Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2673: Chapter 2674: Deep Sea Wood

The time being halved also means the distance is halved.

In other words, this staircase, which appears broken but not completely severed, has actually experienced breaks and gaps but was later reintegrated.

Attempting to reintegrate a broken staircase involves the dual reconnection of the Material Realm and the Energy Realm, meaning the reconnection of stone steps and the Magical Energy Array, which is quite difficult.

Previously, the Wise Sovereign hinted that he was not the one who repaired the Magical Energy Array here but someone they would eventually meet.

Could it be that hidden figure in the dark, making the Wise Sovereign intercept them?

As Angel silently pondered, everyone had already arrived in front of the door.

"It’s actually a wooden door, this doesn’t look like a prison at all," Dox muttered.

"Then what do you think a prison should look like?" the Wise Sovereign asked, smiling.

"Well, at least a cell should be able to hold someone, right? This wood doesn’t seem very sturdy, not as hard as the Porodense Stone floor," Dox said as he gestured: "The platform in front of the door is also quite spacious, you could place a few Gargoyles as guards. At the very least, why not employ some Alchemy Golems?"

Seeing Dox grow more excited, Angel finally couldn’t help but interject: "Porodense Stone isn’t viable either. While it can be preserved quite well, it would still shatter under a Spatial Tempest. The best choice would be Void Secret Stone, which lasts longer, withstands the Spatial Tempest, is the main casting material for Plane Corridors, is costly, portable, and recognizable. Red, am I right?"

Dox was nodding along eagerly at the first half of Angel’s comment, but as soon as Angel mentioned "costly and portable," Dox immediately realized: "I was wondering why you would suddenly agree with me, there’s definitely a trick involved. Do you think I’m that superficial?"

"Yes," Angel nodded.

Dox, looking disgruntled, said, "Yes... like a rotten Sandworm! I only have reasonable doubts about the anomalies here, maybe I can even uncover some clues for you."

"Oh, then I misunderstood you," Angel said this expressionlessly, leaving no trace of apology, only a clear veneer of perfunctory.

Dox wanted to retort but restrained himself. Because internally, he felt just as Angel had suspected... He even had a fleeting thought of making the prison door from Void Secret Stone.

How did this guy so accurately guess his thoughts?

Was it that live broadcast Illusionary Realm?

While Dox was lost in thought, the Wise Sovereign’s voice reached his ears again: "What you said earlier was right, the purpose of a prison is to—trap people."

"But to trap people, must it be within solid bars? Also, if someone is trapped in the Material Realm, are they truly trapped?"

"And do you think that if all the doors of the Hanging Jail Stairway were open, the prisoners inside could escape?"

"That’s true, the Hanging Jail Stairway was built in the depths of the Underground Labyrinth ages ago, it would indeed be difficult for prisoners to escape," Dox said. "But according to the Wise Sovereign’s suggestion, the existence of cages seems unnecessary, and so does the Hanging Jail Stairway."

The Wise Sovereign: "The existence of a cage is, of course, necessary. Even if the doors are open, it constantly reminds you that you can’t escape, this is your end."

As the Wise Sovereign said this, he was still smiling with his eyes squinted; his three eyes squinted together, paired with his triangular glasses, looked as comical as a Joker.

However, neither Dox nor the others could bring themselves to laugh.

They weren’t foolish either; though the Wise Sovereign appeared to be smiling, there was a pervasive sense of sadness in his words.

This vast Underground Labyrinth is no different than a prison for the Wise Sovereign. Beyond guarding a place eternally, the loneliness of thousands of years was the punishment dealt to the Wise Sovereign. This punishment is even more terrifying than what the dead prisoners in the Hanging Jail Stairway experienced.

While everyone was sighing at the Wise Sovereign’s plight, Angel’s voice broke the silent atmosphere: "If we speak on a larger scale, isn’t this continent, this world, also a cage?"

Angel turned his head slightly to glance at the Wise Sovereign, then said blandly: "It’s time to go in, or do you think the Wood Spirit is out here?"

After speaking, Angel didn’t wait for anyone and stepped directly through the wooden door on the first level.

