Fire Mage

Chapter 209: Royal Castle

The 'clone Charles' walked out of the small hut and roamed in Vale Street for the next few minutes.

A few days ago, Jessie visited the rental agency under Charles's order and brought a total of 4 houses in four Districts.

That small hut was one among the four houses.

'I need to complete the main mission within three months.' A frown appeared on Charles's face as he glanced at the slum street alleys.

He then took a shortcut route and soon reached Slum District's main road. After that, he made a few turns and started walking towards Nobles' District.

While walking, he also used the newly gotten knowledge from Charles and started to think.

'My first target is Ivy, a mysterious child… From the previous encounter, I can guess that she must be a [Dreamer] Class Mystic or [Blood Manipulator] Class Mystic. As for her current strength, I have no clue about it.' He paused for a moment and started to think about Dreamer Class skills.

'The first one should be an advanced version of Dream Invade skill… Dream Invade… Can it forcefully pull my consciousness into a dream world?' He has also seen the real Charles 'Dreamworld' memories and grew anxious.

'Then, the second skill must be prophecy-related one… Can she foresee my arrival?' He wasn't sure of it.

'The final one is the advanced version of Imaginary Grip skill… This skill can able to harm an opponent's body parts by interfering with one's imagination… But if she is a [Blood Manipulator] Class Mystic, things will get more difficult.' A grim look appeared on his face.

But he wasn't scared of these abilities at all.

'Although these skills are powerful, they also have some restrictions. As long as I didn't enter the effective range, I will be fine.' A confident smile appeared on his face.

'Next is about her ties with the royal faction. If not for her, how could she appear in second consort Felicity's carriage during Rhea's approval ceremony? If my guess is not wrong, she and others might be anticipating my arrival.'

While he was in deep thoughts, he noticed that he had already reached the city square and started walking towards Nobles' District.

A few minutes later, a black hooded figure stealthily entered the Nobles' District and soon walked towards the Royal Palace.

Charles walked past many mansions, streets, and alleys, entered Royal Street, and soon frowned.

Unlike other streets, this one was tightly packed with silver armored soldiers and appeared heavily guarded!

Not only guards, but he even saw a few groups of mages roamed here and there!

Charles's gaze swept past the nearby buildings and soon landed on a large crystal-like palace.

A three-storied tall building stood there with a majestic appearance.

Even in the dark red night, it shone in white color and appeared sacred!

Charles cast [conceal] skill on himself while blending his body with darkness and moved towards the palace building.

Within a few minutes, he arrived near a three-meter tall compound gate, climbed up, and soon reached the outer court.

Then, he hid beside a garden bush and observed the surroundings.

To his left side were stables and carriage houses appeared, while to his right side were filled with ornamental plants, trees, and even a few stone statues.

With a single look, anyone could tell that those statues were the previous rulers' ones!

Charles also saw a few guards roamed here and there in the dark and felt troubled.

After some thought, he made up his mind and moved towards the building.

If it were before, he would have faced some difficulties and might have already noticed by guards.

But after his body broke through the realm of Extraordinary, he moved in the dark like a shadow and appeared in front of a bluish fountain in five seconds.

Then, he silently moved towards his right side and started circling the building.

A few minutes later, Charles reached the backyard garden, glanced around, and soon froze as he saw a 4-year young child at the garden center.

She was currently sitting on a decorated wooden chair, looked at the surrounding trees, and appeared daydreaming.

Her eyes were Fremen blue, staring out of a soft, round face. She had deep-brown hair and wore a simple white gown.

There was also a strange feeling that caused Charles's heart to race all of a sudden!

'Ivy!' Single word echoed in his head.

As he was about to check the surroundings, she suddenly turned her gaze towards his direction, raised her right hand, and waved her hand at him with an innocent smile on her face!

'She is dangerous!' Such thought appeared in the clone Charles's consciousness.

In the Inner World, the real Charles watched everything through an illusionary projection and facepalmed.

"He didn't even use his Shape-Shifter skill… This clone isn't cautious at all." He couldn't help but mutter in dissatisfaction.

But in a sense, this was what he wanted to happen!

'Let's see what this girl child can do. I have a vague feeling this child is not a normal one… No, I should say that this child might not be a true child at all.' He stood in front of the lava pool and patiently watched the projection.

In the meantime, the clone Charles cast [Cryptic Analysis] skill and soon furrowed his brows.

'Not even question marks appeared?' He stood in the grassy garden and released a bit of his wisdom power towards the surroundings.

A moment later, the whole surroundings shook for a moment and soon broke like glasses.

Meanwhile, the 4-year-old child in her white dress also started to break and soon disappeared!

'Illusion? No, is this the power of the dream?' A look of astonishment appeared on his face.

'If not for my wisdom power, I might have fallen into a trap.'

Before he could look around, an eerie giggle came from behind, causing Charles's scalp to tingle!

"Find me."

It was the same young child's voice.

Charles hid his anxiousness, glanced around, and soon sharpened his gaze towards a particular tree trunk.

A tiny pale hand appeared behind it.

Then, the young girl child stuck out her head from the trunk's back and revealed a pretty smile on her face.

A moment later, a dangerous premonition appeared in his mind, followed by tens of futuristic images!

The next second, a drastic change appeared on Charles's face.

'I'm standing on a Nightmare Creature!' He was utterly shocked.

Like a wave, the garden began to move like a wave of seawater and soon began to change color.

Simultaneously, Charles cast his Rank-2 [Red Wings], flapped it forcefully, and shot towards the sky while attracting countless guards and mages.

But he didn't even glance at them and solely focused his gaze on the garden.

At that moment, the hundred-meter radius garden suddenly began to distort while changing into an eerie-black color and soon formed into an appearance of a Black Dragon!

The Black Dragon opened its terrifying sharp black wings and then looked up at the reddish winged human.

It stood above the grassy yard, eyes engulfed in an eerie black glow. It slid its wings along the destroyed treeline, pleased with the destruction it had wrought forth.

The creature stood around 15 to 18 meters tall while dominating the white majestic palace building and let out a snort.

But the mere snort scared the crap out of all the nearby soldiers, servants, and mages!

At that moment, an unknown fear appeared in everyone's heart.

'This was my idea!' The real Charles almost shouted in the Inner World.