The First Order

Chapter 1194 - Enchanted doorways

Chapter 1194: Enchanted doorways

Translator: Legge

The Kingdom of Sorcerers was not located in a main disaster zone during The Cataclysm. It was only affected by the sudden cold weather that followed, but there were no fallout or explosions that occurred here.

At that time, Ren He could already completely crush Russell in a fight. Therefore, even during The Cataclysm, as long as this Rider remained in the region of the Kingdom of Sorcerers, he definitely could have survived it.

But Ren He made a different choice. Just as he had said, he had his responsibilities.

Therefore, on the eve of The Cataclysm, which was also the day before the global war, he chose to return home to lead his people towards another path of survival.

He had succeeded, but that success came at the cost of his life.

“What exactly did he leave behind at Russell’s place?” Ren Xiaosu asked.

“A sealed box with no password,” Summer answered. “It’s hidden in the Rose Monastery in Ghent City.”

“Rose Monastery?” Ren Xiaosu wondered.

“Mhm, that used to be the Russell family’s property. After our ancestor was persecuted, that place was seized by Ghent City and converted into a monastery,” Summer replied.

The so-called monastery was basically a chapel-like building filled with statues of sorcerers from either the House of Norman or the House of Tudor.

That was because Ghent City was simply too large. It was so large it was several times the size of Vaduz City. Therefore, the residents there could not gather in front of the same cathedral for their worship service all at the same time. At the beginning of each month, everyone would put on their red robes and go to a monastery near their homes where junior sorcerers would conduct worship services.

It was very ironic for a place of killing to be turned into a monastery.

Ren Xiaosu asked, “When can I retrieve it?”

“When this matter related to the underground is over, I’ll take you there.” Summer said, “But before that, can I ask a favor of you?”

Ren Xiaosu asked, “What is it?”

Summer glanced at Mel and asked Ren Xiaosu, “Can you take him away from Ghent City? As a reward, I’m willing to give you a gold Eye of True Sight and a sorcery manuscript compiled by my ancestor. There’s a lot of recorded spells and meditative visualization diagrams in it, all of which are for high-level spells.”

Mel had been standing off to the side for a long time already and was bored. While Ren Xiaosu chatted with his sweetheart, it was as though he was invisible.

But it just so happened these two people in front of him were engaged in a serious discussion, and it was even on a topic he couldn’t get a word in about.

Mel also wanted to join the conversation, but he really did not know what to say.

Should he say he couldn’t bear to leave Summer? That would make him seem overly melodramatic as a man.

Or should he say that he would be fine with Ren Xiaosu’s protection, so there wasn’t a need for him to leave Ghent City? But that would make him sound like a thug.

When Mel heard that Summer was trying to chase him away again, he quickly gave Ren Xiaosu a knowing look in hopes he put in a word for him.

Ren Xiaosu immediately understood and said, “Are you looking for the bathroom?”

“No, I’m not.” Melgor snapped, “I don’t want to leave Ghent City!”

“Can’t you just say it plainly then?” Ren Xiaosu glanced at him. “If you’re too afraid to even object when others ask you to leave, how are you going to handle big issues in the future? Don’t worry, I won’t bring you back to the south. Since we’re already here, we should at least kick up a row, right?”

Summer frowned. “The gold Eye of True Sight is the best offer I can give.”

“What’s important is not what you can offer, but what I want to do.” Ren Xiaosu said, “Do you really think that those good-for-nothing scions of the aristocratic families are sincere in starting a revolution with you? Just look at how class-conscious they are. After overthrowing the old aristocracy with their help, they’ll just rise up to become the new aristocracy.”

“I’m not intending to rely on them completely, obviously,” Summer said calmly. “For now, my only aim is to make the House of Tudor pay with their blood. As for overthrowing the old aristocracy, there’s still a long way to go.”

With that, Ren Xiaosu understood Summer was not an impatient person. She was planning to take things slowly.

Summer continued, “Although I don’t know why you brought Melgor to Ghent City, do you know you’re putting him in danger by doing so?”

“Before this, Melgor told me that his sweetheart is someone with her own mind. But no one told me that you’re Russell’s descendant, nor that you’re such an independent thinker.” Ren Xiaosu thought for a moment and said, “However, I’m quite curious about something. Since you’re so worried about him, why didn’t you send someone to protect him when he was sent to the border?”

“Of course I did. I got the Sanctuary’s people to protect him. It was only after they realized he wasn’t in much danger that they returned to Ghent City.” Summer said, “Not only that, but we even had gladiators secretly send him food, clothes, and medicine regularly so he wouldn’t starve to death.”

Melgor exclaimed, “I thought I hired those people with money?”

