Risk
"First of all, he has to choose his rescuer cautiously. If he asks for the help of a random sorcerer in the city, it’s very likely that he will expose his traces. After all, not everybody can figure out the real situation as I can. One moment of carelessness, and he will be discovered by the mysterious hunter or the supervising legend."
It was something that Fernando confirmed at the beginning. For the trapped archmage, there were few opportunities for survival. He could not afford to waste any of them.
"Why did he choose me over Tuck or any other sorcerers? How am I different from them?"
Fernando believed that he certainly had advantages that could let the trapped archmage escape. That was why the archmage chose him and entered his dream to ask for help. He intended to find out the specific advances to decide his operation plan.
Fernando was both scared and excited when he realized that his opponent was a legend. His brain was much more active than usual.
"I am a seventh-circle senior-rank sorcerer, and Tuck is a sixth-circle one. The gap is not huge. I don’t have obvious advantages. Besides, I never used any senior-rank spells in Kufuray City. It’s certainly impossible for the trapped archmage to figure out my real capabilities, which means that my strength is not the reason why he chooses me. Well, faced with a legendary sorcerer, the strength of the senior rank matters little.
"My wisdom? I’m from Holm. Even if the trapped archmage knows me, he certainly does not know if I am a quick thinker."
To be honest, Fernando had basically guessed who the trapped archmage was. Few ninth-circle archmages could put him into dreams after they were heavily wounded, and even fewer could hide right under the nose of a legendary sorcerer. There weren’t many archmages who were so good at dreams either. Only one archmage met all the conditions, which was Stanis, Antec’s classmate whose cognitive world had half-solidified. He happened to not be in Aalto. Both the timing and his strength checked.
"It’s not strange that Stanis heard about me from Antec before. However, those tales are certainly not enough for Stanis to choose me because of my wisdom.
"This place is separated from the outside world. My connections with Antec and Furan are pointless too…"
Fernando was puzzled for a moment, unable to figure out why Stanis entrusted such an important matter to him.
"Huh. I am wearing the transformation belt under the name of Nando. He has never met me before and couldn’t have recognized me…" Fernando suddenly remembered that he was now Ms. Nando.
However, he soon realized the reason. When he was in the Office of Sorcerers, he had registered himself in order to ask about Tuck’s whereabouts. He stated that he was Nando from Holm, endorsed by Antec and Furan. Taking the information into consideration, Stanis could roughly guess that he was Fernando based on Antec’s description in the past, except that he was now temporarily a female. After all, Antec had few friends, and barely any of them was from Holm.
"In such a case, he may be hiding somewhere in the Office of Sorcerers. The most dangerous place is the safest place… Well, eliminating strength and wisdom, what factors make me more suitable to help him get out of the trouble? Seduction?" Fernando ruled out the possibility without thinking. He could not even meet the legend or the level-nine expert. How could he seduce them? Besides, with their strength, they must have appreciated all the beauties in the world.
What can it be? What can it be? Fernando paced back and forth before the ragged house, looking for the greatest difference between himself and other people, as well as the qualities that other people might describe and remember him by.
Suddenly, he stopped with his eyes widened. "If I were Antec, I would’ve described my
The qualities that were of no use ebbed, and "impatience" popped up in Fernando’s mind. "Perhaps only an impatient and reckless sorcerer can create an opportunity for Stanis to escape, or at least he thinks so!
"What would an impatient and reckless sorcerer do? A cowardly and cautious man like Tuck would have decided to sneak quietly. His materials and his notebook are just distractions to eliminate doubts…
"An impatient and reckless sorcerer does not wait. He will break out unexpectedly… In such a case, he will attract the attention of the supervisor or trigger the defense magic circles, which will give Stanis a brief window… Well, since he has escaped here, the King of Nightmare must be one of the legends who are involved in the research. It is possible that Stanis can reach out to the King of Nightmare during the brief window…"
For a moment, Fernando felt that he was Stanis. It was almost like they knew what was on each other’s mind even though they had never met before!
"However, in such a case, it’s very possible that they will vent their fury on me. If there’s something wrong with the supervising legend, he can certainly kill Stanis and escape before the King of Nightmare arrives. Why is he confident to take the risk?"
Fernando couldn’t figure out the reason. He could only trust Stanis, who would know better than him.
