Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2619: Chapter 2620: Relic

When the Black Earl interacted with his peers, he would play tricks and schemes, speaking half-truths to leave the rest to be guessed. But these thoughts vanished in the face of this group of juniors; he simply asked his questions directly when in doubt.

This time was no different. When Angel’s eyes started to flicker, indicating he was coming back to reality, the Black Earl promptly woke him and voiced his inner curiosity.

”You seem especially interested in this Ghosteye Witch?”

The Black Earl hadn’t used a private channel for his question, so everyone curiously turned their eyes toward Angel.

”You wouldn’t be... attracted to it, would you?” The only one daring enough to utter such words was, without question, Dox.

Dox appeared shocked: ”When I said it looked beautiful, I was comparing it to the other Ghosteye Witches around, not genuinely complimenting it. If you’ve developed such an eccentric taste, don’t put the blame on me.”

Angel glanced lightly at Dox: ”If you want to hear my explanation, I’d recommend you keep quiet.”

Dox could extend or retract as necessary, and after the jest, he drew back.

Seeing Dox fall silent, Angel then spoke: ”This Ghosteye Witch is indeed special, but what caught my attention isn’t the Ghosteye Witch itself but this object.”

Angel directly took the Photostone from Dox’s hand. Dox opened his mouth, but in the end, said nothing.

Controlling the Photostone, Angel began to magnify a portion of one of the images.

This was at the Ghosteye Witch’s waist. To prevent the white lab coat from slipping, the Ghosteye Witch had tied it with several vine-like belts. For aesthetics, it had adorned each belt with an array of ornaments.

Most of these decorations were gemstone jewelry, perhaps dug out by the Ghosteye Witch from some corner. Among them were Extraordinary Items as well as ordinary gemstones.

What caught Angel’s eye was an oval silver pendant among them.

The pendant wasn’t a transcendent object, hence it initially went unnoticed by others. It wasn’t until Angel continuously magnified the image, placing the pattern on the silver pendant straight in front of everyone’s eyes, that all were taken aback.

The pattern on the silver pendant was incredibly simple—

A knight’s rapier with wings inserted in the intertwining of thorns and roses.

This was evidently a design resembling an emblem.

The reason for everyone’s astonishment was the sense that this pattern seemed vaguely familiar?

”I feel like I’ve seen this pattern somewhere?” Vay murmured softly.

Not only Vay but Kaier also appeared puzzled, even Dox fell into a brief contemplation.

It was normal for Vay and Kaier to occasionally forget, but if Dox, as an Official Wizard, found it familiar yet couldn’t recall, that posed a significant question.

As they were musing, Angel sighed, extending his right hand slowly.

It was known to all that Angel had always worn gloves on his right hand, yet none had ever paid attention to why he wore gloves or what they looked like until now.

At this moment, they discovered that Angel’s glove bore an identical pattern to that on the silver pendant.

The same sword with wings, inserted amidst thorns and roses, only one was a subtle design on a glove, the other an engraving on a pendant.

”You need not be surprised.” Angel gently raised his sleeve, revealing the bracelet on his right wrist.

”The bracelet is engraved with the Magical Energy Array ’Boundless Solitude,’ which can reduce the sense of presence. I applied its effect to my right hand, which might be why you occasionally saw the glove but couldn’t remember it.”

”As for why I need to reduce the presence of my right hand, that’s a personal secret I cannot disclose, and it’s irrelevant to today’s matter. But about this glove, I can certainly elaborate.”

Before Angel’s words settled, the Black Earl’s voice rang with a hint of disdain: ”What’s there to elaborate on? Isn’t it just Sanders’ glove, merely in a different color?”

Nowadays, Sanders’ gloves varied from white to wine-red, sometimes even fur gloves—many styles. Back in youth, he favored black gloves.

This is likely what Wizard Nis referred to: when young, one feigns heaviness, but with age, subtle flamboyancy begins.

And Angel’s glove came from Sanders’ younger days.