Summer looked at Mel. “The money you offered wasn’t enough at all. No one would keep going to such dangerous places for that small amount of gold coins.”

“I see.” Ren Xiaosu nodded.

He finally understood. Ren Xiaosu had thought about this before. Mel, a barely capable sorcerer, had been sent to Fortress 178 to observe the enemy’s movements. However, that guy’s wilderness survival skills were not even passable, so how did he survive there for the past two years?

It turned out Summer was the one who made sure Melgor survived his mission.

This girl was really methodical in her ways. She really was someone who was meant for great things.

As for Mel the moocher, he was really too thorough in mooching.

As he thought about it, Ren Xiaosu even had the thought of supporting Summer to become the one to lead the Prosperous Northwest’s branch office. No matter how you saw it, she seemed more suitable for the role than Mel…

Ren Xiaosu was a little puzzled. “Why are you so good to him?”

Summer said, “He’s too na?ve. He’ll get hurt if there’s no one to protect him.”

Ren Xiaosu was stunned. How the hell was this romance? This was practically motherly love!

But no matter what it was, that was between the two of them.

Ren Xiaosu looked at Mel. “Do you understand now? She was just making an excuse not to implicate you when she said that she didn’t want you to implicate her. You should work hard and not keep making others worry. Do you know what you have to do now?”

Mel nodded vigorously. “I do!”

“Then what’s your plan?” Ren Xiaosu asked.

“Stay obediently by your side. With your protection, she won’t have anything to worry about,” Mel said.

Ren Xiaosu was speechless.

He got so angry he laughed. But when he thought about it carefully, this decision by Mel was still the wisest!

If he were to make Mel continue practicing his sorcery, he couldn’t become an archmage without at least eight to ten years of training. Therefore, in a situation where his efforts were futile, he might as well accept his situation and not burden everyone.

With Ren Xiaosu’s protection, there wouldn’t be too many people in the vast Ghent City who could do anything to him.

Honestly, Ren Xiaosu did not know now if Mel was actually stupid or just playing dumb.

Ren Xiaosu told Summer, “Don’t worry, Mel will be fine with me protecting him. I won’t ask you about your plans anymore, and neither should you ask me about mine. I’ll start taking action after I’ve retrieved what Ren He left for me. At that time, all you need to do is wait for an opportunity.”

“What opportunity?” Summer wondered.

“An opportunity that I’ll create for y’all.” Ren Xiaosu said calmly, “I’ve said this to Chen Jingshu before. My arrival from the Central Plains is the best opportunity for y’all to overthrow the old aristocratic rule of the Magi.”

When Summer heard this, she looked at Mel in surprise. Mel sighed and said, “You’ll get used to it. Besides, I can’t refute his claims.”

Summer sized up Ren Xiaosu in front of her. Although she did not know where Ren Xiaosu’s confidence came from, she somehow chose to trust him fully.

Suddenly, she remembered what her grandfather had told her before he died. “If someone from the Central Plains comes searching for clues related to the Riders one day, you can get them to help with any difficulties you might encounter.

“It’s an amazing nation, and that Rider is the most amazing person in that nation.”

At that time, Summer was only a child and did not understand what her grandfather meant. She often wondered if that Rider could really be so trusted by the entire Russell family.

Summer suddenly said, “My grandfather told me when the Rider took away the Eye of True Sight, he promised that in the Russell family’s time of need, he would repay them with a favor. If he were no longer around to keep that promise, the favor would be repaid by his descendants. Since you’re his descendant, can I depend on you?”

Ren Xiaosu thought for a moment. Since Ren He had used the Eye of True Sight to save him, he was naturally willing to fulfill the promise made in exchange for the Eye of True Sight. “Sure, what do you want me to do? Destroy the House of Tudor?”

“No.” Summer shook her head. “Can you make sure to protect Mel?”

“Sure, but this doesn’t count. It’s a promise that I’ve already made to Mel personally, so I’ll naturally keep my word for that.” Ren Xiaosu said with a smile, “Alright, you can hold onto that favor for now. We’ll talk again when you need it to be repaid. I’ll leave you two to catch up while I go inside and have a good chat with my new sorcerer friends.”

With that, Ren Xiaosu stepped through the enchanted doorway.

Mel suddenly felt what Ren Xiaosu meant about having a good chat with his new sorcerer friends was not that simple.

There was no one else in the tunnel anymore. Mel slowly walked towards Summer. The divine dragon painted on the wall was all quiet, as though it could not bear to disturb them both.

On the other side, Ren Xiaosu was a little stunned when he saw the scene behind the enchanted doorway. He was no longer in the underground. Instead, he was standing at the top of a tall, gray-bricked spire.

Beyond the spire was a cliff, and below it was a turbulent sea.

