Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2730: Chapter 2731: The Inner Self

The tentacle monster mentioned by Dox is undoubtedly the Wicked Woman.

Upon hearing Dox’s address, the Wicked Woman raised her brows, casting a fierce glare.

However, before the Wicked Woman could utter a word, the Gray Merchant held her back. He gave her a look, signaling her to restrain herself.

Immediately after, the Gray Merchant looked at Dox, "If the previous battle caused the Red Sword Wizard to misunderstand my companion, I apologize on her behalf."

Dox responded sourly, "I’m not as petty as she is. Her injuries are obvious to everyone. Inside the Sunlight Sanctuary, her restoration cost far more than everyone else combined. Naturally, her price is higher than others, but that’s not unfair treatment—it’s a fair trade."

The Gray Merchant pondered for a moment, recalling Angel’s earlier mention about the diminishing effects of the Sunlight Sanctuary, and came to a conclusion.

"I see, it was our misunderstanding." The Gray Merchant apologized again, "We can accept this condition."

Upon hearing the Gray Merchant agreeing to Dox’s terms, the Wicked Woman hurried forward, wanting to say something, but was stopped by the Gray Merchant again.

"You don’t know when you’ll fully recover, and don’t forget the organ you purchased recently. If you delay, the transplant might fail, and then tens of thousands of Magic Crystals will have been wasted," the Gray Merchant whispered.

Gray Merchant: "Remember the master’s words: endure, restrain, wait."

The Wicked Woman let out a deep sigh, nodded, and stopped resisting.

After both sides reached a consensus, the arena quieted down significantly for a while.

Vay and Kaier entered the Sunlight Sanctuary one after the other, undergoing spirit cleansing, while Dox discussed prices with the Gray Merchant.

To avoid further disputes between the Wicked Woman and Dox, the Gray Merchant sent the Wicked Woman to negotiate compensation with the black-robed referee.

The Gray Merchant displayed great poise, to the point where Dox felt a bit embarrassed to raise prices. However, considering that not raising prices might cost him "freedom," he toughened his resolve and made an outrageous offer.

Even though the Gray Merchant had objections about the price, he remained calm and negotiated with Dox on multiple levels.

Although there wasn’t an intense back-and-forth, the feeling of neither side yielding was palpable.

"Aren’t you going to go up and take a look?" the Black Earl’s voice reached Angel’s ears.

Angel: "How much he can raise the price is Dox’s skill. What would I do up there?"

The Black Earl chuckled softly, "Are you really planning to fool him to the end?"

Angel looked innocent, "When did I ever fool him? Isn’t this all voluntary on his part?"

The Black Earl: "Do you think he doesn’t understand?"

The Black Earl suddenly threw out a question without context, but Angel understood his meaning and replied calmly, "He might not truly not understand, just doesn’t want to. Also, his inspiration talent has recovered, maybe that talent is intentionally making him not understand?"

The Black Earl pondered for a moment, "You’ve considered things more thoroughly than I have. If it’s due to his inspiration talent, is Dox’s subconscious suggesting that losing freedom isn’t such a bad thing?"

Angel, puzzled, asked, "Why must it mean losing freedom? My understanding of freedom also includes the breadth of the heart, not just the farsightedness."

"Moreover, I never intended to limit where his eyes reach or where his body goes."

Angel’s gifting of the Sunlight Sanctuary scroll to Dox was meant to give him a trump card; any further implications were unintended side effects. Unexpectedly, this seemingly random move brought him quite a surprise.

The Black Earl smiled, ending their conversation with a sentence full of hidden meaning, "Dox’s inspiration talent is quite handy, isn’t it?"

Angel looked at the Black Earl and shared a knowing smile, "Indeed it is."

...

The outcome of Dox’s negotiations soon emerged. From the expressions on their faces, it was clear both parties were quite satisfied.

Meanwhile, Vay and Kaier emerged from the Sunlight Sanctuary in a daze.

Their changes were hard to see with the naked eye, but all the Wizards present could clearly sense that their spiritual power had become more refined and pure, as if devoid of any impurities.

This transformation could be described as earth-shattering.

