The blue sky and the clear seawater had joined together in the distance, making it difficult to tell where the horizon was.
A flying boat swept past the sky, adding another trail of adorable ripples above the water.
On the boat, Angor was currently glaring at a fat owl that had been standing on the prow of the boat while guiding their direction.
The owl pointed a wing somewhere while yelling at Angor, “That way, you moron! Look at me! Are you blind?!”
Angor looked away and changed their course while considering whether he should learn how to roast the bird for dinner.
“You can’t even read maps! Thank goodness the master sent ME to watch over you, or you’ll never get to Lloyds by yourself!” the owl claimed proudly, thinking that it was tasked with an important job.
Angor didn’t protest—he was bad at navigating on the sea, that much was true.
But he still didn’t like Brulee’s attitude.
“We are not at the Old Earth nor Padt Manor. No one will know if I kill you right here. Cut the unnecessary shit.”
Brulee the Owl saw Angor’s cruel look and shrank in fear.
“But you broke my glasses... and, and I let it pass. Why are you so mean to me?” it muttered in a small voice.
Brulee was Eureka’s familiar, and the “Watcher” guarding the entrance of Padt Manor.
They were heading to a city called Lloyds, which was supposed to be located at the bottom of the sea, around the border between Whalebone Sea and Blackberry Waters. The city was not for humans, but mermen and mermaids.
...
One day ago, Eureka took Angor to her temporary residence.
“I need you to go to Lloyds and fetch something for me.”
“I don’t have time for that,” Angor replied without thinking.
“I’m not asking. You will do it.”
Angor had no idea what this place was. And of course, he didn’t want to leave Padt Manor and Jon so fast.
However, Eureka didn’t care about any of his concerns. She walked to the window and snapped her finger, and Brulee the Owl soon came into the house.
“Brulee will go with you and lead the way. There are lots of things to carry, so we have to use your bracelet.” Eureka gave Angor’s wrist a curious look. She wondered how an apprentice got his hands on such a valuable item, but she decided not to ask. For now.
“Why don’t you go there on your own, if I may?”
Eureka only gave him a meaningful smile.
Angor just realized that Eureka was a wanted criminal. That was a bad question.
But this didn’t mean Angor would accept her bossing him around.
Eureka noticed Angor’s unwillingness and considered what she could use to force Angor’s actions.
“I helped you maintain Jon’s vital balance and did not ask for a reward yet. Equivalent exchange, remember?”
“I was the one who finished the calculations,” Angor protested.
“Without me, Jon would be long dead before you came back.”
This was probably true, but Angor still wasn’t happy to hear it from Eureka’s mouth. Saving Jon should always be Eureka’s plan because she would like to keep her “research subject” alive. She simply found it to be an extra excuse for negotiation.
Seeing Angor frustrated, Eureka proceeded with her “carrot and stick” tactic by saying, “Lloyds is around the Whalebone Sea, which is not so far from here. That flying boat of yours will take you there and back in less than two weeks. Or a few days, if you use your sequence of gravity. You don’t want to leave Jon, right? I’ll keep him safe.”
Angor didn’t look persuaded.
“During his future treatment when you need my help, I’ll consider, as long as I can.”
Again, Eureka promised such a thing just because she also preferred Jon to be alive.
Angor could clearly see this, but there was nothing much he could do about it. Keeping the fragile balance between Jon’s vitals and the corruption was something beyond his strength—he had to rely on Eureka’s help.
“Fine. What is this place? And what do you need me to get?”
...
Angor traveled past the Whalebone Sea last time while heading back to the Old Earth. Now here he was again, looking for a hidden city that only appeared in legends and tales.
Most routes were open and in business in the warm weather. On Gondola, Angor would occasionally see many cargo ships moving about. He had no intention of interacting with the mortal ships. However, some of the mortals caught glimpses of the amazing vehicle in the sky and began telling rumors about a shining boat gliding beneath the moon and stars.
While having nothing to do, Angor took some time to go over what he saw in Jon’s dream.
Jon never clearly expressed his attitude about the wizarding world before. But now, Angor could see that Jon both liked this world and missed his old home and family greatly.
It seemed Jon adored Angor very much, and he was always curious to seek out all the amazing secrets in the wizarding world as a scientist. This was why Angor felt sorrow and longing for home in Jon’s dream, but no regret.
Angor now hoped that one day, he could take Jon with him and search for a way to return to Earth. It sounded unlikely, but there must be a way since Jon could survive the great travel.
He now considered “following Jon’s path” as another goal of life, besides finding the path of truth.
Anyone in this world would laugh at him if he were to speak of looking beyond the very universe. But the truth was, he was not completely clueless. He had the Alien Eye.
Of course, he wasn’t going to look into the artifact carelessly before reaching the level of a wizard. According to Jon’s stories, he could tell that the scientists back on Earth suffered greatly during the Montauk Project AND the loss of the Alien Eye. He had to be fully prepared before starting such a dangerous project.
For now, he had to focus on more urgent matters, such as preventing Jon’s death.
Entering Jon’s dream was one of the primary goals he could think of. Next, he wished to speak to Jon in the dream, which required him to study the next cantrip, Dream Reading.
The trip to Lloyds would take him pretty close to the Land of Revelation. He planned to pay Freud a visit and learn something about the new cantrip. Freud was titled as the “Dream Reader”. That man must have been rather good at it.
Upon making this decision, Angor poked Toby as he asked, “Use your griffin power.”
Toby was a bit confused upon hearing the sudden order but still complied. As his body grew larger and was covered in flames, Brulee jumped away with a start and trembled behind its wings.
Angor hopped onto Toby’s back and retrieved his Gondola.
“Hop on. Time to make haste.”
Still shivering, Brulee found a spot in Toby’s mane and held on so that it wouldn’t get shook off.
Toby released a gray aura and disappeared in the next second.
They covered the remaining distance using Toby’s help, and when Toby’s griffin power ran out, they would take some rest by using Gondola again. Occasionally, Angor would also use his own gravity power to speed up.
The journey, which should take them two weeks, only cost two days in the end, and they soon arrived at their next landmark—the Shino Trench.
The sequence of gravity was what made Angor confident in escaping from Eureka’s attacks, should they ever start an all-out brawl. Unfortunately, neither he nor Toby could keep using this power for too long, otherwise, the trip would take even less time.