Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 3181: Chapter 3182: Mutation Effect

”This is Granny Kekoruo’s Secret Ceremony Box.” The man in the black robe: ”Its effects were already listed on the inventory earlier, so I won’t go into detail.”

”Let me talk about what’s not recorded on the inventory, such as these four elemental symbols.”

The man in the black robe didn’t waste words; he quickly explained the meaning of the elemental symbols in a few sentences.

Simply put, these four elemental symbols are the activation conditions for the Secret Ceremony Box.

To make the Secret Ceremony Box work, you must simultaneously output a ”specific amount, rate, and speed” of Wind Element, Water Element, Fire Element, and Natural System Energy.

Only with all four elemental energies can the Secret Ceremony Box be activated.

The lower the output level, the worse the effect of the Secret Ceremony Box. Conversely, the higher the output level, the better the effect.

This can be considered a flaw of the Secret Ceremony Box because it’s generally difficult to operate alone.

Even if someone can operate it alone, they can at most perform four low-level elemental tricks simultaneously; the level will inevitably be very low, and the effect of the Secret Ceremony Box won’t be great.

To truly bring out the Secret Ceremony Box’s effectiveness, the best method is simultaneous operation by many people.

However, when you urgently need to use the Secret Ceremony Box, you might not be able to gather enough people. Thus, these four elemental symbols are also considered a flaw or a threshold.

But if this is the only flaw, it doesn’t bother Angel much.

Because the so-called ”multi-person” operation doesn’t necessarily require a Wizard. Elemental Creatures can also operate it.

Currently, Angel alone can gather four roles: Speedy represents wind, Dangross represents fire, Wood Spirit represents natural energy, and then he can use water elemental energy, perfectly meeting the operation conditions of the Secret Ceremony Box.

Even if Wood Spirit is handed over to Sanders later, he can still find a Natural Element Spirit from the Tidal World to fill in.

So, this threshold is not really a threshold for him.

Angel also believes that if this is the only threshold, the price of the Secret Ceremony Box shouldn’t be reduced so much. It seems there are some unknown flaws?

When Angel asked, sure enough, the man in the black robe nodded: ”Yes, the Secret Ceremony Box has one real flaw.”

”Generally speaking, once activated, the Secret Ceremony Box enhances food flavor and amplifies the benefits of food. But occasionally, accidents happen, causing the food inside the Secret Ceremony Box to mutate.”

Angel was startled: ”Mutate? You mean mold or rot?”

The man in the black robe shook his head: ”If it’s just mold and rot, it wouldn’t be a big deal. The mutations caused by the Secret Ceremony Box occasionally have some horrifying consequences...”

The man in the black robe’s voice trembled when he mentioned ”consequences.”

Angel couldn’t see the man’s expression, but he could sense the fear emanating from his heart.

What kind of ”consequences” could make the man in black robe feel frightened and scared?

While pondering, the man in the black robe gave an answer: ”I once witnessed a mutation; it was a bottle of apple cider, a drink my daughter likes. Generally, with the box’s enhancement, the cider’s taste becomes smoother and richer. But that time, an accident occurred: when I opened the box’s lid, a thick black foul-smelling mist erupted.”

”Luckily, I reacted swiftly and pulled my daughter away immediately. Otherwise, we would have been enveloped by the mist...”

”For the next two days, a foul black mist lingered around our residence. Ordinary creatures entering it died instantly; even Transcendent creatures would be sniffed unconscious if they weren’t careful. Most importantly, after coming into contact with the mist, for the next year or so, one would be accompanied by a persistent foul smell, not just drifting around the nose but also eroding the soul, as if the soul was dunked in a latrine.”

”Although it doesn’t cause any substantial harm, I... don’t wish to experience that foul mist twice.”

When the man in the black robe spoke, the repulsion in his words almost overflowed.

”That’s the only time I experienced a severe mutation.” The man in the black robe: ”Of course, I’ve experienced rot and degradation before, but none compared to that mutation.”

The man stopped talking without further elaboration.

But everyone present understood what he meant; it was precisely because the Secret Ceremony Box randomly causes food mutation, its price was set so low.

Angel: ”Actually, you didn’t have to tell us.”

If the man in black robe hadn’t mentioned it, Angel wouldn’t necessarily have found out even if he bought it. After all, mutations are a small probability event.

