Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2307: Chapter 2308: Sharing the Burden

Seeing Greya’s actions, Angel knew that her so-called ”let me see” actually meant ”let me taste.”

Although a bit speechless, Angel couldn’t help but remind, ”Be careful, it might be poisonous.”

Such a bright pattern is practically a hotbed of toxins.

Greya swallowed it in one bite, chewing with large motions, and said nonchalantly, ”If I were afraid of poison, I couldn’t be a Gourmet Sorcerer.”

Gourmet Sorcerers are arguably one of the groups in the Wizards’ Realm, aside from some Bloodline Wizards, with the highest poison resistance. For the sake of eating, they would charge ahead, knowing it’s poisonous but still going for it. With this fearless spirit, Gourmet Sorcerers have various methods for poison avoidance and expulsion starting from the apprentice tricks.

So Greya genuinely didn’t care about the poison.

Angel, having a close relationship with Greya, naturally knew this too. The reason he reminded her was because—

Greya probably forgot that the body she’s using now isn’t her physical body.

Greya still didn’t care, chewing even louder, and even closed her eyes, feeling the texture of the food with her teeth and exploring the essence of taste with her tongue.

Fortunately, the mushroom wasn’t highly toxic, and Greya didn’t encounter major problems.

However, Greya’s skin turned sallow and stiff, like the bark of a dead tree.

”It’s just mildly toxic, nothing too serious. I can expel it myself, but to feel the real effect of this ingredient, I’ll leave it for now,” Greya didn’t take these symptoms seriously at all. The only thing she regretted was that due to the skin losing moisture, her makeup and hairstyle looked dull and required frequent retouching. This made her perfect visage lose a bit of brilliance.

With Greya not treating it as a big deal, Angel naturally didn’t say anything further.

”Are you sure that mushroom that was running and jumping is an ingredient?” Sumishe asked.

Greya raised an eyebrow, ”Of course, in a broad sense, you’re also an ingredient.”

Sumishe: ”...”

Greya joked casually and continued, ”This mushroom may have a bit of toxin, but it still tastes good. As for the toxin, it can be completely expelled through the combination with many other ingredients... but sometimes the poison isn’t all bad. I can totally use the toxin to create a defense-enhancing set based on its effects.”

As she spoke, Greya gently scratched her skin with her nails, ”Look, hasn’t the defense of this skin increased?”

Greya was lost in self-adoration, completely unaware of how terrifying her appearance looked now.

After savoring the aftertaste of the mushroom for a while, Greya looked at Angel again, ”One more.”

Angel waved his hand, ”Not in a hurry.”

Greya: ”What’s not in a hurry? This is important; these can all be future tea party ingredients. If not, should I let Lianna talk to you?”

Angel didn’t want to be pestered by Lianna and quickly said, ”What I meant is, you can entirely create dream realm beings... no, create ingredients yourself.”

”The creatures I create appear randomly. If it’s you, Greya, you can entirely customize it.”

Greya was startled for a few seconds before reacting, ”You mean...”

Angel nodded with a smile, ”You are so in tune with the Membrane of Rhythm, why not try controlling this authority?”

While Greya was lost in the deliciousness of the mushroom, Angel secretly discussed with Rhein and others. In the end, except for Sumishe having some reservations, others were quite supportive of Greya sharing this authority.

Sanders naturally didn’t need mentioning; he supported whatever decision Angel made.

As for Rhein, although he considered that Greya isn’t a Barbarian Cave wizard and there might be some issues, he later thought it over and just laughed it off. Angel is from the Barbarian Cave, but the Wilderness of Dreams itself isn’t the property of the Barbarian Cave. It’s enough to support Angel like Sanders does; overthinking it could become a burden.

Moreover, with Sumishe’s progress, it would take a long time to enrich the biosphere of the Wilderness of Dreams. Greya, with the foundation of Creation Magic, has a talent for creating life far exceeding ordinary people. With her help, the efficiency would undoubtedly be much faster.

As for Sumishe, even Sanders supports it, so how could he not support it? Only, as he had just acquired this authority, he grumbled a bit when having to delegate it.

