The Traveling Wizard of Worlds

After submitting his new work, "The Sorrows of Young Elbin," to the editor, August prepared for his upcoming meeting.

He attached great importance to this meeting; according to Mr. Mardo's description, the members of the Mercury Serpent were generally friendly.

This was his first formal gathering since joining, and he prepared meticulously, hoping to make some fellow apprentice friends.

August glanced at the clock; it was already three o'clock without him realizing it, and the time agreed upon with Mr. Mardo was almost at hand. He stopped thinking and got ready to depart.

August donned a shirt, knotted his tie, slipped on his jacket, grabbed his bowler hat, pulled on his overcoat, and closed the front door of his home.

This was the daily attire for gentlemen of the Empire when going out. For formal occasions, more appropriate dressing was required. The most fastidious would wear a top hat and a precious wooden cane.

"Mr. Vane, are you heading out?" His neighbor, Mrs. Carter, was tending to her small garden and smiled as she greeted August upon seeing him leave.

August removed his hat and bowed: "Yes, some friends have invited me to their gathering."

"Yes, a handsome young man like Vane shouldn't stay home all day; you should go out and socialize with friends more often."

August could only respond with a smile.

August, with his handsome appearance, tall stature, and neatly combed dark brown hair, had always been the object of affection for the single women in the vicinity.

Mrs. Carter seemed to be in the mood for small talk and continued: "Is it an author's meeting? I recall you said you were a columnist for the *Sun Daily*."

August's face instantly stiffened. What he feared most was that those around him would know he was the famous Mr. Blackwood, whose true identity remained unknown.

"Ha... haha, yes, it's a discussion among authors." What else could he say? He could only pray that Mrs. Carter would let him go soon.

"Then I won't bother you. Have a good time!" Mrs. Carter seemed to notice his intent to leave and offered an apologetic smile.

"Goodbye to you too!" August returned the greeting, let out a long sigh of relief, and immediately departed as if making an escape.

To conceal his identity, August had another alias, specifically for writing current affairs commentary articles. Due to his sharp writing and unique insights, he was even known as "The Benevolence of Stonehaven." Because of his deliberate cover-up, his neighbors only knew him as a critic and were unaware he had another pseudonym.

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### The Journey to the Meeting

After walking two streets, August saw the flour shop with its sign.

That's right, this world also had flour, and even tea. Unfortunately, there was no rice, which prevented him from savoring the tastes of his homeland again.

"Mr. Tom! Please give us more bread on credit!" A poorly dressed, yet very neat woman was desperately pleading with the flour shop owner.

"But your family already owes a lot of money." Old Tom, the flour shop owner, seemed somewhat helpless, but thinking he also ran a small business, he could only refuse with a pained expression.

"Please! As soon as Victor recovers from his illness, he can go back to work, and we'll pay back what we owe quickly!" The woman's face was filled with despair.

August shook his head. Scenes like this occurred daily in this world. At first, August had helped a couple of times, but then some people latched onto him, and it took him a lot of effort to get rid of them, which dampened his intention to continue offering help.

While the middle and upper-class nobles could enjoy as they pleased, their happiness was built upon the diligent labor of a large number of lower-class proletarians.

Men had to work from early morning until late at night, just to earn enough to feed their families. If they were injured or fell ill, they had no money for a doctor and could only rely on their own bodies to survive. If they were unlucky, they died, and the rest of their families lost their source of income, with easily imaginable consequences.

August didn't consider himself a bleeding heart, nor did he have ideals to change this era, so he could only pretend not to see.

"Mr. Vane, you are very punctual." Mardo stood in front of Tom's Flour Mill with a bag of bread in his hand.

"Mr. Mardo, you must notice how excited I am today; I'm looking forward to participating in the Mercury Serpent meeting already!" August was genuinely excited. What had he been watched for so long, if not to join the secret wizard society and not have to fumble around alone?

"Silence! Mr. Vane, I believe you forgot not to mention that name in public." Mardo looked at him seriously and took out his pocket watch again to check the time.

"I'm sorry!" August apologized immediately. Mardo, standing in front of him, was the one who had observed and vetted him. August respected him greatly and was grateful for his work, which had allowed him to join an organization like the Mercury Serpent.

"Then, come with me." Mardo adjusted his collar, took the lead, and August quickly followed him.

Mardo led him to a place resembling a carriage parking lot, handed four silver coins to the guard, and soon someone drove a carriage over.

"Get in, there's still some way to go." Mardo opened the carriage door and was the first to climb in. August followed, sitting across from Mardo.

"You probably thought the society's meeting place was in the city, didn't you?" Mardo seemed to notice August's confusion and asked.

August gave an embarrassed smile.

"Actually, our meeting place changes randomly and isn't fixed. The location for each gathering is set by Mage Lior," Mardo explained, seeing August's confusion.

"Mage Lior?"

"Yes, Mage Lior is one of the founders of the Mercury Serpent. He possesses a peculiar item, and our meeting place depends on his treasure." Mardo didn't reveal too much, only telling him he'd find out when they arrived.

August didn't ask further questions. Instead, he leaned back in his seat like Mardo and closed his eyes to rest.

Soon, they arrived at the estimated location.

"Gentlemen, we have arrived at the Fairy Lake." The coachman stopped the carriage, got down, and gently tapped on the door, reminding the two passengers that they had reached their destination.

Though he didn't know what those two gentlemen were doing out there that night, what did it matter to him, the coachman? As long as he got paid, it was fine.

"Tomorrow, at the same time, wait for us here." Mardo handed two silver coins to the coachman, explaining their plans for tomorrow. The coachman's eyes lit up at the sight of the money, and he nodded repeatedly.

Fairy Lake is a small lake on the outskirts of Stonehaven, though it's more of a large pond. It gets its name because someone supposedly saw a fairy bathing in it, but in reality, there's no worthwhile scenery to behold.

This place was a desolate wilderness, and the land was worthless for cultivation, so there were no farms. The only two humans who had arrived were August and Mardo.

"Mr. Mardo, what are we doing here?" August finally couldn't help but ask.

"Don't worry, just follow me." Mardo continued walking unhurriedly toward Fairy Lake.

August followed, walking along the lake's edge to the other side of Fairy Lake.

At that moment, Mardo walked toward a large tree growing by the lake. Its trunk was much thicker than a person, requiring at least three people to encircle it.

The tree's canopy blocked the already fading light, casting both of them in shadow.

Mardo extended his right hand, touching the tree's bark with his index finger. A point of white light flickered, particularly visible in the surrounding darkness.

"Who is here?" At that moment, something strange happened!

At the spot Mardo had touched, three cracks suddenly appeared on the tree bark—two small ones at the top and one large one at the bottom. These three cracks writhed and warped, rapidly changing shape, resembling an eroded human face.

"So it's you, Mardo." Before Mardo could respond, the tree face revealed a terrifying smile and looked at August.

"Is this the new fellow?" It looked at August and asked Mardo.

"Yes, this is August Vane. He passed my assessment and is a newcomer who can be inducted into the Mercury Serpent." Mardo gestured to August: "This is Mage Blair; she is in charge of opening the secret realm for each meeting."