Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2526: Chapter 2527: Dox’s Evaluation

”Leaving them here, is that really okay?” Lady Melo approached Angel in a low voice after he returned to the tavern.

The group of Talented Ones who arrived at the tavern were clearly still not fully recovered, still showing signs of fright, mostly just sitting blankly at the table.

Although the tavern was closed today, the barrier at the door could not block the outside gaze. Lady Melo was worried that once the guard patrols came by and saw them, it might cause another uproar.

Angel: ”There’s nothing wrong with it, don’t worry, nothing will happen.”

In Angel’s view, even if the guards discovered them, it wouldn’t be a big deal. Would they really dare to do anything here? Moreover, even if they did, it wouldn’t matter.

However, after all, this was Old Porter’s territory, a hidden piece placed by the Barbarian Cave here, even if it wasn’t of much importance, Angel would still try to avoid exposure.

So, even though his heart was boldly proclaiming fearlessness, his reasoning was tightly reined in.

And that rein was the Illusion Technique.

Angel had set up a layer of Illusion Technique outside the tavern that could imperceptibly influence anyone entering its range.

This was also a precautionary measure taken by Angel.

After setting up the Illusion Technique, Angel asked Lady Melo to find Old Porter while he stayed in the front hall, chatting casually with Dox.

Although it was a casual chat with no set topics, Angel deliberately or inadvertently brought up changes in the Gumman Kingdom, trying to gauge Dox’s intentions.

Dox, while not explicitly stating his intention to get involved in the changes of the Gumman Kingdom, seemed to subtly hint at the desire to intervene through his previous actions.

There’s nothing wrong with intervening; Wandering Wizards, also known as Free Wizards, have no constraints and can do what they wish. But Angel was curious about how deep Dox intended to get involved and what he hoped to gain from it.

In response to Angel’s probing, Dox appeared somewhat absent-minded, occasionally responding but mostly looking around.

Angel: ”What are you looking for? The Crowned Parrot?”

Dox immediately nodded: ”I’ve been reminiscing about all the insults I heard before, organizing them into many excellent phrases, and I have to use them to teach that bastard parrot a lesson, or I won’t be at peace.”

Moreover, on the way here, Dox had told Angel to watch his performance, promising to deliver on his word.

However, though they had arrived, the Crowned Parrot was nowhere to be found.

This was why Dox was absent-minded in his conversation with Angel.

Seeing that the Crowned Parrot was not around, and eager to express those beautiful insults, Dox said to Angel: ”Why don’t you appreciate the insults I’ve organized?”

Angel smiled and declined: ”Verbal confrontation is all about live performance; what’s prepared ahead of time might not be usable.”

”True, but... sigh, do you think I want to argue? I’d rather break its neck directly.” Half of what Dox said was a low mutter but still meant for Angel to hear.

If Angel weren’t intentionally or unintentionally stopping him, Dox would probably prefer using more direct methods to deal with that parrot.

Angel: ”I personally think that defeating it in the domain where you were challenged and finding your ground there is more fulfilling.”

”What fulfillment?” Dox silently cursed in his heart. If that bastard parrot had targeted Angel instead of him, Angel would probably have dealt with it in a decisive manner too.

”Also, didn’t you say that the Crowned Parrot likely once followed a wise wizard, maybe even summoned by a big figure? Aren’t you afraid of being remembered by that big figure?”

Dox sipped his drink in annoyance.

If it were a big figure, they were probably dead or relieved of its contract out of frustration. Otherwise, how did that person named Abulei make a contract with it?

Although Dox thought so in his heart, he didn’t say it out loud. Since the parrot wasn’t present, he didn’t want to continue the topic, fearing it would only increase his frustration.

”Let’s talk about something else.” Dox directly changed the subject: ”I understand your implication, but I think there’s no need for you to probe into what I’ll do.”

Angel: ”What do you mean?”

Dox: ”Wandering Wizards go with the flow, unlike you organized people, who have to consider the bigger picture or overall interests in everything. Don’t you find it troublesome...”

Angel responded noncommittally.

