Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2579: Chapter 2580: Doubt

As Angel manifested the illusion on the table, it immediately drew everyone’s attention.

The first thing they noticed was naturally the spot in the center of the table where the canon was placed, but they quickly shifted their gaze away from the ”patterns” there. These patterns were obviously magic patterns, and with an enchantment master present, they just needed to wait for Angel’s explanation.

Apart from the patterns, the focus was on the characters.

Angel looked at the Black Earl and Dox, as they were probably the most knowledgeable about the written systems, perhaps they could recognize the origin of these characters.

However, to Angel’s surprise, the first to speak wasn’t Dox or the Black Earl, but Vay, who was always treated like a tool.

”I seem to have seen these characters before... was it in the family’s library? Let me think...”

After declaring he’d seen them before, Vay fell into thought. But he hadn’t been thinking for two seconds before a stone slab fell from above, striking Vay on the head.

Vay winced in pain, wanting to curse inwardly, but he didn’t dare. The slab that hit him had the Black Earl’s nose embedded in it.

”Library? Really?” The Black Earl’s cold voice entered the mind ribbon: ”I’ll give you one more chance. If you’re wrong, I’ll chop off your head.”

”Chop... chop off my head? Would I still be alive if you did that?” Vay was still baffled.

”What do you think?” The Black Earl sneered.

”I... I guess I’d probably... die?” Vay shuddered slightly and dared not say more, beginning to rack his brains to recall, knowing very well that his Lord never went back on his word. If he said he’d chop his head, he’d definitely do it.

Vay concentrated hard, especially under the scrutiny of the Black Earl, sweating from his forehead.

From his anxious expression, it seemed Vay still hadn’t found the gap in his memory.

Indeed, the more nervous and afraid Vay was, the more chaotic his memory became. Now he regretted speaking up earlier and was in despair about the impending outcome.

Just then, Vay heard someone murmuring in the mind ribbon: ”What’s the big deal about this? It’s just forgetting where you’ve seen it, not worthy of such severe consequences, right?”

Vay recognized it as the voice of his friend, Dox.

Was Dox speaking up now to plead for him with his Lord?

Vay was touched but knew it was useless. His Lord wouldn’t change his mind due to any external force. Call it autocratic or dictatorial, this was the style of the Noah Clan’s head.

As Vay mourned for his soon-to-part head, Dox’s voice spoke again: ”It wouldn’t come to chopping heads unless it was something Vay absolutely should know but forgot. Could these characters be on something passed down through generations in the Noah Clan?”

Dox seemed to be talking to himself, but when he finished, the Black Earl suddenly ”looked” over. Even without eyes, just the dark nostrils gave Dox the eerie feeling of being scrutinized.

Simultaneously, Vay instinctively repeated Dox’s words: ”Noah Clan... passed down through generations...”

Suddenly, Vay’s eyes lit up: ”I... I remember now! It was on the genealogy! I’ve seen these characters on the genealogy!”

Vay excitedly blurted out the answer, but the Black Earl completely ignored him and continued scrutinizing Dox.

This profound scrutiny made Dox uncomfortable all over.

A long while later, the Black Earl finally spoke softly: ”It’s coming to fruition.”

Dox didn’t understand this remark, but Angel did. The Black Earl was indicating that Dox’s spiritual perception was nearing its final stage, and once unraveled, it would become a formidable talent skill.

Thinking of this, it seemed logical. Vay, as someone from the Noah Clan, couldn’t come up with the answer, but Dox’s casual comment hit the mark.

At this moment, even Angel had to admire how frighteningly intuitive Dox was.

Reflecting on this, Angel recalled the Observer’s speculation about Reynaud’s Luck Talent. If applied to Dox, would it fit?

If Dox were to die now, would some part of his body or his bones, or something nearby, become a Mysterious Object?

While Angel pondered this, Dox shivered coldly, feeling as though a murderous intent had brushed past him.

Angel and the Black Earl both had their eyes on Dox, while Vay, at the center of the chopping block storm, seemed almost forgotten by now.

After a while, the Black Earl turned the slab, speaking calmly to Vay: ”You got away this time thanks to someone else reminding you. But if you make a similar mistake again, I won’t give you any chance.”

Vay nodded quickly, relieved that Dox had hinted at the solution; otherwise, he would truly have been done for. Having learned his lesson, he resolved to keep his mouth shut next time. He even began to reminisce about when the Black Earl had silenced him.

With that matter settled, Angel looked at Dox, asking: ”Don’t tell me you guessed.”

