Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2699: Chapter 2700: True Words Tome

"If the Wise Sovereign thinks I’m lying, you can use the truth spell on me. But only for this question."

Angel opened his heart, presenting a demeanor open for others to explore.

In fact, Angel’s candid words and actions had already convinced many. However, the Wise Sovereign feared he might be using reverse psychology, deliberately retreating to advance, so he still used the truth spell on him with an apologetic look to confirm.

Immediately afterwards, for the first time since encountering the Wood Spirit, the Wise Sovereign opened the third eye on his forehead.

As the third eye opened, a large amount of flowing light like silk threads appeared around them, intertwining and weaving, as if crafting a net of flowing light or writing mysterious runes in the air.

The flowing light danced around, surrounding Angel and the Wise Sovereign.

Eventually, the flowing light formed a piece of tree leaf with a faint golden glow in the middle of the two of them.

The book page had two sides, which were now blank, with only the flowing golden light faintly visible on it.

The light reflected from the book page flickered on their faces, casting eerie expressions.

"Why so formal, Wise Sovereign? I’ve said it’s only for this question," Angel sighed.

Others might not know what this is, but Angel knew very well.

Because the runes woven by the surrounding flowing light are precisely Magic Patterns. And in the center, the book constructed by Magic Patterns is a manifestation of them, which Magic Rune Mages call: the True Words Tome.

The True Words Tome functions quite similarly to the contract light shield used by the Black Earl earlier, but with slight differences.

In the contract light shield, you must speak the truth, and when you don’t want to answer, you can choose to remain silent.

However, within the range of the True Words Tome, remaining silent leads to a backlash from the magic patterns, making you compelled to answer all questions.

But there’s something interesting about the True Words Tome: your answers don’t have to be truthful.

But if you leave your answer on those flowing golden light book pages, then that answer must be the truth.

In other words, within the range of the True Words Tome, you can speak the truth or lies, but only what’s on the book pages is the absolute truth.

Once the golden book page formed, the Wise Sovereign reached out a finger, and a bit of energy flew like a swan, landing on the book page.

A faint mist of light rose from the surface of the book page, forming a faint phantom shadow, which, upon closer inspection, revealed the True Body of the Wise Sovereign: the Triclops Blue Demon.

Soon, the mist of light dissipated, and the phantom shadow of the Triclops Blue Demon merged into the book page and disappeared.

The appearance of the True Body phantom also meant that the Wise Sovereign activated the book page with his energy, in other words, he signed the "contract" of the True Words Tome.

After completing this action, the Wise Sovereign looked at Angel.

Angel: "Can’t you just use an ordinary truth spell...?"

Wise Sovereign: "The effect is the same."

Indeed, the effect is the same, but the True Words Tome is not just about making people speak the truth. In the basic teaching of the Heart Illusion in the Illusion Series, the True Words Tome is even used as an example in explaining game theory.

Because the True Words Tome has a trait that, as long as any party signs the "contract," they can write some reasonable rules on it.

What is reasonable is a rule recognized by the True Words Tome and the opponent.

For example, you write a rule: You can remain silent when you don’t want to answer.

Even if your opponent agrees with this rule, the True Words Tome won’t, because that negates the Tome’s existence, which is its underlying logic.

Similarly, if you write a rule: Everything the opponent says must be the truth.

The True Words Tome accepts it, but if your opponent doesn’t, then that rule doesn’t hold.

This way of mutually setting rules seems to respect the opponent, but in fact, it’s also a means of mutual gaming.

Take, for instance, the rule "the opponent must speak the truth." If the opponent refuses to sign this rule, that indicates they have something to hide and are unwilling to say it. This means they might likely lie about what they say next.

This information may seem useless, but for Wizards with top-notch observation, it is also part of the game.

Moreover, due to this rule of the True Words Tome, many Wizards start probing their opponents while writing rules.

Therefore, when Angel saw the True Words Tome, he only felt his forehead swell.

He’d rather play the contract light shield game with the Black Earl than this mentally exhausting True Words Tome. Most importantly, his opponent was the Wise Sovereign; he didn’t think he could outplay him.