Dox continued: ”Of course, you end up gaining the most in the end, but I’m a Wandering Wizard. I only see the immediate benefits, and I may not even need to seize immediate benefits; thoughts can change from one second to the next. Like yesterday, I was at Sandworm Market; today, who would have thought I’d be here in Princess Town with a renowned Transcendental Wizard to watch the drama?”

Dox winked at Angel: ”So, no need to probe, and don’t worry about me. If I really get involved, my influence is limited. Besides, after I return with you to Sandworm Market, who knows if I’ll ever return to the Gumman Kingdom. All possibilities exist, bearing the testimony of free choice in my heart.”

Angel chuckled. Dox’s words were roundabout, but simply put: I’m a small figure, don’t mind me, I can’t influence the big picture. I’ll just grab what I can and leave, not deeply involved.

Angel naturally knew Dox couldn’t affect the big picture; he was curious about why Dox suddenly showed interest in getting involved in this chaos. Did he discover any tangible benefits in Princess Castle?

However, with Dox’s words, it was clear he didn’t intend to go into details with Angel.

Angel thought for a moment and let it go.

His current mindset was quite similar to Dox’s; he was focused on immediate benefits rather than long-term gains. However, unlike Dox, his ”immediate benefits” were abundant and overwhelming: Green Patterns, Spatial Knowledge, Mysterious Alchemy, Authority of the Wilderness of Dreams, Tidal World’s Elemental Companions, etc. In comparison, even if Dox had found something tangible in Princess Castle, it seemed insignificant.

So, there’s no need to delve deeper. As for long-term interests... wasn’t that why Old Porter was sent to the Wilderness of Dreams to contact Lord Reine? Naturally, they had those people to consider.

After giving up probing, Angel and Dox began to chat truly casually.

However, even casual conversations had their limits. They couldn’t openly discuss knowledge from the Wizards’ Realm or gossip about other wizards in the front hall; it wasn’t just about having people in the hall, but also about choosing the right occasion and timing for ”exchange.” This place, this night, wasn’t suitable for such knowledge-based exchanges.

So, their conversation topics remained confined to the small Princess Town.

Eventually, Dox picked a topic and began evaluating the new batch of Talented Ones from the Barbarian Cave through his perspective.

Dox evaluated them one by one, and he didn’t hold back his voice. The Talented Ones still clearing their heads were instantly drawn to him.

Even though they didn’t say it out loud, they also wanted to know how they were evaluated in the eyes of an Official Wizard.

Angel actually had little interest in this topic because, among this group of Talented Ones, none were particularly outstanding. At least compared to their own batch back then, they were indeed a bit lacking.

But since Dox had already started the topic, Angel didn’t intend to interrupt.

With each of Dox’s evaluations, there was basically no surprise; what Angel heard were all terms like ”weak,” ”foolish,” ”impulsive”... and so on.

And each person Dox commented on had a somewhat ugly expression.

The only one present who didn’t receive an obvious negative evaluation from Dox was Amisha. However, even for Amisha, Dox still said: ”She looks somewhat like a prospective witch, but her overly stiff personality makes her more prone to breaking. Besides, if she doesn’t compete, she deserves to suffer.”

The notion of not competing clearly referred to Amisha not following him to coax Angel into a fight.

This point carried a bit of personal bias, but the other evaluations were not particularly problematic.

Even Angel thought Amisha had a bit of Nausicaa’s shadow, so he was more optimistic about her future; however, Nausicaa also had elements of being overly rigid in personality. Although being overly rigid isn’t entirely derogatory, not learning to adapt could still make it difficult to reach the end of this path.

After evaluating those present, Dox continued to evaluate those absent.

Siber’s evaluation wasn’t high, as an internally arrogant young lady who didn’t understand much of the world, she would likely have to endure some harsh realities to grow up.

For the two people after Siber, Dox gave very brief evaluations.

For Golos, the evaluation was: ”Interesting.”

For Bruiser, the evaluation was: ”A funny little guy.”

Where exactly they were interesting or funny, Dox didn’t elaborate. But the rare seemingly ”positive” evaluations made the other Talented Ones nearby feel somewhat resentful.

