Chapter 464: 464

At the parcel collection point of Hexagram Station, Rentato .

A fine-featured lass smiled politely . “Hello, how may I be of service?”

“I have a luggage bag that needs to be stored here until my return from Allyn,” Ramiro replied with a minty, relaxed smile .

The minty smell came from a specialty from the Kingdom of Brianne known as “Mint Fragrance”, which was a kind of tobacco, though it was not to be smoked but rather chewed on after a secret drying process and provided a mind-refreshing cigarette-like intoxicating effect .

The lass asked with a smile, “how many days would that be? Are you a sorcerer?” Despite being an average female in Rentato, she managed to find a leisure job with decent pay all thanks to “Arcana Voice”, which made her got rid of her bias against sorcerers and dared to apply for the job . She successfully stood out from the few applicants and secured the job . As a result, she became very fond of sorcerers .

“I’m just an ordinary sorcerer . Let’s make it three days . Nah, can I pay for seven days upfront and make adjustments later?” Ramiro asked calmly . It didn’t look like he was pressed for time in any way .

The lass replied, “no problem, please pass me the baggage for inspection . ”

After listening to “Arcana Voice” and working at Hexagram Station, she realized that sorcerers weren’t as wealthy as she had imagined . There were many who, in the pursuit of power and arcana research, were left with barely enough to live by .

Like any normal traveler, Ramiro handed over the black luggage bag in his hand .

The female worker did not cut any corners . Abiding by the training protocols, she placed the luggage inside a magic circle within a piece of large alchemy equipment . Then she pressed the switch and turned it on .

The company “Gift from Elements” had developed this simplified alchemical item for exactly this kind of purpose . They could be powered by electricity, thus allowing ordinary people to use them . As a result, it had been widely implemented at locations including the Magic Steam Train Company, Nekso Palace, the villas and orchards of nobles, music halls, opera theatres, and the town hall .

The inspection had confirmed that there weren’t any cursed or dangerous items in the luggage . It was only after this confirmation that the lass opened the luggage to screen the items with her naked eyes . She found that the majority of the items were normal clothes, with a small portion being tobacco from Brianne . There was also a light-dark colored piece of meat wrapped in gray cloth .

“Specialty steak?” she asked out of curiosity .

Ramiro’s mouth twitched . “Ya”

“A silver a day, for a total of seven . ” The lass closed the luggage and attached an identification tag on it . She then took it to the warehouse behind and placed it on the corresponding shelf .

After she returned, Ramiro took out seven shiny silver pieces . He let the pieces fall through his fingers one after another onto the counter while listening to the crisp sounds with slanted eyes .

“This is your receipt, please keep it with you for the final tally . ” The female worker respectfully passed Ramiro a receipt that had been stamped with a special magical ink paste . Only official magicians — who wouldn’t do it for such a little money — could forge the ink paste .

Ramiro picked up the receipt . Still chewing on the tobacco, he nodded . “Thank you . ”

Then, with hands tucked into the pockets of his tuxedo, he headed off towards the Magic Steam Train station . When he came near to a silvery-black trash bin, he pulled out his right hand and threw a carbonated piece of paper into the bin .

The black paper fell slowly, breaking into a countless number of butterflies at the slightest touch of wind . Not a trace remained .

Afterward, Ramiro went inside a restroom . He surveyed the surroundings carefully while wearing a carefree expression . After confirming that there was no one else around, he faced the mirror and pinched his face . His entire body suddenly wriggled erratically like a slime .

Seconds later, he had transformed into a beautiful young lady with a voluptuous figure . His tuxedo has also transformed into a lilac-tiered dress . The collar and cuffs had transformed into ruffles .

Looking into the enchanting deep blue eyes in the mirror, Ramiro smiled at “her” . “Long time no see, Avelina . Sometimes I find that being a girl is much more interesting than being a man . ”

Naturally, “Avelina” didn’t respond .

After tidying up her clothes and donning a broad-brim hat with a beautiful long ribbon which she had seemingly conjured from thin air, Ramiro left the restroom elegantly and boarded the magic steam train that had just arrived .

“Avelina, so you’ve returned from Brianne?” A young man stood up from his seat in joyous surprise .

Ramiro smiled sweetly . “Yes, the magic development in Allyn is faster than I had anticipated . If I were to remain in Brianne, I would not be able to keep up with the times . So I’m back . ”

“That’s marvelous . Where is your boyfriend Lavrov?” The young man eagerly invited “Avelina” to sit down .

Ramiro’s expression turned sorrowful . “We’ve broken up . ”

“What?” The young man fought to suppress his happiness . Feigning sadness, he consoled her . “Cheer up, the best is yet to come . ”

Ramiro watched “with grief” as the platform faded from view . Listening to the sound of the train horn and the clickety-clack of the wheels against the track, Ramiro thought angrily .

“Who on earth was that?”

Avelina had not spoken of this man after she had been controlled…

The “silent melancholy” that she exuded intoxicated the young man, rendering him speechless . Time passed swiftly . The magic steam train gradually ascended towards Allyn .

When they passed through the mythal of Allyn, Ramiro narrowed his eyes . He could feel the power of the mythal brushing past his body .

