“Jon was only half step away from death when he was placed in the ice coffin. The spell slowed down the corruption but did not stop it. Miss Eureka has been using something to sustain his life. But if you open the coffin now, Jon will die immediately.”
“Who knows? Perhaps even without her help, Jon can still make it until I come back,” Angor disagreed.
“Sigh, perhaps. Yet we can’t make sure. What happened has happened, let’s not focus on something that doesn’t help us. You said that you know how to cure Jon’s condition, didn’t you? Let’s go to him once we finish the meal.”
Even though the house servants prepared a full table of luxurious dishes, Angor and Leon had their food somewhat awkwardly.
“What does Miss Eureka say about Jon?” Angor broke the silence first. He didn’t like Eureka, but he would like to know what a wizard had to say about Jon’s condition.
“Both Miss Eureka and my teacher were very curious when they discovered Jon, as if they found a hidden gem in the sand. But their passion for research cooled off a while later. I guess this is because all the time they spent did not grant them any useful results.
“As time went by, Jon’s lingering health made it impossible for them to conduct their research. My teacher once mentioned looking for a way to prolong Jon’s life, but he didn’t succeed.
“These days, neither of them would go to Jon. Miss Eureka only asked me to keep an eye on some data. Nothing else.”
What Leon said just told Angor that Leon didn’t know Jon’s true value in this world, which meant Leon based his opinions solely on what he saw from Eureka. And since Eureka did not commit any bad deeds in these years, Leon sided with her.
“What did Miss Eureka say exactly about Jon’s health?”
“Not good. ‘Almost hopeless’, as she said. She tried her best, but all she could do was to stall Jon’s fall just a little bit.”
Angor nodded with a grim look. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe Leon’s words. In his view, Eureka did offer her assistance. This much was true.
After all, a test subject was better alive than dead.
But... if a wizard like her failed to completely rescue Jon, then was that “Inscription Card” going to work?
Angor decided to put this matter for later so that he could see Jon with his own eyes before making further plans.
“Who’s your professor, by the way?” Angor gave his brother a suspicious look. “You mentioned two people, right?”
“Oh... I tend to call him as teacher. He has never accepted this, but neither did he forbid me from calling him like that. He taught me a training drill, so I just consider him as my teacher from that day onward. I don’t know his real name, but I think Miss Eureka usually calls him ‘Red’.”
“Red?”
“Guess it’s a nickname. He has red hair. Looks very bright in the sunlight. You’ll notice him from far away the moment you see him.”
The description reminded Angor of Red-Haired Thewis. In fact, when he was making Ocean Tuner several months ago, the “hot-looking mermen” he placed in the illusion were based on the handsome pictures he received from Lady Mirror, and one of the men was Thewis.
Of course, he did not directly copy Thewis’ image in the illusion. He made many tunes and tweaks and gave the “Merman Thewis” different hair color and facial features. But those who knew Thewis well would still find traces of resemblance if they were to see the illusion up close.
Now that he thought about it, Greya mentioned Thewis being at the Old Earth before.
Angor knuckled the dining table, and the tapping sound he created weaved the illusion of a red-haired man.
Black, golden-striped overcoat, brown boots, and a cruel expression... These were what he remembered of Red-Haired Thewis from when he saw this man four years ago when boarding The Redbud.
“Is this man your teacher?”
Leon was dumbstruck when he saw the life-like image. He thought his teacher suddenly came back until Angor explained what was going on.
“Yeah, that’s him. You know him, Angor? And back at the gate, I saw you mentioning Miss Eureka’s title. You know her as well?”
Angor didn’t answer as he was surprised by his successful guess. There was not one, but two wizards at Padt Manor! What was more, it seemed Eureka and Thewis were working together.
As Angor remembered, Lady Mirror, Greya, and Sunders all told him that Thewis traveled to the Marginalized Island to hunt Eureka down because Eureka stole the Crimson Crown from Goman King.
But the truth turned out reversed!
When he thought about the crown, he immediately recalled another name, which was “Crimson Mask” Irisa, who asked him to craft a fake crown. He already decided to forget about this deal because Sunders warned him not to get involved in it. Yet he couldn’t help but get worried that Irisa was also Eureka’s helper.
He knew something big was going on, which revolved around the Crimson Crown, and he kept hearing about this matter despite his effort.
“No, I don’t know them. I heard their names from other people.” Angor quickly tried to skim himself off these people. Only God knew whether Eureka was listening in.
Leon didn’t seem convinced and asked several more questions, hoping to learn more about his “teacher”, but Angor simply insisted that he knew nothing about Thewis, which was almost the truth.
“What kind of training did he give you?” Angor asked as he tried to divert the subject. “And why would he teach you stuff in the first place?”
“It’s ‘blood cultivation’ that strengthens my body. My teacher also said that it could increase my spirit level. I... pleaded with him that I wanted to grow stronger, and he eventually agreed.” Leon flinched when he thought about the terrible experience when undergoing the blood cultivation. It was an extremely painful method during which he felt as if his body were being smashed to bits before being put back together again.
According to Thewis, successfully enduring the pain would help him train his mental resistance. Otherwise, only death awaited.
Fortunately, Leon made it through alive. However, he did not mention the brutality of the training since it would only unsettle Angor.
“Your spirit level increased?” Angor was more interested in this part. “You’re a talent now?”
“Yup!” Leon looked proud. “My teacher didn’t give me a spirit level test again, but he seemed satisfied.”
Angor wished to take out his Talent Sphere to check on Leon, but he then decided not to. It seemed Thewis did consider Leon as his student. It was not proper for him to interfere with Leon’s study right now.
Previously, Angor planned to use the Potion of Austere Night to boost Leon’s spirit level above 8 so that he could take Jon to Brute Cavern as a new recruit. But... he came a bit too late.
After finishing their meal while talking about other insignificant stories, Leon took Angor to the “Ice Chamber” located in the backyard of the manor, where Jon’s body was kept.
“Did you tell Miss Eureka anything about Jon’s home, Earth?” Angor asked a question on their way.
“No. She never asked, and I didn’t bring that up.”
They soon arrived at a narrow entrance, and Angor quickly recognized the familiar place he used to explore.
“Of course you know where this is, right?” Leon chuckled. “When you were little, Jon used to tell you that it’s a ghost cave to scare you. Man, I still remember when you first set your foot here on trembling legs.”
This was originally an icy cellar built by Jon, to preserve certain products such as iced milk. Jon told Angor many ghost stories so that the little kid wouldn’t always slip inside for extra snacks.
It was when Angor reached the age of 13 did he learn the “secret” of the storage, by which time Jon’s body was already failing.
And now, the cellar had been modified into a bigger place to keep Jon’s “coffin”.
Angor was a bit surprised when he saw the door of the chamber left open. Someone was already inside ahead of them.
Eureka.