Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2604: Chapter 2605: Centaur

The road with a strong sense of space contrast is even longer than imagined.

With the enhancement of Wind’s Force, the group has walked for nearly five minutes and still hasn’t seen the end. The oppressive feeling is growing, and although Angel and the others are not greatly affected, they gradually become silent, maintaining a state of silence.

This silent atmosphere persisted until the first narrow passage.

The road couldn’t possibly become wider, for reverence and smallness also have thresholds. So, after walking a long segment of the ”avenue,” they finally reached the first narrow passage—the road began to develop narrowly.

This passage has no branches, but on both ends, there stands a pair of statues.

The statue on the left has been completely destroyed, leaving only the base. The statue on the right has also been damaged but retained a half-body. From this half-body and some fragments on the ground, they can reconstruct that the right statue should be a centaur holding a round shield and a chain hammer.

The centaur, purely as a magical creature, doesn’t actually exist in the Southern Domain; even if there are any, they have smuggled in from the Abyss.

However, stories about centaurs are often circulated among the people, like the Tooth Fairy or Santa Claus in Earth’s fairy tales, deeply ingrained in people’s hearts.

In folklore, the symbol of centaurs is not the terrifying creature from the Abyss but a symbol of loyalty and steadfastness.

Because in tales of centaurs, it’s always the brave warriors fighting against evil dragons, and centaurs are the solid support standing behind the warriors.

Who originally created these centaur stories has long disappeared into the annals of history, and whether they have seen the Abyssal centaurs remains a mystery.

But it must be said that the stories of centaurs have spread very widely, and even in the Wizards’ Realm, despite knowing centaurs are Abyssal creatures, many are fond of their image.

A friend Angel knows—Viking—has the image of a centaur below his waist. Of course, he was forced to transplant this image on himself, but since Viking does not reject this image, one can know the trend in the Wizards’ Realm towards centaurs.

Under such a trend, the statue of centaurs is endowed with quite a lot of positive connotations.

From the actions and posture of this centaur statue in front of them, it’s a typical stance of alertness, warning later comers to ”halt.”

The so-called halt usually has only two meanings: either a warning that danger lies ahead, or it’s an important place where entry is forbidden without permission.

Which of these two meanings would it be?

Angel was the first to break the silence and voice his doubts.

”Perhaps, it’s both,” came the cold voice with a hint of nasal tone, without a doubt, spoken by the Black Earl.

”I also think the Black Earl is right.” This time, it was Kaier who spoke.

Kaier had been squatting beside the completely shattered base of the left statue, wearing protective goggles, and using very professional archaeological tools, including a custom-made magnifying glass and a pheromone amplifier, looking quite the part.

However, when he spoke, Kaier took off the goggles and let out a long breath: ”Although I only captured a small portion of pheromones, it’s basically confirmed that the destruction of the statue was not by humans but by some kind of creature with a dark aura.”

”This magical creature might inherently possess corrosion abilities. I extracted signs of corrosion from some fragments. But the statue itself wasn’t destroyed by corrosion; it was smashed with great force. So I guess this creature has some corrosion ability and considerable strength.”

”Additionally, the most important point is that since I can extract some pheromones, it indicates that the destruction of these statues was not long ago, not exceeding half a year.”

”So, I agree with the Black Earl’s statement. The original meaning of this centaur statue might have been to indicate to visitors that the place ahead is an important institution, forbidden without permission. But now, since there are creatures appearing nearby, it also suggests possible danger ahead.”

”The coexistence of both possibilities is not contradictory.”

Angel also agreed with Kaier’s analysis because his analysis was based on his findings. Having evidence always brings more peace of mind.

Angel: ”Is there a record of the pheromones? If so, let me have a look.”

Kaier nodded and handed over the valuable pheromone amplifier directly to Angel. If it were anyone else, even Dox, he wouldn’t have given it so easily, but Angel is recognized as an Academy Faction ”researcher,” and naturally, he wouldn’t refuse him.

After Angel got the pheromone amplifier, he immediately started operating it.

Watching Angel’s precise and graceful operation, Kaier once again affirmed that his perception wasn’t wrong. It’s worth noting that the pheromone amplifier is a niche instrument that’s extremely intricate to operate, with any mishap potentially causing errors.

