Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 3160: Chapter 3161: Mini Dragon

The place where Baba Ragon is located is quite conspicuous, because there are no other buildings within a mile around.

Moreover, the room where Baba Ragon lives is not the Pyramid house that Pirush loves, but a very peculiar building, somewhat resembling a honeycomb constructed of multi-faceted prisms.

At the top of this "honeycomb," there is a pure white floating eye lamp. When the light source emitted by the eye lamp shines on the mirror surface, it immediately disperses, enveloping the surroundings in a blanket of white.

"Baba Ragon has three heads, one of which can sense changes in light and shadow." Luigi said, "So, as soon as someone steps into the light, it can feel it immediately."

As he said this, Luigi was the first to step into the illuminated area.

Angel followed closely behind.

As they entered, a mirror on the distant "honeycomb" slowly opened, and a new eye lamp flew out from the pitch-black mirror opening.

This eye-shaped lamp, however, was different from the one in the sky; it did not glow, but was a surveillance tool similar to a Wizard’s Eye.

The eye lamp flew over their heads, circled in the sky, and a low buzzing sound arose: "You, the singer, aren’t you going to narrate those childish poems to your Tooth Fairy babies? What are you doing here?"

Luigi: "You’re calling my poems childish? You’re the childish one. Can you speak with your big head? Stop pretending to be mature with your small head!"

"Who are you calling small?!" The eye lamp flew in front of Luigi, its originally golden pupil turning scarlet, looking as if it were angry.

Luigi stretched out a finger and flicked it lightly, sending the eye lamp two meters away.

"Let the big head talk, not the small head."

The eye lamp snorted twice: "Do you believe I’ll kick you out, and no one would dare to stop me!"

Luigi: "If you kick me out, I’ll come and play music and recite poetry in front of you every day."

"You... ruthless!" The eye lamp’s pupil turned golden again, floating slowly into the sky, ignoring Luigi, and instead looking at Angel.

"Who is he? You know I don’t let strangers into my laboratory."

Luigi: "You don’t need to care who he is. Anyway, his role is to help me fight the Mirror Ghosts... If you don’t let him in, then you’ll have to help me fight the Mirror Ghosts."

"Mirror Ghosts?" The eye lamp paused: "You want to go into the Ghost House?"

Luigi nodded: "Yes."

Upon hearing Luigi’s answer, the eye lamp paused, as if a switch had been pressed, suddenly flying up and circling Luigi several times, its pupil moving up and down as it looked at Luigi suspiciously: "Didn’t you refuse to enter the Ghost House before, no matter what? Why the sudden change of heart?"

Luigi replied irritably: "You know perfectly well why I didn’t go into the Ghost House. I’m telling you, the Ghost House has already become famous, and changing its name now is useless."

The eye lamp squinted: "Let’s put the name change aside for now; you still haven’t answered why you suddenly want to enter the Ghost House."

Luigi: "It’s a long story; I’ll tell you when there’s time. In short, I have something to do in the Ghost House, and I’ll definitely be out in at most two hours."

Eye Lamp: "Did something happen to your real body? Are you that anxious?"

Luigi shook his head: "No, there’s no need for idle speculation. Time is tight; I still have to go to Crystal City later, so don’t waste my time."

The eye lamp saw that Luigi was indeed anxious and responded after a two-second silence: "Alright then, you can go in... Hmm, the other human too, come on in."

Baba Ragon was well aware of the state inside the Ghost House. If Luigi needed to use the Ghost House for his own affairs, he would undoubtedly need someone to help clear out the Mirror Ghosts. He had no desire to be a henchman... So, even though he didn’t like strangers entering his lab, he had no choice but to begrudgingly accept it.

After the eye lamp finished speaking, it quickly flew back to the mirror "honeycomb." As it returned, the honeycomb opened a crack in the center, through which a dark door could vaguely be seen.

Luigi promptly walked inside.

Angel followed behind, taking the opportunity to ask about a question that arose during their earlier conversation: "So, you never went to the Ghost House before?"

Luigi nodded: "No, primarily because Baba Ragon, that little dragon, is mean-spirited."

