Chapter 814 New Agreement <TOC> Chapter 816 Saint Seim City
Translator: SumTLMan
In Freud’s presence, Angel revised the prior agreement, appending an additional clause to its framework. The clause stated: If there are any changes or turns of events within the scope of the original agreement, the commitment due would correspond to the circumstances at the time of the shift.
In truth, this added clause still held numerous loopholes. However, Freud and Angel had already reached a fundamental consensus prior to this, and with the world’s will serving as a witness, Freud had made a renewed promise. Thus, they chose to overlook these potential flaws.
Angel’s demand was not particularly challenging: “If I need to intervene, then you owe me a promise automatically. As for this promise, I assure you it would be a simple request that doesn’t compromise your safety or restrict your freedom and is within your capabilities.”
Freud contemplated briefly before agreeing. He was well aware of his own worth, and within his limited value, there wasn’t much he could assist Angel with. Thus, he anticipated that any request made by Angel would not be overly burdensome.
Once the commitment was signed, Angel pretended to rest, leaving a gap of time for Freud to communicate with Sunny and Alda.
While feigning sleep, Angel pondered Freud’s worth.
When Angel initially proposed to amend the agreement, it was solely because he was discontented that Freud’s commitment had not been fulfilled. To be honest, he had no specific task in mind for Freud.
He was well aware that Freud’s value was rather limited.
In his current state, Freud was not suitable as a combatant due to his lack of prowess. As an assistant, they lacked a foundation of mutual trust. The most valuable asset Freud possessed was perhaps the knowledge within his mind. However, during Freud’s half-year stay in the Cathedral of the Dead, Angel had never coveted this knowledge, let alone now.
Angel thought long and hard, but couldn’t figure out what task to assign Freud. Finally, he shrugged it off and put it aside for the time being.
His priority was to reacquire the Dream Conch. Everything else could be discussed later, otherwise, it would all be in vain.
Freud’s reminiscing didn’t last long. After Drew gradually woke up from his unconscious state, Freud had more or less finished conversing with Sunny and Alda.
Facing Drew, who still looked pale, Freud offered him a deep apology. Amid Drew’s confused gaze, Freud briefly introduced himself.
Stutteringly, Drew shared his identity as well.
“A talent holder.” Observing the faint water elements surrounding Drew, Freud internally complimented Drew’s innate talent.
On the other hand, upon learning of Freud’s identity, Drew’s feelings were a mix of astonishment and apprehension. He looked nervously towards Lord Pat, having been startled and criticized twice before. He didn’t learn his lesson, and the last time he fainted even before laying eyes on Freud…Thinking about this, Drew felt a loss of face and worried his rating might have dropped in Lord Pat’s eyes.
Swallowing a lump in his throat, Drew moved closer to Angel and quietly apologized.
Angel’s expression was icy, “I never expected you to be afraid of ghosts during our time at sea. But that’s not a problem, courage can be honed, you don’t need to apologize to me.”
Upon hearing Angel’s words, Drew calmed down a bit. But the next second, he felt he was too naive.
“I will be leaving with Freud for a while. During my absence, you can stay in this orphanage and wait for me,” Angel said, showing a malicious smile to Drew, “If you can’t bear it, you can leave the orphanage~ But the premise is, you have to be able to get out.”
Drew shuddered suddenly, stuttering, “Lord, what do you mean by… can’t bear it?”
“You’ll know when the time comes. You still have dry food, right? As for water, you can create it yourself, so just strive to survive.”
Strive to survive?! A bad premonition rose from the bottom of Drew’s heart.
It was as if a snake was lurking in the darkness, hissing and staring at him ominously.
As Drew was lost in his thoughts, Freud stepped forward and said with a smile, “It seems that Lord Pat cares a lot about Drew.”
“Of course I do, after all, he is the future pillar of the Savage Grottoes,” Angel replied casually, before turning serious, “You’ve finished reminiscing, isn’t it time to prepare to leave?”
Freud nodded, “We can leave now, but Lord, could you help Sunny…”
Freud glanced at Sunny, who was trapped in the blood formation, his eyes full of hope, the implication was clear.
Before Angel could answer, Drew cast a coquettish glance at Angel, pleadingly. Knowing that he would be staying in the orphanage for the time being, he naturally didn’t want to coexist with a bloodthirsty butcher. It would be best if Sunny could continue to be trapped here.
Angel received Drew’s signal but ignored it, nodding at Freud, “I can.”
Angel walked up to Sunny, looked at her expression, which was slightly better than before, and said lightly, “I can let you out, but I need you to play a Little Game with this big oaf, okay?”
“Big oaf?” Sunny was puzzled.
Angel pointed to Drew, who was trembling in the corner of the wall.
“What game?” Sunny did not refuse. Not to mention that Angel saved Freud, just Angel’s terrifying strength didn’t give Sunny the right to refuse.
Angel thought for a moment, “This game’s name… let me think… how about we call it Dawn of Slaughter Nightmare Orphanage?”
