The next day was the Grass Festival, a celebration that brought the entire city out of their homes.Leoric headed back to the school first to attend his graduation ceremony.

  The exams were over, and the graduation ceremony was merely a formality—no cap and gown photos like on Earth. But the typically efficient Spiritshade City showed a rare case of bureaucratic slowness, with speeches from the principal and professors seemingly going on forever. For a moment,Leoric had the illusion that he had been transported back to Earth.

  The students listened impatiently but dared not leave early.Leoric lost himself in his thoughts.

  As Leovena had said, the exams were past and should not be dwelled upon. What truly mattered now was the future.

  So, what would life be like in the future?

  Traditionally, government officials would knock on his door the next morning, handing him an appointment letter to report to a certain department—thus becoming a civil servant of Spiritshade City. The thought filledLeoric with an extreme sense of absurdity. His least favorite profession in his previous life was being a civil servant, and now, ironically, he had to become one.

  Leoric had graduated from the wizard school and was now an official wizard—meaning he had gained a certain status, rank, privileges, but also special obligations.

  He had no right to refuse serving the government, only the obligation to obey.

  That was the annoying thing about Spiritshade City; there were few options to choose from. Rather than become a civil servant, was he supposed to join the military? Forget it,Leoric didn't consider himself a good soldier either.

  Tomorrow morning, he would become a civil servant and move to the aristocratic residential area. It felt like severing ties with his past life and starting anew.

  He felt a bit uneasy about it.

  The graduation ceremony finally ended, approaching noon. Everyone was hungry and rushed out of the school to celebrate the Grass Festival with their families.

  Leoric wandered aimlessly at the back. In a trance, he took the wrong path and wandered into the school park instead of heading for the main gate. He snapped out of it when someone greeted him.

  "Good morning, Mr. Lannister."

  Leoric looked up and saw a young man sitting atop a human sculpture ahead. Dressed in a gray wizard robe with a gray cloak draped over it, his hands casually resting on his knees, he looked relaxed and smiled atLeoric.

  He was an exceptionally beautiful teenager, almost effeminate. Sitting down, it was hard to tell his exact height, but he was at least as tall asLeoric, though much slimmer. Something odd was that Spiritshade City residents, due to their long stay in the Shadow Realm, mostly had black or dark gray hair and eyes, with very pale skin. This teenager had short black hair and bright eyes like shining stars in the night sky, but his skin had a faint gray hue beneath the paleness, making him seem perpetually shrouded in shadow even in midday sun, giving him an eerie aura.

  Yet his smile was like warm sunshine in winter, gentle, sincere, friendly, and playful, making people feel an instant connection.

  "Hello,"Leoric replied, walking closer, "Do you know me?"

  "Of course," the teenager smiled, revealing a set of white, even teeth, "Leoric Lannister, fifteen years old, second place in the graduation exams, right?"

  "That's me. And you are…?"Leoric nodded, guessing the teenager's identity. By appearance, he was around the same age asLeoric, around fifteen or sixteen, so he must be a student at the wizard school too? But the school-issued wizard robes were all black, while he wore gray.

  "Brennus," the teenager introduced himself, "Brennus Tanshull."

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  The name Brennus was nothing special, but the surname startledLeoric.

  The Tanshull family? The ruler of Spiritshade City was named Tarramant Tanshull. Was this teenager…?

  Brennus smiled and parted his cloak, revealing an emblem embroidered on the chest of his gray wizard robe: three peaks outlined in black on a red background, with a shining silver sphere atop them.

  Leoric recognized the emblem and thus knew the identity of the teenager before him: Brennus Tanshull, the youngest son of the ruler of Spiritshade City and one of the Twelve Shades.

  Few people in Spiritshade City didn't know this emblem.Leoric had known for a long time that Brennus Tanshull, the youngest of the Twelve Shades, was the head of the law department in the city government. Most notices issued in Spiritshade City bore the emblem of the three peaks and silver moon at the bottom.

  But the thing was, all twelve Shades were born before the fall of the Netheril Empire—meaning even the youngest, Brennus, must be over seventeen hundred years old. Yet the one standing before him was a youthful teenager, greatly surprisingLeoric.