Angel didn’t stop Dox’s actions of drawing resentment towards those two. Sometimes, being targeted wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

However, Dox’s evaluation was quite peculiar. Angel knew what the ”funny” regarding Bruiser referred to; but for Golos, Dox seemed to offer an evaluation that Angel didn’t quite understand.

At least Angel hadn’t perceived where Golos was ”interesting” at the moment.

Perhaps Dox saw something when he sneaked into Princess Castle that made him find Golos interesting?

Although Angel was curious, he didn’t ask Dox because, coincidentally, Lady Melo came out from the back hall at that moment.

But there was no sign of Old Porter behind Lady Melo, only Abulei and... little Tom.

Angel was about to speak to Lady Melo, but Dox was a step faster than him.

Dox’s eyes lit up as he directly stood up, looking down at Abulei: ”Quick, where is that ugly parrot? Didn’t it like to talk so much? This time I’ll have a good talk with it!”

Abulei shrank back, retreated repeatedly.

Lady Melo, unable to bear it, gently stood beside Abulei: ”Lord Red Sword, Abulei is timid. If there’s any issue, perhaps you could sit down and discuss it?”

”Timid? Ha, if she’s so timid, would she dare let that bastard parrot provoke me?”

Abulei weakly said, ”I couldn’t control it either...”

Dox understood Abulei’s situation too, snorted coldly: ”Tell me, where is it? Did you release it back to its original realm?”

Abulei shook her head, hesitated for a moment, and said: ”I don’t know where it went either.”

As Dox continued to inquire, she revealed that the Crowned Parrot flew out from the tavern after they left. It told Abulei it wanted to find a quiet place to sleep and would return in the daytime.

Abulei couldn’t control the Crowned Parrot and could only let it fly away.

”It actually went out alone?” Dox was indeed a bit surprised. Even if the Crowned Parrot wasn’t a particularly strong Summoned Beast, it was still an Extraordinary Life. And this was the Wizards’ Realm, where those driven by profit wouldn’t let a single Crowned Parrot slip by.

Dox narrowed his eyes: ”It’s quite bold.”

Despite saying that, Dox felt that perhaps the Crowned Parrot going out alone wasn’t just about being bold.

As a Summoned Creature presumably possessing the knowledge of a previous Summoner, its understanding of the Wizards’ Realm was evidently high. Moreover, from its previous behaviors, it’s clear that it was a creature with high intelligence and strong insight. How could such a creature not know the dangers of the Wizard Market?

Even so, it dared to go out alone; there must be something up.

Dox suddenly calmed down, slowly sat back down, as there were still a few hours till daylight, and since the Crowned Parrot said it would return then, it was worth waiting to see.

Faced with Dox’s sudden silence, both Abulei and Lady Melo sighed in relief, while Angel felt vaguely disappointed.

He actually wanted to see a tongue battle between Dox and the Crowned Parrot.

And with so many Talented Ones around, if a dignified Official Wizard like Dox lost to a Crowned Parrot in front of ordinary people, wouldn’t that be quite an entertaining scene?

Unfortunately, that Crowned Parrot wasn’t here... Angel shook his head, guessed that the Crowned Parrot had secrets, but it didn’t concern him, so he left it to Abulei to worry about. If Abulei couldn’t handle it, letting the Crowned Parrot influence her instead wouldn’t be a bad thing for someone as timid as Abulei.

Since Dox was done, Angel turned to Lady Melo: ”Is Old Porter not here?”

Lady Melo shook her head: ”He is, but... I’ll let this guy tell you instead.”

Lady Melo pointed towards little Tom.

Little Tom was the little guard who had previously snuck into Princess Castle for revenge and, after being discovered in the dungeon by Angel, was guided by him to come out and seek Old Porter.

Little Tom was not fazed, stepped forward, and said: ”The master sent me here to find Old Porter. I did see him, but when I saw him, he only came out to meet me briefly, inquired about the master’s condition, and before I could say much, he said it was too late, he needed to go back to catch some sleep, and anything further could be discussed after he woke up, and then he didn’t come out again.”