Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2592: Chapter 2593: Black, White, and Gray

Meanwhile, outside the empty underground church, the sound of footsteps suddenly echoed.

Soon, a tall man wearing a white mask, inscribed with the character ”Merchant,” walked in.

This man was one of the leaders of the Merchant Organization who recently detected the energy fluctuation at the underground church and decided to investigate.

When the White Mask walked into the underground church and saw the empty sanctuary, he slightly raised his eyebrows under the mask.

His fingers brushed lightly over a rod leaning against the wall, and the pad of his finger was stained with a layer of still-warm grease. The smell drifting from the rod, combined with the extinguished campfire beside it, indicated that someone had been roasting meat here not long ago.

But now... there wasn’t a single living soul in sight.

”How can that be? The Hero Squad’s logistics members are always here. I...” At this moment, a hooded man in a black uniform from the Merchant Organization, following behind the White Mask, exclaimed in surprise.

”Do you still think there’s nothing unusual here now?” The White Mask’s leisurely voice drifted into the hooded man’s ears.

Previously, although the hooded man outwardly agreed with the White Mask that there might be an issue here, deep down, he felt it was an exaggeration since the detected energy fluctuation was very, very small at the time.

”Did the Hero Squad... all die?”

The White Mask chuckled lightly: ”You didn’t answer my question directly, so you still think there’s no problem here?”

The hooded man chuckled awkwardly: ”You misunderstand, sir, I naturally trust your judgment.”

A sneer came from under the mask: ”You haven’t learned the judgment of your mentor. Instead, you’ve adopted the hypocrisy of the Black Merchants.”

The Merchant Organization has three major leaders known as the White Merchant, Black Merchant, and Gray Merchant.

The White Merchant, also known as the White Mask, is responsible for direct dealings with adventure teams, such as material trading and logistical support, all under his control.

The Black Merchant handles the maintenance of the Magical Energy Array, energy fluctuation monitoring, and surveillance.

As for the Gray Merchant, he is responsible for dealing with the magical creatures in the underground labyrinth.

Aside from the Gray Merchant, the rivalries and differences in responsibilities between the Black and White Merchants lead their respective apprentices to harbor mutual distrust.

Therefore, it’s not entirely without reason that this apprentice of the Black Merchant is discontent with the White Merchant.

White Merchant: ”To answer your earlier question, the Hero Squad’s logistics team didn’t die. I can’t guarantee they’re all alive, but at least they’re not all dead.”

The reason is simple: this underground church is a storage point for the Hero Squad’s resources, and now, all the goods are gone, clearly relocated.

In the room on the second floor, the empty clothes and bedding indicate they had enough time to pack before leaving. It showed that they departed calmly, seemingly not in distress.

The hooded man also noticed some hints and bowed his head: ”I will immediately contact the surveillance team to track down the Hero Squad.”

With these words, the hooded man vanished in a flash.

After the hooded man disappeared, the White Merchant spoke softly to the air: ”Come out now, isn’t your presence obvious to me?”

As soon as he finished speaking, a faint human figure appeared beside the White Merchant.

The figure was a man who looked almost identical to the White Merchant, except he wore a black mask.

This person was the Black Merchant.

Upon seeing the Black Merchant appear, the White Merchant took off his mask, revealing an elegant and cultured face. However, a hint of helplessness adorned his face at this moment: ”Are you enjoying letting our underlings fight?”

”I quite enjoy it. Without competition, how can there be growth?” The Black Merchant’s tone was casual, with an irresponsible flair to it.

”Competition and strife are two different things. Oh well, let’s not discuss this. Did you discover anything?” The White Merchant glanced at the Black Merchant.

”Yes, and it’s a fascinating discovery.”

The Black Merchant spoke while removing his mask, revealing a face identical to the White Merchant’s, except the Black Merchant had a rogue charm to him.

Though appearing at odds within the Merchant Organization, their apparent discord is merely a tactic by the Black Merchant to garner more attention from his older brother, the White Merchant.

The two are twins, having grown up together with a deep connection; truly, if there were any animosity, they would have drifted apart long ago.

Unfortunately, their apprentices remain unaware of the truth, engrossed in their fervent rivalry.

”What did you find?” The White Merchant inquired.

