Translator: SumTLMan
… The creature wore leather shoes.
If we apply normal logic, it would probably be a human or a humanoid, but creatures of the Nightmare Plane obviously don’t follow such rules. Previously, the Frog Chanter and Fox Harpist, both capable of walking upright and dressing neatly, were different species. Therefore, without seeing the true appearance of the creature in the leather shoes, it’s difficult to determine its exact identity.
“Did you gain anything from interpreting the emotions just now?” Sanders asked Angel.
Angel replied, “Mostly, they were very vague and incomplete emotions, deciphering them didn’t make much sense. However, among these useless feelings, there was one coherent emotion that was quite special.”
Angel then shared the information he sensed.
“Minister, descent, repair,” Sanders murmured these words, falling into brief contemplation.
“From the literal meaning, it seems like a minister has descended from the Nightmare Plane,” Angel furrowed his brows, “I don’t know if it’s the actual person descending or just their envoy. If it’s the former, I have a bad feeling about this.”
Sanders’s expression also became very serious: “Creatures of the Nightmare Plane have a strong sense of hierarchy. If we include official ranks and then combine my earlier speculations, the power of a ministerial level is probably not low. In fact, there’s a high possibility that it’s above legendary.”
Although Angel also guessed the ministerial strength to be strong, he didn’t expect Sanders to suggest it could be above legendary. However, Angel was puzzled: if it indeed reached a legendary realm, would the World Will allow it to enter the Wizarding World so easily?
Sanders soon answered Angel’s doubts.
“If all goes as expected, the ruins should already contain a passage, indicating that it’s now part of an interstitial space. An interstitial space is a rift between the Nightmare Plane and the real world, where the World Will is not the supreme ruler. As such, as long as it doesn’t invade the real plane, it’s possible for legendary realms to emerge within the interstitial space.”
Sanders paused: “Another point to consider is that virtually all creatures from the Nightmare Plane suffer significant losses in power when they descend into the Wizarding World, even if they’re in an interstitial space. So, a ministerial level in the Nightmare Plane might be above legendary, but in reality, it might be discounted upon descent.”
However, these two suppositions are just conjectures. Sanders couldn’t be entirely sure of the opponent’s current power level. But in the Nightmare Plane, it’s no surprise that the ministerial level is above legendary.
Consider this: even on the periphery of the Nightmare Plane, there are creatures above legendary. The place where Gloria lost her body is teeming with legendary creatures.
Creatures in the core circle of the Nightmare Plane are of the ministerial level, and legendary level is certainly within reach.
Angel listened with a trembling heart. If a ministerial level creature descended into the ruins, its power would still be above legendary, making the Savage Grottoes unsafe.
“I hope, like the last time in Sleepless City, it’s just an emissary of a minister that descends, not the minister themselves,” whispered Angel.
Sanders’s expression wasn’t very optimistic either. Their speculation about the ministerial level was actually a low-level fantasy about a higher level. Such fantasies are always unequal, blind guesses, like how a summer mayfly struggles to comprehend snow; all speculations are in vain. Perhaps, the ministerial level is even stronger than they imagine, and even more dismissive of the world’s laws.
With these thoughts, the atmosphere turned slightly somber.
Angel spoke, “Back then, at the Twilight Auction, that owl doll who called itself Ollie mentioned some information about the ministers. Among them, Minister Mana seemed to be in charge of supervision, and Minister Gran liked to give lectures. Besides them, I also know of another minister, the owner of the spotted puppy in Sleepless City, named Minister Dim.”
“If it’s really a minister who has descended, could it be one of these three?”
Sanders shook his head, no one knows the answer to this question. Among the three known ministers, none have revealed their true strength. However, Minister Dim’s spotted puppy, if not by accident, is a living Mysterious Object, which, even in the Source World, would be considered a marvel. Possessing such a creature, Minister Dim’s abilities are undoubtedly significant.
Angel: “Could the owner of those shoes be a minister?”
“This shouldn’t be the case. If it really was a minister, he would surely come out to meet you,” Sanders softly negated. In his view, the owner of those shoes likely holds a much lower rank than Shava, hence the reluctance to appear within Angel’s sight. This was like the parasitic creatures in the Shadow Demon Kingdom’s Shadow Demon City, which, upon gaining intelligence, would actively avoid Angel, only standing far away to ‘Praise Shava’, quite telling indeed.
However, even if the owner of the shoes isn’t of ministerial rank, Sanders remains cautious. The sense of crisis he felt upon seeing those shoes still lingers in his heart.
If the ruins are filled with such level creatures, one can hardly imagine the dangers within.
Sanders stood in the pavilion, gazing toward the distant shimmering Star Pool, his eyes filled with deep concern.
“Now that your initial reconnaissance is over, let’s have Lord Rhine and the others return, and we’ll discuss further together,” said Sanders.
While the ruin’s Star Pool seems calm for now, who knows when it might change. For safety’s sake, Sanders couldn’t risk the three guardians being away for too long.
Now that Angel has acquired some clues, it’s time for them to return.
About ten minutes later, the guarding wizards returned to the three observation pavilions. Rhine and Tree Spirit also appeared before them, but Nisi and Firo did not come along.
“… Minister, descent, repair?” Rhine had already received these keywords from Angel, his brows tightly furrowed as if pondering something.
Meanwhile, the guardian wizards in the other two pavilions were also paying attention to the activities here.
The expression on Iron Armor Granny was solemn, as if she had realized something, her eyes filled with concern.
On the other side, the white-haired Wallace’s expression was also troubled. Although he didn’t understand what a Minister level meant, his innate spiritual sense had already perceived unease.
“Next time you decide to open the ruin, make sure to inform us in advance,” Tree Spirit admonished Sanders, moving on to the main topic: “Putting aside other matters for now, such as shoes and the Minister’s identity, the most important keyword should be the last one.”
“Repair,” Tree Spirit emphasized, pondering over the term: “What exactly are they looking to repair? Is the arrival of the Minister specifically for this purpose?”
Sanders replied, “Repair means to correct and restore to the original state, that is, to make repairs and improvements on an existing foundation. I have a speculation that what they intend to repair might be something that originally existed within this ruin.”