Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2963: Chapter 2964: The Heart in the Birdcage

The difficulty of descending was even higher than Angel had imagined.

When climbing up, at least the wall’s crevices were visible, allowing for foothold identification and route planning. During the descent, however, due to the wall’s unevenness, it was impossible to see what lay below, and finding a foothold in the crevices was already considered quite lucky.

The only consolation for Angel was the faint red glow emitting from Earl’s study, which helped guide him and prevent him from losing his way.

Initially, Angel descended smoothly, but as time passed, physical exhaustion began to rise rapidly.

More concerning for Angel was the faint rustling of courtyard leaves he began to hear.

This seemed to indicate that wind was brewing.

With his strength waning and grip weakening, a gust of wind at this moment would spell disaster for him.

Initially, Angel held onto a sliver of hope, but when his long-dormant spiritual sense abruptly awoke, signaling frantic warnings, he understood... the arrival of the wind was inevitable.

Moreover, the wind forming this time would definitely not be a gentle breeze.

Angel’s expression became serious as he began contemplating a strategy to counter this in his mind.

But before he could think of a strategy, a new change occurred—

The surrounding air suddenly became humid, and a raindrop lightly fell near Angel. The black brick, tinged with dust, slid down a new trajectory.

It’s raining?

Angel raised his head to look at the sky.

The night concealed the clouds, rendering them invisible. The only thing Angel saw was rabbit Cha Cha poking its head out, anxiously whispering to him.

Angel couldn’t hear what Cha Cha was saying, but he could guess—it was probably suggesting he abandon this attempt and find another way.

But... at this moment, he could already feel the red glow beneath him, indicating he was close to the study. To abandon the attempt now, Angel felt reluctant.

He remained silent for a moment, stowing away his tense expression, then looked up at Cha Cha and gave a relaxed smile.

Under Cha Cha’s gaze, Angel gestured towards the saddlebag on his back, then pointed towards the study’s position and the central courtyard’s pond below.

This was a signal to Cha Cha that he had a decision.

If he couldn’t reach the study, he would find a way to travel with the wind toward the vicinity of the courtyard below.

Angel’s relaxed expression slightly eased the worries of rabbit Cha Cha. It didn’t speak further, clinging to the wall ledge, continuing to watch Angel.

After lowering his head, Angel’s expression became serious again.

Feeling the increasingly intense warnings of his spiritual sense, Angel remained silent for a moment, finally making a decision.

He stopped descending and began rapidly climbing sideways.

Descending requires constant attention to the crevices, making fast movement difficult, but sideways climbing is much simpler as the crevices mostly align, and are easily visible.

Such rapid horizontal movement naturally wasn’t meant to give up.

Instead, he was preparing to gamble.

Facing the impending wind and rain, Angel now had only two choices: abandon the attempt or continue.

Angel didn’t want to give up, yet understood the difficulty in continuing, so he made a bold choice: continue with the ultimate goal of giving up.

He needed to consider both options. On the premise of ensuring his safety if he gives up, he would attempt to continue.

Simply put, he planned to... travel with the wind.

He intended to try gliding into the study. If unsuccessful, at least he could glide safely to land.

The reason he needed to climb sideways now was because the wind was blowing from left to right. Previously, he was on the right side of the red glow, and gliding from there would fly him further to the right, unable to glide into the study. Therefore, he now had to climb to the left side of the red glow.

Angel used all his strength, climbing horizontally frantically. Although he had reached the left side of the red glow, he didn’t stop, fully aware that the further he climbed, the more time he had to adjust his position in mid-air.

After a minute, Angel stopped.

He still wanted to continue, but the raindrops were falling more frequently, the wind was growing stronger, and most importantly, he had no energy left.

Nonetheless, Angel endured the fatigue, raising his head to look towards the terrace.

Indeed, he saw rabbit Cha Cha still on the terrace.

With all his strength, he suppressed his panting and smiled slightly at rabbit Cha Cha before gesturing with his mouth for it to quickly retreat indoors.

As the wind grew stronger, rabbit Cha Cha could easily be blown off the terrace.

Under Angel’s resolute gaze, rabbit Cha Cha finally nodded, retracting its head back.

Seeing rabbit Cha Cha no longer out gazing, Angel lowered his head and gasped heavily.

Before his breathing settled, a gentle wind blew over.

This was the sign of an impending storm, simultaneously the very wind Angel was waiting for!

