Chapter 2107 Regina’s Decision <TOC> Chapter 2109 Sumesh's Request for Help
Translator: SumTLMan
After reaching the lower level, Angel did not immediately head to the laboratory but instead opened the door to the material storage across from it.
The storage was still empty, without any materials placed inside.
The only difference from before was the addition of a coated wooden hut by the artificial lake, topped with two small white clouds.
This hut currently serves as the real-world residence of Baruba and others.
Angel’s visit to the storage was specifically to seek out Baruba.
Regina is due to arrive soon, and the other laboratory is currently cluttered with various items, needing cleaning and organization. As it involves many extraordinary tools, recklessly using spells for cleaning is not advisable, as it can damage the equipment. Therefore, it requires someone to carefully organize everything.
Baruba, having long worked at the Promi Alchemy Shop, is very familiar with various experimental tools, making him the best choice for this task.
Upon reaching the hut, Angel used the Gate of Dreams to sense Baruba’s current situation in the Wilderness of Dreams; he was on an airship heading to the new city.
Assuming there was no major issue, Angel woke him from his slumber.
Baruba, upon opening his eyes, immediately showed a cautious and alert expression. It wasn’t his first time leaving the Wilderness of Dreams, but this time it was not of his own volition, instead being forced by an external force, which worried him about a potential issue outside.
However, his surroundings were as calm as before.
Only when he sensed Angel’s presence outside the hut did he show a look of realization and his eyes gradually returned to calm.
It seemed that Angel had woken him from the Wilderness of Dreams for some reason.
Baruba didn’t know why Angel did this, but since he had woken him from the Wilderness of Dreams, it must be for something important.
Baruba quickly stepped out of the hut.
“Lord,” greeted Baruba respectfully.
Angel nodded, not immediately stating his purpose, but first inquired about Baruba’s current situation in the Wilderness of Dreams.
“I have almost memorized the blueprint of the new city and am currently on my way there,” Baruba said, pausing hesitantly. “However, some buildings in the blueprints related to Jon are beyond my capability, as they are quite incomprehensible…”
Baruba struggled to describe these buildings. The transparent buildings in the blueprints, the steam fortresses floating in the sky, and the numerous shops with screens and strange “neon” signs were difficult for him to understand and describe, let alone execute.
Although Baruba didn’t explicitly state it, Angel understood his difficulties, having seen the blueprint himself.
After all, when Jon designed the blueprint, he combined Earth’s architecture with his understanding of wizard civilization. Even though the design was consistent in terms of safety, appearance, and functionality, this comprehensive, unified idea was challenging for Baruba, a “builder” accustomed to methodically following rune scrolls.
To solve this problem, it required not only a significant workforce but also a person capable of coordinating everything.
This person needed the ability to manage, understand the design principles and concepts of Jon’s blueprint, have a profound understanding of wizard abilities, and also be knowledgeable about the properties of various materials.
Considering all aspects, Angel himself was undoubtedly the most suitable, but with the new city construction being time-consuming and his recent schedule being too busy, he was unable to devote himself entirely.
Angel thought for a while and decided to leave it to Freud.
With Freud’s extensive interaction with Jon, Freud had gradually and unconsciously accepted some of Jon’s ideas. Plus, being the one who had been in contact with the blueprint the longest next to Jon, Freud undoubtedly had a deep understanding of the blueprint’s philosophy.
The only thing Freud lacked was an understanding of material properties, but this was not a difficult problem to solve.
When the time came, it would be possible to have Rhine send some wizards familiar with material properties to assist Freud. After all, the new city was a city beyond the ordinary, and Rhine, wanting the Savage Grottoes to have absolute initiative in the Wilderness of Dreams, would certainly pay close attention to this future hub for a large number of wizards.
Thinking of this, Angel said to Baruba, “Just follow what Freud suggested. Complete the outer structures that can be built, and set aside the constructions that are incomprehensible or unbuildable for now. It won’t be long before someone comes to take over.”