The Black Merchant grabbed the White Merchant’s hand: ”Come with me.”

An uplifting force rose from beneath the Black Merchant, and he pulled the White Merchant directly to the top of the underground church.

To the naked eye, there was nothing there, but looking through spiritual power, a conspicuous Illusion Node became evident not far away.

If it were a large, complex illusionary realm, the White Merchant might not be too surprised, as he vaguely suspected a Transcendent had been here.

But merely encountering a low-harm illusion node was somewhat puzzling.

The Black Merchant approached the Illusion Node and lightly touched it.

An illusion akin to a light screen appeared before them.

Simultaneously, lines of text began to appear on the screen. The topmost line read — Friendly Advice.

”It even gives a friendly suggestion. Tell me, isn’t that interesting?” The Black Merchant grinned, his single-sided smile intending to be roguishly charming, though the White Merchant saw it only as foolish.

The White Merchant ignored his brother’s silly antics and focused on the characters on the light screen.

”Underground church... repaired by the followers of the Demon God...”

”The Magical Energy Array has been repaired. Activation method is...”

”Final reminder: Transcendent matters require a Transcendent resolution.”

After viewing the entire light screen, the White Merchant was momentarily stunned. Initially suspecting provocation, he hadn’t expected actual guidance. The screen contained significant intel, most importantly revealing a new passage leading deep into the underground labyrinth.

And this unknown Transcendent not only disclosed everything but even repaired the array and provided the activation method.

What does this mean?

Is it a deliberate ruse, a gesture of goodwill, or some other purpose?

In an instant, the White Merchant’s mind spun with numerous possibilities, yet he couldn’t determine which was most likely.

Meanwhile, the Black Merchant had already activated the main control magic pattern according to the light screen’s instructions.

The magical energy array, brilliant like the starry sky, immediately appeared above, and the location of the passage was revealed.

”There truly is a passage. Should I venture inside and take a look?” The Black Merchant flew up and whispered to the White Merchant’s ear.

White Merchant shook his head: ”We don’t know who the other party is yet, and their purpose for doing this is quite strange. Inform Gray Merchant, and we’ll make decisions after discussing once they arrive.”

Black Merchant frowned: ”Why make it so complicated?”

White Merchant was about to continue speaking when his ear twitched slightly. He glanced at Black Merchant, and they both nodded, putting their masks back on.

Black Merchant silently vanished into the darkness, while White Merchant descended to the ground, shutting down the Magic Pattern, with the Magical Energy Array above slowly disappearing.

As the Magical Energy Array faded away, the hooded man reappeared in the Underground Church.

”Sir, the investigation team has already located the members of the Hero Squad. After questioning, it turns out the troublemakers are a group of three, but no one knows who exactly. However, there’s someone who once went out with them, and I’ve brought her here.”

After speaking, the hooded man stepped back, and behind him was a woman confined by energy, holding a trembling child in her arms.

The two were Mathilda and her son, Koro.

”Spare my son, he knows nothing,” Mathilda quickly pleaded, looking at White Merchant.

White Merchant didn’t speak, but observed Mathilda closely. He noticed a familiar Illusion Technique aura on her.

Mathilda continued: ”I know you’re looking for information, but I don’t know anything. Though I went out with them, they blocked my memory... I initially wanted them to erase my memory, but for some reason, they merely blocked it.”

”So, I only know I went out with them, but I have no idea what happened.”

”Please believe me.”

White Merchant didn’t need to judge Mathilda’s words to know they were true. However, what interested him more was the familiar Illusion Technique aura, likely from the unknown Transcendent who blocked Mathilda’s memories.

Though, their method seemed quite crude.

White Merchant slowly walked in front of Mathilda. Mathilda held Koro tightly, trembling all over.

”Don’t be afraid, I’m just taking a small token from you,” White Merchant said, reaching out his finger to tap Mathilda’s forehead.

The Illusion Technique aura manifested externally was instantly pulled out by White Merchant.

Once the Illusion Technique aura was extracted, a faint human silhouette appeared before White Merchant.

”Are you from the Merchant Organization?” A clear voice spoke from the indistinct silhouette.

”While politeness might make me want to introduce myself first, this is an Illusion, after all. It’s a loss to introduce myself without knowing who you are, isn’t it?”

