Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2527: Chapter 2528: Terrifying Mental Power Value

After listening to Tom’s words, Angel immediately used the authority of the Gate of Dreams to sense the situation.

Old Porter was indeed still in the Wilderness of Dreams and hadn’t left. However, he was no longer beside Ironclad Granny but was wandering New City alone.

It seems that Angel underestimated the allure of the Wilderness of Dreams to an apprentice like Old Porter who has been away from home for many years.

"I understand." Angel nodded to Lady Melo: "Old Porter is indeed asleep, let him sleep for a while."

Lady Melo frowned slightly: "But..."

Angel: "It’s alright, Old Porter has completed most of what he can do. Seeing him or not, actually doesn’t matter."

Old Porter’s biggest role was gathering the various pieces of information he saw and heard in Princess Town and bringing them to Lord Reine, a task he has clearly completed. As for the events at Princess Castle, Angel planned to find time to personally report them to Lord Reine or Ironclad Granny.

Seeing Lady Melo still a bit puzzled, Angel reassured her: "Many issues will become clear when you return to Barbarian Cave. Meanwhile, if you’re not busy, you can take Little Tom for a talent test."

Lady Melo hesitated for a moment but still nodded and said "alright", then prepared to take Little Tom to the quiet room.

Before leaving, Lady Melo didn’t forget to pull Abulei away, citing the need for her assistance in setting up the talent test equipment. In reality, she was worried that if Abulei stayed here, she might be ridiculed by Dox.

After they left, only then did Dox raise his head and ask in a curious tone: "What do you mean by, once she returns to Barbarian Cave, she’ll naturally understand?"

Dox listened to the entire conversation and still felt that Angel’s sudden remark was quite pointless. As a wizard with strong inspiration, Dox believed his intuition suggested there might be something more to it.

Angel replied indifferently: "That’s naturally Barbarian Cave’s matter. As an independent wizard, if you’re asking after this, are you thinking of settling down and looking to affiliate with a Wizard Organization?"

Dox scoffed: "As if I don’t know the ropes inside Wizard Organizations."

Angel: "You only know the ropes of other Wizard Organizations. Barbarian Cave is different."

Dox squinted: "What’s different?"

Angel was silent for a moment, then slowly said: "Barbarian Cave has me."

Dox: "..." Are you telling a joke?

Looking at Dox’s astonished and speechless expression, Angel knew he definitely didn’t take this answer seriously. Angel didn’t mind because he deliberately said it that way—if Dox did take it seriously, that would truly be strange.

Angel: "Don’t look at me like that, wasn’t what I said actually the answer?"

Dox took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to retort: "Of course it’s true, naturally, no other Wizard Organization has you. If there were, you’d be their spy."

"I’m just a bit incredulous that you’d suddenly give this kind of answer. It seems, as ’friends’, I need a deeper understanding of your personality."

Angel merely glanced at him: "So what answer are you expecting? If Barbarian Cave does have some scheme that makes it different from other Wizard Organizations, do you think I can reveal it?"

Upon hearing this, even though Angel’s words were roundabout, they were sensible.

Moreover, through this rhetorical question, Angel also indirectly addressed Dox’s inner doubts.

"In that case, you really did mean something secret when speaking to Lady Melo," Dox concluded confidently, because by Angel’s logic, if it truly were a secret, he definitely couldn’t divulge it. And now, Angel indeed hadn’t said anything.

Angel smiled without speaking.

Dox continued analyzing: "However, this secret shouldn’t be a highly confidential one, since you don’t mind it being known. Otherwise, you wouldn’t say it in front of me and Lady Melo."

"Thinking about it, your actions are quite peculiar. Are you deliberately saying that to secretly tempt and encourage me to inquire about this secret?"

"That doesn’t seem right either. If you were really tempting me, even if not disclosing the answer, you’d at least throw out a bait. But you said nothing."

Dox occasionally answered himself and then contradicted himself, while Angel, sitting opposite, remained silent.

