Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 3293 -3294: Six-pointed Star Appraisal Method

“Although I don’t know if the legend recorded on the stone tablet is true, I’ve pondered before, if this legend is true, then where would the Mysterious Forest Spirit be?”

Laplace paused while saying this and looked at Angel: “The Forest Spirit is a collective entity. And the Mysterious Forest Spirit, if it truly exists, would definitely be a collection of various mysterious phenomena.”

“If each mysterious phenomenon corresponds to a Mysterious Artifact, that means there must be multiple Mysterious Artifacts for the Mysterious Forest Spirit.”

“In a place where multiple Mysterious Artifacts appear simultaneously.” Laplace: “In my memory, besides the treasuries of those big organizations, there’s only one place where this situation would occur…”

“The Nightmare Realm.”

After expressing her speculation, Laplace did not say more. She knew very well that there should be some connection between Angel and the Nightmare Realm, perhaps Angel’s identity is akin to a ‘Mirrortraveller’, though belonging to the Nightmare Realm wanderer?

Laplace had many conjectures about Angel and the Nightmare Realm, but these conjectures would remain in her heart and would not be proactively raised.

Mutual understanding and not probing into each other’s secrets is also a form of respect granted between friends.

Now that the Nightmare Realm has been brought up, delving further means the conversation might verge on exploring Angel’s privacy. So, Laplace stopped her speculation there.

On the other side, a flicker of understanding flashed in Angel’s eyes.

In fact, as soon as Laplace got halfway through speaking, his thoughts were already moving towards the direction of the “Nightmare Realm.”

It’s no secret that the Nightmare Realm reportedly contains a multitude of Mysterious Objects.

The mystery and allure of the Nightmare Realm stem precisely from this reason which invokes both fear and longing.

The only thing Angel found slightly unexpected was hearing unexpected information concerning the Nightmare Realm under these circumstances.

Whether the Mysterious Forest Spirit exists in the Nightmare Realm? Angel didn’t know for sure, but he could inquire from the Dalmatian, though whether the Dalmatian is willing to answer is uncertain.

However, if the Nightmare Realm indeed hosts such a Mysterious Forest Spirit, Angel wouldn’t be surprised.

After learning that the clans inside the Wanyou Forest Ship are likely projections from the Nightmare Realm, Angel could also accept the eerily terrifying appearance of Kuriena.

The creatures in the Nightmare Realm, like deep-sea fish, possess a myriad of bizarre appearances.

Exhibiting alien forms is quite normal.

“A place of origin like that, from its name sounds like a forbidden zone, a forbidden land, I never imagined your experiences in your youth were also quite rich…” Angel didn’t elaborate on the topic of the Nightmare Realm but returned to the start of their conversation.

Laplace was unconcerned, lightly saying: “Exploring unknown relics is also one way to supplement the reserves of knowledge. Not to mention, ten thousand years ago, the source land was merely hard to find, not valued by the tribes there. Of course, whether they value it now, I don’t know.”

“Another thing, you say it’s my ‘youth’ experience, implying I’ve ceased to be young?”

Angel: “…”

No matter how non-human the true body is, it is at least female. And the vast majority of women are quite sensitive about age.

Angel was somewhat at a loss for words, unsure how to explain, stammered for a moment, and could only squeeze out: “Would it be better if I used ‘early years’ to describe it?”

This time it’s Laplace’s turn to go silent.

After a while, Laplace murmured: “Better to say young after all.”

Angel scratched his temple, a bit awkwardly nodding: “Could you continue telling me about the source land? I’m quite intrigued by the source land of the Wanyou Forest Ship.”

Laplace cast a glance at Angel; she knew very well Angel was not sincerely interested in the source land but more about the potential connection to the Nightmare Realm.

But she didn’t burst Angel’s little scheme, instead following his question, chatted about the experiences of that time.

“The source land was constructed by the earliest beings of the Wanyou Forest Ship. In terms of the Wanyou Forest Ship’s calendar, its initial birth year marked an era of fracture, and lives existing then were also unknown and unspeakable Mystical Ancient Spirits…”

Laplace continued narrating, while Angel listened attentively.

Until Kuriena on the display stage entered the second main topic ‘Research Report Sharing’, Angel didn’t snap out of the story of the source land.

The tale of the source land, to Angel, sounded more like an adventurer’s travelogue.

It recorded the initial birth history of the Wanyou Forest Ship, as well as a group of Mystical Ancient Spirits exploring origins. The slab that depicted the legend was also recorded by this group of Mystical Ancient Spirits.

