Warlock Apprentice

After walking less than a hundred steps in the forest, a denser gray mist appeared not far ahead. When they saw this familiar flowing gray mist, they knew they had reached their destination.

Walking into the thick mist, the visibility instantly dropped to the point where one couldn’t see their own hand in front of them. If others were here, they’d surely lose their way in the mist, but they were different. Under Angel’s guidance, a clear path appeared right in front of them.

After taking a few steps along the path, they saw a clearing about the size of an average courtyard.

On this open ground stood a large tree with lush green leaves, quietly towering.

Angel approached the tree and with a simple gesture, a light sphere, bound by green patterns, emerged from the trunk and floated beside Angel.

This light sphere was, of course, the Principal Body of the Nightmare Domain.

Angel looked at Sanders: ”Mentor, do we need to make any preparations?”

Sanders shook his head: ”No need, let’s start directly.”

Sanders wasted no words, and Angel naturally didn’t perform any unnecessary actions, instead directly activating the green patterns binding the light sphere, while taking out the Scroll of Fortune.

As the moment of luck activated, Angel closed his eyes, repeatedly contemplating the construction content of the ”Energy System” in his mind.

The moment of luck lasted three seconds, and at the second second, a tiny luminous speck began to slowly fall from the Principal Body of the Nightmare Domain.

Without hesitation, Angel activated the ”Fusion” green pattern, embedding this speck of dust into Sanders’ body.

Sanders was already prepared, so once the speck entered his body, he immediately sat down next to the tree, leaning back with closed eyes, quietly awaiting the fusion of authority.

As time ticked by second by second, Sanders’ expression remained calm without showing any abnormalities, which allowed the two standing by to breathe a sigh of relief.

At least from the preliminary stages of fusion, it was going much better than Frode’s previous performance.

Generally speaking, fusing an authority takes quite a long time because it involves receiving and digesting a vast amount of information. It usually takes several hours, if not more than a day. Unless it’s the Wilderness of Dreams itself receiving the authority, then it’s very quick, like ”Celestial Alternation” or ”Tree Civilization,” which are almost instantaneously completed.

Since an individual can’t be compared to the Wilderness of Dreams, Sanders’ fusion with authority wouldn’t be quick either.

For the first hour, none of them spoke, all nervously keeping an eye on Sanders, fearing any unexpected incidents. However, after an hour passed without issue, Frode finally broke the silence.

”Sir, do you think the Illusion Demon will succeed?” Frode’s voice carried a hint of anxiety.

”There shouldn’t be any problems unless we encounter unknown variables on the level of ’Tree Civilization’.” Although Angel seemed to be speaking to Sanders, he was actually hinting to Frode that his previous failure to fuse ”Tree Civilization” was due to terrifying unknown variables.

Indeed, even if Sanders had tried to take on ”Tree Civilization” back then, he might have failed.

Because the term ”civilization” carries an enormous weight.

At the mention of Tree Civilization, Frode’s eyes dimmed momentarily. He pondered for a bit and sighed quietly: ”I hope we don’t encounter such unknown variables.”

Angel: ”Let’s hope not.”

Considering there’s an eighty percent success rate, Angel believed there was a high likelihood of Sanders’ successful fusion. However, it couldn’t be ruled out that they might encounter an insurmountable unknown variable. If such a situation occurred, there’d be no helping it. If even Sanders couldn’t handle it, none of the others could hope to fuse successfully.

Frode’s gaze shifted from Sanders to the tree beside him: ”Sir, why did you place a tree here?”

This had been a question Frode had since arriving there.

Such a vast clearing, yet only this solitary tree stands here, was quite curious.

Furthermore, Frode knew that within this mist lay the power of Celestial Alternation. The green mist seeds once spread by Tree Civilization definitely couldn’t penetrate this mist. Therefore, the only one who could have placed this tree here was undoubtedly Angel.

”This tree is meant to serve as eyes.” Angel said offhandedly.

”Eyes?” Frode was somewhat perplexed.

Angel answered with another question: ”Doesn’t this tree look familiar to you?”

Familiar? Frode raised his head to look at the lush, leafy tree. At first glance, there wasn’t anything notable, but upon closer inspection... it did seem somewhat familiar.

”It looks a bit like... a smaller version of the Mother Tree,” Frode muttered softly.

”It’s not just similar; this tree actually is the Mother Tree.” Angel paused: ”However, it’s cultivated from the branches of the Mother Tree. You can think of it as an avatar of the Mother Tree.”

”If and when the Wilderness of Dreams opens in the future and someone breaks into here, this Mother Tree’s avatar can send a warning through ’Tree Civilization’. No matter whether I’m in reality or in the Wilderness of Dreams, I could receive an immediate alert.”

This was a layer of defense Angel had set for the Principal Body of the Nightmare Domain.

Although Angel didn’t think anyone would break in here in the future, a precaution couldn’t hurt.

Frode understood Angel’s point and grasped its importance, although he was a bit surprised: ”This can connect to the Mother Tree?”

”Certainly, through the Mother Tree network, it can communicate with the Mother Tree.” To Angel, this was akin to a remote surveillance camera.

In reality, all the plants born from the Wilderness of Dreams were part of the Mother Tree; they could all, to some extent, connect with the Mother Tree and serve as surveillance points. However, their ’signal transmission’ would be much weaker, and they wouldn’t have much combat capability.

Yet the Mother Tree avatar in front of them possessed many extraordinary traits and could be used to combat potential threats, ensuring protection for the Principal Body of the Nightmare Domain.

”I see,” Frode showed a look of understanding. The Principal Body of the Nightmare Domain was the heart of the entire Wilderness of Dreams, so it was only natural it received the greatest protection.

Finishing the topic regarding the tree, Angel suddenly said: ”By the way, what about the suggestion the mentor gave you previously, have you considered it?”

”Your soul body should have recovered by now, you can try to take on the new authority.”

Frode opened his mouth as if to say something but ultimately remained silent, appearing reserved.

Angel understood Frode’s current concerns: expectation mixed with some apprehension.

He didn’t try to dissuade Frode, instead starting a different topic: ”Speaking of which, all plants in the current Wilderness of Dreams are somewhat connected to the Mother Tree; the Mother Tree can supply essential energy for plant growth through the earthly energy. Otherwise, relying solely on barren ground and Dream Plant Fairies couldn’t sustain the plants’ current vigor.”

”Though the Mother Tree, Dream Plant Fairies, and plants form a sort of closed-loop ecology, having diverse sources of earthly energy supply could lessen the Mother Tree’s burden, like constructing a real ecological chain.”

”Flora and fauna, each serving their roles, life can propagate, death can fertilize, living in cycles. Doesn’t that seem closer to reality?”

Angel saw the hint of intrigue in Frode’s eyes, but he didn’t press Frode for an immediate response and instead softly mentioned, ”You might want to give it thorough consideration. You need not fear failure; before you take on any authority, the mentor is sure to calculate the success rate for you. Then you can decide based on that success rate whether to try it.”