Facing a strong gust, even if Angel could glide, he might be blown away instantly, unable to adjust in time. Thus, he awaited the gentler winds before the storm.

Without hesitation, Angel leaped forward.

As Angel leapt, he didn’t notice rabbit Cha Cha stealthily poking its head out again from the terrace.

Cha Cha’s first sight was Angel’s leap of faith. Startled, it covered its mouth.

Given Angel’s current stature, leaping like this was almost akin to jumping into an abyss.

Wasn’t he afraid of accidentally losing his life?

Under the worried gaze of rabbit Cha Cha, Angel was constantly adjusting his direction in mid-air.

Gliding is easy; gliding with the wind is also easy, but adjusting flight direction while gliding with the wind without professional tools is quite difficult.

If it were an ordinary person, managing direction with such a simple saddlebag would be nearly impossible.

Fortunately, Angel was not an ordinary person.

When Angel was still an apprentice, for climbing Sky Tower, he studied many tricks seriously, and the core of these tricks was known as: Trick Techniques.

Trick Techniques aren’t singular tricks, but collections of numerous Level 0 and Level 1 tricks. Techniques like Grease Spell, Spikes Technique, Feather Falling Technique, Firework Magic, Sprint Magic, Sudden Brightness Magic... all belong to Trick Techniques. These magical minor tricks, when combined appropriately, can have significant effects. For example, Sudden Brightness Magic can blind eyes, Grease Spell can cause imbalance, followed by Firework Magic igniting the grease flames—though simple in theory, the effects are indeed potent.

Among Trick Techniques is a minor trick called: Feather Falling Technique. It allows the body to become light, making it easier to control the body when falling from a height.

While Angel couldn’t use tricks at this moment, he still retained the experience of Feather Falling Technique.

Using a saddlebag for gliding is akin to Feather Falling Technique—the saddlebag inflates to form an air cushion, making Angel inside the cushion feel as though he applied Feather Falling Technique, rendering his body light.

Subsequently, Angel began using experience from Feather Falling Technique to control his body, striving to adjust balance and direction.

Perhaps assisted by his spiritual sense, Angel remained exceptionally calm, each minor adjustment successfully steering him towards the red-lit window.

A few seconds later, under rabbit Cha Cha’s gaze, Angel’s "gliding wings" rushed into Earl’s study.

Seeing this, rabbit Cha Cha finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"It indeed looked quite simple, no wonder he consistently appeared confident." Rabbit Cha Cha murmured, glancing back at the distance.

The black wind howled, a heavy rain about to commence.

Rabbit Cha Cha shivered, swiftly retreating into the main building, and quickly running downward.

It had an agreement with Angel, if within ten minutes Angel appeared at the study window, it meant there was no half-length mirror in the study. They would then have to figure out a way to plan an entry into the Treasure Vault.

Therefore, it must quickly return to the first floor, to the central courtyard to watch Angel’s movements.

Of course, if Angel did not appear after ten minutes, then it meant he had returned to the Human Realm.

This... is also a good thing.

...

As the rabbit Cha Cha was rushing downstairs, Angel had already charged into the Black Tea Earl’s study.

The first thing he noticed upon entering the study was a heart emitting a hazy red glow and constantly pulsing. It was placed on the desk, covered by a golden birdcage.

Apparently, this was the reason why the study was emitting a red glow.

Whose heart was this? Why was it glowing? Why was it still beating? As soon as Angel saw the heart, these questions popped into his mind.

And these questions lingering in his mind compelled Angel to keep moving closer to the heart, attempting to further understand it.

Just as Angel was about to glide towards the desk using the gliding wings, his peripheral vision was caught by another flash of red light.

Following his peripheral vision.

Angel was stunned.

On the other side of the study, by something akin to an experiment table, Angel saw a mirror reflecting the red glow of the table.

This was a half-length mirror.

Shaped like a portrait, the frame was crafted from Arcane Platinum, a material regarded as low-key and even somewhat cheap in the Wizards’ Realm, but it now shone with a hazy but mysterious aura.

Paired with the Kombu Silver mirror surface surrounded by shimmering light, the entire mirror exuded an exquisite beauty.

At first glance at this mirror, Angel couldn’t tear his eyes away.

He was absolutely certain that this mirror was the one he had refined. However, why it appeared here, he did not know.

But what he did know was that this mirror was undoubtedly the core of this Anomaly.

He even vaguely felt that once he touched this mirror, this Alchemy Omen would end. This was an intuitive feeling, prompted by his Spiritual Sense.

