The hotel ballroom around Nick was thoroughly ruined and covered in flames. Defeat stared at him with pure malice from within the flames, saying:
"Hmph! What a lucky boy you are to not be fooled by the allure of wealth. If you had been lulled just a second longer, I would have swallowed you whole. You should know by now that pursuing extravagance and forsaking your own purpose is self-defeat."
As Defeat spoke, the room around Nick began to warp and change, returning to the scene of the stone labyrinth from before. Defeat stood only a few meters away from Nick and Wealth was nowhere to be seen; Nick asked aloud:
"What happened to Wealth?"
Defeat smiled fiendishly and replied:
"Take a look at your right middle finger."
Nick listened and looked at his right middle finger which now sported a plain silver ring with mostly illegible markings on its surface written in Valteese but Nick could still make out one word: 'Wealth'. Nick asked in astonishment:
"What's going on?"
Defeat replied:
"Wealth is only a tool. Once you realize that, it becomes merely a decoration that you wear like a ring on your finger, no longer so glorious. Did you expect a mere decoration to hide you from me?"
Defeat moved from its position at running speed and lunged at Nick; it was incredibly fast. Nick, however, dodged the attack and ran deeper into the labyrinth with Defeat following closely behind him. Defeat yelled:
"This Confusing Labyrinth only releases those who are prepared from its impenetrable maze and you don't qualify so you cannot escape. Just give up and surrender, save me some effort before you die."
Nick replied:
"I will never surrender!"
While Nick ran, he could see that up ahead, there was a stretch of muddy ground that replaced the hard ground that he now ran on and this made him worried.
(Defeat is already faster than me and is quickly catching up, if I have to trudge through that mud, then I will certainly be caught.)
After Nick had this thought, he suddenly heard Wealth's voice sound within his own mind:
(Nick, go through the mud, Defeat will not follow you.)
Nick thought:
(Wealth, how can your voice be in my mind? Why wouldn't Defeat follow me through the mud?)
Wealth's voice sounded a clear reply:
(Wealth comes in many forms, not just in silver and gold but also in good counsel. Going through the mud in life is how you get closer to Victory. Defeat is afraid of anything related to Victory so as long as you are willing to struggle through the mud, Defeat will keep its distance and try to find its way around the mud.)
Nick quickly dove into the mud in response to Wealth's words; the mud was three feet deep and Nick found it easier to crawl through it than run. After crawling some distance, Nick looked behind himself and discovered that Defeat had stopped at the edge of the mud, glaring at Nick grudgingly; a few moments later, Defeat ran down another path within the labyrinth.
Nick breathed a sigh of relief at seeing that. Wealth's voice sounded:
(Don't be glad just yet. Defeat will find its way around the mud and ambush you when the time is right, keep going and maybe you will find Victory along the way or some clues to its location.)
Nick trudged through the mud for a seemingly long time and eventually came upon a rock jutting out of the mud with the word, 'Win', carved into it in Valteese. When Nick touched the rock, his mouth became filled with a sweet taste.
"How pleasant."
After Wealth's urging, Nick left the rock and continued crawling through the mud.
Soon, he encountered a rock with the word, 'Flop'. When Nick touched the rock, his mouth was filled with a bitter taste.
"How jarring."
Nick quickly crawled away from the rock and the bitter taste abated. During the next few hours, he encountered many rocks with the word 'Win' or 'Flop' carved into it and so he questioned:
(What is the significance of these rocks?)
Wealth replied within Nick's mind:
(Wins and flops are normal on the way to Victory, this was the preparation that I spoke of before, the important thing is to keep going.)
Nick continued crawling through the mud and soon, he came upon another rock which was different from all the others because it had the word, 'Opportunity', carved into it.
When Nick touched this rock, an intense ray of light shone down on a single vine that hung from one of the labyrinth's walls. Nick was excited at seeing the vine and crawled over to it; he grabbed the vine as soon as he could and started using it to pull himself up and out of the mud, soon scaling the almost twelve meter stone wall. When Nick got to the top of the wall, he found that climbing down to the other side of the wall would allow him to escape from the labyrinth; he also found vines growing alongside the wall on the other side and was able to grab hold of a few in order to use them to climb down, escaping the labyrinth to the open world.
"Was this Victory?"
Wealth reminded him:
(No, this was opportunity, which is also on the path to Victory. While Defeat is still lost in the Confusing Labyrinth, you have escaped. Relish in the opportunity you now have.)