As the seawater crashed against the rocks, the shimmering surface of the blue sea could be seen in the distance.

The vast sea that stretched as far as the eye could see instantly gave rise to an endless sense of magnificence within Ren Xiaosu. After that, he felt an endless calm in him.

This must be the sea Li Shentan talked about wanting to see. He wondered if he had already seen it.

When Ren Xiaosu turned around, the others had already entered the interior of the spire through the stairway. Only Xu Anqing was still waiting out here.

The man smiled and asked, “Is this your first time seeing the sea?”

“It’s probably not my first time.” Ren Xiaosu said with a smile, “I got an inexplicable sense of familiarity when I saw the sea, but I think I’ve already forgotten everything that I’ve seen in the past.”

“This is the enchanted doorway created by An’an’s father.” Xu Anqing said, “Every time he comes back to Ghent City, he’ll come to the top of this Sorcerer’s Tower by himself. Sometimes, he’ll sit here for an entire day and night. I asked him why he keeps looking at the sea. Initially, I thought he would tell me it helps to broaden one’s heart, but his answer to me was that those who have seen the sea learn to feel reverence.”

Ren Xiaosu was stunned for a moment. However, he quickly found these words to be very interesting. In the face of the vast world and sea, humans were indeed insignificant.

Then Xu Anqing asked, “I wonder, what was the feeling you had when you saw the sea?”

“Calmness,” Ren Xiaosu answered. “By the way, when you emphasized that this enchanted doorway was created by An’an’s father, does it mean that everyone’s enchanted doorway is different?”

“Before The Cataclysm, the enchanted doorway was an exclusive spell of the Russell family. Later, Russell made this spell accessible to all to show his determination to break the sorcerer clans’ stranglehold on power.” Xu Anqing explained, “However, there’s something special about the Enchanted Doorway spell. It can only be opened once in a person’s lifetime. After that, the spell will remain in place forever.”

“What if the person who opens this enchanted doorway dies?” Ren Xiaosu asked curiously.

“The enchanted doorway will not disappear with their death.” Xu Anqing said, “There’s only one way to destroy an enchanted doorway, and that’s to completely change the terrain where it is located, such as destroying the wall we just came in through.”

Ren Xiaosu frowned. “Isn’t that really dangerous then? If someone outside were to destroy the wall, wouldn’t we all be trapped here?”

Xu Anqing realized the young man across from him was a really cautious person.

When other people passed through the enchanted doorway, the first thing they were attracted to was the magic of this spell. But the first thing that Ren Xiaosu paid attention to was how to get back to the other side!

“Don’t worry.” Xu Anqing explained with a smile, “If anyone tries to sabotage it from the outside, all of us who passed through the enchanted doorway will ‘fall’ out. Therefore, there’s no such thing as not being able to return to the other side.”

“Where’s this place?” Ren Xiaosu asked.

Xu Anqing shook his head. “We’re not sure where this is either. After it was activated, it became our secret base. We only know that the entrance of the enchanted doorway and this place we’re at exist in the same dimension.”

“Is there any principle behind how these enchanted doorways are created?” Ren Xiaosu asked curiously.

“We think it probably opens up to a place where a person wants to go most?” Xu Anqing said, “I once had a friend plagued by bladder issues. When he activated the enchanted doorway, it turned out to be his home bathroom on the other side….”

“What the hell?” Ren Xiaosu did not know whether to laugh or cry. “It really opens up to the place you most want to go then?”

“That’s most likely the case, but there’s also very strong randomness to it,” Xu Anqing said meaningfully.

“What do you mean by randomness?” Ren Xiaosu asked.

“Not everyone knows where they want to go most.”

Ren Xiaosu fell silent for a long time. There was even a hint of philosophy in those words.

He moved on from that thought and asked again, “Are there any flaws with the enchanted doorway?”

“Of course.” Xu Anqing said, “The enchanted doorway is fixed. If you wish to get to the ‘opposing shore’ through it, you have to go to a fixed location to access the portal. Sometimes, it can be quite troublesome, just like how Chen An’an’s father has to return to the underground below Ghent City if he wants to come here.”

Ren Xiaosu suddenly took out a large metal door from his storage space and asked, “Then if I create the enchanted doorway on this door and carry it around with me, would that make my enchanted doorway portable?”

Xu Anqing was a little confused as he stood on the spire atop the Sorcerer’s Tower with the sea breeze blowing at him. “I… I guess so?”

When he saw Ren Xiaosu’s serious expression, he suddenly felt a little helpless. Logically, the enchanted doorway could be made portable through the method he had just suggested. But the problem was, why the fuck was he carrying a metal door with him?

Where did he get that from!