Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2635: Chapter 2636: The Cicia Casket

Ticket Booth???

Everyone looked dumbfounded at the box in the puppet’s hand. They initially thought it was some kind of weapon, but it turned out to be a ticket booth?

The originally dark and dangerous style, why did it suddenly start to become absurd?

"How, how can you be sure it’s a ticket seller?" Dox hesitated for a moment, but still asked.

"Simple reasoning." Angel finished speaking and pointed to the stairs behind the alchemy golem: "Don’t be fooled by those stairs, they are actually projections. If you don’t believe me, you can sense it yourself."

"...It is indeed a projection," Dox said after sensing it.

"We’ve already come this far, and suddenly there are projection stairs appearing. Doesn’t that seem strange? Moreover, there’s a puppet holding a box, looking like a ticket seller. Wouldn’t the answer just come to you?"

Dox looked at Angel’s self-assured expression, becoming more baffled: "Did you skip a few billion steps? How did you come to think it was like a ticket seller?"

Dox’s question was also the crowd’s query. They also couldn’t figure out how holding a box made the puppet a ticket seller. This logic clearly has a gap.

Seeing the group couldn’t understand the connection, Angel himself felt perplexed. Isn’t it a very clear logic?

After hesitating for a moment, Angel said: "Haven’t you ever been to Manshi Magic Material Street?"

"Manshi Magic Material Street? Sounds somewhat familiar?" Vay rubbed his chin, wearing a pondering look.

Kaier also felt he had heard it somewhere but couldn’t recall it.

At this point, Black Earl spoke to clear the group’s doubts: "Manshi Magic Material Street is located in Sky Mechanical City. In the Alchemy World, it’s also called Alchemy Road, because it not only sells demonic materials but also covers the vast majority of alchemy works produced by Ashiliye."

"It’s normal for you to feel unfamiliar because that street has its own rules. Without the qualification to enter, you wouldn’t even see the street."

"And so-called qualifications, one is strength, and the other is alchemy capability."

"Beyond this, once you enter the street, it’s not that easy to purchase alchemy works from shops. Each store has its own rules, and you must comply with their rules to be worthy of entering."

"As for the specific rules, basically, each shop’s requirements differ, with no unified standard. However, if you are an alchemist, you can enter almost every shop."

After Black Earl’s explanation, the group recalled Manshi Magic Material Street’s reputation but still couldn’t grasp Angel’s point.

Dox: "What does Manshi Magic Material Street have to do with what you’re talking about?"

Then, Black Earl’s voice rang again: "Probably because most of the shop entrances on Manshi Magic Material Street have alchemy golems. These alchemy golems generally serve as attendants and also act as ticket sellers determining if you have the qualification to enter?"

Angel nodded, showing agreement: "Indeed, Lord Black Earl has experience, that’s exactly what I meant."

Black Earl sighed: "Not everyone has gone to Manshi Magic Material Street."

Angel said hesitantly: "Even if you haven’t been to Manshi Magic Material Street, you should be able to imagine. Other Extraordinary Cities’ alchemy streets should be more or less the same, right?"

Black Earl gave Angel a meaningful look but did not reply.

Instead, Dox spoke in a strange tone: "The only Extraordinary City you’ve been to, wouldn’t it be... Sky Mechanical City?"

Angel froze.

Dox’s strange tone and Black Earl’s insightful gaze both subtly indicated to Angel a fact: other Extraordinary Cities are completely different from Manshi Magic Material Street in Sky Mechanical City.

Angel moved his throat, turning his head to cough twice: "How could that be, I’ve been to quite a few Extraordinary Cities, just rarely visited Alchemy Streets."

Dox squinted: "For example?"

Angel’s eyes moved slightly, and he whispered: "Like Sleepless City."

"Sleepless City in Eternal Night Country, before it was covered by a dome, it was both a large witcher organization and counted as an Extraordinary City." Dox: "You’ve been to Sleepless City, didn’t you tour the Alchemy Street?"

Angel: "When I went... there was already a dome."

The crowd: "..."

Dox: "How did you enter with the dome?"

Angel: "Walked inside."

"...How did you get out? According to rumors, the current Sleepless City is a place of no return. During these years I run the Cross Tavern, I’ve never heard of anyone coming out from inside." Dox looked at Angel with a face full of doubt.

Angel: "How did I get out? Walked out."

Dox: "..."

Angel: "But, back then I wasn’t alone; my mentor Sanders was also there."

Hearing this from Angel, Dox automatically entered a mental simulation, guessing that Sanders brought Angel out.

Dox: "All right, let’s pass over Sleepless City. Besides Sleepless City?"

Angel furrowed his brows, his thoughts quickly revolving... In fact, he hadn’t visited many Extraordinary Cities but had gone to plenty of Wizard Markets.