Angel’s operation was remarkably smooth, even more fluid than Kaier’s.

Soon, Angel saw the traces and records of pheromones that Kaier previously extracted.

After putting down the pheromone amplifier, Angel fell into a state of contemplation.

Everyone knew Angel wanted to see the pheromone record to identify the magical creature that destroyed the statue.

But after Angel finished looking, he didn’t speak immediately, causing some itchiness of curiosity among the crowd.

Vay even approached Dox and suggested, ”Why don’t you check the pheromone records too? Two people mean more ideas.”

”Are you suggesting Angel’s insight is insufficient to recognize that magical creature?” Dox countered.

Vay indeed had this suspicion in his heart, but as an idol fan, he wouldn’t voice it. He’d only suggest Dox help, prevent the idol from failing to recognize it and face embarrassment.

But Dox pointed out his thoughts directly, causing Vay to wave his hands repeatedly: ”How is that possible! The noble, handsome, powerful, and grand Chaowei Lord is the most knowledgeable wizard I’ve ever seen!”

Dox: ”...You’ve given him too many prefixes...”

Vay’s face flushed: ”I’m speaking the truth.”

Dox looked skeptically at his old friend—could this guy have been brainwashed by Angel? Why was he acting so strange today?

However, Dox didn’t voice his doubts aloud; stopping the topic here was fine. If Vay continued to insist he operate the pheromone amplifier, it wouldn’t be Angel facing embarrassment; the Joker would be him.

Indeed, Dox diverted the topic because he didn’t want to admit he couldn’t operate the pheromone amplifier.

Of course, besides Kaier and Angel, there was another person capable of handling the pheromone amplifier—the Black Earl. Still, no one except Angel dared to ask the Black Earl for anything. Although Dox previously dared to retort to the Black Earl, he wouldn’t now as it would expose his lack of knowledge.

”Huh?” During the silent waiting, the Black Earl suddenly made a puzzled sound.

Everyone immediately looked towards the Black Earl, but he said nothing, instead falling into contemplation.

This time, Angel and Black Earl both fell into contemplation...

Time passed second by second, and after two minutes, Black Earl was the first to return to his senses, though he still said nothing. Another minute later, Angel finally lifted his head, rubbed his temples, and let out a long breath.

”Did you discover anything?” The one asking was Black Earl.

Angel nodded, showing a hint of apology on his face: ”I found something, but it’s so ancient, and my understanding of magical creatures is actually limited, so it took a bit longer. My apologies.”

Vay: ”No worries, no worries. You’ve already done remarkably well, my lord!”

Dox glanced at Vay: ”Since when did you learn to flatter? Why don’t you also flatter me? I guarantee you’ll reach the wizard rank in no time.”

Vay: ”No, I don’t want to.”

Vay had no shortage of resources or talent; he was even slightly stronger than Dox initially. The reason Dox later caught up wasn’t that Vay couldn’t advance, but because he had his own considerations.

Dox twitched his lips and whispered into Vay’s ear: ”We’ve known each other for decades, and you’ve never flattered me, yet Angel, whom you’ve only met a few times, you do?”

Vay remained silent as Angel began conversing with Black Earl. He certainly didn’t want to miss out. As for Dox’s question, it was a separate matter entirely; close friends and idols are on different levels, incomparable. Besides, Angel was Vay’s newfound idol, and he naturally wanted to show off.

On the other side, Black Earl asked: ”Have you determined what kind of magical creature it is?”

Angel nodded: ”If nothing’s out of the ordinary, this pheromone should belong to the Ghosteye Witch.”

”A Ghosteye Witch again?” Everyone exclaimed in surprise.

Angel paid no heed to the others’ doubts and gently pointed in Black Earl’s direction. In Black Earl’s puzzled emotions, a series of wondrous illusion nodes formed an illusion structure invisible to the naked eye right in front of his nose.

”You may want to double-check, my lord. After all, my judgment might not be accurate.”

Black Earl sniffed and, to his surprise, found it to be the scent of a pheromone... No, it was the pheromone simulated by an illusion.

