Chapter 2561 Collapsed <TOC> Chapter 2563 The Key Clues
Translator: SumTLMan
They hadn’t walked far on the road strewn with rubble, where faint tile patterns could still be seen, when a figure, screaming, ran towards them.
From the identical timbre of the screams, it was clear this was the person who had been shrieking earlier.
With the extraordinary vision of the transcendents, on the unobstructed road, even the naked eye could discern the figure’s appearance, a woman with short hair, dressed in a tight leather outfit.
Chasing her, a purple-scaled monster was in mad pursuit.
Indeed, this series of screams was due to this very creature.
Ordinary people, unless they were heavily armored knights trained for such encounters, typically stood no chance against monsters.
Initially, her running towards them might have been coincidental, but as soon as the short-haired woman saw several figures in this direction, she ran straight towards them without hesitation.
Apparently, she mistook Angel and the others for ordinary folks like herself, aiming to draw the monster to them. To avoid startling the creature prematurely, she even overcame her fear of the monster, keeping her mouth shut and silent.
Since the woman was charging towards them, the group also stopped in their tracks, quietly waiting.
By then, with the woman’s vision, she could finally see the group clearly. What puzzled her was that the group seemed to have already noticed her and the beast behind her.
Yet, they showed no intention of fleeing, which unnervingly unsettled her.
She had heard rumors in her adventure group about this vast ruin, notorious for its blood-sucking vines and humanoid monsters. The creature behind her was one such monster, previously mistaken by her teammate for a person in purple clothes, a fatal error.
Now, could the group in front of her also be monsters?
Though the short-haired woman felt uneasy and doubtful, there was no turning back; she had to face whatever was ahead.
If they were indeed monsters, she hoped they would turn on each other. If they were humans, she would regret involving them.
Angel and his companions were unaware of the woman’s inner thoughts, but her deliberate action of running towards them was crystal clear to them. However, they were indifferent; the will to survive was universal. Should real trouble arise, even the closest of wizards, unbound by any contract, could turn on each other, let alone in a situation that merely diverted trouble elsewhere.
The group didn’t even discuss the woman’s behavior; instead, they focused on the chasing monster.
“Purple scales, smoke swirling as it moves, face unclear… It feels familiar, but I can’t recall what it is,” Kael murmured, tapping his temple continuously as he tried to remember.
Vai seemed to recognize it but couldn’t speak; he simply gestured, failing to catch Kael’s attention.
Daus grinned at Kael and said: “What’s the matter, you don’t recognize this magical creature just because it’s bare-chested without that tattered coat?”
“The encyclopedia only shows the common images of magical creatures. If you only look at that, how could you recognize all the magical creatures?”
Just as among humans there are variations in height, weight, and appearance, no matter how beautiful or ugly someone may be, in the eyes of a magical creature, they are merely classified as ‘human.’
“The encyclopedia depicts it with a tattered coat and surrounded by light purple smoke…” Prompted by Daus, Kael seemed to recall something: “Is this, a Wizard Eye Ghost?”
Daus did not respond to Kael’s remark, instead he turned to Angel and said: “You see, Kael is a typical academic, he won’t understand unless you spell it out for him. He claims to be a wanderer, loves exploring ruins, tsk tsk… I don’t think he’s that impressive. Academics always mock those who are not from their circle, yet in a battle, they can’t even recognize their opponent.”
Although Daus was speaking to Angel, Kael heard every word, his face showing a hint of embarrassment. Even though Daus lumped him with all academics, Kael had indeed misidentified this time.
Kael remained silent, and so did Angel.
Angel had recognized the magical creature as a Wizard Eye Ghost because he had seen many of their corpses in the Nightmare Plane, so he could identify them. However, if it were another magical creature, Daus’ words would probably come true; the encyclopedia only shows the general appearance, not every detail can be illustrated.
For this reason, Angel also refrained from speaking, instead silently resolving to not rely solely on encyclopedias and books in the future, but to observe in person and combine that with reality to form his conclusions.
While they were talking, the short-haired woman had already lured the Wizard Eye Ghost closer.
Only when she was about fifty meters away did she finally shout: “Run, there’s a magical creature!”
It seemed like a kind gesture to warn them, but it was actually a form of maintaining honor in a twisted way.
Everyone ignored her, and Daus directly said: “Vai, this Wizard Eye Ghost is yours to handle, don’t stay idle for too long, your limbs are weak, you can’t even defeat a low-level magical creature.”
Vai wanted to retort, but couldn’t speak, he could only prove himself through action: he was no weakling.
However, when it came to fighting the Wizard Eye Ghost, Vai still struggled for a bit.