From Angel’s perspective, Dox’s judgments were actually correct. The so-called secret was the existence of the Wilderness of Dreams. It’s not a highly confidential secret because once the witches’ tea party is held in a while, those who should know, will naturally know.

Nevertheless, Angel wasn’t deliberately revealing it to allure Dox, purely because the secret itself isn’t classified. So even if others overheard and grew curious, he didn’t mind.

If curiosity arises, and you can guess it, then good for you. If you can’t, then carry that curiosity for a few days until the answer is naturally revealed.

But, clearly, Dox couldn’t guess it unless he went to catch Old Porter now.

Angel sat there casually, listening to Dox’s various analyses, occasionally nodding along to support.

Ultimately, Dox couldn’t analyze further; he got stuck on his analysis while Angel was cheerfully chiming in, making it impossible to proceed.

Although the itch from curiosity hadn’t subsided, Dox didn’t wish to continue probing, deciding to treat Angel’s earlier remark "Barbarian Cave has me," as a way to alleviate it.

After all, this statement, no matter how you look at it, isn’t incorrect.

Dox stopped analyzing, and Angel felt a bit of the fun was gone. But soon, the fun returned. However, this time it wasn’t related to Dox, but rather came from a fair-skinned youth who quietly approached him.

"Golos, are you looking for me for something?"

The one who approached was Golos, who had already changed out of his previous odd attire, now wearing a tavern waiter’s shirt and suspenders. This outfit, paired with his fresh and handsome face, looked rather sunny. However, Golos’s expression was not as bright as the sunshine, as he kept his head down with a few hints of worry and distress.

Upon hearing Angel’s voice, Golos finally raised his head.

"I, I... Sir, I..." Golos stammered for a while before managing to say: "Bruiser is alright now. Among the service staff, there’s someone who knows medicine and has bandaged him."

Angel said nothing, while across him, Dox laughed mischievously: "Where did they bandage?"

Golos was instantly stunned, unsure how to respond.

Angel: "You don’t need to answer his question. Did you come to tell me about this? These trivial matters don’t need to be reported to me. When Lady Melo returns, you can vent to her. However, I think she might not be interested in listening to mundane things."

After Angel finished speaking, he didn’t look away but instead continued staring at Golos.

Golos could tell that this gentleman was implying that these matters were trivial. Yet, despite this, the gentleman hadn’t looked away, which indicated he had noticed there was still something Golos hadn’t said.

And this unspoken matter was the true reason Golos had come over.

Golos hesitated for two seconds, finally making up his mind, and slowly spoke.

In Golos’s view, he was using all his mental power to tell this story, but after listening, Angel waved his hand disinterestedly, "That’s it?"

Golos: "Huh?"

"When Lady Melo comes out later, you can talk to her." Angel yawned and stopped looking at Golos.

Angel thought Golos might bring some amusement, such as, why did Dox find it "a bit interesting"? Was it because Golos said or did something in the Princess’s room?

But unexpectedly, despite Golos’s cautious and solemn demeanor, he just wanted to express an apology —

Everyone was imprisoned by Modia because of him, and he felt very guilty, hoping to receive punishment.

Modia, which is the Princess’s name.

Angel had no interest in Golos’s statement, and he believed Lady Melo wouldn’t care much either.

Because it’s obvious the Princess, if she truly targeted Golos alone, had the ability to only capture him, or after capturing everyone, leave only Golos in the prison and let the others go.

Yet, the Princess captured not only Golos but also everyone else, including the Guide from the Barbarian Cave.

This was not solely due to Golos.

Therefore, in Angel’s view, Golos ought to apologize, but his involvement in the entire affair was minor. If he wanted to confess or apologize, he should find those Talented Ones or express his feelings to Lady Melo.

Golos did not expect Angel to be entirely uninterested. In his view, since he was the cause of such a serious incident, surely he should be held accountable, so he pondered a lot, proactively admitting his mistake, hoping to alleviate punishment and self-blame. Instead, this was the response he got.

Because the result differed from his imagination, Golos suddenly didn’t know what he should do now, what stance to take, or how to express the right emotion.

