Warlock Apprentice

Time passed by second by second, and Angel kept a close eye on the fluctuations of the House of the Heart.

Although he could not peek into the specific situation within the House of the Heart, through the fluctuations of Illusion Technique, he could roughly guess what was happening inside.

Initially, the fluctuations rose sharply. When they reached a certain peak, they began to decrease slowly but did not return to the Origin Point; instead, they continued with ups and downs incessantly.

According to Angel’s speculation, if Shalu really encountered his inner demons, or Obsession Demons, they would be fighting each other, each holding the other in check, and the battle was at a stalemate.

About five minutes later, the Illusion Technique fluctuations finally began to decrease, and it was a cliff-like drop. If represented on a coordinate axis, it would be a vertical fall at a certain coordinate point, with the horizontal position unchanged and the vertical position returning to zero.

When Angel saw this, he turned his head to look at Shalu.

——The House of the Heart was placed on the table, and Shalu was lying on the table, enveloped by the energy of the House of the Heart.

As the Illusion Technique fluctuations returned to zero, the energy enveloping Shalu gradually retracted. When the energy completely vanished, Shalu suddenly opened his eyes.

He sat up abruptly, as if awakening from a nightmare, his hand on his chest, gasping for breath heavily.

After quite a while, Shalu’s breathing gradually stabilized.

”Am I not dead? Where is this?” Shalu turned his head, looking around, eventually fixing his gaze on Angel and Frode not far away.

”Don’t worry, you are not dead.” Frode’s gaze was also focused on Shalu at this moment: ”It seems you’ve had a nightmare. Would you be interested in talking about it with us?”

Although Frode seemed to be asking for Shalu’s opinion, his eyes were fixed on Shalu intently, as if carrying a threat.

Shalu had not yet recovered his senses. His gaze wandered subconsciously and when he saw something, his pupils suddenly constricted.

It was a miniature wooden house, placed right in front of him.

This wooden house appeared to be a toy for children to play with, but its style... it was exactly the same as the wooden house he had seen before! Even the faint fragrance of flowers could vaguely be sensed from the mini-cottage.

In the midst of this floral fragrance, Shalu’s panic slowly dissipated, and rationality began to return.

Frode’s question, along with the wooden house placed before him, made Shalu realize that his previous experience was definitely not just a simple nightmare. If it had really been just a dream, then this wooden house could not have come from the dream to reality.

Which means, the wooden house he had seen before, the long corridor, the three doors, as well as the terrifying Magical Creature he had encountered, were they all not coincidences, but the result of an external force?

Shalu knew that Angel and Frode, being Transcendents with supernatural powers, could indeed make all this happen.

However, Shalu did not understand why they would do so?

While Shalu was puzzled, Frode asked again: ”If you talk about the nightmare, the level of fright often decreases a lot. Are you really not going to tell us about it?”

This time, Frode’s eyes narrowed into a slit, a dangerous light flickering on and off; Shalu could feel that if he remained silent, perhaps he would not just be experiencing a nightmare, but rather he might turn the nightmare into a reality.

”I went through a strange journey,” Shalu paused, looking towards the mini wooden house on the table: ”I saw this wooden house, and then, when I entered it, I arrived at a long corridor with three doors.”

”Three doors? It seems you have many obsessions,” Frode chuckled lightly.

Obsessions? Shalu caught onto that word. His eyes flickered as he pointed to the wooden house on the table and asked, ”Mister Tyson, what exactly is this wooden house?”

Frode didn’t answer, instead, turning his head to seek Angel’s view with a look. After seeing Angel’s slight nod, Frode pondered and then said, ”What the wooden house is does not matter, but indeed, it led to your journey.”

”However, compared to a journey, I think ’trial’ is a more fitting description.”

Shalu: ”Trial?”

Frode nodded: ”Yes, it’s a treasure designed to train Demon Hunters to face their inner weaknesses.”

What a Demon Hunter is, Shalu actually isn’t quite clear on. But based on the literal meaning, it should be a person who hunts Magical Creatures.

Could this Magical Creature be the same dreadful monster he battled before?

”My answer concludes here, and now it’s your turn. I hope you can recount every single detail after entering the trial, leaving out nothing, since you once had the chance to become a Demon Hunter, and your experience could add a set of data to the Sin Hunting Group.”

He once had the chance to become a Demon Hunter? And the Sin Hunting Group? Shalu caught these pieces of information but did not immediately ask about them; instead, he silently buried them in his heart.

”To be of help to Young Master Tyson is also my honor,” Shalu paused, ”However, I have a small question: will I have another opportunity to participate in the trial?”

”What, you want to try again?” Frode raised an eyebrow; Shalu’s recent demeanor clearly suggested he had been through a life-threatening nightmare, and yet he wanted another go?

Shalu hesitated for a moment and nodded: ”Yes, but not now.”

At this moment, Angel suddenly said: ”If you can provide a sufficient reason, I don’t mind making an exception for you.”

Shalu turned to look at Angel: ”I will.”

In the time that followed, Shalu narrated his experiences within the House of the Heart. However, he did not start with what the three doors meant to him, but went straight to when he entered the third Door and battled that dreadful creature.

”A head like a worm, with butterfly wings for ears. Isn’t that...” Frode hesitated for a moment before saying the name Angel had hastily designated: ”Serpent Tail Insect?”

Angel nodded, ”Indeed, it’s the Serpent Tail Insect.”

”But something isn’t right. As a Demonic Fiend, the Serpent Tail Insect was expelled from his body, so why does it still appear? Could there be remnants?” Frode was puzzled, ”Moreover, if it is the Serpent Tail Insect, then it seems this experiment has been in vain.”

A Demonic Fiend is neither an Obsession Demon nor an obsession. But from a macro perspective, it leans more towards obsession, which runs counter to Angel’s intended experiment with Obsession Demons.

Angel: ”It’s true that the Serpent Tail Insect is a Demonic Fiend, but, the Serpent Tail Insect Shalu experienced before, might not have been a true Demonic Fiend.”

Frode: ”What does the lord mean?”

”Having the appearance of a Demonic Fiend doesn’t mean it’s a true Demonic Fiend. It’s also possible that his Heart Demon is the Demonic Fiend,” Angel answered. Although he only mentioned ’possible,’ his tone was very certain.

The Serpent Tail Insect on Shalu’s body was personally expelled by Angel. So, Angel was absolutely certain that there were no Demonic Fiends in Shalu.

Since there was no Demonic Fiend, why would the House of the Heart project one? There was only one possibility: that the Demonic Fiend itself was Shalu’s Heart Demon.

Frode also pondered for a moment: ”It seems to be the case. Sir Sabel encountered the Saber-toothed Auk in the House of the Heart too. Although the Saber-toothed Auk looked ferocious, it did not initiate an attack on Sir Sabel.”

Shalu, on the other hand, did not show any attack behavior towards the Serpent Tail Insect while he was in the House of the Heart, but the Serpent Tail Insect attacked him on its own accord.

This means that the Serpent Tail Insect is definitely not a Demonic Fiend leaning towards obsession.

It is, in itself, an Obsession Demon!