It’s important to note that aside from spell technique pollution, spiritual power impurities are something everyone has. The difference in these impurities is related to the complexity of your thoughts—the more complex your thoughts, the more impurities they generate.

This complexity doesn’t refer to evil thoughts; anything you think about can become an impurity.

This impurity is intangible; philosophically speaking, it’s the dust on one’s mind.

It doesn’t severely impact your spiritual power, but it will narrow the path of your spiritual development. It’s not impassable, just more laborious.

Now, after the cleansing, these impurities have noticeably decreased. This means the path of spiritual power has once again become a smooth road... Put simply, the potential has greatly increased.

This growth is most apparent in Apprentices. Because their spiritual power is still weak, the impurities are more noticeable. Once they become Official Wizards, the impurities hide deeper and become more stubborn.

The transformation of Vay and Kaier was very clear in the energy spectrum, causing the Gray Merchant and others to look forward to their own experiences inside the Sunlight Sanctuary.

After Vay and Kaier returned to their group, it was the Gray Merchant and his group’s turn.

The Sunlight Sanctuary has no strict limit on the number of people it can accommodate; it can hold as many people as the space permits.

Therefore, the Gray Merchant and his group could all enter together.

Before entering the Sunlight Sanctuary, the Gray Merchant handed a Spatial Capsule to Dox. From Dox’s beaming expression, it was clear the contents were the price paid for their negotiation.

After the Gray Merchant and others entered, Dox took out the Mysterious Parchment and no longer worried about what followed; once they emerged, the Sunlight Sanctuary would belong to the Wise Sovereign anyway.

Dox, wrapping the precious scroll in energy, approached Angel.

Only then did he revoke the external energy and solemnly handed the scroll to Angel.

The Black Earl and Wise Sovereign both turned their gaze to the scroll; they clearly wanted to see the True Body of the scroll.

However, before Angel accepted the scroll, he had already enveloped it with the Power of Nightmare Illusion. All prying eyes were completely obscured by the Nightmare Illusion.

Angel wasn’t worried about exposing the effects of the Sunlight Sanctuary.

But if a professional were to obtain and scrutinize the Sunlight Sanctuary scroll, they might uncover something. To avoid revealing the "Mad Hat’s Coronation," Angel naturally took precautions.

The Black Earl and Wise Sovereign both appeared a bit disappointed.

The reason for their disappointment, in truth, differed.

The Wise Sovereign hopes to explore the direction of the Magic Patterns from the Scroll. ——Of course, the Wise Sovereign does not know about the "Coronation of the Mad Hat", the reason he wants to explore the direction of the Magic Patterns is because he has witnessed the Magic Patterns drawn by Angel, and by comparison, he can tell if this Scroll is refined by Angel.

But Angel gives no opportunity for investigation, naturally disappointing the Wise Sovereign.

The disappointment of the Black Earl mainly lies in Angel’s attitude.

Although this Half-Mysterious Scroll only has one use left, it still holds great value, as it can be a lifeline in times of crisis and also an aid to cultivate the Potential of the next generation of Talented Ones.

Therefore, the Black Earl intends to purchase it from Angel.

However, Angel’s attitude has already been expressed. With the Black Earl’s accuracy in reading people, he can basically judge that Angel does not intend to sell the Scroll, which makes him slightly disappointed.

Nevertheless, for that sliver of possibility, the Black Earl still asked.

The answer was not unexpected; Angel refused to sell, and the Black Earl felt it inappropriate to force the sale, so he had to give up.

Meanwhile, Dox, after returning the Scroll to Angel, took up the Spatial Capsule, investigating the "treasures" inside repeatedly.

He has a small treasury, but to manage some relationships and purchase Transcendent knowledge at the Cross Headquarters, it’s often empty.

So many treasures gathered in his hands, this is extremely rare for Dox.

Dox looked deeply mesmerized, but after the intoxication, he held back his heart and handed the Spatial Capsule to Angel.

However, Angel did not take it, instead looked at Dox with a puzzled expression.

Dox: "Although I understand that this might not be enough to repay the price of the Sunlight Sanctuary, but it should cover a quarter, right? For the remainder, I will surely repay with interest, please give me some time."

