Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2285: Chapter 2286: Treasure Chest

A massive circular stone platform stood at the end of the Path of Light.

Void algae, like scattered stars, floated high in the sky, shedding a faint glow onto the platform, illuminating its gray-white surface with a bright reflection.

Because of the brightness, Angel could see the end of the platform with just one glance.

The entire stone platform looked like a smooth cross-section, empty except for a solitary chest placed at its center.

Even though Angel hadn’t stepped onto the platform yet, just with his naked eyes, he could clearly see that the chest was inlaid with various gold and gems, doing its utmost to declare its identity to the outside world: ”Trust me, I’m a treasure chest!”

This gaudy yet conspicuous treasure chest, could it be the treasure left by Feng? Judging from Feng’s occasionally erratic personality, it seems likely. But it can’t be completely sure; perhaps this is just a misdirection, and the treasure is hidden elsewhere.

While pondering, Angel created a phantom body that perfectly simulated his form.

The phantom body, although only a shape and without visible appearance, had an aura completely identical to Angel’s true body, including blood flow, heartbeat rhythm, and pheromones, all replicated.

Angel planned to use the phantom body to test if there were any dangers on the platform.

Once the phantom body was ready, Angel commanded it to step onto the platform.

Soon, the phantom body walked up the stone steps, one step, two steps... after ascending nine steps, the phantom body stood steadily on the smooth platform.

From the feedback Angel received from the phantom body, there was no anomaly detected. However, some Magic Patterns were found on the stone platform.

These Magic Patterns appeared discontinuous and intermittent, but this didn’t mean the Magic Pattern was incomplete. With Angel’s keen eye, he could clearly judge that this was a three-dimensional Magic Pattern, with many lines hidden within the stone platform.

From just the exposed parts on the platform, the Magic Pattern itself had no aggressive engravings, but the exact type of Magic Pattern remained unclear for now.

Angel wasn’t too concerned about the presence of Magic Patterns on the stone platform; he would only be surprised if there were no energy conduits. After all, to maintain such a massive platform stably suspended in the void at a fixed coordinate, some means are necessary.

As long as the Magic Patterns weren’t deadly offensive types, they could be set aside for now.

The phantom body stayed on the platform for about three minutes, not subjected to any attacks, so Angel continued to manipulate the phantom body to advance toward the chest to take a closer look.

However, the phantom body couldn’t move at all.

Angel initially thought it had suffered some attack, but after carefully analyzing the various feedback from the phantom body, he realized it wasn’t that the phantom body couldn’t move, but the oppressive force was pressing it so hard that it couldn’t move.

The phantom body, after all, wasn’t the true body, and it couldn’t bear the terrifying oppressive force here. Just stepping onto the steps was already difficult enough.

Seeing this, Angel could only helplessly snap his fingers and retract the phantom body.

Although the phantom body hadn’t approached the treasure, at least from the platform, the danger wasn’t significant. Angel thought for a moment and decided to personally go up and take a look.

The steps posed no issues, and after the nine steps, there was the smooth stone surface.

When Angel set foot on the stone surface, similar to the situation with the phantom body, he wasn’t subjected to any attacks. However, compared to the phantom body, Angel’s true body had a clearer sense of the surrounding fluctuations.

In particular, the energy direction of the Magic Patterns within the platform, which the phantom body couldn’t sense but was now perceivable to his true body.

Angel didn’t immediately proceed forward but first sensed the direction of the Magic Patterns beneath him.

The Magic Patterns weren’t complex, even quite simple. Angel took less than two minutes to analyze the Magic Patterns within about five or six meters around him. Although he still couldn’t determine the exact type of Magic Patterns, from the current Magic Pattern corner, these Patterns had anti-corrosion traits... possibly a trait used for the stone platform, as the material of this stone platform wasn’t particularly precious. Placing it in the void for one or two years might be fine, but any longer, and it would surely be eroded by the peculiar power in the void.

