Chapter 373 Beneath the Dome <TOC> Chapter 375 The Singing Maiden
Next page password is bold portion: *4*t1RAriDU
Translator: SumTLMan
The Kulakuka tribe’s territory corresponded to the Outer World’s Watthelmgrass.
The two descended from the mountain and slowly proceeded towards their destination. Along the way, the landscape was desolate, the soil barren, and even the inland sea that had once nurtured the people in the Outer World was dark and dead.
All that could be seen was desolation and devastation.
Did the Kulakuka tribe live in such a world?
“Is it also desolate outside the barrier?” Angel asked.
Shadow nodded with a hint of lament in his voice, “Apart from the Wizarding World’s stationed areas, the other territories are basically like this. This is also the norm for the middle and inner layers of the world. After all, this is just an auxiliary plane, its ecology is not as stable as the main world, and the native magical power is too strong for ordinary plants to thrive. It’s a kind of balance under the energy equilibrium, though it’s a bit regrettable, but it’s also the price to be paid after the integration of the planes.”
After Shadow finished speaking, he turned and found Angel frowning, looking into the distance.
A thought crossed his mind, “Do you sympathize with the Kulakuka tribe?”
Angel nodded noncommittally. From the urban legends he had heard from Leonrique, the Kulakuka tribe was actually a pure and peaceful-loving race. However, due to their overly simple nature, they were forced into this situation by the fickleness of human hearts. Living in such a desolate world was quite lamentable.
Shadow laughed, “I think you might be mistaken. Haven’t you noticed that whether it’s the Magic Source Giants or the Fiery Molten Birds, they all observe the Kulakuka tribe from behind the barrier with an unstoppable greed in their eyes.”
“Once, I was like that too,” Shadow said with a self-deprecating smile, “So, do you think a race that is coveted by us will lead a miserable life?”
Shadow pointed to the faint territories in front of them, “They live much happier than those in the Outer World, and because of this, they have not left here for a thousand years.”
Angel didn’t understand the reasoning, but looking beyond the dome, he saw magical creatures occasionally passing by. If he observed carefully, he would find that many magical creatures, as Shadow described, were full of greed towards the inside of the dome. If it weren’t for the barrier, they might have attacked en masse.
It seemed that Shadow was right, and there must be something unusual about the Kulakuka’s territory.
With this doubt in mind, Angel reached the top of a hill. From here, he could overlook the coastal plain.
Standing high above, Angel surveyed the surroundings.
The coastal plain was still desolate, in stark contrast to the prosperous “Watthelmgrass” of the Outer World. In this silent and lifeless plain, he saw nothing, no signs of human activity, nor any traces of buildings. It didn’t seem like anyone lived here.
But that couldn’t be entirely true. In this territory, there was one thing that puzzled him, which was a luminous sphere floating in midair.
Judging by its size, it was a glass sphere about twenty meters in diameter, suspended in the air, like a gigantic glowstone, emitting a soft, green light.
The surface of the sphere appeared to be made of glazed material, but the interior was unclear, obscured by a hazy fog.
There were no signs of human habitation nearby, and Angel didn’t believe that the Kulakuka tribe would live underground. After all, would the monsters outside the dome still covet the underground? Moreover, Shadow had once mentioned that he had observed the Kulakuka territory from the Sky Ghost Ship.
So—
“Could it be that the Kulakuka tribe resides within that sphere?” Angel murmured softly, “But it doesn’t look that big. Has the Kulakuka tribe been pushed to the brink of extinction, with only a few dozen people left?”
At that moment, Shadow also reached the top of the hill: “You are half right. The Kulakuka tribe does indeed live inside that sphere. However, there are more than just a few dozen people in the Kulakuka tribe. According to Gami and others, after a thousand years of development, there are at least ten towns with close to ten thousand people each in the Kulakuka tribe. The population of the central capital city has even reached six digits.”
According to Shadow, there were at least 200,000 Kulakuka tribespeople living inside the sphere? How large was the space inside? Even with expansion runes, it couldn’t be achieved, could it?
Angel didn’t think the sphere was a spatial item. How much “Void Floating Algae” would it take to create a spatial item capable of housing 200,000 people?
Unless… there was an alternate dimension inside?
But Angel also dismissed this notion. An alternate dimension could be referred to as a “Mirror Space,” which meant the world reflected by a mirror.
Upon further thought, even if the world reflected by a mirror is an extension of the original world, its ecosystem would be exactly the same as the original space. Just like the Flowing Source and the Twilight Deep Well, both belong to alternate dimensions. They appear to exist independently but actually depend on the real world. Their ecosystems are almost identical to the real world.
If there was an alternate dimension inside the sphere, it would reflect the lifeless and desolate land.
This didn’t match the Kulakuka tribe’s land, which Shadow said was coveted by monsters.
Seeing Angel’s astonished and puzzled expression, Shadow chuckled: “Actually, you might know the answer, but you haven’t considered it or even dared to think about it, feeling that it is an implausible story.”
