Warlock Apprentice

”Let’s enter the ruins first and then talk.” Rhein looked at the open door of the ruins. ”Come to think of it, I haven’t visited this ruin in quite some time.”

Currently, Angel was considered the temporary master of these ruins, so he led the way at the front as a guide.

Upon entering the ruins, they found themselves in a deep corridor shrouded in darkness.

Angel gestured for everyone to follow him forward.

During this process, Sanders noticed that although there were candle holders on the walls, Angel did not light them.

Why didn’t he light them? Although everyone present had night vision capabilities, from a courtesy standpoint, Angel should have lit the candles. After all, the current Controller of the Barbarian Cave and one of the three Ancestral Spirits were present.

While Sanders was lost in silent contemplation, the Tree Spirit suddenly spoke up: ”Speaking of which, I don’t understand why the builder of this ruin designed it this way. There are candle holders here, but you can’t light them, or else you’d trigger the endless loop mechanism. If that’s the case, it’s better not to design them at all; it’s entirely superfluous.”

”Since it’s a mechanism, it’s naturally meant to entice intruders to trigger it.” Angel explained, ”By designing candle holders, intruders would instinctively try to light them, thus triggering the mechanism.”

The Tree Spirit shook his head. ”You’ve been living here, so you should have noticed as well. Not only can you not light the candles in this corridor, but no light at all is allowed, or it’ll enter the loop again. In this case, not setting up candle holders is actually more likely to confuse intruders. Setting them up might even be counterproductive.”

Angel thought for a moment and felt that the Tree Spirit made a valid point. What he was implying was akin to ”there’s no silver here”; deliberately setting up candle holders might actually reveal the secret.

The Tree Spirit continued, ”Moreover, if the idea is to lure intruders to trigger the mechanism, then the mechanism must be extremely dangerous, even deadly. But the mechanism in this corridor only causes an endless loop if triggered, allowing exit from the ruins through the main door. This doesn’t comply with the principle of luring.”

Angel had considered this issue before but hadn’t figured it out. Now, with Tree Spirit’s words, he still didn’t know how to answer.

Instead, Rhein said, ”Actually, there’s no need to think about these issues. After all, this is just a ruin drifting ashore from the void. Maybe the original design of this corridor was indeed fatal if the mechanism was triggered. It’s just that some external forces have gradually worn down the mechanism’s threat over time.”

Rhein’s speculation was plausible. However, whether or not this was the truth was hard to say.

But since Rhein said not to worry about these trivial matters, Angel naturally kept quiet. Although the Tree Spirit kept on mumbling, without anyone responding, he gradually stopped.

Having listened to Angel’s conversation with the Tree Spirit, Sanders understood why Angel hadn’t lit the candles. Although Sanders also felt the corridor was odd, as Rhein said, this was trivial and not worth overthinking, so he dismissed the oddity from his mind.

In the dark, the four walked silently forward. As the Tree Spirit was merely a spiritual body avatar, only the footsteps of the three others echoed in the quiet space.

”In this pitch-black corridor, you don’t speak, and all that’s heard are footsteps. Doesn’t it feel creepy?” Tree Spirit broke the silence again after a brief pause.

However, this empty conversation gained no response from anyone.

Nonetheless, the Tree Spirit’s words inadvertently prompted Angel to recall his first time here.

Back then, it was also in this deep corridor. Because he was caught in an endless loop, perhaps due to the oppressive atmosphere, Angel heard a lot of disordered footsteps.

At the time, Angel didn’t think much of it, but now recalling it, it indeed seemed peculiar.

”I always feel like there’s some secret hidden in this corridor,” Tree Spirit muttered, ”Tizarro mentioned there’s a hidden room in this ruin. Could it be concealed in this corridor?”

The Tree Spirit’s topic piqued Angel’s interest. He was pondering the possibility when Rhein, in a slightly impatient tone, said, ”The last time we sealed this ruin, you said the same thing, and now you say it again?”

”But back then, we didn’t find any hidden room,” Tree Spirit puckered his lips toward Angel. ”Maybe Angel discovered something. After all, the first master of this ruin was, like Angel, an alchemist.”

”I’m just saying this as a hint for Angel.” Tree Spirit said, smilingly looking at Angel. ”You’ve lived here for quite some time now. Have you found any information on the hidden room?”

