Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2185: Chapter 2186: Token

After leaving the cemetery, Angel and Dangross walked upwards along the narrow red jelly corridor.

When they reached a fork in the road, Dangross suddenly called out, "Wait a minute."

Angel stopped and looked at Dangross in confusion.

Dangross quietly watched one of the paths, and after more than ten seconds, a tiny spark floated out from the dark path.

Dangross gently hooked it with his hand, and the spark flew toward him.

"What is this?" Angel noticed that Dangross directly slapped the spark into the "head" between his wrist and palm.

Dangross did not immediately speak, seemingly pondering for a while before saying, "This is a message from my little brother, saying that Little Impa is waiting for me on Flaming Road."

After speaking, Dangross looked at Angel: "Little Impa has also invited Mr. Pat, it seems the teacher has assigned him something."

Since it was something Magu assigned to Little Impa, Angel thought for a moment and nodded: "Let’s go and see then."

Dangross nodded and led Angel toward another path.

While on their way to Flaming Road, Angel asked about the sparks that had floated by earlier: "Can you communicate using these sparks?"

Dangross nodded: "Yes, as long as we infuse the content we wish to convey into the spark and seek a target, we can send messages."

"That sounds pretty good." Angel couldn’t help but wonder if the sky in the Region of Fire filled with various sparks was actually messages flying around?

If this speculation proved true, then when Angel was secretly sneaking forward, was it essentially a livestream discussion of his movements by online friends on a "forum" above him?

Dangross: "Most of them are not, but there are some concealed sparks containing messages among them."

"Mixed in with other sparks? That is very covert."

Dangross: "This method of messaging is common to all elemental beings. Little Impa, for example, can stir up flying sand and stones to deliver messages... But the most discreet are the wind elementals. The medium for their messages is the invisible and formless wind, which no one can see."

After listening to Dangross’s explanation, Angel felt a sense of wonder but also secretly heightened his vigilance. He would soon visit other elemental regions, and this information was very important.

Angel further inquired with Dangross about the process of transmitting information and whether it was possible to capture messages.

Through this exchange, they soon arrived at the entrance of Flaming Road.

It was an intersection in the shape of a three-way cross, appearing to be a bustling area with flame creatures flying past now and then.

Little Impa’s tall, dark silhouette was leaning against a wall at one of the junctions, tossing and catching a stone carving in his hand. It wasn’t until Little Impa saw Dangross that he stopped this motion and stood up to greet them.

"Little-little-little... Little Impa, what do you want us here for?" Dangross was sitting on the Hand of Magic at this time, feeling he had a powerful backing, which made him sound more arrogant. He not only emphasized the "little" but also repeated it several times.

Little Impa’s already dark face turned even darker instantly.

"Hmph, I won’t argue with you today, but someday I’ll beat you down." After a brief threat, Little Impa looked at Angel standing beside him: "Human, Magu teacher just sent a message to my brother, you should know about it, right? Now follow me, my brother sent me to pick you up."

Angel: "... Huh?" What did he mean by I should know about it?

Seeing Angel’s puzzled expression, Little Impa seemed to understand: "Did Magu teacher not tell you? As expected, it’s fallen asleep again."

"You were here because of the message in the spark, right?" Seeing Dangross nod, Little Impa sighed: "I knew this would happen, so just in case, I had Dangross’s little brother send you a message. Unexpectedly, it turned out to be necessary."

Little Impa: "Anyway, you’re here, so the process isn’t important. Let’s go, I’ll lead the way."

Little Impa then turned and walked away.

Little Impa led them for two minutes before stopping in front of a door. This door was even larger than any they had seen before.

The door opened to reveal a spacious space inside.

A gigantic stone man, more than three times larger than Little Impa, sat cross-legged in the ample space, intently staring at a small stone in front of him.

This small stone slowly morphed in its shape under his gaze, eventually taking the form of a fluttering butterfly silhouette.

However, the sound of Little Impa opening the door seemed to disrupt the shaping process, and the stone butterfly cracked with a snap.

The gigantic stone man, seeing this, looked heartbroken: "Failed carving again..."

Its voice was obviously grand enough to serve as a broadcast, but the tone was aggrieved, with even tears welling up in its eyes, completely inconsistent with its burly image.

