Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 3221: Chapter 3222: The Name of Calamity

"How does one advance into the realm of mystery? Do you mean Alchemy?" Little Xiaotao looked suspiciously at the young man outside the painting.

Angel nodded.

"I don’t have the authority to answer this question. Unless you come to Peach Heart Theater personally to find me, I can give an answer at my discretion... As I’ve said before, even invalidated questions count as questions, so even if I didn’t answer your question, I still have to eliminate..."

As Little Xiaotao spoke, she watched Angel closely. More accurately, she was observing the threads of fate entwined around Angel.

Halfway through her sentence, Little Xiaotao’s gaze suddenly focused, and the words she was about to say halted.

"Wait." Little Xiaotao squinted her narrow eyes, fixating on one thread entwined in Angel’s fate: "Have you... refined a Mysterious Object?"

As soon as Little Xiaotao spoke, she denied her own words: "No, that refining attempt failed, but have you accessed the mysterious level?"

Angel nodded: "That indeed happened."

It seemed Little Xiaotao was referring to the Alchemy at Black Castle, where the timing and circumstances were all right, but lacking a bit of "human harmony" led to failure.

Little Xiaotao looked Angel up and down, the first time genuinely seeing him.

She had encountered many Mysterious Alchemists, but Angel was the first to contact the mysterious level at such a young age.

"Since you’ve already contacted the mysterious level, I can appropriately reveal some information to you." Little Xiaotao paused before continuing: "There are many ways to advance into the mysterious level, and the permissions of my body can only reveal two methods to you."

"First, the Observation Method. Through observing and summarizing the new mysterious, eventually deducing a suitable method."

This is a path for the diligent; as long as you’re diligent, even if your talent is slightly lacking, there’s a chance to advance into the mystery... but chances are slim, because diligence alone isn’t enough, immense luck is also needed.

While Mysterious Objects are easily found, "newborn" mysterious objects are not.

"Second, the Seeking the Unusual Method. Finding any object containing ’peculiarity’ and using special Alchemy to refine it. This has a certain probability of birthing a Mysterious Object."

This is the most orthodox method but requires extremely high talent and a vast information system to quickly locate the "peculiarity"; aside from that, the most crucial requirement is special Alchemy.

Very few possess special Alchemy, as it belongs to a lost legacy.

Moreover, special Alchemy doesn’t apply to everyone; most Alchemists must modify it according to their situation, ultimately creating their own unique Alchemy.

What is "unique"? It means "without equal."

This unique Alchemy cannot be truly learned by others, only used as reference.

So, though the Seeking the Unusual Method sounds simple, implementation is extremely difficult.

Little Xiaotao: "There are many ways to advance into mystery, but each method is neither simple nor easy. With my current permissions, I can only tell you these two methods."

"These two ways are quite suitable for you."

Little Xiaotao: "I can secretly tell you a secret."

"- In the path of mystery, knowing too much can sometimes be an impediment. Only the ignorant can plant a unique flower in the mysterious wasteland."

Little Xiaotao stopped here: "I’ve answered your first question, now you can ask your next question."

Angel was still digesting Little Xiaotao’s answers, but now time was tight, and upon hearing Little Xiaotao’s inquiry, he had to set his digestion aside.

"My second question is... my future path."

"Future path? What future path?" Little Xiaotao asked back: "Ask specifically, using vague wording, I won’t answer."

Angel originally thought he could get a bargain, but now it seems impossible.

He thought for a moment, then said: "How to advance? Including the path of True Knowledge, and future advancement barriers... etc."

This question was one he had decided to ask after discussing with Laplace. External forces are less important than one’s own strength, and Angel’s current strength is still too weak.

This question was obviously simpler than the previous one, but Little Xiaotao pondered for a long while before shaking her head: "I’ll give you a chance to change the question."

"Change the question?" Angel and Laplace exchanged a glance, is this question difficult to answer?

Besides, wasn’t it said that even if unanswered, the attempt would still count as a question, how can you change the question?

Little Xiaotao seemed to see Angel’s thoughts and snorted coldly: "You are just a consciousness spark, seeing limited things. Also, I attempted to use consciousness to locate your body, but found it untraceable, either your body is protected by higher-level energy, or it exceeds my permission sensing range."

"That’s why this question can’t be answered."

