Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2578: Chapter 2579: Reading Memories

After the traveling merchant entered the small house, he obediently stood still, silently waiting for his memory to be modified.

For others, memory modification is a terrifying and unacceptable thing. But for the traveling merchant, as long as he can stay alive, what does it matter if his memory is modified? Moreover, if the modified memory is about something trivial, then it’s even less of a concern.

As for the secrets in the depths of his memory... everyone has some secrets; the traveling merchant is no exception. But he’s confident that even if memories related to his secrets are reviewed, they won’t attract the attention of an Official Wizard.

So, he is unafraid, and is even somewhat looking forward to it.

The hopeful look in the traveling merchant’s eyes truly had an effect, as Angel noticed and, after pondering for a moment, said, "You first. I will modify your memories of today, and you may fall unconscious for a while afterward."

The traveling merchant nodded in understanding. If he didn’t fall unconscious for a while, if he wakes and sees Angel and the others again, wouldn’t doubts arise in his heart? Once those doubts appear, the matter of memory modification would soon be exposed. So, they must fall unconscious, and when they wake, they will forget the people they encountered today.

As for whether there will be a sense of discord after the memory modification, the traveling merchant is also unconcerned. Since the opposing Wizard is confident in modifying memories, then when they wake up, there surely won’t be any discord. The logic of why they fainted, why they saw the magical craftsman there, can all be self-consistent. He believes the Wizard has this capability for wrapping things up.

The traveling merchant took a deep breath and walked to Angel, closing his eyes, prepared to accept the modification of his memory.

However, just as the traveling merchant was fully prepared, Angel said, "Your memory will be modified by this Honorable one."

The traveling merchant hadn’t yet reacted to whether "Honorable one" was a title of respect, when he saw a slate slowly floating up, pointing its high-bridged nose towards him.

"Come over, don’t dawdle. Do you really need me to come over to find you?"

A cold voice emanated from the slate.

The traveling merchant looked over in confusion, and with just one glance, he felt his heart leap out of his chest.

Even though the opposite slate only had a nose, and no aura was emanating from it, he still couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread. It wasn’t the premonition of a Wizard, nor a spiritual perception, but an awe ingrained deep in his blood - a primal and instinctual response to power.

There’s no doubt, the owner of this unknown nose is definitely a terrifying and powerful Transcendent being.

This time, he was completely fooled; he thought there were only two Official Wizards among the visitors.

Unexpectedly, there was an even more powerful presence hidden among them.

With such a lineup, even if the entire Merchant Organization were to mobilize, they wouldn’t be able to exert much pressure on them.

At this thought, the traveling merchant feels nothing but relief and gratitude: Fortunately, he was completely open and harbored no ulterior motives from beginning to end. Otherwise, today’s outcome would be unpredictable.

The traveling merchant hurriedly ran to the slate: "Ho-Honorable one..."

"Cut the crap, close your eyes, I’m starting now."

The traveling merchant immediately shut his eyes tight. As he did, the nose on the slate turned slightly towards Angel.

Angel seemingly sensed something, nodded gently to the slate.

The next second, the traveling merchant felt a formidable spiritual power surge into his brow. As this spiritual power entered his brow, his thoughts came to a halt and he fainted...

Meanwhile, the magical craftsman also stared at the floating slate in bewilderment, speculating various possibilities.

But before he could deduce anything, Angel’s voice came through his ears: "Stop looking, it’s your turn."

The magical craftsman was momentarily stunned, then immediately plunged into chaos, soon losing consciousness.

Two minutes later, the Black Earl was the first to exit the traveling merchant’s memories.

Ten minutes later, Angel, with a furrowed brow, exited the memories of the magical craftsman.

"Is the modification complete?" Dox asked.

Seeing Angel nod, Dox didn’t continue probing about the memory modification. For an Official Wizard, modifying memory is simple, creating a self-consistent logic isn’t difficult either.

Dox: "So, any gains?"

Angel didn’t answer immediately but glanced at the Black Earl, whose nostrils merely flared slightly, which Angel seemed to understand.

Angel: "We’ll talk about that later, let’s leave here first. Is the aftermath for the ordinary people sorted out?"

