Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 1462: Section 1463 Snake Bird

Now, facing the Mayfly-level Extreme Resentment Thoughts was already difficult to handle; facing a fully grown behemoth in the future was unimaginable, akin to an insurmountable mountain.

Moreover, due to the linkage with the Tribulation of Five Flavors, the suppressed Extreme Resentment Thoughts were very likely to erupt alongside the next tribulation.

In other words, if Toby chose the second option, he would still have to face the Extreme Resentment Thoughts, and they would be an enhanced version. If Toby himself had not undergone a transformation, the final outcome was very much in doubt.

“Now it’s your turn to choose. Which will you choose?”

Frost spread his hands. As they gently bobbed, a golden scale seemed to vaguely appear between them, with the two choices like two weights of different materials, balanced in the scale pans, teetering equally.

Both choices had their pros and cons, and each carried its own set of potential problems.

One was to resolve the issue now, though it would mean placing a remote-controlled bomb inside, with the switch in someone else’s hands. The other was to postpone the solution, which would likely face multiple simultaneous tribulations in the future, with a very slim chance of surviving, but the fate would still remain in one’s own hands.

Which choice was better?

“If you can’t decide, I actually advise you to choose the first one. The risk would be minimized,” Frost’s elegant voice echoed in his ears.

Angel fell silent for a moment, already making a decision in his heart. However, he did not immediately choose, but instead asked, “What is the price for these two choices?”

Frost replied, “To me, both options are but trifling acts, so you need not pay any price.”

If someone were a little more shameless, they might accept it there and then, but Angel did not believe in pies falling from the sky, and not paying a price—did that mean it would have to be repaid with a favor?

Seeing that Angel was still staring at him without saying a word for a long time, Frost shrugged, “If you insist on paying a price, then grant me a favor. If one day you become a Mystic Alchemist, I’ll ask you for the value of the favor.”

“What if I never enter the Mystic Domain?” Angel retorted.

“Then let’s consider the favor non-existent.”

Angel fell into thought. Should he make the exchange? If it was just a matter of asking for a favor, Angel wasn’t opposed to giving it. However, a favor is a promise with a very broad range—it could mean something as minor as owing someone a token gesture, or something as serious as going through fire and water for them.

If he were to promise a favor, it had to have a limit.

Angel weighed his words carefully, solemnly saying, “If one day I do have the chance to enter the Mystic Domain, when you ask me to repay this favor, I hope what you ask of me does not go against my personal will.”

“Agreed, not only will I not go against your personal will, but I promise not to put you in danger,” Frost replied, after all, when Angel became a Mystic Alchemist, one person would equal a treasure trove that could never be fully excavated.

Frost further narrowed the scope of the favor, which surprised Angel.

Angel never thought his favor was that significant, but Frost’s terms were so generous, contingent on Angel becoming a Mystic Alchemist, and his speech even seemed to respect Angel’s wishes. This made Angel’s internal compass slowly begin to tilt.

“Alright,” Angel finally nodded heavily, agreeing to Frost’s terms.

The corners of Frost’s lips, hidden behind his mask, curved slightly, “Since you have agreed, now it’s your turn to choose. Which will it be?”

Facing this choice again, Angel did not hesitate and said without delay, “The second option, to suppress!”

Frost let out a soft tsk, petting the Dark Melody with an affectionate tone, “It seems you are being spurned.”

The pitch-black flute glimmered with an even deeper luster, as if responding to Frost’s words.

Frost smiled and tucked away the Dark Melody, facing Angel, “This choice, it may cause your little demon… friend, to face even more terrible disasters in the future. I hope you can confirm again, do you wish to make this choice?”

Angel nodded, “Yes.”

Frost shrugged, “Alright then, no time like the present, let’s begin.”

As the words fell, Frost’s hand suddenly flashed with a strong and dazzling green light, so piercing that even with Angel’s current state, he found it too glaring and instinctively turned his head away.

When the green light gradually faded, Angel turned his head back.

At that moment, Toby looked unchanged on the outside, but as Angel observed more closely, he saw that Toby was continually emitting black smoke from his body.

This black smoke was incredibly dense, and although it was not foul-smelling, it carried intense Negative Energy.

Resentment, envy, jealousy, evil… all the Negative Energy related to “resentment” was proliferating at that moment.

Angel looked at Frost with confusion, unsure of what exactly was happening with Toby.