In terms of the adventure experiences and the tale of the Mystical Ancient Spirits, this story was exciting enough, even capable of being adapted into a stage play for performance.

However, regarding the intelligence embedded in the story, especially concerning the Nightmare Realm, it contained virtually none.

The amount of Yan, approximately zero.

After listening, Angel, apart from feeling the hardship of adventuring, had no other thoughts.

Laplace wasn’t surprised by this either. The source land was concocted by a group of newborn Mystical Ancient Spirits who called themselves “Mystical”, yet knew nothing of the “Mystique”… It’s easy to imagine, not born with knowledge like Deities, even if these beings were Extraordinary Life, their foundation in knowledge was admittedly limited.

One could even compare “Mystical Ancient Spirits” to “Primitive Humans.”

Mystical Ancient Spirits exploring their own origins is akin to primitive humans exploring the origins of humans, yielding no value beyond allowing later generations an amused smile.

The intelligence of the Nightmare Realm, only if recorded by the Mystical Ancient Spirits, would be truly extraordinary.

After Laplace concluded her story, she didn’t want to relish her reminiscence further and instead, like Angel, shifted her gaze towards the display stand.

The Fragrance Seeking Tribe was somewhat different from previous clans. Not only did they recommend their main scented powder, but they also left some time to discuss their research report.

And the report they shared was – “Six-pointed Star Appraisal Method for Fragrant Wood.”

The theme of this report is a special application method of Aggregation Energy.

Compared within the Wizard System, it’s akin to a specialized object identification technique, belonging to the category of spell techniques.

Although the ‘technique’ could only identify Fragrant Wood, its research value is extremely high.

The Fragrance Seeking Tribe is solely interested in “Fragrant Wood”, thus the identification technique they developed solely identifies Fragrant Wood, which is perfectly natural; but other tribes can learn from this research report and creatively apply the core identification method to develop their identification techniques.

This is the research value of the “technique” shared by the Fragrance Seeking Tribe.

Most Transcendent beings aren’t stupid. Wizards have used the superficial knowledge from the Demon God “Cruel Scholar” to create the esteemed Inscription and Runeology. Likewise, the major tribes present here could use the “Hexagram Identification Method” to develop their own appraisal techniques.

Therefore, when the Fragrance Seeking Tribe shared this report, the popularity chart began to soar wildly.

Comparable to the grand occasion when Yusen and the Singer Clan took the stage before.

Watching the ever-increasing popularity, Sipolov couldn’t help but sigh: “The Fragrance Seeking Tribe developed the Hexagram Identification Method so that all tribes could effectively classify their collected Fragrant Wood into different grades. I guess they didn’t expect that the tribes weren’t interested in Fragrant Wood appraisal but instead chased the core of the Hexagram Identification.”

As soon as Sipolov finished speaking, the Dog Deacon lazily spoke: “If you can think of it, do you think the Fragrance Seeking Tribe can’t? Or do you think someone like Ku Yena, who could be a honored guest at your grandfather’s table, is less clever than you?”

Sipolov was at a loss and didn’t know how to reply.

The Dog Deacon didn’t give him a chance to respond and continued directly: “The Fragrance Seeking Tribe surely anticipated this situation. They also knew that the tribes might be interested in the core of the appraisal technique, but so what?”

“For any tribe wanting to study the appraisal core, they must first understand the Hexagram Identification Method. And how do they understand it?”

Sipolov instinctively replied: “Search for Fragrant Wood…”

Dog Deacon: “Indeed, their first step would certainly be to find Fragrant Wood and experiment with the original version of the identification method. Since it’s an experiment, one or two pieces of Fragrant Wood won’t suffice. They will prepare a large amount of Fragrant Wood to complete the experiment’s comparison.”

“And where do you think these Fragrant Woods, used as experiment control and samples, will eventually end up?”

Sipolov said quietly: “The Fragrance Seeking Tribe.”

Fragrant Wood is only useful to the Fragrance Seeking Tribe; just like Dandelions are only useful to the Turul.

Other tribes merely use Fragrant Wood for control experiments. After the experiments, they sell these Fragrant Woods to the Fragrance Seeking Tribe. For them, it’s “waste reuse,” but for the Fragrance Seeking Tribe, it’s about being the “Fragrant Wood supplier.”

The Dog Deacon showed an expression of ‘you’re teachable’, nodding his head: “Now you understand, right? As long as one tribe studies the identification method, it will supply a batch of Fragrant Wood to the Fragrance Seeking Tribe; and the more tribes that study the identification method, the more Fragrant Wood will be supplied.”

