Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2693: Chapter 2694: To Stay or to Leave

Should we discuss here, or go to the Wise Sovereign’s residence?

Regarding this question, Angel was actually a bit hesitant. Personally, he preferred going to the Wise Sovereign’s residence because if they wanted to go to the Legacy Grounds, they would definitely have to pass through the Hall of Wisdom. But he wasn’t alone now, so he had to consider the thoughts of the others as well.

Perhaps the Wise Sovereign also noticed Angel’s hesitation, and he calmly said, "You can discuss among yourselves and then decide."

After saying this, he assumed an attitude of indifference.

At the same time, Black Earl’s voice came through the Mind Ribbon: "The energy fluctuations of the Wise Sovereign have become restrained after closing his eyes, he is not eavesdropping on our conversation now."

In other words, they could now freely discuss in the Mind Ribbon.

"Really? Is he really that kind-hearted? Then if I curse him now, he shouldn’t be able to hear it, right?" Unsurprisingly, the one speaking with a mischievous tone was Dox.

Just after Dox finished speaking, within seconds, he exaggeratedly shouted in the Mind Ribbon: "Are you lying to me? The Wise Sovereign looked over in my direction!"

"Wise Sovereign, I didn’t actually curse you. I was just saying it for fun."

The first sentence was complaining to Black Earl, and the second was begging the Wise Sovereign.

Black Earl: "I have no need to deceive you."

Dox: "I don’t believe it."

At this moment, the Wise Sovereign calmly said, "Your thoughts are all written on your face. If you want to take the opportunity to curse me in the Mind Ribbon, you’d better be as discreet as the one beside you."

After saying this, the Wise Sovereign opened the third eye on his forehead, giving a meaningful glance at the person next to Dox... Vay.

Vay probably didn’t expect the Wise Sovereign to suddenly target him. His eyes widened, and he stammered in explanation: "I, I...I didn’t, didn’t..."

"You didn’t say it aloud, but you’re cursing in your heart." Wise Sovereign: "And it’s not the first time."

Vay’s expression instantly turned a bit ugly, because the Wise Sovereign was right...

As a homebody, he rarely goes out, thus he seldom socializes. The only time he needs to socialize is when facing customers at the Divination Shop.

His divination shop, known in Mesomyia as "Death Inquiry Shop," attracts customers who either believe they are going to die or are worried about dying, thus they seek Vay’s divination to inquire about death. The perceptions of Transcendents are often accurate; if customers persist, they are likely to face death. Death is a sensitive topic; even if they know they might die, hearing it from others discomforts them. It engenders a feeling of, "Are you secretly cursing me?"

Because of this, many customers are actually quite troublesome. Since many of them are influential, Vay avoids confrontation to prevent trouble and thus frequently puts on a smiling face while secretly griping.

Griping has essentially become a daily habit for him.

To him, griping feels good for a moment, continuous griping feels continuously good.

While watching Angel’s livestream just now, he couldn’t stop griping internally, except for Angel during his "enthusiastic phase" and his own master, he griped about everyone. Dox and the Wise Sovereign were the ones he griped about the most.

Especially when the Wise Sovereign suddenly exited the illusionary realm during the livestream, it shocked him; he feared the Wise Sovereign was about to invade the Earth Ring Barrier, cursing internally non-stop.

Vay didn’t expect, for the first time ever, his secret griping would backfire in the presence of the Wise Sovereign, hitting a brick wall.

Vay’s face turned alternately red and pale, unsure what to say.

Whether explaining or not, neither option seemed right.

While Vay hesitated, unsure how to handle the situation, Angel spoke up:

"These are trivial matters, why should the Wise Sovereign care?"

As Angel spoke, he deliberately revealed his Wood Spirit, which, upon seeing the Wise Sovereign’s third eye open, quivered in fear, curling its head, not daring to peek.

