Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2553: Chapter 2554: Love Poems

This is probably the most bizarre alchemy omen Angel has ever encountered.

Most other alchemy omens have obvious risks, but the omen before him, at least hasn’t shown any danger yet.

No, Angel suddenly thought of a possibility. If the solution to this omen is to think of some love poems and satisfy the man, what if, no matter what love poem, he is not satisfied?

Angel still remembers there are some alchemy omens that don’t have direct risks, but if you can’t find the solution, you’ll be completely lost in the omen.

Could it be that this time he’s encountered such an omen?

If that’s the case, then it’s a bit difficult to solve.

No matter what, Angel decided to give it a try first.

"Love poem... love poem..." Angel quickly flipped through his memory casket.

Although he had never personally written a love poem, one of the few entertainment activities he had as a child included the chants of a bard.

Reciting epic poems is the bard’s main job, but the epic stories of the Goldfinch Empire are really lackluster, and the past history is controlled by the royal family, so they don’t dare to touch it lightly. So the bard’s work is only left with singing praises of heroes or love.

Angel liked to listen to poems about heroes as a child, but this doesn’t mean he never heard love poems.

In his memory reserves, there are indeed quite a few love poems heard from the bard in his young age.

But Angel quickly went through them, and these love poems either had explicit references to specific people, or were bland as chewing dry wax.

These love poems, even Angel himself found them painful to look at, could they pass the test of the man before him?

Thinking over and over again, Angel finally did not choose these love poems, but picked a short poem he once saw on the holographic tablet— "The Kiss".

I run to the door / open the stairs / say my pajamas / put on the prayer / close the bed / dive into the light / all because / of the goodnight kiss you gave me.

Earth has a developed literature, which naturally includes more famous love poems that have lasted hundreds of years, but Angel decided to start with a short poem to test the man.

Especially, to test whether this is an omen where the man will always leave unsatisfied.

After coughing twice to attract the man’s attention, Angel softly recited the poem. The preceding actions were full of oddity, and the man listened with furrowed brows, but when the truth came clear, it turned out that it was the lover’s kiss that caused chaos, and the man’s brows finally relaxed.

The man didn’t immediately evaluate the poem, but recited it again, carefully savoring it for a moment before saying to Angel, "Although this love poem is short, it is full of fun. If she sees it, she will definitely smile. I really like it."

"However, unfortunately, I have not yet received her kiss. Sending this along, she would definitely feel it isn’t my true heart. So, can you switch to another love poem?"

"In consideration of my liking for this poem, I won’t let you fall into nightmares. I will wait for your new poem."

After speaking, the man looked at Angel with burning eyes.

Angel now understood, this turns out to be the kind of omen an alchemist least wants to encounter. Alchemists prefer direct puzzles, no matter how complex, like an intricate math problem, it ultimately has a single answer; but this kind of highly variable omen can be the simplest and also the most troublesome one.

Because the answer depends on the other person’s subjective judgment.

And subjective judgment is a mental construct that can change anytime, anywhere, making it very difficult to satisfy the other person’s taste.

Most importantly, the man’s last words: "Considering my liking for this poem, I won’t let you fall into nightmares."

This means that Angel’s attempts are actually limited, the man’s preferences dominate the success or failure of this omen for Angel.

Though knowing this is a very troublesome alchemy omen, Angel wasn’t flustered, and under the other’s gaze, Angel began reciting another love poem.

This love poem was also one Angel saw on the holographic tablet, a quite famous love poem, and from a certain perspective, it has surpassed the scope of a love poem to become a poem that can empathize with most people.

From Yeats’ "When You Are Old".

Sure enough, this poem is very easy to resonate with, and as Angel recited the second line, the man’s gaze already started to blur, seemingly falling into the context woven by the poem.

Two minutes later, Angel finished reading the poem with deep emotion, and the man couldn’t come to his senses for a long time.

After a while, the man finally spoke: "I believe no one will be dissatisfied with this poem, including myself. The beauty of this poem and the earnest and sincere emotion contained within it also moved me."

The man’s admiration lasted for several minutes, and he even analyzed each line of the poem.

At first, Angel felt confident this was in the bag, but the more he listened to the man’s analysis of the poem, the more he felt things might be bad.

Sure enough, after analyzing the last verse, the man said, "I am very, very satisfied with this poem, but with my level, I cannot write such a poem for my dear Margaret. Although it’s sincere, Margaret might fall in love with this poem, but she might only love the emotion in the poem, not my emotion."

When the man said this, he looked at Angel: "So, I hope you can help me think of another poem, preferably one that matches my level."

Angel: "..." Who the heck knows what level you are at.

So, this kind of alchemy omen without a standard answer is genuinely despised by everyone.

However, this time the man didn’t mention letting Angel fall into nightmares, clearly this "When You Are Old", even if it doesn’t meet the man’s requirements, has won him over.

Anyway, since it doesn’t qualify, let’s try again. His poetry reserve is still plentiful.

Angel used a subtle tone to ask about the man’s level.

However, the other party’s answer was: "I don’t know what my level is either."

Angel was speechless; if you don’t know your own level, how am I supposed to choose?

Angel was silent for a moment, refraining from blasting poems to breach the omen, instead beginning to analyze all the occurrences since he entered the omen.

The man, painting, beloved maiden, writing love poems...

After careful analysis, Angel realized that actually after each poem, the man gave some information or clues.

After the first "The Kiss", Angel learned that if the love poems didn’t satisfy him, he would fall into nightmares, and the omen challenge would fail.

After the second "When You Are Old", Angel learned a name, the maiden most beloved by the man, called Margaret.

So, perhaps Margaret could be incorporated into the poem?

