Chapter 459 Reclusive Cherie <TOC> Chapter 461 Garden Advancement
Translator: SumTLMan
In the box was a Softworm egg, and Angel had learned some information about it from Sanders.
The so-called Softworm is an incredibly unique magic worm from the Abyssal Plane. It is a species with a social hierarchy, and although not powerful, its greatest value to wizards lies in its use as alchemical material and experimental subjects.
Another reason for the high value of Softworms is the appearance of the Shape-shifting Softworms.
Speaking of Shape-shifting Softworms, one must mention a special trick: Shape-shifting spell!
Tricks and spells have different levels of difficulty. Wizards may spend decades, centuries, or even thousands of years mastering a spell, but tricks are different. If one has the talent for it, they may learn a trick in just a few months.
However, among tricks, there is one universally acknowledged as having a difficulty comparable to a full-fledged spell: Shape-shifting spell.
Shape-shifting is a trick that changes one’s appearance, allowing the caster to shrink to the size of a mosquito or grow as large as a titan. Of course, this change is purely in form; if one wants their power level to change as well, then it no longer falls within the category of a “trick.”
There are two ways to learn Shape-shifting. The first is the orthodox method, which is also the most difficult. It requires learning and deeply understanding many subjects, such as biology, mimicry, anatomy, environmental studies, magic control, fine-tuning, and nearly a hundred other disciplines. An apprentice may spend their entire life trying to learn this trick and still come up empty.
The second way is an unconventional approach—transplanting the skin of a Shape-shifting Softworm.
As long as one can perfectly transplant the skin of a Shape-shifting Softworm and combine it with the trick model and magic manipulation, they can perform the Shape-shifting spell.
Because this shortcut saves a lot of time and is in high demand among wizards, most of them choose to transplant the skin of Shape-shifting Softworms. This has led to the widespread extinction of the Shape-shifting Softworms.
Shape-shifting Softworms were already rare to begin with, and after tens of thousands of years of hunting, they are now nearly extinct. There haven’t been any Shape-shifting Softworms at auctions for many years, which shows just how precious they are.
However, the Softworm egg that Canter gave him was slightly different from the “Shape-shifting Softworm.”
Softworms are a species dominated by a superorganism.
Just as ants have worker ants, soldier ants, female ants, male ants, and queens, Softworms are the same. Shape-shifting Softworms are just one type of Softworm, and who knows if the egg Canter gave him will eventually hatch into a Shape-shifting Softworm?
If it’s just an ordinary Softworm, the value is still high but naturally not as much as a Shape-shifting Softworm.
And most importantly, whether this egg can hatch or not is a question.
After thinking about it, Angel placed the Softworm egg in the worm nest. Although he didn’t know how to hatch the egg yet, since the nest had the scent of the mother, it should be able to maintain some vitality.
After finishing all this, Angel was about to put away the insect nest.
Suddenly, a squeaking sound came from outside. Angel looked up and saw the balcony window shaking in the wind. Raindrops slanted against the glass, leaving streaks of water.
“Bang!”
The strong wind blew the window latch off, and the window swung wide open, letting the rain pour in.
Angel’s bed was right in front of the window, and the raindrops fell right beside it. He put down the insect nest and silently got up, walking to the window.
Just as he was about to close the window, two faint green lights appeared on the dark balcony.
Angel looked over and saw a shadow suddenly appear on the balcony.
The night concealed the visitor’s face, but the stunning red dancing shoes and the bright red bow on their head all revealed the identity of the newcomer.
“Cherie?” Angel frowned and whispered the name.
The shadow on the balcony leaped and somersaulted in mid-air, landing inside Angel’s bedroom.
It was Cherie, dressed exactly as she was during the day, rubbing against a little black cat at her feet. The faint green light from earlier was the cat’s eye color.
Her hair was completely soaked, short and thin, sticking softly to her forehead.
“How did you get here?” Angel frowned, feeling uncomfortable about Cherie’s uninvited visit and her rude window-climbing behavior. However, considering Cherie’s Mentor, he suppressed his displeasure and asked calmly.
Cherie silently stared at Angel, as if trying to memorize his scent. She stared for a long time, only speaking when Angel couldn’t help but inquire.
“Your pheromones, Luna has remembered them. I will find you in the Purification Garden, don’t wander off.” Cherie picked up the little black cat from the floor, her voice still hoarse and cold.
“Luna, you mean this?” Angel pointed at the little black cat.
Cherie nodded: “Also, be aware of your status and be self-aware. Don’t come looking for me or disturb my Mentor before the Purification Garden is opened.”
“Otherwise, I will kill you.” As she uttered the threat, Cherie’s expression became fierce.
