Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2903: Chapter 2904: Terrifying Combat Power

Angel was not unfamiliar with this feeling.

Ever since Toby was left behind in the Barbarian Cave for special training, his shoulder had become the high ground for Dangross.

Whenever Dangross had something, it would pinch his shoulder.

Now, with this pinching strength, Angel could basically confirm that it was the work of Dangross.

Sure enough, when Angel turned his head, he was met with Dangross’s "slap face."

"Out of quenching concentrate?" Angel skillfully took out a bottle filled with a fiery red liquid from his bracelet, handed it to Dangross, and mumbled, "I don’t have much quenching concentrate left in reserve. I’ll give you quenching liquid for now. Moreover, quenching concentrate is not as mild as quenching liquid; its concentration is too high. Even flame element wizards use it cautiously—it seems harmless to you now, but that doesn’t mean there are no risks. Every time I give you a bottle of quenching concentrate, I worry about forcing progress."

"So, just use the quenching liquid for now. We’ll talk about quenching concentrate later."

Originally wanting to say something, Dangross shut its mouth immediately upon seeing Angel take out the quenching liquid.

After stowing away the quenching liquid and tucking it safely, Dangross said, "I wasn’t looking for you for the quenching liquid... but since you’ve given it to me, it’s mine now!"

Angel: "..."

Seeing Angel’s expression slightly darken, Dangross quickly changed the subject: "I just wanted to know, about that Crystal Origin of Dreams you mentioned earlier... what is it? Can I go in?"

Angel: "Oh, that... we’ll talk about it later."

After saying this, Angel prepared to continue entering the Dream Bridge.

At this moment, Dangross called out again: "Wait."

Angel looked at Dangross in confusion.

Dangross: "Previously, when I asked you what the Wilderness of Dreams was, you said you’d personally take me to see it later."

Angel: "The Wilderness of Dreams is the Wilderness of Dreams, and the Crystal Origin of Dreams is Crystal Origin of Dreams; they’re completely different. As for the Wilderness of Dreams, once we leave the Underground Aqueduct this time, I’ll fulfill my promise and personally show you around. But for the Crystal Origin of Dreams, there are still some unresolved dangers, so I can’t take you in just yet."

"However, resolving these dangers shouldn’t take too long. So, before we return to the Tidal World, I’ll definitely take you to the Crystal Origin of Dreams, how about that?" Angel extended his palm, wanting to high-five with Dangross to make a promise.

However, Dangross’s eyelids drooped down, lost in thought. After a long moment, it awkwardly high-fived Angel.

The high-five sealed the promise, marking the end of this small episode.

Angel assumed a posture and prepared to re-enter the Dream Bridge. Dangross didn’t stop him this time; instead, it rolled from his shoulder into the coat pocket, curled up without a word, as if a thick shadow had been painted over its entire hand, looking extremely low-spirited.

The surrounding air was very quiet, so quiet that Dangross’s mood grew heavier and heavier.

Just when Dangross felt a bleak chill in its heart, its vision growing dim, a pair of gentle hands reached into the pocket and pulled it out.

Undoubtedly, it was Angel who had fished out Dangross.

As soon as Dangross opened its hand, it was met with Angel’s eyes.

Dangross immediately displayed a puzzled expression: "What are you doing? I finally found a comfortable position to enjoy the quenching liquid, and you just scooped me out."

Angel: "It’s nothing, I just thought it over and decided to take you to see the Crystal Origin of Dreams now, lest you say I’m lying to you."

Dangross’s eyes lit up.

"But, before going in, you have to agree to three rules with me."

"First, don’t ask why. The questions you want to know about, you’ll gradually understand after I take you to the Wilderness of Dreams."

"Second, don’t wander around; the Crystal Origin of Dreams is still quite dangerous. Don’t think that just because you’ve drunk the Tree Spirit’s Life Pool water and your strength has soared, that you can completely relax. But that strength cannot be brought into the Crystal Origin of Dreams. You’ll know the specifics once you’re there."

"Third, um... let me think."

"Third is to abide by the above rules one hundred percent, no leniency. Otherwise, you won’t even get to enter the Wilderness of Dreams in the future, let alone the Crystal Origin of Dreams."

Angel looked seriously at Dangross: "Understand?"

