Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2716: Chapter 2717: Rules of the Trial

"I, I don’t have another personality." After listening to the Wise Sovereign’s analysis, Kaier shook his head vigorously.

Dox also chimed in: "If he had a secondary personality, I would have noticed long ago."

Vay: "That’s what you say, but you can’t be watching him day and night. Maybe he turns into a werewolf at night?"

Dox replied indignantly: "Don’t take ’The Griffin Flower’ seriously."

’The Griffin Flower’ is a play about a noble who turns into a werewolf at night and a tragic love story between him and a female knight who hunts heretics. It’s quite well-known on the Flourish Continent because during every open day at Extinguished Torch Academy, many apprentices perform famous plays from the continent, and ’The Griffin Flower’ frequently gets selected, leading many Transcendents to become familiar with the story.

Vay: "I was just giving an example."

Watching Vay and Dox argue, Kaier seemed a bit confused, not expecting to suddenly become the center of discussion.

In Kaier’s moment of bewilderment, Angel’s voice sounded timely: "A dual personality is indeed possible, where the main personality doesn’t know about the second one. But the kind of main and secondary personality the Wise Sovereign speaks of coexist and are aware of each other."

"So, since even the person involved clearly states there’s no other personality, the theory of a main and secondary personality should be ruled out."

Whether Kaier was lying was something everyone could discern. Since Kaier wasn’t lying, the analysis indeed suggested that another personality couldn’t exist.

"So, does this mean there’s residue of another soul in him? Or rather, from the root source, he’s not originally himself, but a soul that later occupied this body; while the body’s original soul turned into residue?" Vay speculated again.

"You seem to accept Angel’s explanation quite quickly, why didn’t you argue?" Dox remarked with a hint of jealousy.

Vay: "Because you only gave the conclusion without the process."

After speaking, Vay ignored Dox and turned his curious gaze back to Angel.

Angel: "What you mentioned is also possible. But to give a judgment now, I can’t."

Whether Kaier is an original soul or one that later parasitized into this body cannot be determined purely through reasoning because there are many possibilities. For instance, if the foreign soul entered Kaier’s body during infancy, constrained by the brain’s structure, its memory and consciousness would dissipate, starting with a blank slate, making it no different from a newborn baby.

The Wise Sovereign also nodded: "The simplest way to judge if it’s an original soul is to find a Prophet Wizard for a test, preferably from the Bell of Inquiry faction, directly asking yes or no will give the answer."

After a pause, the Wise Sovereign added: "And, does it really matter if the soul is original?"

Though a question, the Wise Sovereign’s intention was clear: whether a soul is original is not important. Or rather, for Kaier, it’s not important.

Angel also interjected: "Indeed, even if it’s not an original soul, it doesn’t matter to you. You now lack foreign soul memories, either because you are an original soul or the foreign soul entered the body during infancy. An infant’s spirit intelligence is incomplete, which is difficult to consider as a complete intelligent life."

"From a baby to a child, and then to who you are now, you are you. Your family, teachers, and friends all relate to you, having nothing to do with any unknown soul residue. So, you shouldn’t concern yourself with the original issue at all."

Dox also jokingly added: "If you’re really not an original soul, do you plan to self-destruct your soul to let that unintelligent soul residue dominate this body? You’d better think it through; obsessing over this is purely making trouble out of nothing."

Hearing everyone speak like this, even if Kaier was initially hesitant, he should have figured it out by now. Moreover, Kaier isn’t someone who hesitates much.

Seeing Kaier’s expression return to calm, Dox began to speculate recklessly.

"Soul residue won’t affect the essence of the main soul, but it might influence your personality subtly." Dox said: "Speaking of which, based on my understanding of you, your personality does strike me as somewhat peculiar."

Kaier: "Huh?"

"You’re obviously obsessed with research, logically, you should be like him, a stay-at-home type." Dox pointed at the homebody Vay.

