In the vast Bramble Mountain, Merlin was running about without a clue1 where he was going. He had been observing the Dark Magic ring on his finger. According to the signal given by the Dark Magic ring, he gradually found a hidden Runic Magic Circle.

By sight, it appeared that the Runic Magic Circle had not been activated in a long time.

The Dark Magic Region was extremely secretive. No one knew the exact whereabouts of the Dark Magic Region. The only way to enter the Dark Magic Region was via these Runic Magic Circles. Furthermore, the Dark Magic Region truly possessed many Runic Magic Circles; they were almost everywhere. Only the Spell Casters of the Dark Magic Region could find these Runic Magic Circles by following the signals given by the Dark Magic ring.

Merlin was long familiar with the Runic Magic Circle, so he directly stood on the circle. Following that, his Mind Power triggered the Runic Magic Circle. Instantly, mysterious runes popped out of the circle and reacted with the runes on the Dark Magic ring.

After Merlin's ring was recognized by the Runic Magic Circle, a strong pulling force appeared and its bright light surrounded Merlin.

"Swish!"

The light flashed and the forest resumed its silence once again. Meanwhile, Merlin's figure had long disappeared and was transported to the Dark Magic Region.

…

The moist air, the cooling sea breeze, and the seagulls that played on the beach. As Merlin watched the familiar scene, he finally heaved a long sigh.

"The Dark Magic Region… I'm finally back!"

Once again, Merlin had returned to the Dark Magic Region. Roughly estimating the time, he had left the Dark Magic Region for about a year. Now that he had returned, he found that nothing had changed much.

Merlin approached the huge stone tablet. Looking at the stone tablet, Merlin reminisced about the time when he first came to the Dark Magic Region. He was simply a rookie Wizard who did not understand anything then.

Now, he had improved so much that he could easily kill a Third-level Spell Caster.

"Sir Didimoss."

Merlin came close to the stone tablet and called out to it.

Immediately, a haze flew out of the stone tablet and slowly turned into an arrogant black cat.

"Oh? It's you, Wizard Merlin! You return quite late. Most of the Spell Casters who have left the Dark Magic Region have returned by now."

Didimoss obviously still recognized Merlin. After it saw Merlin, it exclaimed while wearing a look of expectations.

Merlin smiled slightly and understood Didimoss' meaning behind its words. Thus, he directly took out a few Ice-type elemental crystal stones from his ring and passed them to Didimoss.

The black cat's face brimmed, and its figure enlarged drastically. It bit into the Ice-type elemental crystal stones which Merlin gave and crunched them into pieces.

Finally, the black cat revealed a satisfied expression and nodded. "Wizard Merlin, that's great. The taste of the elemental crystal stones this time is extremely good. Go in quickly!"

Thereafter, the black cat reverted to a black light and dived into the stone tablet. Following that, a grayish light pierced the open space, just like ripples in the water.

Merlin raised the Dark Magic ring on his finger and entered the Dark Magic Region.

…

Merlin stood quietly in front of Wizard Leo's tower. Upon seeing the desolated situation at the tower, Merlin's mouth quirked into a smile. As compared to other towers, Wizard Leo's tower always appeared to be desolate.

Walking into the tower, Merlin saw Wizard Howl who was working on his potion. To Wizard Howl, nothing was more important than his potion-making.

"Wizard Howl!"

Merlin called out to Wizard Howl and the latter gave a rather monotonous response. However, he then quickly raised his head and stared idly at Merlin.

"Wizard Merlin, you just came back?"

Wizard Howl asked with a strange expression.

Merlin nodded. "Yeah, I did. Wizard Howl, can I help you with anything?"

Wizard Howl shook his head. "Not me, it's Teacher Leo. He was looking for you before, but you aren't back in the Dark Magic Region yet, so he just let it be. Wizard Merlin, it's very unusual. Teacher Leo rarely looks for anyone, so you're the first one!"

"Teacher Leo is looking for me?"

Merlin thought for a moment, then quickly excused himself from Wizard Howl. He entered the Runic Magic Circle and headed toward the top floor of the tower.

"Swish!"

Right after Merlin's figure disappeared, Wizard Howl raised his head again. However, he revealed a thoughtful expression as he muttered, "How strange. This feeling is just like a First-level Spell Caster! Has Merlin become a First-level Spell Caster? Six-Elemental First-level Spell Caster. How is this possible? Maybe I've sensed it wrongly…"

Wizard Howl shook his head slightly, then went back to making potions.

…

"Teacher Leo!"

Merlin came to the top floor and knocked on the door lightly. He called out softly.

"Creak."

After a moment, the door opened and Merlin walked into the room. Wizard Leo still appeared to be terrifying; the red vertical eye on his forehead seemed to blink a light red and his eyes did not reflect any emotion.