The Wise Sovereign glanced at Angel and then at the Wood Spirit, ultimately sighing, deciding not to continue the topic, and closed his third eye again.

With the closing of the third eye, the tense atmosphere around returned to calm.

Vay finally breathed a sigh of relief, looking at Angel with gratitude and admiration.

Angel felt a bit embarrassed being stared at by Vay.

It’s not that he’s thin-skinned, but... the fact that the Wise Sovereign saw through Vay’s thoughts was largely due to Angel.

The reason the Wise Sovereign could tell Vay was secretly cursing him was because he sensed the targeted negative emotions Vay emitted towards him.

Wizards have spiritual power as a natural wall barrier, allowing stable emotional control. Even the Wise Sovereign, without corresponding perceptual talent, would struggle to perceive emotional changes directly from others.

The reason Vay’s emotions were easily detected by the Sovereign was due to the illusionary livestream...

In the illusionary realm, Vay regarded illusions as his true body, while allowing his real emotions to recklessly broadcast outward.

The Wise Sovereign easily differentiates between reality and illusion, and Vay’s true body was nearby at that time, releasing targeted negative emotions. At such close proximity to the Wise Sovereign, even a regular person would vaguely sense the hostility.

This can be considered a flaw of the illusionary livestream.

Therefore, Angel actively spoke up for Vay.

"Are my thoughts really all written on my face?" Dox continued mumbling to himself within the Mind Ribbon.

"Cough, cough, these trivial matters don’t matter." Angel didn’t want to dwell on the issue, shifting the topic: "Let’s focus on the main point. Should we discuss here with him or go to the Hall of Wisdom? Also, regarding upcoming decisions and the distribution of interests, I think it’s necessary to renegotiate."

The first part of Angel’s statement actually wasn’t that important. His main concern was the latter.

The matter of departure and distribution of interests is naturally related to the choices of Black Earl and Dox.

Because they each represent a certain interest, Black Earl and Vay represent the interests of the Noah Clan, which in this exploration, seem to be the largest party of vested interests.

Dox and Kaier, on the other hand, represent the "additional interest group," likely unable to obtain the greatest benefits from this venture.

However, whether it’s Dox or Kaier, their contributions to this exploration are quite significant.

Kaier is the true owner of the key; Dox’s inspiration helped them evade many dangers and avoid detours.

In any case, their contributions cannot be overlooked.

Angel and the Black Earl reached a secret agreement, which can be temporarily put aside; however, the interests of Dox and Kaier also need to be safeguarded.

Especially Dox.

Throughout the journey, although he often showed an attitude of wanting to gain a big profit from this exploration, when he actually encountered something of slight value, he still allocated as needed rather than forcibly taking possession.

In truth, Dox, without any background as a Wandering Wizard, is the one most in need of interests on site, even if only immediate ones.

Angel is very aware of this. So, although he occasionally comments that Dox only sees immediate interests, when it comes time to redistribute those interests, Angel still has to speak up.

Moreover, as the leader of this exploration, he inevitably has to shoulder this responsibility.

As for how to safeguard their interests, naturally, that requires a guarantee from the greatest vested interest party—the Black Earl.

Even though Angel considers himself a vested interest party as well, his interests lie in the Nightmare Realm rather than the remaining land in reality. Therefore, he can shamelessly skip over.

In any case, no one else knows the significance of the remaining land to him...

Upon hearing Angel’s words, Dox was undoubtedly the most surprised. Previously, Dox had learned the remaining land was related to Noah, and he had actually thought about this possibility.

However, Dox did not care at that time, as he felt he had not contributed much in his perspective, simply going along to fish in troubled waters.

Moreover, his inspiration talent awoke; this harvest alone was enough. Not to mention maintaining "friendship" with Angel—which is self-assumed by Dox. Therefore, Dox did not feel he needed preferential treatment.

But if there really was "preferential treatment," Dox naturally wouldn’t refuse. He just didn’t expect that the one to propose "preferential treatment" would be Angel.