Upon confirming this conclusion, Black Earl’s astonishment was no less than when he saw Angel repairing magic patterns and casting the Moving Mirage.

Black Earl was familiar with Sanders and by extension, with illusions. He knew illusions could deceive the five senses. However, pheromones transcend the five senses, touching upon the realm of inspiration.

Yes, it’s the perception of inspiration.

Inspiration perception isn’t just a wizard’s danger radar— it has many other applications.

The Spirit Sea, Land of the Soul, and Mind Space are generally considered higher dimensional existences. And inspiration is the same; in wizard research, it’s also considered a higher-dimensional state, or perhaps a uniquely human high-dimensional sense.

The five senses belong to the material realm, while inspiration is cloaked in higher dimensions.

Identifying pheromones requires both the five senses and inspiration.

Angel simulating pheromones with illusions—does that mean he also has some talent for inspiration?

Black Earl’s guess was actually correct.

Angel already excelled in understanding emotions and mastering the five senses, surpassing ordinary people. Additionally, in the Wilderness of Dreams, he encountered independent existences without souls but with conscious thought, like Popota.

Coupled with Angel’s mastery of nightmare illusions, Angel could now simulate existences beyond the five senses using illusions.

However, Angel himself didn’t realize this was a form of talent as it came so naturally; long ago, Angel had subconsciously combined inspiration and nightmare illusions. For instance, during the chaos at the Twilight Auction, he continuously recalled the stitched woman from the Nightmare Realm, which led to overlapping between the Nightmare Realm and reality, marking the beginning of the change in the Eternal Night Country.

At that time, Angel connected with the Nightmare Realm just by thinking, relying on inspiration. Between life and death, inspiration and nightmare illusions combined, providing him the capital to overturn the tables.

Neither Angel nor Sanders noticed this back then, and now, using such illusions came naturally to Angel.

Though it was his first time simulating pheromones this way, Angel felt no fear of failure, which indicated this talent was deeply ingrained in his instincts.

Instead, Black Earl’s sudden emotional fluctuation left Angel a bit puzzled.

”My lord, did you find something amiss? Was my judgment wrong?” Angel asked, puzzled.

Black Earl saw Angel’s nonchalant demeanor towards the simulated pheromones, which raised a suspicion: could it be that Sanders had advanced illusion research this far?

If so, Black Earl thought he should adjust his mindset too, to avoid appearing ignorant, especially when meeting Sanders in the future. If Sanders were to boast about this, he shouldn’t seem shocked—be calm, be calm...

While self-hypnotizing, Black Earl was thankful that only his nose came out this time. A nose can’t show emotions; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to conceal his astonishment.

Black Earl believed he concealed it well, but little did he know Angel, who could merge inspiration with nightmare illusions, was incredibly adept at capturing emotional fluctuations.

However, Black Earl indeed had a reason to be thankful—not because he hid it well, but because Angel was here instead of Sanders. If it had been Sanders, he would have seen through Black Earl’s thoughts instantly, whereas Angel knew about Black Earl’s fluctuating emotions but didn’t understand what he was thinking.

So, when Black Earl finally calmed down, Angel had no other thoughts. The only question in his mind was: ”Did I judge incorrectly, is it not a Ghosteye Witch?”

As Angel anxiously waited, Black Earl steadied his mindset and tone and said coolly: ”It is indeed a Ghosteye Witch. Your judgment is quite correct. Well done.”

Black Earl offered praise, not for Angel’s discovery, but for the impressive illusion that simulated pheromones.

Receiving Black Earl’s affirmation, Angel let out a long sigh of relief: ”I initially thought I was wrong—glad it’s a Ghosteye Witch.”

At this moment, Dox, with a teasing tone, said: ”What do you mean by ’glad it’s a Ghosteye Witch’? So, you’re only brave enough to face a Ghosteye Witch?”

Dox didn’t understand the undercurrents between Black Earl and Angel. After all, he wasn’t well-versed in illusions; he was just genuinely puzzled by Angel’s words.

And Dox’s confusion happened to set the stage for what Angel had to say next.

”Seeing any other magical creature in the Underground Labyrinth wouldn’t stir much in me. But the Ghosteye Witch is different—I associate its existence with some unique meanings.”