However, there was something different with Wizard Leo. The place where his right arm would have been was empty. He had obviously lost his right arm.

"Teacher Leo, what happened?"

Merlin's expression darkened and quickly asked.

Wizard Leo looked at Merlin and revealed a rare smile. "It's nothing. I just lost an arm but I've killed the Seventh-level Spell Caster of Ozmu, Osseus! It's worth it!"

Although Wizard Leo's tone was calm, his words made Merlin jumped. A Seventh-level Spell Caster was extremely powerful, not to mention he was from Ozmu, known to be full of geniuses.

However, Wizard Leo had killed a Seventh-level Spell Caster of Ozmu with the price of an arm. Merlin could not imagine how fierce the battle had been.

However, since Wizard Leo had killed Osseus, he seemed to have changed as a person. Wizard Leo used to give off a depressed and terrifying aura that scared people away. Now, he no longer gave off the same aura.

"Merlin, I called for you before but you didn't return to the Dark Magic Region in time. Is everything alright?"

Wizard Leo asked calmly.

Merlin had thought about the reason a long time ago. Of course, he would not mention Pandora Demon Ability. Merlin believed that Pandora Demon Ability existed in the Dark Magic Region as well and Wizard Leo would not go after his Pandora Demon Ability. After all, Darkness Eye was sufficiently powerful.

However, Merlin decided to keep it a secret. Hence, he briefly explained the situation using the spell-cultivation as his excuse.

"I was trapped in an ancient monument, so I stayed patient and cultivated my spells there. After I became a First-level Spell Caster, I was able to leave the ancient monument by luck and returned to the Dark Magic Region."

After Merlin had finished his explanation, Wizard Leo's expression changed and he quickly asked, "You said that you've become a First-level Spell Caster?"

At the same time, the red vertical eye on Wizard Leo's forehead slowly opened and emitted a red light that enveloped Merlin.

Under the red light, Merlin felt as if all secrets were exposed before Wizard Leo.

"You're truly a First-level Spell Caster. Six-Elemental Spell Caster?"

Wizard Leo's eyes were filled with shock. He knew about Merlin's background. When he left the Dark Magic Region, he had not constructed any First-level spells yet.

Now, not only did Merlin construct First-level spells but he had also constructed six First-level spells. He had even constructed the complicated Frigid Ice and Dark Light Realm!

Moreover, Merlin had only left the Dark Magic Region for about a year. In other words, Merlin had used a year's time to successfully construct six First-level spells.

"Haha, Merlin. I can't believe you brought me such a huge surprise, coming back here. What is Kleis to you? You're the true prodigy of the Dark Magic Region!"

Wizard Leo appeared to be elated. This was the first time a Six-Elemental First-level Spell Caster had appeared in the Dark Magic Region since its establishment. Even Kleis who had betrayed the Dark Magic Region was only a Five-Elemental Spell Caster.

"Good, Merlin. You've two options now. Firstly, you can sign a contract with the Dark Magic Region and become an official member. You're able to enjoy all resources available in the Dark Magic Region. Correspondingly, you've to shoulder some responsibilities in the Dark Magic Region. Secondly, you can return the Dark Magic ring and leave this place. You'll become a roaming wizard with no binding or whatsoever by the Dark Magic Region. Correspondingly, you won't be able to enjoy any cultivation resources available in the Dark Magic Region."

Wizard Leo laid out two options – they were the choices all temporary members of the Dark Magic Region would need to face when they had advanced to First-level Spell Casters.

Since a long time ago, Merlin had already decided. When he was in Floating City, he had met so many roaming wizards; these people had to explore the dangerous ancient monuments in order to obtain some potion materials or spells. How could their cultivation method compare to that in the spell casters' organizations?

Naturally, Merlin chose the first option – to become an official member of the Dark Magic Region!

"Teacher Leo, I chose to become an official member of the Dark Magic Region."

Upon hearing Merlin's answer, Wizard Leo was not surprised. Almost all temporary members would choose to become official members of the Dark Magic Region after becoming First-level Spell Caster. This was so that they could enjoy the vast resources available in the Dark Magic Region.

"Good! Merlin, since you've chosen to become an official member of the Dark Magic Region, then you must sign a contract with us. Before signing it, I want to bring you to meet those old guys. Hehe. What is yours must be given to you. I'll try my best to fight for your benefits!"

Wizard Leo revealed a strange smile, then brought Merlin away from the tower. They flew toward the few tallest towers in the Dark Magic Region.

Merlin was taken by surprise. The tallest towers that they were heading toward signified the true core of the Dark Magic Region – the powerful Seventh-level Spell Casters!T

無頭蒼蠅 literally means a headless fly. It means "without a clue" or "clueless".