It’s worth noting that during his analysis of the Magic Patterns, Angel basically confirmed that these Patterns were likely drawn by Feng.

Because they were exceedingly immature.

Some of the Magic Patterns even had errors, which under normal circumstances wouldn’t be workable. The reason they still operated might be similar to the studio in White Cloud Village, possibly hidden with mysterious power.

Having detected no threats, Angel finally began moving forward.

He walked very slowly, sensing the patterns underfoot as he went. After walking about thirty meters or so, Angel had analyzed nearly half of the Magic Patterns within the stone platform.

By this point, Angel could basically confirm that the Patterns beneath were a kind of steady-state Magic Pattern.

The Magic Pattern itself was used to maintain the stone platform’s steady state in the void, without direct effects on humans standing upon the platform.

In other words, just from the platform itself, it shouldn’t pose significant danger to Angel.

However, he didn’t relax his guard, remaining cautious and walking slowly forward.

As he neared the platform’s center, Angel felt that the light reflected on the ground suddenly became brighter. With a hint of curiosity, Angel lifted his head.

The ”sky” was still filled with a mass of suspended void algae, each emitting a faint glow, casting a dreamlike beauty in this vast, dark void.

And amidst the densely packed void algae, Angel saw an immensely large sphere of light.

This light sphere was completely different from the other void algae, its brightness exceedingly high, apparently not a conglomerate of void algae.

The most important aspect was that this light sphere seemed to hold some sacred quality.

As Angel gazed at it, it felt as if mortals were gazing up at some unknown deity, involuntarily instilling a sense of reverence in his heart.

Angel quietly stared at the light sphere for a long while. He didn’t know if this sphere was a deity. However, he was sure that the pervasive oppressive force in this void likely originated from that light sphere.

In other words, a trace of the World Will from the Tidal World was likely contained within the light sphere.

”Is this also Feng’s handiwork? Hope Feng’s treasure isn’t hidden within the light sphere...” Angel mused internally. Although he wasn’t far from the chest, Angel wasn’t entirely sure if this chest was really Feng’s so-called treasure. Maybe, in his eccentricity, Feng placed the treasure inside the light sphere?

Thinking of the terrifying pressure from that trace of the World Will, Angel couldn’t help but shudder: Better not.

Hope Feng acts more human.

With a slight prayer, Angel walked toward the chest.

Soon, Angel arrived in front of the chest. The chest wasn’t large, about one and a half meters in length, and likely only one meter in height.

At close range, the chest seemed overly exquisite, made of pure magic-gold, with various elemental gemstones embedded on it. This nouveau riche style, even those in pursuit of luxury among the nobility, rarely used.

It’s more like a fairy tale, where a warrior goes through many trials, defeats the dragon, rescues the princess, and finds a glittering treasure chest in the dragon’s hoard.

Because only a fairy tale chest would be so extravagant.

”A very quirky style, with a bit of Feng’s flavor.” Angel muttered to himself as he extended a spirit tentacle, wanting to observe the chest more deeply.

When the spirit tentacle touched the chest, there was no dangerous feedback. However, since the chest was made of pure magic gold and highly integrated, it was impossible to penetrate it. The keyhole had to be opened to see inside the chest.

Thinking of the keyhole, Angel’s mind unconsciously recalled the appearance of the ornate key of Oga Pattern.

Does this keyhole require the ornate key of Oga Pattern?

If it does, then it means this place should...

Angel was still pondering the issue of the keyhole, lost in thought, when he suddenly heard a ”clicking” sound.

It turned out that Angel, unconsciously, had slightly increased the intensity of his spirit tentacle.

Coincidentally, the spirit tentacle was wrapped around the lid of the chest, and with the added pressure, the lid popped open, creating a gap.

Looking at the opened chest, Angel was speechless.

The chest didn’t even have a lock, so why put a keyhole in it?!

Previously, Angel had thought that if this keyhole required the ornate key of Oga Pattern, it would indicate that this chest was indeed the treasure left by Feng. After all, Nami Midori had confirmed that the ornate key of Oga Pattern was the key to unlocking the treasure.