Dox’s meaning was clear, he wished to repay the debt, instead of letting Angel set the terms.

He knew clearly that once Angel set the terms, they would surely be akin to "joining the Barbarian Cave", "becoming his underling" ... etc., all of which would lead to the loss of freedom, something Dox didn’t want to experience.

Just, Dox did not see, after he finished saying this, the Black Earl turned his head and lightly sighed.

In the sky, the Wise Sovereign also wore a face full of mockery.

Looking at Dox’s earnest expression, Angel replied with a smile: "I think you might have misunderstood."

Dox: "Ah?"

Angel: "The Sunlight Sanctuary Scroll is mine. I lent it to you for one use. The price you need to repay is actually just the price for one use of the Sunlight Scroll. However, you used my Scroll and gathered so many people to use it, and also gained profits. According to the default exchange principle in the Wizards’ Realm, the price you pay must also include these."

Angel paused for a moment and said something that made Dox feel extremely harsh: "So, the price you need to pay is actually more than before."

Dox’s eyes widened as if struck by lightning.

Angel continued: "Of course, you did negotiate, and in negotiation, you have merits. Therefore, in terms of distribution, you can also gain some profits, which I won’t deny you."

Dox still hadn’t come to his senses, his mind was still pondering over Angel’s words.

Although he always felt those words were a bit convoluted, a bit off, but thinking carefully, where else would a debtor use the creditor’s goods to make money and then attempt to return the earned money to the creditor to offset the debt?

Perhaps in secret it might work, but in front of others it’s a bit improper.

Now Dox can finally understand the relationships involved, it’s not a difficult logic, but why did he feel he was doing the right thing earlier?

Dox continually revisits, in the memory’s scene, he saw the Black Earl’s pitying gaze; he also saw and heard the Wise Sovereign’s profound advice; he saw Angel digging a pit with a grin, then pouring oil on the fire... When Dox thought this was the end, the memory review still didn’t stop.

Soon, the memory review halted at the final scene.

Dox looked incredulously at... himself. Yes, the last scene is precisely Dox himself.

Only, Dox felt this self was very unfamiliar.

In the scene—Dox was staring at the descending Holy Temple, feeling the effect of the holy light cleansing the Spirit Sea. His expression was full of expectation and enjoyment, as well as reverence.

But Dox clearly remembers, at that time his body was enjoying, yet his spirit and mind were suffering, tormenting. Thinking that it was the Mysterious Parchment, he was almost frightened to death, how could he display such joyous expression.

Soon, the Dox in the scene turned around, as if looking at himself. But in reality, Dox knows at that time he was actually looking at the Sunlight Sanctuary Scroll floating in mid-air.

Back then Dox’s expression was of despair, and almost begging for relief.

But the Dox in the scene was longing, aspiring, and delighted.

This contradicted Dox’s memory.

Was his memory chaotic, or did he truly show such expression at that time?

When Dox started to feel confused, the Dox in the scene slowly lowered his gaze, and this time, the Dox in the scene genuinely met the gaze with Dox himself.

This feeling is very strange, oneself confronting oneself?

Dox saw that the self in the scene, after meeting the gaze for several seconds, suddenly showed a sly smile.

Immediately, the scene shattered and vanished.

But quickly, the scene reorganized again. The scene still featured those previous scenarios, except this time, the Dox in the scene’s actions matched those in Dox’s memory.

Worry, heartache, torment, despair... these expressions reappeared on the Dox in the scene’s face.

Seeing these distinctly different two memory segments, Dox had a vague understanding.

Actually, they are both himself.

Just, one is externally apparent, the other is internally inherent. And the inherent self is actually the subconscious, or rather... the embodiment of inspiration Talent.

So, the answer he seeks turns out to be himself.

After understanding this point, Dox somewhat realized why he had not responded earlier. Clearly the Black Earl had given a hint, the Wise Sovereign had quietly suggested, Angel had even openly stated, yet he was immersed in his logic.

It’s not that he couldn’t remember, but that the subconscious blinded his thinking.

Why is this so?

Is it the aftereffects of Talent advancement? Or does the subconscious truly believe that Owing is most beneficial to himself?