Chapter 2267 Stepping into the Depths of the Forest <TOC> Chapter 2269 The Book of Kael
Translator: SumTLMan
It was a jade-green snake.
Angel had seen many serpentine creatures in the Tidal Realm, the majority of which were of enormous size, enough to be described by storytellers as world-ending serpents. Snakes of normal size were exceedingly rare in the Tidal Realm.
The snake before them was one such rare encounter.
Its body was of a common size, entirely jade-green in color, with scales that were fine and lustrous, reflecting a moist sheen of precious light under the soft twilight.
Its eyes were bright yellow, with pupils of a pure gold that contained no trace of any other color, exuding a sense of solemn majesty.
What astonished Angel the most was the faint green light swirling around the body of this jade-green snake. This green light was the aura of nature, concentrated to the extreme. Wherever this light enveloped, all plants thrived and blossomed.
In the current environment, where the jade-green snake passed, all things revived, and flowers bloomed in abundance.
It was like the sovereign of all plants, under whose reign the withered would flourish and the faded would bloom once more.
Beneath the clusters of flowers, the jade-green snake elegantly moved in its winding path, eventually coming to a stop before them.
Without a doubt, the newcomer was Nemeti.
Nemeti was now about five or six meters away from Angel, raising its head to quietly gaze at the person before it.
Angel, under Nemeti’s gaze, felt no discomfort but had the illusion of being seen through.
Moreover, Angel was standing, and Nemeti merely lifted its head slightly. Considering the height difference, Nemeti’s raised head didn’t even reach Angel’s knees. Logically, Angel should have felt a sense of looking down from above at Nemeti. However, Angel felt no such superiority; instead, it was like confronting a mountain.
An insurmountable mountain.
“You are a human,” Nemeti observed Angel for about half a minute before slowly speaking.
Its voice was pleasant, yet the tone carried a sense of solemnity.
“Yes.”
“You are the prophesied one mentioned by Mr. Feng,” Nemeti stated again, not as a question but as a matter-of-fact, seemingly certain of the truth.
Angel asked, “Do you know who I am?”
Nemeti’s golden eyes slowly shifted from Angel to a stone cup covered in frost beside him.
The cup, under Nemeti’s gaze, seemed to be summoned by some power, floating up into the air before being pulled in front of Nemeti.
Nemeti quietly observed the cup.
Suddenly, ripples like those on water appeared around the cup, and after the ripples emerged, the frost-covered cup vanished, revealing a small, baby palm-sized ice ring engraved with strange symbols.
Upon seeing the ice ring, Nemeti lifted her head to look at Angel: “Frost Iseth wouldn’t casually hand over her token to others. Since you possess it, your identity is self-evident.”
Being a human and having Frost Iseth’s token, even Nemeti could guess Angel’s background.
Before Angel could speak, Parlysania beside her glared at Angel, pointing a branch at the ice ring: “You told me you wanted water, but your real purpose was to use this object to disturb Highness’ seclusion?!”
“I wasn’t trying to disturb her, just showing Frost Her Highness’ token, nothing else,” Angel replied, though his tone clearly faltered.
Because Parlysania’s guess was correct. Angel had been in the Lost Forest’s core area for a long time without seeing Nemeti, worrying she might have truly secluded herself from worldly affairs. Thus, he used an illusion to disguise Frost Iseth’s token as a cup, taking it out from his space.
This token was given to him by Frost Iseth when he left the Marlaya Mountain. According to Frost Iseth, Nemeti is very stubborn, respecting only Mr. Feng, and this token was left to Frost Iseth by Mr. Feng. If Angel accidentally offended Nemeti, presenting this token would at least make Nemeti consider it and not be too harsh on him.
Angel, not seeing Nemeti for a long time and unsure if she didn’t want to see him or was truly ignoring worldly affairs, took out the token, hoping to attract Nemeti’s attention.
And indeed, it was successful.