Although the Wizard Eye Ghost was a low-level magical creature, it possessed a certain intelligence, otherwise it wouldn’t bother picking up those ragged clothes to cover its shame, shame being a source of intelligence.
The Wizard Eye Ghost had been chasing the short-haired woman, merely toying with her, or rather, to see if she could lead it to the human stronghold to find more delicacies.
When the Wizard Eye Ghost seriously engaged in battle, its form was hardly visible.
One could only see a thin smoky shadow, flashing continuously, showing how fast it was.
Those with earth elemental extraordinary abilities are normally a good match against these speed-type magical creatures, because as long as they stand on the ground, they are in their home field.
The Wizard Eye Ghost couldn’t fly, so how could it fight against an earth elemental wizard?
Vai was as Daus predicted, having not fought for a long time, he used the wrong trick at the very start.
On his side, Vai tried to use a trick similar to “Earth Spikes” aiming for a one-hit kill to display his power. However, using such a trick is tantamount to competing in speed against a Wizard Eye Ghost.
For an earth magic apprentice to compete in speed against a creature that specializes in speed is simply asking for trouble.
Several consecutive earth spikes missed, and he even got kicked by the Wizard Eye Ghost. Luckily, he had used a protective spell beforehand; otherwise, that kick would have been enough to incapacitate him for many days.
Vai’s misjudgment let Daus once again give a “see, I told you” look, but in order not to disturb his old friend’s battle, he did not verbally mock, only continuously showing a speechless expression.
However, Vai’s misjudgment wasn’t without its benefits.
It made the Wizard Eye Ghost think that Vai was a human transcendent who could be dealt with.
Originally, the Wizard Eye Ghost did not intend to battle a human transcendent, but Vai’s “weakness” made it believe it could win. Since it could win, it no longer fled. The flesh of human transcendent, after all, is far more savory than that of ordinary humans!
This probably counted as Vai being mistakenly identified as a lower level apprentice, leading the Wizard Eye Ghost to think it was a higher level, causing a misjudgment.
The battle between the Wizard Eye Ghost and Vai then started in earnest, with great ferocity, dust flying everywhere, and ghostly shadows flickering.
This was of no concern to Angel and the others, but the short-haired woman from earlier was so frightened that she went limp on the ground, continuously retreating and shaking, leaning against a ruin.
She felt she might have caused trouble, these people were not ordinary at all; among them were transcendent beings!
To ordinary people, wizards are generally both admired and feared; admired for their magnificent powers and feared for these very powers that transcend the mundane. However, overall, the admiration outweighs the fear.
But to ordinary people who mingle in the Garden Labyrinth, their attitude towards wizards is more fear than admiration because if the transcendent beings who come here do not gain something, they would loot the teams of ordinary people. And looting would be the lesser evil; some would resort to violence.
In plain terms, it’s just a bunch of junior apprentices showing off and robbing in front of ordinary people.
Now, the short-haired woman had imagined Vai and his group to be such people.
She wanted to run, but the residual effects of the battle carried an overwhelming aura, plus her previous sprint escape left her legs utterly weak. She could only lean against the ruins, trembling and praying that she had encountered the kind of transcendent who does not kill.
The battle between the Wizard Eye Ghost and Vai continued.
Vai’s initial misjudgment not only lost face in front of Daus, but he even heard a cold snort from the revered ancestor in his family, causing Vai to break out in a cold sweat.
In the following combat, Vai no longer dared to be so unrestrained, starting to fight the Wizard Eye Ghost in a more conventional manner.
The so-called normal method, as taught in books, involves opening the earth barrier to slow down the Wizard Eye Ghost. When facing an equal in power, the first step is to seek out weaknesses and weaken them. If confident in a quick kill, then attack the Wizard Eye Ghost’s single eye directly.
The teachings in the book are correct, but too formulaic. The Wizard Eye Ghost, possessing a degree of intelligence, would surely flee if it realized it was outmatched. It wouldn’t just blunder into your earth barrier without reason.
Yet, this particular Wizard Eye Ghost misjudged Vai’s strength.
Under this “beautiful” misunderstanding, it didn’t flee but instead tried to get close and kick Vai a few more times, attempting to break through the defensive spells.
However, as it drew near, the Wizard Eye Ghost found itself ensnared.
Unlike the ease of its previous encounters, this time, upon entering Vai’s proximity, it was immediately trapped by a pale yellow barrier that sealed its greatest talent——speed.
Without speed, the Wizard Eye Ghost was just a slowly moving target.
Vai, being at the pinnacle of apprenticeship, possessed the capability to instantly kill such lower-level magical creatures. He fired three sharp stone arrows in quick succession, piercing through the Wizard Eye Ghost’s solitary eye on its head.
Accompanied by a burst of sand and dust, the body of the Wizard Eye Ghost thunderously fell.