The man shrugged: ”I’m doing business sincerely, so I must explain all situations. Besides, I want my guests to see my sincerity.”

The man looked at Angel meaningfully.

He hoped to demonstrate sincerity, not without expectations.

He believed Angel would understand.

Angel chuckled and didn’t reply but instead asked: ”Talk about the mutation; do you know why this mutation occurs?”

The man in the black robe pondered: ”The handbook I got records some usage insights of the box. According to the previous owner’s guess, the ceremony of the box is extremely rare. Even as a Gourmet Sorcerer, he hadn’t heard about it, so his first guess could be that the mutation relates to the ceremony.”

”Another guess is that he discovered the ritual track of the box contains many unknown pieces of information, as if a certain ritual or prayer was held during the creation, causing unknown changes, and these unknown pieces may lead to the box’s mutation.”

Angel remembered the internal ceremony of this box was called ”Sweet Wind Honey Fire Sugar Vine Growth.”

Sounds related to food.

But unfortunately, Angel knows little about ceremonies—the food-related ones even less—he doesn’t understand the nuances of this ceremony.

Angel thought about it and then asked Laplace to see if she had heard of such ceremonies.

However, Laplace didn’t know this ceremony either, but she offered her insights: ”Although I’ve never heard of this ceremony, he’s somewhat right. Many tools with solidified ceremonies appear ordinary, but they possess some incredible power. And this incredible power originates from various ritual tracks during solidification.”

”Blood sacrifices, flesh sacrifices, chants, prayers... these can lead to unpredictable changes in the final ceremony. If highly special materials are used during the ceremony, the final effects could become quite exaggerated.”

Without understanding Ritual Studies, it is difficult to discern solely based on appearance.

Just like this box, to Angel, it seemed like a regular tool—who would think it could amplify food flavors or cause an apple cider to create a foul mist disaster?

This exaggerated mutation effect probably arose from some special ”process” in the ritual tracks before solidification.

In short, when analyzing ritual tools, one can’t rely solely on materials and external fluctuations.

Even a small tool might wield astonishing effects.

Currently, there haven’t been any extremely terrifying outcomes from the box; the foul mist is scary, but it’s just smelly—it’s not deadly... If it’s not deadly, is it really a consequence?

That’s what Angel thinks, but the man in the black robe looks down upon it and is too lazy to explain; those who haven’t experienced it will never understand the fear of having one’s soul soaked in a latrine.

”Although the ’mutation’ has led the box to have some uncontrollable outcomes, not all mutations are bad. As noted in the handbook, sometimes mutations improve things... but I haven’t experienced it myself.” The man shrugged: ”Furthermore, a piece of information in the handbook seems dubious to me.”

”The Wizard who owned the box, its previous owner, after using it for some time, developed a peculiar thought: he believed the box’s creation might not have been intended to ’enhance’ food but was born for ’mutation’...”

In their view, enhancement is the desirable effect. But perhaps to a Gourmet Sorcerer, mutation is the true meaning behind the box’s creation.

But this is merely the Wizard’s speculation, and the man in the black robe does not agree.

However, the man in the black robe thinks that if the ”mutation” effect remains constant as ”putrid black mist,” its value would increase significantly. At least that stinky black mist would be great for disgusting people, especially those hounds of the Dark Blood Chapel.

But, the mutation effect is uncontrollable, so it really ends up being just a negative effect, only drastically reducing the Secret Ceremony Box’s price.

The above is the man in the black robe’s thoughts.

As for Angel... he hasn’t used the Secret Ceremony Box, so he refrains from commenting.

”What does the guest think now?” Man in the black robe: ”This price is absolutely fair. If you want it, we can still ’further’ discuss.”

When saying ’further,’ the man in the black robe emphasized the tone, with implied intentions.

Angel understood the man in the black robe’s idea, it’s just an invitation for a deep conversation, but he didn’t immediately answer. Instead, he looked at the Secret Ceremony Box and pondered for a moment: ”This item indeed has some value, and I am interested in purchasing it. However, let’s set it aside for now and discuss it when checking out.”

Man in the black robe: ”What do you mean, guest?”

Angel pointed to the list representing ”miscellaneous items”: ”I saw on this list earlier, there are some unknown items that are indiscernible, I’d like to take a look.”

While speaking, Angel handed the list to Laplace beside him.

The implication was clear: Open a blind box, I’m counting on you!

