Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2181: Chapter 2182: The Flame of Ancient Verdancy

”Wake up, we need to leave.” Angel used the Hand of Magic to gently tap Dangross on the ”face” in his palm.

Dangross eventually accepted reality, but its expression was clearly dazed and mournful.

”Sigh, let’s go.” Dangross let out a long sigh, shook off the ”sprout” that had fallen asleep again, and leapt into the Lava Lake full of despondency.

Angel didn’t jump into the lake immediately. His physical strength could only support short-term contact with magma; to fully integrate into it would surely cause damage.

He summoned Earl Mi, allowing him to form a shadow shield outside that isolated the high temperature and toxic flames, then followed Dangross and jumped into the Lava Lake.

Once submerged in the Lava Lake, he was greeted by intense orange-red light.

All around was thick, heavy magma; the naked eye was useless here, and he had to rely on energy perspective to observe his surroundings.

The external temperature exceeded a thousand degrees, and even the spirit tentacle sent out was somewhat scorched and distorted.

Moreover, the deeper they went, the higher the temperature rose.

Angel thought for a moment: with Earl Mi providing a shadow shield for protection and Dangross as a guide, there shouldn’t be any major issues. So, he retracted the spirit tentacle a bit, maintaining it only near the shield to prevent nearby threats.

During the descent, Angel sensed many fire creatures through the spirit tentacle. However, just like the outside world, apart from Dangross’s followers, none dared to approach them.

Speaking of Dangross’s followers... Angel finally got to witness the true prowess of Dangross in gathering followers.

In just a short journey of a few hundred meters, more than ten fire elementals gathered around to greet the ”boss.” Although Dangross constantly signaled that it was busy and they shouldn’t block the way, even when this group left, another soon arrived.

The sheer number of followers amazed not only Angel but Toby as well.

Dangross, irritated by the groups of followers, simply burrowed into Earl Mi’s shadow shield.

Upon entering the shield, Dangross felt a chill.

”Is this the breath of Frost Iser?” Dangross turned its ”head” curiously.

Angel replied irritably, ”Don’t associate everything with Frost Iser. This is just a bit of ice element released by Earl Mi to keep the temperature within the shield from being too high.”

”Why lower the temperature?” Dangross asked again in puzzlement, ”I hate cooling down the most. Isn’t the temperature here just right?”

”Do you think humans are like you fire creatures?” Angel took some effort to explain the differences between humans and elemental life to Dangross.

Dangross nodded in a seemingly understanding way and then asked, ”Mister, when you mention Earl Mi, do you mean the blooming wildcat from before? How can it possess both fire and ice elements?”

Faced with a barrage of curious questions, Angel really didn’t want to answer.

Just then, another group of fire elementals swam over. It was clear they were also Dangross’s followers. Dangross waved at them through the shield, signaling them to stay away. After this group of fire elementals left, Dangross looked at Angel again curiously, ”Mr. Pat, you haven’t answered my question yet?”

Angel looked deeply at Dangross, ”This question relates to Earl Mi’s secret; I can’t answer it casually.”

Dangross’s eyes dimmed slightly.

”However, if you can tell me how many followers you have, I might share a little secret with you.”

”How many followers do I have?” Dangross only felt dizzy, with a flood of numbers passing by, unable to grasp a real figure. ”Maybe... there might be... a few hundred followers.”

A few hundred followers?! Angel’s eyes lit up, ”Are they all elemental sprites?”

”Most are little sprites, but there are also many adult elemental creatures.” Dangross nodded, ”Why does Mr. Pat ask this?”

Angel: ”Nothing, just purely a bit curious.”

Upon hearing that Dangross has hundreds of followers, Angel immediately thought that there might be a suitable elemental partner for him among them.

If he could coax one away, the task would be half done...

Though Angel’s heart was heating up, he knew he shouldn’t rush. Even if he wanted to coax one away, he should first wait for Feng’s message.

