Passerby Villain In A Wizard World

"Okay, I'm satisfied. Happy? Now, give me the damn code, old man. Stop playing around."

Ian couldn't take the sly look of the old man and ordered while gnashing his teeth.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Young people nowadays are so restless. They don't have any patience at all."

The old man was still busy acting wise, but after seeing Ian's dark face, he coughed and immediately told the so-called code in a whisper,

"The code is 'Atali Awaits.' You can enter that place after saying the name. You just have to go to the black market at night and use this token to enter that place. Once you say the code, they should bring you to their group."

After explaining it, the old man stopped and looked at Ian.

"Atali Awaits? Hmm... quite simple for a code, eh..."

Ian mumbled while scrutinizing the old man to see if he was getting scammed.

"Don't look at me like that. It is not I who makes the code. Besides, since you want to go to Atali, it kinda makes sense."

"Then that's good, as long as it gets me into that place."

Ian nodded, didn't delve further, and placed the pouch along with the token inside the mana ring. Then, he waved his hand and said,

"Okay, old man. It is time for me to leave. Let's meet again if fate allows."

After saying that, he directly went outside the room without awaiting a response.

"Hey, young man, don't forget to come again. You cannot find a reliable person like me in the entire Runeshire City."

The old man was afraid that his money-grabbing tactic might drive away the potential potion maker. But Ian was already outside the shop and didn't seem to hear him.

'Well, then again, if he really goes to Atali, he might not return alive. Let him be.'

The old man suddenly thought of the ancient wizard ruin and shivered unconsciously. Even an official wizard could get lost and lose their lives in that place, let alone an apprentice.

So, he directly ignored Ian's rude exit and sat on his chair, taking out all the potions Ian had sold just now with a smile.

Today, he really scored big.

...

In a shadowy corner, hidden from the bustle outside and out of view, Ian revealed his true form after making sure nobody was tracking him.

"Phew, using the Shape-Shifting ability consumes so much mental power."

He mumbled after returning to his handsome self from the short gait he showed before. Since he was doing a shady deal outside, of course, he couldn't just expose his true identity.

Moreover, he was looking forward to using the Shape-Shifting ability he got from Lyra before. Now that he had used it, he found it as good as ever, although the mental power consumed was a little bit high.

'Fortunately, I finally got the Forbidden Token from that old man.'

Ian thought with glee while swiftly heading outside. He was quite happy.

'Now I just need to enter Atali Ruin and find the necessary potion recipes there. Hopefully, Ron's news is correct.'

He thought with hope. It had been ten days since he arrived in the city of Runeshire, and he already knew that there was no Ascension Potion to speak of.

Heck, he couldn't even purchase any Intermediate Potion recipes outside.

For such things, he had to join some organization, and he couldn't just wait for the Arcane Assembly to start.

Fortunately for him, a few days ago, Ron gave him a map where he could possibly find everything he needed.

As for him being invited by the Fourth Ring Wizard, just as he had thought, it was nothing big. According to Ron, he was just asked about the reason for his early return and a few other things related to Ignisia Tower.

'Atali Ruin, a mysterious ancient arcane ruin spanning the entire Aetherion...'

Ian recalled a bit of the information he knew about the place he was going next.

As far as he knew, this world, Aetherion, had a very old history and had seen tragic wars countless times.

So, the rise and fall of a wizard organization was quite normal, and so were the Wizard Ruins.

However, out of all of them, Atali Ruin stood at the forefront with its massive presence spanning everywhere and even beyond this world.

In fact, as per the information he had collected, even the higher-ups weren't too sure about this ruin.

How much of it was the truth, Ian didn't know, but he still remembered that Carl also went to the Atali Ruin in the Arcane Passage and gained a lot of things.

And that place was perfect for him, as he had the help of his Ethereal Form.

But going there alone was a problem, hence why he asked that old man from the Apothecary's Rest to find him the Forbidden Token.

This token was a ticket to attend a shady assembly at the black market, where one could access things that were normally out of reach in this city.

