Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 1310: Section 1311 Phantom Limb

Lyon took out a specialized energy observation instrument from his bracelet and then placed the pure-toned Pliant Worm under the spotlight stone on the experiment table.

He picked up a pen and began writing in his notebook, designing and documenting the steps of the experiment.

After completing the preliminary work, Angel began observing the Pliant Worm’s reactions under the spotlight stone.

At this peaceful state, the pure-toned Pliant Worm reacted just like the ordinary Pliant Worms of the control group, even their manner of movement was the same, slow and determined squirming.

Following that, Angel started subjecting the pure-toned Pliant Worm to external stimuli.

Under light or excessive stimuli, the pure-toned Pliant Worm merely maintained caution and did not move, but with moderate stimuli, or when other organisms that threatened its life appeared, its body gradually gathered energy, causing it to slowly levitate.

… A speckled spider in the petri dish was executed by the pure-toned Pliant Worm, its limbs completely severed, and even its decaying body was completely consumed by the Pliant Worm.

During this process, Angel was also comparing his own energy, and at this point, he could almost confirm that the energy on the pure-toned Pliant Worm was Illusion Technique, but there were some subtle differences.

He always felt that the Illusion Technique energy on it seemed to be tangible.

After some thought, Angel put on a special set of energy observation lenses and stimulated the pure-toned Pliant Worm again.

As the energy on it surged again, a slight flicker crossed Angel’s brows.

This time, he finally saw the abnormality on the pure-toned Pliant Worm.

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In a world invisible to the naked eye, this pure-toned Pliant Worm had grown something extraordinary… limbs!

Those forces that Angel considered to be Illusion Technique manifested on the body of the Pliant Worm like innumerable tentacles, forming a dense mass of Phantom Limbs! Some limbs were used for thrusting, some for exerting force, and some for buffering; and on the head of the Pliant Worm, there were two sharp limbs like sickles.

It was these “sickles” that allowed it to easily break the legs of the speckled spiders and Dreamweaver Ants!

Although they were Phantom Limbs, they carried the concept of corporeality, even enhancing the inherent frail combat power of the Pliant Worm!

Angel looked at the densely packed records of the experimental process in his notebook, as well as the hastily drawn diagrams of the Phantom Limbs, his eyes flashing with brilliance.

He felt as if a seed had been planted in his mind, and the myriad images of Phantom Limbs were the nourishment for the seed to blossom and bear fruit.

Using Illusion Technique to reflect a physical reality and exert unimaginable power was something Angel had never thought of before.

Considering that even the fragile body of this pure-toned Pliant Worm could exert such strength, Angel dared not imagine what if the original body was already very powerful.

If he could also learn this strength, similar to Phantom Limbs, would it lead to a significant enhancement of his combat power?

Initially, Angel hesitated, for he was not of the bloodline type, and physical strength without a comprehensive outlet would remain underutilized. However, these Phantom Limbs offered Angel a new direction of thought.

He swiftly recorded this idea in his notebook and conducted a comprehensive analysis of the “Phantom Limbs”.

After analysis, and by referring to some of Sanders’ Illusion Technique notes given to him, he could basically conclude that these “Phantom Limbs” likely belonged to the True Illusion category.

However, True Illusions reside between reality and illusion, both true and false. Phantom Limbs, however, reflect entirely real feedback in the real world, so there are differences.

For now, to immediately study “Phantom Limbs” was essentially impossible; he would need a deeper understanding of the True Illusion faction. But Angel had already placed the research of “Phantom Limbs” within his short-term goals, planning to delve into it as soon as he finished constructing the Gate Model.

When he had put away the notebook, Angel’s gaze returned to the pure-toned Pliant Worm on the experiment table.

This new type of Pliant Worm, which he temporarily named “Phantom Limb Pliant Worm,” was definitely a positive mutation. Even in Insercott’s notebooks, such a mutation had never been recorded.

At this moment, the look in Angel’s eyes when he viewed it had shed some of the regret and instead held a sense of fortune.

Even if this Phantom Limb Pliant Worm was not a Transforming Pliant Worm, and even if its Phantom Limb power was not particularly strong, the touch of Illusion Technique it provided Angel with was incredibly useful. All things considered, he was not at a loss.

Next, he considered the problem of how to collect it.

With the strength of the Phantom Limb Pliant Worm, if introduced into the nest, it wouldn’t take long before the Dreamweaver Ants became mere husks.

Dreamweaver Ants were rare, and they had played a role in propelling Angel to discover the Wilderness of Dreams. Naturally, he would not allow them to meet a dismal end.

After some thought, he decided to temporarily store the Phantom Limb Pliant Worm in the Magic Beast Pouch.

The Magic Beast Pouch was something he acquired in the Purification Garden after killing ‘Parasitic Tide’ Isiu. The pouch had certain spatial properties but could only house insect creatures.

After placing the Phantom Limb Pliant Worm into the Magic Beast Pouch, Angel also dripped a few drops of Axo’s essence blood into it as food for nourishment.

