Chapter 2416 Secret Letters <TOC> Chapter 2418 Concealment
Translator: SumTLMan
Angel meticulously reviewed the secret letters again.
In doing so, he uncovered ample intelligence from other worlds. Notably, the Research Institute of the Greenwood Institute in the Source World had developed an advanced spell covering the domain of water magic, which, after multiple tests in the Eternal Plane, submerged several cities.
Another piece of intelligence revealed that a witch, titled Destiny, had willingly entered the City of Reincarnation under the auspices of the Temple of Prophets. Furthermore, the Lady of the Moon and the Lord of the Sun from Raven Castle both ascended to the legend realm, illuminating the skies of the Western Lands with an hour of the simultaneous day and night.
A phenomenon rumored to have caught the attention of a great being from the Source World.
Such intelligence was varied and included tidbits like a deity known for breaking through worlds wreaking havoc in the void, and distant sounds of Miracles emanating from the void itself…
Despite the astonishing nature of these pieces of intelligence when taken at face value, for Angel, they felt too distant and lacked immediate relevance, serving no significant purpose for now.
However, within these secret correspondences, Angel found that the sender, Number 03, had a particular interest in two matters.
First was the movement of the Joyous Witch from the Northern Territory Wizarding World. Nearly every letter from the Sparkling Trading Group contained information on the Joyous Witch, focusing on her movements and whereabouts. From the cryptic descriptions, Angel speculated a possible entanglement of love and hate between Number 03 and the Joyous Witch.
Second was concerning Yrfalina from the Western Lands Wizarding World. Information about Witch Yrfalina was a constant in the letters from the Sparkling Trading Group. However, due to the sheer volume and scattered nature of these details, given the not insignificant number of Witch Yrfalina, it was challenging to discern Number 03’s objectives from this information.
After briefly considering other pieces of intelligence from different Wizarding Worlds, including those from the Snoke bases, Angel set them aside.
Eventually, only two letters remained on the desk.
The Sparkling Trading Group had thoughtfully included dates on each letter, adhering to the new calendar of the Southern Region, allowing Angel to determine the delivery times of these two letters.
One was from the year 7375 of the new calendar, two years ago.
The other was from the year 7378 of the new calendar, this year.
Angel first opened the letter from two years prior, customarily skipping information related to Witch Yrfalina and the Joyous Witch to continue reading.
Upon encountering a piece of news, Angel’s gaze fixed firmly on the message.
“A recent announcement from the Orderly Guild has surfaced about a Mysterious Object possibly related to illusion magic appearing in the Hollow Kingdom. Mysterious Hunters have already set out, and at the same time, the great illusionist Fibo has left his Tower of Illusion…”
This keyword, a Mysterious Object related to illusion magic, captured Angel’s attention.
Angel still remembers the time when Number 03, considering Sanders’ request, proposed a few conditions for reconciliation, one of which was to provide information related to a treasure of illusion magic. Clearly, Number 03’s offer was made with Sanders in mind.
At the time, Angel didn’t care much about it, thinking it was just an empty promise from Number 03, possibly trying to buy time.
However, it seems that Number 03 had the confidence to make such a proposition, and this confidence came from the information mentioned by the Sparkling Trading Group.
This was the first time Angel had heard of a Mysterious Object related to illusion magic, and he continued to read with curiosity…
This Mysterious Object was discovered by two apprentices from the Outer Order of the Orderly Guild during a mission to explore foreign worlds. They arrived in a relatively primitive world with no signs of civilization or supreme intelligent beings, more like a prehistoric era dominated by colossal beasts.
Feeling somewhat helpless at the time, the apprentices wanted to return to the Source World. However, due to their mission, they stayed to perform basic exploratory tasks and inadvertently uncovered a secret of this world.
This world was not entirely devoid of civilization… Beneath an unnamed primitive forest lay a civilization of insects.
This insect civilization even formed a nation known as the Hollow Kingdom.
The insects lived in an underground cavern less than a kilometer in diameter, leading a life almost in isolation from the world.
Due to the underdeveloped state of the insect civilization, the apprentices, even after discovering it, did not initiate contact. That was until they felt a mysterious fluctuation within the Hollow Kingdom…
When it comes to Mysterious Objects, even the weak insect civilization warranted utmost caution from the apprentices. Countless accidents have occurred from underestimating Mysterious Objects, and even legendary wizards like Fibo have spent over a decade undercover in realms of ordinary humans to decipher the effects and laws of certain Mysterious Objects.