After all, those at the apprentice level normally couldn't access that ruin. He had to search for other methods.

'Unfortunately, that place is too weird and random. I can't locate it just by reading a few texts.'

Ian thought bitterly.

'Forget it. Let's first become a First Ring Wizard before thinking about snatching things.'

Ian got rid of those thoughts and arrived at a dorm tucked away in a tranquil part of the city, perfect for a wizard apprentice to stay.

Although Celia downplayed the residence when describing it, the place they were assigned to was peaceful, with a relatively high mana density that made the air feel rich and invigorating, ideal for quiet study and deep meditation.

After navigating the area a bit, Ian quickly arrived at the assigned simple room and opened the dark oak door.

However, before he could enter the room, he felt a sudden tug on his shoulder, followed by the appearance of Ignysyl in his true form.

"Haha, missed me?"

Ignysyl asked Ian while laughing a little. From his joyful expression, he seemed to be in a good mood.

"You are finally awake."

Seeing the juvenile dragon standing on his shoulder as always, Ian also smiled. These days, he felt quite alone without anyone accompanying him.

So he asked while entering the room and closing the door behind.

"Yeah, haha. That was a short but good sleep. I think I am now tuned to this world a little."

Ignysyl said with a smile while flaring up the prongs of fire around him in a beautiful arch effortlessly.

"Oh? Did you get promoted or what?"

Ian was intrigued after seeing him so excited. If that was the case, that would be wonderful.

"How can I get promoted so easily?"

Ignysyl rolled his eyes at Ian's overly optimistic attitude.

"But... I think I am ready for a promotion now. I just need to find some treasures to eat, or if you give me that Dream Potion, I will definitely be promoted," he said while looking at Ian with cute ember-like eyes filled with hope.

"Dream Potion will take time. We still don't have the recipe and other ingredients needed for it."

Ian poured cold water on Ignysyl's enthusiasm, and seeing that his mood was going down, he added,

"Don't worry, we are about to go out anyway. You might as well search for them on this trip. Maybe you will get lucky."

Ian suggested with a smile, feeling that Ignysyl woke up at the right time. With him by his side, this trip could be much safer—not to mention his ability to find treasures.

"Oh, we are going on a trip? Where, when?"

Sure enough, Ignysyl was visibly excited after hearing Ian's words.

After all, he also wanted to go out, as staying here all day while the entire world was ahead in the open wasn't his style.

"Today, at night."

Ian replied, then warned,

"Don't get too excited and be careful after going out. It isn't as safe there as in this city."

"Yeah, yeah. I know."

Ignysyl nodded nonchalantly, with a little excitement in his eyes for the upcoming trip. Then, as if he remembered something, he suddenly asked Ian,

"By the way, why are you all alone? Where are the two sisters? Did you dump them or what?"

He was quite confused, as after getting acquainted with Ian, he had never seen him without Lyra or Aurora.

This guy was a magnet; wherever he went, he would attract girls.

There was that Wizard Yela too, who didn't know where she went after he slept. To be honest, even he felt uncomfortable seeing him all alone, not to mention Ian.

"Why would I dump them out of nowhere? They just went out to practice in a Wizard Organisation. Nothing too big."

Ian was speechless at Ignysyl's words. Did he look like someone who would dump his girls?

"Eh? Are you sure? They aren't normal and are involved in complex things. It might not be good for you to separate from them, you know."

Ignysyl genuinely suggested after hearing Ian's words. After all, he knew everything about them and didn't feel it was quite a safe decision.

"Well, things happen. You don't have to worry about them for now. The first priority now is to become strong fast. Then, we can decide on other things."

Ian waved his hands to stop Ignysyl from worrying. After all, both Lyra and Aurora had quite the luck with them, with their Female Lead destiny.

They would be fine even without him. Of course, he would still not leave them alone, but just let them build their future themselves.

"Oh... then it's fine. By the way, I finally have some skills you can learn. Do you want to try?"

Ignysyl suddenly asked with a smile, causing Ian's face to become extremely bright.

"Then, what are you wasting time for? Let's get to it immediately."