Next page password is bold portion: pHa_U3rEw+9
Translator: SumTLMan
Under the influence of his weakened presence, Angel managed to travel from Tree Spirit Courtyard to Apprentice Town without attracting anyone’s attention.
However, when he arrived at his doorstep, he noticed an even larger crowd gathered around his house. As such, even with his weakened presence, it was impossible to avoid being noticed entirely.
Although he could use a high-output of magic power to render himself completely invisible, opening and closing the door would inevitably draw attention and might reveal the possibility of possessing an invisibility tool. After all, there aren’t many spells with invisibility effects, and most of them deceive the naked eye, such as the grade 0 tricks, Light and Shadow Merge. It is impossible for Angel, with his current wizard rank, to perform an invisibility spell like “Boundless Silence” that deceives human senses and even fools mental probing. So, it could only be an alchemy tool.
Angel thought about it and decided to enter openly. However, before doing so, he first went to a small courtyard a few hundred meters away.
Inside the courtyard was an open-air training ground, with various tools used by bloodline wizards to train their physical bodies.
Under the bright sun, Nausica held a knight’s sword in her left hand, performing various training movements. Her internal magic power surged, creating intense magical ripples in the air as she moved.
Angel stood at the entrance of the courtyard, watching for a long time. Nausica had glanced at him once, but due to his weakened presence, she hadn’t truly noticed him.
Not until Nausica took a break did Angel knock on the door.
With the “knock, knock, knock” sound, a slight fluctuation appeared in Angel’s weakened presence. Nausica looked over because of the knocking, and perhaps it was the contrast of the previous weakened presence that now made Angel strongly noticeable in her eyes.
Nausica walked over and opened the door: “Oh, when did you come? I’ve been in the courtyard the whole time; how come I didn’t notice you?”
Angel responded with a noncommittal smile: “There have been too many people blocking lately, just a little trick to weaken my presence.”
There were countless methods in the wizard’s arsenal, and Nausica assumed it was a spell she wasn’t familiar with. She let the thought pass and stopped probing: “Since you left last week, there have been slightly fewer wizard apprentices, but many more ordinary people have been sent to spy.”
As she spoke, Nausica ushered Angel into the house.
It was his first time visiting Nausica’s home.
Just as Angel had thought, Nausica, who wholeheartedly pursued immortality, had almost no requirements for the quality of life. Apart from the original furniture, the place was empty.
Allowing Toby to play on his own, Angel solemnly said, “Now that I’m done with my recent tasks, I’ve come to discuss the design of the mechanical prosthetic with you.”
Upon mentioning the mechanical prosthetic, Nausica also became serious and engaged in a focused conversation with Angel.
Starting with Nausica’s current physical condition, Angel meticulously recorded information such as the wound’s state, electromyographic amplitude, magical sensitivity, meridian capacity limits, and even mental power data, brainwaves, and audio frequencies.
All this information was extremely confidential.
It’s worth noting that among various types of wizardry, many curses could be cast using blood, hair, nails, or skin flakes to harm or even kill someone. Some of the information Angel recorded was more severe than these outcomes; if leaked, a wizard could employ numerous methods to reduce Nausica to ashes.
However, Nausica answered almost every question, trusting Angel. She didn’t question the purpose of his inquiries, such as brainwaves or audio frequencies, which seemed unrelated to the mechanical prosthetic. As long as Angel asked, she answered truthfully.
This trusting attitude relieved Angel since explaining many aspects was difficult, especially to a layperson. Nausica’s cooperative demeanor made him feel comfortable and moved.
After recording all this information, Angel carefully reviewed it and tore up the paper with the recorded data in front of Nausica, “Don’t worry, I’ve memorized everything. It won’t be leaked unless someone cracks my head open.”
Nausica laughed and said without concern, “I trust you.”
Having recorded this data, Angel had completed more than half of his task. The remaining part was trivial, but it might be more important for most women.
— The appearance design.
Angel wrote down the required spacial dimensions and handed the pen to Nausica, letting her design the appearance she desired within the given parameters.
“Do you really want me to design it?” Nausica asked with disbelief, “Can the things I design be used?”
Angel marked the previously calculated space dimensions, “Keep these, and the rest is up to you. Since it’s for your use, it’s best to follow your preferences.”
Nausica: “If the design can’t be used, then it’s pointless.”
Angel: “Don’t worry about that; I’ll help you modify it in the end to make it suitable for you to the greatest extent.”
Nausica thought for a moment and exhaled smoke rings, “Alright. My drawing skills are famous in the Blackberry Sea, and I designed the pirate flag back then. Let our alchemy master appreciate it as well.”
