Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2198: Chapter 2199: New Version

Wilderness of Dreams.

The location where Angel appeared was outside Pat Manor. According to the message from the Gate of Dreams, Angel learned that Sanders had entered the Wilderness of Dreams five minutes ago, and his entry point was precisely Pat Manor.

Ever since Sanders mentioned that he was on the verge of finding Flora and Sumishe, he hadn’t logged in.

No one knew what was happening on Sanders’ side.

For this reason, once Angel got the notification that Sanders was online, he immediately entered the Wilderness of Dreams.

As soon as Angel’s figure stood still, he heard a beautiful ”ding-dong” piano sound coming from his pocket.

At first, he didn’t realize it, thinking someone nearby was playing the piano, until the music continued, and he belatedly took out a thin black disc from his pocket.

This was the First Generation Mother Tree Interlinker.

Upon activating the interlinker, the surface of the disc immediately displayed the layout of the surface network.

On this page-style surface network, there was a budding sprout breaking through the soil. On the left and right sides of the sprout were tiny fuzzy new green leaves, each corresponding to two virtual buttons.

These were: Tree Group, and Mother Tree Forum.

The new leaf representing ”Tree Group” was being drenched by a mysterious drizzle, and each raindrop that fell triggered a ”ding-dong” piano sound.

Staring at this scene, Angel was stunned for a moment before realizing that it was the message notification indicating unread messages from the Tree Group.

The so-called ”unread messages” here did not mean all unread messages in the Tree Group but rather unread messages resulting from someone privately messaging Angel. Those non-directed unread messages weren’t displayed here.

”Who sent the unread message? Could it be my brother?” Angel muttered softly, walking towards the interior of Pat Manor while opening the Tree Group.

Upon entering the Tree Group, Angel immediately received a ”Popup Window.”

”Update Notice: The current version of Tree Group is the Initial Development Version, an outdated version, and it is about to be upgraded to a new version.”

Accompanying this line of text, without giving Angel any choice, the Tree Group automatically entered update mode: a small hourglass appeared in the center of the page with fine sand slowly dripping from the top.

Ten seconds later, the sand finished dripping, and at the same time, the Tree Group interface popped up again:

”The current version code of Tree Group is: Version 0. To see detailed updates of this version, please open the - Update Announcement - in the features section at the bottom of the new Tree Group interface.”

”It’s pretty formal.” Angel chuckled, shaking his head as he clicked into what was called the new Tree Group interface.

As soon as he opened it, an intense sense of familiarity emerged in front of Angel.

Instead of directly entering the group chat interface, he was greeted by a rectangular bar interface where the topmost part showed the name, followed by friend list, group chat, and feature integration.

The layout was very similar to a social software on the holographic tablet, except that software had much more complex functions, while this was a primitive, simplified version.

”It seems like Jon plans to gradually upgrade and iterate Tree Group according to that social software model?” Angel felt that was not bad. Because no suitable external conditions existed, Angel hadn’t used the social software on the holographic tablet, but he had researched it in boredom and found it very functional and user-friendly.

If it followed this pace for upgrades and iterations, there was no need to worry about deviating from the right track.

While marveling, Angel’s gaze was drawn to the friend list interface.

He hadn’t added any friends at this moment, but there were two ”stranger message dialogs,” indicating these dialogs belonged to people who had previously left him a message.

Opening the first dialog box immediately revealed a bubble message: ”Angel, come find me after you enter the Wilderness of Dreams.”

This bubble was colorless, but a small row of names could be seen beside the bubble: Sanders Iguro.

It was evidently part of the Version 0 update that canceled the differentiating colors of bubbles and instead directly used names as identifiers.

This was a positive change, as the number of users would inevitably increase in the future, and the limited number of colors couldn’t be used for distinction indefinitely.

In addition to the change in the bubbles, Angel also noticed a time stamp on the private chat interface.

This bubble was sent three minutes ago.

Undoubtedly, after entering the Wilderness of Dreams, Sanders promptly left him a message, probably because he had something to discuss with him.

With this thought in mind, Angel quickened his pace.

On the way to the room where Sanders was located, Angel also opened the second ”stranger message dialog.”

Without glancing at the message content, Angel’s first notice was the sender’s name: Tree Group Development Team.

