The Patient Wizard Chapter 22

Chapter 22 – Calculation (12)

When the sparrow disappeared, Harvey said with a grin,

“See, memory extraction is the best.”

His eyes blazed with enthusiasm.

“Shall we do it?”

William said,

“Let’s do as Elder Perez said.”

Thomas was reluctant.

“Kill them all?”

“Yes, that’s easier. Clean and simple.”

Alex wailed.

“No.”

Harvey protested.

“I can do it. Just leave it to me.”

Chris thought of Randall as the most inhuman among Randall, William, and Thomas. So he expected him to burn the four of them to death immediately. Surprisingly, Randall showed a reserved attitude.

“Wait a moment. Let’s think about this.”

He went outside and returned shortly after. He asked,

“Do you still feel the same way?”

William said,

“Yes.”

Thomas still hesitated.

“I’m not comfortable with it.”

One by one. The deciding vote fell to Randall. Chris could guess what decision Randall would make. As he tried to lunge forward, Alice hugged him from behind.

“Don’t move. I don’t want to see you die too.”

Alice seems to have made the same judgment.

Randall raised his wand.

“I’ll kill them.”

Flames erupted from the wand.

“No!”

“Please spare us!”

“No, I’m not. I’m not the culprit!”

They wailed. They begged through tears. They desperately yearned for life.

Chris shouted,

“Just extract their memories instead!”

The fireball mercilessly flew and engulfed Tony, Smith, and Faye. Luckily, Alex was off to the side.

“I’ll handle that one.”

Harvey stepped forward and waved his wand. As black smoke poured out to envelop Alex, the air condensed and formed a large hand. The hand snatched Alex and carried him out of the reception room.

“Argh.”

“Aagh.”

“Mother!”

Screams filled the reception room. Soon after, acrid smoke from burning clothes and flesh filled the room. And the smell of burning flesh filled the reception room.

“Mother, mother, mother…”

The voice calling for mother grew fainter and then stopped.

Chris and Alice watched their colleagues burn to death while crying. Catherine and Frank’s faces also turned pale.

For the wizards, the matter ended with the death of the suspects. They didn’t even glance at them. They showed interest in something else.

William said,

“Who did that?”

He seemed to be referring to Alex being taken away.

Thomas answered,

“I don’t know.”

Randall said,

“One thing is certain.”

He pointed to the ceiling with his index finger and continued.

“A high-ranking wizard interfered.”

“You seem to know something?”

“No, I don’t.”

The three wizards conversed as they left the reception room. Peter and Carl followed them. Harvey didn’t follow them but licked his lips while looking at the corpses.

“I’ll take care of the bodies.”

His desire for the blackened, barely recognizable corpses was chilling.

David said,

“We need to send them to the king.”

“Isn’t sending just Mark enough?”

“We need to show that these people killed the prince.”

“We caught the culprits; that should be enough. We don’t need to provide such service.”

“It’s the king. And the Elder said to send the bodies.”

David waved his wand, and the three blackened corpses and Mark’s eyeless corpse floated into the air. David led the bodies out of the Lion Hall. Harvey couldn’t give up until the end and followed him, begging for the bodies.

Section 6 The Person Who Took the Last Train

A year had passed since entering the Lion Hall. Chris woke up early, cleaned his room, and packed his belongings. He had so little that packing was simply putting silver coins deep in his bag and covering them with clothes (he had bought a few sets in Stratton village).

He went down to the dining hall, placed his bag at his feet, and had his last meal. Alice had also woken up early and was eating. Once, nine people had gathered and made the place lively, but now there were only two.

Alice looked at the bag and said,

“Are you leaving today?”

“Yeah.”

“They said you could stay a few more months. Wouldn’t that be better than leaving?”

Chris picked up a piece of bread.

“But the meal support is ending. Staying or leaving, it’s all the same.”

“But you save on rent.”

“That’s true, but… I don’t want to stay any longer.”

The Lion Hall is where his colleagues died. Their traces were soaked into every corner. It was painful whenever memories came up.

“Ah.”

Alice let out a groan. It was painful for her, too.

“I see.”

Then, she hesitated and looked around cautiously. Chris asked,

“What? Something you want to say?”

“I should have told you earlier, but I couldn’t bring myself to.”

“What is it?”

“There’s the final class today.”

Chris chuckled.

“What kind of class is it when they just throw a spell at us and check? If they had taught us kindly, those who sensed magic would have doubled.”

“Yeah, I think so, too.”

“So what about the class?”

“I didn’t want you to know during class…”

“Know what?”

With a sudden realization, the bread fell from Chris’s hand. It hit the table and rolled onto Chris’s thigh.

After a moment of blankness, focus returned to Chris’s eyes.

“You! You sensed mana!”

Alice lowered her head like someone who had committed a crime.

“Hey! Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I felt sorry.”

“Sorry for what?”

“That only I sensed magic…”

“Are you stupid? Why are you sorry about that? It’s something to celebrate.”

Alice raised her head.

“Really?”

“They say it becomes really difficult to sense magic as time passes… Maybe one or two people in ten years, and you broke through those difficult odds. Congratulations, really. Take care of me when you’re successful.”

“Yes, I will.”

“You’re not just saying that?”

“I promise.”

“Wow, I’ve got a powerful backer now. That’s exciting.”

“Thank you.”

“What do you have to thank me for?”

“For congratulating me.”

Chris laughed awkwardly.

“We’re comrades. Loser comrades. Of course, I should congratulate you.”

Alice laughed along.

