Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2869: Chapter 2870: Appreciating Abstract Art

"These two actually complement each other pretty well," Angel murmured softly.

To use Sweet Dream, one must pass through the Pink Wind, which can soothe emotions and relieve the inner burdens of daily life.

In such a gentle mood, entering a beautiful sleep, the dream itself is a sweet dream.

This set of positive energy chain reactions is probably too overwhelming for many to handle.

The benefits are naturally great, as the abilities complement and enhance each other. But there are downsides too, as it can become addictive.

"You have a look first, and call me if you have any thoughts," Laplace’s voice reached Angel’s ears.

Angel turned around to see Laplace floating to the outer branches at the treetop, sitting leisurely on a branch, her long silver hair floating in the air, stirred by the wind around her.

She quietly gazed into the distance, lost in her thoughts.

Angel actually had some questions in his heart, but since they were already outside Sweet Dream, he decided to observe first.

Angel landed lightly on the platform at the treetop.

At this moment, he was about twenty meters away from Sweet Dream.

He walked forward step by step, and as he reached ten meters, he felt some change in his emotions: his restless mood was gradually calming.

This change in mood was clearly perceptible, yet oddly, there was no feeling of incongruity.

No doubt, this was the power of the Pink Wind.

Angel stopped and sensed a little. As his perception deepened, his expression became more bizarre.

The effect of the Pink Wind was not strong, and Angel could easily shake off its influence on emotions, but... no matter how he analyzed it, he couldn’t find the reason why the Pink Wind could calm emotions.

It obviously acted directly on emotions, yet left no trace, as if one adjusted their own mood to become joyful, rather than being influenced by an external force.

Others might not find this noteworthy, but with Angel’s talent for Hyper Perception, he couldn’t find any trace, which was quite mysterious.

Importantly, the Pink Wind was merely an apparition, imperfectly reproduced in the process. Thus, one can only imagine how much more extraordinary its ’True Body’ must be.

Just the wind itself is incredibly peculiar, suggesting that the special place corresponding to it in the real world might be even more unfathomable.

"When you’re here, how do you feel?" Angel asked Dangross.

Dangross contemplated for a moment, then replied, "I don’t know how to describe it, but I feel very calm."

It seems the Pink Wind affects not only living beings but also Elemental Creatures.

If that’s the case, does it also affect Spirits, and those Awakened Demon People under the control of the Seed of Distortion?

Angel pondered and posed the same question to the Wood Spirit and Earl Mi.

However, the Wood Spirit didn’t respond, merely curling up more tightly in fear, almost bruising Angel’s arm.

The Wood Spirit was not reliable; even if the Pink Wind calmed the mind, it couldn’t suppress its nature.

As for Earl Mi, Angel received the same feedback as usual, with no significant change.

This suggests that the Seed of Distortion may be more potent than the Pink Wind? Also, the Seed of Distortion uses the Origin of Chaos as the main material, which even Culori fears.

Angel thought no more about it and continued forward.

When he reached about five meters from the Pink Wind orb, Angel faintly sensed a Mysterious Aura. However, just as he intended to probe further, Laplace’s voice came to his ear:

"If you don’t want to fall asleep now, don’t proceed any further. I’ve set these Pink Winds to automatically open an outer pathway when you come within five meters, allowing access."

"Once the Pink Wind is activated and opens the path, under the influence of Sweet Dream, you’ll voluntarily walk inside. By then, even if you don’t want to sleep, you will have to."

"Unless you can resist the Mysterious Power."

Resist Mysterious Power? Angel decided against it. If Mysterious Power could be resisted, the Seed sect wouldn’t have flourished so vigorously.

Since Laplace advised so, Angel retreated.

He backed away beyond ten meters.

Close study of Sweet Dream was temporarily out of reach, and "research" wasn’t Angel’s main focus anyway. He decided to leave for now.

