slightly. “Although he doesn’t say it, your father is in fact worried about you as well. Every day he would stay up very late. He should still be awake now.”

“Mmm, take Celia to bed first. I have something to discuss with father.”

With that, Merlin headed toward Old Wilson’s room.

…

“Father!”

Merlin came to Old Wilson’s room. As expected, he saw that the room was still bright with candlelight.

“Merlin?”

Old Wilson opened the door in a hurry. Upon seeing Merlin outside, his face finally relaxed as he sighed in relief. It was just as Charise said – although Old Wilson did not display his anxiety openly, he was in fact worried about Merlin deep down.

“How was it, those Spell Casters…”

Old Wilson could not wait any longer to inquire about this. Although he did not know exactly why Merlin had left the castle, he could make a rough guess.

Merlin laughed. “Everything’s fine now. From today onward, no one will look down on the Wilson clan!”

Even though Merlin spoke calmly, his voice revealed his obvious confidence.

Old Wilson knew that based on Merlin’s expression, he had properly dealt with the matter. The previous crisis faced by Wilson Castle would not happen again.

Nonetheless, Old Wilson still had some concerns, but he could not bring himself to voice them as he looked at Merlin. Old Wilson was no longer the overbearing person he used to be in Blackwater City.

Perhaps it was because Old Wilson had seen many Spell Casters in the Kingdom of Blackmoon. Perhaps, after experiencing the crisis faced by Wilson Castle, he learned that despite having cultivated the postures on the mysterious relief sculptures and becoming a powerful intermediate Elemental Swordsman, he was still comparatively weak and puny.

“Merlin, what happened before was too dangerous. There’s only you in the Wilson clan who’s a Spell Caster…”

Old Wilson was also thinking about the Wilson clan’s future. If they were an average clan, the Wilson clan could continue to prosper by relying on Old Wilson’s formidable strength, in addition to the heavy armored knights he trained by himself.

However, Merlin was now a Spell Caster, so the Wilson clan was burdened with the label of “Spell Caster”. It was impossible to be an ordinary clan even if that was what they wanted.

Merlin gradually turned solemn, and he said seriously, “Father, I’ve come back to discuss the Wilson clan with you. You might have noticed that the Wilson clan is no longer a common clan. Therefore, I’ve decided to develop the Wilson clan into a Spell Caster clan.”

“Spell Caster clan?”

Old Wilson pondered about this for a moment before he said delightedly, “Merlin, you’re the one who holds the highest title in the Wilson clan. You’re not just a Spell Caster, you’re also Viscount Merlin! You have full authority to take charge of the clan. Since you’ve come up with this plan, I’ll support it wholeheartedly. Although I don’t have much of an understanding of Spell Casters, I know that it’s rare to find someone with Spell Caster Quality. Without Spell Caster Quality, it’s impossible to become a Spell Caster. So far, in the Wilson clan, only young Cole has Spell Caster Quality – how do we develop into a Spell Caster clan like this?”

Spell Caster Quality was a huge problem. The Wilson clan’s population was far too small. In particular, there were only three direct descendants – Celia, Conxion, and Cole.

Still, a Spell Caster clan did not need to rely absolutely on blood relations for its members. Many Spell Caster clans, in their beginning stages, had to recruit outsiders who had Spell Caster Quality in order to build up their clan.

If they could nurture a few powerful Spell Casters, then with the passage of time, a clan would gradually become a Spell Caster clan as it slowly stabilized. In the end, it would be passed down to future generations in an unbroken cycle.

This was what Merlin had decided to do. He had taken in the female guard Felinda in Guinomi City with this plan in mind.

However, there was also a hidden risk. Perhaps, after investing a huge amount of resources in them, the Spell Casters who were nurtured might decide to leave the clan without any intention of returning. Instances of this could be found anywhere.

Therefore, in order to recruit outsiders with Spell Caster Quality, one must have some sort of binding power. Signing a contract would be the best choice!

“Ah, contract paper, that’s no small amount of expenditure!”

Merlin was somewhat troubled. Before this, when he was alone, he even thought that elemental crystal stones were not that useful. However, once he planned on developing the Wilson clan into a Spell Caster clan, all sort of problems began to crop up.

Recruiting outsiders with Spell Caster Quality was quite a feasible plan, and once they signed a contract, there was no need to fear that they would betray the clan after becoming a Spell Caster.

Nonetheless, contract paper was extremely expensive. Merlin dimly recalled that in the Resource Tower, one could exchange for contract paper. It was just that the number of contribution points required was far too many. One sheet cost at least over a hundred contribution points.

Furthermore, this was merely an average contract paper. If Merlin wanted to sign a contract paper of the highest grade, it would be more expensive. Even if he decided to recruit only ten people with Spell Caster Quality, this meant that he would need at least ten sheets of contract paper if he wanted them to sign one. If he exchanged for it in the Resource Tower, it would cost him a thousand contribution points.

Not even a Fourth-level Spell Caster, who could build an individual tower in the Dark Magic Region, might necessarily be able to hand over so many contribution points.

Merlin gave the matter some thought. Even though it was expensive, contract paper was something necessary. It seemed like he would need to find some time to return to the Dark Magic Region to exchange for some contract paper.

It was already dark outside for it was midnight. Thus, Merlin did not further discuss the matter with Old Wilson but took his leave.

At first, Merlin thought about checking in on Felinda. Ever since he requested Snake Elder to send her back here, Merlin had not known if she was doing well in Wilson Castle. She was an important step in Merlin’s plans. In the starting phase of the Wilson clan’s development into a Spell Caster clan, Merlin would need to focus his efforts in nurturing anyone who had Spell Caster Quality.

“I’ll take a look tomorrow.”

After he thought about it, Merlin decided to head back to his room.