Chapter 651 The Meaning of the Illusion <TOC> Chapter 653 The Past of Iron Armor Granny
Translator: SumTLMan
The sensation of the Nightmare Plane was as if time had been frozen, and everything seemed to hold profound meaning, even the grass and trees.
On this mountain, Gloria felt the same sensation of the Nightmare Plane, but it was much milder compared to when she was in Witch Town.
Her initial plan was to visit all the areas first and then look for the ones that interested her the most. She was most intrigued by the Tree Nest and Monument Valley – the former due to the gray beast flying in the sky, and the latter because of some peculiar riddles.
But now, Gloria had put both the Tree Nest and Monument Valley behind her, focusing all her attention on this Mysterious Mountain.
That’s because, not long ago, while sitting in the carriage, she felt a pulse that made her heart race.
It wasn’t fear, nor was it her emotions being controlled by Angel; it was simply because that pulse, if Gloria wasn’t mistaken, hinted at a Mysterious Feeling.
Gloria had felt Mysterious Auras before. The Butterfly Spirit in Felicia’s possession was a Mysterious Object. Although the Butterfly Spirit was in Felicia’s hands now, it was originally in Gloria’s.
However, the Butterfly Spirit didn’t shine in Gloria’s possession; it was more compatible with Felicia, who had integrated it into her Radiant Shadow Butterfly bloodline. Later, Gloria gave the Butterfly Spirit to Felicia.
So, although Gloria didn’t currently have any Mysterious Objects, she was not unfamiliar with their auras.
In any other place, feeling a Mysterious Aura wouldn’t surprise Gloria. But she never expected to feel a Mysterious Aura in the illusionary realm crafted by Angel!
Moreover, this Mysterious Aura felt vaguely familiar to her.
Gloria had seen quite a few Mysterious Objects and even fought against wizards possessing them, so she had some understanding of them.
Although the auras of Mysterious Objects were mostly similar – filled with contradictions and harmony, unknown and chaos – there were subtle differences in their attribute perceptions.
For instance, not long ago, when she and Sanders fought the serpent Yorkshire in Sleepless City, Sanders had taken out a Mysterious Object. According to Angel, that Mysterious Object was called the Grudge Doll.
Although the overall sense of the Grudge Doll’s aura was similar to other Mysterious Objects and could be easily identified as one, Gloria, who had handled the Butterfly Spirit, knew that the Grudge Doll’s aura was gloomy and shivering, while the Butterfly Spirit carried a hint of lightness.
Thus, each Mysterious Object could be labeled by the attributes perceived.
The reason the wizards outside Sleepless City initially determined that a new Mysterious Object was being born inside was because they had never sensed a similar attribute in any other Mysterious Object before.
Now, Gloria senses the Mysterious Aura here, and it feels vaguely familiar. Back in Sleepless City, she was tied up in the teleportation hall by the red fox, and she could feel the Mysterious Aura almost 24 hours a day, either from the silk threads or from the darkness. The Mysterious Aura on the silk threads came from the harp in the red fox’s hands. But she had no idea what the other Mysterious Aura was, nor where it came from. However, she remembers that it was filled with a majestic and all-encompassing feeling, as if facing a knowledgeable and omnipotent deity.
Although she didn’t know how the Source World graded Mysterious Objects, Gloria believed that if there were truly different levels, that Mysterious Object would far surpass the harp in the red fox’s hands. But now, she senses the same aura in Angel’s illusion.
“However, it’s not quite right,” Gloria frowned, as there was a slight difference. This aura also had a sense of grandeur, but it was thousands of times more diluted and elusive than the mysterious harp of the red fox.
Gloria didn’t know what was going on; perhaps it was the elusive Mysterious Object or another connected object. In any case, she guessed that Angel had obtained a Mysterious Object. However, the question was, if Angel truly had a Mysterious Object, why would he put it in this illusion? This seemed quite unreasonable.
With Gloria’s personality, if she had a Mysterious Object, she would treasure it and would never hand it over to others so easily. Even considering someone else’s perspective, Angel, as an alchemist who had once come into contact with the mysterious realm, wouldn’t be so foolish as to give away a Mysterious Object just for a gold card VIP meal. If wizards were this generous, Gloria wouldn’t need to run Barbie Restaurant; she could simply rename it Barbie Mysterious Shop.
Or could it be that the “Mysterious Object” Angel obtained could actually integrate Mysterious Power into the illusion? But even if it merged with the illusion, what benefits would that bring?