”This is Jon. Make sure to experience the new content of the Tree Group version when you’re online, and after experiencing it, remember to message me.”

Message Jon after experiencing it? Is he trying to gauge customer satisfaction?

Angel didn’t think too much, planning to experience the actual content later and have a detailed chat with Jon. For now, he should first see what Sanders needed from him.

As Angel reached the door to Sanders’ room, another ”ding-dong” sounded.

Angel, still with Tree Group open, saw the new message alert, again sent by Sanders.

”I don’t know when you’ll enter the Wilderness of Dreams, so to avoid missing each other, I’ll briefly explain the situation.”

Then, there was no more text.

Angel pushed open the door, looked inside, and saw Sanders sitting at the desk, holding the First Generation Mother Tree Interlinker, frowning in frustration as he used his consciousness to input text.

Converting consciousness into text in the chat bar wasn’t difficult, but Sanders was clearly a beginner, with very slow conversion speed.

That’s why, even though Angel had already arrived in front of him, the text behind him was still not written out.

Sanders, who was struggling with text input, heard the sound of the door being pushed open and instinctively looked up: ”Angel?”

Sanders’ eyes lit up, and he immediately placed the Mother Tree Interlinker on the table, freeing himself from the hardship of text input.

Angel bowed, walked to the table, and sat across from Sanders at his indication: ”Mentor, did you call me for something?”

Sanders wearily rubbed his temples: ”Indeed, there is a matter.”

Angel noticed Sanders’ subtle gesture. The body in the Wilderness of Dreams also feels fatigue if it stays up late continuously, but Sanders had just entered, so it couldn’t be from that. It was likely a subconscious mental fatigue.

Perhaps, in reality, Sanders was in a fatigued state, and even if it wasn’t physical fatigue, it might be psychological exhaustion.

Didn’t Sanders go to see Flora and Sumishe? What happened in between?

”The specific details, I discussed with you last time, about Sumishe’s Nightmare Realm problem...”

Sanders briefly explained the near-broken state of Sumishe’s Nightmare Realm and the need to use the Wilderness of Dreams to nurture and recuperate it, allowing the Nightmare Realm to gradually repair itself.

Angel was already aware of this and had agreed. Because the future plan to save Jon’s Tri-State Equilibrium also required Sumishe’s cooperation. Helping Sumishe was something Angel would naturally strive to do.

Following that, Sanders elaborated on how to assist Sumishe in repairing the Nightmare Realm.

In short, it was about using other Nightmare Realms far superior to Sumishe’s current level to nourish and recuperate his, allowing the broken Nightmare Realm to regenerate itself.

The Wilderness of Dreams was such a world-class Nightmare Realm, far surpassing Sumishe’s Nightmare Realm level by innumerable times.

As for the specific method of operation, it was simple—let Sumishe grasp an authority of the Wilderness of Dreams, establishing a connection with it, actively incorporating his Nightmare Realm under the jurisdiction of the Wilderness of Dreams, and then allowing the Wilderness of Dreams to repair and nourish it.

”Is this method feasible? Can other Nightmare Realms really be incorporated into the Wilderness of Dreams?” Angel found it hard to believe after hearing this.

Sanders: ”I did detailed calculations, and based on my calculations, the feasibility is very high. The Nightmare Realm is quite special; you can think of it as a kind of illusory world, and real worlds are constantly integrating other worlds, forming numerous subsidiary planes. The Nightmare Realm has this characteristic and can certainly incorporate other Nightmare Realms.”

Angel: ”It sounds reasonable, but not absolutely, right?”

Sanders nodded: ”Yes, everything is just my hypothesis.”

”After I learned about the Wilderness of Dreams, I started having such thoughts, even wanting to attempt such research at one point. But back then, you hadn’t obtained the Ability Tree. If I incorporated my Nightmare Realm into the Wilderness of Dreams, there would be a slight chance of stealing the spotlight. Now that you have the Ability Tree and mastered the core authority of the Wilderness of Dreams, there won’t be an issue in contacting and incorporating other Nightmare Realms.”

Pausing, Sanders revealed a sly smile: ”Actually, I was worried that incorporating my Nightmare Realm into the Wilderness of Dreams would lose autonomy, so I later dismissed the idea. However, since Sumishe’s Nightmare Realm happened to be broken and needed repairing, this was the only path, helping me complete more research on the Nightmare Realm.”

