章 4: Level-3 Intermediate Mage! Journey To The Castle
編集者: EndlessFantasy Translation
Time flew by like lightning. It was already past dusk.
Marcus and Durant boarded the carriage together.
"The weather in summer is a little unpredictable," Durant complained.
"Mm." Marcus nodded. "By the way, do you know the name of the girl you've taken a fancy to?"
"I do." Durant smiled. "Don't worry, bro. I certainly do know her name."
"Well, what's her name?" Marcus was curious. What kind of woman could charm this rich second-generation young master?
"Janice Baker," Durant replied, somewhat enthralled. Then, he took a deep breath as if she was right in front of him.
"Her name sounds a little strange but also a little familiar," Marcus said thoughtfully.
"Haha, you think so too?" Durant patted his shoulder, expressing his agreement.
Unknowingly, they had arrived at their destination.
The place to disembark from the carriage was located by the bridge. It would then take them half an hour to reach their destination.
They could not take the carriage directly to their destination because there were abandoned houses and some black trees in front of them.
Since the carriage could not pass through those, they had to travel on foot instead.
Although the surroundings of Pleasure Castle was very simple, the interior decoration was lavish.
Despite being located in a remote area, it was obvious that many people came and went because the wet ground was full of all kinds of footprints.
After a maidservant opened the door for the both of them, two more maidservants immediately emerged with a platter of wine and meat to welcome them. "Welcome!"
The air was intermingled with the aroma of wine and meat as well as some strange yet soothing scents of perfumes.
Marcus finally understood the concept of debauchery.
After Durant gave the veiled lady boss a wad of money, he brought Marcus upstairs.
The red lights in the corridor were very bright, illuminating the corridor clearly.
Durant's body suddenly swayed as he walked, and his head felt a little dizzy while nausea crept up his throat.
"What's wrong?" Marcus asked in concern, "Have you been too tired recently? Why don't we go back first?"
"No, there's no need! Madam, how far is it?" Durant was burning with anxiety, craving to see his lover as soon as possible.
"We're almost there." The old woman wearing the black veil led them to a room.
"Go in. Remember, mind your tongue." The old woman continued to caution, "And don't do anything too excessive, or you will bear the consequences..."
The door opened and closed again.
Marcus walked in, and a light fragrance that made one feel relaxed and happy greeted him. It seemed to be a very expensive perfume.
The delicate girl in front of him wore a pink magical veil, exuding a mysterious aura.
There were maids around, watching Janice paint.
When Marcus saw Durant walk over, he followed him.
They did not disturb her painting. They just greeted the maids and watched from the side.
Soon after, the painting was finally done.
Marcus sneaked a peak from afar. The person in the painting was a wild blond youth—Durant.
"It really looks like me," Durant whispered to Marcus.
Marcus nodded, but he felt that something was not right. It was as if she did not paint the painting. Instead, it seemed as if someone was holding her hand and guiding her hand to paint.
Nevertheless, one had to admit that the painting was very realistic. It was as if Durant had really walked into the canvas itself.
Seeing that, Marcus silently retracted his suspicions.
"I'm sorry. I was so engrossed in painting that I made you two young masters wait." Janice bowed apologetically to the two of them.
"It's alright, it's alright." Durant introduced Marcus to Janice, "This is Marcus, my friend."
Janice smiled and bowed to Marcus.
After that, Marcus righteously rejected Durant's good intentions, not wanting the company of the other women there. He knew that if he agreed to the offer, the Grand Fireball Spell would spontaneously combust in anger.
[Since you have resisted temptation and lead by example, the Grand Fireball Spell is impressed. Practice speed of the Grand Fireball Spell will increase by 100%!]
[Shadow Flash Spell disapproves, but after thinking about it, it still chooses to silently practice and the practice speed remains unchanged.]
'That's it?'
[The other spells think you are a piece of sh*t. Practice speed will be reduced by 40.4%!]
Durant also gave the order for the maids around him to leave, so only he, Marcus, and Janice remained in the room.
After a round of banter and laughter, Marcus gained a new understanding of her.
