Chapter 2073 Rose District <TOC> Chapter 2075 Light of Nightmare
Next page password is bold portion: F5a@RUtepahA
Translator: SumTLMan
Footsteps approached from afar.
A dark stone, originally rolling freely on the abandoned streets of the Rose District, suddenly halted upon hearing the footsteps, disguising itself as an ordinary rock.
Angel and Boil Gentleman strode past this small stone.
After Angel passed by it, sensing something, he stopped. The mental power he kept at the ready behind him provided a strange perspective.
The previously inconspicuous black stone suddenly began to roll, and as it did, the ground showed signs of blackness. At first glance, these marks seemed trivial, but upon closer inspection, they were found to be made up of a swarm of black, double-winged, bipedal insects.
These black insects appeared insignificant, but Angel’s expression subtly changed upon seeing their true form.
He had once delved into the legendary wizard “Heart of the Swarm” Iscariot’s manuscripts in the Nisi library to cultivate Morphing Softworms.
In Iscariot’s manuscripts, a type of insect called the Dragon Spit Insect occupied a significant portion, even prompting Iscariot to write an entire category for it.
These bugs, the size of dust particles individually, were not particularly powerful. However, when they gathered, even just to the size of a droplet, they could devour dragon flesh and magical creature blood.
The Dragon Spit Insect symbolized true collective consciousness.
Iscariot, nicknamed “Heart of the Swarm,” favored researching insect swarms with collective consciousness and efficient execution. The Dragon Spit Insect was one of his most esteemed extraordinary swarms.
Regrettably, this terrifying swarm had vanished over time.
Angel had felt some emotion when he first read about the Dragon Spit Insects. They possessed a unique third level constant burning reaction, usable as a special high-rank alchemical flame. But with their extinction, this flame had also disappeared.
Angel never expected to encounter Dragon Spit Insects here.
Yet at this moment, he felt no nostalgia, only deep anxiety. The Dragon Spit Insect was a species with a high potential for destruction when in large numbers.
The presence of so many here, if unleashed in the outside world, would be catastrophic.
Even if Rhine led a team to eradicate these bugs, it might be futile, possibly even chaotic.
Compared to Illusio and Mystlight, the potential destruction from the Dragon Spit Insects seemed more direct and tangible.
Yet here were so many… Angel dared not imagine the calamity they could cause if they left the Star Pool. Fortunately, Dragon Spit Insects likely needed the aura of the Nightmare Plane to fully manifest their power.
“Highness Shava?” Boil Gentleman turned, his tone curious, though his face unseen, wondering why Angel had stopped.
Angel paused for about two seconds, his mind whirling with thoughts.
“Nothing,” he replied, his expression unchanged. He continued walking as if nothing had happened.
Boil Gentleman glanced behind Angel, spotting the swarms of Dragon Spit Insects. A flicker of confusion crossed his eyes. Were these ordinary magical bugs worthy of Highness Shava’s attention?
Although puzzled, Boil Gentleman did not inquire further. Seeing Shava continue, he put aside his doubts and followed suit.
Throughout the journey, Angel walked calmly, but his mind was continuously stirred by ripples.
He had not yet recovered from the shock given by the Dragon Spit Insect when he felt some terrifying auras in the surrounding fog-enshrouded abandoned houses. Some of these terrors revealed a part of their true forms.
Those who showed themselves were all powerful magical creatures, nearly all of which could be recorded in the legendary section of —Magical Creatures and Where to Find Them—.
If these magical creatures were to come to reality, the destruction they could cause would be no less than that of the Dragon Spit Insect!
Perhaps noticing Angel constantly glancing at the surrounding houses, Boil Gentleman casually explained: “The creatures here are all projections from the Rose District. They are quite ordinary, as any being with a bit of character would choose not to project themselves here, like the Baron of Roses.”
Angel thought to himself: “…” The magical creatures that could turn the outside world upside down were just ‘quite ordinary’ in Boil Gentleman’s words.
Thinking about it, it seemed to be true.
Initially, when Angel visited Nightfall City, he saw a large number of magical creatures in the city’s underground sewers, ranging from apprentice to formal wizard level. And Nightfall City was just on the fringe of the Nightmare Plane; the magical creatures there were already so formidable; the ones closer to the core of the Nightmare Plane must be even more terrifying.
