Chapter 2180 Advancing <TOC> Chapter 2182 Flame of Ancient Verdant
Translator: SumTLMan
Alas, dreams and reality are separated by a vast chasm; creatures of the fire element do not dare to approach him, rendering his desires to coax them futile.
Regarding the notion of capturing by force… he has temporarily shelved such plans, especially since he has recently established a friendly rapport with the beings from the fire domain. Should there indeed be a need to disrupt this peace, it would only be considered after receiving Feng’s intelligence.
With a heart full of regrets, Angel descended to the edge of the lava lake.
Dangros hopped off from the Magic Hand, and using its index and middle fingers as legs, it made its way to the lakeside with a tap-tap sound, peering into the distance before turning back to Angel, “Mr. Pat, Mentor Magu usually spends most of his time sleeping. Let me check if he’s awake.”
After saying this, Dangros leaped into the lake, not to sink, but to stand on the bubbling surface of the lava lake, moving swiftly as if walking on waves.
Eventually, Dangros stopped at a relatively calm area of the lake.
This calmness is relative, observable only to the naked eye. Through Angel’s mental vision, it was clear that Dangros had stopped next to a transparent ‘bean sprout.’
The floating bean sprout was an extension of Magu’s organ.
Upon reaching the bean sprout, Dangros did not speak but cautiously approached it. Just as Dangros was about to touch the bean sprout, it suddenly shook its head vigorously, and its mouth, filled with sharp teeth, bit down on Dangros.
Dangros cried out in pain.
“Let go, let go! Mentor Magu, it’s me, it’s me!” Dangros shouted.
But the bean sprout did not cease; it continued to bite down on Dangros, who, using all his might, pried the mouth open just enough to make an escape.
Dangros quickly leaped away, rushing back to the lakeshore.
Upon reaching the shore, Dangros collapsed onto the scorched earth, gasping for breath, exhausted and frightened.
“It seems your Mentor Magu doesn’t quite welcome you,” Angel remarked, glancing at the distant bean sprout that had returned to calmness, then down at Dangros.
After resting for a moment, Dangros caught his breath and explained, “It’s not like that. When Mentor Magu is sleeping, the tendrils exposed outside automatically attack any living beings that move around them.”
“Actually, once you dive below the lake, the tendrils won’t attack. But since this lava lake is Mentor Magu’s territory, it’s best to greet the tendrils before diving in.”
Angel inquired, “I see. But since it’s still asleep, should we wait for it to wake up?”
Dangros shook his head, “No need. When I was bitten by the tendril, I sent a flame down its esophagus. Mentor will definitely wake up after receiving it.”
Dangros’s explanation sounded normal, but to Angel, it oddly felt as if Dangros had released a fart inside Magu’s esophagus.
Dismissing the unsavory imagery from his mind, Angel and Dangros stood by the lakeside, waiting in silence.
During their wait, Angel suddenly felt a slight disturbance at his feet.
Looking down, he discovered a small crack in the scorched earth from which a baby-fist-sized slug, enveloped in blue flames, slowly emerged.
The blue flame slug seemed confused upon emerging, moving in circles on the spot.
Noticing this, Dangros quickly approached, and with a coordinated effort between his thumb and little finger, he picked up the blue flame slug.
Dangros then cuddled it in his palm, gently rubbing it back and forth, reminiscent of a human snuggling into a cat’s fur for comfort.
After a significant passage of time, Dangros finally lifted its “head,” tenderly stroked the blue fire slug with its pinkie, and then cautiously placed it into the lava lake.
Watching the blue fire slug vanish, Dangros couldn’t help but “place hands on hips” and laugh heartily, “Today’s harvest is not bad, gained another Little Brother, hahaha!”
Angel: “…What is this about?”
Dangros: “That little sprite was just born in the Voice of the World, I just spoke to it, told it to be my little brother, and I would protect it from now on, and it agreed.”
Angel, filled with questions, asked, “Do newly born elemental sprites already possess intelligence?”
Dangros: “Of course not, not everyone is as smart as me!”
Angel: “Then how did it agree to become your little brother?”
Dangros, with a matter-of-fact expression, said, “I left my flame inside it, it has recognized my fire, naturally, it’s my little brother now!”