"If I don’t take my chances, Antec and Furan will kill me to keep my mouth shut the moment they approach, and I won’t be able to take my chances. Even if I die, I have to die while I’m trying to leave!" Fernando made up his mind. Then, he sniffed. "That’s really the choice of an impatient and reckless sorcerer…"
He was as mean about himself as he was about other people.
"However, I need to observe tomorrow and see if it is forbidden to leave this city, in case I’m tricked." Fernando was not someone who believed everything other people said.
…
After spending the night in Tuck’s house, Fernando pretended to go sightseeing after the failed recruitment. As he expected, nobody left the city at all! The wagons that delivered food and water would stop at the city gate!
After he confirmed it, Fernando took a deep breath. He decided to attack immediately when the supervisors and the cultists thought that he would go back and prepare himself!
Pa!
A silver bolt of lightning as thick as an arm glittered in the sky and struck the city gate, breaking the magic defense and splashing the mud.
In the meantime, the space before Fernando twisted, and countless runes gathered into a dazzling, queer gate.
It was Chaos Teleportation!
At this moment, the whole city suddenly glowed. The magic symbols and patterns appeared and piled into overlapping magic circles.
Right when the magic circles were triggered, clusters of mist rose from the Office of Sorcerers and were connected to the magic circles.
Immediately, stars were rising, and the whole city became blurry. Nobody could see beyond one meter.
Fernando felt so drowsy that he passed out before he was teleported.
…
Struggling to open his eyes, Fernando sensed his body again. Right when he was glad that he was still alive, a beautiful and friendly beauty appeared before him.
"Furan, you’re here?" Fernando greeted her subconsciously, but he realized that something was wrong the moment he opened his mouth. Why was it a male’s voice?
Furan was as gorgeous as a figure painting when she was quiet, and it was a major contrast when she talked. She laughed, and her eyes were cold as she said, "Why? Are you surprised that a chick has turned into a man? You are a pervert! You turned into a girl and tricked me. You even slept with me!" The more she talked, the angrier she became.
"That… That was a mistake…" Fernando suspected that Furan figured out the function of his belt and nullified it when he was sleeping.
Furan chuckled. "No, it was not a mistake."
When Fernando looked at her curiously, she said with a faint smile, "I asked the Lord of Abyss to perform body modification for you. It will be permanent and irremovable. You will always be a girl. Rest assured. I will take good care of you."
"Stop messing around!" Fernando only experienced it out of curiosity and never considered a permanent transition. He immediately roared, trying to stop Furan.
"Sleep now. You will always be a girl after you wake up!" Furan giggled.
Fernando tried to support his body, but the scene before his eyes suddenly broke. Darkness arrived and quickly disappeared.
"Antec?" Looking at his friend at a loss, he found himself in a regular bedroom.
Antec chuckled. "You had a nightmare just now? Tell me. Let me analyze what it is about."
"Have I been physically transformed by the Lord of Abyss?" Fernando groped his body abruptly, only to discover that it was truly a girl’s!
"No," Antec answered in confusion.
Seeing that the belt was still there, Fernando was immediately relieved. "Just now, I dreamed…"
Antec couldn’t stop laughing when he heard Fernando’s story. "That was the deeply-hidden fear in your subconscious! To be honest, I’m scared of her too. I stole you back as soon as possible because I feared that she might notice something. You’d better go back to Holm early."
"What happened?" Fernando shifted the subject back to business.
Antec became solemn. "This is what happened. Stanis was ambushed by ‘Aurora Envoy’, who ranked the fifth among the night watchers, when he was out looking for materials. He paid a huge price to kill the enemy, but he sensed that he was followed by other enemies. So, not having the courage to return, he secretly hid in Kufuray City.
"However, when he was about to ask for help, he accidentally discovered that Archmage Prince, the Original Fire’s most trusted student, had secretly joined the Church and become ‘Bright Torch’, who ranked the sixth among the night watchers.
"Also, the Original Fire was engaged in an experiment and could not be distracted, and the whole city was watched by Prince. You know what happened later.
"After you passed out, the ‘Dream Transformation’ that my teacher secretly deployed was activated, allowing him to arrive in Kufuray and protect Stanis. The Original Fire, who came later, tried to capture Prince, but was one step late. The guy blew himself up, and even his phylactery was shattered."
Fernando frowned. "Do you mean that something was wrong with Prince instead of the Original Fire?"
That could explain why Stanis was willing to take the risk.