Chapter 287 - Arabesque the City of Night (1/2)
Zero didn't know what to expect in Arabesque. Merlin introduced it as the City of Night where the magic takes a physical form. The young doctor didn't quite understand what Merlin meant but he had quite the imagination. If magic had a form, Zero was expecting them to be like Robo Mike or in the forms of floating books. Wisps instead of candle lights and perhaps even a flying carpet or two.
The teenager wasn't disappointed to see the streets of Arabesque. Although it wasn't quite what he expected, it was close. Merlin smiled. Despite being in eternal darkness, there was a light of colours and lights that made the place feel festive and lively. The City of Night was bustling despite the lack of occupants.
”Is this where you live?” Zero couldn't help but ask. He thought that Merlin would be like Hua Tuo and preferred the silence over the hustle and bustle of activities.
Merlin grinned. ”Not really, we're not there yet. However, this is the city filled with my inventions. Some of them I had help with but all the ideas are mine. I usually welcome guests here once every few years. Arabesque is usually closed to everyone but for a few nights in a few years, it will be opened to everyone who can afford to travel over. It's a magical amusement park that's second to none.”
Zero's eyes sparkled. There were just too many interesting things around but he didn't know if he was permitted to touch anything. Merlin walked down the streets and showed Zero some of the inventions that the young doctor found more amusing than interesting. Merlin reminded him of the lab members. Not all the inventions and ideas had practical uses but it was definitely fun to see them.
”Fireworks that use gunpowder can be tricky and dangerous. Over here, in Arabesque, we use magic. It's perfectly safe and one hundred percent renewable. Why don't you create a design and fire off a few?” Merlin suggested.
Zero looked at the design panel and cautiously created the design he wanted from the pre-selection. He added some colours and arranged them in sequence to be fired. Merlin smirked at the teen and taught Zero how to set them off.
”Charge this magic stone here with your mana until it is white then hit the launch button at the side.”
Zero did as he was told and was pleasantly surprised by the impressive light show. Unlike normal fireworks, the lights never disappeared. Instead, they hung up in the sky like a painting that could not be taken down.
”Merlin... it's not going away?”
The wizard laughed. ”Of course, it isn't. This is a memorial wall but in the sky. Visitors usually write their messages and fire them here so that the message stays for a century. I don't have many messages in the sky because it's been a while since I've had any visitors. However, you can take a look at the message Truen wrote before he left Arabesque for good.”
Zero walked to the other side of the viewing gallery and teared up at the message.
[No parting is too painful with the promise of a reunion in the future. No training is too harsh to endure for a worthy dream to pursue. No uncertainty is too daunting to face if there is a friend to face it together with. - Truen Zheng.]
Merlin sighed. It was a good thing he told Truen to write a message too. Zero might pretend it was alright back there but everyone knew how soft-hearted Zero actually was. The young doctor had never once left his friend ever since arriving at Heaven. Having to part so quickly was just cruel. They might have been better off not meeting to spare that unnecessary pain but Truen insisted on wanting to affirm with his own eyes that Zero was doing well before he went on his errands.
The wizard couldn't blame the wood elf for wanting to do such a thing. Like Zero, Truen had changed a lot from the harsh training. Forming Zero's Onion Union and coordinating things behind the scenes couldn't be easy. While it was unspoken, the magician knew that the archer just wanted to see if Zero would still be all-encompassing when they saw each other.
Naturally, Zero didn't disappoint. In fact, the tears running amok on Zero's cheeks right now were evidence that Zero would never abandon Truen no matter how much the wood elf had changed.
Merlin didn't show his new student any more gadgets and cool inventions in the festive square. He'd done what he could.
Zero collected himself with difficulty, the writing in the sky a painful reminder but it helped strengthen Zero's resolve to complete the training. It wouldn't be long before they could start their adventures together.
”Sorry about that,” he apologised and put on a smile. ”I'm alright now.”
Merlin grinned. Zero definitely grew more mature ever since absorbing the memories of four divine fragments. Merlin actually quite liked this current version of Zero. He wasn't whiny and weeping all the time. This Zero knew how to brush off a setback and march forward without looking back. As a magician, this perseverance and ability to keep calm was highly desired.
”You can come here anytime you want to. Let's head over to my research tower. It's going to be your sleeping quarters as well while you train under me. You'd be spending most of your time for the first month in the library and the study. I heard that you're not fond of Mathematics?”
Zero gulped. How did Merlin discover that so quickly?!
The wizard took a look at Zero's face that screamed 'busted' and rolled his eyes.
”I don't really care how you do it but you must master Parallel Minds with or without Mathematics. I know you've already created something similar back on Endow Hill. Like Mathematics, you're not very fond of stitching either. I don't particularly care what method you use as long as you attain at least five Parallel Minds by the end of the month. That is going to be your first task. Like Truen, I will only give you two months to complete reading the entire library collection. While you read it, you will be updating the records too. It's been way too long since they have been updated, many things are outdated. I made the notes with Truen, you just have to add them in when you come across the books that need updating.”
Zero listened to Merlin rattle on about the things Zero had to do. Zero wasn't usually easily pressurised or overwhelmed but as the list of things spanned over to the next page, Zero started to sweat bullets. Is this what Truen meant by 'Merlin can sometimes be overly passionate in his teachings'?
Luckily for Zero, he had a capable assistant and system aiding him. Still, looking at the list of things-to-do was no mean feat.
”I think that's about it. Once you've completed all of that, we can start researching together for a method to seal the leakage in Heaven. I will be working on finding stable correlations between qi, chaos energy and mana while you study.”
The tower that Merlin resided in came into sight and Zero gaped.
The tower was a rather unsteady looking structure with a thin base but heavy top. A large and complicated magic circle constantly spun over the top of the tower and strange magical plants grew so densely around the tower that Zero didn't know how to get in.
Merlin clapped twice and the thick foliage parted automatically. Zero followed behind Merlin closely, not wanting to be caught in the plants. He had a feeling that he would not be able to go out of the tower as easily with such tight security.
The golem guard at the tower's only door stopped Zero and Merlin turned to his student.
”These are my tower guards. I will be registering you for their recognition so that you may pass freely. Please channel your mana into them steadily in small amounts for sampling.”
Zero did as he was told and waited for the golem to register his unique mana signature. The magic stone in its head turned from red to green when the registration was done. Zero thought that the design looked a little familiar. This golem was a less bulky version of Robo Mike but it had more runes written on its body heavily imbued with complicated spells. Merlin must have worked on it for a very long time.