”If there’s a chance, why not take me to see your followers?” Angel suppressed his excitement and said seemingly unintentionally.

Dangross, not suspecting anything, took pride in having collected many followers. Seeing that Angel was curious about its followers, it didn’t refuse. Maybe it could even show off its strength in front of Kalomchis’s ancestor’s descendant.

After receiving Dangross’s approval, Angel’s expression softened a bit. He also shared some information regarding Dangross’s earlier queries.

Knowing that Earl Mi’s abilities allowed it to possess almost all elemental forms, Dangross was also surprised. It looked at Earl Mi with the same admiration it held for Toby.

Dangross wanted to ask further about Earl Mi’s information, but suddenly the external magma surged violently, as if a massive force was pushing the waves.

The shadow shield created by Earl Mi flashed with a few red lights at this moment.

The floating Blue Lantern Flower in the shield sent a mental message to Angel—a giant elemental creature was approaching from outside.

When Angel extended his spiritual power to look, he found a Lava Giant Whale the size of an island approaching them steadily.

This was the Lava Giant Whale that had previously battled with Earl Mi, seemingly named...

”Gulada?” Dangross also sensed the external disturbance and dashed out of the shield, like an arrow, flying in front of the nearby Lava Giant Whale.

The Lava Giant Whale stopped and seemed to be communicating with Dangross.

After a moment, the Lava Giant Whale cast a deep look in the direction of the shield with its eyes of black fire, then turned and swam to the other side.

Dangross also returned to the shield by this time.

”It’s Gulada. Like Phoenix, it came to find Lord Earl Mi,” Dangross said, ”I told it that I’m taking you to meet Teacher Magu, and then it left.”

”What does Gulada want with Earl Mi?”

”No idea. Maybe a fight? But it doesn’t quite seem like it. Phoenix burns with a special battle fire, passionate for combat, but I’ve never heard that Gulada enjoyed fighting.” Dangross was somewhat puzzled, but indeed Gulada appeared menacing, which made Dangross hurry to persuade it.

Fortunately, Gulada was still relatively understanding.

After listening to Dangross’s explanation, Angel did not inquire further. He had seen through his spiritual power that as Gulada left, its gaze seemed more exploratory rather than combative.

Since Angel couldn’t figure it out, he decided to let it go for now.

”How much further is it to Teacher Magu?” After diving about four or five hundred meters down, Angel noticed the ”tendrils” becoming increasingly dense around them. In his current energy perspective, he could see thousands of swaying tendrils hidden in the magma, suggesting the destination wasn’t far off, prompting him to ask.

Dangross flew out of the shield, swam around for a moment, and returned: ”It’s just below.”

...

After diving another hundred meters, Angel finally saw the bottom of the Lava Lake.

In a giant basin, a large number of Elemental Creatures were swimming around. Angel even saw the huge tortoise he first encountered at the Lava Lake.

However, even that tortoise, larger than Gulada, was much smaller compared to Magu.

Because Magu’s body completely occupied this basin that stretched beyond the eye’s reach.

All Elemental Creatures were actually living on Magu’s body.

And Magu’s true form looked like a giant red jelly.

However, it was a red jelly with a large number of tendrils. It was precisely because of the tendrils sprouting from the jelly that Angel could identify this as Magu’s true form.

They descended slowly to the basin, and upon landing, Angel felt a soft ripple beneath their feet, and the ground felt soft and buoyant.

It really felt like jelly.

As Angel was grumbling in his stomach, Dangross pointed to the ground and said, ”This is Teacher Magu.”

It really is... Angel fell silent for a moment: ”Isn’t it rude for us to be stepping on Mr. Magu’s body like this?”

Dangross treated the surface of the red jelly as a trampoline, bouncing a few times before asking in confusion, ”Why would it be rude?”

”Wouldn’t it show disrespect?”