Dox looked innocent: ”I really did guess. No, not completely guessing. I had a reasoning process—you heard it, right?”

Angel indeed heard Dox’s so-called ”reasoning process,” but how did he suddenly jump to ”Noah Clan’s generational heirloom”?

There might be a bit of a connection, but it could also be something else, like a language the Black Earl taught that Vay forgot, causing the Black Earl’s wrath... etc.

Therefore, Angel didn’t believe it was completely reasoning; it had to be guided by spiritual perception.

”Don’t look at me, I really don’t know the Noah Clan’s secrets. I truly guessed... ahem, reasoned it out.” After a flurry of denials, Dox abruptly changed the subject: ”Whether guessed or reasoned, it’s unimportant. What’s important is, what do these characters actually say?”

Though it was clear Dox was changing the subject, this was indeed the most pressing matter, so everyone turned their gaze to the Black Earl.

Though Vay had seen them, he probably couldn’t understand them.

But the Black Earl was different. Since these were characters from the genealogy, he would surely know them.

Under the gaze of everyone, the Black Earl slowly said: ”I do recognize this script. It’s called Uisu Language.”

”It’s very special. According to records, Uisu Language was unlike any written system discovered at the time; it was a completely alien language system that one couldn’t conceive of even with wild imagination.”

”Its exact origin is unknown, but it seems to be related to our Noah Clan.”

”Related to the Noah Clan?” Angel questioned.

The Black Earl nodded: ”This isn’t speculation, as there are fragments of records in the Noah Clan. During the Southern Domain Wizard World era, the Noah Clan used Uisu Language the most.”

”Then why isn’t it used anymore?” Dox questioned.

Angel: ”You’re putting the cart before the horse. You should first ask why the Noah Clan originally chose to use such a special system as Uisu Language?”

The Black Earl glanced at Angel, saying blandly: ”Because at that time, Uisu Language was considered an extraordinary language.”

The so-called extraordinary language, similar to magic patterns or inscriptions, could invoke extraordinary power.

There are quite a few extraordinary languages left today, but those that humans can directly use are nearly nonexistent. Most are used indirectly. So when everyone first heard that Uisu Language was an extraordinary language that humans could use, they were astounded.

”Don’t be so surprised. I just mentioned it was then considered an extraordinary language, and the power it could invoke wasn’t great. Later, Uisu Language, for unknown reasons, could no longer invoke extraordinary power and became just an ordinary language... Well, not ordinary, as the learning threshold for Uisu Language was very high. Its difficulty required overturning all your existing knowledge of language systems. Precisely because it’s so hard, even if non-Noah Clan people knew it, they basically couldn’t pass it down.”

”Now, probably besides the Noah Clan, everyone else who knew Uisu Language has vanished in the river of time.”

The Black Earl’s sentimental tone affected most people, but Dox was an exception.

After listening to the Black Earl, Dox only had one question: ”So, you’re saying that the characters on this table are a puzzle that only you, the Black Earl, or the Noah Clan, can solve?”

”You could say that.”

Dox shook his head: ”Something’s not right, something’s not right. Why is it that during this relic exploration, we just happen to encounter a puzzle that only the Noah Clan can solve? And our team actually has a member of the Noah Clan.”

”This can’t be a coincidence.”

After Dox finished speaking, he looked at Angel and then at the Black Earl, feeling as if a great force was winding around him, as if he had fallen into a trap. And the one holding that trap was either Angel or the Black Earl.

Angel actually guessed a bit; perhaps this was Augustine’s arrangement? But since this involved the Nightmare Realm, he couldn’t voice his speculation. Therefore, after Dox expressed doubt, Angel too showed a contemplative expression: ”You’re right, indeed, this doesn’t seem like a coincidence.”

Angel didn’t defend himself either, because the more he defended, the more suspicious it would appear. It was better to let Dox imagine on his own.

And Angel wasn’t wrong either; Dox was indeed imagining things by that point.

On the day Angel first arrived at the Sandworm Market, they had been together; Dox knew why Angel came to the Sandworm Market, as well as his trajectory of actions.

Even the Alchemy Blueprint was first seen by Angel; before that, not even Lord Esos had truly seen it.

Because Angel recognized the location corresponding to the Alchemy Blueprint, it led to this exploration of the relic.

Dox could confirm that Angel’s decision to explore the relic was definitely a spontaneous one.

When sorting it out this way, Angel’s trajectory of actions was entirely coherent.

So, was this all arranged by the Black Earl?

