Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 3191: Chapter 3192: Encirclement at the City Lord’s Main Station

The probability of gaining recognition from the Crystal Embryo beneath the Crystal Pool is roughly one in a thousand. It seems like a small chance, but if the base number is increased, the final number of Crystal Embryos given out won’t be negligible.

This time, the multi-race gathering can increase the base number to the extreme.

Furthermore, the Crystal Pool can covertly manipulate, pre-selecting some strong beings for the Crystal Embryos.

In this way, more Crystal Embryos are distributed.

And each Crystal Embryo will be tailor-made...

Just imagining this, Angel felt it was indeed quite extravagant. Is the Crystal Eye Clan really so generous? Are they really just benevolent angels giving away benefits without asking for anything in return?

Angel didn’t believe it, nor did Laplace.

That’s why they speculated if the Crystal Eye Clan was doing this to secretly observe the strong.

But... just secretly observing seems not a big deal? For the strong, being in the spotlight is as it should be.

But if that’s not the reason, Angel really couldn’t think of another reason.

Could it be that the Crystal Eye Clan is genuinely selfless and full of gratitude?

”Perhaps Kasata is the key,” Angel murmured softly.

”What key?” Luigi was still caught up in the previous matters, completely failing to understand what Angel was talking about.

Angel: ”The Summoning Ritual at the Ring Fort and the pre-selection of Crystal Embryos at the Crystal Pool are completely different things. The only thing connecting these two is Kasata.”

”Both events seem to have something strange from our perspective, and Kasata plays a significant role in both, which might mean these strange happenings are actually part of the same thing, with Kasata being the orchestrator?”

Angel shrugged: ”Of course, we might be overthinking it. But Kasata’s appearance is indeed peculiar.”

Luigi didn’t quite grasp the situation and instinctively asked: ”How is it peculiar?”

Laplace spoke calmly: ”You mentioned Kasata’s message, have you forgotten already?”

Luigi’s eyes paused for a moment, then he recalled: previously, he relayed a message from Glaipnir, which included information about Kasata.

According to the intel from over at Pirush, Kasata was elevated as an Elder six hundred years ago. Although a member of the Elders Council, Kasata is the most mysterious Elder, staying mostly in the forbidden land, rarely appearing before the public.

Only at the most important ceremonies, when all the Elders gather, can one see Kasata. Otherwise, even Pirush couldn’t recognize Kasata’s appearance.

This shows Kasata is a highly low-key person, who seldom appears.

Yet this time, Kasata has appeared repeatedly, which is notable.

Is the multi-race gathering important? Yes, it’s important but not as significant as one might imagine.

As long as no major accidents occur during the multi-race gathering, most clans within the Mirror Domain will send representatives, so it’s definitely important.

But there’s a caveat, since it’s called a ”routine” gathering, it implies that it’s not a one-time or rare event, but a long-term activity that will continue in the future.

This routine gathering has been ongoing for thousands of years, sometimes held once every few decades; sometimes every few years.

So, calling it very important is just fine. The longer one lives, the more gatherings one attends.

But would Kasata specifically come out for the multi-race gathering?

In Luigi’s view, no.

The reason is simple, the Crystal Eye Clan hosted a multi-race gathering over ten years ago, and during that gathering, according to Pirush’s information, Kasata did not show up.

This gathering, although held in Crystal City, is actually supported by Pirush and the Mirror Sea Scholar, with the Crystal Eye Clan merely providing the venue; it is clearly not as significant to the Crystal Eye Clan as the gathering over ten years ago.

Yet this time, Kasata appeared.

In retrospect, Kasata’s appearance is indeed full of questions. He doesn’t seem like someone who values gatherings greatly, yet he is actively doing some things, some of which clearly have issues, like the Ring Fort Ceremony; and some look reasonable, but seemingly hide some problems, like the pre-selection of Crystal Embryos at the Crystal Pool.

”So it seems, Kasata might really be the key figure.” Luigi lifted his gaze: ”Should I inquire a bit? That Mist Dragon selected for a Crystal Embryo, I’m not familiar with it, but I’ve seen it, it should know me.”

Angel didn’t even think about it and directly shook his head: ”If you go to inquire, it would be like plainly telling it that you are spying on it, wouldn’t it? Moreover, spying in its mist, I estimate as soon as you open your mouth, it would act against you.”

