Everything that happened after that was beyond the control of the Mikenshi Wizards.
Marvin knew where the First Garden of Eden was, but he didn’t know if the Magic Medicine King was currently hiding inside.
And though he was unsure of the veracity of the Mana Wraith’s words, it was still worth checking.
…
The two gave up on looking for remaining Underworld River Water and set off deeper into Mills Garden.
A hidden valley eventually appeared not far ahead of them.
A shallow brook was flowing down into the valley from an adjacent mountain and the water was extremely clear.
Marvin muttered for a bit before walking in the water.
He felt around on the ground for a while before finding what he was looking for.
There were five colored stones. Marvin picked them up and rearranged them.
This was a simple runestone password switch. It was very easy to decipher for those who knew about it, but those who didn’t know might be forever stymied.
After a short moment, a rumbling noise echoed from the depths of the valley.
A great amount of dust fell down, and a large door that had been hidden by moss and vines spread out before them.
Ivan gave Marvin a strange look. “Sometimes I feel that the insights of true Seers can’t compare with your knowledge.”
Marvin smiled bitterly.
His prophetic abilities couldn’t stay concealed from all others, especially his very close friends.
But his friends also respected him quite a lot and trusted him.
This was enough.
Although Ivan knew Marvin was very mysterious, he could feel that Marvin had no evil intentions toward him. His origin might be an enigma, but who in this world didn’t have a secret?
There were many things that were bound to be covered up and couldn’t be shared with others.
…
The two left the brook and walked to the entrance in the valley, where they saw a shadow beside the entrance.
Marvin squinted as the other side quickly said, “You found it. Pitiful transmigrator… Since things reached this point, do you not understand your fate?”
Marvin’s mind shook.
Ivan angrily shouted, “Shut up!”
These two words seemed to be filled with magic and Marvin immediately recovered from that abnormal state.
‘Fuck… There is actually this kind of spell…’
‘It was the same as that thing in the Celestial Stairway.’
Marvin felt troubled. He had almost been tricked by the enemy.
He took a deep breath and looked at the Mana Wraith that had appeared so casually. He asked Ivan, “What did he say?”
Ivan shook his head. “He only opened his mouth and didn’t say anything. But I’m sure it was a soul spell. Are you alright?”
Marvin nodded.
It was indeed a spell. But only one person could hear it.
Because it was his own inner voice.
He bottled those thoughts away and glared at the Mana Wraith. “You knew I would come.”
“How should I greet you? Magic Medicine King Eric? Mana Wraith Eric? or…”
“Legend Wizard Orica?”
The Mana Wraith’s expression changed when Marvin uttered those words.
With obvious shock, it stuttered, “How… How did you know…”
Marvin grinned wryly. “I saw the diary you left behind. I already had some hypotheses.”
“Seems like I guessed correctly. You actually continued to live after the Mikenshi school’s destruction.”
“Maybe there simply was no Magic Medicine King, or perhaps that Magic Medicine King has already been assimilated by you.”
“You really did scheme for eternal life. Did your plan start forming when you first discovered the Magic Medicine King?”
“The entire Mikenshi school was your sacrifice, including your pitiful apprentice, Eric.”
Marvin stared at the Mana Wraith. “Am I right?”
Chapter 389: Dust of History
Chapter 389: Dust of History
Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation
The valley was silent.
Ivan didn’t understand what they meant. Although Marvin had roughly told him what he found in the 7th tower, he had yet to understand the story of the Secret Garden.
But he hadn’t been very interested in it either.
Marvin glared at the Mana Wraith like a judge before a convict.
In fact, back when they first met, Marvin had been very careful of the Mana Wraith’s words.
When Marvin asked the Mana Wraith if the Magic Medicine King’s illusions had reached the level of Hell Nightmares, the Mana Wraith clearly hesitated before giving out an ambiguous answer.
That answer gave a hint as to his identity.
Then, although Marvin didn’t know who he was, he could guess that this guy wasn’t the ghost of Wizard Apprentice Eric!
Hell Nightmares were very rare lifeforms. Even a Lord of the Nine Hells might not have met this sort of lifeform before.
They should be as rare as Fortune Fairies, Eternal Dragons, and other incredibly rare creatures. This was a lifeform that ordinary Wizards wouldn’t know about!
Even in the Mikenshi school’s knowledge system, it would be very hard to find anything about it.
Perhaps only a Wizard at the peak could know of the Hell Nightmare’s existence.
But even though the Mana Wraith didn’t give a clear answer, his expression and reaction suggested that he knew about the Hell Nightmares.
A mere Wizard Apprentice wouldn’t know about them.
This made Marvin doubt the Mana Wraith. And later, when he found the diary in the 7th tower, he made a guess:
After that war, Eric wasn’t the only one who survived.
That despicable Wizard longing for eternal life also survived.
But Marvin’s information from the past didn’t have anything about the Legend Wizard.
Marvin guessed that either his information was incomplete, or the Wizard hid too deeply.