As Angel explained the rules of the game to Sunny, Drew looked at Freud with pleading eyes, knowing that Freud and Sunny seemed to have a good relationship…
“Rest assured, Sunny won’t kill you,” Freud merely expressed this sentiment.
However, this did nothing but intensify Drew’s trepidation.
Drew turned his gaze towards Alda, who had been obediently standing in the corner. With a melancholic look, Drew sought refuge behind Alda, who softly consoled him, “Don’t worry, Sunny is actually quite nice. If… if worst comes to worst, you can hide at my place.”
“Your place?”
Alda nodded in agreement, “This building is Sunny’s territory, my domain lies in the playground behind it. Sunny usually doesn’t venture there.”
“The playground? Do you sleep there all the time?” Drew asked, full of sympathy.
Alda, however, was not bothered by it, “I find the playground quite nice. There are little wooden horses and slides, and sometimes you can even see stray kittens. In the past, you could see the crowd outside through the playground, but now it’s much quieter…”
The more Drew heard, the more his heart ached for Alda. What kind of life did this little guy lead? His living days were devoid of peace, and even in death, he was still subjected to such misery. It was fortunate that Alda was pure of heart; if Drew were to put himself in Alda’s shoes, he was unsure if he could maintain his morality under such circumstances.
Meanwhile, Angel had finished his part. By disrupting the energy nodes, he effortlessly eradicated the blood formation.
However, after removing the blood formation, Angel retained a bit of the blood and used the Eye of Nalda to examine it.
He momentarily set aside the results of the appraisal, and approached Drew, saying, “I’ve spoken with Sunny, she will hunt you down during this period, I hope you can survive… Oh, right, Alda’s playground is your safe zone, Sunny won’t attack you there.”
On hearing this, Drew’s eyes lit up, could he just stay in Alda’s playground then?
But in the next moment, Angel flashed a devilish grin, “However, Alda’s playground is only open for six hours before dawn each day, you won’t be able to get in at other times.”
As he spoke, Angel let loose an abundance of illusion nodes from his fingertips.
In just a few minutes, the entire scope of the orphanage was transformed by his illusion spell into a… a seemingly endless dark playground.
Angel patted Drew on the shoulder, “I’ve left some Easter eggs in the illusion, they might prove useful. Oh, and do your best to survive.”
With that, Angel and Freud exchanged glances, then walked towards the exit.
On the other hand, Drew was locked in a stare with Sunny, who curled her lips into a sinister, bloodthirsty grin, “The game begins in ten minutes…”
…
As they left the orphanage, Freud couldn’t help but look back.
Engulfed by a dense fog, the orphanage reeked of an eerie presence, filled with the laughter of children. Such laughter was not the work of one or two individuals… If a mortal were to unfortunately wander into such a place, they would likely discover that they had not entered an orphanage, but a world teeming with bizarre and otherworldly spirits.
The surprises Angel left for Drew were not necessarily beneficial, including the creation of a new executioner through illusion magic.
“Lord Pat, are you sure this is a good idea?”
“Don’t worry, no one’s going to die. Sunny will know when to stop.” Angel shrugged, considering it an opportune moment to experiment with the possibility of replacing the nine-cabin blood duel with this kind of “little game.”
Hearing this, Freud decided not to question further. He felt a hint of guilt towards Drew, which led him to question Angel’s decision in the first place.
He understood that Angel was genuinely looking out for Drew’s best interest. However, that small game… Freud shook his head, realizing that the psychological pressure of being hunted was far more overwhelming than the visual horror.
If Drew could indeed endure it, it would greatly aid his future endeavors in the Wizarding World.
Angel summoned the Gondola, gesturing for Freud to board as they took flight towards the capital of the Central Empire, Saint Seim City.
Aboard the Gondola, Freud initially expressed his astonishment at the vessel’s appearance. Seeing Angel’s nonchalant reaction, he then casually broached another topic:
“Lord Pat, I found the illusion test you designed in the orphanage quite intriguing. In fact, if the Dream Conch could create a world, it could be permanently used as a rite of passage for some talented individuals.”
As Freud spoke passionately, Angel pondered whether he had shared some of Earth’s game novels with Freud.
It didn’t seem likely, as the books he crafted in the illusion world were either body-transformation tales or traditional literature. Hardly any of the books hinted at a technological civilization vastly different from the Wizarding World.
Yet what Freud was suggesting sounded much like a game plot.
“Freud’s research report initially resembled virtual reality, and now it seems to have evolved into a game,” Angel mused, somewhat amazed by Freud’s leap of thought.
“Lord Pat, what did you say?” Freud inquired, puzzled.
“Nothing much. Although your concept is intriguing, it’s predicated on the assumption that the Dream Conch can integrate with the illusion world. I think that possibility is quite slim,” Angel said. “Moreover, the greater premise is that we need to possess the Dream Conch.”
Freud paused, realizing that Angel was right. Without the Dream Conch, all their discussions were moot.
“My intuition tells me that the Dream Conch definitely hasn’t been sent away,” Freud said, looking towards the bustling city of Saint Seim in the distance, his voice full of conviction.