Though some Wizard Markets could already rival the scale of an Extraordinary City, they ultimately weren’t an Extraordinary City.

After several seconds, Angel said: "There are many others, such as Ashenrock Giantstone, Sky Island, Watchguard Fortress, Lassudral, Cicia... etc."

The names Angel mentioned, they’d heard of the first three, which were frontline strongholds in the Abyss. Though it felt inaccurate to call them Wizard Maps, they seemed not quite to be Extraordinary Cities.

"Considering the first few as Extraordinary Cities, but isn’t Lassudral a Demon City? Also, what the hell is Cicia?"

Angel: "They’re still Extraordinary Cities, why delve into it. Now what’s important is what’s in front, not my experiences. Besides, I don’t need to enlighten you."

After speaking, Angel swiftly changed the topic: "Back to the main point, besides my prior deduction, there’s another critical factor supporting my deduction."

Angel pointed to the floor under the alchemy golem’s feet and the golem’s hand: "Both places have magic patterns that are linked. If you know some magic pattern knowledge, decode them and you’ll understand the alchemy golem’s function."

Dox: "...You could’ve just mentioned this reason from the start."

That evidence is obviously more substantial, making the deduction seem like a joke instead.

The crowd’s thoughts were akin to Dox’s. However, Angel personally still felt his deduction was more important; it was precisely related speculation that made his interpretation of the magic patterns faster later.

Nonetheless, Angel didn’t argue the point with Dox. As he previously mentioned, rather than focusing on how they arrived at the answer, what’s more important now is how they can leave this platform with that answer.

"Actually, it’s not necessary to strictly follow the rules, right? Even if the stairs are shadows, we can follow the shadow and fly to its end," Dox proposed his idea.

However, as soon as Dox finished speaking, Black Earl said: "There’s a scent of danger in the void."

Angel also spoke at this time: "Even ignoring the hidden dangers in the void, are you really sure that following the shadow leads to the end? There’s a possibility these shadows intentionally mislead."

"So, we have no other choice now but to utilize this alchemy golem to leave the platform."

Kaier: "Shouldn’t we consider how to buy a ticket to pass now?"

"With a ticket booth, do we need to use Magic Crystals to buy the pass?" Vay asked.

When Dox heard about spending Magic Crystals, he instinctively took a step back.

Angel glanced at him, and Dox immediately said: "I didn’t bring many Magic Crystals with me on this occasion, so..."

Dox hesitated, his eyes constantly darting to Angel’s bracelet, occasionally throwing a flirtatious glance.

Angel said with some exasperation: "Are you all so certain it’s Magic Crystals?"

"If it’s not Magic Crystals, what will it be?" Dox was puzzled.

Angel: "Why not just go and ask?"

"Ask?" The group was momentarily stunned, not grasping the meaning of the words, as they watched Angel quickly walk out of the Moving Mirage and head towards the Alchemy Golem.

As Angel came out of the Illusionary Realm, the dull, deathly still eyes of the Alchemy Golem began to emit a faint dark red light.

"Sensor activation, quite a primitive mechanical start-up method. However, the sensing speed is quite fast. Even in today’s Ashiliye assessments, this sensing speed can still score highly." Angel explained to the group through the Mind Ribbon, while observing the Alchemy Golem.

Ka, ka-ka—

After the red light flickered in its eyes, there was a mechanical sound from within the Alchemy Golem, signifying it was entering the "activation" phase.

One second, two seconds... until five seconds later, the clicking sound ceased.

"The activation time is quite slow, but considering the factor of age erosion, this startup speed is beyond my imagination. The creator may not excel in mechanical skills, but their mastery of Magic Patterns is quite impressive."

As Angel was making his internal critique, the Alchemy Golem lifted its head and looked towards Angel with its red-lit eyes.

About two seconds later, the red light began to flicker, followed by a series of mechanical sounds entering the ears of the crowd.

"Facial image not archived, neither a researcher nor a prison guard, no criminal record."

"Temporary status: Civilian."

"Manipulation authority: None."

After saying these words, the Alchemy Golem stopped speaking, and stood dazed at the staircase before it.

"Didn’t you say it was a ticket seller?" Dox asked doubtfully through Mind Ribbon, "You couldn’t have judged wrongly, could you?"

Angel ignored Dox and directly asked the Alchemy Golem: "To go through, what conditions need to be met?"

The eyes of the Alchemy Golem emitted dark red light again, flickering for two seconds, before the familiar mechanical sound arrived.

"Please present a pass ticket, or pay the passage fee."

As the Alchemy Golem said these words, everyone’s expressions turned peculiar.

Previously, when Angel claimed it was a ticket seller, they indeed had doubts in their hearts, but Angel, after all, is a professional in Alchemy and Magic Patterns, and it’s hard to refute him directly.

Ultimately, whether this Alchemy Golem is a ticket seller or not, can be tested easily.

