Chapter 431 Fear Spell <TOC> Chapter 433 Unexpected Escape
Translator: SumTLMan
When Angel returned, Shadow curiously asked: “So, that guy isn’t really your lover? I felt from the start that his behavior was a bit silly. So that’s your preference?”
Angel glared at him with annoyance. He didn’t know when this guy started to be so full of provocative words.
“What’s so special about this mortal that makes you treat him differently?” Shadow glanced at the partition. The curtain was now pulled up, but he could faintly hear sounds inside. He used his mental powers to probe and discovered an additional wooden structure inside the partition—a small wooden house suitable for Kulakuka people to live in.
The mortal named Totoro was curiously squatting in front of the wooden house, listening to an old Kulakuka lady telling stories.
Babaya’s grandmother? Shadow noticed the old woman’s identity, and upon closer listening, he realized she wasn’t telling stories but teaching Totoro how to read.
Shadow clicked his tongue, not even recognizing words—truly an idiot.
Because of Totoro’s special background, Angel didn’t want to discuss him and continued to pretend to sleep. But Shadow kept commenting on Totoro and pondering his identity.
His guesses became more and more unreliable, first a lover, then a relative, and finally, he simply claimed that Totoro was Angel’s illegitimate child.
Obviously, he just wanted to get Angel to tell him the truth by making up stories. But Angel completely ignored him and silently gave him a look that said he was a fool.
In the end, Shadow suddenly turned to the silent Naga and said: “Naga, you take a look. Is that mortal a talented one?”
Both he and Angel were apprentices, and to test whether a mortal was talented, they either needed a talent sphere or forcefully break through the person’s mental barrier. They didn’t have a talent sphere, and the latter was too cruel, so Shadow turned his attention to Naga.
Official wizards didn’t need talent spheres and could directly see whether a person had potential with a single glance. But they could only see the range of the person’s mental power and determine if they were talented based on that. As for specific talents, detailed testing was still required.
Shadow didn’t know if Naga could see talent. Although Naga barely possessed wizard-level combat power, she was, after all, just a magical puppet. So Shadow’s question was purely out of luck and trying to make conversation.
But this question raised Angel’s concern as well. Although he still had his eyes closed, his ears perked up.
Naga raised her eyebrows and glanced at Totoro in the small partition. After a while, she said: “His mental power value is very high, higher than both of you. He should be a talented one.”
Upon hearing this, Angel showed an understanding expression. To be honest, there were too many strange things about Totoro, and it wouldn’t be odd for someone like Angel, who wasn’t a talented individual, to find it peculiar.
Shadow’s reaction was somewhat unexpected: “You can really tell if someone has talent or not? You should have said so earlier! Back then, I should have stayed in Baroque for a while and brought back more talented individuals to Sky Mechanical City!”
Naga: “Master never asked me.”
Shadow helplessly slumped his shoulders, looking dejected. Shadow’s temper came quickly and left just as fast. Before long, the topic circled back to Totoro. After all, such an ordinary person was right under their noses, and Angel left without taking anything except an ordinary person, which made Shadow particularly curious about Totoro’s identity.
However, Angel was determined to remain silent, and in the end, Shadow could only grumble quietly.
The night passed.
The Gondola traveled at a high speed. Shadow originally thought it would take at least two or three days to reach their destination, but when daylight came, they had already arrived within the boundaries of Silent Hill.
Looking down at the ground, there seemed to be mountains and wilderness for thousands of miles, stretching continuously without any signs of human habitation.
“Silent Hill is in the middle layer of the world. We need to find the entrance to get in,” Shadow took out paper and pen, bent over the table, and began to calculate: “The entrance to Silent Hill changes, but it still follows a certain pattern. As long as we base it on the changes of the sun and moon and then substitute it into this formula, we can deduce the coordinates of the entrance to Silent Hill.”
Shadow explained to Angel as he calculated.
Before long, Shadow came up with a set of spatial coordinates.
Upon reaching the coordinate point, Angel put away the Gondola. At the same time, to be on the safe side, he also put Granny Babaya and Totoro into his bracelet.
They were now in a canyon, surrounded by mountains on three sides and a small stream flowing at the bottom.
Shadow led the way, and they entered the forest in the canyon. After walking for a few minutes, Shadow pointed to the center of a huge man-eating flower up ahead: “Found it. Its mouth is the entrance.”
Looking at the man-eating flower’s sharp teeth-covered, bloodstained mouth, Angel silently looked at Shadow: “Are you sure?”
Shadow nodded: “I’m sure.” As he spoke, Shadow bravely entered the man-eating flower’s mouth first. The man-eating flower, with an expression of “what a pleasant surprise,” opened its mouth to welcome the incoming food.
