Warlock Apprentice

Lianna noticed Angel occasionally glancing at the alchemy drafts on the table. After thinking it over, she figured she had asked almost everything she needed to and prepared to say goodbye.

Just as Lianna was about to turn off the communicator, Angel suddenly asked, ”By the way, how’s David doing these days?”

Angel hadn’t seen David in a long time. However, before the finals of the Newcomer Tournament, he had heard some news about David from Shan. Apparently, David was feeling quite down because he had failed to meet Lianna’s task of finishing in the top 50 of the Newcomer Tournament. According to their agreement, he would have to stay by Jack Su’s side for ten years.

”David? He’s doing quite well,” Lianna said, but as she mentioned ’quite well,’ a mysterious smile appeared at the corner of her lips.

Seeing this smile, Angel immediately realized that David probably wasn’t ”quite well” at all and was likely enduring some hardship.

Angel wanted to say a few words in David’s defense, but since it was a promise made between mentor and apprentice, he felt it wasn’t his place to intervene. Besides, he believed Lianna wouldn’t truly push David to the brink.

After some thought, Angel simply said, ”I’ll be returning to the Barbarian Cave soon. If David has some free time, he can come and meet me.”

The only thing Angel could do to help was to give David a brief respite from his oppressive daily life.

Lianna, naturally understanding Angel’s intent, curled her lips into a faint smile. ”You don’t need to worry about him. He’s doing well now, truly. And I believe his future will be... better.”

After a pause, Lianna added, ”Rather than worrying about David, I think there’s someone else whose situation you might want to check on.”

”Someone else? Who?”

”Kudodo,” Lianna said. ”You haven’t forgotten him, have you? After all, you were the one who sent him to the Rose Garden.”

Upon hearing Kudodo’s name, a small figure flashed in Angel’s mind. Kudodo was a Talented One from the Kulakuka Tribe, who had been identified alongside Babaya and Rococo for possessing Extraordinary Talent. Since Kudodo leaned toward the Natural System, and Lianna herself was also of the Natural System, she had taken him on as an apprentice.

In Angel’s memory, Kudodo was an honest and straightforward young man. He was the second person, after Babaya, to pledge loyalty to Angel when he led the Kulakuka sub-tribe out of the Garden of Living Souls.

Moreover, Kudodo’s mother, Kumiao, was currently the leader of the Kulakuka sub-tribe residing at Pat Manor.

”What’s wrong with Kudodo?” After bringing the three Talented Ones of the Kulakuka Tribe to the Barbarian Cave, Angel had rarely inquired about their situation. This was the first time he’d asked about them since then.

”Who knows,” Lianna said, stretching lazily. ”Adolescents are hard to fathom, and so are the young. Before I left the Barbarian Cave, his desire to cultivate was nearly nonexistent. He hadn’t even managed to perform a basic trick. When you return to the Barbarian Cave, maybe check on him.”

Lianna said this casually, but Angel understood that Lianna wasn’t referring to a ”hard-to-fathom” young mind; it was more like ”can’t be bothered to figure it out.” In the Wizards’ Realm, whether you learn or not is your own choice, and if you end up as cannon fodder, it’s your own doing.

The fact that Lianna had taken the time to mention Kudodo was probably the extent of her concern for her apprentice.

After a moment of thought, Angel nodded. ”When I return, if the opportunity arises, I’ll check in on him.”

Seeing that Angel had nothing else to say, Lianna waved her hand, ready to bid farewell. As she was leaving, she suddenly paused. ”Oh, I’ve been pondering something. Now that you’ve joined the Research and Development Institute, I imagine Lord Rhein might consult your opinions to some extent.”

”Why not suggest to Lord Rhein to focus less on matchmaking and to update his thinking—keep up with the times.”

Angel was baffled: ”???” He didn’t quite understand what Lianna was getting at.

Lianna’s projection slowly disappeared from the communicator, but before vanishing completely, she left one final remark: ”For instance, communicators could really be replaced. The ones I bought in the Sky Mechanical City seemed pretty great.”

As her illusionary projection faded, Lianna’s last gesture was waving her communicator—a sleek, transparent glass-like tablet identical to Angel’s own.

Angel glanced at the communicator on the table, which had ceased energy operation, and fell deep into thought.

He understood Lianna’s viewpoint. Back when Lianna, as an Alchemist, sought to persuade Lord Rhein to update communicators, she had ultimately failed. Lord Rhein’s obsession with the crystal ball was downright absurd. To this day, the entire Barbarian Cave relied on crystal balls for communication.

Now that Angel had become a member of the Research and Development Institute, could he succeed in convincing Lord Rhein?

”It’ll be difficult, but worth a try,” Angel murmured softly to himself.

...

After finishing his conversation with Lianna, Angel headed to the courtyard.

Greya was lying lazily on the roof, casually munching on snacks. Beside her was a large barrel of wine, its alluring aroma reaching Angel even from afar.

In the courtyard, only Sharley, Asaz, and the sleeping Toby were present.

Sharley was focused on Toby, keeping a close eye on him through Destiny’s Boiling Tune. Nearby, Asaz was holding a handbook, meticulously recording Toby’s condition.

When Asaz noticed Angel, he immediately stood up and respectfully greeted, ”Master Pat.”

Angel nodded briefly as acknowledgment. ”How is Toby doing now?”

Since Angel often came to check on Toby, Asaz was well-practiced in his response. He picked up the handbook and reported, ”At present, Toby has consumed 40 Demon Flower Sprite Demon Blood Stones. Destiny’s Boiling Tune has operated a total of 44 times. Toby’s shortest endurance time was one minute and thirty seconds, and his longest was five minutes and forty seconds.”

Asaz handed the handbook to Angel. The recorded data showed that while Toby’s endurance time fluctuated, the overall trend was steadily improving.

Although endurance wasn’t necessarily the ultimate measure of success, it was evident that Toby had become increasingly composed in resisting Extreme Resentment Thoughts within the House of the Heart.

This growth trajectory aligned with Angel’s expectations.

Still, as Toby was confronting a Demon King capable of manipulating emotions, Angel cautiously reminded Asaz, ”If Toby shows any signs of anomalies after waking up, report to me immediately.”

After ensuring Toby was stable, Angel returned to his laboratory.

Having fulfilled his debt to the Breeze Demonic Material Shop and with Toby’s condition steadily improving, the only pressing task left for Angel was delivering the custom reward for the Newcomer Tournament winner.