Nausica put down her pipe, took a black strap from her chest armor, lifted her hair, and tied it into a high ponytail. Once she was sure her ears wouldn’t interfere with her drawing, she began to sketch her vision of the “right hand” on the pristine paper.
While Nausica was drawing, Angel was integrating her body data and envisioning potential structural approaches in his mind.
Moments later, Nausica put down her brush: “Mission accomplished.”
Angel smiled as he took the drawing, but his smile soon froze. What were the circles of black lines on the paper? The elongated body, combined with the hook at the tail, resembled a millipede.
“This is the Blackberry symbol. I designed it as a reminder not to forget the past,” Nausica explained as Angel examined her work.
Angel: “…” This is the Blackberry symbol? Isn’t it a coil?
Nausica: “This is the symbol of the Savage Grottoes, representing the present.”
Angel: “…” The symbol of the Savage Grottoes is a burning flame, but this perfectly straight line could be used as a ruler. Is this a flame? Are you joking?
Nausica: “This hook can be used as a close-range weapon and can also be released as a hidden weapon, representing the future.”
“Past, present, and future,” Angel murmured, “The symbolism is good, but… are you sure your drawing skills are famous in the Blackberry Sea region?” Or are all the people in the Blackberry Sea region disabled in both hands?
“Yes, I remember my subordinates calling me the Soul Painter. Though I’m not interested in painting, the title should be pretty good, right?”
“Not bad… not bad. I just think your aesthetic sense might need some reevaluation.”
“You mean, I didn’t draw well?” Nausica frowned, somewhat unconvinced.
Angel: “Aren’t you a great pirate who has traversed an entire sea region? You must have seen many famous paintings, right? I remember your appraisal of the paintings in my room last time was very accurate.”
“Yours is normal art, mine is abstract art.”
Angel, no longer wanting to argue, took the brush from the hands of the Soul Painter, “I understand your design concept: past, present, and future. Leave the design to me. I apologize, but I can’t comprehend your abstract masterpiece.”
Nausica picked up her pipe, ignited the tobacco with a fingertip, and exhaled a puff of smoke: “Alright, I trust you.”
The rare gathering prompted Angel and Nausica to invite Shalem to join them for a feast at the Butterfly Bar in the underground market.
In the evening, Angel navigated through the crowd and returned to his home with difficulty. As there was no urgency for Nausica’s creation, Angel decided to tidy up and store his valuable and frequently used items in his bracelet to prevent them from getting lost.
Although the courtyard had some protective features, it was not impervious to intruders, especially with the recent increase in visitors.
As a precaution, Angel took these measures.
When he finished organizing and collecting all the treasures from his quiet room, Angel left the courtyard with Toby. At the front gate, they were surrounded by a crowd. Most of them were ordinary people, so Angel couldn’t use force. Instead, he calmly said, “I am not accepting alchemy requests at the moment. Please leave.”
With that, Angel cast a simple illusion spell to conceal himself. His sudden disappearance surprised the ordinary people, but apprentice wizards quickly saw through the basic illusion.
However, by the time they broke the illusion’s nodes, Angel had already activated “Obscurity” and quietly slipped away from the crowd.
“Not in the 8th Apprentice Town, but the 1st Apprentice Town?” Angel asked Toby to lead the way, but soon discovered that after making several turns, they arrived at the other end of the Dungeon Plains – the 1st Apprentice Town.
“Does your little friend live in the 1st Apprentice Town?” Angel recalled that most of the inhabitants in the 1st Apprentice Town were seniors, some even dozens of terms ahead of them, meaning they had practiced for at least ten to several decades longer.
Toby shook his head and didn’t head towards the 1st Apprentice Town but walked towards the forest outside the town.
This forest connected to a mountain range that stretched for hundreds of miles, inhabited mostly by beasts and very few humans.
“Does this person live in the mountains?” Angel asked with doubt.
Toby nodded and then shook his head, making an unintelligible sound.
When Angel understood its meaning, his eyes widened in shock, “You’re saying your little friend isn’t human? What is it then, a beast? A bird? No… If it can weave flower wreaths and green leaf clothing, it must be intelligent. So, a magical beast?”
Toby continued to shake his head and gestured for a while. However, perhaps the vocabulary was too difficult, and Angel could not understand what it was trying to say. It mentioned flowers, fragrance, and flying… Could it be a flower creature?
Angel decided not to worry about it and would figure it out when they met the friend.
However, shortly after entering the mountains, he noticed his “Obscurity” effect suddenly tremble…
“Has someone noticed me?” Angel frowned, wondering if he had done something to attract attention. Or, was someone using divination magic to track his whereabouts?