Dox hesitated for a moment, then said, "Whether it’s here or at the Hall of Wisdom is fine. As for staying or leaving, I definitely want to stay."

After Dox spoke, he glanced at Kaier, who immediately followed, "I am the same as Lord Red Sword. I, I haven’t finished recording the historical relics here."

Angel nodded, saying nothing, but looked towards the Black Earl.

The Black Earl, presumably considering this issue beforehand, didn’t hesitate, directly stating, "Where to discuss with the Wise Sovereign, you decide. As for staying or leaving and interest distribution, you can talk to me now, or after leaving here."

Although the Black Earl tossed this issue back again, it was already clear from his words that he would safeguard others’ interests.

As for whether Dox and Kaier would discuss it with the Black Earl now or later, that was up to them.

Choosing now or later seems indifferent, but in reality, it determines whether their final profit is more or less.

Talking now, because the benefits of the remaining land are unknown, there is no standard value for demand. If they negotiate now, they bet this standard value is low, aiming their interests far beyond this standard.

Discussing after leaving sets a standard value. It would then become a negotiation between the Black Earl and them.

The former might bet big, while the latter bases allocation on the standard value, never gaining exceedingly high benefits.

In other words, negotiating now belongs to the gambler’s feast; discussing after departure is the path of the prudent.

Whether to be a gambler or a prudent person depends on Dox and Kaier.

Angel, knowing Dox and Kaier’s personalities, guessed there was a high likelihood that Dox would choose to talk now, while Kaier would be more prudent, opting to discuss after leaving.

But to his surprise, the result was the opposite of what he imagined: Dox chose prudence, while Kaier took the aggressive route.

As for the reasons, Dox and Kaier’s responses were shockingly similar.

To sum up in one sentence: "As long as we can secure interests, the amount doesn’t matter."

When Dox said these words, Angel sensed satisfaction and gratitude in his emotions. This implies that Dox genuinely believes that as long as he secures some interests, regardless of the amount, it’s good.

This actually doesn’t fit Angel’s impression of Dox. In Angel’s view, Dox should be more impulsive and willing to gamble. But upon reflection, it seems to make sense for Dox.

Dox, during their time in Princess Town, clearly expressed wanting to get involved in the chaos in Gumman Kingdom to gain interests.

Angel originally thought this was aggressive, but now it seems Dox might not be aggressive; he simply wants a slice. Being a Wandering Wizard, he lacks the intelligence sources of a Witcher Organization or a patron, making it hard to gain significant profit in one go. So, in any situation with potential profit, he wants involvement. He doesn’t aim for huge profits; he just wants to reap a bit.

On the contrary, even though Kaier is also a Wandering Wizard, he has ’Voidwalker’ Esos as a patron and can rely on technology for steady earnings.

In a sense, Kaier is much like Angel. Being able to rely on skills for a living gives them the qualification to gamble without significant impact from loss or win.

This is why Kaier chose "to negotiate now."

Of course, should Dox exert full effort, he could also continuously and stably profit from "hunting," with returns surely greater than Kaier’s.

However, Dox and Kaier are ultimately different. One is an Official Wizard, the other merely an Apprentice, leading to different thresholds of desire, and varied mindsets affecting their expectations.

Various factors influenced their choices, not just simply "personality" as Angel initially thought.

After Dox and Kaier made their choices, the Black Earl promptly contacted Kaier, discussing for two minutes via an encrypted Mind Ribbon.

When the talk ended, Kaier showed neither concern nor joy, making it impossible to see whether the interests offered by Black Earl met Kaier’s expectations.

However, given that the discussion concluded, it indicates both parties agreed on each other’s terms, resolving a safeguard.

As for Dox, it can only wait post-departure from the Underground Aqueduct to see whether he will be thrilled or concerned.

At this moment, the Black Earl’s gaze shifted to Angel.

"And you, do you want to negotiate with me now?"