”Why would it show disrespect? Teacher Magu also likes everyone living on him.” Dangross still didn’t understand Angel’s point.

Angel didn’t say anything further, understanding that this was actually a difference in values and recognition.

At this moment, an old voice echoed in their ears: ”Guest, welcome to my place.”

The familiar voice immediately made Angel realize that this was Teacher Magu.

”Dangross, you brought the guest here... hmm, let’s go to the classroom.” After the voice fell, a passage gently opened on the red jelly beneath them.

Angel could clearly see a long staircase inside the opening, leading to somewhere unknown.

Dangross hopped into the staircase, and after a slight hesitation, Angel followed, stepping inside step by step.

Upon entering, Angel immediately felt the oppressive sensation from the dense magma disappear.

Because this passage didn’t have any magma, and even the high temperature of the flame was slightly reduced.

”Are we inside Mr. Magu’s body?” Angel curiously asked.

Before Dangross could speak, Magu’s voice echoed from the passage: ”Yes, this road leads to my Elemental Core.”

Magu seemed to be answering Angel’s question, but there was no need to mention that the road led to the Elemental Core, as the Elemental Core is of utmost importance to any Elemental Creature. Yet, it still did, which Angel saw as a gesture of goodwill.

Obviously, Magu noticed that Angel hesitated when entering the passage earlier. This hesitation probably stemmed from distrust, so it voluntarily disclosed the location of the Elemental Core to balance this mistrust.

Although Magu’s words might not be entirely truthful, its actions significantly improved Angel’s impression of it.

As they continued down the long passage, Angel saw numerous ”rooms,” most of which were occupied by Elemental Creatures. Some of these creatures greeted or chatted with Dangross through windows.

Occasionally, Elemental Creatures passed by in the passage, giving Angel the illusion that this was not inside Magu’s body but rather a bustling residential area?

After Dangross led Angel through a series of turns, they arrived at a door.

”Is this the ’classroom’ that Mr. Magu mentioned earlier?” Angel curiously asked as he looked at the door forged from an unknown flame.

Dangross shook his head: ”No, this is my secret base.”

Your secret base? Angel looked at Dangross puzzlingly, wondering why they were here instead of going to meet Magu.

Quickly, Angel got his answer.

Dangross opened the door, fiddled around inside for a bit, and brought out a flower surrounded by a ghostly green flame.

When Angel saw the flower, a light flashed in his eyes, and through the Eye of Nalda, he immediately obtained information about the flower.

——Gu Cui Flame.

Although named ”Flame,” it was not a fire but a Demon Plant blooming in areas with extremely dense flame energy.

The Gu Cui Flame plant can be used to refine middle-high-level potions, while its ghostly green flames can be used in Metallography as a top-level flame neutralizer.

The Gu Cui Flame is very rare in the outside world. Angel had wanted to buy some as a neutralizer before but couldn’t find any. Surprisingly, he found one here.

Dangross carefully took the Gu Cui Flame from the secret base, then offered the flower to Angel.

Angel: ”Is this for me?”

Dangross quickly jumped away, wagging his finger: ”This is a gift I offer to the descendant of the great Kalomchis.”

Angel silently withdrew his hand.

Dangross then looked at Toby with deep affection.

Toby jumped down from Angel’s head and circled around the Gu Cui Flame.

Dangross, even more excited, presented the flower.

Toby originally didn’t want to take it, but sensing that Angel seemed to want the flower, Toby hesitated for a moment and then slowly accepted it, softly chirping a thank you to Dangross.

Seeing Toby accept, Dangross cheered excitedly, continuing to say all kinds of praises for Kalomchis.

From its words of praise, Angel could vaguely sense that the reason Dangross specifically went to the secret base to offer the flower to Toby seemed to be seeking Toby’s recognition.

As for recognition of what, Angel didn’t know.

After this little episode, Dangross, filled with excitement and praise, continued to lead them towards the classroom where Magu was located...