Angel’s face darkened, as if he was eager to stick to someone’s cold buttocks. Before today, he didn’t even know her, and he only learned of Canter from a book. He never thought about having any connection with the House of Lilith.
“I never thought about looking for you guys.” Angel’s face turned cold: “Since we’ve reached a consensus on this matter, let’s also reach a consensus after the Purification Garden is opened.”
“I don’t need you to come looking for me. It’s best for everyone to stay away from each other and take care of themselves.” Although Angel was annoyed, he maintained basic politeness when facing a lady and didn’t say anything harsher.
“It’s good that you know your place. As for the matter of the Purification Garden, it’s not up to you to decide.”
After saying this, Cherie seemed to have the intention to leave. She turned around to leave, and when she turned, her eyes caught a glimpse of the insect nest on the bed.
She said indifferently: “You must not fail the alchemy task assigned to you by the Mentor. Otherwise, you’ll bear the consequences.”
With that, she turned around and elegantly mounted her broom, flying into the rain and wind of the night.
Angel was both angry and amused, and also somewhat puzzled. He was angry at Cherie’s attitude, amused at her childishness, and puzzled about when Canter had assigned him an alchemy task?
After Cherie left, Angel set up several illusion nodes outside the balcony. In Bogula’s fortress, there had never been an incident where someone had entered his room. He didn’t expect this situation to occur on his first night at the Mentor’s mansion.
To be on the safe side, Angel set up illusion nodes. Although he knew very well that Cherie could break into his bedroom so smoothly, Sanders must have agreed in secret.
The next morning, Sanders called Angel over.
Regarding Cherie coming to his room last night, Sanders didn’t ask at all. Instead, he brought Angel back into the Gravity Garden, but this time, they didn’t appear in the open-air library but on a barren slope.
Surrounding them was an endless white fog.
“Release your Nightmare Domain and fight me. Let me see if you have truly grown in the past six months.” Sanders’ short wand suddenly lengthened, pointing at Angel.
Angel nodded and dragged Sanders into the Opulent Nightmare Domain.
With the help of —Mystery of the Nightmare Domain—, Angel’s use of the Nightmare Domain had greatly improved. For example, self-control in the Nightmare Domain, the application and coordination of various illusion spells… Angel used his strongest illusions to fight Sanders.
However, it had no effect.
This was a result Angel knew beforehand. What he wanted to hear most was Sanders’ evaluation of his application of the Nightmare Domain.
Sanders stood in place, carefully feeling Angel’s Nightmare Domain, and remained silent for a while before saying: “Steady growth, but not much novelty.”
Angel’s application of the Nightmare Domain, as well as some illusion spells, were basically recorded in —Mystery of the Nightmare Domain—. The only thing that Sanders felt was creative was probably Angel’s own talent for emotional shielding, combined with illusion spells, which could produce many surprising effects… such as silencing, triggering emotions, and even desires, etc.
This was a nightmare application centered on Angel’s unique talents, which Sanders seemed to approve of. However, the rest of it was mostly based on the records of the —Mystery of the Nightmare Domain—. It wasn’t that it was bad, but it was too conventional.
Of course, considering the time Angel had spent in the Wizarding World, this was already quite an accomplishment, even far surpassing Sanders’ other two apprentices. However, Sanders’ expectations of Angel were far beyond those of Flora and Sumesh.
He had high expectations for Angel, so his requirements were also high.
“Studying the —Mystery of the Nightmare Domain— is, of course, necessary, but I hope that during your apprenticeship, you will find your own path,” Sanders said. “Those who stick to conventions will never attain true wisdom.”
Angel understood Sanders’ expectations and nodded in agreement.
After inspecting the Nightmare Domain, Sanders brought Angel to another location in the Gravity Garden, which he referred to as the “laboratory.”
There were many pieces of equipment in the lab, some of which overlapped with alchemy equipment, and some that Angel did not recognize.
For wizards, it was not only alchemists who had laboratories. Almost every wizard would eventually build their own laboratory, as research on spells and derivation of theories required experimental collaboration. For example, how could one learn a regenerative spell for severed limbs without conducting hundreds of dissections? And wouldn’t a laboratory be necessary for dissection research?
It could be said that every wizard had a laboratory, and its importance far exceeded anything else. In fact, many wizards didn’t bother building a wizard’s tower, focusing solely on constructing a laboratory.
Sanders took out a glass chamber large enough to hold a person and asked Angel to enter.
He then injected a liquid that maintained the body’s nutrition, and then gestured for Angel to project his soul out of his body.
Chapter 459 Reclusive Cherie <TOC> Chapter 461 Garden Advancement