Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 1701: Section 1702: Venting

After Angel entered the dream, it took him a full two hours before he came back to his senses.

A few minutes after Angel woke up, Toby, with its eyes still blurry, also opened its eyes in a dazed manner.

When it opened its eyes, it remained in a state of confusion and didn’t make a sound for a long time. Greya couldn’t help but glance at Angel. Although Angel had already told Greya beforehand that this experiment was highly successful, she was still a bit worried seeing Toby in such a state.

”Is it alright?” Greya asked while simultaneously using her spiritual power to examine Toby’s physical condition. The feedback from her spiritual power clearly indicated that there were no abnormalities in Toby’s physical body.

”It’s fine. During its lucid dreaming, it also took a long time to recover from the fright caused by the Extreme Resentment Thoughts. Now, returning from the dream to reality, it’s likely still influenced by the disparity from Kormos’ dream theory. It will get better in a while.”

The dream disparity is a theory proposed by a Dream Sorcerer named Kormos. It refers to the lingering effects in the brain’s memory mapped out by a terrifying experience during the Dream Realm, even after the turmoil in the dream has ceased. Upon awakening, this projection causes a temporary adaptation process in reality.

Back in the Wilderness of Dreams, Toby experienced the House of the Heart and got dazed for more than an hour. Although it eventually fully awakened and even recounted its experience to Angel, its current dazed state upon returning to reality is a classic example of the dream disparity described by Kormos.

Greya’s eyes flashed with surprise and doubt, ”The emergence of dream disparity implies undergoing an immense near-death shock in the Dream Realm. Are you saying Toby experienced a near-death state in the Dream Realm?”

Greya felt shocked because in Angel’s version of events, Toby was supposed to be in a state of ”lucid dreaming.” In lucid dreams, one could even become a Creator God, and yet Toby was placed in a near-death scenario? It didn’t make logical sense.

Of course, Angel had previously mentioned that this was his lucid dream, and Toby merely entered it to experience the Extreme Resentment Thoughts. This was something Greya didn’t believe; if it were truly Angel’s lucid dream, he should’ve woken up multiple times, and the dream would have long since collapsed.

Angel wasn’t aware of Greya’s thoughts and simply answered her question directly, ”Not just near-death. Toby’s ordeal was even worse than you can imagine. Let it talk about it later.”

Angel’s reply further convinced Greya that his claim of a ”lucid dream” was definitely false.

However, Greya didn’t express her skepticism aloud but simply nodded her head, waiting for Toby to fully awaken.

Angel was right; Toby only stayed in a dazed state for a little over a minute before its blurry, crimson eyes began to clear. Once it regained clarity, Toby first blinked a few times, shook its feathers, and fluttered its wings into the air, before suddenly taking flight—

”Roar—” The tiny figure instantly transformed into a massive Gryphon.

A thunderous roar shook the heavens, sending shockwaves through the courtyard that swayed the plants around. Terrifying flames ignited from its lion-like mane, resembling a blazing fireball, soaring hundreds of meters into the sky.

From a distance, it looked as though two suns had appeared in the sky.

In the high air, Toby continued roaring incessantly, releasing terrifying energy, to the point it even triggered a warning from the Magic Energy Eye.

Angel negotiated with the Magic Energy Eye, preventing it from summoning the Enforcement Squad. Even so, hundreds of Magic Energy Eyes continued vigilantly observing Toby, fearing that it might go berserk and head toward rampaging in the main city.

At this moment, Greya also arrived in the sky, standing beside Angel and watching Toby as though it had gone mad. Her eyes were filled with confusion: ”What is it doing? Why does it look like it’s... venting?”

Angel replied softly, ”It is venting.”

Venting the weakness, helplessness, and humility it felt in the face of the Extreme Resentment Thoughts at the House of the Heart.

Only when Toby’s energy was almost drained and it started to struggle to maintain its Gryphon form did it revert back to its small seabird appearance and, under the stern gaze of the Magic Energy Eyes, flew over with a sense of grievance.

Greya caught Toby in her arms and gently rubbed her face against Toby’s feathers, as though comforting it.

Since undergoing Greya’s training, Toby rarely experienced such direct moments of affection from her. At that moment, Toby seemed somewhat flustered and flattered. The anger from venting its frustrations began to dissolve under Greya’s warm touch.

Once Toby’s emotions had calmed, Angel said, ”Let’s head down; otherwise, if we stay here any longer, even if the Magic Energy Eyes don’t call for the Enforcement Squad, they’ll definitely come.”

Toby peeked its head out from Greya’s affectionate embrace and looked around. It noticed that not only were Magic Energy Eyes observing them, but many people had gathered nearby, and some were even flying to higher altitudes.

Evidently, Toby’s outburst in the sky earlier had attracted a crowd.

Toby lowered its head and murmured apologetically. Outsiders couldn’t understand what it was saying, but Angel and Greya knew that it was apologizing for its earlier tantrum.

Greya lovingly stroked Toby’s tiny head, her face unusually tender. ”It’s alright. Letting out your pent-up frustrations will make everything better.”

Angel raised an eyebrow. It was the first time he saw this kind of gentle, feminine side of Greya. However, in the next moment, Angel silently retracted his thoughts.

Greya said, ”If you haven’t vented enough, why don’t I take you to the territory of mortals nearby for another round of venting?”

In the Sky Mechanical City, there were too many Transcendents around, which made venting feel constrained. But in the territory of Mortals, without the interference of Transcendents, one could vent freely—even razing cities wouldn’t be a problem.

Greya’s suggestion didn’t seem to register with Toby; it blinked several times and chirped softly.

”Have you vented enough already?” Greya shook her head. ”Then forget it, let’s head down for now.”

With these words, Greya took Toby and descended from the sky along with Angel.

As they were descending, Greya used the Mind Ribbon to communicate her thoughts to Angel: ”Giving Toby to you might be the wisest decision I’ve ever made.”

Angel didn’t understand why Greya suddenly brought this up.

”At the very least, Toby has made significant progress under your care. And thank you for not letting Toby suffer too much.”

If Toby had often endured hardship, it would likely have developed a standard method of venting its emotions and might even conceal its feelings entirely. But now, Toby displays its grievances openly in front of them and only resorts to mild outbursts to express its emotions. This shows that Toby hasn’t suffered much under Angel’s care.

This realization was what made Greya suddenly feel sentimental and thankful toward Angel.

Angel did not fully grasp Greya’s meaning, and Greya didn’t plan to elaborate further, allowing the subject to quietly pass.

After landing, Greya stroked Toby and headed towards the dining room on the first floor.

The Butler delivered some delicious dried fish as a treat to comfort Toby’s injured spirit.

Angel lightly snapped his fingers. A small illusionary trick cast a layer of soothing music over the dining room, calming Toby’s nerves.

Under the double comfort of food and music, Toby finally suppressed its lingering unease and began recounting its initial confrontation with the Extreme Resentment Thoughts.