Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2455: Chapter 2456: Decision

With a loud ”bang”.

Morgan’s body shattered into numerous blood droplets without any surprise.

When Morgan’s body broke apart, everyone’s eyes were fixated on the Mysterious Fruit. According to their guess, the Mysterious Fruit should have reached its critical point.

At this very moment, would Morgan’s death become the key to breaking through the critical point?

Time passed by second by second.

The gaze of the crowd gradually showed a hint of confusion, the ”maturation” they imagined had not arrived, it seemed it hadn’t reached the full state yet... However, strangely, the attraction of the fruit did not increase; instead, the attraction had slightly decreased.

Just as they were feeling puzzled, a booming sound suddenly came from behind.

Angel turned around to see the booming sound came from another Wizard’s self-destruction.

Without any warning, a Wizard wearing gray tattered robes exploded into fragments.

”What is going on?” Angel looked puzzled, had the Mysterious Fruit’s ability evolved? Could it devour flesh from a distance now?

While he was at a loss, a stream of light suddenly flew over from where the self-exploding Wizard had been.

The destination of the stream of light was... Chairman Zhuguang.

The stream of light was not an attack method, Chairman Zhuguang easily caught it. As Zhuguang slowly opened his palm, amidst a mist of smoke, everyone could clearly see what was inside.

It was a pure white bone ring.

”What is this?” Rivetta looked at the bone ring with confusion.

The moment Chairman Zhuguang got the bone ring, he understood everything. Hearing Rivetta’s question, he originally didn’t plan to answer but, at a glance, noticed a red-haired, golden-eyed youth in the distance also curiously looking at the bone ring.

Zhuguang’s thoughts slightly shifted, and the words he planned to swallow back suddenly surfaced again: ”This is the Space Ring of the Sea Bone Wizard.”

Before Rivetta could continue to ask, Chairman Zhuguang directly revealed the truth: ”Something unknown happened with the Mysterious Fruit over there, the attraction slightly decreased, and the Sea Bone Wizard’s mind finally regained a bit of clarity.”

”Although he had been resisting the attraction before and couldn’t move, he saw Morgan’s soul return home. Now, his mind finally cleared up, so...”

Rivetta: ”So, Lord Sea Bone also chose the same path as Morgan, self-destructing the body and entering the Quest World through summons?”

Zhuguang nodded: ”That’s right. However, Sea Bone Wizard didn’t blindly self-destruct; he also had plans to return to the Wizards’ Realm, so amid the self-destruction, he used his last bit of strength to hand his Space Ring over to me, leaving a message hoping to temporarily deposit the ring with me and retrieve it upon his return.”

Zhuguang didn’t hide any details, narrating all the messages left by the Sea Bone Wizard in the bone ring.

At this point, Angel also understood the reason behind that Wizard’s self-destruction, which was to imitate Morgan.

As for his message mentioning retrieving the ring ”on the day of return,” it sounded a bit odd, as he was already dead, how could he return from the Quest World? But actually, it’s not impossible.

The likelihood of other Wizards’ souls returning to the Southern Domain after entering the Quest World is small. But the Sea Bone Wizard is different.

Although Angel met this Wizard for the first time, he wasn’t unfamiliar with his name, Bilakum Lovey from the White Coral Floating Island Academy, was a renowned Soul Sect True Knowledge Wizard in the Wizards’ Realm. Even Nis mentioned his name with reverence.

Soul Sect Wizards often have this phrase on their lips: Death is not the end, just the beginning.

The Sea Bone Wizard’s body may be dead, but his soul still exists; as long as his soul doesn’t fall in the Quest World, the likelihood of him returning isn’t small.

After all, the soul is the foundation for Soul Sect Wizards.

The Sea Bone Wizard handing the bone ring to Chairman Zhuguang for safekeeping, this backup plan also indicates his confidence in his return.

”I see, Lord Sea Bone really is decisive.” Rivetta remarked in admiration.

As Rivetta’s words fell, a few booms appeared in the distance. Yet again, several Wizards chose to end their fleshly bodies, ending with their souls returning home.

Evidently, they also heard Zhuguang’s intentionally loud words.

Though they are not all Soul Sect Wizards, it doesn’t matter; even if not Soul Sect Wizards, as long as the soul is not extinguished, there’s a certain chance of returning to the Southern Domain in a different form.

Though the future may not be promising, it is still a way out.

