Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 1964: Chapter 1965: How to Enter

Subfloor two of the ruins, the bedroom.

Or rather, the study.

Angel and Tree Spirit stood before a wall mottled with patterns, with bookshelves they had moved away on either side.

”Behind this wall should be the hidden room that appears on the map.” Angel reached out to touch the wall surface, his spiritual power turning into fine threads attempting to penetrate the wall. But like other parts of the ruins, the spiritual power could only probe about a meter beyond the wall before it could go no further.

Angel helplessly withdrew his spiritual power and looked at Tree Spirit: ”Lord Tree Spirit, since we know there’s a hidden room behind this wall, can’t we just break it open?”

The reason Angel asked was that he had considered breaking the wall before, but Tree Spirit had said at the time that the body of the ruins was in the Void. To remain suspended in the Void without fear of Void energy or Void creatures’ erosion, the shell of the ruins must possess special properties. In other words, the ruins are a completely integrated structure, and any damage to its integrity would expose it directly to the Void, making it more of a target for Void creatures.

Moreover, trying to damage such ruins would be exceedingly difficult.

So Angel’s previous suggestion of breaking the wall had been refuted.

But now Angel thought that since the hidden room was behind the wall, breaking it open shouldn’t affect the external Void. Hence, he raised the idea of breaking the wall to find the room again.

After listening, Tree Spirit shook his head: ”According to the map, although the hidden room is adjacent to the study, it’s not tightly connected. There’s still a large part that’s void in between. Otherwise, your spiritual power would pass directly through the wall rather than being blocked.”

That is to say, breaking the wall is still not a viable solution. Unless you really choose to abandon the ruins, let it crack and drift in the Void, then you can destroy it.

However, a ruin that can remain suspended and concealed in the Void is made of extremely expensive materials. Abandoning such a ruin for a hidden room of unknown value seemed not worthwhile even to Angel.

But without damaging the ruins, finding that hidden room was still very difficult.

Angel shook his head: ”I originally thought that by repairing the broken magic pattern on the door, I could glimpse the truth of the ruins, yet reality is still elusive.”

Tree Spirit sighed longingly: ”We have clues now, and we’ve located the hidden room, but what’s the use? Without the correct way to enter, having clues only leads to false hope.”

After lamenting, Tree Spirit turned and headed toward the door: ”I’ll check the map again.”

Tree Spirit wanted to see if there were any overlooked clues on the map.

Angel followed along, and as they left the study and closed its door, their eyes fell once again on the copper plaque on the door.

Tizarro’s quip, written in flamboyant cursive, displayed before them—

”I don’t need a bedroom, but I want a study where no one can disturb me.”

”Before leaving the ruins, Tizarro modified this plaque. It seems he discovered that the damaged magic pattern on the door displayed a map,” Angel remarked. ”So did he enter that hidden room?”

Tree Spirit shook his head: ”Certainly not. If he had entered, given Tizarro’s nature, he would have mentioned it.”

They conversed as they walked toward the entrance of the ruins.

The three-dimensional map at the entrance still glowed faintly as it rotated slowly, displaying every room within the ruins.

They observed carefully for a long time, keeping their attention focused on that hidden room.

During his observation, Angel noticed that what Tree Spirit had mentioned earlier was true. Although the study and the hidden room were separated by just a wall, there was indeed a blank space in between, representing the void.

The hidden room wasn’t directly connected to the study. Therefore, the most likely method of entry was some form of short-distance teleportation.

This was consistent with their previous deductions, similar to how the knight armor suddenly appeared in the corridor—without any other means, only space displacement could achieve this.

But they hadn’t seen any magic pattern in the ruins related to spatial displacement...

While Angel was puzzled, Tree Spirit shook his head and sighed: ”No clues found. It seems that the way to enter the hidden room still depends on the knight armor.”

Angel also knew that the knight armor might harbor clues, but its magic patterns were too fragmented, with too many possible combinations of magical energy arrays, making repairs extremely challenging.

For a time, they seemed mired once more in an unsolvable whirlpool.

”I can’t think of anything either,” Tree Spirit stood, pushing open the large door to the ruins, heading straight to the tree avatar standing by the entrance: ”I’ll first return to chat with Rhein, see if he has any methods. If there’s no way, we’ll have to temporarily set it aside and revisit it later.”

The glowing spiritual body of Tree Spirit merged into the giant tree and finally disappeared.

Angel also rubbed his temples, regretfully closing the door to the ruins.

...

Wilderness of Dreams, Marine Theater.

Angel sat in the empty seating area, with furrowed brows. Until the dancing notes began surrounding his ears, and Angel slowly returned to his senses, lifting his head to look at the theater stage.

At some point, Jon had arrived on stage, sitting before the stark black and white piano, his fingers flying.

Jon was playing a piece of music that Angel had never heard before, very leisurely and lazy, like a languid sea breeze gently blowing across a calm sea... Although the piece was simple and calm, it was like the sea itself: revealing tranquility on the surface, hiding infinite power within.

Once the piece was finished, Angel applauded, and Jon, smiling, stepped down from the stage.

Angel: ”I don’t think I’ve heard this piece before?”

”This piano piece is the first movement of the ’Sailor’ trilogy, taught to me by Popota a few days ago. My playing is still a bit rough. According to Popota, his clansmen created it.” Jon sat down next to Angel, eyes full of emotion: ”It’s a tranquil yet powerful composition. Popota’s clansmen have remarkable musical talents, true masters of their craft.”

Jon: ”This world’s interpretation of musical art is no less than that of Earth. If given the chance, I’d truly like to meet such a music master.”

Angel: ”...” Meeting is probably impossible; the tribe Popota referred to now only has Dororo still alive. In Angel’s impression, Dororo didn’t seem to play the piano. The clansmen Popota mentioned were likely predecessors of the Baiyuan Clan.

Angel couldn’t elaborate on the Baiyuan Clan’s situation, so after a moment of silence, he changed the subject: ”Why haven’t I seen Popota?”