Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2503: Chapter 2504: Whispers from Afar

"Did you hear any sound?" Dox’s expression showed a hint of confusion: "What sound are you referring to?"

Angel closed his eyes, seemingly listening intently.

After a while, Angel furrowed his brows slightly: "A very faint, very soft repetitive whisper, it seems to be saying something, but I can’t make out the specific content."

After hearing Angel’s description, Dox’s expression also became serious.

He also mimicked Angel, closing his eyes to listen. In the process, his ears underwent a transformation, becoming sharp and pitch-black, as if transplanted from some sort of Magical Creature.

After a long pause, Dox shook his head and said, "Apart from Kaier’s heavy breathing from over there, I didn’t hear anything."

After a moment, Dox asked again, "Are you sure you heard this sound in this room?"

Angel shook his head: "I can’t be certain either. The sound feels distant, though unclear, it seems to be calling my name."

Upon Angel saying this, Dox’s brows furrowed tightly.

Angel had no reason to tell such a lie pointlessly; it might very well be truly happening. Generally, such situations are hardly ever good.

Dox once experienced this before; while exploring some ruins with a companion, the companion said he seemed to hear someone calling him, and then took the opportunity to leave the group when everyone’s attention was diverted. By the time they found him again, he had already turned into a skeleton.

This kind of calling frequently occurs in ruins. The caller’s identity might be some kind of sealed Outer God, maybe an undead, or some sort of Magic Monster.

If it’s the latter two, there might still be a chance to deal with them, but if it’s a sealed Outer God, that’s very frightening.

The reason Dox’s mind spontaneously conjured up all these scenarios, chiefly, was because they were currently inside a ruin!

Even though this ruin had long been developed by the Lawrence family, who knows if anything was overlooked?

While Dox was imagining this, Angel, across from him, pondered for a moment and then projected his spiritual power, attempting to enshroud the spot between his brows.

Seeing this, Dox immediately understood that Angel was performing an act to enhance spiritual perception.

Dox hastily stopped Angel: "Enhancing perception under such unknown circumstances could very easily lead you into danger."

Following this, Dox recounted his previous experiences in an effort to persuade Angel.

Angel naturally understood Dox had good intentions, but nobody knows oneself better than oneself. Though he couldn’t discern what the whispers were saying, Angel didn’t sense any malice in them.

Of course, absence of malice isn’t Angel’s measure of good or bad; as Dox mentioned, it could be a sealed Outer God deliberately concealing its malice.

The reason Angel decided to go ahead and enhance his perception was due to the vague sense this matter was related to him, and moreover, the Power of Nightmare Illusion within him was slightly resonating in a certain direction.

Since it related to Nightmare Illusion, Angel had to listen to the specific sound.

With this in mind, Angel said to Dox: "Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing."

With that, Angel continued to wrap his spiritual power, concentrating it between his brows, enhancing the sensing of spirituality.

Dox shook his head and sighed lightly, muttering internally: The Academy Faction is just the Academy Faction, whether living a thousand years, they lack any sense of alertness, age might as well be wasted on dogs.

Though cursing in his heart, Dox still cautiously began to lay down defensive and restrictive measures, to prevent real trouble.

On the other side, Angel, after enhancing his spiritual perception, finally heard that faint whisper indistinctly.

And once he grasped a few words, he basically understood what it was about.

Five minutes later, Angel withdrew his spiritual power.

Dox instantly became vigilant and sharply asked: "Answer me, are you still Lyon?"

Angel replied irritatedly: "Of course I am."

Dox immediately shook his head: "No, you’re lying."

Dox’s eyes were flickering with a subtle light, clearly employing a Truth Identification Skill. Angel noticed this, thus deliberately opening up to the Truth Identification Skill’s inquiry, yet he didn’t expect Dox would still accuse him of lying.

Angel hesitated for a moment before realizing the lie was detected because he used a false name.

Seeing Dox’s wary expression, believing Angel was possessed by some unknown entity, Angel felt somewhat helpless.

