Warlock Apprentice

Toby was narrating his fearless heroism from beginning to end.

The more he spoke, the more enthusiastic he became, the more his excitement bubbled over, seemingly forgetting the initial expression of grievance he had shown.

However, Angel and Greya listened attentively, after all, Toby’s experiences in the House of the Heart had always been concealed from them.

Although Toby might have used a bit of exaggeration in his storytelling, it wasn’t difficult to discern the level of peril in overcoming the tribulation from his descriptions.

These overlapping traps, one wave of dark undercurrents after another, combined with the harassment of various Magical Creatures made Greya sigh. If not for Angel’s use of the ”Dream Trial” method, Toby might not have even had a 1% success rate.

Toby took half an hour to elaborate on his heroic deeds, finally reaching the end of his tribulation where his expression turned from pride to grievance once more.

”... Chirp chirp!” I was clearly at the final high platform, I could have easily defeated the Extreme Resentment Thoughts, I practiced countless times, but who knew some unknown creature would steal the victory!

Toby was so furious that the feathers on his head started to bristle; he jumped from Angel’s shoulder onto the table, pacing back and forth with a fiery look in his eyes.

”Is this the reason you’re so upset?” Greya asked after a long pause.

Toby nodded, feeling aggrieved.

Greya: ”...” Is your focus misplaced?! You should be more concerned about who the being that spoke to you actually is, rather than it stealing your first blood!

Even though Greya was internally ranting, she still symbolically offered some comfort seeing Toby’s pitiful expression.

”Actually, you could think about it differently. Someone helping you is a good thing; at least it saved you a lot of effort.”

Toby was instantly displeased upon hearing this, chirping away about how he wasn’t looking for help but for personal achievement!

Greya sighed, understanding that Toby valued the sense of ceremony more than the mere result. She too had been so passionate about such things in her youth, but with more experience, she now valued achieving the final result, regardless of the process.

Whether the sense of ceremony or the result is more important is hard to justify.

Greya wanted to share this speculative process with Toby, but seeing his current indignant state, it seemed he wouldn’t be receptive to lengthy discourse. Helpless, she turned her gaze to Angel.

As peers of the younger generation, Angel might understand Toby better.

Angel smiled, reaching out to stroke Toby’s head. The warm touch and the soothing comfort along his feathers gradually calmed Toby down.

Seeing Toby no longer showing anger, Angel finally spoke.

Angel didn’t dwell on whether the sense of ceremony or the result was more important, but simply offered Toby a suggestion: ”You said that the being who defeated the Extreme Resentment Thoughts probably did it to upset you. If you truly are mad, wouldn’t that mean you’ve fallen into its trap?”

Toby’s eyes twinkled, realizing this made sense.

”If you’re genuinely furious, then next time you meet it, use the same resolve you had to defeat the Extreme Resentment Thoughts to thoroughly crush it. Then you can mock it instead.”

Angel’s eye-for-an-eye philosophy resonated with Toby, who nodded repeatedly, flapping his wings and gesturing with his fists, as if already visualizing defeating this ’destined enemy,’ creating waves in the air.

Although Toby was pacified, Angel and Greya remained tense, exchanging a serious glance.

Having addressed Toby’s grievances, it was time to discuss more serious matters.

—What exactly was the creature that the Extreme Resentment Thoughts wanted to summon?

Angel: ”Judging by the timing, Toby must have encountered it around when we sensed the alternative emotions externally.”

”Such a heavy and complex emotion wasn’t originating from the Resentment Tribulation or the Fury Tribulation,” Greya stated solemnly. ”Could it be that our speculation was correct, and this really is... a sign of a new tribulation?”

Analyzing the situations, it seemed highly probable that this was Toby’s new tribulation.

According to Toby, the Extreme Resentment Thoughts had reached a dead end, so it summoned a vortex, hoping whatever was behind it would assist in dealing with Toby. The Extreme Resentment Thoughts even shouted, ”If it disappears, then you’re next.”

This sentence provides a clue. If it disappears, then what would be the ”next” to appear in Toby’s Mind Space?

Undoubtedly, it must be an existence equivalent to the Extreme Resentment Thoughts, indicating a new tribulation.

Another point of evidence: all ”vortexes” summoned by the Extreme Resentment Thoughts, including previous obstructions by various Magical Creatures, are actually manifestations from within Toby, a form of concrete projection.

This implies that the existence behind the vortex is surely lurking quietly somewhere in Toby’s body or bloodline.

Its ability to crush the Extreme Resentment Thoughts explains a lot.

Resident within Toby and capable of defeating the Extreme Resentment Thoughts, its identity becomes self-evident.

Love, Hate, Sorrow. One of the three tribulations.

All pieces fit together, and precisely because of this new tribulation’s emergence, Greya and Angel detected the unusual emotions at that time.

”Even in the end, the Extreme Resentment Thoughts didn’t forget to mess with Toby.” Greya’s eyes glimmered with a dark light. Originally, after Toby successfully overcame the tribulation, the next one might not manifest for a long time, but the actions of the Extreme Resentment Thoughts muddied everything.

Even if the new tribulation wouldn’t fully emerge for a while, its appearance already indicates it has challenged Toby.

If Toby were unaware of its existence, it wouldn’t matter. But now that it has emerged, easy days might be gone. Toby now has no choice but to strengthen himself, acknowledge its presence, and then someday, as he defeated the Extreme Resentment Thoughts, defeat it too!

Initially, Toby was quite averse to training. But today, when Greya mentioned continuing training to eventually defeat the unknown existence, he not only didn’t argue, but nodded without hesitation. From this, it could be seen just how furious Toby was.

To turn anger into motivation for progress is also good. Greya was inwardly pleased.

At this moment, Angel asked, ”By the way, did you ever see its true form?”

Currently, Toby has two transformations: the Berserker Gryphon and the Jealous Snake Bird. If nothing unexpected occurs, the being behind the vortex should also be one of Toby’s potential future transformations.

This question piqued both Greya’s and Sanders’ curiosity.

Gryphon and Snake Bird are remarkable forms, so what could the new form be?

Under everyone’s gaze, Toby thought for a moment, then shook his head.

He didn’t know what the other being was; the only certain detail was that it had pure white feathers.

For the thing that obliterated the Extreme Resentment Thoughts and lodged in Toby’s throat was a glowing white feather.