Chapter 587 Mysterious Aura <TOC> Chapter 589 The Fallen Sleepless City
Translator: SumTLMan
Angel returned to the Flowing Source.
Although he had moved to Phantom Island, Gloria would arrive at the Savage Grottoes in a couple of days. To craft the illusion item before she arrived, he needed a more comprehensive alchemy laboratory.
The alchemy facilities on Phantom Island were far inferior to the alchemy laboratory at the Flowing Source.
So, Angel left Phantom Island and came to the Flowing Source.
During these two days at the Flowing Source, Angel spent most of his time not on alchemy…
But watching movies.
Integrating illusions into alchemy might require many steps and unsatisfactory results for other alchemists. But for Angel, who was skilled in mental spells, it wasn’t a difficult task.
Angel’s challenge was: what kind of illusion to create?
Initially, when Angel left Black Castle, he crafted a feather earring with a “real touch illusion” according to Gloria’s request.
This feather earring was a product that Gloria wanted to have as a memento when she missed Toby.
So, when Angel constructed the illusion, he mainly focused on highlighting Toby. He used Toby as a clue in the illusion, changed the perspective of their journey from the Devil’s Sea to the Twilight Harbor Town, added some exaggerated expressions, and infused some Nightmare Plane properties. Finally, he created that illusion.
But this time, there was no theme for the illusion, which made it difficult for him.
Before leaving Sky Mechanical City, Angel had asked Gloria if she had any requests. He received two vague concepts: to incorporate the aura of the Nightmare Plane and to have some novelty.
Incorporating the aura of the Nightmare Plane was Angel’s unique method of crafting illusions, and he was probably the only one in the entire Southern Alchemy Region who could do it. This was not difficult for him.
However, the second point, the novelty that Gloria wanted, was something Angel couldn’t quite grasp.
Not knowing what kind of illusion to create and now demanding novelty, Angel racked his brains but still had no clue.
Angel even thought that Mirror Lady’s request for vulgarity and quality was easier.
Never mind, thinking about crafting another illusion item for Mirror Lady gave Angel a headache.
Fortunately, Mirror Lady did not urge him, so it was better to solve Gloria’s illusion item first.
When Angel didn’t know what kind of illusion to create, he naturally thought of the holographic tablet. Although the holographic tablet recorded Earth’s civilization, it was a brilliant civilization with much richer entertainment culture than the Wizarding World.
Even without extraordinary culture, Earthlings’ dreams of the extraordinary never faded. Therefore, even if there were no extraordinary events in reality, there were many in movies and novels. Moreover, those collected in the holographic tablet by Jon were naturally the top works of Earth’s civilization.
In the absence of new ideas, Angel decided to turn on the holographic tablet to see how Earthlings imagined the extraordinary civilization and to open up his thinking.
He watched one movie after another. Angel went from watching with a critical and thoughtful perspective to completely immersing himself in the world of the films.
Every film constructs a world.
Even within the same world, different worldviews are hidden.
This is the advantage of Earth’s civilization; they live in a world without extraordinary powers, so their fantasies about the extraordinary are more imaginative and diverse.
Moreover, depending on the different locations and progress of civilization, the East and West have developed different views of the extraordinary.
This makes those who are already part of an extraordinary civilization feel refreshed.
However, after watching about twenty films, Angel noticed that most of the extraordinary elements in the films he saw were still influenced by religious mythology. If he were to create an illusion item based on the films, Gloria would probably sneer at it.
After all, every wizard is a sage, and they see reality clearly, unlike ordinary people who are ignorant. The birth of religion might have originated from the awe of the unknown. For example, primitive people revered nature, thunder, and lightning, and in their ignorance, they developed a sense of awe.
This awe, when exploited by manipulative people, becomes the budding religion.
As religion develops, most of them become a means of governance for the ruling class. Whether it is to pacify or confuse the people depends on the intentions of those who control it.
Gloria is well aware of these principles, so Angel cannot create an illusion influenced by religion.
Although he cannot directly copy the worlds in the films, the imaginative ideas of Earthlings have provided Angel with a lot of inspiration. After closing the film, he pondered for a long time.
He wanted to create a world with a complete worldview, but this was too mentally exhausting and without the ability to truly create a world, it seemed pointless.
Eventually, he decided to simply create a miniature reflection of a Nightmare Plane, similar to “Witch Town” or “Nightfall City,” under the main worldview of the Nightmare Plane.
With the overall framework in mind, the content of the illusion was not a problem for Angel, as he could borrow many elements from the Earth’s films.
As for whether or not to design a main storyline for the illusion, Angel considered it for a moment before rejecting the idea.
Designing a main storyline might give people the illusion of being led by the nose.
Last time, he designed a main storyline for Gloria because she liked Toby; if he did it this time, she might be annoyed.
