Chapter 481 Daniel <TOC> Chapter 483 Divine Dress Maiden
Translator: SumTLMan
Under the reflection of the starry sky, in the undulating gaps of the wasteland, a temporary stone house carved out of a giant rock stands.
The entire rock has been hollowed out from the inside, revealing a vast space within. There is a flat stone door at the entrance, through which you can see shadows inside, and occasionally sparks scatter.
There are three people inside the stone house, a blazing fire, and a pot of delicious fish soup.
Two of the people are lying on the ground, seemingly asleep. The only one awake is a man covered in a tattered cloak, who is cooking fish soup by the fire.
His exposed hands look very delicate. However, black insects crawl across them from time to time, and fine powder falls from his fingertips, attracting wriggling maggots into the soup.
Suddenly, a “creaking” sound comes from behind him.
The cloaked man doesn’t turn his head: “Freud, you’re awake? Did you read any clues?”
His voice is hoarse and unpleasant, as if it had been smoked.
“No, he’s just an ordinary apprentice. He doesn’t know more than we do, but I found something interesting. Perhaps Viking and the others can really find some clues this time.” The man called ‘Freud’ yawned, casually grabbing a handful of soft golden curls and speaking sleepily.
“Oh? You mean, there might actually be clues to leave the lava zone?” The cloaked man asked curiously.
“I don’t know.” Freud sat up and came to the fire: “But there is indeed an Ink Touch King near the wizard level in the heart of the lava zone. According to what the boy overheard, the exit might be there.”
“Near wizard level? Maybe there are clues, as you guessed. But Viking and the others must be having a hard time now.” The cloaked man’s words carried a hint of cruel amusement, showing no real concern for his teammates.
“Beardman probably won’t make it, but Viking and Daniel should be fine. The fish monsters here are strong, but they’re not very smart.”
“Beardman is dead weight anyway, even with the bloodline injection. His huge size and clumsiness are a hindrance in the Purification Garden.” The cloaked man hesitated for a moment: “But it’s not easy to explain to his sister.”
“It was you who promised Mischa to take care of Beardman. Now you’re worried about her feelings?”
“Worried? No.” The cloaked man looked at Freud: “As long as we don’t tell her, Mischa won’t know. You wouldn’t betray me, would you?”
“Of course not.” Freud raised an eyebrow, agreeing quickly, but his heart sneered.
“Is the fish soup ready? Don’t you want to try it?” The cloaked man changed the subject, suddenly pointing at the pot of fish soup.
Freud glanced at the fragrant fish soup, his eyes downcast. Although he had cooked the soup first, who knew what Isio might have done while he was reading dreams.
“No, I’m not hungry,” said the man.
The cloaked man chuckled: “Suit yourself.” He scooped up some fish soup from the pot and drank it all down.
At that moment, a noise came from outside the door. Freud looked up and asked: “Who is it?”
“Me.” Accompanied by this deep yet frail voice, the door was pushed open, and Daniel walked in.
He walked in and sat directly by the fire.
“So, it’s you, Daniel. How did your investigation in the lava area go? Where are Viking and Beardman?” Freud asked.
“They both fell to a big one. I used an Invisibility Scroll to escape.” Daniel replied half-seriously, half-jokingly.
“A big one? You mean…”
“A lava fire eel. Not only is it cunning, but its power has already far surpassed that of many peak apprentices.” Daniel recalled the previous battle and couldn’t help but shudder. If it wasn’t for his Invisibility Scroll, he might have been killed by the lava fire eel, just like Beardman.
“A lava fire eel? You don’t mean the Ink Touch King?” asked the cloaked man.
“Ink Touch King? Isio, what are you talking about?” Daniel looked at Isio and Freud suspiciously: “You guys aren’t hiding something from me, are you?”
Freud waved his hand and pointed to the other side of the room where a young man in a silver-white uniform was standing: “I’m not hiding anything from you. I just read that guy’s dream.”
“In his dream, he told me that the most dangerous creature in this area is a magical beast nearly at the level of a wizard — the Ink Touch King. That Ink Touch King is in the lava area, so Isio and I are puzzled.”
“A wizard-level magical beast was revealed in the dream?” Daniel frowned. He believed in Freud’s dream reading ability. Freud was nicknamed “Dream Reader” and had a unique talent for entering and manipulating dreams. Since Freud said that he got the information from the dream, it must be true.
“I didn’t encounter the Ink Touch King you mentioned, just a lava fire eel. And the lava fire eel’s power is infinitely close to the wizard level. Even if the three of us fought together, we wouldn’t stand a chance.”
After hearing Daniel’s words, Isio doubted: “Is it really that strong?”