Is this what you call recruiting a little brother? It feels more like you’re coveting its body…
Moreover, after hearing Dangros’s words, an image of Dangros excreting into someone else’s body popped into Angel’s mind.
The look Angel gave Dangros subtly changed, infused with a hint of disdain.
Unaware of Angel’s change in sentiment, Dangros was looking around, “Every time the Voice of the World occurs, a large number of little sprites are born, there must be more around here, I want to take this opportunity to gather more little brothers.”
Not long after, Dangros spotted a newly born smoke tadpole, excitedly wanting to recruit it as a little brother, but the smoke tadpole was swimming in the mist in mid-air, far beyond its reach.
Left with no choice, Dangros went to the edge of the lava lake and whistled. Half a minute later, a group of graceful fire butterflies emerged from beneath the lake, and under Dangros’s command, they landed on it, and all the butterflies together lifted it into the mid-air.
Dangros, caught by the butterflies, flew next to the smoke tadpole and used the same method it did with the blue fire slug, hugging the tadpole and vigorously sucking.
After a while, Dangros landed on the ground, waved at the tadpole, which immediately followed the smoke to its side, affectionately nuzzling it.
Clearly, another innocent newborn sprite was harmed by Dangros.
Satisfied, Dangros patted the tadpole’s head, signifying it to move on its own, then controlled the fire butterflies to search for elemental sprites around. As soon as a target was found, it immediately scurried to recruit more little brothers.
After a good while, when Dangros seemed to realize there were no more newborn sprites nearby, it signaled the fire butterflies to return to their homes, and it itself returned to Angel’s side.
Witnessing the entire scene, Angel was full of doubts about Dangros’s actions, “Those butterflies are your little brothers?”
Dangros nodded, “Of course, that group of butterflies were sprites born during the last coming of the Voice of the World.”
“What do you need so many little brothers for?”…Really not coveting their bodies?
Dangros: “Little brothers are just little brothers, they can help me in fights.”
“Help you in fights?” Angel seemed to realize something, “The one that exploded earlier, the furball monster, was it also your little brother?”
Dangros, slightly displeased, said, “What furball monster, that was Kolokcro, used to be my little brother, now it’s my friend. And it didn’t explode, that’s its talent ability, it can release the energy stored in its body in an explosion, its own consciousness won’t be harmed, it can slowly recover in the future.”
Angel stroked his chin, “Kolokcro’s talent ability is indeed not bad, if recruited…”
“Recruited for what?” Dangros seemed to have heard something, looking puzzledly at Angel.
Angel said, “You didn’t say anything, you must have misheard. Aside from Kolokcro, that Flame Giant before, is he also your underling?”
Upon the mention of “Flame Giant,” Dangros immediately diverted his attention, proudly stating, “Correct, Duroche is indeed the most formidable underling I’ve recruited.”
“It doesn’t seem like an elemental sprite, but rather a fully grown elemental creature. And it’s willing to acknowledge you as its leader?” Angel looked at Dangros skeptically. Although the Flame Giant was defeated by Eremy, it didn’t mean its strength was inferior; Eremy was simply stronger.
A Flame Giant definitely possesses the strength of a wizard. As for Dangros, Angel had not explored his strength… However, considering he couldn’t even escape a simple spell like the Advanced Magic Hand, which is a second level trick, his wizard strength is probably at the level of a first or second level apprentice.
A novice apprentice recruiting a formal wizard as an underling seemed impossible to Angel.
The more Angel doubted, the less he believed, which made Dangros even more proud, “I’m not lying. Duroche is indeed my underling. Otherwise, why would he have listened to me and fought that… Flower Bearing Wildcat?”
When Dangros mentioned “Flower Bearing Wildcat,” he sneakily glanced at Toby sitting atop Angel’s head.
Toby also looked over, showing a bit of approval and less guard towards Dangros, nodding in agreement. This nickname, “Flower Bearing Wildcat,” was very satisfying to it.
With Toby’s appreciation, Dangros was also excited, appearing even more proud, “If Mr. Pat doesn’t believe me, I can call Duroche here.”