Nick mumbled:
"Opportunity..."
********************************
Nick woke up from his deep sleep and shook his head in confusion.
"What are these visions, or should I say dreams now? At first I thought that they were borne from dean Gecko tampering with my soul but I'm not sure anymore. Slade, what do you think?"
Slade replied with a doubtful tone:
[I'm not sure about the cause of these dreams but from your memories of them, I can see that they contain deep meanings. This labyrinth for example, it reminds me of a similar place that I once read about in some myths...anyway, maybe they have something to do with your affinities since they have given you inspiration in the past. Just bare with them for now, you are still too inexperienced to try to deal with the tampering done to your soul.]
Nick gritted his teeth.
(I don't like this feeling of not knowing my own circumstances clearly but I have no choice but to be patient.)
"I'm going out into the wilderness again."
Slade asked:
[So soon?]
Nick nodded his head, saying:
"I can't do much in Shelter Town and ten years is definitely not a long time for a Magician."
Slade was quiet for a moment, then replied:
[You're...right. So what's the plan?]
Nick had woken up when it was dark out in the Never Ending Battlefield and so he spent the time up until sunrise thinking about his next moves. When sunlight penetrated his window, Nick decided to act; after taking a shower and eating, he left Inn Number 1 for the Main Tower. As soon as he got to the lobby, Nick went straight to the counter where he could find information on magic beasts.
Nick described the black scaled magic beasts that had killed him before to the male staff member at the counter and the reply he got filled him with unease:
"Those sound like night crawlers. They are reptile like magic beasts that are mostly active at night but they are apex predators in their zone of activity. Despite their relatively small size, they are very dangerous and the mature ones are able to reach the peak of rank 2 in terms of combat ability; they are darkness path magic beasts and move around in a large pack within certain areas where they have built large nests. Hmmm...I suppose a rank 2 Apprentice Magician like yourself could take on one or two of the adolescent night crawlers at the same time but they don't usually hunt in such small numbers. Oh, I should also mention that they are cannibalistic and extremely ill-tempered."
The staff member took out a map of the Never Ending Battlefield that represented one hundred kilometers around Shelter Town in all directions and showed Nick the night crawlers' areas of activity; he also showed Nick a picture of a night crawler that was captured some time ago which confirmed that the staff member was referring to the magic beasts that Nick had encountered. Nick asked:
"May I buy a few of these maps from you?"
The staff member nodded and said:
"Sure, we sell a variety of maps here that have been issued by the Ministry of Magic."
Nick paid for a few different maps and a book on all the documented magic beasts within the Never Ending Battlefield. Nick left the Main Tower, deciding that he would leave Shelter Town as soon as possible. As he was thinking about his plans for the next few months while walking to the town's entrance, a small group of people stepped into his path. Before Nick could get a good look at the people that now blocked his way, he heard a familiar voice:
"It's been a while babes. You haven't forgotten about me, right?"
Nick frowned and took a look at everyone present, stopping at Marsha Cassidy, his old acquaintance. Nick sighed loudly and asked:
"Marsha, what do you want this time and why did you bring people from Raylam Priest Academy with you?"
Clide Wilson, the man who Nick had beheaded some days ago shouted in rage:
"I finally found you, Nick. You are going to pay for killing me."
Nick raised his right eyebrow and asked:
"How so?"
Clide paused for a moment, not expecting Nick to respond so calmly at seeing him again. Clide breathed in deeply, then shouted:
"How could you have snuck up on me from behind like that and killed me out in the wilderness, do you think that someone from Raylam Priest Academy can be so easily bullied?"
The place where Nick, Marsha, Clide and the two's entourage were standing was fairly populated so Clide's shout attracted much attention. Following Clide's outburst, a crowd of students gathered around to see what was happening.
"Hey, what's going on?"
"I don't know, something about a student from Richter Order Academy sneak attacking and killing a student from Raylam Priest Academy."
"Such guts, does he think that we are easily made a fool of? Which ass hat did the killing?"
"It's about time someone put one of you Raylam Priest pricks in your place. Let me buy the man a drink."
...
All sorts of chatter sounded; Nick looked around with his eyebrows raised, then looked at Clide and asked:
"What now genius?"
Clide smugly gave Marsha a hand signal and she said in a loud voice:
"Nick, even if you and I are from the same academy, how could you so shamelessly kill a fellow student with a sneak attack? Even if you are not ashamed, I am ashamed."