According to Laplace’s previous deduction, Luigi definitely couldn’t beat that Mist Dragon, and Luigi couldn’t explain why he knew about the pre-selection, so inquiring with the Mist Dragon would only lead to a one-sided thrashing, which is unnecessary.

”Let’s wait for the message from Glaipnir’s side.” Angel had a premonition that the information Glaipnir found at Hiluda’s place might be related to this.

If it isn’t related, that’s even better.

Their attention to these matters is mainly because of ”Lita.” If the Lita matter isn’t entangled with Kasata, resolving it should be quite straightforward, Glaipnir alone can handle it.

But if it truly relates to Kasata or the hidden secrets of the Crystal Eye Clan, resolving it becomes rather challenging... Of course, they could follow Pirush’s suggestion and have Lita leave Crystal City, but if the entanglement is truly deep, can simply leaving solve the problem?

Angel didn’t continue to dwell on it; they would know the specifics once Glaipnir’s side produces results. Regarding this matter, he was just an outsider observing; if it weren’t for involving Glaipnir, he wouldn’t bother to pay attention.

...

Passing through the final halo, under the guidance of the ”signpost,” Angel and the others finally arrived at the main station of the Ring Fort gathering.

Fuyi emerged, and the first thing Angel saw was the familiar corridors and railings.

Undoubtedly, the construction of the main station and the previous Ring Fort are almost identical in shape, the only difference is... it’s big, very big, tremendously big!

The previous Ring Fort was visible at a glance.

Now leaning against the railing of an unknown floor of the Ring Fort, looking across, there’s a faint mist swirling, and at the end of the mist, a vague outline.

This feeling is like gazing at distant mountain ranges.

But now, this indistinct outline represents the Ring Fort on the opposite side.

From this perspective, the size of the Ring Fort has exceeded imagination.

Looking into the distance is already foggy; gazing downward, there’s no end in sight.

Angel has previously seen dozens or even hundreds of floors of Ring Forts, but the height... or rather, the depth of this Ring Fort far exceeds all previous Ring Forts.

A thousand layers? Maybe even more?

When looking up, it was the same, completely unable to see the top, only layers of corridors, rings of railings, and various styles of staircases.

Angel didn’t know exactly how big it was, but he had to admit that the current Ring Fort could indeed be called an architectural marvel!

The vastness of Crystal City was already a spectacle, but that was from the outside; inside Crystal City, under the enhancement of various spatial expansions, the size far exceeded the bearing capacity of Crystal City. This one Ring Fort alone was comparable to a super metropolis.

Even though Angel was just peeking glimpses, he already imagined in his mind the terrifying size and capacity of the Ring Fort, comparable to a metropolis.

Jon always thought about replicating the New City into the punk city described in various novels from Earth. The current New City is indeed developing towards a fantasy punk direction but still hasn’t reached the point that satisfies Jon.

If Jon could see this Ring Fort, he would probably be amazed; even though this isn’t a fantasy punk, it must be close enough to the punk city in his heart.

Such an architectural marvel already makes one sigh; even more so are the neon signs, shops, and the dense crowds on every floor... or species that can’t be identified at all.

Angel himself felt a sense of apprehension about entering a ”super metropolis.”

It was evident how huge the main station of the city gathering is, with dense buildings and crowds creating an oppressive feeling that’s the greatest Angel has ever seen in any architectural structure!

However, compared to Angel’s ”inexperience,” Luigi and Laplace seemed much calmer.

”How do you feel?” Luigi stepped forward.

Angel took a gentle breath: ”I used to think that having hundreds of Ring Forts and various stalls meant the gathering crowds would be too scattered. Now being here, I realize that I underestimated the number of people attending the gathering.”

Such dense crowds surely include more than just the Crystal Eye Clan. Angel didn’t know if there were ”All Clans” present, but the atmosphere at least felt like a gathering of All Clans.

”Other than marveling at the crowds, do you have anything else to say?” Luigi continued to ask.

Angel pondered for a moment and then said: ”There seems to be a powerful force permeating here. Although I can’t currently sense its source or malice, I feel like this force could surge out at any moment.”

