Ten o'clock at night, on the 3rd day of the Month of Passion, the sixth of the year.
When the entire city was still immersed in the great charm of the concert, when people all over the streets were still humming the melody of New Country Symphony and Ode to Joy, those who lived in the darkness had come back to their original life, and now they were seizing the chance to have their secret gathering.
In a common-looking house in Purple Lily District, about ten people gathered in the basement. Most of them were wearing the same black robes, while some were wearing the common masks drawn with bear or goat that kids could easily buy on the streets.
"Hanger, why is Mr. Philosopher still not here?" A woman asked. Although she was wearing a loose black robe, one could tell that her figure was quite nice. Despite the disguise, her voice was still sweet.
They were standing around a round table, on which there were several white candles, many books and pieces of paper.
Hanger answered in his cold voice, "Why do you ask me, Mercury? As a sorcerer, Mr. Philosopher doesn't have to arrive here early."
In this dangerous city, Aalto, after becoming a real sorcerer, Philosopher did not leave the magic apprentice circle, instead, he chose to play the role of teacher for the apprentices. He taught the apprentices a lot and sometimes offered the apprentices useful potions and materials by exchanging some things. Now, he was already the leader in this circle. Thanks to Philosopher's effort, Hanger was also close to becoming a real sorcerer, and other apprentices had also improved a lot.
"Five more minutes. If Mr. Philosopher is still not here, I'm afraid we must go." Before Mercury said anything, the man wearing a reindeer mask said in a hoarse voice.
Other apprentices all agreed. It was not that they did not want to show respect to Mr. Philosopher. For a secret meeting like this, if anyone was late, that might very possibly be a sign of danger.
Hearing that, Morning Star said in frustration, "I'm really fed up with this kind of life… worrying and hiding all the time."
"If you don't want to worry and hide, consider Fire Wolf's solution." Hanger was being ironical.
Suddenly, all the apprentices quieted down. Although they were not there on the spot in the black forest, they heard the rumors and some were even directly told that Fire Wolf was the traitor.
Mercury released a sigh, "If Mr. Professor hadn't left Aalto in a hurry, if there hadn't been a traitor, maybe we would have known where the Congress of Magic is already, and we wouldn't be this confused and lost now."
When mentioning the name of Professor, she felt in awe. The name represented profound knowledge and terrifying magic power, and the name was even on the Cleansing List!
Hearing Professor's name, the apprentices who joined the gathering not long ago all felt very curious. They totally believed what Mercury just said, as the name was even intimidating for those sorcerers belonging to other circles!
"I thought Mr. Professor was a common middle-rank mage, but his power was way more terrifying than I thought…" Hanger murmured.
At this time, someone knocked at the door in a unique way.
"It's Mr. Philosopher…" The apprentices felt a bit more relaxed. They then all stood up to show their respect.
Mercury walked toward the chamber door and asked carefully in a low voice, "Mr. Philosopher?"
The house they were in was a two-storey one with lots of windows that one could get in. Therefore, they did not place any detection spells beside the house door, instead, they placed many magic traps on the corridor towards the chamber. They had special ways of knocking the door to know who it was, and if there was any dangers, they could escape through the secret magic hidden path in the basement.
"It's me," the man answered, whose voice sounded old.
The voice was familiar, and the tone was calm. Their spiritual power told the apprentices that there was nothing wrong.
Every time when someone was at the door, each one of the apprentices had their guts lurched up in their throat, which made them feel horrible.
Dismissing the magic trap, Mercury opened the door and saw Mr. Philosopher wearing the black robe and hood.
"Good evening, Mr. Philosopher." All the apprentices put their right hand on their forehead and bowed with great respect.
But after they looked up, they all gasped as they were completely shocked. There was another man wearing a big black robe standing beside Philosopher, but they were not aware of this at all just now when they used spiritual power to scan around!
"Who is he? Why are you bringing a stranger?" Mercury was angry. It was strictly prohibited by the gathering.