In other words, this sensation was definitely accurate.

After experiencing the eerie Black Tea Forest and a cautious lurking, he finally saw the dawn of this Anomaly’s end.

Luckily, he didn’t have to consider the Treasure Vault; he found the half-length mirror right in the study.

However, Angel now faced a choice.

Continue maneuvering the gliding wings towards the heart beneath the golden birdcage, or maneuver towards the half-length mirror?

Inside, Angel was inclined to fly towards the birdcage. His curiosity about the heart overwhelmed even the excitement of finding the half-length mirror.

But precisely because of that, Angel turned decisively, flying towards the half-length mirror.

Sanders had once warned Angel, in situations where you are confident, have power or a retreat, explore the unknown and be curious about the unknown.

But if you have nothing, then curb your curiosity about the unknown.

Otherwise, curiosity can kill not only the cat but also humans.

Angel was just in such a situation; he had no confidence to study the heart, no power to control the heart, and as for retreat... in an anomaly where the body is beyond free control, even with the half-length mirror beside, it cannot be counted as a retreat.

Moreover, his Spiritual Sense informed Angel that this beating heart might harbor secrets.

Once entangled, perhaps he would expose himself.

Exposure was not a big deal, but Angel feared implicating Cha Cha.

He was so cautious all along, wasn’t it just to avoid implicating Cha Cha? Therefore, Angel resolutely chose to give up.

He flew towards the half-length mirror.

Just when he was about one meter away from the half-length mirror and hadn’t even touched it, a wave of light shimmered.

Angel and the half-length mirror, surrounded by shimmering glow, disappeared.

...

And with the disappearance of the half-length mirror, a tall, thin figure in a certain Earth Cavern seemed to have detected something.

Simultaneously, an eye suddenly opened on the beating heart.

The pitch-black eye quietly surveyed its surroundings, finally fixing on where the disappeared half-length mirror had been.

"No energy aura, no footprints, no foreign pheromones... the half-length mirror actually disappeared?"

"Appearing and disappearing, is this a kind of rule of its own?"

A faint voice echoed in the study, and if the rabbit Cha Cha were here, it would certainly find that this voice belonged to the Black Tea Earl!

...

Angel opened his eyes.

Surveying his surroundings, he was no longer in the red glow-filled study, but back in the familiar atmosphere of the Wizards’ Realm.

Angel glanced at the half-length mirror floating in the air, then averted his gaze.

He began analyzing his body, Mind Space, and memories.

The hat lent to him by the rabbit Cha Cha had disappeared, his body reverted back from thumb size, the Black Tea Forest’s shrinking curse did not reflect back on him, the Magic Vortex in his Mind Space operated normally, and his memory was unhidden...

Only then did Angel confirm he had escaped from the Anomaly.

"I wonder if Cha Cha escaped successfully?" Angel murmured softly and then shook his head sharply.

This was just an Alchemy Omen; it shouldn’t affect the real Cha Cha.

Furthermore, like the last time when refining the key to the Qingkong Poetry Room, encountering Augustine from ten thousand years ago, perhaps this Anomaly was merely an echo in time.

With this thought, Angel breathed a slight sigh of relief.

However, this Anomaly indeed gave Angel new thoughts on Alchemy Omens... Perhaps, he should refine some more Alchemy Works, part being ordinary Alchemy Works, and part crowned by the Mad Hat, to make some comparisons on Anomalies.

But even if he were to make comparisons, now was not the time.

Angel temporarily suppressed this idea, intending to first take a look at the half-length mirror he refined this time.

Undoubtedly, under the coronation of the Mad Hat, this half-length mirror must have some special effects... Angel hoped that those special effects would not hinder its duties to bear the Mirror Realm Passage. Otherwise, he might have to refine it all over again.

Muttering, Angel raised his head to look at the half-length mirror.

Only, when he seriously looked at the half-length mirror, he was stunned.

The half-length mirror was at this moment reflecting a field of red glow, and this red glow suffused with a mysterious aura illuminated the entire secret meeting room...

No, in Angel’s perception of the Geometric Lock, the red glow not only filled the secret meeting room but even the entire Qingkong Poetry Room was enveloped by you in a red glow.

Perceiving this scene, Angel’s heart skipped a beat.

It would be one thing if the Qingkong Poetry Room’s interior had a red glow, but if the exterior had it as well, then that would be troublesome...