These unknown items that the man in the black robe couldn’t recognize, lacked known value; but Laplace is widely knowledgeable and experienced, might even find something valuable amongst them, leading to a delightful bargain?

Even if Laplace doesn’t recognize them, he can later return to reality, and head to the Wilderness of Dreams seeking external assistance.

Angel was steadfast in his determination to open blind boxes.

Of course, the premise is that the blind boxes here truly have that value.

The man in the black robe also noticed that Angel seemed to want the girl with the different-colored pupils to identify the unknown items. Previously, the girl with the different-colored pupils promptly recognized the type and origin of the pointed fruit, indicating she indeed has extensive knowledge.

Might they actually discover something valuable?

The man in the black robe pondered, perhaps raise the price a bit when they request items later? This way, the stakes will be higher during negotiations.

Although the man in the black robe guessed Angel’s intention to find a bargain, he didn’t obstruct it, because he had a favor to ask.

”This one, this one, and this one...” Laplace pointed to more than ten unknown items on the list, signaling the man in the black robe to bring them out.

The man in the black robe nodded, turned to the miscellaneous items box, and brought out the items Laplace indicated.

The items varied in size, some as big as oxen or sheep, others roughly the same size as the Secret Ceremony Box.

Numerous items were displayed within the small compartment.

The compartment was already cramped, and after placing so many items, it felt even more cramped, barely leaving room to stand.

In the end, they decided to leave one person inside to identify the items while the others temporarily left the compartment.

Initially, Angel stayed in the compartment.

He activated the Eye of Nalda, scanned each item, and over sixty percent of the information that appeared was unknown to him. He was overwhelmed, and ultimately couldn’t identify a single item.

However, using the Eye of Nalda to record these unknown pieces of information and storing them in the ”server” of the Mind Space was a considerable gain.

Determined he wouldn’t gain anything, Angel lifted the compartment curtain and stepped out.

Outside, Angel immediately looked towards Laplace, eyes filled with anticipation.

Laplace said nothing, nodded, and walked into the compartment.

Angel knew well that his appraisal was just a formality, this segment had to rely on Laplace.

While Laplace was identifying unknown items inside the compartment, Angel and others started chatting outside.

The main conversation was between the man in the black robe and Angel... because Luigi ran over to the side of the hamster tirelessly running, curiously observing.

Even with the store manager Pirush nearby frowning, Luigi completely ignored it.

Earlier, he vaguely felt a hint of familiarity with the hamster but couldn’t recall why. Since nothing else was happening, and identifying unknown items wasn’t his task, he decided to observe this pitiful little hamster.

Angel conversed with the man in the black robe, each saying one thing at a time.

The conversation seemed like just ordinary daily topics, yet Angel sensed he was probing for information.

Oddly, the man in the black robe wasn’t particularly interested in Angel’s identity; he was more concerned with some ideological issues.

For example, the man in the black robe repeatedly mentioned Bloodline Wizards.

And borrowing the topic of Bloodline Wizards, he asked Angel’s views on the McField Declaration.

The McField Declaration concerns the conflict between Blood Origin and Pureblood. It’s a typical ideological issue, whether you support Pureblood ideology or Blood Origin ideology.

Angel didn’t expect that nobody asked about his stance outside, yet arriving at the Mirror Domain, someone tested his viewpoint.

Though Angel found this somewhat absurd, he still answered truthfully.

His stance is... no stance at all.

He wasn’t a Bloodline Wizard, why would he care about Blood Origin or Pureblood? In truth, if Angel had to choose, he’d pick neither and opt for Projected Bloodline!

Blood Origins pursued purity, what purity was more pristine than Projected Bloodline?

Pureblood chased the most suitable bloodline, what bloodline was more fitting than Projected Bloodline?

While Projected Bloodline hasn’t shown any outstanding talent enhancement currently, in terms of purity and suitability, it definitely surpasses Blood Origin and Pureblood.

Of course, this is just Angel’s opinion.

Moreover, it’s not an opinion to be expressed.

The man in the black robe wasn’t bothered by Angel’s impartial attitude and seemed rather satisfied.

Angel’s indifference to bloodline ideologies indicates he doesn’t associate with those having ideological imprints. Even forming friendships would be challenging.

And this was a good thing for the man in the black robe.

As long as there was no association with the Dark Blood Chapel, a transaction was possible.