Dox: "Kaier is handling it, plus the magical craftsman used a Forgetting Pact to make most people forget the related memories. No need to worry."

"That’s good, let’s go."

As Angel finished, Speedy granted a Blessing of the Wind upon everyone. Seconds later, they were gone, leaving behind only the two unconscious people sitting on chairs. Soon, they would also awaken, but with no suspicion, continuing their previous argument.

Yes, arguing. In their memories, there was no fainting; they were arguing all along, as if blinking was all that happened between the last and next second.

And the target of their argument was Miss Red, whose memory had been altered by the Forgetting Pact...

Under the Blessing of the Wind, they quickly returned to the original cellar, with even Machius not falling behind.

Re-entering the cellar, the first sight was still Coro in his small "Lightning" outfit, curled up in a corner, looking a bit drowsy. Clearly, little Coro had been waiting here for his mother’s return.

Upon hearing movements from outside, Coro’s eyes opened wide with alertness, which gradually turned to joy.

The scene of the mother and son reuniting and embracing was very heartwarming.

If only Dox weren’t here to interrupt, it would have been even better.

"Just the child waiting here for the mother, where’s his dad? Doesn’t care about the son, nor came to greet the wife, tut tut, now I kinda understand why Coro is dressed like this."

Dox had no intention of withholding his remarks; Machius and little Coro both overheard. Little Coro dared not speak; Machius replied awkwardly, "Honorable one, you misunderstand, Crow loves Coro dearly, and loves me too, he’s just not good at expressing it."

"If you believe that, then I have nothing to say." Dox shrugged.

Machius gave a dry laugh, "Honorable one, now that we’re back, I suppose there’s nothing more for me, right? Do I need my memory erased?"

Angel thought for a moment, then said, "I’ll block your memory of this event, but won’t erase it."

With that, Angel extended his index finger, pointing into the air.

Nightmare Illusion Breath entered Machius’ mind, shielding the memory of her outing with them today.

Machius noticed that the recent memories were all forgotten, but unlike with the magical craftsman and the traveling merchant, she knew that her memory was blocked by the Wizard in front of her.

Machius didn’t probe why Angel chose to block rather than erase, but instead bowed deeply to Angel, and said, "Coro has waited long and is tired, I’ll take him back to rest now."

Having said that, Machius held Coro’s hand and walked towards the underground corridor.

Angel and the others did not leave the cellar immediately, but exchanged glances, and everyone had a tacit understanding. The next second, a Mind Ribbon connected everyone.

Without a doubt, Angel intended to share the memories of the magical craftsman he had explored.

However, before discussing the situation with the magical craftsman, Angel first communicated through the Mind Ribbon and asked Black Earl: "Honorable Black Earl, did you gain anything from your side?"

Black Earl: "I explored all memories related to the death oath but not violating the oath from the Traveling Merchant, and indeed, there is some gain."

Black Earl’s straightforward words revealed a level of sophistication unreachable by the others present.

Being able to discern memories related to the death oath without violating it was an operation none of the others could perform besides Black Earl.

This requires abundant experience and the most meticulous techniques.

Although Black Earl’s nasal power is not strong, he inherited Black Earl’s memories and experience. Only he could achieve such frightening operations.

Knowing that Black Earl could accomplish this, Angel let Black Earl explore the Traveling Merchant’s memory to see if there was any other useful information.

"There are two findings related to our actions this time: first, the Merchant Organization arranged a ceremony in The Garden Labyrinth, and this ceremony is used to detect high-energy reactions."

Angel: "A large ceremony? Encompassing the entire Garden Labyrinth?"

Black Earl: "Not considered a large ceremony; the Birlos Family does not have the resources to arrange a large ceremony. It’s just a medium-sized ceremony with eight tracks. Moreover, the eight nodes of the ceremony are not placed in The Garden Labyrinth but roughly covering it from the outside."

"Although the ceremony is not great, its effect is average. But as long as there’s a high-energy fluctuation in The Garden Labyrinth, the Birlos Family will certainly know."

Dox touched his chin: "Is there such an operation? What is the standard for high-energy fluctuations?"