Regrettably, the apprentices were too young and became overconfident.
They didn’t notify the Orderly Guild immediately but used shape-shifting magic to enter the Hollow Kingdom and found the location of that Mysterious Object.
In the end, one died, and the other escaped the Hollow Kingdom in a panic, only then conveying the message to the Orderly Guild.
Based on the apprentice’s account and the preliminary investigation by the Orderly Guild, it’s almost certain that this Mysterious Object is a semi-uncontrollable Mysterious Object.
It was temporarily named “Iserlin’s Miniature Castle.”
Living inside the castle is an insect claiming to be a “princess” named Iserlin. This title is self-proclaimed because the Hollow Kingdom does not recognize a Princess Iserlin. Upon investigation, Iserlin was found to be just a wandering, pitiable insect without royal blood.
There’s a certain threshold to enter the Miniature Castle, and the exact conditions remain unknown. For now, it is only known that entrants must be——elegant.
Interestingly, this condition was discovered because of the surviving apprentice. His survival was due to his crude behavior, which led to the Miniature Castle denying him entry.
Another noble apprentice, with an elegant demeanor, was invited into the Miniature Castle. However, less than ten seconds after entering, he died. Therefore, the Orderly Guild judged that, in addition to requiring visitors to be elegant, the Miniature Castle also has other thresholds.
It’s worth mentioning that this deceased apprentice also provided the Orderly Guild with additional information: from the moment he entered the Miniature Castle until his death, a significant amount of illusion nodes naturally surged around the Miniature Castle, which is also evidence suggesting that the Miniature Castle might be related to illusion magic.
That is all the information about “Iserlin’s Miniature Castle.”
After reading this, Angel pondered for a moment.
To say that he is not interested in this Miniature Castle would be false, but even if he truly had ideas, they could basically not be realized.
The Orderly Guild’s Mysterious Hunters have already gone, including a great illusionist whose depth is unknown, Fibo; Angel would likely return without success even if he went.
Even if Sanders went, he probably couldn’t do anything.
Moreover, the threshold for the Miniature Castle has not been fully explored; going there would be seeking death.
Thus, Angel merely noted this information and no longer paid attention to it.
After putting down the letter from two years ago, Angel’s gaze locked onto the last letter, which had arrived more recently, even less than half a month ago.
Angel was very much looking forward to this letter, considering its timeliness, if it contained information, it would definitely be the latest information.
With intense curiosity, Angel opened the last letter.
After a while, Angel put down the letter and, after pondering in place for a moment, said to Toby, “I’ll take a short rest, I’ll be back soon.”
Toby understood what Angel meant, nodded, and chirped, indicating that he would take care of things here.
Dangros’ eyes narrowed into a slit, quietly staring at Angel, seemingly thinking about something.
Angel entered the Wilderness of Dreams, right next to Iron Armor Granny, as a result of his precise positioning.
“Angel, you’re here? Would you like to join me for a cup of tea?” Faced with Angel’s unannounced arrival, Iron Armor Granny was not angry; instead, she smiled warmly and offered him a steaming cup of flower tea.
Angel, feeling somewhat embarrassed, apologized and then said, “Granny, I have matters to attend to in reality. I came here to deliver a letter to you.”
Angel used an illusion to simulate a letter, which he placed on the table in front of Iron Armor Granny.
“When you have time, Granny, you might want to read it. It contains information about the Seventy-Seven Red Socks Squad and… the Bud.”
After saying this, Angel prepared to leave. But before leaving, he seemed to think of something and asked Iron Armor Granny, “By the way, Granny, do you know about this creature?”
Angel lightly tapped on the desktop, and the image of the misty shadow he encountered on the fifth level appeared before Iron Armor Granny.
The mist dissipated, the shadow coalesced, and the starry points within were visible.
Iron Armor Granny looked closely for a moment and doubted, “…Are you sure this is a creature?”
Angel nodded, “Confirmed, it’s known to possess magical creatures and take over their bodies.”
Iron Armor Granny pondered for a moment but still shook her head, “Never heard of it.”
Angel said no more, thanked Iron Armor Granny, and left the Wilderness of Dreams.
Back in reality, just as he encountered a new fluctuation of law ripples, Angel took a rest in the study for a while.