The Rose District in the Land of Heart Sigh, supposedly closer to the core of the Nightmare Plane, would naturally have stronger magical creatures.
Although Angel understood this logic, it was still somewhat difficult for him to accept these terrifying magical creatures coexisting peacefully here.
But after all, the Nightmare Plane is the Nightmare Plane, and following the logic of reality is completely unnecessary here.
There is no complete logic here, only endless absurdity and unpredictable strangeness.
Perhaps having seen too many terrifying magical creatures, Angel’s mood became more and more calm as he walked on. In the end, it wasn’t really calmness, but numbness.
Since these magical creatures did not show any desire to attack them, he might as well treat this as a visit to a zoo.
They walked in the abandoned Rose District for about ten minutes. Just as they were looking at the long, gloomy street ahead, Boil Gentleman suddenly stopped and led Angel to a pitch-dark river.
The river flowed with ink-black water. Angel was not curious about why the water was black, as he saw several huge skeletons in the river. Even in death, these skeletons still emitted a daunting aura.
These skeletons were probably the price of curiosity.
Angel just followed Boil Gentleman. In this bizarre world, it’s better to restrain curiosity to survive longer.
Not far along the river, Angel saw a bridge emitting a rainbow light.
This rainbow-like bridge, in the dark and abandoned Rose District, was extremely eye-catching, inherently possessing an aura that attracted attention.
If Angel were exploring on his own, he would definitely not easily step onto this bridge. The more dazzling something is, the more likely it is a trap.
However, Boil Gentleman stopped at the edge of the bridge, and it seemed their next step was to cross it.
Boil Gentleman didn’t immediately cross the bridge but waited a few seconds. As the ground shook slightly, a glowing stele suddenly rose in front of the Rainbow Bridge.
The stele grew a mouth and spoke a long speech:
“The Rainbow Mountain is a sacred food territory. To enter the Rainbow Mountain, you must first answer three of my questions! If you answer correctly, you may cross the bridge; if you answer incorrectly, you can still enter the mountain, but as ingredients…”
After speaking, the stele grew eyes, ready to watch those who would cross the bridge.
When the stele saw Boil Gentleman, it showed no reaction. It naturally recognized Boil Gentleman, but rules are rules. To cross the bridge, one must follow the rules.
However, just as the stele looked towards Angel, its gaze suddenly froze.
…
“What does one plus one equal?”
“What is the name of the mountain behind me?”
“What color is the water in the river?”
When Angel stepped onto the Rainbow Bridge, he was still a bit puzzled. He originally thought the three questions posed by the stele were very difficult, but unexpectedly, they turned out to be so simple. The answer to the second question was even the original words spoken by the stele!
Boil Gentleman, seeing Angel’s expression, roughly guessed his thoughts.
“Actually, if Highness Shava answers wrongly, saying the water in the river is rainbow-colored, it would still let you pass,” said Boil Gentleman calmly. “Because, you are Highness Shava.”
If it were someone else crossing this bridge, the questions asked by the stele would definitely be baffling and impossible to answer.
Even Boil Gentleman himself, to cross this bridge, would be asked some profound questions.
However, Boil Gentleman usually does not cross this bridge, as he has other channels to travel to various regions of Heart Sigh. The reason for taking this route this time was simply to accompany Highness Shava on an inspection of the progress of the Heart Sigh Descent.
This was also a task secretly arranged by Lord Nooka, hoping to give Highness Shava a deeper understanding of this place, and ideally, to get Highness Shava to agree to the banquet on the upcoming Feast of the Moon Offering.
Although Boil Gentleman is not part of the Nooka faction, since he has come to the Land of Heart Sigh, he must listen to Nooka to some extent. The task laid out by Nooka this time was not too rule-breaking, so Boil Gentleman naturally did not refuse.
After hearing Boil Gentleman’s words, Angel was first stunned, then calmed down, his confusion seemingly resolved. No wonder the questions were so simple; it turned out to be because of Shava’s identity.
