Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2749: Chapter 2750: Nightmare Illusion Mark

The Black Earl thought Angel wouldn’t be so bold as to shift the responsibility onto Rhein. However, he still underestimated Angel.

Nonetheless, matters concerning the information from Xinnai Land, Rhein would certainly cover for Angel. This is part of their mutual understanding.

After determining that there was no issue with the Mist Ember, being just a somewhat special illusion, the Black Earl did not pursue the matter further, but drifted over to Vay’s side.

Immediately afterward, Angel saw all the openings on Vay’s body begin to crazily eject white, filamentous substances outward.

In just an instant, Vay turned into a round, fluffy ball.

These white filaments maintained their adhesive state for two seconds, then a breeze blew, causing the filaments to fall like snowflakes, revealing Vay beneath.

Vay revealed his true form for a very short period before another wave of white filaments started to emerge.

One round after another.

Seeing this, Angel already understood that the Black Earl was helping Vay clear the mycelium larvae from his body. Judging by the efficiency, it was far faster than Vay clearing them on his own.

At this pace, it was estimated to be completed in a few minutes.

However, although the speed of clearing was accelerated, for Vay, such rapid clearing wasn’t necessarily a good thing.

From Vay’s furrowed eyebrows and tightly pressed lips, it was evident he wasn’t feeling good; only because the Black Earl was doing the clearing, he had to endure it.

Vay wouldn’t feel uncomfortable when clearing it himself because he knew his own psychological threshold, understanding how much could be processed at once without discomfort. Thus, he could maintain a comfortable safety line throughout.

But now, with the Black Earl joining the clearing process, it shattered Vay’s psychological threshold abruptly, not just falling from plains to the trench bottom but descending into abyssal depths.

The acceleration itself was already discomforting, and such a significant variation intensified Vay’s unease.

It’s like having sore muscles massaged; moderate massage alleviates pain and relaxes you. But if it’s not so moderate... even to the point of being ”excessive,” it becomes frightening. The mild ache escalates to the extent of ”scraping the bones to heal.”

This suggests how painful such acceleration can be.

But the physical pain is still manageable; the greater pain is psychological. You may grit through physical collapse, but the breaking of psychological defences can instantly shatter all your resilience.

Imagine you arranged a small outlet for expelling mycelium, but now all openings on your body, visible and invisible, painless and painful, conspicuous and hidden, all erupt in unison; the thought alone is enough to chill your spine.

Originally, the mycelium larvae were to be cleared collectively, but now they are spread throughout your flesh, exploring every part like ants, emerging from places you’d rather not discuss.

Most importantly, this happens publicly.

This psychological harm, Angel felt, might surpass the physical injuries Vay suffered.

Even if speed is increased, Vay probably will develop some psychological shadow from it...

Yet speaking of it, the Black Earl often does not interfere with Vay along the way. Although their relationship is close, it’s more like a distant elder silently observing the younger generation stumble through, intervening only if the general direction goes astray.

Now, however, the Black Earl suddenly started disciplining Vay, aiding him in expelling the remaining mycelium. Why?

”Tsk tsk tsk, tragic indeed.” Dox’s voice frowned nearby.

Angel looked back to find Dox had moved closer, watching Vay.

Although Vay was enduring the pain, as an old friend and confidant of Vay, Dox immediately recognized Vay’s endurance and restraint.

”Too pitiful, alas.” Dox sighed again.

It seemed Vay heard Dox’s voice, pursing his lips tighter.

Angel glanced at Dox and spoke via the Mind Ribbon: ”If you stopped speaking, he might feel slightly better.”

Vay’s current suffering extends beyond physical pain, with shame amplifying psychological harm. Dox’s repeated commentary doesn’t alleviate Vay’s pain; it only intensifies his desire to disappear into the ground.

So, the best approach really is just silence.

Pretend not to know or see anything.