So, it’s better to design a more open and free illusion.
After designing the general concept, Angel planned to start crafting. As for whether the illusion, inspired by Earth’s films, had any novelty, Angel was also a bit hesitant.
He always felt that the novelty Gloria mentioned touched the heart, rather than being a mere gimmick.
As Gloria said back then in the Blooming Manor, his illusions could help people gain insights. This kind of insight might be the so-called “novelty.” But with his current level, what could he make Gloria realize?
So, he had no choice but to craft it according to his own ideas.
…
Before crafting, Angel needed to determine the material for carrying the illusion, as well as the final appearance.
These were not difficult tasks, as Gloria’s aesthetic sense was very unique, as evident from her love for heavy makeup and fiery red lips.
Angel guessed that as long as he crafted the jewelry in an “extravagant noblewoman style,” it would suffice.
In Angel’s aesthetic sense, it might be a bit vulgar, but as everyone’s aesthetics differ, it was best to align with Gloria’s preferences.
After all, a purple-robed noblewoman with fiery red lips wearing a delicate forest girl style accessory would be a bit mismatched.
Angel took out a pen and paper and began designing the appearance.
Just as Angel was immersed in the design process, he suddenly heard Toby’s call from outside the door.
From the short frequency of the call, Angel sensed that Toby seemed to have something for him.
He sighed, put down his pen and paper, and opened the door.
As soon as the door opened, Toby darted in, flying around Angel several times, expressing its longing and affection for him.
“What do you need?” Angel returned to his desk, picked up his pen, and casually drew a curve.
Toby stretched its wings, gesturing a few times and chirping nonstop. Then it took out a piece of paper from its Snowy Feather and threw it in front of Angel.
Looking at the note, Angel murmured in doubt, “You say this is a message from Mentor?”
Due to alchemy, Angel had been in the underground laboratory for several days, while Toby had been playing outside. Moreover, somehow, it seemed to have connected with Iron Armor Granny, often running to the Iron Armor Fortress to play. Even Iron Armor Granny had given Toby a pass to access the Flowing Source.
Although it wasn’t the same as the card for the otherworldly laboratory that Angel had, with this pass, Toby could freely enter and exit the Flowing Source.
Since Angel also gave Toby the Phantom Island pass coin, he wasn’t too surprised that Toby could relay messages from Sanders.
“What does Mentor want me to do? Has Lady Gloria come to the Savage Grottoes?” Angel looked at Toby.
Toby hurriedly shook its head. Its eyes held a mixture of longing and fear at the mention of Gloria’s arrival. The experience of being disciplined by Gloria at the Blooming Manor was a nightmare for it.
If Gloria hadn’t arrived, what was the purpose of Mentor’s message?
With confusion, Angel opened the note.
As the note unfolded, the runes on it began to move like tadpoles, floating in mid-air, forming an illusion.
Sanders’ image appeared before him.
Judging from the background of the illusion, Sanders seemed to be in his study.
“Angel, the harp Fox named Foxx has appeared.”
…
After watching Sanders’ transmission,
Angel quickly put away the note, called the equally hurried Toby, and hurriedly left the Flowing Source.
After leaving the Flowing Source, Angel directly released the Gondola, taking Toby quickly to Phantom Island.
On the way to see Sanders, Angel was still thinking about his message.
According to Sanders, the Foxx, the fox who holds the harp, and the frog singer, Frogg, had been hiding for a year since their last escape from Shadow Demon Castle, and finally reappeared this time.
Moreover, the place where they appeared was Sleepless City in the Eternal Night Kingdom, which they had visited not long ago!
As soon as they appeared, they made a big move. They turned hundreds of miles of Sleepless City’s outer city into a dark realm, and all the people in the city were trapped, except for some wizards who gathered all their strength to escape through a planar passage.
Compared to the previous time when they turned Shadow Demon Castle into a haunted place, this time their actions were even more intense.
Shadow Demon Castle is mainly inhabited by ordinary people, and Twilight Deep Well is just an ordinary wizard market without high-powered wizards sitting in town. But this time, Sleepless City is a real wizard organization!
Moreover, Sleepless City is not a small organization, it is a “quasi” large-scale wizard organization, with many high-end powerhouses!
Their actions this time were like stirring up a hornet’s nest!
In fact, all of these things were not important to Angel. Whatever the Foxx, the fox who holds the harp, and Frogg, the frog singer wanted to do, they could do as they pleased.
Just like in Bogula, where there is a nest of Colorful Dragonflies, it may be an unstable bomb, but as long as it doesn’t concern him, Angel can be completely unconcerned.
But Sanders’ message mentioned that Gloria had also fallen into Sleepless City!
Chapter 587 Mysterious Aura <TOC> Chapter 589 The Fallen Sleepless City