Parlysania, naturally, didn’t accept Angel’s explanation, glaring at him furiously. However, with Nemeti present, a fight with Angel wasn’t possible, so Parlysania could only huff in anger, turning to explain to Nemeti: “I didn’t intentionally bring him here, nor did I expect him to attract your attention in this manner.”
Nemeti shook her head, interrupting Parlysania: “It’s alright, he is the one prophesied, and I would have come out to meet him regardless.”
Seeing that Nemeti wasn’t upset, Parlysania breathed a sigh of relief, though its glare at Angel remained undiminished.
Having achieved his goal, Angel ignored Parlysania’s glare and respectfully said to Nemeti: “Highness Nemeti, I’ve come following in Mr. Feng’s footsteps. I wish to learn about Mr. Feng and the prophecy you mentioned. Could you tell me about them?”
Although Frost Iseth had informed Angel of many details, including those related to the prophecy, many specifics were still unclear. Since Nemeti was closely connected to Feng, she might know deeper secrets.
Nemeti gazed deeply at Angel without an immediate response, instead, she lowered her head, swallowed the token, then turned around, her face sideways towards Angel, saying, “If you want to know, follow me.”
After Nemeti spoke, she drifted towards the forest leisurely.
Soon, Nemeti’s figure vanished, but the path left on the ground, blooming with hundreds of flowers, guided Angel forward.
As Angel was about to follow the path of flowers, a blue lantern flower suddenly emerged from the shadows.
It was Eremy conveying a cautionary message to Angel.
Eremy’s message was brief; it covertly assessed Nemeti’s strength, giving a verdict of “impossible to contend with,” and then suggested that for safety, Angel should keep his distance from Nemeti.
It’s worth noting that even when facing a second level true knowledge wizard, although Eremy would likely lose, it still had “a fighting chance.”
Up to now, Eremy had only given the “impossible to contend with” assessment to one other individual, which was Lord Rhine.
The evaluation given to Nemeti being the same as that for Lord Rhine doesn’t necessarily mean Nemeti’s strength is similar to Lord Rhine’s, but in terms of energy level, Nemeti certainly reached the height of Lord Rhine.
The energy level of a third level true knowledge wizard!
Only such a level would cause Eremy, even without any malice shown by the other party, to issue a warning. Because merely standing in front of Nemeti, in Eremy’s view, was already unsafe.
Understanding Eremy’s warning, Angel naturally comprehended. However, he had no intention of retreating.
Not to mention that Nemeti had not shown any malice yet, withdrawing now would instead invite ill will; moreover, when Angel stepped into the outskirts of the Lost Forest, he had already made some guesses about Nemeti through energy measurement. In such a situation, he still chose to enter deeper into the Lost Forest, naturally not without reliance.
Fighting, definitely, was not an option. But with his current foundation, managing a few seconds to escape was still feasible.
After all, Nemeti was just an elemental creature, surely not having as profound an understanding of spatial passages as Angel. If it were a learned wizard from the main world, Angel might have truly heeded Eremy’s advice.
After reassuring Eremy, Angel followed the path of flowers left on the ground towards the center of the forest.
Parlysania also followed, but its expression towards Angel was no longer as serene as before, instead, it was indifferent throughout the journey.
Following the bloom of the flowers, they arrived at the hillock in the center of the forest.
Even before reaching the hill, Angel could already see Nemeti’s figure. She stood at the very top of the hill, gazing at the night sky filled with stars, her golden eyes seemingly expressing a longing.
Until Angel and Parlysania reached the top of the hill, Nemeti remained motionless, still looking up at the starry sky.
The air was somewhat silent, leaving Angel and Parlysania no choice but to quietly wait behind Nemeti.
The Snake Gazing at the Stars, the seeker of knowledge, and the guarding treant.
This scene, was just like a painting.
After a long, long time, Nemeti’s voice finally came through, floating gently, “What lies at the end of the sky?”
Nemeti didn’t turn around, nor did she specify who should answer, but without a doubt, this question was not posed to Parlysania.
Angel, unsure of what Nemeti meant but recognizing her as a figure of authority and having requests of his own from Nemeti, pondered for a moment before responding, “There is no end, just an endless void.”