Vai breathed a sigh of relief and turned around to gesture to Daus that it was “taken care of.”
He wasn’t sure why he made such a gesture towards Daus; perhaps it was to salvage some dignity.
Daus, who had been rolling his eyes in the background, faced Vai and, considering the self-respect of his old friend and the deterrent presence of the Black Count, nodded with a smile: “Well done.”
“Humph!”
The cold snort came not at Daus but at Vai, issued by the Black Count.
The slab bearing the Black Count shot up from Vai’s side.
He would rather expend energy to fly than stay on this foolish descendant. It was an embarrassment to their noble Noah family!
Vai was at a loss, unsure of what to do.
At that moment, Angel spoke up, which also served to relieve Vai from the awkward situation: “Come and take a look at this.”
Everyone followed the sound of his voice and saw Angel crouched next to the body of the Wizard Eye Ghost, investigating something.
“What’s there to look at? There’s nothing valuable on a Wizard Eye Ghost unless you sell the entire corpse, but even then it wouldn’t fetch more than ten magic crystals. Are you that short on money?” Daus said.
Angel responded: “I’m not asking you to look at those. I just want to see if you feel anything special. Does your spiritual perception detect anything?”
Angel stared intently at Daus.
Daus, somewhat exasperated, replied: “Are you treating me like a human fortune detection device? What kind of sensation can a dead Wizard Eye Ghost give?”
Angel, stroking his chin, said: “No sensation? That’s odd.”
After all, it was Daus who made the decision, and they decided to check out the situation with the screams. At that time, Angel felt that it might have been Daus’ spiritual perception that was triggered.
When they saw the Wizard Eye Ghost, Angel was even more convinced of this.
Because, in the center of the underground labyrinth of Nightfall City in the Nightmare Plane, also the most core area where the Hanging Prison Stairs is located, there were indeed a large number of Wizard Eye Ghosts nearby.
Even though there are Wizard Eye Ghosts outside the Hanging Prison Stairs in the Nightmare Plane, it doesn’t mean that the corresponding real-world location would also have Wizard Eye Ghosts. However, this coincidence was still taken seriously by Angel.
“Then, why don’t you use the Eye of True Sight to trace the origin of this Wizard Eye Ghost and see where it came from?” Angel asked again.
“Came from?” Daus asked puzzledly: “You mean it used to live in the underground labyrinth?”
Angel: “It’s just a guess.”
Daus frowned: “Why don’t you trace it yourself, why must I do it?”
The reason for asking Daus to trace was still due to the spiritual perception, to see if it would be triggered. However, Angel didn’t answer and just gestured for Daus to hurry up.
Daus, although full of complaints, did as instructed.
“Continue north, at least two kilometers, and then use the Eye of True Sight.” Daus said.
This was not the answer Angel wanted, he persisted: “Still no inspiration?”
Daus replied irritably: “I am of the bloodline branch, please don’t treat me like a prophecy wizard!”
After a pause, Daus’ eyes shifted suddenly, and he said: “If you really want a prophecy, isn’t Lord Black Count here? He’s lived so long, he definitely has ventured into the realm of prophecy. Let Lord Black Count prophesize where it came from, wouldn’t that solve it?”
Daus finished speaking, leading the gaze toward the stone slab floating in mid-air.
Angel thought about it and felt that it might be a method, so he also looked at the Black Count’s nose.
Although the Black Count knew that Daus was just stirring things up, he didn’t care because as soon as Angel mentioned: “This Wizard Eye Ghost might emerge from underground,” he had already begun to stealthily investigate.
After a while, the Black Count said: “I have signed a contract with a prophecy wizard under the witness of the Questioning Bell, which allows me to use his power in a limited capacity: Lucky Two Choices.”
Lucky Two Choices, a divination spell from the Questioning Bell school, is also an advanced version of the fortune-telling two-choice game.
It’s somewhat like fortune detection, which can answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to a certain question.
However, fortune detection is a trick; as Angel would explain, it’s “precision service provided by big data,” a manifestation of a prophecy wizard’s “computational power.”
Lucky Two Choices, however, genuinely requires the permission of the Questioning Bell to be used, and its accuracy rate is much higher than that of fortune detection.
“I’ve already used up my Lucky Two Choices’ quota for the near future, using the corpse of the Wizard Eye Ghost as a medium to ask two questions.”
Everyone’s attention was immediately focused, eager to hear what the Black Count had actually discovered.
“The first question was whether it came from the underground labyrinth.”
The Black Count paused for a moment and then said: “The answer is no.”
Angel furrowed his brow; had he made a mistake?
“The second question was whether it could lead us to the real entrance to the underground labyrinth.”
This time, the Black Count answered quickly: “The answer is yes.”