Black Earl: "Previously, your Sandworm only needed to make any exceptional movement to meet the standard for high-energy fluctuations."

Angel: "So, spell technique level of destruction?"

Black Earl: "You could say that, but high-energy fluctuations are not limited to destruction. If the underground Magical Energy Array is activated, it will also cause considerable high-energy fluctuations."

This means their actions must be more cautious.

Although they are not afraid of Birlos finding out, they do not want to be disturbed during exploration.

"What is the second point?" Angel asked.

Black Earl: "The second point is about the true entrance of the Underground Labyrinth. In the Traveling Merchant’s memory, the Merchant Organization indeed knows several entrance locations, but only core members know the specific locations, and the Traveling Merchant is not considered a core member."

Not to mention core members, the Traveling Merchant even has quite a rebellious spirit. However, Black Earl did not mention this since it was irrelevant.

Angel: "As expected, the Merchant Organization does indeed know the entrance."

It makes sense to think about it. This ruins site is almost equivalent to the backyard of the Birlos Family, and after years of exploration, knowing the entrance is entirely normal for them.

Not only the Birlos Family, but other Wizards who have explored the Garden Labyrinth may also know some entrances.

However, knowing the entrance serves little purpose. The valuable items in the Underground Labyrinth were plundered by Wizards thousands of years ago.

Now, besides some later-growing demonic materials, there are only magical creatures left in the Underground Labyrinth.

"Nevertheless, this news can be considered good news, a potential backup plan," Angel pondered.

Everyone understood the so-called backup plan, which is, if this entrance doesn’t work, they can capture a core member of the Merchant Organization for the entrance.

However, it would be best not to take this step. The Merchant Organization’s entrance is surely guarded, and entering those entrances might ultimately require forced entry, directly facing the Merchant Organization.

Facing them prematurely would be disadvantageous for exploration.

Black Earl: "I have no other news, unless you want to hear some secrets or quirks of the Traveling Merchant?"

Dox’s eyes lit up: "What quirks?"

Black Earl: "Perhaps not far from what is in your mind."

Dox showed a rather peculiar smile and looked at Angel: "Do you know what I’m thinking now? Hint: something we both experienced."

Angel knew Dox was certainly thinking about what happened in Princess Modia’s boudoir, but he had no interest in responding to such trivial questions.

"Let me talk about my side. I did not explore other memories of the magical craftsman, fearing it might trigger the death oath. I only investigated the memory related to that table."

"The magical craftsman actually lied a little. He did conduct in-depth research on the patterns and characters on the table but gained nothing in the end, so he treated the table as raw material for crafting."

"However, this lie did me a favor by allowing me to more clearly and intuitively examine all the details of the table in the craftsman’s memory."

Because Angel thoroughly explored all details, his memory modification speed was much slower compared to Black Earl.

"You can see the specific situation yourself."

Angel didn’t elaborate on the table’s situation but directly used an Illusion Technique to project the table before everyone.

The entire table was as they had guessed—a lectern used for teaching.

It had three sides with approximately five-centimeter barriers, and the middle area was relatively spacious and slightly inclined. This was where the scriptures or handouts were placed. It was also where the "Pattern" was located.

As for the location of the "characters," it was at the top, unseen by the believers below, only visible to the lecturer.

Angel speculated these characters might serve a similar function to exam cheating, like students pre-writing answers on the desk.

These characters were messy and complex, likely reminders for when the lecturer forgot their lines.

But Angel wasn’t sure if his guesses were correct.

Because he didn’t recognize a single character.

Indeed, he had never seen such characters before.

He had already tried to translate using "Literacy Mastery" earlier, but it was unsuccessful. This indicates these characters belong to a language system Angel had never encountered.

"Literacy Mastery" is a Second-Level Trick. Don’t assume learning Literacy Mastery would mean understanding all languages. It requires knowledge accumulation, learning more language systems for faster and more accurate translation.

To put it simply, this involves collecting, computing, and applying big data, testing the wizard’s insight, intellect, and computing power.

Angel could not translate, so he looked to Dox and Black Earl, perhaps their "Literacy Mastery" contained the system for these characters?