"Your personality doesn’t particularly like going out either, but once historical ruins are mentioned, you act out of character. No one can stop you; your love for ruins is a bit excessive, not quite fitting your Academy Faction persona."

Dox stopped here, but everyone wasn’t foolish; they understood his implication.

Dox was clearly suggesting that the soul residue within Kaier affects his personality, causing his incessant passion for exploring historical ruins.

But, Dox had said it in passing, and everyone just listened casually, since there was simply no evidence. Calling it a guess was polite; it was pure speculation.

It’s entirely normal for a person to have interests, and exploring ruins is also a form of experience and research, which doesn’t contradict the Academy Faction persona.

Even Kaier didn’t believe it.

On the contrary, it was Vay, who’s always arguing with Dox, who solemnly asked, "Your inspiration?"

If it was inspiration, Vay might actually believe it.

Dox: "Not restored yet."

Upon hearing it hadn’t restored, Vay rolled his eyes dismissively and directly ignored Dox.

After this harmless little interlude, the Wise Sovereign finally brought up the main topic: the test.

"Before discussing this test, I need to remind you, I still can’t help you with this test, and previously I promised ’her’ that this test requires adherence to the rules she set."

Dox furrowed his brows: "We’re the ones taking the test, why would the Wise Sovereign agree to the rules she set for us? Isn’t it up to us to decide whether to accept her rules?"

The Wise Sovereign responded flatly: "The reason is simple, because I stopped her advances for you."

"Moreover, the rules for the test might not necessarily be disadvantageous to you. Of course, that doesn’t mean there will be advantages either."

Dox muttered under his breath, "That’s not much different from not saying anything."

The Wise Sovereign wasn’t bothered, casting his gaze upon Angel.

Angel didn’t know why the Wise Sovereign looked at him, but given the current atmosphere, he still picked up the topic: "Then what is this test about?"

The Wise Sovereign smoothly replied: "I’ve hinted at the test before. This time, it’s not just you who have come to the Hanging Jail Stairway."

With the Wise Sovereign’s words, everyone immediately reacted.

Dox: "The Merchant Organization?"

The Wise Sovereign nodded: "To be precise, it’s a group led by the Gray Merchant. The White Merchant and Black Merchant have already left."

Upon hearing the Wise Sovereign’s words, the most surprised was actually Angel.

He could sense that Cicia had not logged off from the beginning to the end and was still in the Wilderness of Dreams. In other words, she was still asleep in the real world.

However, the people from the Merchant Organization had clearly entered the space where Cicia was located.

Without Cicia’s permission, they actually managed to break through?

The Wise Sovereign might have seen Angel’s confusion and explained: "Don’t you all think the Hanging Jail Stairway is very similar to the other-dimensional space where Cicia resides?"

The Wise Sovereign asked and answered himself: "Because they are essentially in a primary and subsidiary relationship, connected by a secret passage in the void. You can think of these two spaces as... a double gourd shell."

A so-called double gourd shell is a shell of a magical vine fruit that resembles a gourd, used as a material in alchemy, with extremely high hardness. It can also be directly cut in half and used as a heart protector.

When the Wise Sovereign compared the two spaces to a double gourd shell, he was actually highlighting their similar shape implications.

"Since they are primary and subsidiary spaces, as long as you avoid danger, you can transport through the secret passage to the Hanging Jail Stairway," remarked the Wise Sovereign. "Her talent in the magical energy array is incomparable. Moreover, I once opened the magical energy array of the Hanging Jail Stairway for her restoration, and she left many safeguards inside, including that secret passage."

"Since she has already contacted the Gray Merchant to deal with you, she will certainly find a way to get them here as quickly as possible. That passage is the shortcut."

After speaking, the Wise Sovereign’s gaze accurately penetrated through the Luxury Nightmare Realm, looking towards the direction of the Hanging Jail Stairway.

"They are now inside the Hanging Jail Stairway. However, they are still on the third layer, so you have ample time to understand the trial rules she has set."

At the long table, everyone remained silent, all looking at the Wise Sovereign, awaiting his explanation.