Yet, before completely exiting the Pink Wind’s range, Angel recalled another matter: the wall painting at the treetop.

When Angel landed on the platform, he noticed the wall painting on the wooden platform beneath his feet. He hadn’t examined it thoroughly before due to his focus on Sweet Dream, but now he could take a closer look.

Angel circled the platform.

After getting a general impression of the painting, he left the platform.

After leaving the platform, Angel extended a finger to point into the air, conjuring an illusionary plane.

The scene in the illusion depicted the wall painting he recorded earlier.

Generally speaking, wall paintings are often used to record "songs of praise," "disasters," and "mythical history." One could say they are almost inseparable from "gods" and "faith."

And to express clearly, wall paintings are mostly straightforward, without obscure or ambiguous interpretations.

But this wall painting was entirely different, just meaningless lines. Without alternating light and dark, Angel would likely consider it an unfamiliar Magic Pattern.

Angel scrutinized it for a while but couldn’t comprehend it.

Though some text seemed to introduce the patterns, they were variations of Abyssal Demon Script, which Angel equally couldn’t understand.

"Is it impossible to comprehend with normal logic?" Angel murmured, then looked at Dangross, "Can you understand it?"

Dangross, initially eager to study alongside Angel, pulled a long face upon hearing Angel’s words: "You’re the one who’s abnormal, I can’t understand it either."

Dangross wasn’t being contrary; it genuinely couldn’t understand.

Angel also sought input from Earl Mi, who relayed back confused thoughts, evidently unclear about Angel’s intentions.

Dangross: "Could this not be a painting?"

Angel: "Since Laplace said it’s a painting, let’s tentatively consider it as such."

If treated as a painting, Angel would probably classify it as... abstract art.

"Abstract art?" Angel muttered, could this truly be abstract art?

When Angel was young, he learned some appreciation of abstract art. However, it wasn’t Jon who taught him. Jon’s understanding of abstract art was: if you can’t understand, just praise it intensely, weave in some life insights, universal truths, and you’d be fine. After all, others likely wouldn’t understand abstract art either.

Angel thought it was somewhat perfunctory back then and seriously studied abstract art appreciation. — He self-taught using "Abstract Art Appreciation" on the Holographic Tablet.

After learning, Angel gained a lot.

He found Jon to be right.

Just like how a thousand people can see a thousand Hamlets, abstract art is also idealistic. If you say you’ve gleaned life’s philosophy, others can’t really refute you.

The heart’s perception, after all, can be justified in many ways.

Even if the artist stands before you, and you claim to have experienced life’s epiphany by seeing the artwork, the artist can’t argue with you.

This is very similar to the situation with Glaipnir. With ordinary interpretations, the artist holds interpretative authority; but with over-interpretation, even if you’re the original artist, what do you really understand?

So, Jon’s perspective isn’t wrong either.

However, that said, "Appreciation of Abstract Art" doesn’t entirely advocate for everyone to interpret freely; it does offer practical advice.

Observe the colors, observe the whole, only then observe the heart.

Color coordination is extremely important in abstract art. Many appreciators evaluate abstract art based on color.

As for this mural, if we treat it as abstract art, might there be insights from its colors?

With this in mind, Angel looked again at the mural on the ground.

The mural on the ground was carved, lacking traditional color meanings. However, if light and shadow are seen as colors...

Angel gazed at the mural’s interplay of light and shadow, a contemplative look in his eyes.

Time ticked by second by second, Angel remained still, until footsteps approached and he slowly raised his head.

The footsteps, without a doubt, came from Laplace.

Seeing Angel silent for so long, with a mural’s illusion floating before him, Laplace walked over to check the situation.

Though Angel raised his head, Laplace noticed he wasn’t looking at her, but at the sky.

Laplace, puzzled, looked up too: Is there something wrong with the sky?

After a moment, Angel spoke: "Is there no night here?"