Although Dangross didn’t understand why Angel suddenly changed his mind, it still nodded earnestly.

Angel looked deeply at Dangross and placed the Dream Entering Technique into its palm.

Dangross didn’t resist in the slightest, trusting Angel completely, allowing the strange energy to enter its body.

Because it knew well that Angel would not harm it.

The ever-awake Dangross began to droop its eyelids, and within a few seconds, it fell into a deep sleep.

Watching the sleeping Dangross, Angel sighed softly.

Originally, he hadn’t intended to take Dangross into the Crystal Origin of Dreams now, and he had already promised that before returning to the Tidal World, he would take it there.

The reason Angel changed his decision was... Dangross’s emotions.

Even though Dangross remained silent, its mood noticeably fell after Angel finished speaking. Initially, Angel thought leaving it alone would help calm it. However, after it entered his pocket, its mood not only didn’t stabilize, but became increasingly pessimistic.

Recalling how obedient Dangross had been throughout their journey, and how it had helped Angel in many matters, Angel pondered deeply and decided to make a change.

Although Dangross had lived for a long time, it was still an "elemental sprite." Translated to human age, it might be akin to a ten-year-old child.

When Angel first met Dangross, it was still engaging in the naive act of recruiting pet minions.

Dangross had no issues with intelligence, but its mental maturity was lacking. Such individuals are prone to getting trapped in extreme thoughts amidst a storm of emotions.

This is somewhat analogous to the rebelliousness of adolescence.

Angel had promised Magu to take good care of Dangross and naturally didn’t want it to go to extremes—even though Angel didn’t understand why such a small matter caused such a significant emotional fluctuation in Dangross. However, if allowing it into the Crystal Origin of Dreams could solve this issue, Angel was willing to make that compromise.

...

Angel placed Dangross in a safe zone.

The safe zone was protected by a Magical Energy Array, making it the safest area in the entire Crystal Origin of Dreams.

Once Dangross entered the target location, Angel leisurely followed the dream’s tendrils onto the long Dream Bridge.

When he arrived at the safe zone, everyone else was already there.

However, at the moment, no one noticed Angel, as their gazes were uniformly fixed on a distant mountain.

This mountain, entirely made of crystals, is none other than Crystal Mountain.

Crystal Mountain is exceptionally tall, reaching directly into the sky, resembling a pillar holding up the heavens. Even when viewed from the lighted areas, it conveys a strong sense of oppression. Especially now, in the Crystal Origin of Dreams, since the celestial alternation hasn’t fully settled and there’s no day-night cycle yet, the safe zone offers light but only illuminates a corner of Crystal Mountain. Imagine a corner of a towering mountain in the night, and the grand silhouette it traces behind; the sense of oppression is indeed greater than during the day.

Of course, the reason everyone focuses on Crystal Mountain is not just its overwhelming grandeur but also because there’s nothing else to contrast it with nearby.

A solitary mountain on a barren expanse; if not looking at the mountain, should we gaze upon the wasteland?

Angel coughed twice, finally drawing everyone’s attention.

Laplace was the first to come to his senses, turning to Angel: "You previously mentioned that Corpse Mountain transformed into Crystal Mountain, and I didn’t pay much notice. I didn’t expect it to completely change, and yet it became such a stunning and unending mountain range."

Angel: "...Are you truly impressed?"

Laplace: "Hmm?"

Angel: "What I mean is, Crystal Mountain isn’t as shocking as Corpse Mountain. You managing to create a series of successive Corpse Mountains would impress me even more."

Laplace: "..."

Angel: "Cough, cough, back to the main topic. What’s your plan now?"

Angel was halfway through speaking when he felt a tug on his pants. Looking down, he saw Laplace trying to leap upwards, but instead of jumping several meters high, now he couldn’t even reach half a meter, barely able to tug on Angel’s pants.

Dangross didn’t accept defeat, repeatedly slipping and jumping up tirelessly.

Angel sighed helplessly, crouched down, picked Dangross up, and placed him on his shoulder: "Now do you understand why I said your strength can’t be transferred into the Crystal Origin of Dreams?"

Dangross opened his mouth, intending to ask something.

Angel gestured a "shush": "Don’t forget our first agreement."