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

Luigi hadn’t wanted to bring it up, but since Angel asked, he hesitated before continuing: "I told you before, didn’t I? The original owner of the Ghost House was called Shawk. In fact, in a diary found inside the Ghost House, Shawk’s real name was recorded as..."

Before Luigi could finish speaking, a buzzing voice came from the black door: "Shawk. Luigi. Robin O."

The door opened a crack, revealing a black "ghost" inside.

It floated in mid-air, shrouded in a black cloak, its true appearance concealed. All that could be seen was a floating piece of black fabric in the air, like a black ghost.

Under the hood of the cloak, its voice continued: "This is Shawk’s real name."

Luigi nodded along and explained to Angel: "That’s right. After Baba Ragon got the Ghost House, I meant to go in and have a look, but Baba Ragon said I could go in only if the Ghost House bore my name, as in Luigi’s Ghost House."

"I didn’t want my name on the front of a Ghost House, so I never went."

Angel: "..." So you didn’t go just because of the naming? Isn’t that a bit childish...

But then again, Baba Ragon insisting on giving the Ghost House Luigi’s name was pretty childish too.

Is this a case of dueling childishness?

Luigi smugly continued: "But now that Shawk’s Ghost House’s name has gotten out, it won’t be easy for him to change it to Luigi’s Ghost House..."

The black cloak ghost snorted coldly: "The name Luigi’s Ghost House wasn’t referring to you anyway; Shawk’s middle name was also Luigi."

Luigi retorted irritably: "This is the first time I’ve heard of an item being named after the original owner’s middle name."

"The middle name signifies heritage!"

Luigi couldn’t be bothered to argue further and turned to Angel: "I forgot to introduce you. This one here, who doesn’t dare show his real face, is Baba Ragon."

Angel nodded slightly to Baba Ragon and mentioned his own name.

"Angel? Did Luigi give you that name?" Baba Ragon questioned.

Angel: "???

Luigi: "He’s not an Empty-hearted Person, nor from the Sea of Void Mirror, and he hasn’t lost his memory. He’s my friend... well, technically, a friend of my real body, which is how I’m lucky enough to know him."

"Your friend’s true form?" Baba Ragon originally didn’t look at Angel directly, but upon hearing Luigi’s words, he examined Angel seriously for the first time.

Baba Ragon was among the few who knew of Luigi’s true form.

In fact, Baba Ragon had once felt the immense aura of Luigi’s true form... It could be said that his willingness to befriend Luigi was partially due to Luigi’s form being several times larger than an adult Multi-headed Dragon.

This was a kind of admiration for strength and size.

He was well aware of how terrifying Luigi’s true form was; if this human named Angel could befriend Laplace, he must have some unique qualities.

After a careful observation, Baba Ragon’s gaze rested on Angel’s left earlobe.

He vaguely sensed a familiar and powerful fluctuation from Angel’s left earlobe...

"Dragon’s Mark?" Baba Ragon asked, puzzled.

Angel also sensed Baba Ragon’s gaze and touched the slightly warm earlobe: "Are you talking about this mark? Sort of, it’s a Flame Mark left by an Abyssal Flame Dragon."

"Abyssal Flame Dragon, Flame Mark..." Baba Ragon looked at Angel with a mix of wonder and doubt. In the Hundred-Dragon Divine Kingdom, an Abyssal Dragon’s bloodline would definitely surpass the six great Dragon Clans.

Moreover, the Flame Mark wasn’t violent, indicating it was a symbol of friendship.

Angel could actually gain the friendship of an Abyssal Flame Dragon?

Baba Ragon was further convinced that there was indeed something special about Angel... No wonder he could become friends with Laplace.

With this thought, Baba Ragon put away his casual demeanor, respectfully lowered his hood, and greeted Angel.

After lowering the hood, Angel finally saw Baba Ragon’s appearance.

Uh... indeed quite mini. At least its head is very mini.

The appearance of the Multi-headed Dragon, surprisingly, did not align with the typical "dragon" shape as known to wizards. Its head was triangular, with eyes like snakes and golden vertical pupils; it had nostrils but no nasal bridge, similar to Pirush. The mouth was a slit with sharp fangs on the sides, like a vampire bat.