”The Black Earl is right, this glove is from my Mentor, and the pattern on it is the emblem of the Iguro family.”

Once Angel finished, everyone was momentarily taken aback, then realized, wasn’t Iguro Sanders’ surname? Thus, the Iguro family is Sanders’ family?

Wizard Family? It seems unlikely for Sanders’ family to be an extraordinary family; it’s only known that Sanders hails from a hereditarily aristocratic family.

So, the Iguro family is that noble family?

”Since this is the emblem of the Iguro family, does it imply someone from your Mentor’s family once visited here? Or, perhaps the Iguro family is actually descended from Naraku City?” Dox inquired.

Angel: ”...If the Iguro family could last millennia, where would that place the Noah Clan’s dignity?”

Dox considered it too, the Iguro family likely spanned centuries at most, while Naraku City had fallen millennia ago, making it unlikely to originate from Naraku City.

Yet, where did that silver pendant on the Ghosteye Witch originate from?

”Does that imply, someone from Sanders’ family might have been here?” The Black Earl pondered.

Angel: ”I don’t know for sure, but I do know that my Mentor has been here...”

Sanders’ first relic exploration was in The Garden Labyrinth. According to Sanders, it was a pursuit and nightmare experience.

The pursuit involved Sanders offending a horde of Magical Creatures, chased by a great many. The nightmare was Sanders inadvertently entering the Nightmare Realm within the Underground Aqueduct, an absolutely unforgettable experience for the young Sanders.

Black Earl: ”Are you suggesting that something of Sanders’ might have been left here?”

Angel: ”It’s possible.”

He distinctly recalled, while in the Nightmare Realm, Sanders mentioned losing his family dagger during his exploration in The Garden Labyrinth amid a chase with creatures.

As for that dagger, Angel had once seen it in the hands of the young Sanders in the Nightmare Realm projection.

That dagger is the token of the Iguro family. Although it’s sharp, its symbolic significance outweighs its practical use. Therefore, its appearance is filled with the luxurious yet low-key style of traditional nobility. It looks ordinary at first glance, but upon closer inspection, the engravings are extremely exquisite, and the Iguro family crest is engraved on the blade.

”You’re saying that pendant might be the blade of that dagger? But the pendant on the Ghosteye Witch is oval.” Dox, after hearing Angel’s speculation, questioned.

Angel: ”Since this Ghosteye Witch already has self-management awareness and aesthetic awareness, it could have entirely disassembled the dagger and polished it into an oval pendant shape.”

Angel offered an explanation, but Dox was still somewhat skeptical: ”If it’s polished, its spatial imagination must be very strong. Otherwise, it would be difficult to polish such a standard oval and even perfectly leave the Iguro family crest engraved in the center.”

Angel was certain that it was definitely the dagger dropped by Sanders. After all, he had seen the dagger before, and at the handle of the dagger, there was an arc-shaped engraving, identical to this one. It shouldn’t be difficult to polish it into a pendant. After all, this dagger is just a weapon used by ordinary people.

However, what Dox said seemed to have some merit. To polish it to such a standard, not only perfectly shaped, but the engraving’s distance to the edge is completely uniform, could the Ghosteye Witch really achieve that?

Angel pondered for a moment, and hesitantly and apologetically said to everyone: ”As the leader, I shouldn’t be doing anything beyond the scope, but I still want to go retrieve what may be my mentor’s item.”

”Of course, provided you all agree.”

Angel set the rules at the beginning: not to provoke magical creatures casually nor lose reason over small benefits. Everyone adhered to them well, yet Angel himself now wanted to break this rule.

Thus, Angel initiated a vote and request to the group, feeling a bit embarrassed inside.

Speaking of voting, the main opinions depended on Dox and the Black Earl.

The two apprentices are basically treating this adventure as a trip. So, Angel’s request didn’t seem inappropriate to them; they agreed without hesitation.

However, their votes are essentially ineffective. If either Dox or the Black Earl had objections, Angel would desist from doing this.

Though it’s a mentor’s item, it’s not something that must be recovered. Therefore, Angel can give up.