Angel chatted casually with Baruba and noticed that Baruba seemed much more relaxed than when he was in the Savage Grottoes.
The atmosphere in Initial Heart City was relaxed, and Jon was a gentle person. In such an environment, the frustrations that had been festering in Baruba’s heart were slowly easing.
This was also a good thing.
Baruba, contrary to his rough exterior, had a delicate mind but tended to suppress his feelings. Once he became fixated on a problem, he could easily fall into self-denial. Being able to relax in the Wilderness of Dreams before facing the high-pressure competitive environment in the Savage Grottoes was indeed a good balance for him.
Apart from Baruba’s change in mindset, there was another thing that interested Angel.
It was the change in Baruba’s attitude towards the Kulakuka pair.
Initially, Baruba had little interaction with Babaya and Kudou. His nature wasn’t inclined towards accepting external emotions.
Originally, Baruba thought he wouldn’t have much interaction with them until the end of the mission.
However, things changed.
Two mornings ago, Jon and his team developed a rudimentary chatting tool.
Using the Mother Tree Network, they could bypass point-to-point searching and have a paper-like dialogue box appear before them, facilitating group chats.
Jon named this chatting tool “Tree Group.”
Tree Group was divided into small Tree Groups for instant chatting, large Tree Groups, and Tree Group Forums, which allowed for more text but with some delay.
Jon pulled his development team into a small Tree Group, and since Baruba had also accepted Jon’s construction task, he was included too.
In that small Tree Group, because communication was through text, Baruba discovered many things that were completely different from his previous understanding.
Kulakuka seemed honest and simple, but he was humorous and witty in the small Tree Group, even making Baruba chuckle.
Babaya was usually quiet and reserved, but in the small Tree Group, she often posted confused messages, constantly asking “why,” almost like a chatterbox.
Jon remained as gentle and learned as usual; Popoca preferred not to talk much.
In this small Tree Group, Baruba initially didn’t know what to say. Later, when Jon was teaching in the group, Baruba posted some questions about construction. The initial answers were normal, but then Kudou began to sidetrack, speculating wildly about the shape of the buildings Baruba was inquiring about. Baruba was initially displeased and corrected him, but the conversation became even more off-topic, with even Jon joining in. Baruba, not wanting to be left behind, joined the fray. The small Tree Group was buzzing with activity.
After that incident, Baruba found that speaking in the small Tree Group no longer carried the same psychological burden as before.
In this situation, Baruba occasionally speaks in the group, and Kudou and Babaya are also willing to converse with him.
Thus, some things that Baruba had previously thought impossible began to change.
Even though Baruba hasn’t truly faced Kudou and Babaya directly in conversation, some emotional connections have slowly been built in the Tree Group chat.
Of course, Baruba didn’t fully reveal the above story, but Angel deduced the complete emotional transformation through some details.
Angel is very gratified by Baruba’s change in mindset.
However, the biggest surprise for Angel in this story is still the Tree Group.
Unexpectedly, Jon’s development of the Mother Tree Network, really did gradually take shape through the characteristics of the “Tree Civilization.” Although it’s still far from the era of blooming flowers recorded in the holographic tablet, the hardest part of the Mother Tree Network is the first step. Once that step is taken, the subsequent development will erupt like a geyser!
Currently, it’s only the “Tree Group,” but Angel is very much looking forward to what the future Mother Tree Network will look like.
By then, Sanders might be quite surprised, as he was not optimistic about the development of the Mother Tree Network at the time.
…
After the chat with Baruba came to a close, Angel finally revealed his purpose.
Organizing the laboratory is not difficult, but it consumes time and energy. The construction of the new city doesn’t need to be so urgent; Freud still has to conduct a final environmental survey. During this period, Baruba has a lot of free time.
So, Baruba didn’t hesitate to accept this task.
Because Regina is probably arriving in the next couple of days, and time is tight, Baruba immediately followed Angel out of the material storage and came to the adjacent laboratory.
Upon entering the laboratory, Angel saw Sanders standing at the workbench, with a spherical metal tool above him, emitting a beam of light that converged on a severed tentacle placed on the workbench through a special observation membrane.