Dox squinted and replied through the Mind Ribbon: ”Oh, I understand.”

After a pause, Dox coughed twice, then said aloud: ”I meant the girl on stage with pink hair, yes, called Pink Moss, truly pitiful, truly tragic.”

This explanation was already a bit much, but at this point, it suffices. However, Dox added, following his words—

”I absolutely wasn’t talking about my dear friend.”

Angel glanced at Dox, deciding against urging him via the Mind Ribbon. It’s clear this fellow did it intentionally.

However, what surprised Angel was Vay actually endured it, showing no sign of psychological breakdown.

Previously, when Dox spoke, Vay’s emotional fluctuation was massive. Angel’s perception indicated Vay was just a step away from psychological collapse.

But now, Vay’s expression remained calm, his mood fluctuating less than before.

Was the Black Earl conversing with Vay? Or perhaps Vay had resigned himself?

If it’s the latter, Angel wasn’t sure if it was good or bad. Resignation means losing the sense of shame.

Though losing shame can rapidly rebuild a solid psychological shell, without shame as a base, who knows to what extent one might stoop, even you wouldn’t know.

Just look at Dox: he’s a perfect example.

”Guess what the Black Earl intends by abruptly helping Vay expel the mycelium?” Dox asked Angel through the Mind Ribbon.

”I think you asked the wrong person.” Angel wondered that question as well: ”But, you now know to ask via the Mind Ribbon? Why don’t you ask aloud; the Black Earl might answer.”

Dox sneered, giving a knowing look, exchanged a wink, and then returned to a serious demeanor: ”I guess the Black Earl might want Vay to participate again.”

Angel contemplated Dox’s speculation; it wasn’t unfounded, indeed a possibility.

Come to think of it, the Black Earl was quite perplexing earlier. From his perspective, the duel’s outcome was crucial to the Noah Clan, significant enough that the Black Earl would exchange his secret technique for Angel’s continued company.

Yet, at this crucial moment, the Black Earl decided to test Vay.

It should be noted that even Vay’s friend Dox didn’t think highly of this duel against the Phantom. Angel verbally said that Vay had a chance, but it was actually speculative; deep down, he agreed with Dox’s perspective.

No one expected Vay to win.

Of course, now that Vay has won, backtracking from the result seems acceptable... But what if Vay had lost?

If Vay lost and wanted the apprentices to also enter the legacy site, then hope could only be placed on Kaier.

With ”Out of Discussion” methods, Angel could make Kaier challenge four opponents alone.

But would the Black Earl be the kind of person to place hope in others?

This concerns the important legacy site of the Noah ancestors. If it were Angel, he wouldn’t trust all hopes to an outsider either.

But the Black Earl did something unusual at this time, which is very strange. Could the Black Earl have foreseen Vay’s victory? Unlikely, because Vay’s victory was entirely due to the opponent’s oversight; if the Phantom had continued to attack and not given Vay a chance to recover, he wouldn’t have lost.

So what was the reason the Black Earl did this?

Angel really couldn’t figure it out... but since the Black Earl had already done such an unusual thing, it didn’t seem to be a problem for him to unusually let Vay continue to play?

As Angel and Dox were chatting, the duel on the arena was already coming to an end.

The battle between Kaier and Fen Mo was essentially determined the moment Dox diverted his attention to Vay.

Dox’s distraction meant that there was no suspense in the duel; Kaier was bound to win.

And indeed, that was the case.

Kaier won even faster than everyone imagined. The small calculations made by the Grey Merchants and others had no effect at all.

They sent Fen Mo to test Kaier’s abilities, but Kaier hardly used any abilities. He just kept creating spatial fissures, reducing Fen Mo’s combat space to a minimal extent.

In the end, Fen Mo was completely trapped in the prison of spatial fissures, unable to escape.

As for Fen Mo’s illusions? They were used, of course, but from beginning to end, Fen Mo’s illusions had no effect on Kaier, as if Kaier was naturally immune to illusions.

