Chapter 165: Lay Low (4)
Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe
Angele and Natalia watched the gray carriage leave under the setting sun.
"I’ll be leaving too…" Natalia suddenly said.
"I tried as hard as I could, but… maybe I’m just not talented enough."
Angele did not say anything. He just listened to Natalia’s words. It was what the late Dennis would do in this situation.
If a Wizard apprentice could not reach rank 3 before the age of 18, it would be impossible for him to become a formal Wizard. Sidman and Natalia did not rank up during the years, they were probably disappointed with themselves. Also, they could not handle the pressure from their families anymore.
Angele and Natalia returned to the house after the carriage disappeared in their sights. They were not in the mood to chat, so they went back to their own rooms after showering.
Angele needed to clean the room on the second floor at night. He went upstairs with a mop in hands and heard someone turning pages in the study.
"Is that Dennis? Come here." Markolov’s voice came from the study. He sounded tired.
Angele pushed the door open.
"You need me? Master?"
The room was a mess. Books and scrolls piled up on Markolov’s desk. There was a thick book in his hand and it seemed like he was looking for certain information. He was also making notes on a long leather scroll.
"Some data is missing. Can you bring me the books from the basement, please? The ones with red covers."
"For sure."
Angele took a glance at the books on the deck after responding to the old man’s request. He noticed those bloodshot eyes of Markolov. It seemed that he had not rested for a while.
‘Why’s he trying so hard?’ Angele could sense that the old man was weak.
He also saw the title on the leather scroll, it said: ‘Simplified Energy Compression Calculation’.
Angele turned around and walked down the stairs. In the dark and dry basement, there was a whole box of books with red covers. The box weighed about a hundred kilograms. Angele carried the books to Markolov’s reading after running up and down several times.
Markolov asked Angele to return to his own room after everything was done. He was still reading the books with red covers.
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Time flew by.
Angele had already stayed in the house for three months. He had almost fully recovered from the injury, but he still needed some more time. Furthermore, people were hunting him outside, so he only went to town when necessary.
"Dennis." Markolov summoned Angele to the study. He was sitting in a chair while looking outside through the window.
"Master," Angele bowed and responded.
"Dennis, why aren’t you leaving? My brother already sent you the letter, right?" Markolov looked tired and depressed, his hair messy. Angele could not even see the soul from his eyes.
Angele remained silent for a while. He did receive a letter from the town. It was Dennis’s family asking him to return. Also, Dennis’s family found an enchanted item that would help him join a major Wizard organization.
"I… don’t want to leave. You’re the best master in my opinion!" Angele said after thinking for a while. It was his genuine thought. Although Markolov’s energy compression system was hard to learn, it could still create a shortcut for Angele. Also, he wanted to wait until his injury fully recovered.
Angele was not related to Dennis’s family, so he had no reason to listen to their words. He decided to leave after his organs were cured because he was not the real Dennis.
Also, Angele spent some time observing Markolov. He already had a general understanding of the old man.
There were many goals Markolov wanted to accomplish in his life, but he always had been interrupted by various issues. He would spend about an hour just sitting there looking at the sky through the window every day. Angele knew he was suffering from depression.
"Alright, you can leave now," Markolov spoke in a light tone. It seemed like he was pleased with Angele’s response.
Angele bowed. He turned around and opened the door. He saw Natalia waiting outside and Angele’s presence surprised her. She did not understand why Angele was called to the second floor.
Natalia did not greet him. She walked into the reading room and locked the door.
Angele shook his head slightly. He was not concerned about the other two Wizard apprentices’ lives since he would be leaving once he was recovered from his injuries. Markolov’s energy compression system was great and it piqued his interest. However, Angele could not stay here for too long. Also, there was still an unknown mark planted in his body by the red beard. If he got greedy, he might be captured by the people who were after him.
Angele heard Natalia talking to Markolov from the study behind before he left the hallway.