After saying this, Dangros whistled towards the lava lake. However, after a long whistle, the lake remained calm, and the Flame Giant did not appear.
The calm surface of the lake left Dangros somewhat embarrassed and slightly panicked inside, feeling like he had lost face in front of the admiring Toby. So, he blushed and continued to whistle.
In the end, the Flame Giant did not appear, but a “bean sprout” was blown to the edge of the lava lake by Dangros.
“Dangros, are you looking for me, or for Duroche?” A slightly weathered voice came from the mouth of the bean sprout.
Dangros shivered and immediately stood up straight, “Mentor Magu!”
“Hm.” The weathered voice hummed softly, “You sent your flame through my tentacle, I thought you were looking for me, but then I heard you calling for Duroche?”
Dangros nervously rubbed his thumb and little finger, “I indeed was looking for Mentor Magu, because I brought Mr. Pat, as well as the descendant of the ancestor of Kalomaches… It’s just, I also wanted to find my ‘underling,’ Duroche.”
Dangros emphasized the word “underling.”
Magu, controlling the bean sprout, glanced behind Dangros, slowly saying, “It’s a human, I see…”
“But, I only see one human. Where is the descendant of Kalomaches you mentioned?”
Dangros pointed at Toby, “Over there.”
Toby stood up, raising its head in a proud manner.
Angel, who was being stepped on by Toby, suppressed the urge to pull Toby down and greeted Magu, “Mr. Magu, my name is Angel Pat. I came to the Tidal Realm following the footsteps of a savior, and through the introduction of the new king, I wished to meet with you.”
Magu shifted his gaze from Dangros to Angel, remaining silent for a long time.
Just when Angel thought Magu wouldn’t speak, the tentacle moved again, directly biting onto the unguarded Dangros.
Dangros was startled, enduring the pain from the bite, and quickly jumped away.
After a while, Magu’s voice came through again: “Ah, my apologies, I accidentally dozed off. Though I am old, my spirit is still willing; that was an unintended slip.”
Angel: “……”
Magu laughed heartily: “Where were you in your story? Ah, never mind, come over here and speak, conversing through mental connection is too draining…zzzzz…”
Listening to the snoring that followed, Angel felt a sense of dismay. He couldn’t help but feel that Magu was somewhat unreliable.
Dangros gave an awkward smile: “It seems Mentor Magu has fallen asleep again… But it’s alright, he has already agreed to let us into the lake, shall we go down?”
Before Dangros could make a move, the bean sprout bit him again.
Dangros yelled in anger: “Why is it always me!”
The bean sprout swayed, and Magu’s voice came through once more: “Ah, I’ve taken another nap. What were you saying, Dangros? Oh, I remember now, you were asking about Duroche, right?”
“Duroche is resting and recuperating in the lake. Although it was severely injured before, it has fully recovered under the soothing of the Voice of the World and has even made new breakthroughs.” Magu clicked his tongue in admiration: “It’s a blessing in disguise for it. I see its elemental core beginning to transform; it might even gain spiritual light when it wakes up this time!”
Initially, Dangros listened normally, but his expression froze when Magu mentioned the last part: “Gaining spiritual light? Duroche might gain spiritual light?! Mentor Magu, is this true?”
Magu: “Of course, it’s true. Currently, the chances of Duroche gaining spiritual light are very high. But once Duroche gains spiritual light, your position as the boss might not be secure.”
Magu chuckled towards the end, with a tone that seemed to relish the drama. However, the laughter quickly ceased, replaced again by the sound of deep sleep, and the bean sprout bit Dangros once more.
This time, Dangros did not struggle but murmured in despair: “Duroche is going to gain spiritual light, how is this possible… It was my top minion, no!”
Angel, observing Dangros’s look of despair, understood why Duroche, a formal wizard, would acknowledge Dangros as the boss; it was entirely because Duroche had not yet awakened its spiritual light.
Though he understood, Angel still admired Dangros.
The fact that Dangros could have Duroche as his minion, even if it was because Duroche had not yet gained spiritual light, was an impressive feat.
Perhaps, this was Dangros’s unique talent?
Chapter 2180 Advancing <TOC> Chapter 2182 Flame of Ancient Verdant