Strongest Warlock - Wizard World Irregular

The young man sighed a second time as he pondered whether he should wait another day before he started investigating the town.

\'I should have asked Lyle about the time difference inside the painting and the outside world,\' Ethan thought.

Ethan had spent a year in the Lands of Alastor, and only a month had passed in the outside world.

During the time when he and Joanne spent half a year in the Magdar Kingdom, only a month had passed when they returned.

Since he had no idea about the time difference, he decided to no longer wait and start his exploration.

"I just have to get wet," Ethan muttered as he walked towards the door.

After leaving his room, he descended in the Tavern Room, and saw Agnes and Chloe hard at work, delivering platters of food to their customers.

"We have sausages and bread," Agnes said as soon as she saw Ethan. "Interested?"

"Very," Ethan replied.

Agnes nodded and went to the kitchen to handle Ethan\'s order.

Chloe, who had just finished serving their customers, approached Ethan.

"Did you have a good sleep last night?" Chloe asked.

"Yes." Ethan nodded. "I slept like a baby."

A faint smile appeared on Chloe\'s lips as if she was happy to hear that the young man was able to sleep comfortably in their rooms.

"By the way, does it always rain like this?" Ethan asked.

"No," Chloe replied. "Rumor has it that this rain is caused by the Lady of the Lake."

"Lady of the Lake?" Ethan\'s interest was piqued after hearing the young lady\'s reply. "Can you tell me more?"

Chloe pondered for a bit before nodding her head.

"Actually, this rain started a week ago," Chloe said. "But, before it started raining, we heard a very beautiful, yet sad song, coming from the lake. Grandma said that she never heard something so beautiful in her life, and I have to agree with her.

"There is an ethereal charm to the voice, which plucks the heartstrings. When I first heard it, I felt like I was about to burst out crying. Fortunately, the impulse wasn\'t that strong, and I was able to fight it off.

"But, some were affected by it, and unable to stop themselves from crying. Actually, we can still hear her sing. All we need to do is face Northwest, where the lake is located, during sunrise, and sunset.

"If you really focus your attention, you will be able to hear it as well. At first, it will be faint like the sound of heavy rain. But, the moment you lock your attention on that sound, it will become clearer, and you will hear her."

Ethan sighed. "I guess I missed my chance. It\'s way past sunrise already."

"Well, it\'s really hard to tell with all this rain if the sun has risen or not because it\'s still dark outside," Chloe replied. "But, why don\'t you try it? The lake is in that direction."

Chloe pointed at the clock that was hanging on the wall.

Ethan didn\'t know if he should give it a go or not, but since he had nothing else to do, he decided to give it a try.

Shifting his attention to the window where Chloe was pointing, Ethan closed his eyes and extended his senses.

The only thing he could hear was the heavy rain that was falling in the town. He listened for nearly a minute before he felt like giving up.

But, at the last second, he heard something different.

Like the downpour was still heavy, and yet, there was a different sound that separated itself from the rest.

Ethan locked on to that particular sound, and focused all its attention to it.

Slowly, but surely, the sound of the heavy rain slowly disappeared, and was replaced by a song.

At first, it was faint, but the longer it went, the clearer and the stronger the voice became.

—------------------

"The sadness born today soars high into the sky."

"The sky awakens and stirs the wind, making my chest tremble."

"I want to protect you."

"I want to touch Destiny."

"The tears you have shed… the hole in your chest, I want to fill it with happiness."

"May this song I sing reach you wherever you are."

"No matter how far apart we may be, I believe that it will reach you."

"Singing in the rain."

"The drops of the rain will shine beautifully."

"And when the sadness is all washed away, the world will come to life again."

—------------------

Just like Chloe had said, the song was so beautiful it plucked at his heartstrings, making him feel breathless after hearing it.

But, more than anything else, it was a very sad song.

The pain of the singer was evident in her song, giving the listener the strong urge to cry.

However, Ethan wasn\'t an ordinary person. So, even though he felt extremely sad after hearing the song, he was still in full control of his emotions.

When the song finally ended, Ethan slowly opened his eyes, only to see that Chloe was no longer around, and the food he ordered had already been served to his table.

Still immersed in the afterglow of the song, Ethan made his decision.

He ate the food he ordered, taking time to enjoy it.

The food tasted the way his Grandma cooked the food in their house.

He had thought the same after eating the food that he had been given last night.

So after eating another meal that reminded him of home, he understood that this world might really be using his memories to complete the missing puzzle pieces of the world inside the painting.

After paying for his meal, Ethan left the tavern under the heavy rain.

His destination was set, and it was none other than the lake located Northwest of Fortis Town.

Since he had no idea where to go, he decided that going to the lake might give him a lead on where the treasure he was looking for could be found.