Sanders and Rhein also turned their gaze toward Angel.

Angel shook his head. ”No information.”

”But...” Angel suddenly stopped, his expression thoughtful.

”But what?” Tree Spirit’s eyes lit up; he was very curious about the hidden room, which was why he suggested Angel choose this ruin as a temporary residence in the first place.

Under the curious gazes of the others, Angel slowly said, ”But I think it might have something to do with the broken magic patterns on the knight’s armor. Unfortunately, those patterns are too damaged to repair easily.”

”Knight’s armor?” Tree Spirit looked puzzled. ”What are you talking about? What knight’s armor?”

Angel pointed to where he had stopped. ”The knight’s armor here was deliberately arranged in human form. When I arrived, I thought someone had entered the ruins before me. But it was just an empty suit of armor.”

As Angel spoke, he turned to look back, only to find Tree Spirit’s expression still one of confusion, and even Rhein looked at him with a puzzled gaze.

Angel then realized something was amiss. Tree Spirit and Rhein seemed unaware of the knight’s armor?

”The knight’s armor you’re talking about, is it the same knight’s armor you asked me about before?” Sanders broke the silent atmosphere. Though he hadn’t been to this ruin, Angel had previously consulted him about the knight’s armor, so he was somewhat familiar with the situation.

Angel nodded.

”You mean there was a knight’s armor placed here before?” Rhein frowned. ”But I remember when we sealed this ruin before, this place was empty.”

Tree Spirit nodded as well: ”Yes, there was nothing here. Can you elaborate on what’s going on with this knight’s armor?”

Angel felt bewildered. So the knight’s armor hadn’t existed before?

He had previously discussed the hidden room with Tree Spirit but had forgotten to mention the knight’s armor... Now thinking back, did he genuinely forget, or was some force inhibiting him?

Angel shook his head internally, denying interference. If he had been affected, why was he able to discuss the knight’s armor with Sanders later without any issue?

”Angel?” Tree Spirit couldn’t help but call out again when he remained silent for too long.

Triggered by the Tree Spirit’s call, Angel returned to his senses. He carefully considered his words and recounted the discovery of the knight’s armor detailedly.

After listening to Angel’s recount, Tree Spirit and Rhein exchanged glances.

From Angel’s words alone, it indeed sounded strange. Tree Spirit and Rhein had originally sealed the ruin together and knew all the arrangements inside very well.

There was absolutely nothing in the corridor.

Yet now Angel claims there was an empty knight’s armor, arranged in human form, blocking the corridor?

What change occurred within?

”Where is that knight’s armor now?” Tree Spirit inquired.

”I decided to study the broken magic patterns on the armor, so I took it from here to the study,” Angel began moving again. ”I’ll take you to see it.”

Angel previously didn’t find the knight’s armor strange, but now, after listening to Tree Spirit and Rhein, a sinister feeling emerged within him.

What secret was hidden within this knight’s armor?

...

Upon reaching the study, Rhein, Tree Spirit, and Sanders saw the knight’s armor placed by Angel.

No longer arranged in human form, it was ”disassembled” and casually positioned on the table.

”Lord Rhein, is there anything wrong with this armor?” Angel inquired.

Rhein pondered for a moment, then shook his head. ”This armor is quite ordinary, judging by its material and effects, there’s nothing special about it. The only thing unclear is the broken magic patterns on it.”

Not only was Rhein puzzled by the broken magic patterns, but Angel hadn’t deciphered them either.

”The more unproblematic this knight’s armor appears, the more bizarre I find it,” Tree Spirit added. He had hoped to uncover some secret related to it, but the armor was even more unremarkable than he imagined. Were it not for the remaining broken magic patterns, Tree Spirit wouldn’t even consider it a transcendent item.

”The more I ponder, the more off things seem, though I can’t pinpoint the oddity,” Tree Spirit shook his head. ”Forget it, for now. We first need to determine one thing: where did this knight’s armor come from?”

Tree Spirit frowned deeply, murmuring quietly, ”Could it be that Tizarro was right, and there’s indeed a hidden room in this ruin? Did the knight’s armor emerge from it?”

”Or did someone visit the ruins during the hundreds of years it remained sealed?”