Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2028: Chapter 2029: The Realm of Fire

Angel raised his head and looked towards the sky above Duling Garden.

With the naked eye, all he could see was a foggy grey sky. However, Angel knew very well that at the highest point of this Duling Garden, there was a luminous dome.

The reason why Duling Garden was not dim was because the light source also came from the dome.

This dome, just like the dome of the Sleepless City back then, covered this demi-plane completely.

Unless you find the correct path, no one can easily leave.

Although there were no visible flying Magical Creatures in the sky, Angel still chose to walk on the ground to avoid being too conspicuous. Moreover, since there were three little ones following him now, it was even more impossible for him to choose flight.

In the direction Angel was walking, the surrounding mushroom forest became increasingly dense. Each mushroom had a different shape, and their caps were of various colors. Many were grotesque and brilliant. However, for now, these mushrooms seemed harmless, showing no sign of aggression towards Angel.

On this path which might not be completely safe but at least relatively quiet, Angel finally had time to ponder over some things he had previously overlooked.

For example, what exactly was the invisible creature that blocked the exit of the Water Pattern and attacked him?

This question only flickered in Angel’s mind briefly before he dismissed it, as he subconsciously believed that the invisible creature was in cahoots with Misty Goldlady. If it weren’t for the invisible creature attacking him, he wouldn’t have had to dodge to the wall and subsequently be brought into this Duling Garden by Misty Goldlady.

Since they were in league, perhaps he could find the answer when he saw Misty Goldlady.

Aside from this question, what Angel really cared about was another matter. A suspicion he had since he first encountered the Nightmare Realm entities.

How did the Nightmare Realm entities recognize him? Or rather, how did they determine that he was Shava?

At first, Angel thought perhaps he resembled Shava, and they relied on appearance. But later, when he personally saw Shava, though he did not see Shava’s true appearance, it was a much taller person with long hair. From the appearance, the only similarity might be the golden hair.

Moreover, this time, Angel changed his appearance through the Shapeshifting Technique, yet even as a red-haired, golden-eyed middle-aged man, the Nightmare Realm entities recognized him instantly. This also confirmed that the Nightmare Realm entities did not rely on appearance.

If it’s not appearance, then what could it be? Projected Bloodline? That doesn’t seem to be it either, because even before he had the Projected Bloodline, entities like the Frog Crooner and the Fox Lyrist from the Nightmare Realm had already determined his identity.

Since it’s not the apparent physical traits, could it be that the Nightmare Realm entities identify based on more spiritual characteristics? Like aura, soul origin, or something else?

Angel could not determine a definitive answer to this question at present and could only seek the answer himself in the future.

However, knowing that the Nightmare Realm entities did not recognize him by appearance, the manipulability of using Shava’s identity became much larger.

But Angel also understood that having more room for manipulation did not mean he could be reckless. When facing low-intelligence creatures, like the three little Misty Feys hiding at his feet, he didn’t need to maintain a stance. But if facing beings like the bee Blair or more intelligent creatures, he still needed to be careful not to reveal his disguise.

...

After walking for about a quarter of an hour, Angel saw a new area.

At first glance, it was still a mass of overlapping mushroom forests. Angel called it a new area because wherever he looked, it was all a fiery red.

Whether it was tall mushroom trees, slender mushroom vines, or short mushroom clusters, their cap colors were mostly shades of red, and if not, then black or white, vibrant yet not as multicolored as before.

Most importantly, not only were the mushrooms fiery red, but even the air seemed to glow with a fiery light.

Angel carefully sensed, finding that the air seemed aglow simply because the amount of Fire Element within was exceedingly high, forming numerous hot, concentrated fire element spots in the air, nearly reaching the element activity found in areas covered by volcanic ash during an eruption.

Angel speculated that perhaps this was a cultivation area for a type of fire-attributed mushroom?

Angel was not surprised that different elemental regions appeared in Duling Garden, but he was slightly worried whether the three little ones following him could enter this high-temperature area.

As Angel pondered, the scorched earth beneath him moved slightly, and the three little ones poked up their heads at the same time.

Angel sensed their emotions, which were still full of pleasing towards him, showing no complaints about the environment. It seemed they were also well adapted to the conditions here.

Only then did Angel feel relieved and continued forward.

Though the ”Land of Fire” had a high temperature and the ground was scorched earth, it was not barren. There were fiery mushrooms everywhere, no different from the previous mushroom forest Angel had traversed in terms of lushness.

The only difference was the many streams of flowing fiery red lava.

The glowing red lava, the fire element particles in the air, and the dense fire-colored mushrooms surrounding made this region anything but monotonous, on the contrary, exuding an extreme beauty.

If Angel ever decided to write a Wizard’s travelogue like Fiewenda, this unusually fiery red mushroom forest would definitely be recorded by him.

Though this place was filled with the enchanting beauty of fire, Angel did not let the view overwhelm his senses. He knew that the more extreme the place, the more likely it was to be dangerous.

Plus, he had a vague premonition that perhaps he was not far from the human controlled by the Misty Feys.

Since arriving at Duling Garden, Angel, for the first time, began to extend his spiritual power outward.

Previously, he had only controlled his spiritual power to explore around himself without extending beyond his line of sight, to prevent alarming Nightmare Realm entities.

But now, a sudden premonition in his heart made Angel, after much deliberation, decide to extend his spiritual power deeper.

Knowing that a human wizard might be trapped here, even if he couldn’t bring the person out, meeting him would bring more peace to Angel than ignoring him outright.

As Angel walked, he perceived information fed back from numerous spirit tentacles probing various spots.

During this process, Angel’s expression became increasingly peculiar.

The peculiar expression wasn’t because he found the human controlled by Misty Feys, but because he now realized... that all the densely packed mushrooms big and small around him were not ”dead.”

The emotional signals they exchanged were incredibly distinct!

Instead of finding his target, Angel’s mind was filled with the multitude of captured emotional signals.