Chapter 2670 Origin of Personality <TOC> Chapter 2672 Synchronized
Translator: SumTLMan
The information that the Black Count could provide was extremely limited.
He merely told Angel about a few locations he deemed potentially suspicious and which places were dangerous enough to avoid.
“Many locations have undergone a thorough, sweeping search by me. I touched every single item there, and yet I still haven’t sensed where the Wood Spirit is hiding. This is truly a bit strange.”
The Black Count’s voice was tinged with doubt. He really couldn’t figure out where that Wood Spirit was hiding.
“Has the Sovereign of Wisdom noticed where the Wood Spirit is?” The Black Count turned the stone tablet around to face the Sovereign of Wisdom.
The Wise One had been observing him in full detail along the way, seeing everything the Black Count experienced. Therefore, if he had actually passed by the Wood Spirit’s location, the Wise One should have discovered it.
However, the Sovereign of Wisdom didn’t answer the Black Count’s question at all. In a calm tone, he said: “This is part of your bonus condition, not mine.”
Angel also assisted from the side: “Although that may be so, I think that even if we find the Wood Spirit, persuading it to leave the Hanging Prison Stairs voluntarily through words and reasoning alone, without resorting to violence, will be much more difficult than finding it, right?”
The Sovereign of Wisdom did not deny it: “What you say is indeed true. However, finding the Wood Spirit itself is also a test of your ability to observe details. As for how to persuade the Wood Spirit to leave the Hanging Prison Stairs, that tests your ability in adaptive decision-making.”
“And these two abilities are precisely the ones you will inevitably need to use on the road ahead.”
These meaningful words from the Wise One conveyed a message: if they managed to pass through the Wise One’s great hall, they would definitely encounter some unforeseen twists.
Those twists might come from the remnants of Augustine’s inheritance.
Perhaps it was a test Augustine left behind? Or maybe it was connected to the unseen manipulator who sent the Wise One to block them? Or possibly both?
Although everyone understood that what the Wise One was referring to must have something to do with their final destination, they also knew that asking now would yield no information. The Sovereign of Wisdom absolutely wouldn’t tell them anything at this point. Therefore, whether it was Angel, Daus, or the Black Count, none of them gave any reaction; they merely exchanged glances and silently kept this information in mind.
“I initially thought that finding the Wood Spirit was just a spur-of-the-moment request from the Sovereign of Wisdom. I didn’t expect it to hold such significance,” Angel said with a light smile.
“Finding the Wood Spirit was indeed proposed on the spur of the moment. However, an evaluation of your abilities is something I must do in any case. Conveniently, you were planning to search for the Wood Spirit anyway, so it all coincides.”
Angel believed it was simply coincidental. Yet, what the Wise One referred to as “evaluating their abilities” made Angel feel like they were in some sort of puzzle game. If you failed to meet the standard, you couldn’t continue. And meeting the standard was divided into necessary conditions and bonus conditions, concealing within them a test of your capabilities.
Was that decision made by the person behind the scenes? Or was it the Wise One’s personal decision?
For now, Angel didn’t know. However, whether that decision was made by someone else or by the Wise One himself, the Wise One remained suspect. His stance was clearly not in the right place.
He wanted to be both referee and spy.
His position seemed to be on both sides, or perhaps on neither side. The only thing Angel was certain of regarding the Wise One’s position was what Cecia had told him: restoring Nightfall City’s former glory. And for that, the Wise One would stop at nothing.
Would the current matter overlap with this greatest purpose of the Wise One?
While Angel was pondering, Daus suddenly asked: “If the Sovereign of Wisdom wants to test our abilities, then no matter the outcome, it shouldn’t really matter, right?”
The Sovereign of Wisdom looked at him calmly and asked in return: “What do you think?”
“I’m a loyal follower of the idea that the final result is worthless; it’s the process that is truly alive,” Daus said without even blinking, letting a blatant lie slip right out of his mouth.
Sovereign of Wisdom: “For this particular bonus condition, I do agree that the process matters more than the result. However, so far, your companions have only shown the process of searching for the Wood Spirit. The process of persuading the Wood Spirit to come out has yet to be displayed.”
The Wise One himself didn’t think they would actually bring the Wood Spirit out, so he could afford not to care whether it was ultimately persuaded. Yet, the Wood Spirit absolutely had to be found first. Otherwise, how could they showcase their adaptive decision-making skills in persuading it?
But Daus, being who he was, never took the usual route; his understanding skewed in a completely unexpected direction. He turned directly to Angel and said: “Gold, once you go inside, why not just stand at the entrance and start calling out for the Wood Spirit at the top of your lungs, showing off those persuasion skills of yours?”
