Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 1288: Section 1289 The True Cage
 

Jon was taken into the Gravity Garden by Sanders.

As the only otherworldly human discovered so far, he was also a very important research subject. Staying outside was, after all, somewhat unsafe.

Once the underground ice chamber was empty, Sanders turned to Angel, “What do you plan to do next?”

Thinking Sanders was asking about his training goals, Angel pondered for a moment and listed his priorities, “Construct the Witchcraft Slot, study the green pattern in my right eye, cultivate the Pliant Worm, and hasten the accumulation of my base of power, in hopes of making an early breakthrough.”

Sanders fell silent for a moment, then changed his approach, “I mean, you shouldn’t have anything else to do now, right?”

Angel was momentarily taken aback.

If it was about the present… initially, he had planned to find Lyon, give him the Guiding Method, and along the way visit the servants who had been temporarily arranged to leave the manor.

However, these were not important matters, so he nodded, “Not for the time being.”

“Good, then accompany me to the Wilderness of Dreams for a while. I’d like to formally meet your mentor as well.”

When Sanders spoke these words, he seemed calm on the outside, but his heart was in fact in tumult.

Having heard Angel speak of the Wilderness of Dreams in the Abyss, Sanders immediately understood the immense potential of the Wilderness of Dreams. He had also witnessed the ‘desolate’ Wilderness of Dreams with Angel in the Abyss. Although it was destroyed by monsters coveting it in the end, that fleeting glimpse was enough for Sanders to see the future prospects of the Wilderness of Dreams.

Sanders had been fascinated by the Wilderness of Dreams for a long time.

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When he returned to the Southern Domain previously, he had wanted to experience the Wilderness of Dreams, but his original plan was to learn the Dream Entering Technique himself and then try to see if he could enter the Wilderness of Dreams using the Nightmare Illusion Dream Entering Technique.

Of course, such entry would still require Angel’s ‘Gatekeeper’ permission, but it would also serve as data collection for the research on the Wilderness of Dreams.

However, Sanders had been training in entering dreams for some time. Cross-system training wasn’t easy, and although most of the hurdles had been cleared, it would still take some time to truly succeed in the training.

That’s why he made this statement.

So-called “accompanying him to the Wilderness of Dreams” was just a pretext; the real meaning was “taking him to the Wilderness of Dreams.”

Angel was momentarily lost in thought before realizing Sanders’ intent. While he gave a seemingly uneventful nod, his mind recalled Greya’s description of Sanders as taciturn yet passionate.

Upon reflection, it wasn’t just being passionate. He seemed somewhat tsundere as well.

Angel dared only to grumble inwardly, but outwardly, he nodded respectfully, “Fine, I haven’t seen Jon in a long while either, so it would be a good opportunity to drop in and see him.”

A while later, on the top-floor terrace of the Sky Tower in Originheart City within the Wilderness of Dreams, two figures appeared out of thin air.

It was Angel and Sanders.

Sanders had visited the Wilderness of Dreams that rested upon the world of the Abyss before. However, during his last visit, he hadn’t felt much before the Wilderness of Dreams was completely ruined by the terrifying behemoth surrounding the Dream Realm, so this time it counted as his genuine close contact with this world born from the fusion of Nightmare Illusion and Dream Conch.

Just like his initial touch, in the Wilderness of Dreams, Sanders completely lost control over energy, like an ordinary mortal.

Nevertheless, Sanders could feel the Nightmare Realm’s aura floating in the misty sky above, although he couldn’t harness it now.

Angel walked to the edge of the terrace, pointing towards the bustling city below, “This is Originheart City, the initial city of the Wilderness of Dreams!”

His tone was filled with pride, “Mentor, let me show you around Originheart City.”

After feeling his own condition and discovering nothing of note, Sanders temporarily set aside researching his body and walked to the edge of the terrace instead.

At this moment, the proud look had not yet vanished from Angel’s face, which still seemed to carry a heart full of bold aspirations.

Sanders smiled and looked down.

However, after just one glance, Sanders’ expression slowly turned from a smile to solemn, and from solemn to puzzled.

Sanders gave Angel a deep look and, amidst Angel’s confused expression, Sanders furrowed his brows, “This city…”

“Is there a problem with the city?” Angel was serious, ready to absorb Sanders’ critique.

“No, what I mean is, did you do the planning for this city?” Sanders sized up Angel, “Is there something wrong with your aesthetic sense?”