Dox turned to the Black Earl: ”Earlier, you said you wanted Vay to come out and gain some experience; that shouldn’t be the true reason, right? You must have known about this relic beforehand, correct?”

The Black Earl shook his head: ”This time, your psychic intuition was mistaken. I had no knowledge of this relic.”

Dox: ”Then are you saying that all of this is just a coincidence?”

The Black Earl remained silent this time.

Dox: ”I can’t believe this to be a coincidence. I hope you can explain the inner workings, otherwise, I cannot face the unknown future with fear. Rather than exploring alongside someone with secrets, I would rather bid farewell here.”

Angel at this time gently added a sentence: ”There is more than one entrance.”

Though just a short sentence, it clearly stated his position—he stood on Dox’s side.

The tabletop might record a lot of information, perhaps even the entrance’s information, but if things aren’t clarified, he and Dox could independently search for other entrances.

If it were only Dox’s suspicions, the Black Earl wouldn’t want to answer; but since Angel, the team leader, had expressed his position, the Black Earl thought for a moment and decided to clarify the situation.

The Black Earl took a gentle breath, and everyone immediately entered a light barrier.

Various characters continued to float around on the light shield.

These characters were not unfamiliar; they were words of a contract. Even the power within the light shield stemmed from contract power.

”With the contract as a cloak, speaking lies here will result in backlash from the contract.”

The Black Earl first provided assurance of truth in his words, then slowly began to speak:

”As I said before, I will do everything in my power to keep you safe; this is a promise, so you don’t need to worry that I have any sinister intentions towards you.”

Opening by directly pointing out his promise, then the Black Earl continued: ”As for why characters only recognizable by me appeared here, I really don’t know. Just think about it: if I knew about this underground structure, or this lectern, why wouldn’t I have come and taken it earlier?”

”The encounter with the characters on the tabletop was indeed a coincidence.”

At this point, the Black Earl paused deliberately, signaling everyone to observe the surrounding contract.

The contract force hadn’t manifested, meaning that everything the Black Earl said before was truthful. This encounter with the characters was indeed coincidental.

The Black Earl realized that merely claiming a coincidence under the contract wouldn’t resolve all doubts, so he continued:

”However, having Vay accompany you in exploring the relic was not coincidental.”

”At the time, when you asked Vay to use Death Sense on you, after smelling, Vay didn’t respond but instead said to let me use Death Sense; you should remember, right?”

Dox nodded; he was puzzled then—why did Vay, after sensing, say nothing but suggested the Black Earl to sense instead.

”Because, my intuition stirred when Vay sensed it.”

”At that moment, I had a strong premonition that I should check out your exploration.”

”As for why I should check, what to see, what would be encountered, I had no idea.”

At this juncture, with no backlash from the contract, it indicated he still hadn’t lied. However, Dox still felt puzzled: ”Just a premonition to check it out? Did you really have no idea you’d encounter characters related to the Noah Clan?”

The Black Earl: ”Yes. If I had known, the people coming wouldn’t be just Vay, nor would it be only this nose of mine coming.”

With the contract light barrier as testimony, Dox had no choice but to believe it.

Although he still harbored doubts in his heart... and Angel should know something about this relic as well.

Angel also noticed Dox’s look in his eyes and quickly said: ”Don’t take advantage of the contract light barrier to dig out my secrets. There are things I won’t share, so cut off those sinister thoughts of yours.”

Angel preemptively issued a warning, making Dox feel too embarrassed to ask further.

Moreover, Angel had sided with Dox earlier to get the Black Earl to disclose the information, so turning around to stab him in the back definitely teetered on disloyalty.

What’s more, Dox still intended to cling onto Angel, who appeared highly influential.

With this in mind, Dox replied: ”Don’t slander me—I’m not as sinister as you think. I’m thinking nothing at all. We’re friends. Why would friends trick each other?”

The moment Dox finished speaking, the contract light shield that had remained still suddenly burst into a brilliant radiance.

Upon seeing this, Dox seemed to realize something and quickly covered his mouth.

But it was already too late; the words had been spoken, and the truth or lie was bound by the contract.

Within what Dox said earlier to Angel, there was definitely an element of falsehood.

And it was quite clear where the falsehood lay... Dox had really played himself here.

The repercussions from the contract were not something to be taken lightly.

With numerous gleams of light encasing him, it was as if Dox turned into a humanoid lamp, and then the lights began to burrow out of his body...

In the air, only a heart-wrenching scream resounded.