“Very strong. Beardman was just grazed by it and got burnt to a crisp. Even Viking, who had activated his bloodline power, was hit by the lava fire eel’s tail and had his hands turned to dust, completely powerless to resist.” Daniel paused and then added: “Moreover, it’s not like other fish monsters. It’s as cunning as a human. It’s almost impossible to defeat it using our usual tactics of ambush and flanking.”
“It’s a shame Beardman… I failed Mischa’s trust.” Isio pretended to be sad: “Even Viking died, it seems this lava fire eel is indeed extraordinary.”
“If even this lava fire eel is so clever, then wouldn’t the Ink Touch King be even more powerful? That’s a magical beast nearly at the level of a wizard!” Freud pondered.
“It seems we indeed need to investigate the Ink Touch King. Maybe the lava fire eel is just an exception,” Isio said: “If only Viking was still here. His bloodline has strong adaptability. If we could give him a little more time, he could take on the task of investigating the Ink Touch King.”
“Unfortunately, Viking has already died.” Isio said indifferently.
“Viking’s death is inevitable, considering his hot-headed nature, it’s quite normal for him to die.” Freud brushed it off.
“We can only try our luck with the Ink Touch King; Sky Mechanical City wouldn’t send their core apprentices to certain death. There must be a chance.” Freud glanced at the unconscious city apprentice and added: “It’s a pity this guy is just an ordinary apprentice; he only overheard, ‘Find a way to survive in the most dangerous place.'”
“It makes sense, though. Sky Mechanical City needs a blood sacrifice for the Purification Garden to advance, and they’d require a large number of apprentices to die. To cause their deaths in large numbers, placing the passage in the most dangerous area would be the best choice.”
“In that case, let’s head to the lava zone and meet the Ink Touch King!”
…
Outside the stone house, Angel was lost in thought.
—”Find a way to survive in the most dangerous place.”
This phrase was mentioned by the city apprentice, likely serving as the passphrase for the Purification Garden this time. Although it was similar to what Angel had thought previously, he still had doubts.
What is the threshold for the ‘restriction’ and ‘measure’ in this passphrase?
It can’t be limitless, but it can’t be without restrictions either. The crucial point is, since Sky Mechanical City dared to send their core disciples into the Purification Garden, the “maximum danger value” must be within the “tolerance range” of the core apprentices.
Does the Ink Touch King they mentioned fall within this range?
Judging from their description of the Ink Touch King’s power, it should far exceed the tolerance range. Unless there’s a way to bypass it without facing it directly and enter the passage.
But in that case… it would purely be a test of intelligence and stealth. Does this really fit the phrase “Find a way to survive in the most dangerous place?”
Angel had some doubts, and his intuition still pointed towards the sky.
However, he didn’t want to draw conclusions just yet.
After all, Totoro once predicted a scene: He and Cherie were at the bottom of the sea.
But there was no sea in sight, so how could he reach the seabed? Or was that a premonition, unrelated to the Purification Garden?
Angel pondered for a moment, still feeling puzzled.
Angel turned and headed towards the lava zone. He intended to take a look at the Ink Touch King, relying on his Boundless Silence to evade detection. If the Ink Touch King truly exceeded the tolerance range, he planned to fly straight into the sky to search.
As Angel left and disappeared from the stone house’s vicinity.
The cloaked man named Isio suddenly furrowed his brows in secret, as his scout insect on watch outside was crushed to death… He immediately shifted his vision to another scout insect, but all he saw was a flattened little bug, without any sight of other creatures.
In this fish-monster world, almost all land creatures had become their food. This wasteland had slowly fallen into disrepair as the land creatures were consumed.
In this wasteland where there were no land creatures, why would a scout insect be crushed?
Moreover, even if there were land creatures, there should still be some trace, right?
“Isio, what’s wrong?” Daniel noticed Isio was lost in thought and patted his shoulder: “Snap out of it.”
Isio: “What is it?”
“Get ready; we’re going to the lava zone to have a look.”
“No need to prepare, let’s go straight there.” Isio pushed open the door and walked out of the stone house first. He stood in front of the crushed scout insect, turned his head to look inside the house, waiting for someone to come out.
However, unseen by anyone, a tiny ant-like insect slid out from Isio’s sleeve, landed on the ground, and immediately devoured the crushed scout insect.
Then, it crawled back onto Isio’s fingertip.
Isio sniffed the scent of the ant-like insect and frowned:
This ant-like insect, called the Taste Ant, could amplify and release all pheromones, and he had found his other four teammates so quickly thanks to the Taste Ant.
“This feeling is undoubtedly human pheromones. Could it be that there were people outside just now?”