Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2247: Chapter 2248: Pursuit of Benefit

"Mr. Feng mentioned that someone would follow in his footsteps, was it from six hundred years ago?" Angel’s voice carried a hint of surprise.

Frost Iser nodded: "Yes, although Mr. Feng spoke of fate from the first time he came, he mentioned someone would follow in his footsteps only six hundred years ago."

Upon hearing this, Angel’s mind began to wander.

Only six hundred years ago was it explicitly stated that someone would follow in his footsteps, does this mean that the arrangement Feng set up actually began six hundred years ago?

Thinking back, Feng also set up an arrangement in the Abyss six hundred years ago, and Angel was one of the people involved in that arrangement.

Could it be possible that he hasn’t stepped into two arrangements—the Abyss’s arrangement and the Tidal World’s arrangement were actually one and the same!

As soon as this notion was born, it surged like a tide, instantly occupying all of Angel’s thoughts.

Moreover, the deeper he pondered, the more he felt this possibility was significant.

This arrangement was set six hundred years ago, and those involved, they all tied back to him. And, there was also direct evidence linking the Abyss and the Tidal World, which is—the Odeclass Pattern Key.

The Odeclass Pattern Key was obtained from the Abyssal Flame Dragon, Odeclass. When it handed the key to Angel, it explicitly said that Feng left it behind.

When Feng handed the key to Odeclass, he did not specify whom it should be given to, yet perhaps by the force of fate, this key ultimately ended up in Angel’s hands after many twists and turns.

After obtaining this key, Angel had never known where it should be used until he arrived in the Tidal World and saw Feng’s note behind the door of the passage:

"The treasure is left here by me. However, without the key, it cannot be opened~"

Although Feng did not explicitly say that the Odeclass Pattern Key is the key to the "treasure," all the coincidences and the waves of fate caused Angel to believe inexplicably that the two were absolutely connected.

Because of this key, the Abyss’s arrangement was united with the Tidal World’s arrangement.

Although there are still some uncertain things, such as the note on the door must have been left six hundred years ago for it to be true, and whether the Odeclass Pattern Key is really the key to the treasure; but these uncertain things, amidst so many coincidences, have become somewhat unimportant.

Angel’s intuition had almost confirmed to him that he was still within the extension of that arrangement from the Abyss.

"The arrangement Feng set in the Abyss was very intense, even facing the Lord of the Flameless at the end. Yet the arrangement here is so understated, with no danger at all, not only did he discover an uncharted subsidiary plane whose value is exceedingly high, but he outright stated there’s treasure here..."

"So, the Abyss’s arrangement is a battle checkpoint, and the Tidal World’s arrangement is the reward after clearing the checkpoint?" Angel remarked with a self-deprecating tone, but upon thinking carefully, considering Feng’s quirky nature, perhaps this really might be the truth.

"What are you muttering about?" Frost Iser looked over in confusion.

Angel shook his head: "Nothing, I was just thinking, for Mr. Feng to have determined six hundred years ago that someone would follow in his footsteps, it’s truly unbelievable."

Frost Iser quietly said: "Pursuit of profit, isn’t that the ultimate value of you wizards?"

"Not all wizards pursue profit; more often, they gravitate toward it as a choice for better survival," Angel replied.

"Whether it’s pursuit or gravitation, aren’t you following in his footsteps just for the ’gain’ he left behind?"

Angel did not deny it: "If I can acquire gain, I certainly won’t reject it..." After all, he’s played me in circles.

"However, more than obtaining his ’gain,’ I’m keen to know why he designed the fate’s trajectory in such a way; and in this arrangement, what role do I play? A puppet on strings?"

Frost Iser gazed deeply at Angel.

Since arriving before it, Angel had always appeared calm, yet that confidence emerging from deep within made it lapse into reverie multiple times, for in Angel, it saw Feng’s shadow.

Until now, it finally glimpsed another facet of Angel, hidden beneath the calm exterior lay a heart not so serene.