It’s like a tough exterior shell of iron concealing a sensitivity akin to softly smelling the roses.

A bit incongruous, yet oddly interesting.𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"Is that Big Impa?" Angel whispered.

Although Little Impa was reluctant to admit it, he eventually nodded: "Yes, that’s my brother."

Angel: "Is he always like this?"

Little Impa remained silent, but Dangross remarked: "What’s wrong with that? That’s Big Impa after all, and compared to Little Impa, I much prefer Big Impa. He’s very nice to me and even gifted me a statue modeled after me."

Little Impa muttered to the side: "Wasn’t that to pursue Youyou Nu?"

Angel: "Who is Youyou Nu?"

Little Impa pointed to the butterfly that Big Impa had carved but cracked: "Youyou Nu is a Ghostfire Butterfly, and my brother was carving its appearance just now... Also, Youyou Nu is Dangross’s little brother."

Little Impa’s meaning was already very clear; because Youyou Nu is Dangross’s little brother, Big Impa was trying to please Youyou Nu by gifting Dangross the statue, not genuinely treating him well.

Dangross huffed for a while but didn’t speak. Because he wasn’t sure whether Big Impa’s intentions were to please Youyou Nu or if he was genuinely kind, he decided to remain silent.

Angel didn’t finish listening to their conversation and was stunned when Little Impa mentioned that "Youyou Nu" was the butterfly.

A stone man as large as a hill falling in love with a butterfly smaller than his palm. Most importantly, they weren’t even the same species.

This, this was truly captivating.

On the other side, the weeping Big Impa finally stopped and directed his gaze toward the doorway, seeing Little Impa.

"My carving is ruined..."

Little Yimba pondered for a moment: "I didn’t mean to, I didn’t expect you to start carving again."

Although Big Yimba felt a bit aggrieved, after all, the visitor was Little Yimba. It sighed deeply: "Forget it, I’ll carve another one later... Did the teacher say that humans have already arrived?"

Only after Little Yimba came in, Big Yimba noticed that Angel was standing behind Little Yimba.

Big Yimba was stunned for a moment, then quickly hid the already broken butterfly sculpture. The aggrieved expression vanished in an instant, replaced by a serious look.

"You are... Mr. Pat." Big Yimba looked at Angel.

Angel didn’t tear down the serious facade that Big Yimba had deliberately created, and smiled, nodding: "Yes."

Big Yimba carefully examined Angel, seemingly very curious about Angel’s identity as a "human." After a long while, Angel faintly heard it mumbling: "Indeed a bit different from us Elemental Life. The teacher said humans have many complex organs, I really want to see what they look like."

Angel: "..."

Seeing Big Yimba secretly muttering and not getting to the point, Dangross simply asked directly: "Little Yimba said that Teacher Magu sent a message to you, what did the teacher say?"

Big Yimba frowned: "It’s not Little Yimba, it’s Yimba."

Little Yimba hummed proudly a few times.

Big Yimba continued: "Teacher Magu said to prepare a token for Mr. Pat."

Angel: "Prepare a token for me?"

Big Yimba nodded: "The teacher said Mr. Pat is going on a trip and might visit the Wild Stone Wasteland. I’m to prepare a token for Mr. Pat to prevent him from being attacked in the Wild Stone Wasteland."

After saying this, Big Yimba scratched its head a bit sheepishly: "Actually, our Wild Stone Wasteland tribe is quite hospitable, just a bit stubborn by nature, often acting without thinking. There’s a good chance that once you enter, you’ll be mistaken for an enemy, and then changing their perception would be very hard."

Little Yimba added from the side: "Just like Dangross, impulsive and without thinking, and very foolish."

Angel understood that Little Yimba was mocking Dangross for previously not recognizing Angel’s identity and summoning Grada and Phoenix to battle him, which almost led to Grada’s death.

Understand he did, but you’re talking about your own kind from the Wild Stone Wasteland! To mock Dangross, you’re dragging your kin into it, what a ruthless person.

Dangross huffed, wanting to argue with Little Yimba, but its voice was completely drowned out by Big Yimba’s loud voice.

"My brother is right, so to avoid misunderstandings, you can take my token with you, and the tribe won’t mistake your identity," Big Yimba said.

