Chapter 2577: Chapter 2578: The Ruined Desktop
With two Official Wizards and an Avatar whose True Body is one of the top figures in the Wizardsâ Realm, dying is hard for the Magician.
Yet, a quarter of an hour later, the Magician regained his mobility.
Under the Traveling Merchantâs suggestion, the Magician hurriedly took out his Mana Hut, inviting everyone inside to discuss.
In the Wizardsâ Realm, randomly entering a strangerâs Mana Hut is actually considered a taboo, because no one knows what traps might be hidden inside. Especially an Alchemistâs Mana Hut, which is the culmination of various traps.
However, this taboo only applies under circumstances where the parties are of equal rank or the difference in strength is not significant. Angelâs side with three Wizard Level or higher combat forces couldnât possibly fear a Second Level Apprenticeâs hut.
Without any hesitation, the group walked into the hut.
The Magicianâs Mana Hut indeed had traps, but he dared not activate them. Especially since he noticed the red-haired wizard who pleaded for him earlier, while entering, inside, and after entering the hut, respectively looked at three places. And these three places were precisely where the Magician had his Mentor build traps.
Clearly, the other side not only didnât fear traps, but even knew exactly where they were.
The Magician, seeing this, dared not act recklessly. He just secretly glared at the Traveling Merchant angrily, who didnât care at all and instead began to ponder what would be the best course of action for them next.
The Traveling Merchant entered the Mana Hut one step ahead and immediately started lavishing praise on Angel, who stood in the center.
The sole purpose of the flattery was to ask Angel for mercy, agreeing to either memory clearing or memory modification without any issue. The Traveling Merchantâs lone request was not to touch any memories related to death vows, as once anyone else meddles with these contract-encrypted memories, he would surely die.
The Traveling Merchantâs survival instinct was incredibly strong. Allowing someone to delete memory meant having to open it for access. If Angel wished, he could even read the Traveling Merchantâs childhood memories. Even without the vow memory, such a decision requires great courage.
The Magician, entering later, was initially stunned by the Traveling Merchantâs action, not expecting him to go such lengths. But upon further thought, given the opposing sideâs unmatched, pinch-the-ant-like power, holding onto pride before such elite figures would literally be a deadly vanity.
In this realization, after hesitating for a moment, the Magician imitated the Traveling Merchant.
Angel looked at the two who requested memory deletion without words.
Having just entered the Mana Hut, he was still investigating if there was anything they needed inside the hut. Yet before he could start, these two came to him in succession.
Listening to their similar or, specifically, the Magicianâs blatant plagiarism of the Traveling Merchantâs flattery, Angel felt as if mosquitoes were buzzing in his ears.
Angel pinched his brows: "Alright, you two stop talking. As long as you follow my instructions, we donât need to kill you."
Since the Magician came later, he didnât know what happened. But the Traveling Merchant was clear: it wasnât them the two Official Wizards were looking for, but the Magician. So the Traveling Merchant quickly said: "Then sir, Iâll wait outside. I promise not to run around."
Everyone could guess the Traveling Merchantâs intention. He was afraid of learning some secrets that would bring trouble, so the best way was to quickly leave the Mana Hut, see and hear nothing, pretending to be a wooden figure.
Angel didnât plan to make things difficult for the Traveling Merchant, and indeed, what was needed was done, and the rest had little to do with him. So Angel flicked some Power of Nightmare Illusion onto his brow, letting the Traveling Merchant go out.
Once the Traveling Merchant left, everyoneâs eyes focused on the only trembling person presentâthe Magician.
Even though the Magicianâs legs were shaking, his face had unusual redness, which Angel identified as Doxâs doing. Earlier, Dox was asked to help restore the Magicianâs hemoglobin, and he exploited the situation for a little trick.
However, it wasnât anything serious. It was just an excess blood condition, which wouldnât affect the body; it might just be embarrassing. This feeling is somewhat akin to... an insatiable desire, wanting to let out but having no outlet, forcing the body to digest the excess blood itself.
Angel glanced at Dox, who proudly raised his head with an expression saying: Howâs it? My masterpiece is splendid, right?
Angel didnât say a word, merely updating Doxâs character traits mentally: canât stand arrogance in front, hmm... also a bit petty.
But those are insignificant details; back to the matter at hand.
In the Magicianâs confusion, Angel unveiled their purpose.