Laplace nodded: "Yes, however the outside world appears at the time of the reflection, that’s how it appears here. If it’s night, the reflected space will remain eternal night until broken. If it’s daytime, it will stay day, without the slightest change."

Angel: "No light of dawn, no colors of sunset—doesn’t that feel monotonous?"

Laplace: "Not at all, if I want to see dawn here, I can view it in another space. If there’s no starlight here, I can solidify another space with starlight."

Angel scratched his head: "That seems right, you can solidify spaces with Aggregative Force, preserving the most beautiful moments."

"The most beautiful moments?" Laplace opened her mouth, wanting to counter, but chose not to voice her thoughts.

What seems beautiful is merely in the eyes of outsiders. For those truly living here, it isn’t seen as beautiful—only giving their all to survive.

"You’ve been researching this mural for quite some time. Any thoughts?" Laplace asked, her gaze shifting to the floating illusion.

Angel: "I do have a small idea, but it may still be of little help."

Laplace: "Go ahead, let’s hear it."

Angel didn’t refuse, pointing to the illusion: "Take another look."

Laplace looked again at the illusion, and was caught off guard.

The previous illusion was a static plane, but now, it started moving... Or rather, instead of the illusion moving, Angel added an external force to the illusion.

This external force was called: Day and Night.

Or, the transformation of time.

The newborn sun brought the morning light, illuminating the carved mural on the wooden platform. As the sun rose higher, the protruding areas’ shadows lengthened while the sunken parts, the shadow side became increasingly obscure.

Once noon passed, light and shadow shifted once more.

Until at last, the afterglow painted the mural in a thin layer of red.

At a glance, the mural hadn’t changed much, just slight variations in shadow.

However, when Angel accelerated "time," causing day and night to alternate in just a second, the shadows of the mural in that second formed a pattern entirely unrelated to the original mural.

This new pattern remained abstract but looked more like "art" than the original.

If you look closely, you might even see some vaguely familiar things.

"Do you see anything?" Angel asked.

Laplace scrutinized the speed-accelerated illusionary mural with her different-colored eyes, thoughts flashing through her mind, trying to match it with something recognizable.

But... still nothing.

Even with the mural having achieved a qualitative breakthrough, the images drawn solely by shadow, Laplace still couldn’t comprehend.

"Seems understandable yet elusive." Laplace shook her head, glancing at Angel with a tone of admiration: "But your discovery is indeed groundbreaking. I’ve never thought in this direction before."

"What about The Sage? He should be able to discern it, right?"

Laplace shook her head: "The Sage has never mentioned it."

Angel noticed Laplace’s phrasing: Wise Sovereign never mentioned it, not that the Wise Sovereign didn’t know.

Angel personally felt he could guess, the Wise Sovereign should not be oblivious. After all, Wizards have extensive exposure to light and shadow type tricks.

This mural has both engravings and relief, which could be seen as an artistic technique but, upon thought, it’s not hard to find it conveys the trend of light and shadow.

So did the Wise Sovereign discover it, but never mentioned it?

Or did the Wise Sovereign discover it but failed to make any significant analysis?

Just like now, Angel found that the changing shadows allowed for transformation in the mural’s image, yet he still couldn’t decipher what these images depicted.

If the prior mural was abstract art, then the mural under the rhythm of day and night... remains abstract, albeit at a lighter weight, at least showing contours and shape.

"Since you can make that finding, you must have some guesses, right?" Laplace looked at Angel with anticipation.

Angel was silent for a moment and then said: "I think it’s kind of like... a matryoshka doll."

A matryoshka doll? Laplace looked at Angel with confusion, what is that?

Angel: "A toy shaped like a roly-poly that can be split open from the middle, revealing an identical, but slightly smaller, roly-poly within."

Seeing Laplace still bewildered, Angel pondered for a moment before a word popped into his mind.

Without thinking too deeply, he directly said: "A swaddling clothes."

"It’s kind of like a baby’s swaddling clothes."