Translator: SumTLMan
“I know you have many questions for me,” Sanders said as he walked to a bookshelf, pressed a bronze animal statue on its side, and with a “zipping” sound, the massive bookshelf parted to reveal a secret chamber within.
Angel noticed that the secret chamber was about the size of a person and contained another bookshelf, filled mostly with research reports and scientific documents. Sanders took out a thin, soft book made of sheepskin from the hidden shelf and handed it to Angel.
Angel looked at the book in his hands with curiosity.
The book was soft and cool to the touch, full of the texture of leather. Angel noticed that the book seemed to be made of different types of sheepskin paper forcibly bound together.
Title: —The Mystery of the Nightmare Domain—
Authors: Sanders Iguro, Flora
To Angel’s surprise, not only was Sanders listed as an author, but Flora was as well. But wasn’t Flora a blood witch?
Under Sanders’ guidance, Angel opened the table of contents of —The Mystery of the Nightmare Domain—: —Nightmare Domain Research Report Subject One—, —Nightmare Domain Research Report Subject Two—, —Performance of Nightmare Domain Combined with Illusion—, —Nightmare Illusion Application Against Enemies—, —Nightmare Domain Creature Survival Handbook—…
After briefly flipping through, Angel realized that the book was actually a collection of different research topics on the Nightmare Domain. Ninety percent of it was Sanders’ research, with only two pages of —Nightmare Domain Research Addendum— authored by Flora.
Angel carefully read several articles and was immediately captivated by the content. The book described precisely what Angel had been thinking about these days: how to make the most of the Nightmare Domain, how to combine it with illusions, and even detailed descriptions of controlling Nightmare Domain creatures.
Sanders said, “You can take this book and make a copy of it.”
“Thank you, Mentor!” Angel exclaimed excitedly.
“You don’t need to thank me. I originally planned to give you this combined book after you became an official wizard, but I didn’t expect that you would inherit a Nightmare Domain as a first-level apprentice,” Sanders said with emotion. “Although you’ve gained a Nightmare Domain, you’ve also offended a group of official wizards. I don’t know if your luck is good or bad.”
At this, Angel lowered his head without responding.
“This book, —The Mystery of the Nightmare Domain—, was co-authored by Flora and me. It’s a unique copy, so you must treat it seriously.” As he spoke, Sanders changed the subject: “This book’s value is immeasurable, so it’s not simply given to you for free. If you want to read it, you must agree to one condition.”
Angel nodded, understanding that equivalent exchange is a basic principle among wizards. Although Sanders was his mentor and it was reasonable for him to provide Angel with free resources for growth, this generally only applied to basic knowledge. To acquire any specialized knowledge from a wizard, one must pay a certain price. Just as in the Tree Spirit Courtyard, where learning each piece of knowledge from wizard lectures required a significant amount of magic crystals.
“My condition is… your commitment,” Sanders said, his expression turning solemn as he spoke of the promise, prompting Angel’s face to become serious as well.
“You must promise to contribute a topic related to the Nightmare Domain to this book within fifty years.” Pausing for a moment, Sanders continued, “I will also continue to add my new findings and topics regarding the Nightmare Domain to this book. If you wish to borrow it again in the future, you must also contribute a related topic accordingly.”
“Flora once borrowed it, so her research topics are also included. At the same time, I added her name to the author section. The same goes for you; if any of your topics about the Nightmare Domain pass my review, I will add your name to the book as well.”
“Are you willing to accept?”
Hearing that the condition was to contribute a topic related to the Nightmare Domain within fifty years, Angel nodded without hesitation. Who knows what changes will occur in fifty years? The most important thing right now is to improve his own strength.
To make the agreement more formal, they signed a contract with their true names in the presence of the Great Will.
“I hope that within my lifetime, I can perfect this book, —The Mystery of the Nightmare Domain—,” Sanders sighed, knowing that this was not something he could accomplish alone, which is why he asked Angel to contribute a topic. With Angel’s talent and his strict attitude towards academics, as long as he didn’t fall, he could definitely make a significant contribution to the book’s completion.
“Now go. I will be going to the Twilight Deep Well to deal with the auction in the coming days. As for you, lay low for a while, stay home, and figure out how to repay your debts. Don’t run around, or else you’ll be out of luck if you’re caught by the people of Twilight,” Sanders advised before preparing to send Angel away.
Angel quickly raised his hand, “Wait, Mentor, may I ask a few questions?”
Sanders sat back at his desk, “Go ahead, you have ten minutes.”
With limited time, Angel first raised questions related to his cultivation. When he was satisfied with the answers, he began to ask about other matters.
“Mentor, can you show me a way? How can I make money?” Tears shimmered in Angel’s eyes, hoping to gain Sanders’ sympathy.
