Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2567: Chapter 2568: Underground Structure

Kaier was still daydreaming when a hand suddenly tapped his shoulder.

”Wake up, there’s no such place with that many secret organizations gathered together.” It was Dox speaking.

Kaier: ”Why not? The keywords like residential houses, cellars, secret passages, underground structures, all give off an evil and mysterious vibe.”

Dox rubbed his chin with his right hand: ”Speaking of which, your place in the black market fits that description. By the way, doesn’t your portable cabin have a cellar and a hidden space too?”

”That’s my meditation room and a storage room!”

Dox ignored Kaier’s retort and continued, ”And you’ve been to my bar too, it’s in a secret location, counts as a residence, and has multiple hidden structures underground. With these keywords, doesn’t my bar also give off an evil vibe?”

Kaier was momentarily stunned. What Dox said seemed quite accurate.

After all, the predecessor of The Garden Labyrinth was also the Extraordinary City. It’s quite normal for Transcendents to have secret passages in their territory.

Thinking of this, Kaier’s excited expression suddenly fell.

For someone who loves archeology and exploring ruins, it felt like catching a big fish, only to find an empty wine bottle hooked on.

”Without seeing the specifics of the underground structure, everything is possible. Come on, let’s take a look. As long as it’s not too damaged, we can always deduce its past functions from the clues.” Angel spoke timely as Kaier’s spirits dropped.

However, Angel only said this verbally. In his heart, he leaned towards Dox’s judgment.

It wasn’t because of spiritual perception, but because secret underground structures are so common in the Wizards’ Realm. Even the ruins he resided in hid a room.

As he thought this, Angel had already squeezed through the small door in the wall first.

Once everyone came inside, Kaier pointed to the mother and son outside the door: ”What about them? Just leave them out there?”

Kaier’s voice was heard by Chloe, who looked over nervously.

”Don’t worry about them. I’ve set up a Magical Energy Array at the cellar entrance, which will last a week at most.” Angel hadn’t forgotten about the mother and son outside.

The cellar had reserved food and water, enough for them to survive a week. At the very least, they could enter the underground structure, which would serve as their supply point, ensuring they wouldn’t starve.

After finishing, Angel directly walked into the depths of the tunnel.

Kaier watched Angel’s figure disappear into the darkness, lost in thought.

Although Kaier was an apprentice, he had seen many official wizards with his mentor. If it were any other wizard, upon encountering people while exploring ruins, they’d think first about ”dealing” with them, even if they weren’t threatening. But Angel chose to expend energy setting up a Magical Energy Array, a harmless trap.

This was something Kaier hadn’t imagined.

Previously, Machius had said each member of the Hero Squad had their boundaries. To be honest, Kaier hadn’t thought much of it. Ordinary humans ought to maintain moral boundaries; that’s the cornerstone of lasting stability.

But Transcendents are different. Though they’re also human, the power gap is like the difference between clouds and mud. There’s an apt analogy: do humans care about accidentally stepping on an ant? To a Transcendent, ordinary humans are akin to ants.

Even a White Wizard wouldn’t think much of accidentally stepping on an ”ant.”

And Angel, he was different from any other wizard Kaier had met. He seemed aloof but was genuinely a wizard with boundaries. This was not only evident in handling Machius’s mother and son but also in previously letting Mia go.

Even though the Black Earl had said that Angel had given Mia a Defense Spell and then released her was putting her in danger, that was just a presumption. Based on his actions, everything Angel did was within his limits, even providing ordinary people with a chance to survive. Whether they could seize this opportunity depended on their choice.

”He’s quite special, isn’t he?” Dox’s voice surfaced in Kaier’s mind at this moment.

Unbeknownst to him, the psychic ribbon Dox constructed had forcibly connected to Kaier.

”Sir, are you referring to the Transcendental Wizard?”

Dox: ”Of course, weren’t you just pondering about him?”

Kaier was silent for a moment, ”Indeed, Lord Chaowei is the most unique wizard I’ve met. If it were Lord Red Sword, the two outside would probably have lost their heads.”

Dox scoffed, ”Don’t assume I’m that bloodthirsty. If there’s no interest involved, I won’t waste energy killing people. Forget it, why talk about this; back to the main point, what do you find special about him?”

Kaier looked curiously at Dox walking ahead, ”Sir, why do you ask?”

Or rather, Kaier couldn’t understand why Dox suddenly took an interest in his opinion of Angel.

Dox pondered for a moment, ”It’s fine to tell you. My spiritual perception is usually accurate, but when it comes to anything about him, there’s always a slight deviation. It’s quite strange. I have a feeling he might be the brink for me to break through my spiritual perception and turn it into a talent skill.”

Dox’s thoughts were agile and meticulous, or rather, no official wizard would have a coarse thought process. However, when dealing with people and things, they can’t be omniscient and omnipotent, only seeing what they understand.

Dox asked Kaier to see another side of Angel through Kaier’s eyes.

Kaier thought for a while, not knowing how to answer, and finally squeezed out a sentence: ”I think Lord Chaowei is a wizard with boundaries.”

”That’s it?” Dox’s feeling of disappointment was palpable even through the psychic ribbon on the other end, ”I thought you’d have a novel answer, but it really is dull. But let me tell you, you’ve got it wrong. He’s not the good person you imagine him to be. He has plenty of malicious humor, and his mind can be quite devious. If not for the Black Earl and me being here, he would’ve definitely tricked you both to death.”

Kaier, however, was unresponsive, thinking for a moment before saying: ”When I say he has boundaries, I dont just mean moral boundaries. I just feel that Lord Chaowei goes about his goals with a set of standards, no matter how far he has climbed, the initial boundaries remain his code of conduct.”

