Warlock Apprentice

When the announcement to begin selling the theater shadow boxes was made, the crowd in front surged forward like a flood. However, before reaching the door of the Breeze Demonic Material Shop, they were suppressed by the immense power wielded by the Art Faction and Alchemy Faction.

Without stronger forces breaking through the front lines, the only way to obtain the right to purchase was to join one of the two factions.

”If I can’t be a clear stream, then I’ll go with the current.” Determination flashed in Loki’s eyes as he turned to look at Falga nearby.

Originally, Loki intended to ask Falga if he wanted to join the Art Faction together with him. However, Falga was furrowing his brows at that moment, seemingly lost in thought.

”The sale has already started, what are you still thinking about?” Loki shook Falga.

Falga: ”I’m still a little suspicious...”

Before Falga could finish speaking, Loki interrupted directly: ”Do you know what Muse, the head of the Research and Development Institute, is doing right now? Do you know why Nail Granny hasn’t done any alchemy for years? Do you know how the master potion maker’s mysterious potion can be obtained?”

Falga shook his head dumbfoundedly.

”See, you don’t know.” Loki looked completely justified: ”That’s it; all mysteries have answers, but do we really need to know all the answers? If it benefits our cultivation, we can investigate; but we’re just buying an alchemy work, why care so much? It’s like buying a Witch’s Soup — do you stop to think about what goes into its refining process?”

Falga: ”That’s different...”

”There’s no difference. There’s no way we can guess the right answer now. Since that’s the case, why bother dwelling on the matter?” Loki finished speaking and pulled Falga forward. ”Stop overthinking. Let’s buy the shadow box first. I heard Breeze Demonic Material Shop doesn’t have much stock left. Even at their daily limit, they can only last another one or two days. If we miss this, it’ll be a disaster.”

After all, this theater shadow box is highly likely an alchemy work from Angel! No chance of it losing value!

Loki tugged at Falga for a while but found that he stood as immovable as a wooden stake.

Confused, Loki looked at Falga and asked: ”Why aren’t you moving? Aren’t you planning to buy it?”

Falga nodded: ”I’m not going.”

With those words, Falga turned around and walked towards the depths of Sunset Avenue. At the same time, a whisper floated to Loki’s ear: ”I forgot to tell you, while my mentor is still at Silent Hill, the Europa Witch who has been teaching me Bloodline Art is currently participating in an underground Fragrance Appreciation Conference in Sky Mechanical City.”

Loki froze for a moment, before understanding Falga’s intentions. Clearly, he wasn’t planning to compete with the crowd for a spot; instead, he intended to leverage the influence of the Europa Witch to take a shortcut and overtake them!

Realizing this, Loki’s eyes lit up, and without diving back into the crowd, he ran after Falga: ”Wait! I’ve always admired the Europa Witch greatly—please, take me with you!”

...

Sunrise and sunset.

The next day, Loki followed silently behind Falga, who entered the Breeze Demonic Material Shop in the envious gaze of the crowd, trailing the Europa Witch’s silhouette.

The Europa Witch wore an elegant long dress and carried a lace folding fan, resembling an aristocratic lady stepping out of an oil painting. A fragrant aura surrounded her, and Loki, following behind her, couldn’t help but take deep breaths to let the residual scent linger in his nostrils.

Europa cast a glance at Loki but said nothing. If it were someone else, she might have frowned, but Loki was just a little brat who hadn’t grown up yet. She couldn’t be bothered to fuss over him. Instead, she turned to Falga: ”Is this the shop with works crafted by a Transcendental Wizard?”

”It’s not confirmed yet whether these are works of a Transcendental Wizard, but it’s highly probable.” Falga acted respectfully but spoke with relative ease, which showed that his relationship with the Europa Witch was very familiar.

The Europa Witch opened her fan and concealed half of her face, her exposed eyes flickering faintly: ”I’ve heard Lady Mirror praising his music box endlessly. Unfortunately, his creations are scarce in circulation; I’ve never had a chance to see one myself.”

Europa was friends with Ditemis, the newly emerging witch of the Heavenly Tree, who was also a friend of Mirror Lady, one of the three main ancestral spirits of the Barbarian Cave. This connection had granted Europa plenty of indirect knowledge about Angel.

”I’m very curious about his works. I hope they won’t disappoint me.”

As they entered the Breeze Demonic Material Shop, a tall man resembling a centaur approached them.

”Lord Mistveil, welcome to Breeze Demonic Material Shop. I’m the acting shopkeeper here, Viking.”

The Europa Witch, a witch with a dark bloodline, was commonly referred to as Mistveil.

Europa lightly glanced at Viking and casually remarked: ”The transplanted bloodline isn’t bad.”

Viking respectfully lowered his head: ”Thank you for your praise, my Lord.”

Europa merely smiled faintly and swayed her fan as she directly asked: ”I’ve heard your theater shadow boxes were crafted by a Transcendental Wizard?”

”That touches upon certain secrets, and I cannot answer, my Lord,” Viking replied humbly, his face filled with apprehension.

A mere apprentice daring to refuse a direct question from an Official Wizard was undeniably disrespectful. However, Europa had already heard of several members of the Research and Development Institute purchasing from this shop, among them True Knowledge Wizards — people who wouldn’t come here without a solid reason. Clearly, there must be some hidden truth involved.

Europa considered this and decided not to pursue Viking’s response further. She thought, if Angel crafted these, it would certainly bear his distinct emblem.

With that in mind, Europa said: ”Then bring the shadow boxes out. I plan to buy one.”

Europa already knew the price — the shadow boxes here weren’t particularly expensive, costing merely a thousand Magic Crystals. Even outside, alchemy apprentices could scrape together that amount. She naturally cared nothing for such a sum.

Soon, Viking opened a special container, from which emerged more than twenty glowing bubbles of various colors.

Inside each bubble, despite their differing hues, were identical-looking boxes.

Falga confirmed that the box he saw in the mushroom man’s hands earlier was exactly the same as these.

Europa extended her hand nonchalantly and grabbed one of the bubbles shining with a red light. Just as she was about to open it, Viking stepped forward and said: ”My Lord, before you open it, I must inform you of some precautions.”

Europa quietly stared at Viking, awaiting his explanation.

”According to the rules set by the craftsman, each person may only purchase one box. Additionally, these boxes are engraved with a unique magic pattern that requires activation using personal energy. The magic pattern will remember the energy nature of the activator, making the box usable exclusively by you.”

After a pause, Viking added: ”Of course, my Lord may choose to pass the box on after purchasing it; we won’t interfere. However, for apprentices purchasing here, we require them to activate the magic pattern on the spot to ensure their safety.”

For apprentices, possession of items like these might attract harm from others. To prevent such situations, on-site activation was required. However, Official Wizards were not subject to this rule.

Viking: ”There’s one more matter I need to remind you of, my Lord. Although these shadow boxes appear identical from the outside, the stories within them vary greatly. The craftsman hasn’t revealed any method to distinguish their contents. So the story you end up with is entirely unknown.”

Europa: ”And this is also the Transcendental Wizard’s requirement?”

Viking smiled without answering, refusing to take the bait: ”This is the craftsman’s requirement.”

Europa smiled faintly: ”This craftsman sounds quite interesting.”

Clearly, the craftsman’s message was simple: if you encounter a story you dislike, well, such is fate.

Viking: ”I’m uncertain why the craftsman imposed this rule. If my Lord finds it unsuitable, perhaps consider it as another form of artistic expression.” After all, the shadow boxes themselves were meant to be artistic endeavors.

”An art that begins with a choice of the ’unknown.’” Europa nodded with interest. ”That’s quite a clever idea.”