After hearing Angel’s proposal, Greya rubbed her dry chin, ”It sounds quite appealing.”

”Of course, it does. The Membrane of Rhythm is undoubtedly the mainstream authority in the life laws of the Wilderness of Dreams. Haven’t you been researching life laws all along? It might even greatly aid your real-world practice.” The one speaking was Sumishe; though he was stating facts, his tone was tinged with a deep sourness.

Greya’s eyes shone brightly; Sumishe was right. Although virtual laws couldn’t compare to the real thing, it was indeed a path to study life laws!

Thinking about it, Greya, already tempted, was now even more eager and hastily exclaimed, ”I agree!”

Angel passed the method for sharing authority to Sumishe, and Sumishe approached Greya.

”You sharing the authority of the Membrane of Rhythm is expected by all. But don’t just focus on yourself, and only create foodstuff...” Sumishe murmured softly.

Greya threw a flirtatious glance, ”Rest assured.”

As for what to rest assured about, Greya didn’t say, and Sumishe didn’t ask, because that flirtatious glance grossed him out.

Then Sumishe began following Angel’s method to delegate the authority to Greya.

The process required some coordination, and Greya needed time to experiment after obtaining the authority. So, Sumishe stayed on site to communicate with Greya about the authority, while the others left this serene deep forest.

...

When Angel reappeared in the Wilderness of Dreams, he found himself by a tranquil lake.

With the new city behind him and in front the wilderness with mist-shrouded distant mountains.

A gentle breeze blew, causing the lake to shimmer with ripples.

Beside the lake stood a high courtyard constructed of steel and white shell-like brick. In essence, this courtyard could also be considered a Mana Hut, but the materials were more advanced than regular Mana Huts.

”Let’s talk here. This is usually where Wallace meditates. When I entered the Wilderness of Dreams earlier, I had Wallace guard the relic, so he’s not here right now; it’s just the three of us.”

It was Rhein speaking, alongside him were Angel and Sanders. Frode had already returned to Originheart City.

”The situation with the Membrane of Rhythm is basically understood. As for future life creation, that’ll be up to Greya and Sumishe.” Rhein opened the door, walked into the warm room, and opened the windows, letting the fresh air dispel the stuffiness inside.

”Now it’s time to talk about your side of things, the Tidal World...” Rhein looked at Angel, his tone noticeably more serious than before.

Sanders sat quietly at one end of the tea-colored ironwood long table.

Angel also sat down, directly facing Sanders.

”Regarding the Tidal World, although you already know some of it, I will go over it again from the beginning.” Angel thought for a moment and decided to start from when he first returned to the Old Earth Continent, encountered the two nations at war, and met the pregnant Princess Shannon.

The fire in the fireplace continued to burn, emitting a hissing sound.

The open window occasionally blew in a lake breeze carrying moist vapor.

In such an atmosphere, Angel’s gentle and soothing voice reverberated within the room.

After narrating the general situation, everyone tacitly avoided mentioning the Abyssal Demon God. Angel had previously discussed it, but only vaguely, saying he fainted without elaborating on the details. From the tone of his current narration, it was clear he didn’t intend to reveal the full truth.

Although Lord Rhein was somewhat curious about the fall of the True Spirit of the Demon God, he was more concerned about Angel himself. Moreover, he didn’t believe Angel could handle the True Spirit of the Demon God alone, given Angel’s meager power at the time. Rhein assumed Angel was hiding something for a powerful figure.

So, bypassing those matters clarified many other things.

Everything stemmed from Feng’s obsession, orchestrating a centuries-spanning plot through the Book of Kael.

”So, it was Feng who arranged everything. No wonder you found so many of Feng’s paintings earlier.”

”Your ability to break this plot is indeed remarkable.”

Rhein pondered over the entire story’s threads, expressing continual astonishment.

”However, what I don’t understand is, since Feng discovered the Tidal World three thousand years ago, why didn’t he announce it back then? Wasn’t the plot from six hundred years ago?”

