Chapter 2656 Four-in-One <TOC> Chapter 2658 Diverging Paths
Translator: SumTLMan
After these few silver objects were pieced together, what exactly did they become?
While everyone was speculating, Daus looked at Angel, speaking in a slightly teasing tone: “Wait, don’t you think this looks like a dagger?”
Daus’ words immediately startled everyone.
Indeed, earlier Angel had mentioned that when his mentor was exploring the underground labyrinth, he lost a dagger, and that dagger had the same emblem as the ornament on that peculiar Wizard Eye Ghost.
Therefore, at the time, Angel was quite certain that the silver ornament on the Wizard Eye Ghost definitely originated from Sanders’ lost dagger.
And because it was something belonging to Sanders, Angel did spend some of everyone’s time trying to figure out a way to obtain that ornament.
But now that it was pieced together…there was not the slightest trace of a dagger.
If you said this was the hilt of a dagger, that would be impossible; it’s too large and unwieldy. Even if you break it down, you still can’t picture it turning into a dagger at all.
However, that being said, the emblem on the silver ornament would be extremely hard to craft. It is almost certain that this belongs to Sanders, or, in other words, it is an item of the Iguro Family.
Judging from the current state of this object, that silver circle likely belongs together with the silver ornament, so there’s a high probability it, too, belongs to the Iguro Family.
Yet according to Cecia’s account, the Wood Spirit’s only possession, its most treasured item, was precisely that silver ring.
Now this is intriguing.
It belongs to the Iguro Family, yet it is also the property of the Wood Spirit. Clearly, there’s some hidden story here.
Angel: “I admit my initial guess was wrong. It does not look like a dagger. As for what it is, I have a certain theory.”
Daus: “What theory?”
Angel extended his hand, gently stroking that bizarre item in the grip of his Magic Hand.
Like the most intimate of lovers, he slowly moved his hand downward, and downward it went, until it reached the circular ring at the very bottom; Angel’s hand did not stop there, continuing further.
And as Angel’s hand moved downward, a short, pitch-black staff radiating a faint glimmer of dark light suddenly appeared beneath the ring, as if conjured out of thin air.
The short staff connected flawlessly to the circular ring.
By now, how could everyone fail to comprehend what Angel was trying to convey?
This strange silver object is actually the head of a short staff.
“It’s definitely not a dagger. But calling it a short staff sounds somewhat plausible.” As Daus spoke, he gazed at the complete short staff that Angel conjured using illusion.
Admittedly, once the bottom staff portion was added, the once outlandish object suddenly seemed harmonious. The possibility that it is a staff head seems extremely high.
The Black Count: “You’re not speculating randomly, are you?”
Angel smiled: “It is indeed as Lord Black Count sees it. The reason I made this guess is because I previously asked Cecia about the form of the Wood Spirit.”
The Black Count: “I asked Cecia the same question. Her response was that the Wood Spirit’s innate ability allows it to change form at will to better evade danger. So, she doesn’t really know the Wood Spirit’s true shape.”
Hearing the Black Count’s words, Angel felt a bit surprised. He had thought the Black Count would only inquire about matters concerning Noah’s ancestor. Unexpectedly, he’d also asked about the Wood Spirit. It seems the Black Count is paying close attention to this ruin exploration…or perhaps he has already sensed that their destination definitely has something to do with that Noah ancestor, which is why he is so enthusiastic?
“The answer Cecia gave me is the same as yours, my lord. However, I asked her in more detail: among all the forms the Wood Spirit took on the platform, which one was the most ordinary and inconspicuous?”
Once the Wood Spirit was first born, it was presumably in the Wizard Eye Ghosts’ work area, where Wizard Eye Ghosts were roaming about aimlessly. If it had changed its form at that time, there’s a good chance the idle Wizard Eye Ghosts might have noticed it.
Hence, the Wood Spirit’s true appearance must be something plain and inconspicuous. Even if it lay there on the ground, it wouldn’t attract much attention.
Afterward, no matter how the Wood Spirit concealed itself, it must have used its original shape as the basis for all transformations.
Based on this reasoning, Angel finally received a response from Cecia: “Its most ordinary, least noticeable form was that of a pitch-black stick. It took that shape while lazing about on the platform, pretending to be dead.”
A black rod is not easy to identify as wood at first glance. Moreover, since the underground is often suffused with a dark aura, much of the ground in the work area is stained pitch-black, many buildings likewise dyed black.
Hence, a black wooden rod hidden among them isn’t easy to spot.
Moreover, Cecia explicitly stated that the Wood Spirit would lie on the platform, pretending to be dead, in the shape of a rod. By then, the Wood Spirit must have realized that Cecia wouldn’t harm it, and that the platform was safe and secure.