"Natalia, you’re here. I prepared a detailed note for you. It’s about the simplified energy compression calculation method. You did well the last time, and with this, I believe you’ll be able to reach the next stage. In the note, I added…"
"Sorry, master. I have to leave, too…" Natalia interrupted.
The room became deafeningly silent.
After several minutes, Natalia spoke again.
"My carriage is waiting for me outside… Thank you for all these years…" Natalia opened the door. She looked at Angele but did not say anything. She just ran down the stairs and left the house.
Angele turned his head around and stared at the open door of the study. He sighed, lowered his footsteps, and walked down the stairs.
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Natalia left the house as well. The house seemed a bit too big now for Angele and Markolov. The place was empty and quiet.
Markolov summoned Angele to the study again by the evening. His condition was worsening after Natalia left. Angele saw him staring at the window and wondered what he was thinking.
No one talked after Angele entered the room. The silence lasted for about half an hour.
Markolov turned his head around and looked Angele.
"I know you’re reading the books I stored in the basement recently. You can have these notes I made. They’ll help you study." He grabbed all the notes on the desk. Angele saw him writing that word-by-word not so long ago.
Markolov handed all the notes over to Angele. It seemed like ‘Dennis’ was his last hope. A strong Wizard who failed to find a talented apprentice to inherit his knowledge. It made Angele feel downcast.
Angele opened his mouth, but he did not know what to say. He was a Gas Stage Wizard and he already knew that Markolov was dying. Markolov’s attributes were decreasing every day. Angele could not even sense his energy particles in the room.
He read about the information on a book that when a Wizard was about to die, his mana and mentality would dissipate. Markolov was not injured. He was just reaching the limit of his life expectancy, and that was the reason why he so desperately wanted to find someone to inherit his knowledge.
Angele grabbed the thick notes and looked at Markolov directly in the eyes.
"Thank you, master. I won’t let you down." He nodded with a serious expression on his face.
Markolov was just a dying Wizard who wanted to pass his knowledge to one of his apprentices.
"There is a total of 72 energy compression formulas. I obtained them from the master of my master. Now, I need to find someone to inherit them." Markolov smiled, looking relieved.
"If you’re serious about learning the formulas, I have another more detailed note for you. I copied them down one by one from my master’s book."
He struggled for a second before he stood up and took down a metal container from a bookshelf. There was a scroll inside.
"Alright, come to me every day for a new scroll. Dennis, remember, your talent level is low, but that’s not the problem. If you work hard, one day you’ll understand the system. Never give up."
"Yes, master." Angele nodded.
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The information recorded on Markolov’s scrolls was way too difficult for Wizard apprentices and average Wizards to understand. However, Angele had Zero, and the chip could help him understand the complicated application of the formulas.
Combining the formulas in different ways would help him simplify the steps needed to compress the energy, and it was a high-difficulty technique. Also, after doing some research, it would seem that the technique could bring positive changes to his metal forcefield. However, due to the lack of data, Zero could not simulate the changed forcefield.
His spell power would be increased greatly if he could master the special energy compression technique.
It was a pleasant surprise.
Markolov did not care whether Angele understood the information or not. He just wrote down all the things he knew and threw all the scrolls to Angele. It was as if he had no time to find another talented apprentice to pass on the system.
Angele was excited that he could learn something new every day. He stored all the data in Zero, and he was progressing extremely fast with his strong logical thinking ability.
Angele’s injury had fully recovered in the process, but he was not in a hurry to leave anymore. Markolov would summon him to the study in the morning and Angele would spend the whole day learning the new knowledge.
At first, Angele thought that the technique could only be used to compress energy, but later he realized it could also be applied to mentality compression.
He kept reading all the books and notes in Markolov’s collection and finally found the technique about mentality compression.
Angele noticed that the red beard Wizard planted something in the flow of his mentality a while ago, but if he could master the mentality compression technique, he could easily interrupt or eliminate tracking spells like this.