”Ha, you mean ’not forgetting the original intention,’ but how do you know he set boundaries at the initial point?” Dox finished speaking and cut off the psychic ribbon.

Yet, after breaking the psychic ribbon, Dox silently pondered, ”Is it the initial intention?”

Clearly, Dox hadn’t entirely dismissed Kaier’s viewpoint, it was just that he’s naturally... argumentative.

On the other side, both Angel and the Black Earl knew Dox was communicating with Kaier via the psychic ribbon, but they made no effort to eavesdrop since it wasn’t necessary. Their intelligence on the situation was far less than Angel’s, and it was likely not about the ruins. Eavesdropping on mere casual conversations would be churlish.

Of course, if they possessed undisclosed information, it would be a different story altogether.

...

The tunnel following the cellar was not particularly narrow, showing obvious signs of human craftsmanship. Furthermore, within the stone layers Angel sensed some extraordinary materials, which likely explains why the passage has remained stable for so many years without collapsing.

After about ten seconds of slow walking, the passage began to show a noticeable downward slope.

”Is this the ancient underground aqueduct? It sure was crafted meticulously,” Dox’s voice came from behind.

Angel didn’t reply and said directly: ”This isn’t the aqueduct yet. The underground aqueduct has very distinct canal markers. This should just be a passage to an underground structure built by someone who lived in the house above.”

”Then doesn’t that mean we can’t reach the underground aqueduct from here?” Kaier asked.

Angel: ”I don’t know. If the person who built this underground structure had hidden motives, linking it secretly to the aqueduct isn’t impossible.”

The underground aqueduct in Naraku City might sound like it was meant for drainage, but in fact, drainage is just its surface function. Even in those days, the labyrinthine space was full of all kinds of adventures and legends.

Moreover, there are official institutions inside the underground aqueduct.

Therefore, it’s not impossible for someone to secretly link it to the aqueduct.

”Then let’s hope he had hidden motives,” Dox said.

Angel suddenly stopped, looking at Dox: ”Speaking of which, before it became ruins, there were actually many entrances to the aqueduct, and most of them weren’t restricted. Under such circumstances, if someone still had hidden motives to secretly connect to the aqueduct, what do you think their purpose was?”

Dox shrugged: ”How would I know? If it’s really as you say, it’s surely not something good. Maybe just like Kaier said earlier, they’re the villains of The Garden Labyrinth.”

Kaier: ”Earlier... you clearly opposed me.”

Dox: ”I opposed the notion that underground structures are common; which ear of yours heard me opposing the identity of the owner here.”

Kaier: ... Isn’t your implicit meaning an overall objection.

Kaier fell silent, but he started to see through Dox; this guy seems to have a natural tendency for arguing for argument’s sake. However, this only applies to apprentices like them. At least when Angel and the others speak, Dox rarely opposes.

”The villains of The Garden Labyrinth are too vague. What do you think the villains would do?” Angel continued to look at Dox.

Dox: ”What a villain would do is only a few things; either overthrow the rulers, or rob, or simply slaughter. As long as the rulers are unhappy, they’re happy.”

”Right, you mentioned earlier that there are official institutions in the underground aqueduct, including prisons. If someone really had hidden motives, they might be targeting such places. Either attacking official institutions or attempting to break out prisoners.”

Angel thought for two seconds and nodded: ”I understand.”

Dox was taken aback: ”What do you mean you understand? Are you using me as a Prophet Wizard again? I’m telling you, I haven’t activated spiritual perception, and I’m not a Prophet Wizard!”

Angel looked at Dox puzzledly: ”You think so much. I just casually flattered you, and you managed to come up with all this. Do you usually enjoy imagining things this much?”

Dox: ”... You were the one asking me.”

Angel: ”I was just gathering everyone’s opinion. Before this, I also asked Lord Black Earl.”

Black Earl snorted quietly, not refuting, which was implicit consent.

Angel and Black Earl’s psychic branch hadn’t been severed, but they hadn’t talked about anything, because they hadn’t seen the underground structure yet, and there was nothing to discuss.

Dox, however, because of spiritual perception, could have a deeper conversation. Maybe his subconscious answer would be the correct one.

Since Angel said so, Dox also felt he might have overreacted... Only, he clearly had the feeling Angel was using him as a Prophet Wizard.

Though he didn’t dislike Prophet Wizards, being considered a Prophet Wizard was an insult to him as a formidable Bloodline Wizard.

”Nothing problematic, we should proceed,” Angel said: ”There’s light ahead, we must be close to our destination.”

Everyone naturally had no objections and followed.

As the passage deepened, more traces of human presence could be seen, though mostly left by later visitors, such as the candles on both sides of the passage, which must have been lit by Hero Squad.

The ground was free of dust and had no cleansing magical energy array, which was likely cleaned by the Hero Squad’s logistics.

From these details, Hero Squad seemed like a well-organized adventure group that knows how to prepare and live.

Shortly after, the downward passage reached the bottom.

”It should be about a hundred meters deep from the surface here,” Dox said.

”More or less, but for the maze of underground aqueducts, this depth is still on the surface layer, not yet into deeper places,” Angel replied.

During their conversation, a short figure ran from the front.

As she ran, she spoke, with a child-like voice that implied she was quite young.

”Kolo, Kolo! Are you back? My dad made a cake, hurry...”

Her words stopped abruptly because she had already seen Angel and his companions in the passage.

These were not the Kolo she was waiting for, but a group of unfamiliar men.