With no notice in advance, no one could bring any strangers here.
Although other apprentices also felt offended, they did not say anything right in front of Mr. Philosopher. After all, he was a real sorcerer.
Seeing Mercury's reaction, these apprentices guessed that very possibly Mercury had already become a real sorcerer, and she was just hiding her power.
Philosopher remained calm and grinned, "Calm down, Mercury. He's not a stranger. He's been here before."
"What? Who?" Mercury and the other apprentices were all very surprised.
"Mercury, Hanger, Morning Star, Reindeer… you all don't remember me anymore?" said Lucien in his pretended hoarse voice, and he released his great spiritual power completely to let the apprentices feel it.
This power did not come from any magic items, but from a real middle-rank mage.
In Hangers and the rest of the apprentices' eyes, the black-robed sorcerer was beyond dreadful. His power was like an endless pit of darkness, and just taking a step closer to it could take away all their strength and make them feel freezing cold. If the man really intended to use his power on them, their limp legs would not even be able to let them stand there still, not to mention casting any spells.
With no doubt, he was definitely a middle-rank mage!
His power was terrifying, and in front of his power, the power of the apprentices was just nothing.
Although Mercury also took a few steps backward, and her beautiful hands were slightly trembling, she was still able to move in front of the great power.
"… Mr. Professor?" Her voice trembled as well, "You're Mr. Professor!"
Professor was the only middle-rank mage she once had a connection to so far.
"I'm glad you can recognize me," said Lucien coldly. Although he laughed when he was talking, the laughter was also cold. He was aware that Mercury did not recognize him because of his appearance—the fake hoarse voice he was using was not special at all, and he made himself look even a bit taller.
The rest of the apprentices were beyond shocked.
"Mr… Mr. Professor?!" They repeated the name subconsciously. They could not believe that the sorcerer whose name was on the Cleansing List at the three hundred and sixtieth place was standing right in front of them. Professor, the name which had been bothering Night Watch for more than three years, was a legend in the circle of magic of Aalto!
They totally did not expect this.
The apprentices suddenly felt very proud and excited. Also, the hope that they might get to know where the Congress of Magic was started to grow fiercely!
Lucien was there before, so he totally understood what they were going through right now. Therefore, even though he had no other purposes, he would still find other ways to tell them how to get to the Congress.
After the apprentices bowed to Professor respectfully, Philosopher introduced, "Mr. Professor, among the apprentices you know from before, some left Aalto as they saw no hope here, like Oak and White Glove; some died, like Owl and White Honey… Now we still have Mercury, Hanger, Morning Star, Reindeer and me, and the rest of them are new members."
Lucien was a bit emotional as his memory was awakened. He did not expect that Smile died during his adventure, and he wondered if Lord Doro managed to escape. As for White Honey's death, no one knew better than Lucien.
After the introduction part, and after Professor sat down, Mercury asked hurriedly and eagerly, "Mr. Professor, can you tell us where the Congress of Magic is? I'm willing to do everything that I can for the information! Please tell me if there are any conditions?"
She wanted to get the information as soon as possible. No one knew what would happen in the next second.
Under the gaze of the apprentices, Lucien replied, "There's no condition required, as it's my duty as a sorcerer to introduce more of you to the Congress to help it grow. I'm here for you all as a guide, and I'm willing to help."
Lucien differed himself from Felipe and those people from the Hand of Paleness.
After a short time of silence, Mercury's voice trembled as she almost cried, "Mr. Professor, I have no idea how to express my gratitude. Thank you so much. Can you tell us where it is right now?"
Only people who were there themselves before understood the great nervousness and intensity as well as the depression these apprentices were under every day.
"If we can get there, Mr. Professor, we'll never forget your help!" Hanger was excited as well.
All the apprentices presented showed their feelings of gratitude. Then, Lucien smiled and said, "The Congress of Magic is in the Kingdom of Holm, across the Storm Strait. It's a floating city close to the kingdom's capital, Rentato, and the city is called Allyn."