  Odd, this was a fantastical world, but there had never been any tales of elixirs of immortality…

  Just whenLeoric was suspecting that the teenager was impersonating someone and playing a joke on him, Brennus took out a parchment from his chest and handed it toLeoric.

  Leoric took it, puzzled, and saw it was an appointment letter. It stated simply thatLeoric Lannister, due to his excellent performance, was appointed as a "Special Envoy" by the Spiritshade City government and was to report immediately to Brennus Tanshull, the head of the "Archaeological Studio."

  Archaeological Studio?

  Leoric had lived in Spiritshade City for fifteen years and had never heard of this department. Spiritshade City had been in the Shadow Realm, a place filled with monsters. What was there to archaeologize? Was it newly established? Also, wasn't Brennus the head of the law department?

  Lastly, what was this "Special Envoy" job about?

  The entire appointment letter seemed odd and unclear, highly suspicious, but the black dragon-Leoric seal at the bottom (the mark of the ruler of Spiritshade City) proved it was issued personally by the ruler and couldn't be fake.

  Nobody in Spiritshade City dared impersonate the ruler and issue orders unless they were suicidal.

  So, this guy who looked like a seventeen or eighteen-year-old was indeed Brennus Tanshull.

  Leoric couldn't help but feel nervous.

  "Just a part-time gig," Brennus said casually, noticingLeoric's confusion. "You know, administrative work is demanding, and we're understaffed. Everyone has to take on a few extra roles. I've always been interested in archaeology, so I took this one."

  But what were you archaeologizing…?Leoric suddenly remembered that Spiritshade City was a remnant of the Netheril Empire, and the vast desert beneath the city was the former imperial site… Wasn't he askingLeoric to follow him to dig up graves and tombs in the desert?

  "So, what will my job be…?"Leoric asked tentatively.

  Brennus didn't answer. He looked up at the sky where the sun was shifting imperceptibly but surely, soon to reach its zenith.

  "Wait a moment," Brennus said.

  Only when the sun was directly above did Brennus look down and handLeoric a sealed letter. "We've encountered a problem in our archaeological work recently and need to consult an old wizard—but he lives too far away. So, we need someone to deliver this letter."

  Great, so it was just to run an errand.

  ButLeoric didn't mind. He was already prepared for the worst, like digging up graves, so delivering a letter was nothing. Plus, it allowed him to leave Spiritshade City and explore the outside world, which suited him perfectly.

  "All my guys kept making excuses," Brennus grumbled, sounding unlike his image, "So, I flipped through the list and saw Desude had assigned you to me. So…" He smiled brightly and shrugged, "Will you help me out?"

  As his subordinate,Leoric had no choice but to obey when Brennus, his boss, personally came to him with a request. "It's my honor,"Leoric said, bowing deeply.

  Though it was unpleasant to be deferential to someone who looked his age, it didn't matter much knowing he was actually over a thousand years old. But did he need to personally explain this toLeoric? Or was this just how the prince liked it?

  "Where do I need to deliver this letter?"Leoric asked. Since it was an errand, he needed to know the destination.

  "That's the tricky part," Brennus spread his hands, "I'm not sure where the old wizard lives, but fortunately, it's definitely somewhere around Baldur's Gate. Here's the map."

  A detailed map was handed toLeoric, not only showing the route from Spiritshade City to Baldur's Gate but also marking almost all important locations on the Faer?n continent, precise and thorough, clearly a lot of effort had been put into it.

  "When should I leave?"

  "Now," Brennus smiled, "Camels, water, food, and everything else have been prepared for you at the city gate. Please arrive within fifteen minutes—oh, it's only thirteen minutes now. And here are a few little gifts for you; they might come in handy on the road."

  He reached into his chest and pulled out a tiny blue pouch, handing it toLeoric. He then jumped down from the sculpture, patted his robe, and turned to leave.

  "Oh,Leoric," Brenas suddenly turned around after taking a few steps, "I almost forgot to tell you the old wizard's name."

  Leoric hadn't even thought to ask; everything had happened so suddenly that he hadn't fully processed it yet.

  "His name is... hmm, what was it again?" Brenas tapped his head. "I can't quite remember... ah, yes, I've got it. Lavoc."

  "Lavoc," he looked atLeoric and nodded slightly. "His name is Lavoc."