On the sides of the triangular skull were wing-like external tarsals, and at the top of the external tarsals was a small hole, from which two smaller triangular heads protruded.

Estimated, these two small triangular heads were smaller than a baby’s fist.

Angel originally thought the Multi-headed Dragon’s "multi-heads" were similar to the Abyss’s Three-Headed Crocodile or Purgatory’s Three-Headed Hound, where three heads are clustered together. Unexpectedly, the Multi-headed Dragon’s multiple heads consisted of a main head of normal size and two mini heads that seemed like free added bonuses.

Worth mentioning is that these two mini heads were identical, merely two black little triangles, one drooping over the small hole as if in slumber, the other held high with its mouth moving up and down continuously.

The low humming sound they had been hearing earlier was emitted by this mini head.

"Knowing that Angel has a Flame Mark, you suddenly become serious?" Luigi sneered: "If you want to be serious, speak with the big head, not the mini head."

"None of your business." Baba Ragon’s right mini head buzzed as it rolled its eyes at Luigi.

In the next second, Baba Ragon’s main head opened its mouth, speaking softly to Angel: "Having a friendship mark from an Abyssal Flame Dragon, I believe you can also be a friend of Baba Ragon."

Hearing the main head’s voice, Angel understood why Luigi kept egging it to speak with the main head.

Because the voice from its main head was really... childlike.

It was soft and cute, even more so than the young Adar. The sound was like that of a three or four-year-old child, indistinguishable between male and female, and with a tender, ambiguous tone.

Completely different from the mature, deep buzzing voice of the right mini head.

Luigi’s constant prodding was probably to see Baba Ragon’s embarrassment... truly good friends.

Although a little surprised inside, Angel managed his expression well and couldn’t deny that the soft and child-like Baba Ragon quite matched its mini size.

Meanwhile, Luigi was laughing openly, mockingly adding: "What do you mean by having the friendship mark of an Abyssal Flame Dragon means you’re my friend? Are you comparing yourself to an Abyssal Flame Dragon, have you looked at yourself carefully?"

Baba Ragon didn’t immediately respond to Luigi, instead nodding once more at Angel, then turned with indifference, saying: "Weren’t you in a hurry? I’ve brought out the Ghost House."

This time, Baba Ragon switched back to the mature, buzzing voice.

As he spoke, Baba Ragon opened the door, gesturing for Angel and Luigi to enter.

From the outside, the hive didn’t appear large, but once through the door, it was a different scene altogether.

The first thing they saw were three corridors filled with light and shadow, each leading to different areas. Every corridor was constructed very grandly and was carved with various solemn symbols, like an entrance hall of a religious temple.

The height of the corridors alone indicated that the spatial dimensions inside didn’t match the outside.

Presumably, some form of spatial expansion method was used.

Originally, Baba Ragon had no intention of introducing his laboratory, but after meeting Angel, he reconsidered and explained: "The left corridor leads to the main laboratory, which is the research room; the middle corridor leads to a smaller laboratory mainly for testing; the right corridor contains some material rooms and small laboratories, though they are not currently in use and sometimes the Pika Sage uses them."

In short, all three corridors led to laboratories, each serving different functions.

After the introduction, Baba Ragon led the two down the right corridor.

Soon, they reached an open door: "This was originally an empty room, but the Pika Sage slightly modified it for resting and entertaining guests. You can enter the Ghost House here."

With that, Baba Ragon led them inside the room.

Angel glanced around the room; the interior was quite spacious, at least bigger than the quiet room he currently resided in, though sparsely furnished with only a slightly low, soft leather sofa, and an even lower table, and nothing else.

As for the Ghost House Baba Ragon mentioned, Angel didn’t see a trace of it.

While Angel was puzzled, Baba Ragon reached inside his black robe and took out a black-as-ink, palm-sized square crystal stone, placing it on the little table.

"This is the Ghost House of Shok," Baba Ragon said, pointing at the square crystal stone.

Angel indeed sensed a slight mysterious aura from the crystal, but it was subtle and not strong, barely perceptible beyond ten meters away.

The ability to internally harbor a mysterious aura was a characteristic of semi-mysterious objects, which was also considered an advantage.

It prevents the mysterious aura from leaking out and being discovered by others.