“Yes, we’re loser comrades.”

“When did you feel it?”

“After midnight on the day Mark died.”

She paused for a moment before continuing.

“I was too upset to sleep. As time passed, I became more and more wide awake… Rather than lying awake all night, I decided to meditate and chanted the spell, and then I felt like I was surrounded by fog.”

“So magic came to you as fog. If it’s fog, doesn’t that mean the magic is very dense?”

“I don’t know.”

“Your talent must be extraordinary. This is truly a late bloomer.”

Alice was embarrassed.

“Stop it. The geniuses would laugh if they heard.”

Then she wiped away her smile and asked seriously,

“Do you have somewhere to go after leaving the Lion Hall?”

“Wizard David found me a job.”

Alice’s face brightened.

“Wow, that’s great. Where is it?”

“The blacksmith shop.”

“It’s probably not a regular blacksmith shop making weapons or farm tools, but a place that makes magical tools? Like magic armor?”

“It’s not that high-level, just making semi-finished products, he said.”

“It sounds like a good job.”

“There aren’t many people to look after us in our Lion Hall. They’re all dead…”

The atmosphere suddenly became depressed.

“Sorry.”

Chris apologized.

“I said something depressing on a good day.”

They quickly finished their meal and spent time in the reception room before going to the classroom at class time.

The classroom atmosphere was gloomy, like a rainy day. Chris roughly counted the number of trainees. It seemed to be just over 200.

The average is right.

About one-third had sensed magic.

A moment later, William entered.

“Those who sensed mana?”

Alice raised her hand and went forward. Trainees standing along her path murmured. They looked at her with a mixture of envy and jealousy.

“No one else?”

No one else came forward.

William looked at Alice and said,

“Follow me.”

Passing Alice, Peter stepped forward.

“Announcement for the losers. We’ll show mercy and let you live in the dormitory for 3 months. Support like meals will be cut off, but isn’t it something to have shelter from rain and wind? Be grateful.”

He paused briefly. He seemed to expect thanks, but no one expressed gratitude. A deep sense of depression and defeat was haunting the classroom like a ghost.

He clicked his tongue and continued,

“You have three paths. First, get a job at the Magic Tower doing menial work. Second, go to Stratton and find a job. Third, return to your hometown.”

Chris muttered to himself,

There’s a fourth path. Since I’ve left home, I could wander the world and sightsee. I might find my true calling along the way.

Peter declared the end of the semester.

“Class is over. Dismissed.”

The trainees lingered, reluctant to leave the classroom. When one finally took a step, the rest rushed out. Chris also left the classroom mixed in the middle.

People who weren’t there when they entered the building were standing in the empty space in front.

“Those who want a job, come here.”

A red-nosed man said.

“What kind of place is it?” 

Someone asked.

“The kitchen.”

“Can I learn cooking there?”

“After 2 years of cleaning, 2 years of serving, 2 years of dishwashing, and 2 years of preparing ingredients, you can learn.”

Another person also came to recruit.

“Anyone want to be a dormitory servant?”

This wasn’t very popular. No one wanted to fall from being in charge to being bossed around overnight.

Chris thought,

So that’s why blunt Juan wasn’t kicked out, because the dormitory servant position isn’t popular.

To be honest, Chris didn’t want to become a servant either. It would be painful to watch juniors (they would never consider servants as seniors) become wizards.

Someone shouted,

“Where’s Chris?”

Chris raised his hand.

“I’m here.”

The man who called for Chris beckoned with his finger.

“Follow me.”

Chris left his peers behind and followed him. The man was so tall he could be called a giant, and accordingly, his legs were long, and his stride was wide. Moreover, he walked so fast that Chris had to run to keep pace with him.

“My name is Charles.”

Charles had thick eyebrows, sharp eyes, and a strong beard, which made him look manly at best or like a bandit at worst. His impression was truly intense.

“Yes, nice to meet you.”

He glanced at Chris.

“That must be disappointing.”

He seemed to mean not becoming a wizard.

“Yes. Very disappointing.”

“Seeing you have no surname, you’re not of noble birth.”

“I was a slave.”

“I understand why you didn’t return to your hometown.”

“You’re really tall.”

Chris had never seen someone as big as Charles. He seemed twice the size of a small woman.

“There are people taller than me in the Magic Tower.”

“No way.”

“It’s true.”

He suddenly lowered his voice.

“But if you see such a person, run away immediately.”

“Why?”

“Because that wizard has a very, very, very nasty temper.”

Chris had had enough of wizards with nasty tempers. He was fed up. So he immediately nodded.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

He roared with laughter.

“I like that the newcomer seems smart.”

“Thank you for your kind words.”

“Good at flattery too.”

Chris smiled bitterly.

“Just trying to survive.”

“Who was the wizard in charge of this batch?”

“Wizard Randall selected me, and Wizard William was in charge of education.”

“This batch was unlucky.”

“Was it?”

“They’re both wizards famous for their bad tempers.”

He roared with laughter again.

“Did you get along with your peers?”

“No. Not really.”

“That’s too bad.”

“Is it?”

“When peers who got along well become wizards, they can help you in various ways.”

“Ah, I see. If I had known, I would have tried to be friendlier.”

“Kids don’t understand that principle. When they enter the Magic Tower, they’re all puffed up, thinking they’ll all succeed. So they envy and get jealous of those who succeed…”

He stood at a fork In the road and pointed to the left.

“If you follow the path paved with red bricks, you’ll reach our workplace.”

There was a signpost that read Montgomery Blacksmith Shop.