Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 1332: Section 1333 Venom

The day after Angel left Conniea, Silver Star continued to play pranks in the warehouse with her astral projection. It was then that she sensed something unusual about her physical body submerged in the underground river.

Confused, Silver Star returned to the underground laboratory. The silent chamber where Wizard was still locked, which meant he was still in seclusion and hadn’t come out yet.

Silver Star headed straight for the lab’s pool.

Her soul kept sinking into the depths of the pool because it connected to the underground river, where she had temporarily placed her true form.

When she reached the bottom, the first thing she saw were numerous golden slit pupils, glinting with a cold light. These eyes all belonged to the snakes growing on her own scalp.

What others found terrifying, the snake hair, was for Silver Star the most intimate presence.

… Silver Star casually stroked her snake hair before turning her attention to the source of the disturbance she sensed—an energy bubble from the underground river, lighting up the pitch-black waterway with its iridescent glow.

Silver Star reached out and flicked the bubble. It floated and danced, growing brighter, and at the same time, a voice reached Silver Star’s ears.

“Silver Star, why is Wizard in seclusion?” It was a female voice, ethereal and with an icy texture.

Upon hearing this familiar voice, an image of a petite woman immediately came to mind.

“Is that you, Bai? Haven’t I mentioned before that Wizard had an epiphany?” Shortly after Silver Star spoke, the bubble started vibrating again.

“I have something important to ask Wizard, get him out,” Bai insisted, her tone commanding.

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Bai was also a subordinate of Jiebo’s, and she was more trusted by Jiebo than Wizard was. However, despite the varying levels of closeness with Jiebo, Bai and Wizard were of the same rank.

Now, Bai’s commanding tone was somewhat strange because it didn’t align with her position.

Silver Star guessed that perhaps it was Jiebo’s will rather than Bai’s.

But even if Silver Star suspected it was Jiebo speaking through Bai, she had no intention of complying.

“No,” Silver Star refused without hesitation.

Bai’s icy voice immediately responded, “Why? You need to give me a reason.”

“It’s rare for Wizard to have an epiphany, and this time, he’s been in seclusion for almost a month. This is the longest he’s closed off in ten years. I have a premonition that maybe Wizard intends to use this insight to break through the final barrier,” Silver Star said. “At such a critical moment, I absolutely will not disturb Wizard.”

Bai fell silent after hearing Silver Star’s reply.

Currently, Wizard’s strength was that of a peak Apprentice. If he was indeed attempting to break through the last barrier, it meant he was planning to step up to become an Official Wizard.

This was the most important moment in the life of any Apprentice.

Chances for an epiphany were rare, even more so for those that could lead to a breakthrough. Some may only get such an opportunity once in their entire lives.

Many miles away from the Old Earth Continent, over a stretch of sea, a massive narwhal was leisurely swimming at the bottom of the sea. On the back of the narwhal was an air bubble, inside which Bai was speaking to Silver Star.

After hearing Silver Star’s explanation, Bai hesitated. If what Silver Star was saying was true, waking up Wizard now indeed seemed inappropriate. She turned to consult another person beside her—the man next to her was nonchalantly browsing a magazine.

“Lord Jiebo, what should we do now?” Bai asked.

“For Wizard, indeed, this is a moment that can’t be neglected,” Jiebo spoke, his eyes still on the magazine, “Then let’s not trouble Wizard, we’ll ask Silver Star directly. Silver Star and Wizard are always together, so whatever Wizard has done or… whoever he has met; Silver Star should know.”

Bai nodded, “Alright.”

Silver Star waited for a response for a long time, thinking Bai would not message again, but just as she was about to return to the warehouse aboveground, Bai’s voice once again came from the bubble.

“Fine, you don’t have to disturb Wizard. But I have a question for you, and you must answer me honestly.”

This time, Bai’s tone was uncharacteristically solemn.

“Did you encounter Angel on the Old Earth Continent, especially in the last month?”

Bai’s question made Silver Star frown. Why would Bai suddenly ask about Angel? And why was Bai’s tone so serious?

Ever since Silver Star had followed Wizard to the Old Earth Continent, because of Wizard’s innate aversion to humans, including Bai, they seldom communicated unless necessary. In all their communications, this was the first time Silver Star had heard Bai use such a tone.

It seemed that Angel’s whereabouts were very important to Bai or perhaps to Jiebo?

Silver Star pondered for a moment, weighing whether to tell them the truth.

But before going into seclusion, Wizard had instructed Silver Star that if Bai inquired about Angel’s whereabouts, to say she didn’t know.

Of course, even though it was Bai asking, Silver Star was sure that Jiebo was the one prompting the question.