Frost Iser’s lips curled slightly, laughter gently spilled out.

The indifferent visage was smudged by this smile, at this moment, the eternal winter seemingly transformed into the chilly yet vibrant early spring.

"Where did I go wrong?" Angel questioned, and if not for sensing no malice in Frost Iser’s laughter, he might have thought the other was mocking him.

Frost Iser shook its head.

"Then why does Your Highness laugh?"

Frost Iser: "I just feel that compared to before, you’re less annoying now."

Hearing Frost Iser’s response, Angel looked puzzled: "Does Your Highness mean I was annoying before?"

Frost Iser waved its hand: "Previously, you were so like him that it annoyed me. But now, you don’t resemble him as much."

Angel narrowed his eyes slightly: "Should I consider that a compliment?"

Frost Iser didn’t reply but instead retracted its smile: "Back to the main topic, the role you’re inquiring about, I can’t provide an answer. Perhaps I’m just a role in this arrangement as well, and not a conspicuous one."

Pausing, Frost Iser continued: "Whether pursuing or gravitating towards profit isn’t important, what matters is what that ’profit’ is. I know that’s why you came to me, right?"

Angel neither nodded nor shook his head, but Frost Iser didn’t mind, continuing: "I can tell you, but the answer might disappoint you."

When Frost Iser said this, it leaned its elbow on the throne, resting its face on its hand, falling into reminiscence, starting to recount events from six hundred years ago.

"He once said he would leave a treasure for those who follow in his footsteps. However, a prerequisite condition is needed to obtain this treasure, which he did not specify. But later, I heard him speak of related content, he said..."

—If the one following the footsteps is indeed the person mentioned in the book, they can naturally unlock the treasure.

Upon hearing this, Angel’s brows furrowed slightly.

The circumstance of the treasure and the prerequisite condition for opening it were not Angel’s main concerns. What caught his attention was Feng’s mention of: "The one following the footsteps is the person mentioned in the book."

The book? This was the third time Angel heard of "the book" in relation to Feng’s theme of "fate".

The first was in White Cloud Village. Gentle Breeze Ulanus had said, Feng once stated, "My arrival is the Chapter of fate written in that book."

The second time was when Frost Iser previously said: "If he hadn’t opened that book, he wouldn’t have come to the Tidal World."

The third time is now.

At first, Angel thought this "book" was a metaphorical reference within the prophecy system. But after the term "book" appeared three times in a row, with different contexts connected, Angel realized his initial understanding seemed to be incorrect. This "book" might actually exist.

Moreover, listening to Feng’s tone, this book is the reason he came to the Tidal World, and it seems to be related to those who came following in Feng’s footsteps?

"The ’book’ Mr. Feng mentioned, I have heard it twice from Your Highness, does Your Highness know what this ’book’ is?" Angel quickly inquired.

Frost Iser: "I don’t know either. Mr. Feng indeed mentions the book from time to time, but he has never elaborated on what the book is."

Frost Iser’s response left Angel a little disappointed. However, he vaguely felt in his heart that this "book" was definitely not simple.

Because from Feng’s tone, he even had an illusion: it seemed the one setting the trap was not Feng, but this book.

If this is true, then it is quite astonishing.

It’s important to note that Soft Wind Uranos didn’t know that Feng had been here six hundred years ago, so its statement "My arrival is a Chapter of fate written by that book" refers to Feng’s arrival in the Tidal World three thousand years ago, not six hundred years ago.

In other words, if the one setting the trap was the book, then it actually started setting the trap three thousand years ago!

Of course, this is merely a guess by Angel without any evidence. Moreover, a book setting such a long-term plan sounds unreliable.

Furthermore, the "book" itself shouldn’t have the ability to set plans, it should still be the plan of the person who possesses the "book."

Unless this book is a Mysterious Object.

But if there truly is such a Mysterious Object, it must be renowned, and there should be a record of it in Culori’s register of Mysterious Objects.

