Translator: SumTLMan
“Good luck? Heh, trying to sound profound.” Felicia raised an eyebrow, unconcerned and softly sighing.
“Sister, why did he fall asleep?” Gloria pointed to Angel, who suddenly slumped onto the table, looking bewildered.
Felicia smiled faintly: “Probably… too tired.”
Angel was led into a peaceful and vast chaotic space by fluttering butterflies. He was not unfamiliar with this world, having been forcibly pulled into it by the Parasite Mother during the Sky Tower incident and later brought in by Nisi.
This place was the Land of Souls, an obscure location where reality and illusion were indistinguishable. It could be said to be within the human body, or transcending it. It was widely believed by soul wizards to be in another dimension, the materialization of human spirituality in another dimension.
Angel didn’t know what state he was in at the moment. He only knew that there were many butterflies fluttering around him, and he couldn’t control himself as they led him deeper into the Land of Souls.
He observed his surroundings and found that he had no body and couldn’t escape the butterflies’ encirclement. Angel pondered for a moment; he had experienced soul-body separation before, so he was sure he wasn’t in a soul state now. He wasn’t in the transcendent “god’s eye view” mentality he had during his battle with the Parasite Mother either. So, according to the general wizard’s perspective, he was neither a soul nor possessed self-thinking ability; thus, he should be a consciousness aggregate at the moment?
For the time being, Angel accepted his current state as a cloud of consciousness.
Then, he discovered a possible fact. It might not be that the butterflies were leading him, but rather he was actively moving, and the butterflies were following him.
Only this could explain why the butterflies would bring his consciousness into the Land of Souls.
Because to find one’s own soul in the vast and boundless Land of Souls, without special means, one had to rely on self-consciousness as a coordinate.
Amidst the dancing butterflies, Angel quickly arrived at a familiar place.
He saw his own soul. Unlike the last time he saw it, a shining green prairie appeared beneath his soul, with cotton-like substances floating around it, looking like snowflakes or dandelions.
The environment where the soul was located had changed, and the soul itself had also changed. It had become more solid and more pure.
Next, his cloud of consciousness suddenly separated from the butterflies and merged into the soul.
The soul, standing in the center of the prairie, slowly opened its eyes.
…
Felicia sensed Angel’s consciousness returning to his soul and didn’t care; this was the intended outcome. What concerned her more was the extremely solid soul, which seemed like a real entity, and the prairie beneath it, which obviously had a defensive nature.
Felicia pondered for a moment and manipulated a butterfly to enter the prairie.
Butterflies fluttered leisurely, and the harmony between the grass and the butterflies appeared picturesque, but only to the outside world. When Felicia’s butterflies entered Angel’s Soul Prairie, the irregularly floating fluff suddenly began to scatter spores. The spores landed, forming new grass, and the spores that touched the butterflies caused them to disintegrate into energy, merging into the Soul Prairie.
“Green Velvet?” Felicia squinted her eyes: “A soul prairie so realistically mimicking the real one, the quality of the Green Velvet must be quite high. Perhaps it’s already semi-mature?”
While Felicia speculated, Angel also pondered the nature of the Soul Prairie.
Looking at the drifting fluff and the released spores, Angel immediately thought of the Green Velvet.
However, the previous form of the Green Velvet wasn’t like it is now. Why did such a change occur? Angel furrowed his brows. He couldn’t actively enter the Land of Souls and thus didn’t know what happened there. He could only vaguely sense the changes in his soul… The last time his soul changed was in the Living Soul Garden when he tried to approach the mountaintop temple and was knocked unconscious by the intense vibrations.
Could it be that his unconsciousness caused the Green Velvet to transform into a prairie?
Angel didn’t know why, but seeing a butterfly entering the prairie range and being dissolved by the spores into energy eased his mind. At least for now, the defensive capabilities of the Green Velvet were still present, and its adaptability seemed to have improved.
“Lady Felicia?” Angel, in his soul state, couldn’t move or speak, but communicating with emotional waves was not difficult for him.
After a while, a complex emotion came through: “It’s a beautiful Soul Prairie, it seems my Dance of the Midnight Butterfly may be redundant.”
“Since you’ve already seen that my soul is defended, why not retreat?” Angel looked at the butterflies dancing outside his Soul Prairie.
His soul was pure, and the eyes of his soul were even more transparent than his physical ones, as if they contained a sky full of stars.
Felicia couldn’t help but secretly admire them. How great would it be if these eyes were real? She would dig them out and add them to her collection.
“Retreat? Of course, I will. But I’m curious about your soul. You don’t mind if I observe a little longer, do you?” Felicia’s emotions conveyed.
