Chapter 766 The Time Thief <TOC> Chapter 768 Blood Night Sanctuary
Translator: SumTLMan
“Countless choices lead to countless paths. Among those countless paths, there will always be one that leads to the truth. Is my visit meant to eliminate the false forks in the road for you, or to steal your correct choices? Young man, that’s a multiple-choice question.”
The figure standing on the other side of time looked over with a smile.
It was when his gaze fell on himself that Sanders suddenly opened his eyes.
Before him lay a scorched earth, the ruins of broken walls and debris, bearing witness to the prosperity that once existed in this area. This place was the heart of the Abyss, a stronghold built by humans to defend against the invasion of the Abyss.
Unfortunately, thousands of years ago, this place was attacked by demons. The city turned to ruins, the humans became bones, and the force of time slowly erased them.
“Sanders, what’s wrong?” A white-browed old man, dressed in a simple and elegant night robe, walked out of a magical hut.
Sanders was momentarily dazed: “Nothing, just had a dream.”
Pausing, Sanders said, “Canter, we haven’t ventured deep into the Abyss yet. You still have a chance to leave. The people of Gravity Forest have retreated. There’s really no need for you to stay.”
The white-browed old man was Sanders’ old friend, the contemporary head of the Lilith House, known as “Canter of the Night.”
Canter shook his head: “The wizards of Gravity Forest were just a small obstacle. The real challenge lies with the people of Song of the Deep Sea. Since Maya sent me a message, she must have foreseen some danger… But it’s strange that Song of the Deep Sea hasn’t shown up yet.”
“Perhaps they were held up by something.” Sanders sighed slightly, “Lord Mengke originally wanted to invite you, but once you’re involved in this mess, it’ll be hard to get out.”
Although Sanders was trying to comfort Canter, there was gratitude in his eyes. He hadn’t expected Canter’s help. Though he didn’t fear the people of Song of the Deep Sea, it didn’t mean he could defeat them single-handedly. With Canter’s assistance, he could indeed relax a bit.
“No worries, Cherie is already growing up. She is enough for the Lilith House.” When Canter said this, his eyes were filled with reminiscence. “Now I am a bachelor with no worries. Even if I accept Lord Mengke’s invitation, it doesn’t matter. If he successfully advances to the legendary realm, I may even find a path for the future…”
Sanders: “However, Lord Mengke is indeed courageous, daring to target the descendants of the demon god. If he really advances to the legendary realm because of this, it remains to be seen whether he can escape the grasp of the demon god.”
Canter also understood this principle; whether Mengke succeeded or failed, it would undoubtedly provoke the wrath of the demons. At that time, everyone involved would be in danger.
“But there’s no way around it. Once you’re in the mire, it’s hard to break free,” Canter sighed, and both fell silent for a while.
After some time, Canter spoke again, “Let’s not talk about that. You said you had a dream? I remember Maya once said that a wizard’s dream actually carries some kind of omen. Judging by your absent-mindedness earlier, you didn’t dream about the demon catastrophe, did you?”
Sanders shook his head after a moment of silence, “The demon catastrophe is inevitable. If Mengke insists on going his own way, he is bound to bring the demon catastrophe to the southern domain.”
“From what you’re saying, you didn’t dream about the demon catastrophe. So what did you dream about?” Canter squinted, “It wouldn’t happen to be your little apprentice, would it?”
“Are you talking about Angel? Why would you think that?”
“I heard that Angel has been making a name for himself lately. A music box was auctioned off for the sky-high price of 200,000 magic crystals. Now he’s quite famous! Cherie is also very motivated, not wanting to be outdone by Angel,” Canter’s eyes filled with curiosity, “I’m curious too, what kind of music box could be worth so much?”
At this point, Sanders smiled, “The music box he auctioned off is the most rudimentary one. You haven’t seen his true potential.”
Canter was astonished, “True potential?”
Sanders thought of the music boxes infused with Mysterious Objects, and even after all this time, there was still a hint of awe in his eyes, “If he were to display his true potential, the entire Wizarding World would be shocked.”
Sanders’ words were vague, and Canter was unable to make sense of them for quite some time.
Sanders suddenly took out a crystal blue rhomboid object from his earring and handed it to Canter, “Aren’t you curious about the music box from the auction? This is called the Monument of the Strange Ring, similar to the Alchemical Illusion he auctioned off at the ancient riverbank. I’ll lend it to you for a couple of days as an old friend.”
Canter looked at it for a while, “It is finely crafted, with a hint of a master’s touch.”
Without giving it much thought, Canter pocketed the Monument of the Strange Ring and continued to ask Sanders, “You still haven’t said what you dreamed about. Was it Angel?”
Sanders shook his head, “No, I dreamed of… the Time Thief.”