"Due to the attempt of your question being something I could answer, but unable due to unexpected circumstances, I allow you to change the question."

Little Xiaotao provided an explanation, summarily meaning: she can’t sense where Angel’s body is.

As per Little Xiaotao’s guess, perhaps Angel’s body exceeds her permission sensing range; but Angel had a different suspicion, maybe Shava or the Queen’s power floats above his body, preventing Little Xiaotao from sensing it.

Regardless of which situation, there’s no need to consider it now, what’s needed is to decide: what question to swap to?

Angel actually had many questions he wanted to ask, including Dororo’s past, the future of the Crystal Origin of Dreams and the Wilderness of Dreams, and the prospects of Xinnai Land... etc.

But after thinking about it, these questions aren’t particularly urgent.

They might satisfy his curiosity but don’t solve any immediate practical problems.

Compared to these questions, it would be better to inquire about the "Calamity" related to Laplace that was mentioned by Little Xiaotao just now.

If the Calamity is a disaster, it would be good to prepare for it beforehand.

Moreover, these three questioning opportunities were itself something Laplace earned through the "Whale Absorbs Water" performance, using more of the questioning opportunities on Laplace is perfectly justified.

Angel didn’t hesitate further, he asked directly: "My changed question is... what exactly is the ’Calamity’ you mentioned earlier, related to Laplace?"

Upon hearing Angel’s question, Laplace furrowed his brows, wanting to say something, but ultimately stopped.

Meanwhile, Little Xiaotao didn’t care who the subject of the question was, as long as an inquiry was made.

Little Xiaotao did not immediately answer Angel’s question, but instead controlled the ballet dancer’s body to pose like a robot in the oil painting.

Each motion had a slight pause, and from the image alone, it seemed possible to hear the sound of "ka-ka-ka."

"Look, what do I resemble now?" Little Xiaotao asked.

Angel hesitated for a moment, and softly said: "Nutcracker? Mechanical man? Doll?"

Little Xiaotao’s expression was joyful, her serpentine neck swaying left and right, forming a heart-shaped mark: "Congratulations, you got it right. What I played was indeed a puppet."

Angel: "...Is this related to Calamity?"

Little Xiaotao swayed her serpentine neck again: "That’s right, Calamity is a puppet."

Angel: "..."

Upon hearing this answer, Angel suddenly felt some regret; he originally thought "Calamity" referred to a disaster looming over Laplace, but instead, "Calamity" was the name of a puppet.

This is indeed way off!

If I’d known, I might as well have asked about Dororo’s past.

While Angel was silently complaining in his heart, Little Xiaotao continued: "Do you feel disappointed in this answer?"

Angel naturally wouldn’t reveal his thoughts: "No, I’m just wondering, what is the connection between the Calamity Puppet and Laplace?"

Little Xiaotao emitted a sly smile, without exposing Angel’s lie, and continued: "Calamity, although just a puppet, its existence itself is a disaster... it could even destroy the world."

Little Xiaotao suddenly lowered her voice: "Even a vast world like the Gesen Mirror Domain could possibly be destroyed by it. If Calamity arrives at the Daylight Mirror Domain, what kind of scene do you think it would be?"

Angel asked instinctively: "What kind of scene?"

Little Xiaotao let out a mysterious sly smile: "You’ll find out then, because it’s already flying toward the Daylight Mirror Domain."

Angel hadn’t recovered entirely, and Laplace seemed to have thought of something: "You just mentioned the Gesen Mirror Domain, does this Calamity Puppet have to do with the migration of the Singer and Yusen?"

Previously, Laplace had also inquired into the fate of the Gesen Mirror Domain, but Little Xiaotao had not responded. Yet this time, she nodded: "That’s right, the disaster Gesen Mirror Domain faced was brought by the Calamity Puppet Hulifa."

"Calamity Puppet Hulifa?"

Little Xiaotao: "The name of the Calamity Puppet is Hulifa."

"How can a puppet possibly destroy worlds?" Angel was still incredulous; could it be that this puppet was a Demon God?

But even if an Abyssal Demon God descended upon the Gesen Mirror Domain, it may not be able to do anything.

It is told that there are miraculous beings in the Gesen Mirror Domain... even the Unparalleled Great Demon God of the Abyss is at most approaching a miracle.

So, what on earth is up with this puppet?