The Wise Sovereign said, "The Gray Merchant’s group consists of twelve people, but half of them, including an Official Wizard, are held back in the Ghosteye Witch’s area. Therefore, in total, you will face six people this time, including two Official Wizards, among whom the Gray Merchant is also included."

"She has established three rules, and the first two are not necessarily bad for you."

"The first rule is one-on-one combat. As long as you don’t die or lose, you can keep fighting. You can even take a break and have someone else fight during that time, and then come back once rested enough."

In other words, this is the cheat version of a wheel battle. No one has any objections to this, as both sides can cheat; it depends on which side has stronger experts.

No one resisted the first rule, but as the second rule began, everyone’s brows furrowed.

"The second rule: Official Wizards can only fight Official Wizards, and apprentices can only fight apprentices. Whichever side wins on the two stages gets to proceed. The loser loses the qualification to advance."

That is to say, if Angel’s side wins the Official Wizards’ match, their Official Wizard can continue. Meanwhile, if the Gray Merchant’s group wins the apprentices’ match, their apprentices can also advance.

The losers can no longer progress.

"Did I hear the Wise Sovereign say earlier that the first two were not bad for us? But we only have two apprentices while they have four? This is clearly disadvantageous to us. How is this not bad?" Dox protested.

The Wise Sovereign: "I only said it’s not necessarily bad, but I didn’t say it’s definitely good... Besides, these are the rules set after negotiations with her. Or, do you prefer to follow the original rules she set?"

Angel: "What were the original rules she set?"

"Still one-on-one combat, but without distinguishing between apprentices and wizards. Moreover, in each duel, it would be the Gray Merchant who decides who fights whom."

Upon hearing these original rules, Dox fell silent.

The original rules were no rules—they were meant to massacre.

If the Gray Merchant gets to decide who fights, he could have their wizards eliminate all of their apprentices first.

Even if they win the Official Wizards’ duel, Vay and Kaier would be sacrificed in vain.

"It seems you don’t want to follow the original rules either, right? The new rules separate the fights, and either side can leave if they surrender," the Wise Sovereign continued, "This might not be good, but it’s not bad either. At least you have three Official Wizard level fighters, while they only have two."

After a moment of silence, the Black Earl spoke up, "We accept the first two rules, but what is the third rule?"

"The third rule is her designated match," the Wise Sovereign said, with a subtle expression and a peculiar tone, "She requires that one of you must participate."

Must participate?

Given the previous details, they already knew that ’she’ hiding in the mirror was wary and resistant to Noah’s descendants, so they could roughly guess who must participate this time.

It’s either Vay or the Black Earl.

At this moment, Vay had already started to get nervous, not daring to breathe heavily. The Black Earl, however, seemed unconcerned.

But when everyone’s gaze turned to Vay and the Black Earl, the Wise Sovereign shifted his gaze to Angel: "Angel, you must participate."

Everyone: "???"

While Vay let out a sigh of relief, upon hearing that Angel must participate, his brows furrowed again: "Why? Why him?"

This question wasn’t just Vay’s; it was a doubt in everyone’s mind, including Angel’s.

The Wise Sovereign said, "I don’t know. However, since this is her arrangement, she must have her reasons. You’ll see from the attitude of Angel’s opponent later."

If the wizard fighting Angel appears resolute and desperate, it means she simply wants Angel dead and doesn’t want him to reach the legacy site.

If they’re not fighting to the death, it might be her setup.

"Alright, those are the rules," the Wise Sovereign paused, "They are now on the second layer of the Hanging Jail Stairway. You still have some time to deeply ’analyze’ these three rules."

The Wise Sovereign emphasized the word "analyze," undoubtedly reminding them: Rules are unavoidable, but if contracts can have loopholes, can’t rules have loopholes too?

Of course they can, all three rules have loopholes.

It’s precisely because there are loopholes that the Wise Sovereign revealed them early, allowing them time to prepare.