Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 1476: Section 1477 Subtle Changes Chapter 1476: Section 1477 Subtle Changes Originheart City, on the bustling main thoroughfare, a shadow was dashing.

The surrounding pedestrians showed no surprise at the sight of the speeding shadow; it seemed they had grown accustomed to it. In fact, some even thought that today, the shadow seemed to move much slower than usual.

Just like on the rooftop of a small building on the street corner, where Daluk, engrossed in stone polishing with his grandfather, voiced his doubt, “Why does it seem like Sheriff Tullas is running much slower today, and he doesnʼt seem to be running across the rooftops anymore?”

Normally, Tullas would be running and jumping across rooftops, causing considerable damage to many buildings. Today, however, Tullas was running on the streets, which was indeed unusual.

Dalukʼs grandfather, having just finished sculpting a branch on a tree sculpture, looked up briefly and said slowly, “It has nothing to do with the sheriff. Itʼs about the person behind him.”

The person behind him? Daluk glanced over skeptically, only now noticing that indeed, there was someone following Sheriff Tullas. This figure appeared much frailer, seemingly a woman, who was more than ten meters behind Tullas, gasping and grinding her teeth as she continued to run.

Daluk also noticed that Tullas frequently turned his head back to roar.

Although he couldnʼt hear the sound, Dalukʼs sight was quite keen, and he could guess Tullasʼs words from the shape of his mouth–

“Stop following me!”

Daluk was puzzled. If Tullas was clearly trying to drive the woman away, why was his own speed slower than usual?

In response to Dalukʼs question, his grandfather chuckled, “Thatʼs because our sheriff is a very kind person.”

A kind person? Daluk still didnʼt understand, but his grandfather offered no further explanation.

Daluk had to change the subject and turned his attention to the woman following Tullas, “I donʼt think Iʼve seen this woman before?”

“Her? Iʼve met her once,” recalled Dalukʼs grandfather. “A few days ago, when I was near the square installing a tree sculpture with the city construction team, I saw her. At that time, the sheriff was holding her wrist and running towards the Sky Tower.”

Dalukʼs grandfather paused, clicking his tongue twice, his expression filled with nostalgia, “The romance of the young is as passionate as fire. It makes me reminisce about my bygone youth, a beautiful time of running under the sunset…”

Seeing his grandfatherʼs looks ready to reminisce, Daluk quickly interjected, “Iʼve heard Sheriff Tullas say before that heʼs thousands of years old, much older than grandpa by several cycles.”

Dalukʼs grandfather: “… He must be lying. Iʼve seen the sheriffʼs face after he took off the Bullhorn Helm, fresh as a daisy!”

“Fresh as a daisy?” Daluk, recalling Tullasʼs perpetually bared pectorals and abs, found it hard to imagine how his face could be ʼfreshʼ?

Daluk couldnʼt help but press for more details.

The conversation that followed gradually turned into a gossip.

Meanwhile, at the top of the Sky Tower, Angel was quietly observing Tullas on the distant street below, and Mandhela, who was following behind him.

Although Angel did not hear the conversation between Daluk and his grandfather, he could see that Tullas was clearly moving much slower than before and was no longer leaping into the air.

“So, it is because of Mandhela?” Angel mused quietly.

“Yes, donʼt be fooled by Tullas normally looking so unruly. Deep down, he still has a gentle side,” came a resonating voice from behind Angel. It was Frode who had approached.

Angel looked surprised, “You mean, Tullas has feelings for Mandhela?”

Frode shook his head: “From my observations, thatʼs not the case. Replace Mandhela with anyone else, and Tullas would likely behave the same way. He appears carefree and reluctant to take responsibility for anything, but that only applies to himself. When it involves others, he wonʼt say it, but he is still willing to take responsibility.”

Angel didnʼt understand Frodeʼs implication.

Frode explained, “Iʼve always been thinking about how to deal with Tullas but couldnʼt come up with anything. However, Monroe gave me a suggestion, saying why not let someone patrol with Tullas.”

“Although Tullas has always been reluctant to have someone accompany him on duty, when the task was truly assigned, he would only get angry with me. As for the person on duty… Now itʼs Mandhela, he unexpectedly takes his responsibility seriously. You see him running ahead alone, but heʼs actually maintaining a distance that Mandhela can catch up with, thatʼs his tenderness.”

Having heard this, Angel understood the intricacies involved.

Although Tullas seemed like a man who didnʼt want to shoulder responsibilities, he surprisingly possessed a strong sense of duty.

If arranged this way, it truly could restrain Tullasʼs unruly nature.

“City Lord Monroe has a remarkable gift for judging character,” Angel complimented. Back when Monroe was just a candidate for city lord, she had invited Jon, who was unknown to her at the time, to be her staff multiple times. Now she had discerned Tullasʼs underlying character, demonstrating Monroeʼs extraordinary insight.

“Indeed, City Lord Monroe is outstanding,” Frode praised Monroe, but his gaze covertly sized up Angel, his mind echoing the rumor Lyon once mentioned.