“It’s been suppressed now, and the current situation is normal, but…” Frost turned to look around, “However, this is probably not a good place for transformation. Let’s go to the Void.”

Transformation? Angel seized on this word, still puzzled as he looked at Frost.

The next second, without any warning, Angel found himself suddenly disappearing from the spot and arriving in the pitch-black Void.

It wasn’t an illusion; it was the real Void. Because Angel was acutely aware that the target anchor, which had always been suspended high in his heart, was not far away.

Angel looked toward the direction of the target anchor’s position and, as expected, he could vaguely see where the doorway anomaly was located.

Shock was evident in Angel’s eyes, for he had not felt any space ripples, nor had he detected any space fluctuations. Had he been brought into the Void so smoothly, without any disturbance? What a powerful spell technique!

While Angel was shocked, he was also puzzled.

He couldn’t understand why Frost would suddenly come to the Void? This confusion didn’t last long before ‘Toby’ gave him the answer.

For Toby, the release of the black mist from his body was becoming faster and its range was growing wider.

Within a ten-meter radius centered on Toby, there was nothing but that black mist filled with resentment thoughts.

Angel was beginning to worry about Toby at the center, but this concern only lasted for a very short time because the dense black mist suddenly solidified.

Angel watched the terrifying creature that had evolved from the black mist, completely taken aback.

He now finally understood why Frost had mentioned “transformation” before, because at this moment, Toby had already transformed!

Just like the Berserker Gryphon had been before, Toby had barely passed this second tribulation through Frost’s suppression of resentment thoughts.

Even though the resentment became a significant hidden danger within Toby’s body, it still bestowed upon Toby new strength, enabling him to transform through resentment!

This was a creature that Angel couldn’t identify at all.

Its body was still enveloped in black mist, but its overall shape had begun to emerge vaguely, measuring at least ten meters in length, with a slender, sinuous body and two wings that covered the sky and sun…

Angel didn’t know what kind of creature this was, but the feeling it gave him remained unchanged—it was still somber, resentful, envious, and brought with it a cold, damp chill that sent shivers down his spine.

As Angel pondered, the creature continued to struggle. But suddenly, its head protruded from the mist; a crimson vertical pupil filled with endless madness heedlessly howled into the Void.

Terrible waves of energy were continuously generated and spreading.

Angel now understood why Frost had taken Toby into the Void, because if the transformation had taken place in the Soul Realm, just this wave of energy alone could have been enough to kill the nearby apprentices.

It was Wizard Level power!

As it howled, Angel also noticed something—the tongue that the long head spat out was a forked, crimson serpent tongue!

This was clearly a huge python covered in red patterns!

As Angel was shocked by Toby’s transformation, the giant python suddenly emerged from the mist, allowing Angel to finally see its whole body.

Even though its head was that of a python, there were still avian characteristics located near its lower abdomen, along with two very large wings.

At the tail, it turned back into a serpent again.

Overall, it was imbued with a sense of power. Also, because it was a snake, that moist, fishy odor constantly lingered at the tip of the nose, chilling to the core.

What exactly was this creature? What was Toby’s transformation?

“Snake Bird.” Standing to the side, Frost answered Angel’s question. Although the eyes beneath the mask couldn’t be seen, Angel could feel the evident admiration in Frost’s tone.

“The Snake Bird is a very rare magical creature. Such an elegant and huge Snake Bird is probably hard to find among its kin,” praised Frost, “Filled with jealousy, vanity, and resentment, such a harmonious blend.”

While Frost was offering praise, Toby, having transformed into a Snake Bird, suddenly began to go berserk.

Toby turned its head, its twisted snake-neck adopting a bizarre posture to aim its cold-scaled snake head at Angel’s location.

Its red vertical pupil was filled with a mad intent.

Lashing its tongue frenetically, Toby dove toward Angel.

Toby had clearly lost its rationality by now. Its movements were swift; it opened its mouth wide, revealing fangs that emitted a green glow… Evidently, Toby’s dive was not an expression of joy but was filled with lethal intent.

Just as Toby was about to close in on Angel, a wall of crystal appeared in front of it.

With a flick of its tail, Toby shattered the crystal wall to pieces. However, as soon as one shattered, a second would appear, and no matter how Toby attacked, it couldn’t get close to Angel.

Just as Toby was about to go into a rampage, a faint moan emanated from within the dark Void.

Toby abruptly turned its head, looking in the direction of the sound…