Seeing Angel not acting for a long time, the Wise Sovereign remained silent for a moment, then added a rule to the True Words Tome.

It was also the only rule made by the Wise Sovereign: Follow the original rule.

In other words, the Wise Sovereign didn’t set any rules. The original rules are the rules of the True Words Tome itself, without any additional rules.

This means the Wise Sovereign gave up on gaming in terms of rules.

Angel thought for a moment and concluded that if it’s the original rules, it shouldn’t be a problem? He only needed to answer the initial suspicion; at other times, he didn’t need to record his words in the True Words Tome, whether true or false.

Thinking about this, Angel still extended his finger and prepared to infuse energy into the True Words Tome.

However, when Angel was infusing energy, an idea flashed in his mind.

The magic power that was supposed to be released from the Magic Vortex in his Mind Space was stopped by Angel at the last moment. He secretly opened the "Door" on his right hand, and the hidden green pattern began to actively jump under the glove, and a Power of the Nightmare Realm began to gather slowly.

The pale green energy, carrying a thick Nightmare Illusion Breath, gushed from his fingertips into the True Words Tome.

Everyone saw that light green energy with a peculiar aura, but none of them were too surprised, including the Wise Sovereign who didn’t take it seriously.

Because Angel’s previous Illusionary Realms and Illusion Technique broadcasts all carried this aura. Undoubtedly, this is Angel’s energy.

Often, when both parties infuse their energy into the True Words Tome, it doesn’t necessarily have to be the purest magic power, because pure magic power might reveal some clues. Changing magic power to other energies, such as the Power of Earth, Nature, or Water powered by magic, can all activate the True Words Tome.

Therefore, seeing Angel using Illusionary Power, they weren’t surprised.

What truly surprised them was...when that light green energy was infused into the True Words Tome, the Tome blossomed with bright green light, and within the green light an apparition vaguely appeared.

This apparition couldn’t even remotely be considered similar to Angel, it was entirely unconnected.

This apparition was very tall, with a slender and elongated figure, and didn’t reveal his full face, only showing a small half of his profile.

Because the profile was composed of green light, it wasn’t clearly visible, but its outline was very high and prominent.

The only identifiable feature was his hair, which grew long enough to cover his waist. Not only was it smooth, but it also vaguely shone with a luster.

From the overall perspective, it has absolutely nothing to do with Angel.

Although they know Angel now looks like a red-haired, golden-eyed figure using Shapeshifting Technique, they have also seen Angel’s true appearance! As the hottest topic in recent years, magazines large and small have eagerly plastered his portrait on their covers every issue for promotion. Moreover, Angel recently served as a judge for the New Star Competition, where he also showed his face.

Angel’s true appearance is of golden hair and blue eyes, youthful and handsome, with an aura of dawn in his expressions. His elegance exudes a sense of traditional nobility, making him unforgettable at first glance.

Now, seeing Angel prefer a scruffy appearance of red hair and golden eyes, honestly, both Dox and Vay feel it’s a bit of a waste.

Looking at the long-haired silhouette on the True Words Tome, they were all stunned.

Did they think Angel’s true appearance was also fake?

Dox couldn’t help but ask Angel, "Do you look like this?"

Angel rolled his eyes, not responding, because he himself was surprised. He knows what he looks like, and the light and shadow on the True Words Tome are definitely not him.

However, it wasn’t completely unlike him, as several parts of Angel’s body belonged to "that person."

This person, even without seeing the front, just from the long hair and tall figure, Angel recognized who it was.

—Shava.

He initially wanted to use the Power of Nightmare Illusion to cheat, as he knows his right hand’s green Pattern includes the structure of "release, channel, door," which can directly draw in the Nightmare Illusion Breath from the Nightmare Realm.

Angel didn’t expect the True Words Tome to present an image of Shava in the end.

Now he feels helpless, not knowing how to explain.

While Angel was sighing internally, he noticed the Wise Sovereign on the opposite side didn’t seem to care about the light and shadow on the True Words Tome, making Angel pause and suddenly remember.

Exactly, the Wise Sovereign doesn’t know his real appearance either, so seeing the same appearance, assuming he used Shapeshifting Technique is a reasonable guess.