Under the threat of the Mysterious Fruit, they were forced to choose the outcome of returning home in spirit.

”Many of them are renowned True Knowledge Wizards; I didn’t expect them to fall here, drawing a temporary full stop in such a helpless way.” Rivetta watched the streams of light fly toward Chairman Zhuguang and sighed a little.

”When it’s time to cut, one should cut decisively, which is a kind of courage.” Adelaide spoke softly: ”Those with such decisive minds are surely more pure and tenacious than other Wizards. They might actually find a way to return.”

After saying this, Adelaide glanced behind.

At this moment, although a few Wizards aimed for returning home, more Wizards chose to wait.

They were still reluctant to part with their bodies, betting on a future: Perhaps the attraction might continue to decrease. As long as the attraction decreases, they wouldn’t need to self-destruct their bodies and could escape.

This thought isn’t wrong, but who can confirm that the attraction will decrease? What if it doesn’t decrease and instead continues to strengthen? By then, they would have lost even the chance to regret.

...

”Everyone has their choices; some chose to have their souls return home, while others are still holding on.”

”Choosing the former is not an escape, but a means to avoid ultimate risk. And those who choose to persist, some do so for greed, while others for luck.”

The Observer turned his head and looked at Angel: ”You are different from them; you still have a third path and can choose to leave. Do you want to leave?”

The Observer’s words were unhidden, allowing Chairman Zhuguang and others to perk up their ears.

They also wanted to know, who was this red-haired, golden-eyed person? What choice would he make?

Angel: ”Observer Lord, at this point, do you still think I would leave?”

”Leaving isn’t necessarily wrong; you may still find other opportunities.”

Angel: ”It’s only ’may’, not guaranteed. Also, although the Thief of Time hasn’t arrived, it did give a premonition of fate choice; this might be my only chance in life to witness the birth of the disordered object with my own eyes, and I don’t want to miss it.”

Angel’s words stirred numerous thoughts in the minds of those like Chairman Zhuguang nearby. Those marked by the Thief of Time are all talents brimming with potential. If the person is from the Southern Domain, the scope narrows considerably. Could he be from society?

Angel didn’t mind others’ thoughts, continuing: ”Why is the Observer Lord suddenly persuading me to leave?”

Angel had already clearly expressed his wish to not leave before; logically, the Observer should have understood, why ask a second time, causing Angel to feel slightly strange.

The Observer was silent for a long time before speaking: ”...I felt a trace of unease.”

Unease? Angel looked at the Observer in surprise.

”My lord means, Wizard premonition?” Angel asked promptly.

The Observer shook his head: ”Not premonition, just a situational judgment.”

The allure of the fruit suddenly diminished, and it was no longer consuming flesh and blood, an unusual occurrence indeed. This oppressive atmosphere felt like the calm before a storm... it was quietly accumulating power, waiting for the final explosion.

Once it erupts, it might reveal the true horror of the disorderly object.

Precisely because of this eerie atmosphere and abnormal development, the Observer felt a vague sense of unease.

”Perhaps you are overthinking it, sir?”

The Observer gently shook his head, ”I hope I’m just overthinking... Never mind, let’s talk about you; why did you choose to save that wizard earlier?”

The wizard the Observer mentioned was Maguston.

Maguston was surrounded by a green light at the time, undoubtedly the domain of green patterns used by Angel. Under the influence of the green patterns, Maguston regained a moment of clarity, giving him time to take a step towards returning home.

As for why help him?

”Just did it on a whim.”

The Observer fixed his gaze on Angel for a moment, then slowly shifted his eyes away, ”Is that so?”

”Yes.”

Angel did not lie; at that moment, he indeed did not think much of it, acting on a whim. But now, reflecting carefully, even that spontaneous action carried a certain inner conviction.

After all, Maguston was a fellow member of the Research and Development Institute with him, and although they had different stances at the meeting, it hadn’t reached a point of hostility. The simple peer relationship was enough for Angel’s willingness to help Maguston.

But just a baseline won’t necessarily make Angel take action.

What made Angel intervene was seeing the tenacity in Maguston.

Angel had returned to the center of the Mist Belt under the pretense of wanting to witness the birth of the disorderly object. However, that reason was just an outward justification; his real reason for returning was different.

And the one truly practicing that reason was Maguston. He wasn’t particularly greedy for the mysterious object itself; he came in search of a breakthrough opportunity following the ”fate choice.”