As he was at a loss, Dox spoke up, "You could at least let him explain the reason. After all, he referred to the Princess by her real name, so they probably know each other."

Dox wore an expression of gossipy amusement.

Angel thought for a moment and didn’t argue further. After all, there was nothing else to do for now, so he could treat it as listening to a story.

However, Angel didn’t let Golos speak immediately but waited a bit, until Lady Melo emerged to speak.

After all, the final handler and reporter of this matter was, as Guide, Lady Melo.

Within a few minutes, Lady Melo came out of the Quiet Room with young Tom.

From another observer Abulei’s still-shocked expression, Angel could guess that young Tom’s aptitude was probably quite impressive.

Soon, Lady Melo approached Angel with young Tom to report the situation.

Lady Melo appeared very calm, but Angel could still sense that her inner emotional fluctuations were no less than Abulei’s.

This also piqued a bit of Angel’s curiosity. What exactly did young Tom see in the talent test?

...

"30? Are you sure it’s 30?" Dox looked at Lady Melo in surprise.

Lady Melo deeply exhaled, then nodded, "Yes, according to the test, his Mental Power Value reached 30."

When young Tom touched the aptitude sphere, a strong light burst from his forehead, even overshadowing the glow of the aptitude sphere.

This was the first time Lady Melo, as Guide, personally witnessed an anomaly during someone else’s talent test.

And this anomaly was a thick spirit tentacle she saw in young Tom’s forehead when she opened the spiritual power vision.

Such a solid spirit tentacle, Lady Melo had never seen before, and facing it, she already felt an implicit mental pressure.

Keep in mind, young Tom wasn’t even a Wizard Apprentice yet, nor did he have spirit tentacles. Even so, there was already a sense of pressure. Imagine how formidable it could be that day it truly manifests as spirit tentacles.

It was precisely because of young Tom’s terrifying spiritual power talent that even Dox, who was initially disinterested, expressed his amazement.

"Besides seeing the spirit tentacle in his forehead, he also witnessed a plant on the windowsill bloom."

The phenomenon of a plant blooming is a very typical trait of the Elemental System’s Natural Side and isn’t considered too rare. However, when combined with a spiritual power value as high as 30, it becomes quite remarkable.

It’s worth noting that many second or third-level Wizards do not have a Mental Power Value of 30.

Although a high Mental Power Value is not the definitive standard for future achievements, the magical replenishment efficiency and inspiration it brings would allow young Tom’s cultivation speed to far surpass his peers.

Moreover, even when practicing Tricks, young Tom’s high Mental Power Value can prevent some backlash from the tricks. Others might carefully test and avoid backlash, but young Tom can summarize mistakes through backlash and quickly practice the tricks.

Angel personally witnessed this point when he first entered the Wizards’ Realm.

Back then, before Sanders intervened, he was on the Bauhinia Vessel with Moro, preparing to go to the White Coral Floating Island Academy.

On the Bauhinia Vessel, Angel personally saw a Talented One named Isril learn a Trick of Light and Shadow within half a month. Half a month prior, Isril was just an ordinary person.

And Isril’s Mental Power Value was 23. When Sanders heard about this value, he was amazed and praised it a few times.

Now, a presence with a higher Mental Power Value than Isril’s 23 points has appeared.

A Mental Power Value of 30 is the highest foundational value Angel has seen so far.

Angel was also quite astonished by this value. Previously, at Princess Castle, when young Tom intuitively discovered someone following them, Angel guessed that young Tom might have a decent Mental Power Value, but he didn’t expect "decent" to be... this impressive.

Angel, even with psychological preparation, was surprised for a few seconds. Let alone Dox.

Dox was almost having an existential crisis, his Mental Power Value was only 15, after over eighty years of cultivation. Yet young Tom, without even starting cultivation, already doubled his score.

Although Dox had seen Talented Ones with a higher Mental Power Value than him, this was different, the gap was vast.

Even if you give a fool a 30-point Mental Power Value to cultivate, as long as resources are available, their chances of becoming a Wizard are quite high!