Though Dangross was somewhat disgruntled, he refrained from speaking further, because their first agreement was: Do not ask why.

With Dangross settled, Angel then lifted his head to look at the others.

"Continuing from before, do you have any plans now?"

"Sort of," Laplace nodded, pointing to the sky not far away: "That one over there, leave it to Glaipnir and me."

Angel looked over and saw, at some point, two worm-like magic monsters swiftly moving across the tattered web in the sky, aiming for the safe zone.

Undoubtedly, these two worm magic monsters are the remnants of the previous Dreamworld Sweepers.

Angel nodded indifferently: "Alright."

Currently, there are still quite a few remnants of the Sweepers, but for the Crystal Origin of Dreams, they pose no threat. Conversely, they’ve become sitting ducks, transforming into mobile experience packages.

Laplace intended for Glaipnir to adapt to the Tooth Bone Staff and for Rabbit Girl to get accustomed to pursuing Sweepers, using these two worm magic monsters for practice is an excellent choice.

The two worm magic monsters, when viewed from afar, aren’t particularly large. Yet as they drew near the safe zone along the spider silk, the oppressive feeling immediately surged forth.

Unlike Crystal Mountain’s grandeur, this oppression stemmed from the worm magic monsters’ strength and their hideous, menacing appearances.

Glaipnir, drenched in a silver-scale robe, had no fear of the oppressive feeling and was the first to fly out of the safe zone: "The bigger one on the right is yours, I’ll handle the slightly smaller one on the left."

Glaipnir spoke while flying toward the left side worm.

As she stated, the worm magic monster on the left is indeed much smaller, and the sense of intimidation is markedly less than the one on the right, indicating that the left-side worm magic monster is comparatively weaker.

The person Glaipnir named to handle the worm magic monster on the right was Rabbit Girl.

Rabbit Girl, unlike Glaipnir, wore a cute but less practical bunny costume, which should make her more susceptible to the oppressive feeling than Glaipnir.

Yet reality diverged from expectation.

Glaipnir acted first, with the Dual-Transform Astrological Disk shielding her from the oppression. By the time Glaipnir reached mid-air, Rabbit Girl sprang forth from Luigi’s behind. However, Rabbit Girl couldn’t fly; instead, she crouched low, flexing her legs for momentum, then leapt into the air like a spring.

One moved first, the other second; one flew, the other jumped. Anyone would think Glaipnir would intercept the worm first, yet Rabbit Girl, with astonishing speed, struck the worm magic monster like a projectile.

With a unique halo accompanying her, the worm magic monster plummeted from the sky, crashing into the ground and leaving behind fissures.

Rabbit Girl descended under gravity afterwards, but unlike the worm’s chaotic fall, her descent was light, like a butterfly, landing silently, without stirring up any Dust.

Upon landing, Rabbit Girl’s hind legs sprung once more, pacing toward the rolling worm magic monster in a crouched manner.

Resounding booms, sparkling halos, the gargantuan worm magic monster was utterly defenseless against the petite Rabbit Girl.

Angel even saw Rabbit Girl performing an upward kick, resembling a dance move, propelling the worm magic monster into the air once more.

Rabbit Girl followed up, leaping toward its body, and twisting her feet downward, drilling fiercely like a spiral.

The worm magic monster was heavily beaten to the ground, while under Rabbit Girl’s "spiral drill," the ground broke open and the body of the worm magic monster was split in two, one part plunging into the pit, the other soaring into the air, disintegrating into countless blood Dust.

The entire sequence... Yes, the only phrase Angel could think of was combo.

The combo rendered the worm magic monster utterly defenseless; within just half a minute, combining dance and acrobatics, a formidable worm magic monster was toyed to death.

Meanwhile, Glaipnir was still grappling with her worm magic monster; though holding the upper hand, killing it wasn’t something achieved swiftly.

The worm magic monster Glaipnir faced was roughly at the level of a newly advanced Wizard. The one Rabbit Girl faced was at the level of a seasoned Wizard, which even Angel at his real-world state would have difficulty handling.

Placing the two side by side, Rabbit Girl’s terrifying prowess was manifest.

Having vanquished the worm magic monster, Rabbit Girl calmly walked back to the safe zone, wiping her blood-stained carrot from her waist while seeking shelter behind Luigi...