Little Xiaotao: "Because Hulifa is a puppet out of order..."

...Out of order?! Mysterious Object!

Angel suddenly looked up at Little Xiaotao, and she nodded, confirming: "That’s right, Hulifa is a Mysterious Object. If you’ve been to the Orderly Guild, you’d know of Hulifa’s notorious reputation... and besides, this Mysterious Object’s puppets are not limited to Hulifa alone..."

This time, Little Xiaotao didn’t hold back, directly revealing the story about this out-of-order Mysterious puppet.

In the Pan-Dimensional Plane of many deity beliefs, there was a Divine Country craftsman who carved an attendant Angel statue for the Deity he served, embodying the wishes of all beings.

This Angel statue was carved from pure white wood, immaculate skin, utterly pure.

It was this absolute purity that led the pure white Angel, upon completion, to acquire consciousness.

With its consciousness, it sensed the wishes of all beings and thus adopted the name Boyisha, entering the world to fulfill the aspirations of all beings.

Boyisha’s power was weak; often she could only listen to the wishes of all beings, unable to realize them.

Especially the desires for treasure and wealth, she could only hear but couldn’t assist.

So, Boyisha divided her consciousness, creating a puppet specifically for treasure hunting, named Guadura.

After Guadura hunted for treasures and handed them to the wish-makers, it found that the recipients did not cherish the treasures it found. To make the wish-makers understand the value of treasures, Guadura spawned a puppet that represents Calamity from its consciousness, this puppet being - Hulifa.

This is the investigation by the Orderly Guild regarding this Mysterious Object, but if it’s real, that’s hard to say.

However, it is known that this Mysterious Object is a trinity.

A single puppet with three different forms, they are: Wishing Puppet Boyisha, Treasure Hunting Puppet Guadura, and Calamity Puppet Hulifa.

The effects of this Mysterious Object appear very simple on the first two puppets.

Primarily, a wish-maker can make treasure-related wishes to the "Wishing Puppet" Boyisha. After Boyisha takes on the task, she will switch to treasure-hunting mode, entering the Void as "Treasure Hunting Puppet" Guadura to search for treasures. The time taken depends on the treasure’s value.

Once Guadura finds the treasure and returns in front of the wish-maker, she will pose a task challenge to the wish-maker. Once the task is accomplished, the wish-maker will receive the corresponding treasure.

If the wish-maker fails the task challenge, Guadura will transform into the "Calamity Puppet" Hulifa and punish the wish-maker.

The punishment carries the trait of "must be completed." Should the wish-maker die before completing it, the punishment will still continue, eventually diffusing outward and becoming a true "calamity."

Until someone completes Hulifa’s punishment task, Hulifa will revert back to the Wishing Puppet Boyisha.

And then, this Samsara continues anew.

After explaining the effects of the three puppets, Little Xiaotao began speaking of the tragic incident in the Gesen Mirror Domain.

"Typically, Boyisha will appear randomly before any wish-maker in the Infinite World. It’s uncertain if the Gesen Mirror Domain was fortunate or unlucky, but Boyisha appeared in the Gesen Mirror Domain not long ago."

"She accepted a wish-maker’s wish and sent Guadura out to hunt for treasures, ultimately successfully bringing back the treasure. However, the wish-maker didn’t complete the challenge proposed by Guadura, so Hulifa appeared."

"Hulifa generally gives random difficulty punishments, and this wish-maker happened to randomly receive a cruel punishment: Confinement Space."

"All energy, air, and external matter will be barred within the Confinement Space."

"The wish-maker couldn’t endure the punishment and died within the Confinement Space."

"Along with their death, the Confinement Space began to diffuse madly, devouring countless spaces in just a short period. Hulifa would also randomly select other nearby life forms to complete task challenges during this, but unfortunately, no one succeeded."

"Thus, the diffusion speed accelerated..."

"Ultimately, even the Singer and Yusen races couldn’t tolerate it anymore, yet had no means to combat Hulifa, leading them to eventually choose to migrate a portion of their populace."

That’s the gist of the story.

But the story isn’t over yet.

Little Xiaotao concluded with one final statement, which surprised both Angel and Laplace: "Hulifa will continue selecting people for challenges, and the selected ones are random. This time, she randomed on a singer tribe member about to arrive at the Daylight Mirror Domain."