Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 3148: Chapter 3149: Selection

When Angel arrived at the Signal Tower, the sky outside was still washed in orange afterglow; by the time he came out, the Goddess of Night had already drawn up the curtain of darkness.

The bright moonlight burned a hole in that black curtain, its radiance pouring down over the countless tree vines, as if laying a thin trace of snow upon them.

Angel walked forward through this kind of scenery, stepping on ”snow” as he went.

However, he wasn’t alone; accompanying him were not only the swirling evening breeze, but also the Wood Spirit and Dangross.

Only, the Wood Spirit was hiding deep inside his coat pocket, not daring to poke its head out. Dangross, on the other hand, stood upright with two fingers on Angel’s left shoulder, proudly gazing at Bilun Tree Court under the night.

”Are we going to look for Olao?” Dangross saw Angel heading toward the crowd-packed Clan Assembly Tree and asked curiously in a low voice.

”No need. Once Olao picks them up, he’ll come back on his own.”

Dangross: ”Then where are we going now? Are we heading back to wait for Olao?”

Angel passed through the Clan Assembly Tree and followed Bilun Tree Court’s main street all the way to the commercial district, where the light pollution was at its worst. Only then did he say to Dangross, ”We’ll stroll around here first and see if there are any suitable materials.”

By ”materials,” he naturally meant the supplies needed to refine the hat for Dong Liz. Even though Galatea hadn’t specified the hat’s parameters or traits, since he had agreed, he didn’t want to do a half‑hearted job.

After all, he was going to engrave his own Alchemy Emblem on it.

On the other side, when Dangross heard that they still had to linger outside, it instantly wilted. Right now it was still thinking about how the protagonist of ”Anomalous Fire Pharmacist” would subdue that legendary Azure Sky Fire, and it only wanted to hurry back and keep binge-watching.

Angel cheerfully patted Dangross. ”You can help pick out materials too. After all, I’ll need your help when we refine it later.”

Refining a hat... honestly, there weren’t many steps that required Dangross, but to stir up its enthusiasm, Angel simply handed it the important task of selecting part of the materials.

And once Dangross learned that it would be choosing materials to be used in subsequent refining, its somewhat listless expression instantly brightened.

It understood very well that Alchemy was where it could best prove its own worth. If it wanted to follow Angel in the future, it would inevitably have to put in serious effort on the Alchemy front.

In the Alchemy process, what it usually handled were melting materials, firing and casting, and shaping. Among these, understanding materials was also a key part it needed to learn.

Angel letting it pick the materials might be a test for it, right?

Dangross thought about a lot of things, but in reality... it was basically just its own imagination; Angel had no intention of testing it at all.

Still, seeing Dangross perk up, Angel chose a store to enter for their first stop—a shop specializing in metal ore, ”Moonlit Silver Waves.”

”The materials you’re picking will be used for the hat’s frame and the hanging fringe. The frame is crucial for shaping the hat’s overall form, while the fringe... is just metal decorative work. Whether it’s the frame or the fringe, you can decide which specific materials to use.”

After Angel finished speaking, he stepped off to the side, indicating that Dangross should make the choices itself.

Dangross took a deep breath, convinced that this was still a test, and thus needed to choose with full seriousness.

It leapt up, landed on the shop counter, and under the astonished gaze of the clerk, all five fingers sprang into action, racing quickly through the store.

Fortunately, the clerk had already overheard Angel and Dangross’s conversation earlier, and Angel hadn’t concealed his aura. The clerk knew that the visitor was an Official Wizard and very likely an Alchemist as well.

Under these circumstances, even seeing Dangross darting across every counter, they didn’t stop it, only quietly stood to one side, waiting for Dangross to make its choice.

The shop carried semi‑finished metals that had already been through melting, as well as completely untreated raw ore.

The former was often chosen by non‑Alchemists or Alchemy beginners, whereas true Alchemists mostly opted for raw ore, starting from Melting and refining from there; only then could the final refined tools achieve genuine seamless perfection.

Dangross was already familiar with Alchemy, so naturally it chose the latter.

It hopped back and forth among several raw‑ore shelves.

A few minutes later, Dangross returned empty‑handed—and the first sentence it uttered made the surrounding clerks’ faces change.

”Why do I feel like all the raw ore here makes me really uncomfortable?”

Dangross’s words sounded like it was implying that there was something wrong with the raw ore, so the clerks’ expressions naturally grew subtle. If Angel, this Official Wizard, hadn’t been standing there, they probably would have gone straight up, rolled up their sleeves, and kicked them out.

Angel: ”So did you make a choice?”