Angel: "I do indeed need to go to the Wild Stone Wasteland, so thank you very much, Mr. Big Yimba. With the token, I believe there won’t be any misunderstandings."

Big Yimba: "Then I’ll carve the token for you now."

Carve a token? Angel was momentarily stunned. He thought the token was already made; turns out it’s carved on the spot?

Big Yimba fetched a black stone from behind, placed it in front, and focused intently on the stone. The stone immediately began to change at a visible pace...

While Big Yimba was carving the token, Little Yimba looked at Angel and said: "Human, I do not know why you are going to the Wild Stone Wasteland, but if I find out you are going with malice, I will not spare you."

Little Yimba’s gaze was sharp, directly meeting Angel’s eyes.

Angel could feel that Little Yimba seemed to have a natural aversion to humans. Although it didn’t amount to hostility, the resistance was obvious.

This could be seen from some details, such as Little Yimba never addressing by surname, but using "human" as a generic term instead. It was evident that Little Yimba indeed wasn’t fond of humans.

Angel wasn’t surprised by this, even with the "savior" label wrapped around him, after all, he isn’t the savior, and humans aren’t really that perfect. Don’t be misled by the lack of visible hostility towards humans from Magic Fire Midir or Magu, but how they truly think is uncertain. If the roles were reversed and Angel were in Magu’s position, he probably wouldn’t be fond of humans either, given that humans aim to capture Elemental Creatures, harmonious coexistence between the two races was never an easy task.

Little Yimba’s direct expression of resistance instead made Angel more at ease.

"I have no malicious intent in this journey, rest assured," Angel said solemnly.

Little Yimba gave Angel a deep look, saying nothing more.

Big Yimba’s carving was very rapid; it didn’t need to actually wield a knife. As long as the thought was there, the carving would naturally take shape.

In just five minutes, the previously unremarkable black stone became a palm-sized statue.

The figure carved was none other than Angel himself.

Not only were the facial details vividly exact, but even the inner essence was captured and carved into the statue by Big Yimba.

Little Yimba, sensing the calm and gentle essence emanating from the statue, softened its previously scrutinizing gaze some when looking at Angel.

Little Yimba knew that its brother’s carving not only captured the likeness but could also reach into one’s heart to capture the true nature of the subject. Since the aura presented in the statue was gentle, it believed that this human’s nature should not be too bad.

Angel didn’t know the deeper meaning behind the statue and personally found it quite likable.

After accepting the statue token from Big Yimba’s hand, Angel fiddled with it for a while before putting it away earnestly.

After accepting the token, Angel did not leave immediately but took out a Ghostfire Gemstone from his bracelet.

This gemstone was something he picked up in the Region of Fire, not very valuable.

Angel gently summoned the Alchemy Fire and swiftly shaped the Ghostfire Gemstone.

After all, Big Yimba had given him a token, and as a wizard who had "equivalent exchange" deeply ingrained into his psyche, he naturally couldn’t accept it for nothing.

Angel intended to carve a Ghostfire Butterfly as a return gift.

Since there was no need for special enchantments, only melt and condensation were required; in just over ten minutes, a gracefully fluttering Ghostfire Butterfly took form in the Hand of Magic.

Unlike the butterfly Big Yimba had previously carved, Angel’s choice of material was a very apt Ghostfire Gemstone, so the butterfly carved was almost indistinguishable from the real thing, from color to the innately contained fire.

Angel handed the Ghostfire Butterfly to Big Yimba: "Thank you for your token, this is my return gift."

Big Yimba gazed at this seemingly real and imaginary Ghostfire Butterfly, eyes filled with deep fascination.

It was somewhat embarrassed to accept it, as the matter of the token was instructed by Teacher Magu, but this Ghostfire Butterfly was so beautiful that if Younu saw it, it would surely be delighted.

Big Yimba hesitated for a good while: "Thank you, Mr. Pat, I really like this gift. I think it’s more precious than my token... Please don’t leave yet, I have something else to give to you, which might also be helpful for your journey."

After accepting the return gift, Big Yimba hesitated for a moment, then turned back and looked pleadingly at Little Yimba.

Little Yimba remained silent for a while, finally surrendering under Big Yimba’s gaze, heaved a deep sigh, and pointed at Angel out of thin air.