Angel: ”Perhaps Mr. Feng’s compassion prevented him from wanting the life in the Tidal World to be entirely consumed by wizards.”

The time distance was too great, and Feng wasn’t present to explain, making it hard to verify the specifics. Nonetheless, Rhein appreciated Feng’s decision to conceal the Tidal World.

”Although the reason remains unknown, if the Tidal World had been disclosed when it first merged three thousand years ago, it certainly wouldn’t have today’s form...”

Even if it were the same Tidal World, it would not have developed under the same trajectory.

Imagine, three thousand years ago, when the two worlds had just fused, the Tidal World had no high-level life forms, was in a state of disarray, and numerous witcher organizations had settled in. It’s likely that phenomena like Elemental Tides and Element Lords would not have existed.

The wizards’ eroding capabilities would have left not a blade of grass alive in the Tidal World at that time.

However, with a buffer period, now after three thousand years, if the Tidal World were to open, the elemental creatures within would have a certain self-preservation ability. Unless a total war were initiated, wizards wouldn’t easily eradicate all life within the Tidal World. Thus, opening now allows for sustainable growth of the Tidal World’s elemental creatures, preventing the initial vulnerability of the fused realm.

”Perhaps it’s as you said, it was Mr. Feng’s compassion.”

Rhein sighed, no longer dwelling on past events, believing the past matters little as the present opportunities are crucial.

”The prophecy of the Book of Kael surprised me, adhering to a concept of equal value. Since you are a person within the plot, and indeed a crucial one, Feng, using you to break the plot, naturally had to pay a price to compensate you.” Rhein: ”Such equal value exchanges rarely occur in mysterious objects.”

”Is the Tidal World the compensation Feng gave you?”

Angel shook his head: ”The compensation is something else.”

Under the gaze of Sanders and Rhein, Angel narrated his latest journey to the Tidal World, involving three Element Lords and... Feng’s consciousness in the paintings.

After describing the general situation, Angel began to explain the price Feng paid.

”Mr. Feng left me three things. The first is a tool, which I’ll temporarily keep secret.”

Rhein and Sanders didn’t say much, nodding in agreement.

”The second is an oil painting. It was drawn personally by Mr. Feng’s avatar in the painting, which seems to hide a trace of his energy. Thus, I cannot manifest it with illusion techniques.”

Rhein: ”No worries, I’ll visit you later. Seeing the painting can wait.”

”Lord Rhein is coming over?” Angel was somewhat surprised, as the site’s situation, though relatively calm, was still unpredictable, could Rhein really spare the time?

Rhein nodded: ”Although I also worry about issues at the relic site, the matters of the Tidal World are far too significant, and I must make a trip. Ironclad Granny will guard the relic site for me, while I investigate the Tidal World’s situation.”

Sanders: ”I’ll come too.”

Rhein: ”Aren’t you still in the Red Plague followers’ investigation zone? Sumishe’s situation has only just made progress, won’t you wait a bit longer?”

Sanders said flatly: ”They will handle it themselves. If they can’t even manage this small issue, then so be it.”

Since this was Sanders’ teaching method, Rhein refrained from further inquiries.

”As for the third item Mr. Feng left me...” Angel paused momentarily, seeming to organize his words.

Rhein and Sanders perked up their ears, thinking the third item must be the most precious.

”... It’s the Authority of Heaven.”

As Angel’s words fell, Sanders and Rhein hesitated momentarily, then both showed bright eyes in the next second.

”Are you sure it’s the Authority of Heaven?”

”Is it the Authority of Heaven granted by the world will of the Tidal World?”

The continuous rapid questions left Angel stunned for a while before he came to his senses: ”Yes, it is indeed the Authority of Heaven granted by the will of the Tidal World.”

”However, I’m not sure if I ultimately received it.”

Rhein: ”Explain the process in detail.”

Angel, without concealment, recounted the ceremony in the Void, his resistance against the pressure, touching the world will through spiritual power, and having a prolonged dream, all narrated completely.

Rhein pondered for a moment: ”Since the Authority of Heaven is just a concept, I can’t determine whether you’ve received it. But based on your described situation, you likely have.”