Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 3080: Chapter 3081: Black Screen Perspective

What appeared before him was a bird’s-eye view of a bed.

The bed was large enough to sleep three people; but ’large’ wasn’t the characteristic of this bed. Its most notable feature was the blindingly luxurious decor, and the opulent yet gaudy arrangement.

Golden embroidery and silver quilts, gauzy curtains.

So detailed that even the stitches appeared lavish.

In terms of sheer opulence, this was definitely the most expensive bed Angel had ever seen. But as for its appearance... at least Angel thought it was unattractive.

To Angel, this kind of bed and aesthetic might only be appreciated by those suddenly wealthy merchants. If he were to sleep on this bed, he’d surely be engulfed by its greasy vulgarity.

Although the bed wasn’t very attractive, its looks weren’t the point. The point was, why did the Dalmatian send him this image?

Was there something special about this bed? At first glance, there wasn’t.

Perhaps, this was a puzzle left for him by the Dalmatian?

Angel patiently studied the bed, trying to find the answer to the riddle in its details and patterns.

However, just as Angel was intently observing, he suddenly heard a familiar bark.

Soon after, the image suddenly shook, shifting from a bird’s-eye view to a ”jumping off a building” perspective.

It seemed that something had fallen from above the bed.

Accompanied by a gentle ”landing sound,” a soft little dent formed on the silver quilt on the bed. At the center of the dent, Angel vaguely saw a pair of familiar dog paws.

Dalmatian-spotted fur...

It turned out this wasn’t a still image, but a dynamic video?

Moreover, if he wasn’t mistaken, this perspective was projected by what the Dalmatian saw?

As Angel thought this, the ’owner’ of the perspective moved, trotting around on the bed. As it walked, Angel could hear the familiar ”Wang Wang” bark - still the incomprehensible barking.

Angel was too familiar with the bark; it was definitely the Dalmatian’s voice.

Seeing this, Angel was certain this image was indeed from the Dalmatian’s perspective!

But Angel still didn’t understand what the Dalmatian meant by sending him what it sees. Was this its ’home video’ of its dog life?

Dalmatian video selfies?

While not understanding the Dalmatian’s antics, Angel was still very interested in the Dalmatian’s selfie footage.

If nothing unexpected happened, the Dalmatian was currently in the Nightmare Realm... This luxurious bed might just be its nest. If he thought that way, then it should be in the core area of the Nightmare Realm, at the home of the Minister of Arms?

Among the various figures of the Nightmare Realm, Angel was most interested in Shava, followed by the Minister of Arms... According to Angel’s speculation, if this Minister of Arms were in the Wizards’ Realm, he would definitely be a mysterious Alchemy Master.

How could Angel not be interested in such a presence?

Angel patiently watched as the Dalmatian moved around the bed, trying to find useful clues in its actions...

But to his frustration, the Dalmatian’s perspective was always downward, making him only able to see the gold embroidered silver quilt. The general room condition and surroundings were completely out of view.

Unable to obtain additional information, Angel had no choice but to refocus on the Dalmatian.

He still believed the Dalmatian wouldn’t randomly send an image; it had to have certain information it wanted to convey to him.

Unable to find other clues for now, Angel could only observe the Dalmatian’s movement trajectory, perhaps the path could form some characters, thereby conveying a message?

After watching for a long time, Angel remained baffled.

He couldn’t discern any pattern in the trajectory; the Dalmatian seemed more like it was performing Brownian motion on the bed... The most exasperating part was the Dalmatian kept barking as it moved.

...You can obviously make sounds, why not just tell me what you want to do.

Insisting on maintaining a ”doesn’t understand human language, can’t speak human words” persona... no, a dog persona.

Angel internally ridiculed, but he still firmly remembered any behavior the Dalmatian exhibited in the footage, being careful not to overlook any clues.

After the Dalmatian had been walking around on the bed for about half an hour, finally, something new happened.

The Dalmatian seemed tired, found the softest spot in the center of the bed, curled up, and lay down. Moreover, its head was buried into the bed surface, transforming the perspective into pitch-darkness.