Angel looked confused, waiting for Shadow to enlighten him.
“The answer is simple. Have you ever heard of a Wizard Garden?”
A Wizard Garden?! Upon hearing this familiar yet unfamiliar term, Angel was utterly astonished. Was this a Wizard Garden? A place coveted by countless wizard organizations, possessing unique laws and favored by the World’s Will?!
Was this a joke?
Previously, Angel had indeed thought of a Wizard Garden, but the idea merely flashed through his mind and did not linger for long. How could an item of strategic significance to a wizard organization become the territory of an ordinary race?
However, the most improbable answer turned out to be the correct one.
Shadow: “It seems you know what a Wizard Garden entails. That’s right, not long ago, the biggest news in the Wizarding World was that the Phantom Master had acquired a private Gravity Garden. Many gossip magazines spent half a year digging into this story, which irritated the Gravity Forest to the point that they almost changed their organization’s name.”
“Speaking of which, five years ago, when I heard this answer, I had the same expression as you. But the truth is, the Black Castle wizard who saved the Kulakuka tribe, although immensely powerful, was also a madman, just like the old witch. She left the vast continent herself but left this Magic Garden to the Kulakuka tribe, and the old witch even agreed with her choice.”
“Over the years, many people have coveted this Magic Garden. But that old witch directly threatened that anyone who dared to touch this Magic Garden would be seen as declaring war on Black Castle!”
“Now you know why those monsters outside are coveting this place.”
Shadow said this and suddenly sighed, “However, I still don’t understand why she did this. Although this Magic Garden is the private garden of that supreme being, she can dispose of it as she pleases. But this kind of behavior is against common sense.”
Angel: “Perhaps the Kulakuka tribe has some special aspects, or there may be some benefits that make it worthwhile for her to do this.”
Since entering the Wizarding World, Angel’s way of thinking had gradually shifted from altruism to self-interest.
“Maybe, Black Castle isn’t running an orphanage, and there must be a reason for doing this.” Shadow shrugged: “But what does it have to do with us?”
“Indeed, it’s irrelevant.” They weren’t even official wizards, so considering their thoughts was a joke.
The summer insects cannot speak of snow; instead of worrying about irrelevant things, it’s better to think about the present situation.
“You said there is a path here leading to the Inner World, the real Black Castle. So, where is the path?” Angel pointed at the luminous sphere in the sky: “Inside there?”
Shadow nodded: “Every time the Kulakuka tribe completes a full ritual, the people of Black Castle will enter the Magic Garden through the planar passage, and that passage is the key for me to enter Black Castle.”
…
Entering Black Castle through the Kulakuka tribe’s ritual was not an easy task. The primary condition was to infiltrate the Magic Garden and reach the ritual site.
Although the Kulakuka tribe was mainly ordinary people, they didn’t dare to act recklessly to blend into the ritual successfully.
So, how to blend in was the first difficulty.
“Do you have any ideas?”
“Not really, the Kulakuka people are too small, and our size is impossible to blend in. We can only rely on invisibility.” Shadow took out a cloak from his backpack: “Can you turn invisible? If not, take this cloak with interwoven light and shadow.”
Angel didn’t plan to go in initially, but it seemed somewhat against the principle of equivalent exchange if he only helped open a formation. Most importantly, Angel was curious about what the laws of this Magic Garden were… If it was like the Purification Garden, which could have an effect on the human body, he still wanted to give it a try.
Kulakuka’s ability to live within it and survive for thousands of years suggests that this rune should not have any adverse effects on living beings.
If there are no drawbacks, could there be any benefits?
At this moment, Angel did not mention the matter of returning to the cave, but shook his head at the Shadow: “No need.”
Shadow realized: “Right, I almost forgot, you followed the Magician that day, and even I couldn’t detect your invisibility. Which kind of invisibility spell is it? Tell me about it, so when I return to Sky Mechanical City, I can learn it too.”
Angel did not answer. He relied on Boundless Silence for invisibility. Although it wouldn’t matter if he revealed it, he didn’t want to completely expose his trump card, so he let Shadow misunderstand.
Shadow pouted: “The owner of this garden is no longer in the Southern Region; if we want to enter the interior of the garden, we can only rely on the teleportation formation at the top.”
While speaking, Shadow took out a thin roll of silk from his backpack.
“This is a carrier I accidentally obtained; it doesn’t represent my preferences, don’t misunderstand.”
Misunderstand? Angel didn’t grasp the meaning of Shadow’s words. It wasn’t until Shadow unfolded the silk, revealing a delicate, feminine sheer cloak, that Angel somewhat understood Shadow’s statement.
With an embarrassed look on his face, Shadow put on the feminine cloak and then floated into midair.
“Shall I carry you across?”
Chapter 373 Beneath the Dome <TOC> Chapter 375 The Singing Maiden