As for the others, since no front view is shown, he can forcibly claim he looks like that when turned around.

Thinking of this, Angel’s mood brightened up again.

"Since the Wise Sovereign hasn’t set rules, I won’t either."

Wise Sovereign: "You can set them."

Angel: "If I were to set rules, it would only have two options: First, making the Wise Sovereign answer questions related to himself; Second, making the Wise Sovereign answer questions unrelated to himself."

"Would the Wise Sovereign agree to either of these options?"

The Wise Sovereign opened his mouth but ultimately didn’t speak. Both options had pitfalls. Agreeing would be strange.

"I’ll join in then, since you both aren’t setting rules, I’ll propose some." At this moment, Dox waved vigorously at them.

Angel ignored him, and the Wise Sovereign didn’t look at him either, instead turning to glance at the Black Earl floating in mid-air.

"Do you want to join?"

The Wise Sovereign didn’t watch the others, but focused on a nose embedded in the slate. Angel didn’t dare to speculate, but the Wise Sovereign’s choice suggested he might have guessed the Black Earl’s identity was extraordinary.

Indeed, although they’ve agreed to use "Black, Gold, Red" to address each other, ignoring generational differences, there would be subtle details at the Hanging Jail Stairway.

Just like Angel would mess around with Dox but never spoke ill to the Black Earl.

Additionally, although the two apprentices were warned not to reveal, the more they tried to overlook it, the more likely the Wise Sovereign would catch a flaw.

One must admit, the Wise Sovereign sending them to "visit" the Hanging Jail Stairway had its effect.

Their relationships, familiarity, and importance were pretty much exposed.

The Black Earl didn’t refuse the Wise Sovereign’s invitation either, taking a deep breath and blowing out a strong wind.

The wind merged into the True Words Tome, and a blue light appeared, revealing a human silhouette.

However, this silhouette was even more casual than Angel’s earlier one. First, it was seated, not showing the full picture; second, it wore a mask, a plush mask of a blood-eyed rabbit.

Judging by these two traits alone, it was impossible to discern who it was, nor could one determine whether they were male or female, human or creature...

The Wise Sovereign didn’t say anything upon witnessing this. The light and shadow shown by the True Words Tome were just like that. It presents the most commonly used form, with Angel’s frequent form being with long hair and the Black Earl’s being with a mask.

Wise Sovereign: "Since the True Words Tome has been activated, why not each of you write a sentence on it for mutual trust. As for later on, whether to write on the Book Pages depends entirely on you."

Angel and the Black Earl had no objections and nodded.

Previously, to prove whether Angel’s words were true, the Wise Sovereign had activated the True Words Tome, so Angel would write the first sentence.

Writing was simple, only requiring control of the energy on the True Words Tome to present text.

Angel connected to his Power of Nightmare Illusion on the Book Pages, hesitated for a moment, and presented these words on the page:

"In regard to this already-abandoned underground aqueduct, my arrival is merely for recording."

"I am a passerby, not a returnee."

Angel wrote two sentences at once. As they appeared on the Book Pages, the green light flowed gently without any hindrance.

This indicated that what Angel wrote was true.

Although true, Angel left himself considerable leeway. His statements seemed to declare his purpose and identity but were quite vague.

’Merely for recording’—what are you recording, everything of the relic site or a certain Goddess?

’A passerby, not a returnee’—this phrase indeed establishes his identity, but a passerby doesn’t mean he isn’t fighting.

A passerby only demonstrates Angel wasn’t specially arriving for this.

Though Angel left much ambiguous space, challenging to scrutinize, from the Wise Sovereign’s view, these sentences were still very sincere.

However, the Wise Sovereign’s internal curiosity remained unsolved.

If Angel isn’t a returnee, why is he so familiar with this place? After his appearance, many coincidences occurred, which appeared very strange to the Wise Sovereign.

But the True Words Tome didn’t backlash against Angel, so what he said was true. Despite lingering doubts, the Wise Sovereign could only suppress them.

After Angel wrote his first sentence, the Black Earl also wrote a sentence on the True Words Tome.