Angel understood at a glance that Sanders was currently researching the Seed of Distortion.
Looking at the severed tentacle, Angel couldn’t help but worry about the Seed of Distortion. The Seed of Distortion he brought from the Labyrinth of Wandering Candles was just an offspring and was extremely malnourished. Now that its tentacle had been severed, he didn’t know if it would be dangerous.
However, when Angel saw where the Seed of Distortion itself was, he was stunned.
The Seed of Distortion was now placed in a transparent box, locked with special rune locks. It didn’t show any discomfort from being confined; on the contrary, it looked comfortable, like a happy otter——
A mass of tentacles embraced a pitch-black stone, giving off an overall sense of floating intoxication.
It didn’t look like something that had just had a tentacle severed.
Upon sensing it for a moment, Angel understood why the Seed of Distortion was like this. It turns out that the stone it embraced was a Nightmare Stone with a very pure aura.
The aura of this Nightmare Stone was almost identical in concentration to the Nightmare Plane aura released by Angel. Since the Nightmare Plane aura can replenish the lost power of the Seed of Distortion, it’s no wonder it appeared so content.
With the Nightmare Stone there, the Seed of Distortion definitely wouldn’t have a problem, and Angel also put down his worries.
Angel gestured for Baruba to go to another room to clean up, while he himself approached Sanders.
“Mentor,” Angel greeted, not asking about Sanders’s research. After all, he had been researching for less than a day and it would be hard to achieve any results.
As expected, Sanders took the initiative to talk about his half-day research.
Not only were there no results, but he didn’t even have a clue.
Firstly, regarding the mushrooms, although Angel has already explained the effects of the mushrooms in general terms, these effects can only manifest after the mushrooms mature.
Take the Mushroom of Amen, for instance, which allows for short to medium-distance spatial displacement between entities of the same origin. However, there are two constraints to this. The first is the concept of “same origin,” which refers to the main body splitting into mushroom buttons. These mushroom buttons must be nurtured to grow and form the Mushroom of Amen of the same origin. The splitting of mushroom buttons requires the Mushroom of Amen to reach maturity.
The second constraint is the mechanism of transportation. The Mushroom of Amen’s transportation process requires swallowing a person whole, implying that it will be very large upon maturation, much like the Bone-chewing Mushroom Angel encountered in the Doreen Flower Garden, large enough to swallow a person whole.
The current Mushroom of Amen is not even palm-sized, so how can it swallow people for transportation?
Since the effects of these mushrooms require a mature body to manifest, Sanders, who is not proficient in mushroom research, cannot conduct specific studies at the moment. Therefore, he has set aside the mushrooms to focus on studying the Seed of Distortion.
However, the study of the Seed of Distortion has hit a snag. Even after successfully severing its tentacles, no special components were found within them; they were merely used for trapping or binding. In other words, the amplification effect of the Seed of Distortion must originate from the spherical core. But since this is a unique offshoot, Sanders is hesitant to dissect it.
After a day of research, it turned out to be a complete waste of time.
Sanders, realizing that continuing the research would likely be futile, discussed this with Angel and then returned the mushrooms and the Seed of Distortion, deciding not to continue any further.
Sanders said, “The Seed of Distortion is an offshoot, and even dissection might not yield any significant findings. I suggest that you use it when you find a suitable opportunity, as it can add to your combat strength.”
Angel nodded in agreement. He had brought out the Seed of Distortion precisely with such a plan in mind.
As long as he continuously supplies the Seed of Distortion with the aura of the Nightmare Plane, it can provide Angel with a powerful and loyal puppet. And what Angel has in abundance is the aura of the Nightmare Plane.
However, the Seed of Distortion itself lacks strength and must find a host capable of being possessed by it.
Currently, there is no target, so he can only temporarily nurture the Seed of Distortion and wait for an opportunity.
Chapter 2107 Regina’s Decision <TOC> Chapter 2109 Sumesh's Request for Help