The Traveling Wizard of Worlds

August thought about it and decided it would be best to discuss it with the Plump Editor. After all, this was his only source of income now, and it was quite substantial, so he couldn't just give it up.

He immediately rushed to write a letter to the Plump Editor, inviting him to discuss matters in person.

The Plump Editor was very quick. The newspaper's address was already in Stonehaven, and upon receiving the letter, the Plump Editor grabbed his briefcase and ran without a word.

"Mr. Silas!" The Plump Editor's voice sounded very excited. It seemed the readers' letters had tormented him quite a bit these past few days. "I never imagined you'd be such a young author!"

"Wait a moment, don't get excited yet," August said with a helpless expression. "And, please call me August."

Although Silas Blackwood was a pseudonym, being called that always made him uncomfortable, as if one day he was going to be "exposed."

"No! Where have you been these past few days?" The Plump Editor took off his hat and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

August subtly looked at his pitiable hairline, feeling deep sympathy.

"Is my new book really that bad?" August asked again, somewhat in disbelief that his new book received so many negative reviews.

"Mr. Silas, Mr. August, your new book is not bad at all. On the contrary, our colleagues in the editorial department unanimously agree it will be a classic," said the Plump Editor, who also seemed helpless at that moment. "Some readers really like this story, **but!**"

Upon hearing that "but," August knew things weren't that simple.

"All your readers are expecting a different story! They suddenly can't adapt to something so serious!"

"You probably don't know this, but your work isn't just popular in this city; newspaper offices in neighboring cities, learning of your great name, have requested to reprint it. So your great name has spread across several nearby provinces!"

The Plump Editor adjusted his belt. He was both happy and worried to have such a popular author under his charge. Happy because newspaper sales were skyrocketing, and worried because the readers seemed a little crazy. He had never seen an author of explicit novels become so popular.

"So my new work will likely be a failure?" August sighed. It seemed the readers in this world were too vulgar.

"Yes, the number of readers willing to accept the new work is minuscule compared to your old readers. Without your work these past two days, newspaper sales have dropped significantly," the Plump Editor expressed with great anxiety about this phenomenon. Sales were his livelihood.

Although his colleagues ridiculed them for boosting sales with an explicit literature author, these same colleagues, upon discovering that readers simply loved these popular stories, couldn't stand idly by. Compared to money, what were principles but a few copper coins?

However, no author played the game as well as Mr. Silas; the plots they wrote were simply what August had discarded.

"Mr. Silas, we're not asking you to abandon your new work. We just hope that when you have some free time, you can write some short stories or new serialized stories. That way, your old readers' complaints will be appeased," the Plump Editor suggested quietly, not daring to anger this big shot. Otherwise, if he changed venues, he couldn't afford it.

August didn't know whether to laugh or cry. It seemed he could only continue to make money by sharing his rich experience with these knowledge-lacking natives of another world.

"Alright, I understand what you mean. I'll consider it," August replied, also surprised by the readers' resentment. "Is what I wrote really that good?"

He merely polished and modified those widely circulated masterpieces from his previous life to fit the context of this era, being essentially a plagiarist. He never expected to open up a new world for these natives.

Local entertainment venue owners considered his works professional textbooks, and the Plump Editor commented that some workshops even wanted his authorization to produce the toys featured in the books. Unable to find the author, they went directly to the publishing house...

The Plump Editor, relieved, relaxed and then said his goodbyes.

After seeing him off, August returned to his upstairs study and spread out his manuscript paper.

"What should I write now?" August had just finished serializing the White Lady's story and wanted to transition, but cruel reality held him back.

"Decided! It's you!"

He wrote a line on the manuscript: "Elbin's performance is not ideal—"

"Mardo, your mission seems very complicated?"

In an unfamiliar room, a person shrouded in shadows asked Mardo, who was tidying things up.

Mardo looked quite disheveled, his clothes full of tears and burns. Luckily, he had no blood on him, so he shouldn't have been injured.

"It's getting harder to deal with the madmen of The Umbral Cabal." Speaking of this, Mardo sighed helplessly. "I should go remind August that the wizards of The Umbral Cabal are acting with increasing recklessness. Do they have some kind of backing?"

"Could it be that someone else among them has been promoted to High Mage?" the shadow said with some uncertainty. "If that's true, it would be terrible."

"This time, Blair and I teamed up to ambush a The Umbral Cabal stronghold, but it was a trap!" Mardo pulled off his tattered clothes.

"A trap? And you're injured?"

There was no blood on Mardo's body, but there was a fist-sized purplish shadow on his abdomen. This shadow writhed like a living thing, and each movement made Mardo frown.

"Luckily, it's not a fatal injury. I just need to expel it," Mardo told his friend not to worry. "Only Lior and you know about our mission. Why would the people of The Umbral Cabal have planned for it in advance? Do you know what this means?"

"You suspect there's an infiltrator!" the shadow exclaimed.

"Don't make noise. I always have a feeling that something big is about to happen lately, and it's highly likely that the people of The Umbral Cabal are doing something." Mardo pressed his hand against his abdomen, and the purple shadow instantly twisted into a skull shape. "I'll investigate thoroughly!"

"Be careful. Remember to let me know if you need help."

"You should be careful too. Your mission is more dangerous than mine."

This wizard organization, known as The Umbral Cabal, had always roamed near the city of Stonehaven without a fixed location. They had tried to completely annihilate it countless times but had never succeeded.

And this organization, for some unknown reason, insisted on opposing the Mercury Serpent. Their leader, a High Mage, was killed in combat by Lior Douglas, one of the founders of the Mercury Serpent; not even his soul was spared.

However, these leaderless wizards of The Umbral Cabal did not give up. Instead, they intensified their efforts. They went into hiding, looking for opportunities to ambush, but to no avail. Their targets were the Mercury Serpent's wizard apprentices.

This was the fundamental reason August hadn't seen a single wizard there during this time.

People with talent for sorcery were already few. The Mercury Serpent was the only sorcerer organization in the area before the arrival of The Umbral Cabal, so almost all sorcerers near Stonehaven were members of the Mercury Serpent.

Their mentors or other apprentices warned them of the danger, and they all went into hiding, reducing their outdoor activities, which is why August hadn't encountered anyone.

As a formal wizard, Mardo sensed August practicing spells during a supply run.

He observed for a moment and determined that August was a fortunate person who had inadvertently received a legacy. To prevent August from being hunted by The Umbral Cabal wizards, he applied to the organization to recruit August.

Of course, he had secretly observed August beforehand. The Mercury Serpent was an organization with a friendly atmosphere, and not just anyone could join.

Thus, Mardo became August's reviewer. After observing for a while, he contacted him and explained his intentions.

At that moment, August was shocked, but also a little scared; he had no idea someone was secretly watching him. Of course, after the explanation, he also understood the Mercury Serpent's purpose.

As for joining a wizard organization, he was naturally willing. He couldn't comprehend the knowledge of his ancestors' legacy by studying alone.