"The tabletop surface?" The Magician initially didnât recall until Angel presented the Crowâs Illusion, awakening him.
"I remember now, right, there was that situation." With a memory trigger point, more memories surged forth.
The Magician disclosed all that happened then and everything related to the tabletop afterward, without any concealment.
The outcome wasnât quite satisfactory.
Initially, Angel thought the Magician had discerning eyes and hence intentionally kept the tabletop. But as the Magician narrated, it turned out he only noticed it was made of rare plant material.
Even though he saw some odd marks and mysterious lines on the tabletop, the Magician paid no heed, directly treating it as a quality material for alchemy.
Due to the tableâs size, the Magician intended to alchemize three short staves but failed twice, eventually producing only one. Still, the Magician was delighted, considering it one of his masterpieces for its enhanced elemental efficiency.
Later, this short staff was sold in Bilun Tree Courtâs market for nearly two hundred Magic Crystals, a "high" price.
As for the discarded materials, the Magician had already processed them.
In essence, the tabletop had been fully dismantled and consumed, with no way to locate the actual object.
None had foreseen this outcome, but given the Magicianâs mere Alchemy Apprentice level, with an inherently limited perspective, just recognizing demonic materials was commendable, making such actions seemingly normal.
"Your Merchant Organization received these relic items; donât they get submitted? You used it yourself?" Angel voiced his confusion.
The Magician: "Normally, items of unknown use but obviously extraordinary are submitted. This tabletop was merely a demonic material..."
At this point, the Magician paused before continuing: "At least in my view, it was just a demonic material, hence not submitted."
The Magician perceived the tabletop may have had some extraordinariness, but he never discovered it, ultimately treating it as regular material.
The Magician didnât feel loss for passing up the opportunity. Had he perceived anything beyond, heâd still have had to submit it to the organization, bound by vows.
Not finding anything extraordinary and treating it simply as demonic material allowed the Magician to bypass vow constraints and earn two hundred Magic Crystals.
This is perhaps the "luck" brought by "ignorance."
However, the "luck" ignorance brought to the Magician at that time is uncertain, whether it can bring luck again now, facing Angel and others?
The Magician deeply exhaled, putting on a solemn look as he waited for the final judgment.
In his mind, his life-or-death decision lies at that moment in the red-haired Wizardâs One Thought.
Yet, the red-haired Wizard remained silent for long. Was he pondering how to address him?
The Magician was overthinking, for Angel never intended for his demise, with no genuine enmity, no breached boundaries, and full disclosure of facts. Aside from a penchant for boasting, there was no other reason to kill him.
Of course, this is a judgment based on Angelâs personal values.
As for the others, whether Dox or the Black Earl, they had no intention of killing the Magic Craftsman. Firstly, Angel was leading the team this time, and his decision was the final one, including the life and death of the Magic Craftsman; secondly, itâs just a minor apprentice, killing him isnât interesting.
The massive gap between Official Wizards and Wizard Apprentices meant they didnât consider the Magic Craftsman important at all; his life or death was irrelevant.
As for why Angel hadnât spoken for a long time, it was because he was discussing the next steps with everyone else in the Mind Ribbon.
Although the Magic Craftsman had completely destroyed the tabletop, the fact that he could refine it showed that the tabletop itself had no secrets.
The real secrets might lie in the patterns and characters on the tabletop.
If this assumption is correct, they have no need to find the tabletop; they only need to probe the memory of someone who has seen it to determine what was depicted on it.
Many people have seen the tabletop, but most are ordinary people, and forcibly probing their memories would greatly harm them.
However, the Magic Craftsman is different; he is a Transcendent, with his Psychic Model partly constructed. Even if his memories are probed, with the stability of his model, it wonât hurt much.
Besides, didnât the Magic Craftsman and the Traveling Merchant both voluntarily ask to wipe their memories? This means they donât even need a reason; they can simply pretend to alter the memory to probe the Magic Craftsmanâs memories of the tabletop.
As for why not just ask the Magic Craftsman whatâs engraved on the tabletop, he had already answered before; he canât remember.
Memory is a mysterious thing. You think you canât remember because the redundant and irrelevant memory fragments have sunk into the depths of your mind. If you really dig deep, even your infant memories can be unearthed, let alone the marks on the tabletop.
Wizard Apprentices canât piece together those memory fragments due to their weak Spirit Seas, but Official Wizards are different.