Margaret...

Angel silently recited the name in his mind, suddenly remembering something.

If nothing unexpected, he seemed to have seen this name in Nightmare Abyss City in Nightmare Realm and even went to Margaret’s boudoir. In her room, Angel found nothing valuable, but did see many... love poems.

When Angel thought of this, he raised his head abruptly, carefully examining the man’s face, yet the misty carving was obscure, making it difficult to see the other’s appearance clearly.

Angel thought for a moment and simply asked directly: "May I know your name, sir?"

Man: "If you can write a poem that satisfies me, as a reward, I will tell you my name."

Angel initially wanted to say the name that was on the tip of his tongue, but after thinking it over, he held back.

"I will start reciting the poem now, this poem... is nameless."

Angel took a deep breath, turned around, faced away from the man, and began to recite loudly: "Oh, dear Margaret, I miss you so much. Even if the forest is filled with miasma, even if the city is swarming with guards, even if the path to find you is full of sin, nothing can stop my longing for you. When I think of you, flowers sway, birds sing, the wind blows, my heart trembles. Oh, Margaret, you are so beautiful, like the bright moon of late month, shining on my humble heart; beautiful like..."

Sappy, corny, straightforward.

Even though Angel recited the poem with a rhythm and cadence, he still found it sappy, and goosebumps spread all over his arm.

He turned his back while reciting because he didn’t want anyone to see his expression while reciting this poem. Just imagining it, Angel felt it was a disaster.

This poem was completely different from the previous two, even in style, yet Angel found it in Margaret’s room.

If the man in front of him truly was that person, perhaps this poem could pass his test.

Another two minutes passed. After Angel finished reciting, he let out a long breath of relief.

At the same time, applause sounded from behind him.

Angel turned his head to look, only to see the man gazing at him with a look of approval.

"As expected from a poet who can recite ’The Kiss’ and ’When You Are Old,’ to even so effortlessly handle poems in my style."

The man’s words gave Angel a sigh of relief.

This was the man’s style, meaning that even if he didn’t pass this time, at least he wouldn’t be punished and had figured out the kind of love poems the man wanted.

"This poem is truly wonderful, if Margaret sees it, she will surely feel my fiery love!"

"Thank you for your poem, I am very, very satisfied with it. I must write it on the painting for my dear Margaret to see!"

As he spoke, the man quickly picked up a brush and began writing the poem on a canvas.

Seeing this scene, Angel relaxed completely. It seemed that this Alchemy Omen had been successfully passed.

Since this love poem could pass, it proved one thing: this man might really be that person.

While Angel was thinking, the man quickly finished writing the poem and turned to look at Angel: "All three of your poems have satisfied me greatly, especially the second one, although not in my style, it still couldn’t hide its brilliance."

"Therefore, I have decided to give you a reward."

Angel was taken aback. Could a character in an omen really give a reward? This guy couldn’t be the Thief of Time in disguise, could he? Or perhaps he had already transcended the anomaly?

While Angel was speculating, the man came up to him and took Angel’s hand.

Angel furrowed his brows but didn’t pull away.

Then the man proclaimed loudly, "My reward is this: acknowledging you as an excellent poet! In my eyes, you are a chanter bathed in moonlight!"

With that, the man swung his other hand and gave Angel a hard slap.

Angel felt a sharp pain.

Then the man let go, and Angel quickly held the hand that had been slapped, which was red without any marks.

The man looked at Angel’s pained expression, and with some apology, said, "Excellent poet, I forgot my grip was a bit strong. Are you alright?"

Angel forced a smile and shook his head: "I’m fine, is this the reward?"

The man awkwardly scratched the back of his head: "Yes, I don’t have anything good on me, so I can only offer you a compliment."

Well, a compliment can be considered a reward, I suppose.

Angel forced a light smile: "Receiving your compliment is an honor for me."

The man immediately accepted this polite phrase without hesitation: "You’re right, it is an honor. After all, you are the first to pass my poetry test."

"I must go now, Margaret has been waiting for me for a long time. I believe she will love this poem to death."

With those words, the man’s form began to dissolve gradually, and the emerging mist formed a door.

And this door was clearly the exit of this Alchemy Omen.

At the moment the door formed, a voice softly sounded in Angel’s ear: "Oh, I almost forgot to keep my promise to you. My name is Augustine..."

...

Walking out of the Alchemy Omen, Angel looked at the completely tamed short sword and fell into silence.

That person was indeed Augustine.

The love poem he saw in Nightmare Abyss City was written by Augustine for Margaret.

And it was precisely because the poem Angel recited was written by Augustine that he was able to clear this Alchemy Omen.

As for the reward Augustine mentioned...

Angel lowered his head to look at the hand that had been struck... well, there were no marks, it was indeed just a compliment.

A compliment is just a compliment; after all, he didn’t expect any reward in the first place.

However, having experienced this Alchemy Omen, Angel had many questions. Why, when refining this short sword, would he encounter Augustine in the Alchemy Omen?

Whether there is a connection between the Alchemy Omen and the item being refined is an unanswered question in the circle of Alchemy, but most alchemists believe that even if it is not apparent on the surface, there is some connection in the unseen.

If there really is a connection, does that mean the "door" the short sword opens is related to Augustine?

Moreover, was the wall in Nightmare Abyss City also created by Augustine?

Besides the above questions, Angel had an even bigger question.

Although the person said his name was Augustine, Angel confirmed one thing from the love poems in Nightmare Abyss City.

Augustine’s full name was—Augustine Noah.

The surname was Noah.

Then, is he related to the Noah Clan?

Did the Black Earl let Vay come along, as Rhein said, just out of curiosity?