“Anyway, that Wood Spirit is bound to hear you. And as for the detailed observation skills, the Black Count has already demonstrated them earlier. If you two combine forces, doesn’t that perfectly fulfill all the requirements?”
Not only did Daus’ words leave the Sovereign of Wisdom momentarily speechless, but Angel and the Black Count were also left at a loss.
“Since the outcome doesn’t matter, the process is what counts. After you two show off your respective abilities, if the Sovereign of Wisdom still isn’t satisfied, then I’ll go in, walking and talking at the same time, displaying observational ability and adaptability simultaneously.”
“Even if my individual score isn’t high in the end, with the three of us complementing each other, we should be able to meet the Wise One’s demands, right?”
Seeing Daus’ triumphant expression, Angel opened his mouth, wanting to say something…but in the end, he couldn’t manage a single word.
Uttering something that shamelessly embarrassing, only Daus dared to be so brazen, and to do so in front of the Sovereign of Wisdom at that.
Noting the Wise One’s face growing increasingly grim, Angel cleared his throat a couple of times: “I won’t waste any more time. I’m heading inside.”
With those words, Angel patted Kael on the shoulder, signaling for him to follow. At the same time, he left Eremy outside, allowing it to meld into the shadow of the little peeing boy statue.
Kael had no idea what was going on but let Angel drag him forward into the Hanging Prison Stairs. Still, Kael was sensible enough not to ask any questions and simply followed along without a word.
Seeing Angel depart in such a hurry, Daus quickly called out: “Don’t forget what I said! Show off those bombastic persuasion skills! You protected that Crowned Parrot before, right? I guess you must’ve learned a lot from it. I believe you can definitely sweet-talk that Wood Spirit into coming out! And if it doesn’t work, maybe next time just bring that Crowned Parrot along. Perhaps it will work wonders?”
Angel paused for a moment and glanced back at Daus, only to see him waggling his brows mischievously.
Angel instantly understood that Daus had seized this chance for payback…
And indeed, the matter in question was that “war of words” ignited by the Crowned Parrot previously.
Angel had assumed that Daus had let the whole incident slip his mind by now, but apparently, Daus remembered it with crystal clarity, enough to pick the most embarrassing timing to bring it up again.
Angel couldn’t really retort; he could only give Daus a perfunctory smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
Not caring the slightest, Daus continued with his jabbering: “Oh right, Gold, didn’t you ‘live-stream’ something once before? Why not do that again now?”
Angel was just about to shoot him down without hesitation, but he noticed how the Black Count’s emotions changed the moment Daus finished talking.
Sure enough, the Black Count immediately spoke up: “Gold, you can give it a try.”
Angel fully understood the Black Count’s idea. Through such a live broadcast, they could project the situation inside for everyone outside. First, it would help Daus, Vai, and the others prepare mentally for their own exploration. Second, the Black Count, having had prior experience, could give Angel some pointers from the outside.
In the Black Count’s eyes, a “live broadcast” definitely offered more advantages than disadvantages.
As for Daus, his notion was to see if there was anything potentially profitable inside that he should keep an eye on to loot in advance.
Daus said: “That’s right, the Black Count has spoken too. Just do another broadcast. After all, if you don’t broadcast it, someone else would still be watching every move you make in there. Since that’s the case, you might as well let us all watch along.”
By “someone else,” Daus obviously meant the Sovereign of Wisdom.
His position was equally clear: if you’re already being watched by the Wise One, you might as well let us in on it too.
The only reason Angel had done a broadcast before was because he was too lazy to explain things verbally. If he had known it would lead to the current situation, he would never have done it.
“Broadcast? What’s a broadcast?” The Sovereign of Wisdom asked curiously.
No one else spoke because they didn’t understand why Angel would need to set up a broadcast inside.
Angel sighed quietly and relented.
As Daus said, the Sovereign of Wisdom would see everything he was doing inside anyway. He was already being watched like a show, so having a couple more people tune in wouldn’t hurt. Besides, he didn’t want to cause friction with the Black Count over such a minor matter.
With that in mind, Angel began placing a large number of illusion nodes in the outside area.
Since he had made his decision, he might as well go all out.
Last time, the broadcast frame was small and two-dimensional; this time, he’d simply make it immersive, going directly from a flat screen to a full 3D holographic experience.
Previously, he had only attempted an immersive “Drama Shadow Box,” which was pre-crafted and allowed time for adjustments. Any flaws could be fixed in advance.
But what he was doing now was a real-time immersive illusion.
This challenged more than just illusions themselves: it tested deeper reserves of skill, such as Angel’s control over illusions, the stability of his energy output, and his ability to multitask.