Therefore, in its most relaxed state, the Wood Spirit reverted to its original shape, which aligns logically.
Thus, Angel assumed that the rod form was the Wood Spirit’s true appearance.
Once Angel pictured the Wood Spirit as a wooden rod, and added the various silver ornaments onto it, it became the short staff we see now.
A black staff body, inconspicuous on its own, yet once you add that gorgeous and intricate crown at the top, it all becomes rather eye-catching and quite fitting.
Of course, this doesn’t mean Angel thought things out more thoroughly than the Black Count. It merely proves one thing: Angel, compared to the Black Count, has a closer relationship with Cecia and was able to coax more information out of her. As for the Black Count, though he is a descendant of the Noah ancestor, he isn’t that Noah ancestor himself. Cecia’s willingness to even exchange a few words was already not bad; she wouldn’t possibly describe every single shape the Wood Spirit took on in detail.
Daus asked: “So according to your idea, the Wood Spirit was born from a short staff?”
Angel nodded: “Unless something unexpected happened, that’s very likely. Mundane noble canes used merely as a display of status often have wooden shafts because wood is lightweight and not so tiring to hold.
“That’s why it’s plausible the Wood Spirit was born from a wooden staff.”
Kael: “I’ve always heard that it’s very difficult for a ‘spirit’ to be born. Legend has it that the World Will accidentally leaves a trace of lights of consciousness behind in the world. If it’s truly so difficult, it still feels a bit odd that a mere wooden staff could give birth to a Wood Spirit.”
Kael’s voice had barely fallen when the Black Count spoke: “It is indeed very difficult for a spirit to be born, that much is true. But if an item remains in a suitable energy environment for a long time, or if it is burdened with a powerful significance, then the chance of producing a spirit will be higher.”
“As for a wooden staff, it does meet the first condition. Though this place is abandoned, it lies under the protection of a magic formation. The energy environment here is far better than the outside. Moreover, dark turbid forces constantly seep in from underground, continually swirling around the wooden staff and raising its chances of forming consciousness. However…”
Vai: “However what?”
The Black Count: “However, following that logic, there’s something I can’t figure out. Surrounded by dark, foul energy all the time, the born spirit ought to exhibit many malevolent traits. Yet that Wood Spirit seems merely timid, showing no sign of malice at all.”
If it possessed true malice, the Wood Spirit’s thoughts wouldn’t be so simple. It wouldn’t simply play dead or cling to the platform for decades. Even more impossible would be its desperate refusal, when even the Sovereign of Wisdom extended an olive branch, just wanting to stay quietly in the secluded Hanging Prison Stairs to pass its days in silence.
This was precisely the puzzling part for the The Black Count: the Wood Spirit was almost too naïve.
Angel ventured: “Being cowardly, fearful, and reclusive can be considered a type of vice. It’s just that this particular vice is directed at itself rather than others, so it doesn’t really count as malice.”
The Black Count considered that: “That is possible as well.”
He left it at that. He only needed to hint, not to elaborate.
Once the Black Count stopped, Daus jumped right in:
“We can now be fairly sure that the wooden staff is the Wood Spirit’s original form. But on top of that, there are still some prior issues unresolved,” Daus said: “First, if these rings, ornaments, and crown all belonged to the Wood Spirit, then why were they scattered all over the place later on?”
“Second, if these adornments didn’t belong to the Wood Spirit, why does the Wood Spirit cherish them to such an extent it wouldn’t give them to Cecia in exchange for a ticket?”
“As for the third…” Daus turned to Angel: “If this silver staff head belonged to the Wood Spirit, then given the family emblem upon it, the staff very likely originated from the Iguro Family. Judging by the timeline, could it be from your mentor, Lord Phantom Master?”
All three issues Daus raised concerned the entire group, especially the third one.
If it truly was something of Sanders’, then why did Angel keep insisting before that Sanders had lost a ‘dagger’? How does that square with all of this?
Angel paused in thought for a moment, then said: “I can’t answer the first question. But from the ornaments themselves, they do look quite eye-catching. In my personal view, given the Wood Spirit’s timid, cowardly nature, it definitely wouldn’t hold onto anything so conspicuous as to draw the notice of Wizard Eye Ghosts. Perhaps it discarded them itself.”
“Or, more likely, before the Wood Spirit had ever awakened, while it was still just a normal staff, those Wizard Eye Ghosts took most of the ornaments away. To a certain unusual Wizard Eye Ghost, these ornaments would have been extremely beautiful, so it likely collected all the pretty ones and casually discarded the black staff, leaving it behind somewhere. That is quite plausible.”