Torn between Wizard’s instructions and Jiebo’s inquiry, Silver Star had to make a choice.

After a good while, Silver Star finally spoke slowly, “I have not seen Angel.”

The Silver Star’s response did not receive White’s feedback, but the bubble burst, and it was clear that the conversation had been cut off at that moment.

On the other end, White turned to Jiebo beside him, “My lord, the Silver Star hesitated for a long time, there must be some inside story.”

“She must have seen Angel,” Jiebo concluded directly, “and possibly quite recently.”

White agreed with this, “Could it be that Gold asked her to keep it a secret? But Gold has no reason to do that.”

White speculated, “The Silver Star has always been friendly towards humans, perhaps Angel asked her not to divulge his information?”

Jiebo: “But why would Angel have anything to do with the Silver Star for no reason? Gold must have played some role in this.”

White: “Should we divulge the news about Angel?”

Jiebo thought for a moment and shook his head, “Never mind, no need to offend him. However, I would like to meet him.”

White frowned, “But the New Star competition…”

Jiebo interrupted White, speaking slowly, “There was some friction last time with Saint Sem City, but now seems like a good opportunity. I won’t go in person, just send a water avatar to express a stance.”

Hearing Jiebo say this, White did not say anything more.

Although White didn’t personally like Angel, he had to admit that Angel was a very promising individual, not to mention that his name had appeared in ‘Glowing City Night Talk’, further adding to his significance.

Maintaining a good relationship with such a person is definitely better than being enemies.

…

However, Angel was unaware of these incidents that had taken place after he left Conniea.

He was now far from the Old Earth Continent, over the vast sea.

Last night, Angel had entered the Wilderness of Dreams and informed Lyon of his brief departure. Because of the nature of the Wilderness of Dreams, Lyon could meet with Angel at any time, so there wasn’t much of a sense of separation.

“Ah, it failed again.” At this moment, Popota, who was sitting across from him, looked at the insect nest in his hands with regret.

Upon leaving, Angel made sure to bring Popota with him. Now that matters related to the Abyss were starting to ferment, Popota’s whereabouts would surely be watched more closely by Frostmoon. Because the range of the Blood Night Shelter was limited, only by bringing Popota with him could he ensure that Popota enjoyed the protection of Blood Night Shelter’s aura, avoiding detection by Divination.

Since boarding the gondola, Popota had said little, focusing all his attention on the insect nest in his hands.

Initially entrusting the Pliant Worm’s nest to Popota’s care, it was unexpected that Popota would take such great interest and be particularly obsessed with inducing the queen to produce new, mutated eggs.

In his words, “Each new insect cultivated is an unknown entity. Therefore, every result brings you a sense of novelty.”

Whether a positive mutation or a meaningless one, the emergence of a new insect is like the prize in a gamble, unpredictable in its goodness or badness, arousing immense curiosity each time.

With the notes from the “Heart of the Swarm” Insercott, the queen’s egg laying and the nurturing of mature insects had greatly accelerated. Now, this was the second mutated insect Popota had encountered since taking charge of the nest.

The first mutated egg previously was the “Hard-state Insect.”

“What has mutated this time?” Angel asked curiously.

“Poison,” Popota said with no sense of setback, but instead with joy, “It has not been recorded before. It is a pliant worm that can spew venom, tentatively named the Venomous Pliant Worm.”

“This venom can quickly dissolve arthropods, but it is highly limited in harm to humans,” Popota explained.

“It seems that this latest mutation is the queen’s targeted response to the Dreamweaver Ants,” Angel said, noticing that ever since the Phantom Limb Pliant Worm appeared, the eggs laid by the queen had been increasingly powerful, all with a targeted focus on the Dreamweaver Ants.

The Dreamweaver Ants are arthropods.

Angel pondered for a moment, “Next time, let’s introduce some other magical insects into the fray.”

We can’t let the queen focus solely on the Dreamweaver Ants as the enemy. If she continues to lay targeted eggs like this, who knows when she’ll hatch the true Transforming Soft-bodied Insect.

Popota nodded, taking out a yellowed notebook to record the new scheme for the next time.

It was only when Popota finished recording that he finally had a moment to shift his attention away from the pliant worms.

“Angel, where are you planning to go now?”

Angel: “To find a secluded place to experiment with a trick.”

“What trick requires going so far? Is it something you’ve researched yourself?” Popota was somewhat puzzled, as experimenting with tricks shouldn’t necessitate traveling overseas, should it?

Angel simply smiled and said nothing.

Popota, understanding that tricks are very personal matters, saw that Angel did not wish to discuss it and thus did not ask further. Instead, with a slightly hesitant tone, he inquired about another matter.

“I wonder when I will be able to meet… Hua Que?”