Among these, both control and stability might sound like simple words, but the associated intricacies were vast.
One example was how to ensure that illusion nodes remained stable over time.
Illusion nodes were relatively stable in their basic arrangement, but real-time broadcasting required continuous structural updates to those nodes. This kind of “synchronized refresh” could make them extremely unstable.
Most Wizarding World illusionists would find this impossible. Even Angel, if only relying on illusions, couldn’t guarantee perfect synchronization. However, he wielded Nightmare Power, and nodes infused with Nightmare Power became remarkably stable. Plus, the green runes on Angel’s right hand could continuously release the aura of the Nightmare Plane, unlike Sanders, who needed to use Nightmare Stones as a supplement.
This was Angel’s confidence in taking on such an attempt.
Much like the “moving illusion realm” he employed previously, this was his first time trying an immersive, real-time holographic broadcast, which was much more difficult. The moving illusion realm back then had Eremy serving as the core node, while here, Angel had to manage multiple high-difficulty tasks simultaneously.
To be safe, Angel even activated his super computing mode. The strong computing power allowed him to handle multiple tasks at once with far greater ease.
Everyone could see Angel placing illusion nodes one after another, but no one could tell exactly what he intended. Daus and the Black Count silently wondered why so many illusion nodes were needed for something as simple as a broadcast.
While the Sovereign of Wisdom, standing beyond the Earth Rampart, gazed at the swirling illusion nodes as though in deep contemplation.
“These illusion nodes are imbued with a strangely mysterious aura, yet I sense no intent to harm,” the Sovereign of Wisdom murmured quietly: “Is that the ‘broadcast’ you’re referring to?”
Neither the Black Count nor Daus answered him, because they, too, had no idea what Angel was planning to do. Was such a huge cluster of illusion nodes really necessary just to broadcast?
While the Wise One was puzzled, Angel completed his final step of arrangements.
At this point, Angel could initiate the broadcast at any moment, but he didn’t immediately activate the illusion nodes.
He wanted a bit of ceremony for this brand-new undertaking.
With a light snap of his fingers, the illusion nodes surrounding them began lighting up in waves.
Simultaneously, darkness slowly descended to blanket the light in the area.
It was akin to approaching the late evening hours, as if stepping into a curtain of night. One by one, brilliant stars lit up overhead, illuminating a gorgeous dreamscape.
“How beautiful…” Vai, who had been standing like a wooden post, couldn’t help but exclaim.
“Things that are too beautiful tend to be poisonous,” Daus muttered next to Vai: “Don’t let it dazzle you.”
Vai was on the verge of a snappy comeback, but then caught sight of the Sovereign of Wisdom staring at him from afar, so he quickly clammed up and resumed acting like a wooden statue.
Meanwhile, Angel’s voice resounded in their ears.
“Whether you resist or accept is up to each of you.”
With that concise statement, everyone sensed the surrounding illusion nodes swiftly assembling into an unusual structure, encircling them from all directions.
The nodes were weaving a grand, resplendent net of illusion, as if about to ensnare them all.
Faced with this unfamiliar energy, a wizard’s instinct would normally be to repel it.
However, upon hearing Angel’s whisper, they understood what was happening. Angel was trying to draw them into the illusion?
But for a simple broadcast, why embed them inside an illusion?
Though baffled, they had previously experienced Angel’s moving illusion realm and trusted him enough not to resist, letting the illusion envelop them entirely.
The only one who did not enter the illusion was the Sovereign of Wisdom standing beyond the Earth Rampart.
It wasn’t that he was unwilling; rather, Angel simply had not extended the illusion in his direction. In Angel’s mind, the Wise One could already see what he was doing, so whether the Wise One joined the broadcast or not made little difference.
Yet just as Angel was thinking this, the Sovereign of Wisdom spoke through the mental connection: “Is this ‘broadcast’ that you speak of?”
No one else responded at that moment, as they didn’t know why Angel would incorporate them into an illusion for the broadcast.
Angel answered: “It’s merely a synchronized application of illusions. Would you like to give it a try?”
Angel asked only out of courtesy, firmly believing that the Wise One, being so cautious, would not step into another’s unknown illusion. Unexpectedly, the Wise One, without any concern, simply nodded: “Yes.”
Angel fell silent for a moment. At last, he extended the illusion beyond the Earth Rampart, and just like everyone else, the Wise One did not resist as he entered it.
However, within the illusion at that moment, everything still looked exactly like reality, with no change at all.
While everyone was wondering, Angel’s voice echoed around them once more:
“The Immersive Broadcast, now begins.”
Chapter 2670 Origin of Personality <TOC> Chapter 2672 Synchronized