The crowd's chatter intensified at Marsha's remark:
"What? Someone from Richter Order Academy is backing up our guy. Is this for real?"
"Hmph, this almost seems like a play. That guy must have offended them somehow and they are trying to bully him."
"Will doing this really work?"
...
Clide did not care if the other students saw through the act, he just needed them to act as witnesses. He shouted loudly:
"Since you are so shameless, in the name of decency, I challenge you to a duel. Do you dare refuse in front of all these friends?"
The crowd started to discuss the possibility of a duel. Although normally, fighting between civilians was not allowed in Shelter Town, a duel could take place in a designated area if both parties agreed.
Nick felt disgusted by Clide's and Marsha's antics but he still thought about the situation for a moment and decided that this small conflict was not worth his time; Nick said indifferently:
"Okay...I surrender."
The crowd quietened down immediately; Clide looked a Nick with some disgust and Marsha just smiled. Clide remarked loudly:
"You mean to say that you are surrendering to Raylam Priest Academy without a fight?"
Nick nodded his head, saying:
"Yup, that's right."
Some students from Richter Order Academy that were a part of the surrounding crowd shouted at Nick:
"Hey you, how can you just surrender like that without even trying to face the challenge? Are you a man?"
"You're not just representing yourself, you are also representing Richter Order Academy. You better accept his challenge, even if you will lose."
"Hey, I know that guy, that's Nick Capitol. I think he is slightly famous among us second years."
...
Marsha was glad to see this; based on Nick's temperament, she knew that it was likely that he would refuse to duel.
(I can't teach you a lesson in a fight just yet but I can help ruin your reputation.)
Clide was also satisfied with this result and so he was going to make sure that everyone knew who Nick was:
"Nick Capitol of Richter Order Academy, you are a shameless scoundrel and a coward!"
Clide spat on the ground in front of Nick to heighten the drama. Marsha subtly winked at Clide to indicate: 'job well done'. Greg North who was standing next to Marsha shook his head at the scene, thinking:
(This is a disgrace. Did I really make the right decision teaming up with this woman?)
Nick looked at the scene indifferently and began walking through the crowd to get to the town's entrance. Some students who wanted to take part in Nick's misfortune followed Clide's example and spit on the ground as Nick passed by.
Soon, Nick had left the crowd behind and was near the gate. Slade asked:
[Why not retaliate somehow, with a display like that, people are going to continually come to test you?]
(Then let them come. A few jeers and looks of disgust won't distract me from my path, I don't have anything to prove. If any of them were stupid enough to attack me though...that would be something else entirely.)
(In any case, now that I am about to leave Shelter Town, I can focus on my plans for the next few months.)
Nick reached the entrance to Shelter Town fifteen minutes later and nodded his head at the soldiers stationed there before walking through the gate. When Nick walked out of the town, the scene was no different than it had been before. The ground was mostly absent of any vegetation within a twenty meter radius of Shelter town and fairly rocky; Nick could still see the crater that the brave bird carcass from the the other day created after it fell to the ground when it was impaled by the attack of the MOM's soldiers.
Looking into the distance, there was an expanse of woodland and a few mountain ranges could be seen looming far away. Nick took a deep breath and activated his spell, Blink, appearing near the edge of the woodland; he took out from his space band one of the maps that he had bought from the Main Tower and spent a few minutes looking it over. Nick had been meditating frequently since he became a rank 2 Apprentice Magician and along with the subtle increase in the quality of his magic power, he soon realized that his memory had become almost photographic.
By the time Nick finished looking over the map, he could recall its details as if he had studied them for years. Nick turned to the eastern direction and started running towards a destination that was outlined on the map. The time was about 9 am when Nick exited Shelter Town and he spent the next four hours running through the woods, only stopping to eat, drink water and relieve himself occasionally.
Four hours later, Nick did not encounter any magic beasts because based on the map that he had bought, this route was frequently cleared of low level magic beasts by the soldiers stationed at Shelter Town because a few valuable mines were situated close by. Nick soon heard the splashing of water as he moved past the trees around him and figured that he was close to his destination. Five minutes later, Nick exited the woods and came upon a lake that was the size of a football field that was surrounded by green, lush grass.
This place was called Serene Lake by the Ministry of Magic. Apparently, this was a place that was naturally avoided by most magic beasts that do not already live in the lake which made it a great rest area for humans, provided that they did not venture into the lake; Nick knew this because his map had descriptions of important locations. The magic beasts within the lake were of varied kinds and mostly of the soul and water path or a mixture of both; the map also noted that the magic beasts within this lake will generally not leave the lake or attack people unless provoked so this was a safe area.