Whatever the case, Marvin stopped fully depending on information from his previous life.
He needed to find more information.
And the Mana Wraith appearing at the entrance of the Garden of Eden answered a lot of questions.
It wasn’t the ghost of Eric, but rather the doppelganger of Orica!
As for why he needed a doppelganger, the answer was very simple. Orica had probably fused his own soul with that Magic Medicine.
Or maybe he devoured the soul of the Magic Medicine King with some kind of soul transfer spell and then turned into it.
With Orica’s knowledge of Magic Medicines and souls, there were various possibilities.
But what made Marvin doubtful was that even if he wanted immortality and wanted to make use of this Magic Medicine to achieve immortality, why would he attract an Astral Beast?
Could this have been an accident?
Was it the doing of the original Magic Medicine King?
Or was there still another hidden secret?
What about the real Wizard Apprentice Eric? Where did he go?
Marvin wasn’t sure anymore.
…
The Mana Wraith looked loathfully at Marvin and said in a low tone, “You think you know the truth.”
“You think you uncovered this space’s secret… In fact, you are just a ridiculous kid.”
“You can only become fertilizer for this garden.”
“I originally planned to release you two. Now it seems that it won’t be necessary. People who know my identity must die!”
His expression became sinister and he opened his mouth wide!
In an instant, his body fused with that entrance.
A powerful force pulled Ivan and Marvin in!
“You want to take a look at the Magic Medicine King’s main body?”
“As you wish!”
�
��The [First Garden of Eden] hasn’t had a guest for a very long time. Hahahahahaha!”
As Mana Wraith’s crazy laugh echoed out, Marvin and Ivan were pulled to the Garden of Eden.
The two glanced at each other and Ivan nodded, grabbing Marvin’s wrist.
Marvin instantly understood and didn’t try to resist, allowing the Mana Wraith to pull them further.
The scenery before his eyes changed.
They were now in an area covered in dark clouds!
Marvin and Ivan were surprised!
This was the First Garden of Eden?
As a medicine garden, it should be sunny and smell like greenery, full of the aura of life.
But the space before them was actually lifeless, an accumulation of evil and filth!
This was a freaking Evil Spirit sub-plane!
The soil here was black and the flowers all around them were wilted. In the middle of the area, there was a plant with a monstrous shape!
Marvin and Ivan looked at this plant in distaste.
They didn’t even know what kinds of words they’d use to describe this plant.
It appeared to be a vine-like plant, but it was growing tall like a tree.
Countless tendrils were spiraling on its body.
But the most frightening thing was that bloody faces emerged from the tendrils.
These were the souls of the people that had been swallowed by the Secret Garden!
They were howling in grief, shrieking while full of loathing and rancor!
The Mana Wraith appeared in the air and shattered, fusing with that plant.
The face of a kind old man appeared on the plant and greeted them with a gentle smile.
“Welcome to the First Garden of Eden.”
…
Malicious coldness and the wailing of ghosts.
This was the First Garden of Eden? This was completely different from what Marvin had imagined!
All the Magic Medicines had been swallowed by Orica and his body had already become somewhat deformed. The Magic Medicines’ properties were all vaguely reflected on his body.
“See these wailing ghosts? Don’t you think they are pitiful?” asked the old man in a kind tone. “It doesn’t matter though. Soon, you’ll join them.”
Ivan sneered, remaining silent.
Marvin shook his head. “I finally understand why the Magic Medicine King could break the arrays of the Mikenshi Wizards.”
“The person breaking those arrays had been a Mikenshi Wizard. The Magic Medicine King might not have this ability, but the soul of a Legend Wizard could do this.”
“Using this kind of method to achieve immortality… isn’t this sad?”
Orica rebutted amiably, “No no no, you don’t understand.”
“Every life will eventually end, and no one can counter the effects of time.”
“In my opinion, this shows a problem. If a life was born just to die, then there must be some kind of mistake.”
“I only want to correct this mistake.”
Ivan dismissed, “Shameless sophistry.”
“You think you’ll live forever?”
“Anyway, if it really was like this, why did you open the Secret Garden to attract people in?”
This time, the old man’s expression changed. He roared menacingly, “Yeah, that’s right!”
“It was that wretched Apprentice! The wretched Eric! He wrecked my plan and forced me to fuse with the Magic Medicine King!”
“This wasn’t my original plan!”
Seeing Orica’s crazy appearance, Marvin inwardly shook his head.
This guy had already gone insane.
He looked at him with pity. “If I’m not wrong… was your original plan to shift your own soul into that Astral Beast?”
The old man’s expression was extremely fierce, as he roared, “Yes, that’s right! You are very smart! Almost as smart as me!”
“I am the greatest genius of the Mikenshi school. How could I willingly fuse with a Magic Medicine?”
“I ought to have become a supreme existence scornfully looking down at this universe! Even Gods should have trembled when seeing my shadow!”
“But that kid, that shameless kid, he actually disregarded his own safety and destroyed my plans!”