“The Time Thief?!” Canter exclaimed, “He’s back? What choice did he steal from you? Past, present, or future?”
Sanders still shook his head, “As for the past choices, he can take them. He wouldn’t be interested in my current choices. As for the future choices, it’s not yet time for him to pluck the fruit.”
“Indeed, what the Time Thief steals are the choices that could lead one onto the path of truth,” Canter realized. “After marking you, even if you’re not legendary, the Time Thief would eventually pay a visit.”
Sanders recounted his dream, which took place during his youth when he had encountered the Time Thief by chance. Canter had heard the story countless times, but each time, he felt a hint of envy.
“You still regret not meeting the Time Thief, don’t you?” Sanders said, somewhat annoyed.
“Of course, I regret it; I’ve never met the Time Thief,” Canter replied.
There is a legend in the Wizarding World that those who encounter the Time Thief are latent seeds of greatness. His visit and mark signify that you have a path to reach the truth in the future, which indirectly proves that you possess exceptional talent.
Moreover, the Time Thief claims to steal choices but actually leaves the decision-making power to the marked individual.
“I only steal the choices you’ve abandoned. As for whether the abandoned choices contain the right path, that depends on whether you can make the right decisions yourself.”
Most importantly, once the Time Thief steals your choices, whether right or wrong, he would compensate you accordingly. It’s like the equivalent exchange principle for wizards; although it’s a forced transaction, the initiative remains in your hands.
“The path to truth is relative. This path for me, another path for you. Each path may lead to the other side, so rumors about a predetermined path to truth are not trustworthy,” Sanders said, completely unconcerned.
“Do you think everyone has the potential to reach the truth? This theory only seems correct. But don’t forget that, during a person’s growth, every choice affects the outcome. Some people may have lost the truth in the very first choice they made, leaving it in a remote corner,” Canter argued. “Anyway, if the Time Thief were to visit me, I would be overjoyed. Then, I would ask him to quickly take my abandoned choices and exchange them for some benefits.”
Sanders shook his head, smiling. Canter’s carefree words reminded him of their adventurous experiences together centuries ago.
Back then, they were young and carefree, full of vigor, but wasted time and gave up many things, including some choices they had to abandon.
“Maya said that a wizard’s dream could very well be a prophetic one,” Canter looked at Sanders. “But why would you dream of the Time Thief at this moment?”
“Who knows? Maybe he has his eyes set on some unfortunate soul again,” Sanders stood up. “Let’s go. After a good night’s sleep, I feel refreshed. Today, we’ll cross this defensive line and set foot in the heart of the Abyss!”
…
At that moment, an unfortunate soul was curled up in a pitch-black basement, staring wide-eyed at the cloak in his hands.
“What’s going on?” Angel shook his head vigorously. “Did I see it wrong? Or is there a problem with the ‘server’ of the Eye of Nalda?”
Angel closed his eyes, taking a moment before opening them again. He reactivated the ‘server’ in his mental space filled with Nalda Algorithms, initiating the trick model, and the Eye of Nalda opened.
In Angel’s field of vision, countless data streams rose from the cloak.
90% of them were known data, while only 10% were unknown data. They all converged into the server and began to evolve.
Temporarily disregarding the 90% known data, that 10% of unknown data puzzled Angel. He had taken all possible consequences into account when crafting, so why were there still 10% of unknown changes?
After a while, the Eye of Nalda determined the effects of the cloak.
Just like Angel’s previous tests, the final effect of the cloak still showed some bizarre changes.
First, the level of the cloak was currently at the peak of the intermediate level, half a step away from reaching the advanced level. Next, the effects were as follows:
“Poem of the Void”: It blocks aura-like effects. When activated, it can shield the prying eyes of the three major branches of prophetic schools.
As mentioned in —The Enchantment Compendium—, the shielding effect of the Poem of the Void was also within Angel’s expectations. It required energy consumption to activate the Poem of the Void.
In addition, due to the materials used, the cloak also had some effects such as toughness, resistance to water and fire, self-cleaning, and so on. Originally, the cloak’s effects should have ended there. However, when the ‘server’ investigated the effects of the cloak, it finally revealed an additional strange piece of data.
“????”: Even the gaze of a legendary realm becomes ineffective in front of you. When being observed, it consumes a large amount of energy. This is a one-time effect.
This additional effect essentially meant that under the cloak’s aura, even legendary-level prying eyes could be eliminated.
Although it was a one-time effect, it still didn’t conceal its strong effect.
Upon gaining this unexpected effect, Angel was overjoyed in his heart. However, he had no idea where it came from.
Could it be that a special effect of some magical material had been activated? Although many of the magical materials he used were entry-level, these entry-level materials shouldn’t be able to shield legendary-level gazes, should they?
Chapter 766 The Time Thief <TOC> Chapter 768 Blood Night Sanctuary