Angel: ...So, what you wanted me to see was your walk, your sleep?

Angel silently stared at the dark screen. Another ten minutes passed.

During this time, if he couldn’t hear the Dalmatian’s breathing being extremely even, indicating the footage hadn’t ended, Angel would have long closed the image.

After two more minutes of blackout, when Angel was growing impatient from waiting, suddenly he heard the sound of a door opening coming from the footage.

Click—

The room door seemed to have been opened by someone. However, the Dalmatian remained asleep, completely not lifting its head or opening its eyes, and the blackout continued.

This only allowed Angel to hear sounds and unable to see anything.

After the door was opened, a somewhat light sound of footsteps came from the doorway, seemingly entering the room.

”I knew the little guy hadn’t run away, the owner need not worry.”

This was a sharp female voice, coming near from far, finally reaching beside the Dalmatian. Clearly, the ”little guy” she mentioned referred to the Dalmatian.

Angel was also familiar with the Dalmatian; this guy often sneaked away from Minister Dim to the Wizards’ Realm.

So, the ”owner” mentioned by the female voice was most likely Minister Dim.

”The owner instructed us to check on it, naturally there’s a purpose.” At this moment, another voice sounded, also a female voice, but her voice was very fleeting, as if the signal was poor.

Angel could confirm, after hearing the door open earlier, he only heard one set of footsteps.

The owner of this voice had to be in a state of constant floating, constantly in energy form, without footsteps; or she was the same person as the previous voice.

Split personality, dual-bodied, such cases Angel had also seen, plus, creatures in the Nightmare Realm were always absurd and bizarre, such split personality situations were too normal.

Therefore, Angel wasn’t concerned about the two voices heard during the ’blackout.’

He was more concerned... why did the Dalmatian choose to blackout?

Although the Dalmatian can be quite annoying at times, it must be said that every time Angel encounters the Dalmatian, it offers tremendous assistance. Moreover, its help is always remarkably considerate.

Just like back in Xinnai Land, during Misty Goldlady’s banquet, when Angel faced the Boiling Gentleman, the Black and White Maid, Davasia, and Minister Nuka, he couldn’t withstand any of their pressures with his abilities.

If not for the Dalmatian exempting him from the surrounding pressure, he would most likely have been exposed.

From the Dalmatian’s actions, one can see that it surely knows he can’t withstand the pressure. Perhaps it knows the secrets within him, hence it thoughtfully creates a pressure-free environment.

And now, it suddenly blacks out the screen, making him hear sound without seeing the picture—could this also be an act of ”thoughtfulness”?

Angel knows that some powerful transcendent beings can recite one’s true name and then observe you across countless worlds; so, could these ”people” speaking possess similar powers? Just by seeing each other, they might be detected?

Reflecting on the beings in the Nightmare Realm whose strength is unclear but held in deep secrecy even by Augustine, Angel thinks he might have uncovered the truth.

As Angel ponders, the conversation on the blacked-out screen continues.

”Intentions? What intentions? Could it be that the master can predict its movements?” spoke the piercing female voice.

”The master cannot predict its movements, but before its recent escapes, there have been obvious signs. By following these signs, one can judge its chance of escape,” said the floating female voice.

”What signs?” the piercing female voice asked curiously.

The floating female voice fell silent at this question, finally saying after a long pause, ”It is related to the royal court’s honor. Whenever there is any news from that honor, it will certainly run over.”

”The honor...” the piercing female voice suddenly became cautious: ”Discussing the honor like this, won’t we be discovered?”

”The honor is quite magnanimous, at most he’ll chop off our heads, reshaping them and burying them underground for a hundred years,” said the floating female voice.

”Ah, the honor is indeed merciful! Praise the moonlight, praise the Queen, praise Shava.”

A low praise followed, leaving Angel with a head full of questions... chopping off the head and burying it underground for a hundred years, what kind of mercy is this?

Indeed, the differences in values, cognition, and worldview make him completely unable to understand the mental frame of Nightmare Realm creatures.