In other words, Sumishe became a test subject. If successful, the Nightmare Realm could be repaired; if not, it wouldn’t matter, as it would still contribute to Nightmare Realm research—benefiting both sides.

Angel: ”Just as Mentor was concerned, if Sumishe’s Nightmare Realm merges with the Wilderness of Dreams, won’t it lose autonomy?”

Sanders: ”I am also concerned about this, but based on my calculations, it shouldn’t lose autonomy. Even if it does, it won’t lose all autonomy, like subsidiary planes in reality, which have their running rules and aren’t completely influenced by the main world.”

”Moreover, it’s a risk. If Sumishe wishes to repair it, he needs to take this risk. If something does go wrong, it brings a new research topic, such as... how to extract a small Nightmare Realm from a super-large one?”

Angel: ”...” Truly maximizing utility.

Having such a mentor, one can only silently light a candle for Sumishe.

Although Angel felt sympathy for Sumishe, he did not plead for him, as the research outcome would greatly benefit him as well.

Angel: ”Since the success rate is high, it’s worth a try. When does the mentor plan to let Sumishe enter the Wilderness of Dreams to assume authority? And have you considered what authority he should take on?”

Sanders: ”As long as he can bear it, any authority will do. But it’s best if Sumishe assumes authority related to subsidiary Nightmare Realms. Although, I suspect that the authority might be heavy, and Sumishe might not manage it currently... I’ll do a detailed calculation later and let you know.”

”As for when to start... let’s wait a bit longer. His current condition is unstable, and he has been badly injured, with his spiritual power also somewhat damaged. We’ll consider it once he’s mostly recovered.”

Angel nodded; he would follow Sanders’ arrangement for this matter.

However, he was now very curious about what happened on Sanders’ side, why he hadn’t logged in for days, and where Sumishe’s injuries came from.

Angel asked these questions.

Upon mentioning the real-world situation, Sanders rubbed his somewhat aching temples again, then sighed deeply, saying: ”The current situation is a bit complex...”

As Sanders explained, Angel understood why he used the word ”complex.”

Flora initially only aimed to study the blood fusion virus, but later discovered it traced back to the Red Plague followers. Sumishe and Flora were fearless, continuing to secretly investigate despite the threat, and naturally clashed with the Red Plague followers, leading to further fragments in Sumishe’s Nightmare Realm and resulting in him seeking Sanders’ help.

Angel was already aware of these circumstances. What he didn’t know was what happened after Sanders found them.

According to Sanders, when he met Sumishe and Flora, they were still stable, safely hiding in the Red Plague followers’ area, and even had the resources to investigate the blood fusion virus secretly.

The Red Plague followers hadn’t approached them because the Extreme Sect had sent priests from the Heretical Judgment Hall to train in the area.

——The Extreme Sect sporadically sends priests from the Heretical Judgment Hall to train in the territories of Demon God cultists and alien clans, with official bishops restraining the top Transcendents, while apprentices sweep through various followers.

Upon learning this, Sanders marveled at their luck, but a mutation soon occurred.

Among the Red Plague followers was a God’s Chosen, who had reached the pinnacle of a Level 1 True Knowledge Wizard. This God’s Chosen was initially restrained by a bishop from the Heretical Judgment Hall, keeping things stable. However, the priests killed someone close to the God’s Chosen, causing them to go berserk, massacre the priests, and even target other Red Plague followers.

The God’s Chosen sacrificed the lives of the slain to the bloodthirsty Red Plague Demon God, gaining even greater power. In a short time, his strength rose to the Second Level True Knowledge stage, and, coupled with the advantage of the terrain, even the Heretical Judgment Hall bishop was severely injured and escaped at great cost through the gaps between dimensions.

The Second Level True Knowledge stage has the power to destroy a locality, and the God’s Chosen, recklessly releasing his energy, forced Sumishe and others out of hiding.

During this time, Sanders was simultaneously protecting the two and restraining the God’s Chosen.

Exerting tremendous effort, they finally exhausted the God’s Chosen’s acquired divine power, causing his power to plummet back to Level 1 True Knowledge, thereby granting them an escape window.