Angel fell silent, knowing that regardless of his refusal, Felicia would not leave easily without satisfying her curiosity. So, what use was his answer?
“As a reward, I can give you a piece of information.” Felicia’s emotions came through again: “This Green Velvet is nearing maturity, and a mature Green Velvet might not be a good thing for you.”
“Why?”
“No reason. I’m not your mentor. If you want to know, find out yourself.” Felicia said indifferently.
Angel fell silent again. In reality, Felicia smirked coldly: “He’s quite sensible, huh.”
As Angel acquiesced, Felicia continued to observe his soul. Ordinary souls have a basic shape, but most appear semi-transparent. Angel’s soul, however, seemed almost like a real person and even materialized a cloak.
If Angel’s soul were to leave his body, ordinary people might not be able to distinguish between the real person and the soul.
With such a solid soul: “Are you a soul-type?” Felicia asked.
“No.” Angel’s emotion remained undisturbed.
Not being a soul-type but possessing such a solid soul was indeed rare, at least among apprentices. But what kind of special attraction did such a soul have, which could make Isabelle, a wizard with high standards, take notice?
Felicia decided to continue probing.
The black and white butterfly, under Felicia’s control, flew into the Soul Prairie.
Compared to the previous black butterfly, this black and white one was evidently more powerful. The velvet spores passed directly through its body without being affected, and it fluttered leisurely.
The black and white butterfly’s ease seemed to infuriate the Green Velvet. Numerous grasses emerged from the ground, turning into vines. With an impenetrable offensive, they surrounded the black and white butterfly.
However, the black and white butterfly showed no fear, passing directly through the vines.
It was as if it had an innate illusory body, and under the vines’ attack, it escaped into another void.
As it was about to reach Angel’s side, the Green Velvet made a final effort, enveloping Angel tightly and producing white flowers.
However, as the black and white butterfly approached Angel, the cage-like vines suddenly disappeared, returning to the prairie.
“Did you voluntarily cancel the protection?” Felicia asked.
Angel: “It wouldn’t hold anyway, so why bother?”
Felicia chuckled softly, unsure if it was mockery or self-satisfaction.
The first black and white butterfly landed on Angel’s soul. The second, the third… In the end, Angel’s soul was covered with butterflies.
Angel closed his eyes, allowing the butterflies to crawl on the surface of his soul.
Before long, the black and white butterflies began to relay their conclusions to Felicia.
“The soul has a high quality.” “The solidity has reached the peak apprentice value.” “Oh, this seems to be…”
Felicia curiously asked: “Your soul actually contains soul fluctuations at the level of a formal wizard. Has a soul wizard ever transferred soul power to you? These soul fluctuations are somewhat similar to…”
Angel: “Redemption of the Undead, Lord Nisi.”
“Indeed, it’s him. That old lecher actually spent at least five years of soul cultivation power to assist you in solidifying your soul?” Felicia inquired curiously.
“My mentor took me there.” Angel explained.
Felicia furrowed her brows, as an image of someone flashed through her mind.
She had never asked who Angel’s mentor was, as she had probably guessed the person’s identity. However, to avoid any subsequent trouble, she intended to take the initiative and examine Angel’s soul under the pretext of “I don’t know who you are.” Even if the matter was brought up later, she could use the excuse of ignorance. Moreover, she felt that given the person’s character and indifference, they probably wouldn’t care about these matters.
But after hearing what Angel had said, Felicia began to doubt herself. Had she guessed the wrong person? According to Angel’s description, his mentor was very attentive to him and even had the old lecher spend years crafting to assist Angel in refining his soul essence. Such diligent concern seemed unlikely to come from someone so cold-hearted.
Could it be that she was mistaken? Was Angel’s mentor actually Rhine Mute? Or perhaps Wallace?
If it were one of these two, she would be at a loss, as both had a strong protective streak and were within the scope of people that Gloria said she couldn’t afford to provoke. Moreover, the ‘Silencer’ Rhine Mute was the actual authority in the Savage Grottoes, a bona fide third-level wizard.
Felicia hesitated, unsure whether to proceed.
After some thought, Felicia decided to ignore the potential situation, as she was currently an “unknowing person” and not actually trying to kill Angel. Investigating an apprentice’s soul background shouldn’t lead to life-and-death struggles.
Pushing these troublesome thoughts aside, Felicia continued to explore Angel’s soul with the black and white butterflies.
This time, Felicia decided to delve directly into Angel’s soul and explore its depths.
“With the appearance of the Soul Prairie, this young man shouldn’t have any issues refining soul-related spells.” Felicia thought to herself: “However, why is there a strange sense of stagnation when I enter his soul?”