During the rest, his gaze drifted to the letter on the desk. The content of the last letter, just as Angel had told Iron Armor Granny, recorded the affair between the Seventy-Seven Red Socks Squad and the Bud.
The Seventy-Seven Red Socks Squad was a wizard organization that once obtained a Mysterious Object named “Hotep’s Wrath,” also known as… the Arrow of the Vanquished.
Later, the Arrow of the Vanquished fell into the hands of the Bud Cult.
The letter recorded this information. Angel guessed that Number 03 must have her own intelligence network in the Wizarding World of the Southern Region. After learning that the Arrow of the Vanquished was shot at City Lord Rosen in Sky Mechanical City, she initiated inquiries to the Sparkling Trading Group.
The content inside was extensive, including much secret information about the Bud, so Angel handed it to Iron Armor Granny at the first opportunity.
With Iron Armor Granny’s foresight, she naturally understood how to handle this letter.
Angel cared about this letter, especially since it concerned the Bud. But more than the letter, he was currently more concerned about the identity of the misty shadow.
Although Iron Armor Granny is not omniscient and omnipotent, her research on creatures is very deep, even Tree Spirit would concede in this area.
But now, even Iron Armor Granny outright said she had never seen the misty shadow.
This made Angel curious about what kind of rare existence the misty shadow really is?
…
After the law ripples ended, Angel left the archive room and headed towards the last unexplored room.
Soon, he stood in front of a fountain.
He had seen from the main control node that room 03 had a space covered with water, initially guessing it might be a swimming pool or a pond, but it turned out to be a fountain covering a wide area.
There were water spraying pipes everywhere, and the air was filled with mist. In the center of the fountain stood two twin goddess statues.
The appearance of the twin goddess statues was a replica of Number 03’s own looks. From this, it could be inferred that Number 03 probably had some narcissistic tendencies.
In the space precisely between the two statues of goddesses, there stands a deep well.
Angel’s destination was within this well, for it housed a pathway leading to the fifth level’s control node.
After navigating a long corridor that tested his mastery of magic formations, Angel successfully reached the fifth level’s control node.
Similar to the other control nodes, this one too awaited the activation of a Hunt and Kill Number, labeled as Number 1.
Having previously witnessed the Hunt and Kill Number x0, Angel’s curiosity towards exploring the other numbers significantly diminished. Without attempting to activate it, he approached the magic formation directly.
He wished to use the formation to observe where the misty shadow had ventured off to.
Leveraging the vision of the Authority Eye, Angel conducted a thorough examination of the fifth level. He scrutinized rooms number 01, number 02, number 03, and even the entire corridor. Regrettably, the Authority Eye failed to capture any trace of the misty shadow.
This left only three possibilities.
First, the misty shadow might be in a semi-void state, rendering it invisible to the Authority Eye.
Second, the misty shadow could have exited the fifth level through an external corridor.
Third, the misty shadow might have ventured into a blind spot, unreachable by the Authority Eye’s gaze.
The only blind spot in the fifth level was a hidden space within room number 01.
Angel personally hoped for the third option, desiring an attempt to make contact with the misty shadow. Even if it didn’t respond, he theorized that certain details might provide some form of feedback.
While Angel was pondering, he was suddenly interrupted by Toby’s chirping.
Turning his attention to Toby, Angel realized: “Is Wizard Nisi looking for me?”
Previously, Nisi had been engrossed in the fourth level’s archive room, while Angel focused on the main control node. Thus, he had blocked the mental connection, only allowing Toby and Dangros to keep monitoring.
It was only now that Angel decided to unblock the mental connection.
Upon reactivating the connection, he immediately heard Nisi’s voice: “So this is the arm of Night Butterfly Witch, tsk, tsk, tsk. Even reduced to just an arm, its perfection is undiminished, the skin is as smooth as pudding. No wonder Firo was so deeply enamored with her.”
“By the way, Firo would probably cry if he were here, right?”
Hearing Nisi’s voice tinged with jest, Angel understood that Nisi had likely left the archive room for the exhibition room and had stumbled upon the arm of Night Butterfly Witch there.
Angel didn’t respond immediately; instead, he sought to connect with the Authority Eye previously left in the care of Wizard Canter.
Upon establishing the connection and looking through the Authority Eye, his suspicion was confirmed.
Indeed, Nisi, Canter, and Reynolds were gathered around a container filled with liquid, within which resided a woman’s arm, intricately adorned with black and red patterns.