He was genuinely a wizard devoted to alchemy.

This dedication and enthusiasm perhaps infected Angel at that moment, so when he saw Maguston about to falter, Angel, guided by an inexplicable impulse, sent him a telepathic message, providing Maguston an escape route.

Angel did not anticipate that his casual action would also give other wizards a glimmer of hope. The self-destruction of the Sea Bone Wizard and other wizards’ emulation stemmed from this.

From a certain angle, this could also be considered a good thing.

...

The Observer refrained from speaking further, his eyes continuing to focus on the distant mysteriously silent mysterious fruit.

Angel turned back to glance behind him.

Now, fewer than ten wizards were still alive. These wizards did not choose the path of soul return but were quietly waiting for a suitable opportunity.

Another half minute passed.

The attraction of the mysterious fruit decreased once more.

This decrease brought joy to the distant wizards, although not to the extent of complete freedom of movement, it was a positive sign! If the decrease continued, there would surely be an opportunity.

Time continued to pass, and as they hoped, the attraction of the mysterious fruit continued to decrease.

Their expressions became increasingly joyful, with some even showing a hint of schadenfreude in their eyes.

”It seems the choice made by Sea Bone and others was somewhat hasty.” Rivetta timely voiced the thoughts of those present.

Based on the current trend, they would soon be able to escape. Once free, the choice of Sea Bone Wizard and the others who entered the Quest World indeed appeared hasty.

After a while longer, the attraction decreased again. By this time, the clarity in everyone’s eyes was becoming increasingly apparent.

At this moment, a roaring sound suddenly emerged again.

”Even at this time, someone is self-destructing?” The people looked on in confusion, only to find that it was not someone self-destructing. Instead, someone used a forbidden technique.

A forbidden technique is merely a general term; essentially, it refers to forcibly breaking or enhancing a particular ability using a near self-destructive method. This kind of spell technique is laborious and unsatisfactory; besides being useful for escaping, it’s not very effective for a desperate fight.

At this moment, a wizard employed a forbidden technique of a similar nature.

Currently, Angel couldn’t discern what the person self-destructed, but he saw the outcome: after the roaring sound, a hideous and twisted Space Rift appeared, and a wizard, pale and frail as though a breeze could topple him, used all his strength to dash into the Space Rift.

The outcome was clear enough; this wizard, using a forbidden technique, forcibly opened the Void Gate, or one might say a Plane Corridor, and escaped.

Escaping indeed was good, yet it’s unknown what the price was.

”Judging by the previous noise, Bai Yu Wizard probably detonated the majority of his psychic model, forcibly lifting movement restrictions,” said President Zhuguang, his expression slightly surprised.

”Bai Yu” Mazz. Tulan, was a second-level True Knowledge Wizard on the elemental side, the highest configuration among the remaining wizards.

He directly blasted most of his psychic model, which would cause his strength to plummet by at least eighty or ninety percent!

The level of Second Level True Knowledge might even be unsustainable.

Yet, despite this, he still did it!

If the fruit’s attraction continued to decline, he could have waited a bit longer, and the price of using the forbidden technique might not have been so high.

But he did not wait further, hunkering down to a certain stage before directly employing such a forbidden technique.

Such decisiveness is, in a way, terrifying.

”Will he, will he regret it?” Rivetta was stunned by the scene before her eyes, even forgetting to use honorifics.

”Whether he’ll regret it, I don’t know, but at least he fled alive,” said Diescher.

”That seems to be the case. With that said, Sea Bone Wizard also didn’t need to self-destruct so early...”

Diescher shook his head, ”Given the current situation, even if Sea Bone self-destructed his entire psychic model, it might not break through the restrictions.”

So, for now, it seems that Sea Bone Wizard’s choice has not reached the worst outcome.

However, if the attraction of the mysterious fruit continues to decrease, then those who chose the path of soul return would indeed be dismayed.

After Bai Yu Wizard escaped using the forbidden technique, the remaining wizards were also hesitating whether to use the same approach. Yet, Bai Yu Wizard’s strength was evident, his use of forbidden techniques might only drop one level, whereas for the others, the drop would be more significant.

Perhaps, it’s better to... wait a little longer.

As the others continued to wait with complex feelings, the long still mysterious fruit finally showed new changes.

The seemingly hard crimson shell on the fruit’s exterior suddenly cracked open a fine slit.