"Perhaps ask in another manner, like whether I’m the same person as before, or if I am myself." Angel clarified, "Lyon is just my pseudonym, got it?"

Dox pondered, finding truth in Angel’s explanation; he had suspected Lyon was a pseudonym beforehand. He asked again following Angel’s suggestion, this time the Truth Identification Skill confirmed no falsehood.

To avoid mistakes, Dox asked several questions from their past discussions, which Angel answered fluently.

Seeing this, Dox sighed in relief and began inquiring about what Angel gleaned through his enhanced perception.

Addressing this, Angel sighed wearily: "It’s not some ruin’s Magic Monster as you thought, but a person I once performed a casting on, activating the energy I left in her to seek my help."

Though not hearing very clearly, and somewhat intermittent due to the distance, Angel could still perceive the speaker as Abulei, whom he had parted ways with only days ago.

He heard Abulei repeatedly implore Angel desperately: "Master, save me, master, save me... "

Angel surmised Abulei might have provoked someone, or encountered a creature she couldn’t handle, and in desperation summoned the Nightmare Illusion Dream hoping Angel would sense it.

Abulei’s urgent emotions, along with her frantic calls for Angel, fostered a slight spiritual connection with him.

This situation, akin to calling out a Demon God’s true name, attracting its attention, holds similar bearing, albeit Angel’s sensing is far inferior to that of a Demon God’s.

After listening to Angel’s explanation, Dox completely relaxed; as long as it wasn’t related to the ruins, that’s good.

"Do you plan to rescue her?" Dox asked.

Internally, Angel rather not depart; he wished first to complete his task and quickly return to Barbarian Cave. He didn’t want to get entangled in such unforeseen events.

However, Abulei was from Barbarian Cave after all, and Angel had a fondness for inherently kind-hearted people.

Also, from the limited words, it appeared Abulei had fled to the Laksum Principality, and her plea seemed to involve more than herself, concerning other Barbarian Cave members too.

After pondering briefly, Angel nodded: "I’ll go have a look, hope to offer some assistance."

Dox: "Then what about Kaier here..."

Angel: "I’ll leave him a message, I believe once he reads Esos’s letter, he’ll patiently wait for me."

After speaking, Angel lightly tapped the void, and a letter appeared on the table out of thin air.

Docks: "Illusion technique?"

Angel: "Just a little trick."

Docks certainly didn’t believe this was a small trick. To effortlessly construct a stable illusion node that could last long was something impossible without years of immersion, definitely the work of a millennium-old monster.

Angel: "I’m leaving the letter here, although I think, with Kaier’s progress, maybe by the time I come back, he still won’t have finished it."

After Angel said this, he prepared to leave.

Docks called out: "Do you know where the person asking for your help is?"

Angel shook his head: "I can’t be certain for now, but according to her description, she seems to be on the edge of Laksum Principality, near a statue of a desert god missing an arm lying on the ground, and a dilapidated temple. I’m planning to first go to Sandworm Market to find someone familiar with the route, then head over."

Docks: "No need to look, I know where it is, I’ll go with you."

Angel turned his head, looking at Docks puzzled, as he didn’t understand why Docks wanted to tag along.

Docks himself couldn’t say why he wanted to follow along. However, as someone whose blood yearns for the wind, enjoying various stories...or incidents, he quite liked to meddle in such, well, idle matters.

Docks noticed Angel’s prolonged silence: "What? You don’t want to?"

Angel shook his head: "If Red Sword Docks is willing to go with me, then that’s naturally the best; if the person the organization’s junior has provoked is someone even I can’t counter, I’ll have to rely on you then."

Docks said with a smile: "Alright, just take it as a gift from our conversation today. But next time you ask me to act, it’ll cost you some money."

Since Docks was willing to accompany him, Angel saved the trouble of finding a guide, and they both directly left Kaier’s domain, exiting the black market.

Once out of the black market, Docks began to rub his hands in anticipation.

Because he was ready to take out the magic carpet vehicle he obtained through near-death experiences in some ruins; this thing couldn’t be bought even with money, and every time it was taken out, it drew envy from the crowd.