With this in mind, the Dalmatian seems much more rational.

Of course, it could also be that the Dalmatian doesn’t show its linguistic abilities in front of Angel, creating a distance that leads to misunderstanding.

After various praises, the piercing female voice suddenly thought of something: ”According to your statement, the master can predict the little one’s movements through the honor’s information... this time, the master lets us investigate its situation, is it because the honor has new information again?”

Not only the piercing female voice’s curiosity, but Angel was also curious about this question.

Because, from their sudden praise of Shava just now, it can be basically determined that the ”royal court’s honor” information they mentioned is referring to Angel’s information.

Although in the eyes of Nightmare Realm beings, Angel and Shava are the same person, Angel is still certain that they are not talking about Shava at this moment, but about himself.

Because every time the Dalmatian escaped, it ultimately came to see him, not Shava.

So, the information about the ”royal court’s honor” they discussed likely points more towards himself.

Moreover, the Dalmatian sending this scene to him is also a kind of implicit pointing, isn’t it?

Precisely because of this, Angel is also curious if he has any information that caught Minister Dim’s attention, leading Minister Dim to specially arrange people to check if the Dalmatian escaped again.

With doubts, Angel continued to listen.

The floating female voice seems to know a lot of intelligence. She confidently said: ”Yes, the master just received information saying that a Time Tribute appeared in the Black External Ring.”

”Time Tribute? Isn’t that the consumable frequently used by the master in forging? Does it relate to the honor?” the piercing female voice questioned.

Floating female voice: ”It does relate. Nearby the Time Tribute’s discovery, the aura of the honor was sensed!”

Time Tribute... the aura of the honor, which is my aura? Angel finds his mind somewhat overwhelmed, what does this mean?

What is the Time Tribute? Also, could the aura from the floating female voice referring to the honor truly be about me?

Couldn’t he have misunderstood and it’s actually referring to Shava?

Angel is quite sure he doesn’t know any Time Tributes... Besides, the term Time Tribute sounds rather elevated, still, it’s the precious demonic material that Minister Dim uses for crafting.

And he has not recently contacted any time-related demonic materials.

The only contact with the time series is the Time Series Wizard, which is Aex.

”Aex?” Angel suddenly thought of a possibility, could they be talking about Aex? Aex is a Time Series Wizard, and in some races, using wizards as materials is not uncommon... Even among humans, using fellow beings as consumable materials happens. For instance, Carabits have always liked modifying human bodies; in their eyes, as long as they are transcendent creatures, humans and other magical creatures are no different, all are materials.

Moreover, Aex indeed had some of his aura on him... The Nightmare Illusion Technique was taken by Aex. Additionally, Aex likely uses a technique called Time Canopy, which means unless Aex decides to release it, the Nightmare Illusion Breath remains in his body.

Could the Nightmare Illusion Breath be regarded by Minister Dim as ”the honor’s aura”?

And the Time Tribute referring to Aex?

If that is true, does it mean Aex somehow went to the Nightmare Realm?

Then there’s a new problem: how did Aex get to the Nightmare Realm?

Does Aex have the ability to open a Nightmare Realm Portal?

Probably not.

Angel pondered, then carefully considered the possibility of this situation... There are too many issues to resolve in this scenario, making its possibility not particularly high.

Meanwhile, a sentence floated out of the black screen, making Angel once again confirm that assuming Aex as the Time Tribute was wrong.

”Why would the honor have contact with the Time Tribute?”

The floating female voice: ”The master said this is the consumable that the honor deliberately sacrificed. Perhaps, the honor wishes to have the master craft something?”

Angel never thought about sacrificing Aex nor ever thought about crafting anything.

So, from this dialogue, Angel can conclude that Time Tribute is not Aex.

Thus, the honor they referred to may not be him, but rather Shava.

Thinking this way, the Dalmatian sending this scene to him seems meant to inform him... of Shava’s movements?

But what significance does this hold?

What connection does Shava’s movement have with him?