Nick willed and his steel container safe-house was released from his space band onto the grassy ground about ten meters away from the lake and ten meters away from the surrounding woods so that if any magic beasts tried to approach the safe-house, he would have adequate time to respond. Nick went inside the safe house in order to rest from his journey. He took a shower in in the bathroom that generated water using magic condensers; the bathroom even used magic components to convert waste products into harmless substances and dispose of them.
After he showered, Nick sat at his desk to eat a meal of roasted chicken and brown rice. While eating, he thought:
(The lake has magic beasts that have soul path laws etched into their bodies and that is what I'm after. Preparation...in order for me to prepare to face greater challenges, I have to become stronger and that means I have to gain a greater understanding of magic in a practical sense. For the next few months, I plan to make use of my soul path scholar attainment to develop my skills in that path. That's why I chose to come to this lake. In addition, I still have my inheritances to look through and this place should be relatively safe.)
Nick swallowed his food and then asked aloud:
"Slade, do you remember the formation path inheritance that I bought back at the academy? You said that it was written in a mystical language similar to one that you already know, could you teach me that language?"
Slade answered immediately:
[That won't be a problem, just tell me when you are ready to start learning.]
Nick nodded his head and went on to finish his meal. Next, he decided to spend a few hours meditating which was something that he did religiously these days.
(According to books that I've read, there are no common milestones of improvement among rank 1 and 2 Apprentice Magicians and everyone's journey to rank 3 is different unless they are cultivating with some kind of legacy inheritance. With this in mind, the only way I can reliably get to rank 3 is by doing my meditation to develop my mindscape and increase my magic power. Is there anything I'm forgetting to mention, Slade?)
Slade replied:
[Hmmm...the difference between most Magicians at your rank come from the type of magic that they are most proficient in, how developed their mindscape is, the amount and quality of the magical laws that they possess and the methods that they have at their disposal. You already know your specialties and developing your mindscape and accumulating laws is a matter of meditation and cultivation which will take time and can't be rushed, well...at least not normally. That only leaves your methods...you have a few inheritances and you've been going through them but lack practical experience in using the principles you've learnt from them so spending some time experimenting with your inheritances should put you on a good path to rank 3.]
[Just like you mentioned, there are no significant cultivating milestones for rank 2 but that does not mean that rank 2 Magicians are typically around the same level in terms of combat ability or general power. In fact, there are probably rank 2 Magicians that could slap you to death as you are now. Remember that muscular shadow goblin from the other night? That thing was no where near rank 3 and could have easily killed you.]
Nick clenched his right fist when Slade mentioned that night.
"I have to improve!"
Slade remarked:
[I agree.]
Nick closed his eyes and began chanting his meditation. Nick's consciousness entered his mindscape and observed the icy ground from high above. Nick's mindscape looked completely different from when he was a rank 1 Magician. His magic sea and become a frozen tundra of crystal blue ice and the human figure of golden light walk on its never ending concrete road like normal; the road was embedded into the ice and did not contain cracks like it had when Nick was rank 1.
The magic energy that entered Nick's mindscape from his surroundings presented as cold wind and blew continuously, creating more ice. At set intervals, Nick would release some of the magic energy by breaking up some of the ice and watch as magic ice crystals rose into the air towards the star filled sky with the light of the large blue-red star, that shone brightly, reflect off them and they would eventually break up and dissipate like vapor. For the next few hours, Nick drew in magic energy and released it, hoping that through this process, he was accumulating naturally derived laws within his mindscape.
Nick stopped meditating when his mind became very fatigued. He got up from his desk and looked at the surveillance monitors within his safe-house; the relatively dark scene outside revealed that it was already night time. The Never Ending Battlefield had a moon that looked similar to Grand Earth's except that it seemed much larger and reflected far more light. Nick still had some energy left after his meditation and decided to go outside to observe the surroundings at this time to determine whether it was really a good idea to stay within this area indefinitely. Nick summoned a flashlight from his space band and exited the safe-house.
On the outside, Nick turned on the flashlight, which shone brightly, and moved towards the edge of the lake which glistened under the moon's reflected light.
"Wow, that's beautiful."
Nick said that without thinking and to his surprise, the sounds of singing could be heard after he spoke.
"♫Hmmm...La La La...Hmmm...La La La♫"
Nick became alert in response, thinking:
"What the hell is it now?"