The first to answer was the Black Earl: ”No problem. If it’s truly something Sanders left behind, I genuinely want to see his expression upon seeing it again. Remember, you must record it then.”

Angel could only vaguely respond to the Black Earl’s mischievousness. Recording in front of Sanders, Angel didn’t dare... However, he could perfectly create an illusion and record with a Photostone. After all, the images from the Photostone can’t differentiate between illusion and reality; how it unfolds depends entirely on Angel’s directing skills.

After the Black Earl agreed, Angel looked towards Dox again. But Dox’s current situation seemed odd, not only deep in thought but with slightly peculiar eyes.

At the same time, Dox’s emotions began to fluctuate.

After a brief thought, Angel realized Dox’s inspiration had likely arrived again.

But what is Dox’s inspiration about this time? The Ghosteye Witch? The pursuers? Or the road ahead?

While Angel speculated, he didn’t realize that inside Dox, it was as if a voice constantly stirred his thoughts, using a sense of ’in the unknown’ to guide him.

Dox understood, inspiration had emerged again.

This time, the inspiration was to reject Angel.

As for the reason, the inspiration gave Dox a vague premonition. It roughly meant: don’t touch the Ghosteye Witch, it would bring disaster.

A choice initially uncomplicated, due to inspiration, made Dox start to grapple.

Agree or disagree?

His intuition told him the inspiration seemed truthful; the Ghosteye Witch being so unique must have its specialness. Moving it might provoke a series of consequences.

Yet, he didn’t want to sour relations with Angel. Don’t be fooled by his constant teasing and joking with Angel; Dox always walked on the line without truly angering Angel, instead creating significant presence—Angel’s current response to Dox, bewilderment rather than polite detachment, showed they were actually drawing closer through those harmless jokes.

Now, Angel’s solemn request, if refused, might not provoke Angel, but likely restore that previous polite yet distant demeanor.

After weighing for quite a while, Dox reined in the wave of emotions within him and said, as if indifferent: ”Huh? My turn now?”

Dox let out a yawn: ”Earlier, I was thinking of something interesting, didn’t notice over here. You’re asking for my opinion, right? Of course, I agree.”

”I still think it doesn’t look polished. Maybe, it’s not your mentor’s lost dagger but something brought in by other Iguro family members.” Dox: ”Thus, even to verify this thought, I have to agree!”

Dox spoke righteously, but the fluctuating emotions inside, Angel could clearly sense.

It was nearly certain; Dox’s inspiration might relate to this choice.

Moreover, Dox chose to defy inspiration; otherwise, his emotions wouldn’t be so intensely stirred.

Angel pondered for a moment:

Since Dox agreed for him to take the pendant, it means defying inspiration, suggesting that taking the pendant might be dangerous or trigger danger in Dox’s inspiration?

Yet, even so, Dox still chooses to support Angel.

Regardless of whether Dox’s choice is due to valuing Angel more or he simply doesn’t believe the inspiration, it doesn’t actually matter now.

At least Angel’s goodwill towards Dox has undoubtedly increased.

”If you must take it, be cautious. Ideally, avoid being detected by the Ghosteye Witch.” At this time, a private message from the Black Earl suddenly transmitted to Angel’s mind.

Evidently, the Black Earl also discerned Dox’s condition, speculating that inspiration might start playing into the matter.

”I understand.”

The sudden emergence of inspiration made the trajectory of this matter odd, but it wouldn’t affect Angel’s actions. Indeed, he might even appreciate Dox’s inspiration.

Inspiration playing into this matter can’t be without reason. That Ghosteye Witch must have distinctive traits and might genuinely incite danger.

Thus, inspiration effectively serves as a warning for Angel not to act too boldly.

Previously, had Angel wanted to take that silver pendant, he’d have done so carelessly. But now, he decides to heed the Black Earl’s advice and take it without alerting the Ghosteye Witch.

However, how to avoid the Ghosteye Witch’s attention while removing its pendant?