There seemed to be a significant change in Angelʼs aura, very different from before.

Could the rumor Lyon spoke of be true?

While Frode was pondering, Angel suddenly asked, “Then why did you assign this duty to Mandhela?”

Frode shrugged, “I just had a moment of inspiration, and I arranged it.”

It could be called a flash of inspiration, but Frode did give it some thought. Mandhela entered the Wilderness of Dreams, and the first person to communicate with her was Tullas. Although there wasnʼt a particular reason, Tullas was relatively familiar to Mandhela. Pairing her with someone she was familiar with first would make it easier for her to integrate into Originheart City.

Furthermore, Tullas was an enthusiastic person who wouldnʼt mind Mandhelaʼs cold alienation; this extreme combination could be considered a form of neutralization.

The only thing Frode was worried about was whether Tullas would abandon Mandhela during their patrols and run off on his own.

Now, Frode had learned that Tullas was much gentler than he had imagined.

“So, has Mandhela undergone any changes during this time?” Angel asked again.

“When Mandhela is at work, she spends most of her time chasing after Tullas, just like now.” Frode pointed to the two figures in the distance getting smaller: “I can tell that at least at this moment, all her thoughts are on the chase; she isnʼt thinking of those matters in reality.”

“Thatʼs actually not bad,” Angel said, utilizing the Power of Nightmare Illusion to adopt “Godʼs View” and take a closer look at Mandhelaʼs current expression. Indeed, there was a significant change from when she was first sent into the Wilderness of Dreams; she was exhibiting a lot more emotion and was no longer as cold.

“Mandhela is a very sensitive person. Iʼll try to subtly change her character without leaving any traces,” Frode said.

Angel nodded, “Letʼs leave it at that for now.”

Having said that, Angel withdrew his gaze and turned to walk towards the inside of the tower.

Meanwhile, Mandhela, who was in the midst of the chase, glanced suspiciously at the distance, feeling as though someone had been watching her. However, when Mandhela looked back, she saw nothing.

“Perhaps, it was just an illusion?” Without dwelling on it, Mandhela continued to grit her teeth and chase after the man ahead… that bastard.

Angel entered the room that Frode usually used for research, sat down, and looked at Frode, “You seem like you have something to say?”

Earlier on, Angel had noticed that Frode was sneakily glancing at him, with a blank expression on his face, as if he had a lot to say.

Frode, a bit embarrassed, pinched his grey temple hair, “Earlier on, your elder brother told me some news that Iʼm a bit concerned about…”

Angel looked at Frode, somewhat surprised that what Frode wanted to say had something to do with his brother.

“Iʼd like to ask you a question,” Frode hesitated for a moment but still asked, “Have you become an Official Wizard?”

Angel hadnʼt expected Frode to ask this question, and he didnʼt hide it, responding naturally, “Yes, didnʼt I tell you when I came here last time?”

Frode: “…No.”

It seemed that Angel had just remembered something, “Oh, I suppose I did forget to mention it.”

Upon learning of Angelʼs promotion, Frode felt a surge of excitement, but seeing Angelʼs dismissive attitude of “Oh, I forgot,” instantly, he felt a rush of complaints.

How could one forget such a big event?

If Frode himself had been promoted to Official Wizard, even if he were low-key, there would be noticeable differences from before.

As for Angel, although there were some differences, they were only in his aura; his attitude and behavior remained as before. Even after Frode had observed these changes, he did not associate it with Angelʼs promotion. Had it not been for the news that Lyon brought about Angelʼs promotion, Frode probably would have been kept in the dark much longer.

Thousands of internal complaints gushed forth but finally condensed into a simple, “…Congratulations, sir.”

Angel, neither confirming nor denying, nodded, “This promotion was a bit rushed; Iʼll find time to explain it to you later. However, I am curious, how is this matter related to my brother Lyon?”

With a stoic expression, Frode recounted slowly and clearly the news that Lyon had brought earlier.

“It has already reached Sky Mechanical City? Hmm, reported by ʼSky of Truthʼ?” Angel frowned, recalling that the last report about his contact with the mysterious, and Isabelʼs return to the Southern Domain was also first reported by this magazine, “How would they know?”

While Angel was muttering, Frode took out a stack of papers from a drawer.

“I asked Lyon to transcribe the articles from ʼSky of Truthʼ; you might want to take a look,” Frode suggested.

With curiosity, Angel received the stack of papers, not too thick, with handwriting he was very familiar with–indeed the work of his brother Lyon.

After several minutes, Angel had read through all of them.

The content recorded was mostly true, even mentioning the “speculation that Wizard Pat had reached outside the gates of True Knowledge,” which was also true. However, the words were very sensational and adulatory, so much so that even Angel felt it was a bit much.

Putting aside the praise, Angel really wanted to know how had the content spread so quickly to reach Sky Mechanical City?

Was it someone from Black Castle who had spread it?

Angel instinctively looked at the articleʼs byline:

“…Your Grandpa Stone?”