Yet Angel hasn’t discovered anything similar, so either Culori didn’t record it, or it simply doesn’t exist. Angel leans toward the latter.

Angel temporarily put aside his speculation about the "book": "Then what exactly is the treasure left by Mr. Feng?"

Frost Iser instead asked: "The first thing you are concerned about is the ’book’, without thinking about the prerequisites for obtaining the treasure... Does this mean you seem confident in obtaining the treasure? Are you already in possession of the prerequisites for obtaining the treasure?"

Angel did not answer. In his view, the prerequisite for obtaining the treasure is most likely completing the ’Abyssal Demon God Instance’ and then gaining Odeclass’s favor to receive the Augmented Flourish Pattern Key.

If a low-probability event occurs where the prerequisite is not the Augmented Flourish Pattern Key, then he would find another solution at that time.

Frost Iser didn’t mind Angel not answering and continued: "I don’t know the exact nature of the treasure either. However, I once heard Nami Midori mention that after Mr. Feng placed the treasure there, he regretted it for a long time; from that point on, he was reluctant to return to the place where he stored the treasure, for fear that he would regret it. Later, when he left, he looked at the direction of the treasure from afar. That reluctance in his eyes was genuine."

Which means, no one knows what the treasure is; but its value should not be low.

Angel: "If he was reluctant to part with it, why leave it there?"

Frost Iser: "Who knows, perhaps he feels that leaving the treasure for future generations is more valuable than keeping it for himself."

Angel did not comment on this.

"Then does Your Highness know where Mr. Feng placed the treasure?" Angel asked the most crucial question.

"In the Void."

This answer was not unexpected, as Frost Iser had hinted at it before: "So, as Your Highness mentioned, Mr. Feng took you to the Void to hide the treasure..."

Frost Iser shook his head: "No, I went to the Void when Mr. Feng was leaving, and I asked him to take me outside for a look. Mr. Feng took me to the Void once. That piece of Void is not where the treasure is."

Angel: "Then where in the Void is the treasure located?"

Frost Iser: "The Void corresponding to the world center."

"World center?" Angel’s mind quickly went through the map of the Tidal World. Does it refer to the center of the continent? Or is it the center position of the entire world plane chart?

Angel voiced his thoughts.

Frost Iser shook his head decisively: "Neither."

"Then where is the Void corresponding to the world center?"

Frost Iser: "I don’t know either."

Angel: "..."

"Although I don’t know where the world center refers to, I know how to find the Void where the treasure is," Frost Iser paused, and under Angel’s expectant gaze, slowly said, "You can go to the Green Forest Domain to find Nami Midori. When Mr. Feng placed the treasure in the Void, Nami Midori accompanied him."

Hearing this, Angel rubbed his temples, feeling a bit troubled.

He had originally thought he could get all the information from Frost Iser, but to his surprise, to obtain complete information, he still had to seek out Nami Midori.

This is simply like advancing through one level after another, having to meet all the elemental creatures who were closest to Feng back then!

Could this also be part of Feng’s calculations? Layer by layer, only at the end do you get the treasure?

Although Angel couldn’t help but complain internally, he was also prepared to meet Nami Midori, because Nami Midori was the one who spent the longest time with Feng. Now knowing that to find the treasure, he must meet Nami Midori, means he cannot avoid it no matter whom he bypasses.

"Alright, then my next stop will be the Green Forest Domain." Angel: "Before that, could Your Highness tell me about Nami Midori?"

Back then, when Mr. Magu mentioned Soft Wind Uranos, Frost Iser, and Nami Midori, the information about Nami Midori was the least detailed, and the tone was the most cautious, even more so than with Frost Iser.

Angel had also asked many sages and elemental monarchs along the way, but they knew very little about Nami Midori’s details.

Only Soft Wind Uranos had talked about Nami Midori, but the content was also limited.

In Soft Wind Uranos’s words, Nami Midori is an incredibly powerful entity, with strength not inferior to any monarch. The lack of a prefix title is because its heart is not in it.