“Figure it out yourself; do I have to teach you how to make money too?” Although Sanders said this on the surface, he knew in his heart that 250,000 magic crystals were indeed a fortune, and many formal wizards couldn’t afford it. Therefore, he had actually left a way out for Angel, such as in half a month, when Liana would return from the Manlo Plane, making a fortune from Angel’s scent. Sanders planned to skim some profit from her.
Although Sanders had prepared a backup plan, he couldn’t tell Angel directly. Angel had not only avoided much disaster from the storm he caused but also earned a Nightmare Domain out of thin air. Naturally, Sanders wanted to find ways to make Angel understand the cruelty of the wizarding world.
He thought of applying the pressure of a huge debt within a month.
However, Sanders was mistaken. For other wizard apprentices, a debt of 250,000 magic crystals could even kill them. But for Angel, earning 250,000 magic crystals was not difficult; the only real difficulty was that there was too little time.
Thus, the only pressure on Angel was the urgency of time; the pressure of the debt was not as heavy as Sanders had imagined.
“It’s about time; you should leave,” Sanders said.
“Wait, one last question!” Angel exclaimed.
Sanders feigned impatience, “Speak!”
“Mentor, didn’t you say that when Undertaking the Nightmare Domain, various illusions would appear, even causing one never to wake up? But why did I just sleep for a while, and then wake up without any illusions?” At that time, Angel felt only a slight itchiness and warmth on his back, and no other sensations.
Sanders’ forehead creased, and he gritted his teeth, “Do you want me to praise you for being a genius, or are you mocking me? Get out!”
Angel was on the verge of tears, as he genuinely sought answers, without any ulterior motives… Well, that’s not entirely true; he did feel a little proud and wanted to show off, but he certainly didn’t mean any sarcasm!
“The very, very last question!”
“Get out.”
“It’s really the last question.” As Angel howled on one side, Sanders used his magical hand to grab his collar and threw him out the door.
“I just want to see…” Angel was thrown outside.
“Bang!” The door slammed shut.
“…the Resentful Puppet.”
With resentment, Angel picked himself up from the floor, patted the dust off his buttocks, and left with a worried look.
When Angel returned to the hall, he saw Goode wiping Wimbledon’s face and hands and then changing him into a smaller-sized mask suit.
All the shadow servants on Phantom Island wore this kind of mask and cloak. Angel, driven by curiosity, approached them. Goode immediately put down the handkerchief in his hand and bowed to Angel, saying, “Young Master Pat.”
Wimbledon, following Goode’s cue, timidly echoed, “Young Master Pat.”
Angel nodded slightly and inquired curiously, “Butler Goode, I’ve always been puzzled, why do you all wear this kind of mask and cloak?”
Goode chuckled, “We are not wizards, but to move around in the Savage Grottoes, we need protection. This mask and cloak bear Lord Sanders’ emblem, allowing us to hide our mortal features and signal to others that we serve Lord Sanders, so as not to be mistakenly harmed by other wizards.”
Goode pointed to the cloak’s button, and Angel saw that it was indeed Sanders’ family emblem, identical to the pattern on his gold coin flyer, featuring “a sword with wings spread, embedded in a thorny rose.” However, there was no family motto.
Angel noticed that Wimbledon’s smaller-sized mask and cloak did not have Sanders’ emblem.
It made sense—Wimbledon aspired to be a wizard but hadn’t been taken in as a student by Sanders, so naturally, he wouldn’t receive Sanders’ protection.
“Butler Goode, does this cloak have a concealment effect?” Angel noticed that the mask and cloak had faint shimmering lights on them, seemingly solidified by some sort of spell or a result of blending.
“Yes, it has the effect of concealing against spying spells,” Goode replied.
Upon hearing this, Angel’s eyes lit up, “Do you have any spare cloaks? Could you lend me one to examine?”
Goode: “…”
Wimbledon also let out a surprised sound.
“We don’t have any spares,” Sanders replied, having emerged from the study without Angel noticing.
Angel muttered, “I just want to study it.” He had been blocked twice by the Twilight in the Dusk Well, which was undoubtedly caused by some tracking spell. He had thought about researching and refining a wizard’s robe that could shield against spying, tracking spells, and avoid pheromones after he got back.
Angel had no experience with tailoring and wanted to use the black shadow servant’s mask and cloak as a model.
However, Sanders vetoed the idea.
…
After leaving Phantom Island, Angel headed straight home. The sky was getting slightly brighter, indicating the arrival of dawn.
Having stayed up all night, Angel yawned as he walked toward his residence.
As Angel was about to unlock the door, two people emerged from the shadows of a distant tree.
“Angel!”