From the Doreen Flower Garden to now, this journey proved that Shava’s identity is very useful among the Nightmare Plane group. This is probably the biggest insight he gained after entering this ruin.
After all, Angel does not consider himself to be Shava, so when he realized this, he felt somewhat subtle. But as the beneficiary, he quickly adjusted his mood to face the journey ahead.
…
After they stepped onto the Rainbow Bridge, a faint mist appeared around them. When they walked down from the bridge, the mist immediately disappeared, and a fluctuating mountain appeared in front of them.
Angel looked back and saw that the Rainbow Bridge was still there, but the end of the bridge was a forest, and below the bridge was no longer black river water, but pink river water.
Previously, near the river in the Rose District, Angel clearly saw that the other side of the river was also an abandoned urban area. The other side of the Rainbow Bridge was definitely not some Rainbow Mountain.
But now that they had crossed the bridge, everything had changed significantly. It was clear that this bridge, like the chimney in Doreen Flower Garden and the mushrooms in the Rose Castle Garden, was a medium connecting other regions.
Angel now understood that each region here does not have a direct path to other regions; one must rely on mediums.
And these mediums, even if you can find them, are not so simple to cross.
The chimney in Doreen Flower Garden, possessed by Mad, requires Mad’s consent to leave; the mushrooms in the Rose Castle Garden, because the mouth is the passage, this medium could either become a pathway or swallow you; to cross the Rainbow Bridge, one must also endure the baptism of three questions…
The deeper Angel delved into the understanding of this Land of Heart Sigh projected from the Nightmare Plane, the more powerless he felt.
He himself might be able to travel unimpeded due to the convenience of his identity. But when it comes to the actual battle, human wizards will likely find it very difficult to penetrate this land.
The Boil Gentleman saw Angel standing still for a long time and, thinking his wandering thoughts were seen through, quickly said, “Highness Shava, past the Rainbow Mountain is the Maze of Mystlight Candles Corridor.”
Angel, coming back to his senses, nodded, “Then let’s go.”
The Boil Gentleman led Angel towards the distant Rainbow Mountain.
The reason it was called Rainbow Mountain was because the high mountain was surrounded by numerous rainbow rings, which looked like colorful cotton candy, giving it a somewhat girlish charm.
However, Angel knew that there were no girls on Rainbow Mountain, but rather a foodie resembling a ball of meat: Da Vichyssoise.
Speaking of the previous banquet, what made Angel feel most favorably was probably Da Vichyssoise. Although he clamored to turn Book Mad into rainbow candy, as long as he was given food, regardless of its taste, he would eat it diligently.
This kind of simple yet persistent desire, compared to the complex inner thoughts of other guests, was indeed refreshing.
Angel found him relatively easy to deal with.
However, this favorable impression was only relative to that banquet. In a broader context, it was not enough.
After they entered the Rainbow Mountain area, the first thing they saw was a lot of fruit-bearing trees. The fruits smelled sweet, but if one looked down, they would find that beneath these fruit trees were struggling corpses stretching out their hands.
Angel sensed traces of illusion magic near the fruit trees, suggesting that the trees used illusions to lure and trap humans, ultimately killing them to nourish their growth.
As a wizard specializing in illusions, Angel was curious about the kind of illusions these fruit trees could create.
However, when he and the Boil Gentleman stepped into the orchard, they didn’t experience any illusion attacks, apparently enjoying an ‘exemption’ due to their identity.
Passing through the orchard, they arrived at the foot of the mountain.
Angel thought they would climb the mountain, but the Boil Gentleman didn’t lead him into the woods, instead coming to a protruding stone platform at the foot of the mountain.
Angel noticed that the platform was covered with many intricate patterns.
And these patterns were all runes!
A rune-engraved stone platform in the territory of the creatures of the Nightmare Plane?
The runes were extremely complex, dazzling at first glance, but as an alchemist specializing in enchantments, Angel was very adept at deciphering runes and quickly found the pattern amidst the confusing runes.
It appeared to be a short-range teleportation formation.
Angel wasn’t surprised by this discovery. What he cared about was that the traces of the rune engraving of this short-range teleportation formation gave him a very familiar feeling.
Chapter 2073 Rose District <TOC> Chapter 2075 Light of Nightmare