Without the support of illusions, Fen Mo’s strength was reduced by eighty percent.

On one side was Kaier in full state, on the other was Fen Mo with only twenty percent strength. Their ranks were similar, and Kaier who frequently appeared in major relics wasn’t an Academy Faction without combat experience. Under such contrast, Fen Mo’s defeat was inevitable.

Fen Mo’s defeat was not unexpected, but what troubled the Grey Merchants and others was their complete inability to see how Kaier avoided the illusions.

When Fen Mo stepped down, they intended to get some intelligence from him. After all, Fen Mo had direct contact with Kaier, so perhaps he could see how Kaier avoided the illusions.

But Fen Mo was crying with a sullen face: ”I don’t know either.”

As Fen Mo explained, the Grey Merchants furrowed their brows even tighter.

Fen Mo initially tried different illusions to test Kaier, but whether it was Mist Illusion, Induction Illusion, or constructing a false illusion of herself, Kaier simply didn’t care.

He just kept laying out spatial fissures, narrowing Fen Mo’s range of movement.

At that point, Fen Mo saw that Kaier was likely immune to illusions, so she immediately changed her fighting strategy.

She began to use the difference in perspectives and controlled lighting projections to employ psychological suggestions on Kaier.

This was no longer an illusionary trick but a highly sophisticated hypnotic method.

Moreover, some of the tools Fen Mo used were given by the Evil Woman, which had no lethal force but were accurate against apprentices without defense to Spirit Sea.

But to her dismay, Fen Mo’s psychological suggestions still had no effect on Kaier. It was as if all her arrangements were just Joker’s play in Kaier’s eyes.

Eventually, after exhausting all her means, Fen Mo was forced to admit defeat.

After listening to Fen Mo’s description, the Grey Merchants and the Evil Woman looked at each other, and they saw the same bewilderment in each other’s eyes.

Kaier’s victory was too simple. The whole duel hinged on a single decisive factor: Kaier’s immunity to illusions.

Under the influence of this factor, Fen Mo couldn’t even approach, let alone probe Kaier’s abilities.

”Could it be that Wizard you encountered before?” The Evil Woman was referring to Angel.

The Grey Merchant said, ”It’s possible. He has a high possibility of being an Illusionist Wizard. But even if he is an Illusionist Wizard, we shouldn’t be completely unable to see what method he used, right?”

The Evil Woman and the Grey Merchant looked at each other, realizing this was a mystery they were unlikely to solve.

In fact, the principle was quite simple.

Just like the misty illusion Angel created inside Vay, which was invisible even to Vay himself, let alone outsiders. The Black Earl was an exception, as his nose coexists with Vay. If the Black Earl’s nose and Vay were two separate entities, he might not have been able to detect the misty illusion either.

Similarly, Angel also implanted a mark inside Kaier.

A nightmare illusion mark created through the power of the Nightmare Illusion.

The effect of the Nightmare Illusion completely crushes ordinary illusions. Especially for Apprentice Level illusions and related mental attacks, it can even provide direct immunity.

With the help of this nightmare illusion mark, Kaier didn’t use any other trump cards, nor did he summon the Speedy. He simply used basic spatial tricks to secure victory.

...

Like the previous duels, the Wise Sovereign gave both sides time to recuperate.

After the match ended, Kaier began to hold back his joy of victory, knowing that the next opponent might be the most difficult.

After coming down from the arena, Kaier originally wanted to calm his fluctuating emotions nearby to avoid affecting the next battle.

However, Vay’s situation caught Kaier’s attention.

At some point, Vay had already undone all the petrification and stood quietly beside the Black Earl. At first glance, there was no longer any of the previously discomforting white mildew filaments on his body; his skin was very smooth, and there were no visible scars.

Was he healed after the duel?

Furthermore, getting better should be a happy event, so why did Vay’s eyes look so dim?