“Moreover, it’s not even an offensive ability; it’s merely an appraisal technique. Even if the tribes manage to develop their distinct appraisal techniques, it poses no threat to the Fragrance Seeking Tribe.”

“The Fragrance Seeking Tribe sharing this research report is not a loss at all.”

“Everyone actually understands this clearly, it’s just about mutual benefit.” The Dog Deacon glanced at Sipolov: “Only a simple-minded, four-limbed fool like you would think the Fragrance Seeking Tribe would lose out.”

Sipolov gave an embarrassed smile and couldn’t utter a word in rebuttal.

The Dog Deacon embraced a crystalline jug, sipping a bit of clear wine. His cheeks turned slightly red, and even his fur began to curl. Until he let out a wine burp and the intoxication faded, he continued: “Moreover, from what I know about the Fragrance Seeking Tribe, they will definitely maximize all their benefits. It wouldn’t surprise me if they had already made deals with the major tribes before taking the stage, just waiting to receive a continuous supply of Fragrant Wood later.”

The Dog Deacon, noticing the skyrocketing chart on the mirror, added: “The Fragrance Seeking Tribe might have even considered the popularity chart.”

Sipolov was puzzled for a moment: “What do you mean?”

Even Angel looked curiously at the Dog Deacon.

The Dog Deacon: “The popularity was initially low, but now it has soared because the Fragrance Seeking Tribe presented a Hexagram Identification Method useful to all tribes. Think about it, who benefits the most?”

Sipolov didn’t hesitate: “It’s definitely most beneficial to the next one to take the stage.”

Dog Deacon: “Exactly, it’s possible that the Fragrance Seeking Tribe has already made a private deal with the next to take the stage; they heat the popularity, so the next one to take the stage won’t worry about the lack of attention.”

Sipolov was still confused: “But does this really matter? The stage is all about content winning over. Even if the next tribe that takes the stage has the popularity, without content, it’s still meaningless, right?”

The Dog Deacon: “The stage is indeed about content, but have you considered, what if the next to take the stage is inherently disliked?”

Sipolov fell into deep thought; if such a disliked tribe were really to take the stage, they could at least gain attention during this short period due to the Fragrance Seeking Tribe’s popularity. Then, by using this brief time, they could present their items so that the intended audience hears them, which truly would be another form of a win-win situation.

But really, is that the case?

Dog Deacon: “You’ll see it for yourself soon enough. There aren’t many tribes that could be that disliked; besides the Pirush, there are only a few others.”

After a pause, the Dog Deacon suddenly thought of something, turned to Sipolov: “Why don’t we make a bet and see if the next ones are as I analyzed? For the wager…”

Before the Dog Deacon could finish, Sipolov quickly shook his head: “No, no, I don’t want to bet.”

Even though Sipolov hadn’t completely believed the Dog Deacon’s judgment, the analysis given by the Dog Deacon seemed very likely to be true.

Moreover, Sipolov wasn’t very familiar with the Fragrance Seeking Tribe. As one of the deacons of the Everything House, the Dog Deacon surely knew more about them than he did.

Sipolov might not be smart, but he wasn’t brainless either.

Comparing one’s weakness with someone else’s strength inherently makes no sense. Furthermore, betting on it, even less so.

The Dog Deacon sullenly lowered his head: “You don’t even dare to bet, boring.”

Sipolov dared not respond, just quietly watched the mirror.

Although they hadn’t officially placed a bet, he was indeed curious about who would take the next stage? Would they confirm Dog Deacon’s prediction?

Ku Yena’s presentation gradually came to an end.

At the same time, the popularity chart hit a new peak. The 99% popularity attested to the allure of the “Hexagram Identification Method” to the major tribes.

And just as the popularity peaked, Ku Yena bowed to the screen, retracting her menacing tusks, transforming back into a tender beauty.

She gracefully stepped off the stage.

Usually, there is about a one-minute delay between stepping off and another ascending the stage.

However, this time was different. As soon as Ku Yena stepped down, a figure immediately ascended the exhibition stage.

When Sipolov saw the person’s appearance, his eyes flashed with relief and admiration.

Relief that he hadn’t bet with the Dog Deacon.

Admiration because the Dog Deacon really had it right.

For the tribe now taking the stage was the one, apart from the Pirush, most loathed by the various tribes—

The Changhuo Clan from the Split Valley!