This envy filled with jealousy made Docks feel greatly satisfied internally. This time, he also planned to showcase it, letting Angel see that even a wandering wizard has good treasures!

However, before Docks could take out the magic carpet, he heard Angel’s voice coming from above.

"Come up, we’re leaving."

Docks looked up and froze, he he he... what did he see?

A magnificent flying boat! The exquisite magic pattern, and the curtain shimmering like starlight... Most importantly, below this flying boat was a powerful wind elemental creature that was nearing Wizard Level.

The flying boat alone was a vehicle, coupled with the wind elemental creature, their combination made it overwhelmingly dazzling.

Docks’ hand trembled; he really wanted to take out his magic carpet, but damn it, he had to admit, compared to this flying boat, his magic carpet was completely overshadowed.

Of course, the most crucial aspects of a vehicle are speed and stability.

With a wind elemental creature that very likely reached, or even surpassed Wizard Level, it would naturally fly faster and more stably than his magic carpet.

He lost.

At this moment, Docks’ inner world turned dark, the little Docks knelt on the ground, under a spotlight, his inner monologue filled with desolation and sorrow.

"What’s wrong? Is there something else?" Angel asked, seeing Docks standing still, puzzled.

Docks took a deep breath, pretending not to care: "Nothing. I was just savoring the rise and fall of the sand, estimating that there’ll be a mighty sandstorm in the eastern Karas region tomorrow."

Angel was taken aback: "You can sense that?"

Docks wore a confident expression: "Of course, it’s a skill of desert men."

After speaking, Docks leapt gently, landing on the gondola, sitting across from Angel. Once he sat on the gondola, he immediately felt an unusually comfortable sensation: constant temperature field, purifying field, shielding field... plus the soft cushions and a backrest.

This, this... once again, he lost. Docks was internally miserable and tearless.

Angel, unaware of Docks’ inner thoughts, continued curiously: "Tomorrow there’ll actually be a sandstorm in Karas area, how did you sense that?"

"Of course it’s real, the wind told me."

Upon hearing this, Angel immediately called Speedy: "Can you sense it?"

Using Wind’s Force, Speedy created a large blue hand, shaking it to indicate it couldn’t sense it.

Docks gave a faint smile: "Wind elemental creatures aren’t necessarily familiar with every region; the desert is complex, and desert winds carry a tumultuous taste, interpreting this taste is our basis for judging sandstorms."

Angel was full of astonishment and genuinely believed Docks, because sailors at sea had similar skills. Unexpectedly, desert men could also accomplish this.

This was much better than some subpar prophecy apprentices.

Seeing Angel’s amazed expression, Docks felt satisfied. Although he lost in vehicles, he won in experience!

Docks just didn’t tell Angel that the Karas area is precisely the largest sandstorm zone in Laksum Principality; there are daily sandstorms there, just differing in scale.

Having enjoyed Angel’s admiration, Docks coughed twice: "Let’s go, I’ll lead the way. At the junction of Laksum Principality and the Gumman Kingdom, there’s only one place with ancient temple ruins, and there indeed is a toppled statue. I suppose the person you need to save is there."

Under Docks’ guidance, the gondola began to slowly set sail.

Previously, when Angel came to Sandworm Market, he spent a full day, assessing directions while searching for landmarks from the Gumman Kingdom to Sandworm Market.

But now, with Docks’ guidance, Angel could activate the gondola’s full speed.

With full speed propulsion and Speedy pushing with all its power, waves of sonic booms resounded behind them.

However, the sound of the boom couldn’t penetrate the gondola interior due to the shielding field, though Docks could see the air ripples created by the sonic boom.

Undoubtedly, this speed far surpassed his magic carpet.

This made him feel even more envious.

But it doesn’t matter; the other party is a millennium-old monster, with accumulations of millennia, having such good things is normal. I’m an eighty-year-old genius, by the time I reach his age, certainly I’ll have more good things than he does.

The spirit of mental victory once again rescued Docks’ nearly collapsing emotions.

The light of positive energy once more shone upon him.