At first, when the Alchemy Golem spoke, they thought it was a professional Gatekeeper, even having facial record checks. Therefore, they doubted it was a so-called ticket seller.

But when Angel expressed the desire to proceed, the Alchemy Golem’s tone changed.

The first sentence was, "Please present a pass," which was quite normal. Such important areas can only be entered with a pass ticket, which is understandable.

But the following sentence, "or pay the passage fee," shifted the tone.

The first part sounded like a cold-blooded guard, while the latter was more like a corrupt insider accepting bribes.

These are two extreme contrasts, even the well-experienced Black Earl had a moment of bewilderment.

"Unexpectedly, it really is... a ticket seller," Dox mumbled, "But why is that?"

Not only Dox was bewildered, everyone else was too.

At this moment, Angel asked again: "If choosing to pay a passage fee, what is the standard?"

This question triggered feedback from the Alchemy Golem again. With its Spirit Intelligence, it couldn’t fluently converse with Angel; the current situation was clearly because the creator pre-set this question’s answer.

"Present your treasure to the Westhia Box, and it will naturally judge whether your passage fee meets the standard."

"Westhia Box?" Angel, puzzled, looked at the box in the hands of the Alchemy Golem.

Earlier, he hadn’t paid much attention to the box, assuming it was just a ticket box. But now, it seems he’s mistaken; it’s not merely a ticket box, but also has the effect of treasure assessment?

However, the value of treasures is not something easily determined.

Just like Jon once said, "One’s honey, another’s arsenic," many so-called treasures carry additional value, making it hard to judge them by a unified standard.

For instance, a painting by a Magic Painter Wizard, even if it possesses no Extraordinary Power, wouldn’t be of low value. This is because the Magic Painter Wizard himself adds additional value to the artwork.

Hence, Angel found it somewhat difficult to imagine how this Westhia Box could determine if the passage fee is met based on treasure value.

"Or does this Westhia Box require specific treasures for judgment?"

Angel shared his doubts with the group.

Black Earl pondered for a moment and said: "Alchemy Tools for appraisal? These are indeed rare. I haven’t heard of them for many years, but vaguely recall that a Prophet Wizard seemed to have combined Divination to refine a tool with similar effects thousands of years ago."

Black Earl’s words made Angel suddenly clear. Judging the value of treasures is indeed idealistic, but with the aid of Divination, it’s not impossible to appraise its worth.

Therefore, appraisal-type Alchemy Tools generally contain Prophetic attributes. Otherwise, it’s hard to make judgments on the value of treasures.

Black Earl: "But as far as I know, that tool wasn’t called Westhia Box. Furthermore, its appraisal effect wasn’t very good."

After speaking, when the crowd looked at the box in the hands of the Alchemy Golem, they all wore thoughtful expressions.

Although Black Earl said that Alchemy Tool’s effect wasn’t that impressive, even so, if the Westhia Box is indeed an appraisal-type Alchemy Tool, its value should be considerable, right?

The thoughts of the group, even if unspoken, Angel could guess from their expressions.

He thought for a moment and said, "Although I cannot ascertain whether the Westhia Box is connected with Magical Energy Array, I can confirm that the Alchemy Golem itself is connected with the Magical Energy Array of this Different Space."

In other words, in this Different Space, it’s best not to provoke this Alchemy Golem.

"Of course, if any of you are determined to snatch the Westhia Box, I believe you should have thought through a strategy. Whether you’ll succeed, I don’t care; however, it’s best to act after we leave here." Although Angel didn’t specify who he meant, everyone turned their gaze to Dox.

Dox: "Are you so sure that I want to snatch it?"

Seeing the others remain silent, Dox snorted coldly and turned to Vay, then directly used the red sword to cut a wound on his finger.

As the blood began to seep out, Dox hurriedly said, "Quick, quickly help me smell it."

Before Vay could speak, Black Earl faintly remarked, "The shadow of death looms over the choices you had in mind."

Dox was taken aback: "Did you use Death Sense, my lord?"

"What else?"

"Did my lord really sense the shadow of death covering me?"

Black Earl calmly said, "Believe it or not, it’s up to you."

After saying this, Black Earl no longer paid attention to Dox. Dox stood there dazed for a while, his face turning shades of green and white. Finally, he swallowed saliva and said to the group, "I wasn’t planning to snatch that Westhia Box, don’t slander me. I, I plan to follow you until the end."

The group: "..."

Angel was speechless at Dox too, but he had grown used to his thick-skinned antics over these days and was too tired to ridicule him.

"Let’s temporarily put unrelated matters aside." Angel: "Whether the Westhia Box is truly as Black Earl mentioned, an Alchemy Tool with prophetic attributes, we’ll know by testing it."

As for what to test it with? Undoubtedly, we’ll start with Magic Crystals.