Luigi: ”What you’re referring to is certainly Crystal City’s defense mechanism, which is for those who don’t follow the rules. However, this force just restrains some weaklings and is not a big deal for the strong.”

Angel looked up at Luigi: ”Under this defense mechanism, are you strong or weak?”

Luigi’s expression froze, awkwardly turned his head, and coughed twice: ”That’s not important. As long as you know there’s a defense mechanism, just don’t cause trouble or fight here, and it won’t trigger that force to rebound.”

After speaking, Luigi immediately changed the subject: ”Besides that, do you have anything else you’d like to say?”

Angel: ”???” Haven’t I said enough?

Luigi sighed: ”Don’t you want to know that with so many layers, how we should find a place to go?”

Angel: ”...When you’re engaged in grand storytelling, details tend to be overlooked.”

”Huh?” Luigi didn’t understand, why does this poetic tone sound somewhat familiar?

Angel: ”I mean, changes in vision and mood need to progress layer by layer, and I haven’t progressed to your stage yet.”

Luigi nodded, seemingly understanding: ”Since I brought it up, you should leap to this stage, right?”

Angel: ”I understand, you want me to ask you how to navigate here, right? I’m asking now.”

”Clearly, I’m kindly giving you the information, but you still act reluctant...” Luigi muttered softly before saying: ”Don’t be fooled by the numerous layers here; each floor actually has many short-distance Teleportation Arrays. You can treat them as special ’skip-floor’ staircases, wanting to go to any layer, just use the skip-floor staircases.”

As Luigi said this, he pointed to a place a hundred meters away where a crowd was gathered: ”See, that’s definitely where the skip-floor staircases are located.”

All the while speaking, Luigi had already headed towards the skip-floor staircase.

Angel glanced at Laplace before following along.

”Where are we going now?” Angel: ”To Pirush’s station?”

Luigi: ”I also don’t know which floor Pirush’s station is, let’s go to the hundredth floors first.”

Hundredth floors?

Just as Angel’s curiosity arose, Luigi explained: ”The stations for different clans are arranged on the hundredth floors, so to find a station, going to the hundredth floors is the quickest.”

Although Luigi didn’t know which floor Pirush’s station was on, he could simply ask at any station directly.

Luigi was already impatient to go confront Pirush, who had blocked him.

The so-called skip-floor staircases, upon viewing from a distance, seemed to have quite a crowd, but their operation was swift. By the time Angel and the others arrived, several groups had been teleported already, leaving just a few scattered people.

Moreover, judging by their appearance, they didn’t seem to be intending to skip floors; rather, they appeared to be waiting for someone.

While Angel was observing these people, a woman with a mirror on her head... assumed to be a woman, walked towards them.

Her intent was unknown, but on the mirror on her face, was displayed a very pleasing smiling face of a beauty.

”Everyone, Little Mirror Shop No. 219 is offering an eighty-percent discount. Would you like to check it out? It has some very good merchandise~” A fine, gentle, but synthesized voice emanated from the mirror.

Angel originally thought she might know Luigi, but it turned out she was just making a sales pitch.

Luigi waved his hand directly, indicating no interest.

The mirror lady was quite tactful, smiling before stepping back.

Angel leaned over to Luigi and asked, ”Aren’t you going to ask her if there are any music scores for sale?”

Luigi shook his head: ”The Head Mirror Clan doesn’t appreciate our music. Their way of communication is different from ours.”

Head Mirror Clan refers to the humanoid species whose head is a mirror.

This is an ”Consciousness Stream” species.

Their consciousness can move through all mirrors within their clan, so their core lies in consciousness, while the body... can entirely be communal.

For instance, the woman’s body in front of them, during the daytime, the consciousness can be Little Red, once Little Red gets off work, the body can be handed over to Little Green to replace, if Little Green wants to slack off, Little Blue can cover the shift, when Little Blue leaves, Little Yellow also can come.

This facilitates the communal use of the body.

This pure Consciousness Stream species internally communicates through consciousness exchanges, and their external communication is ”synthesized dialogue,” so expecting them to appreciate music is unlikely.

If they can’t even appreciate it, how could they possibly have any good music scores?

”Moreover, didn’t you hear the name of their shop? They’ve numbered up to No. 219. If you really want to visit Head Mirror Clan’s shops, just visit the top ten No., no, top three No. would be enough.”