Olorin Gandalf

Back above the great lake in the underground ruins, Adam released points of light that scattered in every direction.

To the left of the mountain, to the right of the water—regardless of which way left and right were, it was somewhere between the mountain and the water, right? The water was beneath his feet, so he just had to find the mountain…

The light points scattered in all directions. Yet even after they vanished beyond the edge of his vision, Adam still saw no mountain.

"Is the Light Card not bright enough? Then there’s nothing I can do…"

Adam drew out a Clow Card. On its surface was a regal woman wearing a crown, holding the sun in one hand and a cloud in the other.

"Release the seal… Hmm?"

Just as Adam was about to unseal the Light Card and illuminate the underground world completely, he heard movement in the distance. He switched to the Illusion Card’s magic and concealed himself.

Before long, two figures carrying lanterns emerged from the darkness. Their feeble lantern light was dimmer than even the points of light created by the Light Card, barely illuminating less than two paces around them.

After looking around, the two lowered their voices and spoke to each other.

"Are you sure that light came from here?"

"I’m certain!"

Though Adam did not know which faction they belonged to, at least they spoke English. That was something to celebrate.

After walking a few more steps, one of them no longer wanted to continue.

"Do we still have to keep going? Even if more people were sent down from above, what could they do?"

As he spoke, he could not help backing away several steps.

"Even if someone came down, it would only mean a few more people trapped here. Maybe that person has already been eaten—by that Kraken, or something else. Who knows what kind of monsters are in that lake?"

Adam’s eyes lit up from where he was hidden. A Kraken?

This thing was also known as the Kraken, a specialty of the Norwegian Sea. He did not know why it had appeared here. In his previous life, its real-world counterpart had probably been the giant squid, but in this world, the Kraken truly was a magical creature—a gigantic octopus dozens of meters long.

If it had been the one that dragged the fallen wizard’s corpse into the lake, that was certainly possible. But that was not what Adam cared about most.

After trying Giant Squid, Adam found the Kraken quite alluring as well!

Come to think of it, this lake could actually hold so many delicacies—no, giant marine creatures. The space below had to be far larger than it appeared, and it probably connected to the ocean… Had he found ALLBLUE?

Once Eugene’s parents were rescued, he definitely had to explore this place properly!

By then, the man had already persuaded his companion. Clearly, the other man did not want to get close to the lake either.

Wizards did indeed occupy an absolutely dominant position in the magical world’s ecosystem, but that was not merely because of their endless array of spells. It was also built on their numerical advantage.

Put simply: magical creatures stronger than wizards could not reproduce as quickly as wizards, while magical creatures that reproduced faster than wizards were not as strong.

And now, in these underground ruins, there were already very few wizards to begin with, and they were not united. The two of them truly might not be able to handle a Kraken—besides, as his companion had said, who knew what else was lurking in that lake?

That Kraken could not have grown so large just by drinking water, could it?

Only after retreating a considerable distance did the two raise their voices and symbolically call out toward the front.

"Is anyone there? Are you reinforcements who just came down?"

"Or a private expedition that snuck in?"

"Did you release that light just now?"

"Whatever your identity, answer if you’re still alive!"

"If you’ve tried, you’ll know we can’t get back up now. We must join forces if we want a chance to escape!"

After several calls received no response, the two sighed and prepared to leave.

But when they turned around, they saw an old man with white hair and beard, dressed in white robes and leaning on a white staff, silently watching them.

!!!

A shrill cry had barely escaped its owner’s throat before he covered his own mouth. The wizard who had just persuaded the other to leave covered his mouth with one hand and clutched his chest with the other. His lantern had fallen to the ground, and he looked as though he had nearly been scared to death on the spot.

The other wizard was equally terrified, but he was not slow to draw his wand.

"Protego!"

When in doubt, put up a shield first. Not bad—he looked experienced, clearly unlike the man beside him.

The old man was Adam in disguise. He slowly spoke.

"Don’t be afraid. Didn’t you just ask me to come over?"

His gentle voice was like a babbling stream, soothing the terror in their hearts. Looking into those deep, bright eyes, the two unconsciously began following his train of thought.

"We asked you… You were the one who released those light orbs?"

Adam did not answer. He merely tapped the Wand of Darkness in his hand.

In the two men’s eyes, a familiar glow lit up at the tip of the old man’s white staff.

"Wait—this place can’t have such bright light!"

Before the more timid wizard could finish, the sound of surging waves came from afar.

Under the fluorescent glow, both wizards went pale.

"Run!!!"

There was no need to keep their voices down now. The two wizards bolted, only remembering after running some distance that someone had been left behind. They hurriedly turned back to look.

They had some conscience, just not much.

Fortunately, when they looked back, they saw the white-bearded old man close behind them. Seeing them turn around, he even smiled at them, looking completely at ease.

After running for several minutes, the three finally stopped.

"Your… stamina… Hah… hah… is really impressive!"

Panting heavily, the two wizards stared at Adam in disbelief. His breathing had not even become uneven.

But thinking about it, anyone who could climb down such a long rope barehanded would not have poor stamina. Unlike them, who spent most of their time sitting in The Office—if his companion had not lent him a hand, he would have fallen halfway down earlier…

"I usually make sure to exercise."

Adam smiled and looked at the two of them.

"I haven’t asked for your names yet?"

"My name is Zola."

"…Youwei. And you?"

Those two names were so fake that they seemed almost perfunctory.

"Olorin Gandalf."

The two wizards exchanged a glance. This old gentleman was rather honest… But they still needed to clarify what they had to ask.

"Then, Mr. Gandalf, may we ask where you came from?"

"We mean no harm. As we said earlier, you should now know that this place has anti-Apparition magic. You can’t even use a Portkey…"

Youwei sighed as he spoke.

"For now, those of us who are still alive have reached an agreement. Whatever else happens, we get out first."

Most of the first group to come down were from the Ministries of Magic of various countries. They were only workers, after all. The benefits being fought over would not end up in their hands, so there was no need to throw away their lives for work.

As for those private expedition teams, they understood even better that survival came first. Otherwise, they would not have lived long enough to explore the Hanging Gardens Ruins… This news had only been given to the most experienced expedition teams.