Since this chest didn’t require the ornate key of Oga Pattern, Angel had reason to speculate that this might not be the treasure left by Feng.

Angel raised his head and looked up at the shining light sphere above: ”Could the real treasure be inside the light sphere?”

Angel sighed and looked down at the ostentatious chest.

No matter where the treasure is, let’s first see what exactly is inside this chest.

”If it’s not Feng’s treasure, then perhaps this chest is just a prank box?” Given Angel’s understanding of Feng’s personality, it’s very likely that this chest is like a circus joker’s prank box, and when opened, a spring-loaded joker would pop out with a mischievous flavor.

With a mindset ready for a prank, Angel gently opened the lid along the gap.

The expected spring-loaded joker did not appear, and there was no scare as Angel imagined. Inside, there was an item placed in a regular manner.

An oil painting set in an antique bronze engraved frame.

With the light from above, Angel vaguely saw the colorful hues in the painting, but to know exactly what’s depicted, he would need to take it out of the chest.

Angel extended four spirit tentacles, placing them on each side of the oil painting, and slowly lifted it out of the chest.

Before seeing the contents of the painting, Angel had speculated, given Feng’s personality, if the chest wasn’t a prank box, could he have intended to use the painting for mischief?

But when the painting appeared in front of Angel, he was stunned for a moment.

The content of this painting looked very proper, with no hint of mischief.

In the painting, the largest backdrop is a starry sky within a deep blue nightfall.

Beneath the brilliant starry sky is a black shadow without detail. Judging from the undulations, it seems like an endless wilderness, with a single tree amidst it.

If named in straightforward language, it would be ”Stars and Trees.”

If named abstractly, Angel would call it ”Insignificance and Loneliness.” Although the tree occupies a significant portion of the painting, compared to the vast starry sky, it seems minuscule; in the boundless wilderness, it’s the only tree, adding a touch of loneliness.

Angel appreciated the painting for a while; it’s still nice in terms of composition.

”Did Feng paint this?” Angel wondered, ”If Feng painted it, why would he put this painting in the chest?”

Judging purely by the painting, apart from personal resonances, there’s nothing particularly noteworthy, is there?

Angel examined it closely again, attempting to uncover hidden elements in the painting.

After a while, his gaze fixed below the tree. Although the tree’s shadow was depicted clearly, for some unknown reason, he felt as though there was a silhouette standing beneath the tree, but due to the perspective, the scenery behind the tree wasn’t visible.

Angel found this thought a bit absurd, but once it emerged, it couldn’t be dismissed.

As Angel envisioned ”someone possibly standing behind the tree,” the painting’s scene suddenly began to change.

The perspective of the painting started to slowly shift.

It only took a second for the scene to shift 90 degrees.

The starry sky remained equally brilliant, the wilderness equally vast and empty, and the tree seemed unchanged overall. The only change was that beneath the tree, there indeed appeared a human silhouette.

The shifted 90-degree view indeed revealed the tree’s backside, and there was a human figure leaning against the tree, gazing at the starry sky...

The sudden change of the painting was already astonishing; more surprising was that the transition happened exactly as Angel envisioned.

Angel could hardly believe his eyes. He stared hard at the painting, his mind filled with one question: was the shadow hinted at by the painting first, or did the scene change because of his thoughts?

While Angel was caught in doubt, the painting underwent another transformation.

The once-flat surface started to ripple, resembling droplets falling on a calm water surface.

Ripples radiated outwards from the center of the painting.

In the end, a pitch-black point formed at the center of the ripples. An irresistible force emanated from that black point.

The process was rapid, and this force seemed to carry an attribute of unstoppable power. Even though Angel quickly activated various defensive measures and even opened The Gate of Void, he was still caught by the force.

He was directly sucked into the black point.

With Angel’s figure drawn into the black point, the stone platform returned to calm, as if everything had reset to its original state, as though nothing had happened at all...