”So, let’s save the introductions for when we meet.”

”I believe you’ll come looking for us, so we’ll probably meet, right?”

”Time is short, one last thing: the Hero Squad is just ordinary people, and Mathilda before you is merely a normal mother. Matters of the Transcendent should be resolved by the Transcendent, don’t you think?”

Once the sound of words faded, the Illusion gradually disappeared. The rough, crude Illusion Node suddenly scattered like mist and vanished.

White Merchant intended to retain a trace of the aura for Tracking, but he obviously underestimated the opponent’s skill.

That Illusion wasn’t crude; its existence was merely to convey some matters.

”I’ve remembered.” Mathilda suddenly raised her head: ”I remembered they asked me to lead the way to meet a local Traveling Merchant!”

Without the constraint of Illusion Technique, Mathilda’s memory surfaced instantly.

White Merchant, however, had no further interest in hearing because the opponent didn’t erase Mathilda’s memory, indicating they didn’t care whether the Merchant Organization tracked their whereabouts.

The only thing the opponent did care about was the lives of these mortals.

White Merchant remained silent for a moment, then turned to the hooded man: ”Take the two of them down, record everything and release them. Including the Hero Squad members, there’s no need to detain them, let them go.”

”As for the record, inform Gray Merchant when he arrives later.”

The hooded man raised his head in surprise: ”Gray Merchant is coming too?”

White Merchant replied calmly: ”Yes, he’ll come. Do you now think your judgment was right or wrong?”

The hooded man looked embarrassed: ”I, I’ve always trusted your judgment.”

White Merchant closed his eyes, tired of speaking further: ”Go on down.”

The hooded man nodded and left the Underground Church with Mathilda.

Once they departed, the playful voice of an evil aura lingered in White Merchant’s ear again: ”This Illusion Technique user, so interesting, very interesting!”

”Even introductions seek equality.” Black Merchant: ”Besides, he seems more concerned about ordinary people than about us. Is it overconfidence or underestimating the Birlos Family’s energy?”

White Merchant: ”I know you have many questions, but as he said, as long as we track them down, we’ll definitely meet. Then you can pose those questions to him.”

”When we meet, I won’t ask questions first; I’ll hit him first.” Black Merchant laughed mischievously: ”You know, I hate those self-righteous Academy Faction types. Of course, except for a certain little cutie.”

Dubbed ”little cutie,” White Merchant paid no heed to the nickname, considering it one of the few normal ones compared to others.

”An Academy Faction Wizard? That’s not certain; double-dealing is a common human trait.”

Black Merchant: ”Don’t go on philosophizing, it gives me a headache. To know if he’s an Academy Faction Wizard, just meet him, I trust my intuition.”

Black Merchant’s words sparked a sense of alertness in White Merchant: ”What are you planning?”

Black Merchant smiled cheekily: ”Haven’t you guessed? I’ll go in first to scout the way and, moreover, punch that Illusion Technique fellow for a bit. Goodbye, dear handsome bro.”

White Merchant was about to intervene but realized the Magical Energy Array had unknowingly been activated again, and Black Merchant was standing at the entrance.

Before White Merchant could speak, Black Merchant sneaked in, sending a flying kiss to White Merchant right before disappearing inside.

”What an idiot!” White Merchant clenched his fists, exhaling deeply to release the pent-up frustration in his chest.

He wished he could immediately chase after him, but the Illusion Technique aura above had vanished, and this dealt with a key passageway to the Underground Labyrinth. Handling matters regarding the Underground Labyrinth was Gray Merchant’s jurisdiction.

Now with Black Merchant gone, White Merchant was left to report to Gray Merchant alone.

Despite his anger, White Merchant couldn’t help but feel somewhat relieved that the Illusion Technique’s Transcendent might truly be an Academy Faction Wizard, because as twins, White Merchant could keenly sense that Black Merchant was in no danger and perhaps even in a good mood now.

This indicated that the opponent’s guide was genuine.

Black Merchant’s impulsive action saved them time from testing whether the Magical Energy Array had any traps.

Yet, it couldn’t quell White Merchant’s irritation.

The only thought occupying White Merchant’s mind was waiting for Gray Merchant to arrive, and then entering the Underground Labyrinth to catch that fool and give him a thrashing!