It turned out that Janice had been sold to Pleasure Castle by her alcoholic father.
Fortunately, the owner of Pleasure Castle valued her beauty. Otherwise, she would have been forced to do dirty and laborious work.
At the thought of such a thin and frail woman getting up early every morning and going to work in the dark every day, Marcus felt deeply sorry for her.
She really had great courage to still share some of her experiences while chatting and laughing.
Durant suddenly sighed.
"What's wrong, Young Master Durant?"Janice asked curiously, "If you are in any trouble, I will definitely help you."
"It's such a pity that such a good girl like you has to live here." Durant held her hand tightly and said firmly, "Don't worry. I will definitely save you."
"It's alright. It's just fate."
Seeing that he stayed silent, Janice took off her veil, revealing her original appearance. She was neither ugly nor beautiful. The veil merely gave her a sense of mystery.
"I know I'm not beautiful at all, so Young Master Durant, you'd better not even think about it." Janice smiled bitterly. "Forget about me and leave.
"But please don't leave with my painting. You're very rich, but please don't get emotional over me. Hurry up and leave. Just forget about me. Go."
This turn in the conversation was very sudden.
After a period of silence, Durant said through gritted teeth, "Don't worry. I will come back tomorrow."
Marcus was silent. He followed Durant out of the gates.
"I'm sorry, bro," Durant covered his head and said dejectedly, "I didn't let you have enough fun today. I even embarrassed myself in front of you."
The owner of Pleasure Castle came out from the door and said to Durant with a leer, "Do you want to free her, young man?"
"Yes! I will save her." Durant stared at him and asserted, "No matter what."
Marcus did not say anything.
"Sure." The owner of Pleasure Castle carefully sized Durant up. "Since I've raised her for a decade, it's impossible that I don't feel attached to her. Young Master Durant, you only need 3,000 gold coins to redeem her."
Marcus felt that there was something amiss here, so he whispered his thoughts to Durant.
After a brief moment of hesitation, Durant nodded.
However, from Marcus's observation, it was as if Durant did not take his words to heart.
Durant did not respond to the owner of Pleasure Castle. He just brought Marcus to a hotel for the night because if he returned home reeking of alcohol and tobacco, his father would give him a good scolding.
It was very late at night. The sky was devoid of any stars, moon, or clouds.
Marcus called up the system.
There was a lot of news. It was all the information that he had received in the castle.
[Fireball Spell has detected something strange and feels that you are too weak. Practice speed is increased by 88%, current progress is 50%.]
[Wind Blade Spell feels that something is wrong with the painting. Practice speed is increased by 88%, current progress is 70%.]
[Host: Marcus
Realm: Level-3 Intermediate Mage.
[Skills:-
Fireball Spell: Level-6 (Progress 20%)
Wind Blade Spell: Level-4 (Progress 20%)
Shadow Flash Spell: Level-3 (Progress 45%)
Earth Shield Spell: Level-6 (Progress 70%)]
After bidding goodbye to Durant, Marcus returned to his room. He lit a candle and saw a painting on the wall.
While the colors were bright, it was also plain.
Marcus recognized it. It was the painting of Durant that he saw Janice of Pleasure Castle painting earlier.
In the painting, Durant was beaming as if he was emitting endless streams of magic.
Marcus walked closer and observed it for a long time. He felt that the figure in the painting was indescribably strange.
In the painting, Durant seemed to be looking at him with his pair of blue eyes, and his gaze was somewhat dazed.
Marcus took a closer look at the painting of Durant's eyes and noticed there was a reflection of a person within those eyes. A sudden realization dawned upon him. He recognized the person within those eyes.It was Durant again!
In an instant, Durant's smiling face appeared everywhere in the painting. His figure was everywhere, surrounding him!
"There's a huge problem with this painting!"
Marcus broke out in cold sweat.
[Earth Shield Spell detects an anomaly. Practice speed increased by 110%. Current progress is 10%.]
The magic around him was swelling rapidly.
After a burst of blinding light, Marcus's heart sank because he realized he had been sucked into the painting!
-- 贈り物
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