Dangross was silent for a moment, then pulled Angel over to a shelf, pointing at the pitch‑black raw ore inside. ”This raw ore makes me the most uncomfortable, so... how about we pick this one?”

As it pointed at the ore, Dangross also retreated a few steps, afraid of absorbing too much of the ore’s aura.

Dangross’s words left the clerks around them utterly baffled. They had all thought Dangross had come to stir up trouble, saying the raw ore here made it uncomfortable... and now the one it picked was actually the ore that made it feel the worst.

Perhaps sensing the confusion in the clerks’ eyes, Angel chuckled and tapped Dangross lightly.

Dangross instantly turned into a ball of flame, drifting up to Angel’s shoulder. Only after it settled did Dangross condense back into the shape of a hand.

Watching this ”turning into fire” scene, the clerks around them seemed to understand.

This shop was called ”Moonlit Silver Waves.” The name was a bit of a tongue‑twister, but from the name you could tell what kind of metal ore it sold—Moon Silver.

Moon Silver was a material with extremely high potential for development, capacity, and expandability. Thanks to further research on Moon Silver by Ancient Ciro from the Research and Development Institute, this material had become mainstream in the Southern Domain, especially in Mechanical Alchemy, where it was practically indispensable.

Moon Silver could accommodate elements of all different natures. Since this shop’s name included ”Waves,” that was clearly to show that their Moon Silver mostly came from the ocean and carried a certain Water Element trait.

Earlier, the clerks hadn’t recognized what race Dangross belonged to; they’d assumed it was some type of ”Avatar.” But that later scene of it ”turning into fire” proved its identity.

Dangross was a Fire Element Elf.

And as a Fire Element Elf, feeling unwell around the Water Element was perfectly normal.

Once the clerks figured this out, everything made sense.

”We’ll take this piece.” Angel pointed at the raw ore Dangross had chosen and spoke to the clerk.

The clerk gave a fawning smile. ”This piece is Moon Silver raw ore born in the depths of the Devil’s Sea; it has the strongest Water Element concentration of any in the shop...”

The clerk’s introduction was full of praise, all of it aimed at driving up the Price.

Although his words were true, this kind of raw ore with intense Water Element made it hard to balance the internal Energy during refining, which was a real test of an Alchemist’s skills. That part, the clerk didn’t mention.

Angel, however, didn’t mind. Melting this Moon Silver was no trouble for him anyway, and since Dangross had picked it out, as long as the Price wasn’t absurdly inflated, he’d buy it.

In the end, the clerk’s asking Price was three hundred Magic Crystals.

That Price... was lower than Angel had expected.

The clerk had hyped it up for so long that Angel thought he was going to price it at least six hundred Magic Crystals, maybe even higher; in the end it wasn’t even half that, which genuinely surprised Angel a little.

Angel took one look at the clerk’s fawning expression and understood.

It was probably because he’d acted too unconcerned, letting the clerk see that he wasn’t buying it just to blow up his furnace, but that he actually had the ability to properly refine this raw ore. In other words, Angel was very likely a genuine Alchemist with some real tricks up his sleeve.

Faced with this kind of Alchemist, any clerk with half an eye wouldn’t want to offend him, so naturally the asking price wouldn’t be too vicious.

After Angel paid the Magic Crystals, he left the shop under the clerk’s attentive gaze.

Next, Angel went to a shop that specialized in selling Arcane Platinum and had Dangross pick out a strand of platinum thread with great toughness and ductility to use as the stitching.

With the hat frame and stitching both bought, next up were the leather and gauze.

The leather would be used for the hat’s surface, and the gauze for the hanging curtain.

But Angel wandered a big loop around the commercial street and still couldn’t find any suitable leather or silk. What he did get was a tip from an old tailor who specialized in Witches’ garments: high-quality leather and silk could be found at Tea Parties.

And the Tea Party with the broadest local channels was called the Muzi Tea Party; Angel should be able to find the materials he wanted there.

If it were before, Angel would’ve let that go in one ear and out the other. After all, no matter how broad the Tea Party’s channels were, it had one hard rule: only Witches could attend!

Angel could transform into a Witch, but he wasn’t some scumbag like Dox; he almost never Observes Witches’ figures and manners in daily life, so he’d easily slip up on the details and look fake. If he couldn’t sneak in it’d be fine, but if he did get in and then got caught, that’d be a huge embarrassment.

However, thinking it over, he realized he wasn’t alone now—Portia had sent Shariel over, even saying Shariel would serve as his temporary assistant.

Wasn’t that just a pillow delivered right when you’re feeling sleepy? When the time came he could simply have Shariel go to the Tea Party and buy the materials on his behalf.