“Aesthetic judgment issues? Not at all… Not at all!” Angel immediately understood what Sanders meant, recalling how he had imported various buildings into the Dream Wilderness based on their appearance alone. The buildings, each distinctive when viewed separately, like the Treehouse Bar, Flickering Church, Marine Theater, were all placed together in the same district. Although individually they had merit, their aggregation, especially in such close proximity, caused a jarring dissonance.

However, this was a mere oversight due to a lapse in attention, and absolutely not related to his taste in aesthetics! He absolutely couldn’t admit to that!

Afterwards, he took note of this issue, right? He had stopped being a mere mover of specialty buildings and had started transplanting entire city streets and infrastructure as is.

Sanders was still somewhat skeptical, a thoughtful glint in his eyes as he pondered how to tell Angel not to take on urban construction tasks by himself in the future.

Just then, a voice spoke up from behind them.

“My lord’s aesthetic sense is without a flaw, merely a small oversight, but no matter. Now under City Lord Monroe’s planning, manpower has been arranged to start a second renovation of the city’s architecture midway through the year. Before long, Originheart City should undergo a major transformation.”

Sanders turned around to see a man with golden curly short hair, who appeared rather drowsy.

After a moment of recollection, Sanders identified the man—Frode, a former Apprentice in the dream discipline.

Previously, Angel had mentioned Frode to him—an Undead bound by a Runic Oath, who was now the true manager of Originheart City and the one who had initially unlocked the Wilderness of Dreams for Angel.

“Honorable Illusion Demon,” Frode said, bowing respectfully to Sanders before presenting him with a thick tome, “This is what my lord had me prepare for you.”

Sanders accepted it and glanced at the cover: “Observations of Dream Wilderness.”

Sanders nodded and said to Angel, “You did think this through.”

Angel, looking at Frode, said, “It’s good you’re here. Having not returned for a few months, I’m somewhat unfamiliar with this place now. Perhaps you could guide us and introduce Originheart City.”

Frode naturally did not dare refuse and readily agreed.

As they walked down from Sky Tower, Sanders was also experiencing physical feedback in his body. Had he not come to the Dream Wilderness with Angel himself, he would not have believed he was no longer in the real world.

It was identical to the real world.

There might be differences, but at least Sanders hadn’t felt them yet.

While walking, Frode explained the recent changes in Originheart City. From the Sky Tower downwards, nearly every floor had staff members. Seeing Frode’s respectful demeanor, they couldn’t help but be surprised and sneakily observed Angel and Sanders.

When they reached the first level of Sky Tower, a worker, while sneakily observing Angel and the others, accidentally bumped into someone nearby. That alone might have been fine, but it just so happened to be near a machine, setting off a chain reaction that led to a chorus of screams.

Frode sighed, walked to the front, and spent a few minutes dealing with the ensuing chaos.

When Frode returned, he said with evident fatigue, “Thankfully, they’re all elite staff selected by City Lord Monroe. No major trouble has occurred.”

It was a minor incident that Angel hadn’t paid much attention to until, as they were about to leave Sky Tower, the worker who had been sneakily observing them suddenly approached Angel. As Angel was wondering why, the worker knelt on the ground.

“You’re the master of the new world, aren’t you? I’ve heard the City Lord Monroe speak of the esteemed…”

Before he could finish, he was ushered away by someone wearing Knight’s armor nearby. Frode also said sternly, “The crime of offense is unpardonable. Take him away for solitary confinement.”

After the man was led away, Angel raised an eyebrow but said nothing, waiting for Frode’s explanation.

“Regarding his matter, I had intended to report to you the last time you were here,” Frode said. “His name is Lisa, a talented individual in his own right, but his brother is quite the troublemaker.”

Frode led them around Originheart City while recounting the incident.

In short, this man Lisa had no blemishes to speak of himself, but his brother had become notorious for not accepting a woman, Monroe, as City Lord and had spread some distasteful rumors.

As City Lord, Monroe felt humiliated and had asked Frode to punish Lisa’s brother.

Frode had agreed to do so.

But it seemed the brother had gotten scared and had run away before Monroe could catch him.

“He fled the city and his whereabouts are currently unknown,” Frode paused, “Actually, besides him, there are other criminals who have broken Originheart City’s laws and fled outside. It seems this trend is still growing. There used to be Tullas as a deterrent, but since Tullas left, this aspect has become somewhat lax.”

After hearing Frode’s words, Angel mused, “Later on, I will bring Tullas in, and you’ll reintroduce him to a job. As for those who flee to the outskirts on their own, let them be exiled for a while.”

Nowadays, within the Wilderness of Dreams, only Originheart City had human presence; the outside was an endless expanse. Those who thought that escaping would lead to freedom did not realize that beyond the city walls was the true prison.