“Wait till I completely fuse these chaotic souls! I’ll definitely remove his soul and torment it in eternal fire!”
The old man kept shouting frantically and the whole place began to shake!
Marvin and Ivan glanced at each other and shook their heads.
The old man’s roars cleared up what had been hidden in history. The events of those years had slowly resurfaced.
…
Eric was Orica’s apprentice and managed to survive the war.
In fact, this was something Orica had deliberately arranged because he still needed a Wizard to assist him.
He wouldn’t be able to keep controlling someone whose level was too high, so he chose Eric, who had recently become his apprentice.
The others all died under various schemes and plots.
His goal was to the get the remains of the Astral Beast.
This Astral Beast was originally near Feinan but had been slumbering. Orica found it while traveling across planes.
He didn’t alarm the Astral Beast at that time. He was still young back then and had been a rather kindhearted Wizard.
But later on, as he grew older, many at his side began to die and he gained an abnormal thirst for immortality.
Incidentally, he obtained that particular Magic Medicine and personally planted it in the First Garden of Eden.
This Magic Medicine greatly enticed the Astral Beast.
A crazy plan formed in his mind.
At that time, his research in the soul domain should have been enough to let him seize the body of an Astral Beast.
The prerequisite was that the victim’s soul must be nearly destroyed!
It had to be known that the soul was something immortal while flesh was weak.
Cloud Monks and Liches were immortal because their bodies were immortal, capable of hosting their souls forever.
The Astral Beasts were extremely long-lived, rumored to have a lifespan that lasted longer than the universe. If he could seize the body of an Astral Beast, it would be like living forever.
Thus, he began making his arrangements.
This was a plan that required patience and perfection.
From start to finish, there couldn’t be any errors.
Following his plan, the aura of the Magic Medicine attracted the Astral Beast.
The flourishing Mikenshi school had a hard time.
Although they paid a huge price, they still managed to seal the Astral Beast.
This was within Orica’s expectations. He wasn’t impatient, because he still had enough time to finish his arrangements.
The Mikenshi school made many enemies.
And Orica was actually behind these enemies, vigorously supporting them.
In the end, the opportunity was about to arrive. He had roused them from within and both sides fought.
As he had expected, the Mikenshi school suffered a crushing defeat.
At his suggestion, they released the Astral Beast, intending to take the enemy down with them.
Everything was going as planned and the enemies died along with the Mikenshi school’s Wizards. The Astral Beast was also at its last breath.
What remained at his side was an apprentice that followed all his orders and was often ridiculed for being a spineless coward.
But the intelligent and conceited Orica hadn’t expected that it was this waste of an apprentice who would ruin his plan.
Chapter 390: Truth Tablet
Chapter 390: Truth Tablet
Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation
Just as the Astral Beast was at its dying breath, Orica controlled Eric’s soul and forced him to sign a contract. If Eric showed the slightest hint of rebellion, his soul
would be obliterated.
Orica believed that nothing would go wrong thanks to this precaution.
Thus, he began his own soul transfer ritual. He wanted to expel the Astral Beast’s soul from its body and transfer his own soul into it.
But during this process, something unexpected happened.
The apprentice, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly acted out during the ritual and interrupted its process.
Although Eric was only a Wizard Apprentice, he was very clear about what would happen if the ritual succeeded.
His teacher’s mind had already been close to insanity. Once he was in control of the Astral Beast’s body, Feinan would be in for an unprecedented disaster.
He risked his life and ruined the ritual.
Thanks to this spanner in the works, the disaster was prevented.
The Astral Beast’s soul was released, but not expelled.
Orica was shocked and furious. He crushed Eric’s soul and then fled, escaping to the Garden of Eden.
The original plan failed and Orica was left alone in the garden feeling incomparably frustrated. While he was brooding, he noticed the Magic Medicine he had planted here which had a very powerful lifeforce and the ability to consume and absorb others.
Another crazy plan formed in his mind.
He fused himself with the Magic Medicine and swallowed its soul to take on his new appearance.
He hid in the First Garden of Eden for a very long time. He didn’t know how many years had passed after he finished swallowing all the Magic Medicines in there. He couldn’t help but leave and take a look outside again.
It turned out that the Secret Garden was silent and devoid of people, while the Magic Medicines had propagated wildly.
That Astral Beast’s corpse already had no signs of life. As for the body of Wizard Apprentice Eric, it was laying down next to the Astral Beast’s remains.
After Orica cut Eric’s remains into tiny pieces, he realized that he could use Eric’s name.
The Ancient Gods had considered soul transfer a taboo. If he was found by some powerful Gods, he would be punished. After all, there was no Universe Magic Pool at that time.
Thus, he chose to fully assume the identity of Eric. That way, if the Ancient Gods used Divine Spells to look into the matter, there would be some deviation.
The greedy and cowardly Orica began taking control over the Secret Garden over a long period of time.
Night Ranger - Full Series - 735 Chapters Page 228