And if that didn’t work... he could have Dox go instead.

He clearly remembered Olao mentioning before that Dox had talked about taking him to a Tea Party, and that Tea Party seemed to be exactly the Muzi Tea Party.

Angel gave the old tailor a grateful smile and, with a mutually tacit expression, left the tailor shop.

Worth mentioning: this old tailor was a man.

...

After returning to the Starry District, Angel also tried looking for leather and gauze there, but unfortunately still couldn’t find anything suitable.

Angel thought for a bit, then decided to just drop the search.

Tomorrow, the Daylight Mirror Domain’s regular multi-race gathering would be held; he could go then and see if there were any suitable materials. If he really couldn’t find anything, he’d just hand this problem off to Shariel and Dox and have them try their luck at the Muzi Tea Party.

After Angel got back to the travel inn, he headed straight to the quiet room.

The quiet room was no different from when he’d left, which meant Olao still hadn’t picked up Shariel.

Angel didn’t wait for Olao. He asked Speedy to watch the door, then released the Wood Spirit and Dangross, letting them continue their binge-watching journey of ”Anomalous Fire Alchemist.”

He himself quickly walked toward the deep quiet room, took out the Indestructible Heart Mirror, and entered the Heart Space.

It was now close to nine o’clock. According to usual practice, Uriel in reality should already be asleep, while Uriel in the Crystal Origin of Dreams would enter the Dreamseeing State.

Only when Uriel was in the Dreamseeing State could Luigi carry out the Daily Challenge for Main Quest 3.

Angel normally wouldn’t go watch Luigi’s challenges; as long as he knew the outcome, that was enough. But today was different—he needed to see Uriel’s reaction when Luigi performed ”Three Chapters of Sbro.”

By Uriel’s reactions, he would analyze the micro-expressions and read his preferences.

Only then could he make targeted choices when selecting scores later.

When Angel arrived in the Heart Space, Luigi immediately came up to him. From his anxious expression it was clear Uriel had already entered the Dreamseeing State.

The duration of Uriel’s Dreamseeing State varied each day; if they missed it, it would be the same as losing one challenge attempt.

Luigi was afraid Angel would arrive late and today’s challenge would be gone.

So when he saw Angel show up, he was this anxious.

”Log in, I’ll follow right after.” Angel gestured for Luigi to go online directly.

Luigi nodded and took a deep breath. ”I’ve done plenty of prep for today. Even if I can’t clear the Main Quest in one go, I’m confident I can raise my ranking... at least make it into the top ten seats!”

With his confidence fully charged, Luigi logged into the Crystal Origin of Dreams.

When Luigi appeared in the first-floor room, Uriel was already reclining on the sofa, having waited a long while.

Maybe because during this period, every time Uriel ”Dreams” he can hear Luigi’s performance, his expression no longer had that stiff wooden look from the first time; there was a bit more curiosity in his eyes.

However, in the Dreamseeing State Uriel couldn’t speak or make any other movements. He could only watch Luigi walk up to him, pick up the Harp, and perform a different piece of music every day.

Uriel’s heart had already begun to look forward to today’s performance.

It was just that the dim yellow light, along with the blurred shadows, made Uriel still appear to Luigi the same as before—dejected, hazy, as if lost in a daydream.

But to Luigi, whether Uriel was Dreamseeing or not wasn’t important; he had only one goal: to perform.

As always, Luigi gave a brief introduction and stated what piece he was going to play. Even though Uriel had never responded, Luigi would never skip this step.

This was part of a performer’s self-cultivation.

After the introduction, Luigi’s expression turned serious. He picked up the Harp and closed his eyes, searching for the feeling.

Until the instant when Spirit Light flashed, Luigi’s fingers moved, becoming a blur of afterimages. In an instant, notes poured out like Mercury spilling, wrapped in surging, roaring Raging Waves, rolling forward...

Outside the instance, Angel quietly Observed everything.

He’d always worried that Uriel in the Dreamseeing State might not show any reaction at all... but now it seemed this worry had been unnecessary.

Though Uriel still looked as dejected and hazy as ever, his eyes were much more lively than before.

He would have his gaze dim with sadness at mournful passages; and light up at soaring notes.

Even if it was just a change in his eyes, it was enough for Angel to see a hope of clearing the stage.

Throughout the fifteen-minute performance, Angel remembered every single look in Uriel’s eyes. For now he still couldn’t determine exactly which segment Uriel preferred more; but that wasn’t important—he wasn’t All-Knowing. As for Uriel’s specific preferences, he could just leave that to Broy to judge.