The Wise Sovereign watched Angel’s back with a flicker in his eyes.

...

Dox, returning to himself from the emotional atmosphere, felt a bit odd watching the receding Angel.

Angel abruptly breaking the immersive atmosphere was somewhat impolite. But as Dox understood Angel, though often mischievous, he always maintained propriety in terms of etiquette.

This time, something felt off.

Dox couldn’t help but glance at the Black Earl, wanting to see his reaction, only to find the Black Earl’s tablet quietly facing the Wise Sovereign.

And the Wise Sovereign was smiling warmly at the Black Earl.

When Dox’s gaze swept past, the Wise Sovereign returned a smile too.

Seeing this smile, Dox’s heart thudded.

He now understood what felt wrong; for someone like the Wise Sovereign, who had been in the Underground Labyrinth for so long, could he not control his emotions?

The emotional atmosphere and their assumption of understanding his sorrow—how could it be real, for someone venerated as the Wise Sovereign, to be seen through so easily?

That means, the Wise Sovereign had intentionally orchestrated the atmosphere?

Why would he do this? Just to deceive them?

No, deception wasn’t the goal; it was a means to test someone or gather certain information that was the Wise Sovereign’s objective?

While Dox pondered this, the Wise Sovereign amiably remarked: "This live Illusionary Realm is quite interesting, and the person projecting the Illusionary Realm, is even more so."

"What do you mean?" Dox asked, puzzled.

"This Illusionary Realm can vaguely touch on your innermost feelings; isn’t that intriguing?" With that, the Wise Sovereign didn’t elaborate and walked into the wooden door.

This time, Dox seemed to understand: "Was he, was he just testing Gold’s ability?"

Of course, Dox’s question was directed at the Black Earl.

The Black Earl chuckled softly, "You think he’s just testing the gold? Didn’t you give any emotional feedback?"

The Black Earl’s meaning was straightforward. The Wise Sovereign wasn’t just testing Angel; he was also observing everyone’s feedback.

In simple terms, relying on a silver tongue, he capitalized on their unpreparedness, amplified emotions, heightened the atmosphere, and harvested feedback.

The only ones who saw through it were Angel and the Black Earl. Their insight revealed their uniqueness and also provided new intelligence to the Wise Sovereign.

Indeed, the Wise Sovereign now increasingly doubted Angel’s identity as a descendant of the Noah family.

However, the Black Earl’s Noah identity seemed increasingly credible.

...

Meanwhile, Angel’s mood was slightly dejected. Despite appearing to be just probing with words, the Wise Sovereign borrowed the guise of Angel’s broadcast illusionary realm to bring everyone into a state of empathy.

This made Angel regret including the Wise Sovereign in the illusionary realm.

Fortunately, the Wise Sovereign’s main focus was on testing him and the Black Earl. The Black Earl had no fear of being tested; as an avatar, he was confident. No matter what the Wise Sovereign wanted to do, if he died, the main body would arise to create trouble. In that event, the Wise Sovereign, who passively defended, would inevitably find himself at a disadvantage if he did not abandon the Underground Labyrinth. If he did abandon it, his millennia of waiting would be in vain. Therefore, the Black Earl was untroubled.

As for Angel, he had already given up resisting. The Wise Sovereign definitely realized he wasn’t a Noah descendant, and was merely probing his abilities now.

Let him find out, Angel didn’t mind. As for probing abilities, the Wise Sovereign had probed incorrectly.

He thought Angel could sense emotions because the illusionary realm enveloped them and the illusionary power monitored their feelings. In reality, this immersive broadcast illusionary realm was merely an ordinary illusionary realm; Angel’s emotional perception came from his talent.

So, although the Wise Sovereign gleaned some information from probing, he got both right and wrong things, so it wasn’t a complete loss.

Nevertheless, through this event, Angel gained further understanding of the Wise Sovereign’s capabilities.

This ability did not refer to lethal spell techniques, but rather the Wise Sovereign’s skillful discourse and performance prowess.

Without expending any energy, he performed like a Joker, yet remained completely lucid while observing all manner of beings with a calm indifference. With just his silver tongue, he managed to set the atmosphere into a realm of empathy.