“Is the void truly endless?” Nemeti asked again.
“If the edge of the universe counts as the end of the void, then that could be considered an end,” Angel paused, “But beyond the universe, there might be other universes, still endless.”
“What is the universe?” Nemeti’s puzzled voice drifted over.
“It’s a concept of unity,” Angel explained offhandedly.
Whether Nemeti understood or not, Angel didn’t know, but she didn’t inquire further about the universe. Instead, she brought up another question, “Then what are the stars in the night sky?”
Angel replied, “They are reflections of the pan-dimensional planes.”
“How far are we from these pan-dimensional planes?”
“They seem close, but are actually far. However, traveling through the void could save some time,” Angel continued to answer Nemeti’s questions in a straightforward manner.
Angel thought Nemeti would continue with her questions, but she fell silent for a long time, simply continuing to gaze at the starry sky without speaking further.
After a long while, Nemeti softly exclaimed, “This world is truly vast.”
Angel, internally deliberating on how to continue the conversation, didn’t get a chance to speak before Nemeti continued, “I once asked Mr. Feng the same question, and he gave me the same answer as you.”
“When he saw my interest in these matters, he asked me… do you also wish to see more of the world’s wonders?”
“My answer was no. I’m not particularly interested in those magnificent landscapes.”
Nemeti seemed to fall into her own thoughts, speaking to herself. Angel didn’t interrupt, as her words seemed to relate to Feng.
“After hearing my answer, Mr. Feng told me that not many in the Wizarding World look up at the stars and think not of broader vistas.”
“He asked me what I think about when I look at the stars.”
“My answer was that I feel very small,” Nemeti’s voice, carried by the evening breeze and the scent of petals, lingered around Angel.
“Compared to such a vast world, I am too insignificant,” Nemeti continued, “I don’t care about the splendor beyond the void, but I want to become less insignificant.”
“I want to shine like the stars in the void.”
After saying this, Nemeti still remembered that Feng had turned his head and said to her, “You are indeed very interesting, completely different from that Star Wood whose heart is full of dullness. Would you like me to paint a picture for you?”
Nemeti’s response at the time was, “What will you give me in exchange?”
Upon hearing this, Feng burst into laughter, and after his laughter, he seriously said to Nemeti, “I can make you less insignificant.”
Nemeti’s recollection stopped there. Then, she finally turned around, her back to the vast expanse of stars, and said to Angel, “This was the scene when I first met Mr. Feng.”
Angel: “It sounds very nice.”
The stars reflected in Nemeti’s eyes: “I also think it was nice, it was the most worthwhile trade I have ever made in my life.”
“Since the deal was struck, Feng stayed in the Lost Forest, teaching me a lot of knowledge. It was also at this time that my strength began to improve, and in a short period of time, I reached the level of what the outside world calls an Elemental Monarch.”
Hearing this, Parlysania silently added in its heart: It was also at this time that the gap in strength between him and Nemeti became larger and larger. Despite growing up together, their paths diverged due to different encounters.
Nemeti, unaware of Parlysania’s thoughts, continued: “But I was still not satisfied, every time I looked up at the starry sky, I still felt very insignificant.”
“So, I continued to practice. It took me nearly two thousand years, but I surpassed my past self and reached a new realm.”
“According to the wizard levels Mr. Feng mentioned, I had reached the level of a third level wizard.”
“But even so, facing the endless void, facing the shining pan-dimensions, I still couldn’t shake off the feeling of insignificance.”
“I longed to become even stronger.”
“But it seemed I had reached a bottleneck; before this point, the enhancement of the elemental core within me had been smooth. But once I reached a certain point, no matter how I improved, I could only achieve quantitative increase, unable to undergo a qualitative change.”
“This situation lasted for a long time and caused me much frustration.”
“Until six hundred years ago, Mr. Feng came to the Tidal Realm for the second time.”
“He brought me hope.”
Chapter 2267 Stepping into the Depths of the Forest <TOC> Chapter 2269 The Book of Kael