On the other side, within the insect nest, he used the corpse of a common pliant worm that had died to mimic the body of a Phantom Limb Pliant Worm, smearing it with the unique pheromones of the Phantom Limb Pliant Worm and then placing it outside the queen’s room.

In Insercott’s notes, it was mentioned several times that the behavioral patterns of the queen insect were actually traceable. If it deemed the hatching of a certain type of egg useful, it would go to great lengths to continue hatching the same type of eggs.

The queen’s objective was to kill the Dreamweaver Ants. Clearly, the Phantom Limb Pliant Worms had the capability, but to prevent the queen from falling into the obsession of only producing the Phantom Limb Pliant Worms and to continue birthing new varieties of pliant worms, Angel mimicked the body of a Phantom Limb Pliant Worm to make the queen aware of this fact.

Once the queen learned of the death of a Phantom Limb Pliant Worm, it was highly likely to adopt the thought pattern: “Even the Phantom Limb Pliant Worm cannot resist the Dreamweaver Ants.” Consequently, the probability of hatching Phantom Limb Pliant Worm eggs in the next spawning would significantly decrease.

After ensuring that the queen perceived the “Phantom Limb Pliant Worm” corpse, Angel then removed it from the nest and, as recorded in his notebook, introduced new variables to stimulate the queen to produce mutated spawn.

After completing all of this, the sky outside was gradually growing bright.

Angel checked the time and realized that merely observing and recording the Phantom Limb Pliant Worms had taken an entire day and night, and it was now the early morning of the second day.

He had planned to meditate first and then start constructing the Gate Model, but during this period, Lyon knocked on his door.

After a while, the two brothers, along with White Bear, sat down at the dining table.

Several servants efficiently brought in the breakfast.

“Have you already brought the servants back to the manor?” Angel asked curiously.

Lyon shook his head, “I’ve just asked them to come by during the day to tidy up the somewhat neglected manor; they still return to Gru Town at night.”

“That’s probably for the best. We’ll wait for Mentor to return and then see what the next steps are,” Angel nodded in agreement. It was still uncertain whether Eulica’s madness could be cured, and the threat of Crimson Authority remained, so it was better to be cautious.

Speaking of Sanders made Lyon’s expression turn hesitant, “It’s been a week now, and they haven’t returned. Could something have happened?”

If it was about capturing an Apprentice, indeed, a lot of time had passed, but Angel didn’t think it would be right to assume something bad had happened.

Not to mention that Rolando was just an Apprentice; even if King Gumman himself came, the chances of defeating Sanders were slim to none; at best, it would end in a stalemate.

Perhaps, it was just a delay due to some matters. After all, Rolando was cunning—he had manipulated Crimson Authority from the shadows, never showing his face, just letting a mere mortal take the stage, a clear sign of his caution.

But these were only Angel’s speculations; the exact situation would only be clear once they returned.

“What about White Bear? Can you see anything with ‘Prophecy’?” Lyon looked at White Bear.

White Bear appeared weary; it was evident that he had not rested these past days. He was silent for a moment, then said, “Whether it’s the esteemed Red-Haired King or His Excellency the Illusion Demon, their levels are too high for me to probe. However, these days I’ve also considered other methods, such as divining the auspicious and ominous.”

“And the result?” Lyon asked curiously.

“The favorable outcomes are more probable.”

White Bear’s words eased Lyon a little. Perhaps it was the good omen from White Bear that led to a Magic Falcon flying into the manor from outside in the evening glow of that day.

At that time, Angel was studying his right eye, documenting the effects and transformations of his two eye states under the stimulation of Magic Power and Nightmare Illusion.

The bird calls from outside disrupted Angel’s research.

When he reached the entrance of the manor, he found Bru confronting the Magic Falcon. Bru was Eulica’s Magic Pet, an owl wearing a monocle. Though it was referred to as “owl,” its nature was far from that of a true hawk species. Meanwhile, the Magic Falcon in front of it was indeed a fierce hawk, a Magical Creature of the hawk family.

In the face of the Magic Falcon, Bru was visibly trembling.

The only thing that comforted Bru was the fact that the Magic Falcon didn’t seem to launch an attack; it was merely perched on the tree, its head turning, exuding an air of disdain.

Lyon and White Bear also arrived at the entrance, their reactions to seeing the Magic Falcon differing—Lyon was cautious, while White Bear showed a hint of puzzlement.

“Could this Magic Falcon be from…” White Bear muttered softly under his breath, remembering that Illusion Demon Island kept many Magic Falcons.

As White Bear speculated, Angel had already arrived. On seeing him, the Magic Falcon turned into a swift arrow, flying straight toward him. Lyon was startled and wanted to stop it but was a moment too late.

By the time Lyon thought to warn Angel to keep his distance, he saw Angel stroking the feathers of the Hawk Falcon, looking quite familiar with it.

“Angel, do you know it?”

Angel nodded, “This is a Magic Falcon raised by Mentor.”

As Angel spoke, the Magic Falcon pressed its head against his forehead, and at the same time, a stream of information flowed into Angel’s mind.