It must be said, this transformation emerging from the Wise Sovereign’s unfathomable accumulation over countless years was indeed formidable.

While Angel contemplated, noticeable sounds emerged behind him. Clearly, the others had snapped out of it and proceeded toward the door.

Angel collected his thoughts and set aside his mental sparring with the Wise Sovereign for the moment, turning his attention to observing the room, which wasn’t entirely unfamiliar.

...

Everyone entered through the wooden door, almost all harboring the same thought—

"Isn’t this... a bit too small?"

The room was roughly the size of a single room in a hotel, which might sound acceptable, but this was a prison. They had expected a corridor behind the wooden door, with separate cells along its path. In sharp contrast to their imagination, the wooden door led directly to such a cramped room.

According to the Wise Sovereign’s explanation, this was indeed the prison cell. The first layer of cells was indeed this small.

Gazing at this cramped room, even Kaier, who had been preoccupied with operating the photostone along the way, couldn’t help but remark, "Building such a long staircase just for a room this small?"

Isn’t that somewhat an overkill?

"Or are the other rooms here already damaged?"

The Wise Sovereign heard Kaier’s question but did not respond, only flashing a faint smile, his eyes wandering across the cramped room.

It was Angel who spoke up, "There are no other rooms here, just this one. There’s a reason for such a small build."

Pausing for a moment under their gazes, Angel softly said, "This is a crucial node of the magical energy array within the Hanging Jail Stairway."

The Wise Sovereign looked at Angel in mild surprise, "How did you discover that?"

"I didn’t actually discover it, just made a casual guess. But now, I’m pretty certain my hypothesis is correct," Angel glanced at the Wise Sovereign, whose reaction affirmed that Angel’s guess was right.

The Wise Sovereign chuckled lightly, "So you were bluffing me?"

Angel skipped over the question without replying, you bluff, I bluff; anyway, there’s mutual probing of intelligence between everyone.

Angel strolled to one side of the room, inspecting, while saying, "A bed made of deep-sea cedarwood, a desk made of deep-sea poplar, the floor made of deep-sea birch... everything here is made of deep-sea wood."

"Isn’t it peculiar for deep-sea wood to appear here?"

"What’s peculiar about it? Deep-sea wood has high production, the price isn’t steep, and its energy conducting effect is quite good," the Wise Sovereign asked, pretending to be puzzled.

"Because the timing doesn’t add up," Angel replied, "The greatest effect of deep-sea wood is in enhancing energy conduction. But have you heard of deep-sea wood possessing immortal properties?"

No sooner had Angel spoken than Kaier seemed to realize something, brushing his hand over the bed made of deep-sea wood.

Kaier’s movements were not light, but the wooden bed merely rocked with his force, without a hint of decay.

"How is it still intact? After a thousand years, not a trace of wear?" Kaier questioned in confusion.

"That’s what I wanted to point out as the oddity. I know deep-sea wood endures external pressure better than other woods due to its growth environment, but even the most pressure-resistant wood can’t escape the corrosion of time. Yet now, time hasn’t degraded it, and hefty shakes have not caused it to collapse. Most importantly, even the spatial tempest hasn’t utterly destroyed it."

The Wise Sovereign asked, "And from this, you inferred it’s a magical energy array node?"

Angel shook his head, "I said, I didn’t infer; I simply sensed strangeness here. Looking at these immortal woods, I made a guess."

"When does deep-sea wood remain unscathed? The answer is, when infused with copious amounts of similar energy, it immensely defers the corruption baseline of deep-sea wood. Therefore, I guessed that this room once held a great deal of energy, energy that was gentle, not violent, and akin to deep-sea wood. Under prolonged energy exposure, this kept the deep-sea wood in an immortal state."

"And what kind of energy qualifies as robust, stable, and long-lasting? The only option I could think of is a magical energy array’s energy node."

After Angel’s explanation, there were still many questions left in everyone’s minds. However, judging by the Wise Sovereign’s reaction, Angel was believed to be correct; this was indeed a crucial node of the magical energy array.