Gloria also considered whether Angel had comprehended the Mysterious Feeling and integrated it into the illusion. After all, there was the precedent of the Nightmare Plane, but on second thought, she felt that the possibility was quite small. To comprehend the Mysterious Feeling, one would need at least one Mysterious Object, right? Moreover, even if someone could comprehend it, that would be the business of a Mysterious Alchemist, and Angel was still far from it.
No matter how much doubt Gloria had in her heart, it could be put aside for a hundred years. First, she needed to find the source of the Mysterious Aura.
Gloria calmed her mind and searched quietly for the origin of the Mysterious Feeling on this desolate mountain.
A week passed in the blink of an eye.
Gloria spent the entire week on this Mysterious Mountain, but to her surprise, she could sense the Mysterious Feeling from time to time, but she could not find its source.
Everything must have a reason for its existence, and as long as it exists, it can be traced back to its origin.
But now, why couldn’t she find the source of the Mysterious Aura?
Gloria even considered using external forces or breaking through the illusion directly. But for some reason, her heart skipped a beat when she was about to do so.
It was as if she sensed an omen.
If she were to destroy this illusion, she might lose an opportunity.
It was a premonition deep within her.
Everyone, even ordinary people, occasionally experiences a strange omen. Some are genuine premonitions, while others are just wild imaginations or self-deception.
Although wizards have a higher accuracy rate for their innate premonitions compared to ordinary people, she is not a prophetic wizard, so her premonition may not be absolutely correct.
But relatively speaking, Gloria would lean towards trusting this premonition.
It didn’t appear earlier or later but just before she was about to destroy the illusion. Gloria felt that this might not be a coincidence.
So she gave up the idea of using her inherent power to break the illusion, but she couldn’t keep wasting time searching for an elusive source. She had to find another way.
After contemplating for a moment, Gloria simply put away the illusion.
If she couldn’t find it, surely the person who crafted this illusion wouldn’t be able to find it either, right? She could simply go to Angel and ask him.
With this thought, Gloria left the magic cottage.
…
During this time, Angel’s life was equally fulfilling. After crafting the Cathedral of the Dead for Freud, he handed over his alchemical works prepared for the auction to David, allowing him to choose how to proceed.
In the following days, Angel entered a period of settling down.
During this period, Angel mainly practiced a spell called the Eye of Nalda, also known as the Eye of Alchemy, which could be used to identify the materials, properties, and effects of unknown objects. This spell is a must-learn for every alchemist.
Originally, Angel had placed the Eye of Nalda on his practice list, but its learning order was relatively low, still focusing primarily on illusion spells and supplemented by corresponding missing sets of techniques. However, due to the diamond-shaped crystal given to him by Little Spot, Angel had no choice but to prioritize learning the Eye of Nalda, mainly because he did not trust anyone else to identify the diamond-shaped crystal and had to do it himself.
The Eye of Nalda is a third-level trick.
According to Angel’s thinking, learning the Eye of Nalda should be extremely difficult, but the actual difficulty of learning the Eye of Nalda depends entirely on one’s own foundation. Moreover, he initially thought that the Eye of Nalda was a spell centered on “refining the eye” similar to the “True Vision Eye,” but this was not the case. Although the Eye of Nalda appears to be a visual spell, this is only a superficial aspect, and its core is an algorithm of magical energy formulas.
This algorithm is somewhat similar to the organization and induction of nonlinear systems, but it requires a large amount of knowledge as a foundation. Therefore, to learn the Eye of Nalda, the first thing to consider is your understanding of alchemical materials. Deduction of unknown materials will also be based on your existing knowledge to make reasonable guesses.
Its algorithm is similar to some algorithms of holographic tablets, but the magical energy formulas in the middle are distinct from those of technological civilizations. The results it produces are not just induction but may be induction from one to a hundred or even one to a thousand.
With Angel’s current knowledge, his understanding of alchemical materials is not extensive. He understands mostly the things he can use, such as low-level magical materials or slightly valuable or niche materials that he knows limited information about.
The Eye of Nalda requires a large amount of personal knowledge as a foundation, so it is difficult for many alchemists with poor foundations. If you have a good inheritance, you only need to spend time understanding and memorizing related magical materials to get started. The more knowledge you accumulate, the fewer blind spots the Eye of Nalda will have in helping you identify.
A once renowned alchemist speculated that if you could become omniscient, the Eye of Nalda could even pierce the truth! Of course, this is a false proposition; if someone were truly omniscient, the truth would already be in their grasp.
Chapter 651 The Meaning of the Illusion <TOC> Chapter 653 The Past of Iron Armor Granny