Warlock Apprentice

After receiving Angel’s reply, Greya nodded and did not ask further, and the air grew quiet.

On the other side, within Destiny’s Boiling Tune, Sharley crushed another Demon Flower Sprite Demon Blood Stone, marking the escalation of Toby’s confrontation with Extreme Resentment Thoughts into its most intense phase.

Seeing this, Greya broke the silence first and asked, ”Do you think Toby can defeat Extreme Resentment Thoughts this time?”

Angel shook his head, ”I don’t know either. This is a battle Toby must fight alone.”

They had done all they could. Whether Toby could triumph over Extreme Resentment Thoughts now depended on Toby’s own efforts.

”I hope so,” Greya said, worry flashing in her eyes. ”After all, the sooner Extreme Resentment Thoughts is defeated, the better.”

As Toby’s strength continues to grow, Extreme Resentment Thoughts will also grow stronger. One day, even Frost’s sealing will no longer be able to suppress it. At that point, the gap between Toby and Extreme Resentment Thoughts will be insurmountable, making victory nearly impossible.

Frost had also mentioned that the sooner one challenges Extreme Resentment Thoughts, the higher the chances of success. Challenging it early might carry a higher probability of failure, but there was still a chance. The longer it was delayed, even if it meant extending life slightly, it would be mere survival because Extreme Resentment Thoughts was like a tumor, slowly spreading over time, eventually extinguishing any hope of life and replacing it with despair.

”That is my hope as well,” Angel softly said.

As the anticipated time for Toby’s awakening neared, Angel and Greya stopped speaking, their eyes focused on the inside of Destiny’s Boiling Tune, waiting for the final resolution.

Twenty minutes, twenty-five minutes, thirty minutes... This was already the time Toby usually woke up.

However, this time, Toby still had not awakened. Even Sharley on the other side was still maintaining a high-intensity output of her talent. Beads of sweat covered Sharley’s forehead, making it clear that Toby was still entangled in his struggle with Extreme Resentment Thoughts.

Another five minutes, then ten minutes passed. Just as Greya felt her heart rise to her throat, Sharley, from within the Magical Energy Array, finally let out a long sigh of relief.

Sharley removed her Magic Hat, shaking the hair that was nearly drenched with sweat. She didn’t even have the energy to use a Cleansing Spell and just collapsed where she stood for a whole minute.

Only then did she use a gentle breeze to dry her hair before she tiredly walked out of the Magical Energy Array.

Once she had left the array, she looked in the direction of Greya and Angel and gave a faint smile. ”Toby’s emotions have stabilized. I think the battle must be over.”

After a pause, Sharley added, ”This time, Toby’s emotional outburst was particularly intense. Luckily, I soaked in the hot spring to rest beforehand, or I feel I wouldn’t have lasted. But fortunately, in the end, I still won.”

Greya stepped forward and patted Sharley on the shoulder. ”Well done.”

As her words fell, Greya snapped her fingers, releasing a misty pink fog tinged with the aroma of food. Before Sharley had time to react, the fog darted straight into her nostrils.

Sharley felt a wave of energy sweep through her body, bringing an indescribable sense of refreshment. She exhaled a deep, impure breath and said, ”Thank you, ma’am.”

”You did very well,” Angel nodded at Sharley, signaling her to rest for now.

Just as Sharley sat down, Toby opened his eyes on the other side. This time, Toby seemed to have reverted to the effects of Komos’ dream state. After opening his eyes, he stared blankly into space, unmoving.

”Judging by its appearance, could it not have succeeded?” Greya whispered.

Angel couldn’t say for sure either. After all, the House of the Heart was Toby’s trial, and outsiders had no way of knowing what was happening inside.

With a worried heart, Greya approached Toby. Toby seemed to sense someone drawing near, and its crimson eyes flicked slightly.

Seeing this, Greya realized Toby had regained its senses. She was about to utter some comforting words like ”It’s okay if you didn’t succeed, you can always try again.” But before she could say it, Toby suddenly shot into the air, turning into a small black dot high above.

”What’s wrong with it?” Greya was puzzled.

Just as both Greya and Angel were unsure, a roar echoed from the sky. Looking up, they saw Toby transformed into a fiery Gryphon, its massive wings blotting out the sun as it soared and circled above.

”Its voice... it sounds excited?” Sharley also stood up, curiously gazing at the sky. ”What’s it saying?”

Greya and Angel could also hear Toby’s cries. They exchanged glances, joy evident in each other’s eyes.

”It’s saying,” Greya’s face lit up with unconcealed happiness, her lips curling upward, ”... It succeeded!”

...

After two weeks of continuous trials in the House of the Heart, enduring a total of 81 failures—or deaths—Toby finally triumphed over Extreme Resentment Thoughts on its 82nd attempt!

When Toby awoke earlier and seemed dazed, it wasn’t due to Komos’ dream state. It was simply overwhelmed with joy.

Once Toby collected its thoughts, it immediately let its emotions loose, transforming into its Gryphon form to repeatedly circle and cry in the air, releasing the suffocating tension built from two weeks of relentless ”deaths” and celebrating its victory over a formidable opponent.

This state of elation lasted for several minutes. Only when Toby’s Gryphon form could no longer hold did it revert to its little seabird form and descend from the sky to share its joy with Greya and Angel.

Toby chirped endlessly for quite some time, expressing a torrent of excited thoughts before finally calming down a bit.

”So, what was the experience like this time?” Angel asked curiously. ”How did you defeat Extreme Resentment Thoughts?”

”Chirp chirp?” Toby blinked innocently at Angel. Even though Sharley and Asaz couldn’t comprehend Toby’s bird language, from its expressive eyes, they could roughly guess its meaning.

——What are you saying? I don’t understand human speech.

”Here we go again,” Greya sighed, holding her forehead. In response to Angel’s perplexed look, she explained, ”Every time we ask it about its battles with Extreme Resentment Thoughts, it responds like this, pretending it doesn’t understand human language.”

Angel turned to look at Toby, who chirped back with an air of righteous indignation: ”Chirp chirp!”

Toby: I’m not pretending; I really don’t understand!

Angel said thoughtfully, ”It seems like it truly doesn’t understand.”

”Well, that’s odd. Who was it I promised last time to buy dried fish for?”

Greya chimed in casually, ”And who was it that asked me for a Sharley-style magic outfit?”

Toby let out a pitiful chirp, ”...Chirp.” It’s me!

”Didn’t you just claim you don’t understand human speech?” Angel said, turning to Toby. The bird shifted guiltily, lowering its head to stare at its little claws.

Angel and Greya exchanged amused looks, shaking their heads and sighing.

They were merely teasing Toby and chose to let the matter rest.

In truth, they both suspected that Toby withheld its experiences, perhaps simply to avoid recalling painful memories, or perhaps... to spare them from worrying.

”Toby has really grown a lot after this ordeal,” Greya murmured to Angel through the Mind Ribbon.

Angel nodded, ”Indeed.” Though it still retained some of its childish temperament, its mind was gradually maturing.

It had learned to shoulder responsibility on its own.

Greya’s eyes reflected both sentimentality and a hint of melancholy. At times, she wished Toby could grow up quickly; yet other times, she hoped it could stay as it was, carefree and unburdened.

But such is the way of the world—rarely can one have both.

Growth always comes at a price.