However, just as Shadow entered its mouth, his figure distorted and disappeared.
The man-eating flower looked puzzled, wondering where the person had suddenly gone.
At this time, seeing Shadow take the lead, Angel also leaped in. The man-eating flower once again showed a lucky expression, with a wretched look on its face and a wide-open mouth, ready to welcome the second moth. However… it was disappointed again as the person vanished from its mouth.
The man-eating flower then turned its gaze to the last person, a beautiful blonde with blue eyes. It opened its mouth wide, and its two leaves seemed to act like hands, gesturing constantly toward its mouth, as if saying to her: “Come on, come on, I’m waiting for you!”
Naga, however, snorted coldly and stomped the man-eating flower under her foot, crushing it to mud. Her figure then disappeared from the Surface World. As long as she reached the Wizarding World, it was not difficult to open the door to the Middle World, and she could enter it at any time.
…
After a tumultuous moment, Angel opened his eyes and found that the surrounding environment had changed dramatically.
He had originally been in a dense forest, but now he was surrounded by a barren landscape, with the soil somewhat dry. Even though it was daytime, the sky was gray and filled with a sense of desolation as if the apocalypse was approaching.
This was the normal state of the Middle World.
“Follow me,” Shadow continued to lead the way, introducing the Silent Hill along the journey: “Although Silent Hill is not as big as your Savage Grottoes, it is a well-known wizard organization, and it’s not easy for outsiders to enter.”
Shadow talked a lot, explaining the difficulty of entering Silent Hill, and then finally highlighting his position and importance: “But as long as you stick with me, everything will be fine. Our Sky Mechanical City and Silent Hill have been long-term trade partners, and with the name of Sky Mechanical City, entering Silent Hill is a piece of cake.”
Shadow took Angel to a barren, dark mountain range: “This is Silent Hill.”
Angel looked at the black mountain range for a long time, vaguely sensing the fluctuation of an illusion spell. Curious, he knew his own limits and didn’t dare to overstep.
“The outside is all illusions. You’ll know the real Silent Hill once you get closer. Although it’s not as prosperous as Sky Mechanical City, it’s still one of the best.”
Shadow led Angel up the mountain, and within a few steps, a huge rock suddenly blocked their path.
The surface of the rock bore a strange human face, half-open eyes, half-closed eyes, half-black eyebrows, half-white eyebrows, half-young, half-old, half-laughing, and half-serene.
It was as if a flamboyant young man’s face and an elderly man’s face were forcibly pieced together, and the carrier was a dark rock.
“Let me see, who has come back?” “It turns out it’s our little Diavolo.”
“Is this amazing magic puppet, by any chance, our little Diavolo’s new darling?” “It seems so.”
“Well, that’s really something to celebrate!” “Yes, it’s very much worth celebrating.”
“Then who is this young friend?” “Let me smell, seems like there’s a familiar scent, I need to think.”
The stone was talking to itself, sounding quite eerie. Moreover, its voice, like its face, was split into two types: one was hoarse, the other crisp, as if an old man was conversing with a young man.
“Lord Taros, we need to enter Silent Hill!” Shadow spoke to the strange stone.
“Ouch, I heard that, I heard that! You’re scaring my little heart, will you compensate me?” “Ah, don’t scam the kid, they don’t have anything valuable on them.”
“How come they don’t have anything valuable? I can smell the rich scent of treasures on this young friend.” “Really? It seems true! Hey, kid, come over here, give me your bracelet, and I’ll let you in.”
“Are you stupid? His bracelet is bound, do you want a hat?” “You heard him? Hurry up and give me your hat!”
Suddenly, two long and slender black arms stretched out from the stone, waving non-stop at Angel.
Angel was somewhat unsure of how to respond. This unknown stone creature seemed to be a gatekeeper, but its aura was as deep as the sea… Moreover, it dared to call them “young friends” and talk so openly about scamming, making it difficult for Angel to judge its power.
Just as Angel was thinking about how to answer, Shadow stepped forward, blocking Angel’s path: “Lord Taros, he is my friend, please let him go. Besides, look at his golden hair and beautiful blue eyes, which are so consistent with… aesthetics.”
The stone creature named Taros listened and looked at Angel with a strange gaze, his golden hair and blue eyes indeed matching the aesthetic of Diavolo’s Mentor.
Considering that the mentor might step onto the Path of True Knowledge, it would be better not to provoke him.
With that thought, the stone creature waved its hand: “Alright, for the sake of your mentor, you may enter!”
The stone creature split in the middle, the old and young parts slowly moving away to the left and right, revealing a narrow path.
Through the path, Angel could faintly see the bustling buildings behind…