“As for whether the small circular ring and the big circular ring originally belonged to the staff head…we might deduce from that unusual Wizard Eye Ghost: it took the crown because it was pleasing, but found the little circular ring inside it unattractive and tossed it aside, where it was later picked up by another Wizard Eye Ghost, and in turn ended up with Speedling. And the big circular ring, which lacked aesthetic appeal, might have been left behind on the Wood Spirit after that Wizard Eye Ghost took the ornamental bits she liked.”
“But this is all speculation. I can’t confirm.”
Though Angel’s answer to the first question was speculative, it was logical. After pondering it for a moment, everyone found Angel’s theory quite possible.
Seeing that Daus didn’t pursue the matter further, one could sense he agreed with the explanation as well.
“The second question is basically an extension of the first. If that unusual Wizard Eye Ghost only cared that the ornaments looked nice, it makes sense she would remove the crown as a keepsake and bring the oval ornament with her. As for the big ring, since it wasn’t that pretty nor easy to remove, she left it with the Wood Spirit.”
“If the Wood Spirit was born only after the staff head was taken away, then upon seeing the big ring left on its body, it would naturally consider it part of itself and treasure it.”
“If it had awakened much earlier, then given its timid disposition, it wouldn’t dare resist, so it could only watch helplessly as its staff head was dismantled. That single ring left would naturally become its most precious possession.”
Since everyone understood the second question well enough, Angel only briefly addressed it and moved on.
He knew the others weren’t too focused on these two questions; they were more concerned about the third question Daus posed.
“As for the third question…” Angel rubbed his brow, looking pained: “You ask me, yet I’m just as puzzled.”
“According to what my mentor told me, what he lost here was indeed a dagger. Moreover, I’ve seen that dagger’s appearance through an illusion, and its hilt really does resemble that oval ornament, with the Iguro Family emblem engraved on it. That’s why I mistakenly assumed the ornament on that Wizard Eye Ghost was carved from the dagger’s hilt.”
“My mentor never once mentioned a short staff belonging to the Iguro Family.”
To prove his words, Angel even offered for the Black Count to use a truth spell on him. Indeed, Angel really knew nothing about a short staff.
Daus: “If Lord Phantom Master didn’t tell you about a staff, could it have belonged to some other member of the Iguro Family who left it behind here?”
Angel: “I have no idea.”
Still, Angel personally felt that was unlikely. The Iguro Family was just a traditional noble house in the mundane world. Although Sanders became a powerful true knowledge wizard, he never married nor left heirs, and he cared little for the family’s development…so under such conditions, it would be difficult for the Iguro Family to birth any other transcendent individuals.
And an ordinary person would basically have no chance of ever reaching this region.
Hence, Angel was also baffled about it. He leaned toward believing the staff might still be Sanders’, except Sanders never once mentioned leaving behind a staff.
What’s more, in the Nightmare Plane, when Angel encountered the “young Sanders,” that figure carried a dagger, not a short staff.
So where did this staff come from?
Could it be that Angel’s deductions were all wrong and the Wood Spirit’s original form wasn’t a wooden staff? Or perhaps the so-called staff head had nothing to do with the Wood Spirit at all?
Angel heaved a long sigh: “That’s exactly the fascinating part, because I don’t know the reason or the truth either.”
“We’ll only know once we locate the Wood Spirit or find a way to make the Sovereign of Wisdom speak. Then we might learn the real story.”
At this point, Angel returned to the subject he’d initially raised.
“Speaking of which, no matter whether this ring belongs to the Wood Spirit, Cecia did say she tore it off the Wood Spirit. Does no one here know any sort of tracking spell?”
After saying this, Angel stared pointedly at the Black Count. Though he posed the question to “all of you,” he was actually directing it at the Black Count alone.
After all, everyone else had stated they had no such prophecy-like arts. The Black Count was the only one who had personally demonstrated prophecy, so the greatest possibility lay with him.
This time, the Black Count did not remain silent as before. He calmly replied: “It’s still a bit early to talk about that. After we reach the Hanging Prison Stairs, if we can’t find the Wood Spirit, then it won’t be too late to discuss.
“Given that Cecia said the Wood Spirit prizes this ring, perhaps we won’t even need to seek it directly; if we carry this silver ring, it might come looking for us of its own accord.”
Angel: “And if it doesn’t?”
The Black Count: “If nothing works, then we can discuss the tracking spell.”
Though the Black Count didn’t give a direct promise, he indirectly implied that if all else failed, he would use a tracking spell.
That was enough for Angel.
Angel: “Then let’s hope that things truly go as my lord suggests, that once the Wood Spirit sees the ring, it will show itself on its own…”