This is why Official Wizards are usually memory masters, like Sanders, who seem to have hyperthymesia, capable of retrieving memories spanning centuries at any time.
Once the method was confirmed, amidst the anxious wait for the "life-death verdict," Angel slowly spoke;
"Alright, now that the tabletop is destroyed, letâs drop it. However, I donât want others knowing we were here, so go call in the Traveling Merchant. Iâll make some adjustments to your memories today, and then you can both go on your way."
Though his memory would be altered, the Magic Craftsman wasnât unhappy at all. Memory alteration was fine; after all, todayâs memories were a nightmare anyway, and surviving was enough.
However...
"Master, before the memory is altered, may I make a request?"
Angel: "If itâs about a death vow, I wonât touch it."
The Magic Craftsman quickly shook his head, "Itâs not about that, just a small personal matter..."
After a while, the Magic Craftsman finished speaking and went out to find the Traveling Merchant.
Angel rubbed his temples, looking speechless. Not just Angel, everyone except the Black Earl had the same expression.
It all stemmed from the Magic Craftsmanâs request.
They thought the Magic Craftsmanâs request might be significant, but it was indeed... significant.
The Magic Craftsman wanted to find the ordinary people who had witnessed his disgrace before altering his memory and make them forget through a special Oblivion Oath the embarrassing scene from today.
The value of an Oblivion Contract is quite hefty, and since itâs based on an oath, it wouldnât affect ordinary people even if they forget a dayâs memories.
In short, the Magic Craftsmanâs request had one purpose: nothing else mattered, but dignity could not be compromised. Especially in front of ordinary people, it mustnât!
This request wasnât a big deal and didnât affect ordinary peopleâs lives. Angel, although endlessly ridiculing the Magic Craftsmanâs obsession with dignity in his heart, still agreed to the request.
"Such a person is really rare..." Vay held back for a long time but couldnât help commenting.
Others said nothing but silently agreed in their hearts.
However, the Black Earl, with an old, calm demeanor, said, "Whatâs the big deal? There are plenty of weirdos in this world. Just like an old fellow called the Silent Sorcerer, doesnât the nickname make him seem silent and introverted? But in reality..."
"Ahem, Black Earl, youâd better not talk about irrelevant topics," Angel interrupted.
Although Angel knew Rheinâs personality didnât match his nickname, it was a private matter within the Barbarian Cave and shouldnât be gossiped about.
"I was illustrating, how is that irrelevant?" the Black Earl snorted discontentedly.
Angel pondered for a moment: "Actually, before coming, I had a conversation with Lord Rhein, and he spoke very highly of you, Black Earl."
Spoke very highly, Angel emphasized the words.
The Black Earl understood Angelâs implication: "What, does that old fellow intend to expose me? Let me tell you, Iâm not afraid; if he really wants to fall out, Iâll write for âForest of Timeâ and expose all his deeds."
The Black Earl ranted for a while, but in the end, he didnât bring up Rhein again, showing Angelâs threat had some effect.
However, thereâs always someone who enjoys watching and stirring up drama.
After the Black Earl stopped cursing, Dox immediately chimed in: "âForest of Timeâ probably doesnât accept such exposĂ© articles. Would you consider submitting to âGlowing City Night Talkâ? Oh, by the way, I know a witch in the Forest of Night Whisper. Why not write it up, and Iâll help you send it; itâll definitely be a hit in the next issue."
Doxâs "Iâm doing it for you" look left the Black Earl speechless.
He talked about exposing just for the thrill; if he really did that, he and Rhein would probably end up in an all-out war.
Seeing Doxâs encouraging expression left the Black Earl feeling a bit trapped. If he refused, it meant he was backing down, which would also amuse Dox; but if he didnât refuse, the consequences would be worse.
While the Black Earl was figuring out how to deal with it, footsteps were heard outside the door.
Angel: "The Magic Craftsman and the Traveling Merchant are here; letâs focus on the task. Also, letâs stop chatting about unrelated matters, or someone might want to experience being engulfed by shadows."
After speaking, Angel glared at Dox.
This guy loves stirring up trouble and watching the fun. He even dares to stir things up with the Black Earl and Lord Rhein. If not deterred in time, heâll suffer eventually.
Dox, however, laughed heartily, having forgotten about the previous uproar, and thought to himself: Angel is starting to care for him, perhaps their goodwill is sufficient now.
Are they friends now?
If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.