As expected, though Allyn appeared to be as open a city like any other ordinary city, the security checks that were hidden from view were extraordinarily stringent . Luckily, his “Flesh Manipulation” ability allowed him to be passed off as the real ‘Avelina” .

The magic steam train stopped at the station . Ramiro saw the brilliant starlight released by the Congress’ Headquarter Magic Tower from a distance, with an intensity rivaling that of the red sun in the sky .

“What’s happening?” Ramiro had recognized what it was, but he asked regardless .

The young man examined carefully and replied, “it seems to be the Portal to Alternate Realm . Could it be that the grand arcanists have returned from their investigation of the mysterious realm?”

“We’ll find out if we take a closer look,” Ramiro replied smiling .

This appeared to be an opportunity, yet it seemed to be too much of a coincidence .

However, Ramiro was not about to abandon such an opportunity . As the night watcher ranked number 13th, his powers and abilities overwhelmed many strong level-nines . Decisiveness and willingness to take the initiative are what enabled him to become who he was — Those who were accustomed to plotting and scheming would never anticipate him to barge in like this .

“Merely two point seven seconds…” Ramiro whispered to himself . This was the amount of time that he had before the mythal would react, given that Allyn Mythal was not on its full power yet . He wasn’t exactly confident that he could kill Lucien Evans in such a small time window either and could only play it by ear .

……

On the 32nd floor in the Headquarter Magic Tower of the Congress, within the grand hall stood an illusory door that was five-meters tall and three-meters wide .

The door was built on a complex magic circle that was made up of countless gems and rare materials . Rays of brilliant starlight shone outwards from the top, and many sorcerers had gathered around it .

“Sir, why are so many senior-rank sorcerers and archmages assembled?” Lucien had received no notice beforehand and arrived only after he detected the anomaly .

Fernando, who wore his scarlet magic robe as always, said solemnly, “the races of this world are normal, but its environment is special . Every corner is filled with a strange sensation, one that suppresses our spiritual power greatly . Even Douglas’ senses can only extend to a radius of 300 meters . This world is separated into countless little pieces by many spatial barriers that are incompletely solidified . Normal people are hardly affected by it, to them, the world is still whole . However, for us legendary sorcerers, it means that flight is almost impossible, for it’s too easy to collide into one of such barriers . ”

“Under such circumstances, it would be very difficult to locate Alterna and the mysterious existence, as they can automatically shield themselves from many magical prophecies ineffective…” Lucien had a rough idea of why so many senior-rank sorcerers and archmages have gathered here . Strength lay in numbers in times like this .

Fernando nodded in agreement and continued . ‘We had a fight with the Church . The Pope was involved, and it caused us to fall leeward . However, the numbers that they could spare to send after us were not enough to surround and kill us . Then, after discovering the peculiarities of this alternate space, we reached a tacit agreement to stop the fighting . The highest priority now was to explore the new world and find Alterna’s whereabouts . Fighting directly would give advantage to other parties . ”

“A new world …” Lucien wondered if it meant that Natasha would lead the Duchy of Violet’s radiant knights to there as well .

Fernando noticed that Lucien wasn’t paying attention . He smiled and said, “according to preliminary calculations, this alternate space is half as big as the main world, so it can be considered as a new world . If anyone can claim ownership of it, they would gain vast amounts of resources . ”

“So that’s how it is, then why weren’t the middle-rank sorcerers also summoned? The number of senior-rank magicians and archmages are quite small in comparison,” asked Lucien puzzledly .

Fernando shook his head . “That’s because a special kind of powerful beings exists in this world . Their abilities are beyond that of high-rank sorcerers . Sending middle-rank sorcerers in would only result in a large scale of loss . ”

“A special kind of powerful beings?” Lucien had never heard Fernando speak of powerful beings in such a way .

Fernando’s expression turned solemn . “False gods, those that came into existence in the early phases of the War of Dawn . They are a variety of monsters with powerful abilities . However, due to some strange reasons, they could bestow powers to their followers, much like demons and devils . Their minds are in a state of crazed stubbornness . Currently, one has been captured and is being researched on . ”

“Captured one…” Lucien suddenly had the impression that the False Gods were pitiful animals being hunted .

Fernando noticed that the senior-rank magicians and archmages were just about to finish entering the Portal to the Alternate Realm . He threw a stare at Lucien and warned . “Abandon any ideas that you might have . Just stay in Allyn and improve your magic . Until your power matches your Cleansing List ranking, you better not wander around . Don’t think about participating in this mysterious space matter either . ”

But the power matching Lucien’s Cleansing List ranking should be that of a legendary… Lucien rubbed his chin in frustration .

Fernando didn’t speak another word, gesturing Thompson to enter the Portal to the Alternate Realm with him together .

With his entrance, the batch of reinforcements finished their transfer . Around the portal, only several friends and apprentices remained — This expedition was much more dangerous than the previous ones; It could very well be their last farewell .

Amidst the crowd, Ramiro watched the starlight dissipate and began calculating . The Portal to the Alternate Realm would soon regress back to its semi-charged state .

With the Portal to the Alternate Realm’s scattering energy, the Allyn Magic Tower and its surrounding mythal’s reaction time was seven seconds .

To avoid alerting Lucien, he only cast a fleeting glance at Lucien at the start and ignored him afterward .

“Seven seconds…”

The opportunity was prime . Let’s take action now!