Warlock Apprentice

What could be seen with the naked eye was that the dancer’s movements slowed down. Although she was still dancing, the slowing frequency wasn’t significant, but this deceleration was continuously accumulating.

About twenty minutes later, the dancer had gradually transformed from a twisted twist into a step-by-step ”robotic” dance. Moreover, the movements of the robotic dance also began to slow down.

Another ten minutes passed, and a hint of confusion and hesitation appeared in the dancer’s eyes.

Although this expression only lasted for a moment, everyone present captured this scene.

Hesitation, confusion, doubt—such expressions wouldn’t be shown by an insane person, which means—

She is becoming lucid! Even if only for a moment!

After decoding this message, everyone naturally thought about whether the scene before them suggested that as long as the Nightmare Realm’s aura was continuously supplied, she would revert from a state of madness to normal?

If this speculation is true, it would indeed be an inspiring piece of news!

While everyone was expecting to witness a miracle, Sanders suddenly interrupted the supply of the Nightmare Realm’s aura.

Faced with the others’ confusion, Sanders spread his hands, and in his palm, a small Mare Stone that resembled a black pearl appeared. A crack formed in its center, and under everyone’s gaze, it shattered into countless pieces of powder with a crackling sound.

”The reserve of Nightmare Realm’s aura within the Mare Stone has been exhausted.”

Sanders’ words brought everyone back to their senses. Previously, they had focused all their attention on the effects produced by the Mare Stone, forgetting that it was, in fact, a consumable, and a rather valuable and rare Demonic Material at that.

Greya opened her mouth, wanting to ask Sanders if he had more Mare Stones, but in the end, she said nothing. The Mare Stones belonged to Sanders, and they were extremely precious. He had the right to decide whether or not to continue the experiment. Any persuasion from them would actually be a form of mental coercion.

After a moment of silence, Angel said, ”I’ll do it.”

Using the Mare Stone for this experiment was like burning money. So Angel spoke up voluntarily, taking on the task, at least ensuring that the Nightmare Realm’s aura he produced wouldn’t have reserve problems.

However, just as Angel was about to step forward, Sanders stopped him: ”No need.”

Faced with Angel’s puzzled look, Sanders lightly said, ”I don’t lack reserves of Mare Stones, and the aura within the Mare Stones is more than you think. The reason why the previous Mare Stone only lasted for half an hour is firstly because it was very small, and secondly because I had been using it for some time, and its reserves were almost depleted.”

Although Angel didn’t need to consume Mare Stones for Nightmare Realm’s aura, ultimately, he was only one person. Occasionally using the aura for experiments was fine, but handling everything alone wouldn’t be as efficient as using the Mare Stone. Moreover, the time wasted on this could be better spent collecting more Mare Stones in the Nightmare Realm. So Sanders never intended for Angel to handle such matters from the start.

The most important thing was that Sanders abruptly interrupted the supply of Nightmare Realm’s aura to observe the dancer infected by the live line and see her response after a sudden interruption following a period of aura exposure.

Since Sanders had explained it like this, Angel naturally nodded, stepped back, and continued observing the experimental subject’s changes from a spectator’s standpoint.

In the Mist Illusion, the dancer, deprived of the Nightmare Realm’s aura, exhibited a hint of anxiousness, turning her head to and fro as if trying to figure out what went wrong and why the aura had disappeared.

This behavior from the dancer was clearly not emerging from her own will; it should have been the live line’s reaction to the Nightmare Realm’s aura.

Greya: ”Currently, it seems that the live line doesn’t reject the Nightmare Realm’s aura; in fact, it craves and desires more of it.”

Angel also agreed with Greya’s view. Based on this conclusion, completely cutting off the aura, or continuously supplying it, was likely the next experiment Sanders intended to conduct.

Sanders didn’t produce a new Mare Stone but continued observing the dancer’s changes.

The dancer’s anxiety lasted for about thirty seconds, followed by ten seconds of stillness, seemingly expressing disappointment.

Then, her former state resurfaced; she resumed dancing in Illusions, faster and faster, returning to the initial tempo.

This simple little experiment might not appear particularly useful, but a more thoughtful analysis reveals that during this short period, several effective data points could already be ascertained: the supply amount of the Nightmare Realm aura, the dancer’s movement frequency, the degree of lucidity, and the live line’s active performance.

When the dancer began to madly spin in a circle dance again, according to Angel’s speculation, Sanders was expected to resume the supply of the Nightmare Realm’s aura to record new data.

However, much to Angel’s surprise, Sanders turned directly and left the dancer’s room.

Soon thereafter, Sanders entered another room.

This room also housed a patient of madness, but this patient was somewhat special. Unlike the previous dancer, he didn’t immediately act out his ”portrayed identity” upon seeing someone because he was still in a state of unconsciousness.

This individual was Old Hanmu.

A new patient recently infected by Yva, still unaware of what role he would portray.

Seeing Sanders stop in front of Old Hanmu, Angel seemed to understand something.

The dancer was an early-stage infected, while Old Hanmu was a newly infected. Under the influence of the Nightmare Realm’s aura, would the live line present different scenarios based on the duration of infection?

This was probably what Sanders sought to understand by coming to Old Hanmu’s room, collecting more data in the same vein.

Initially, Old Hanmu remained in slumber. But when Sanders took out a Mare Stone and began slowly releasing the Nightmare Realm’s aura into the room, Old Hanmu’s eyelids began to twitch.

A minute later, Old Hanmu opened his eyes.

As everyone observed Old Hanmu’s eyes, they realized that unlike the previous dancer, Old Hanmu’s eyes, upon opening, displayed bewilderment and confusion.

This confusion persisted until he noticed Sanders, at which point a slight change occurred.

His expression and gaze began to shift incessantly, like a stage actor meticulously honing his character’s demeanor before performing.

”Is he entering the act of portraying?” Angel murmured softly, ”If he doesn’t successfully portray, what will happen then?”

Perhaps inspired by Angel’s words, while Old Hanmu was working on his facial expressions, Sanders enhanced the release of the Nightmare Realm’s aura. Instantly, Old Hanmu’s eyes returned to a state of confusion.

The subsequent five minutes turned into a tug-of-war.

Whenever Old Hanmu attempted to initiate portraying, Sanders released more of the Nightmare Realm’s aura, repeatedly, until finally, Old Hanmu ceased trying to portray.

Simultaneously, Old Hanmu opened his mouth, slowly uttering a few fragmented syllables: ”Save... me...”