Chapter 660: What Can Be Learned?
Angor tried to remember how he designed the Mysterious Mountain.
“Is it another manifestation of ‘Wither’?”
“No.” Sunders shook his head. “When I was there, I didn’t feel that deathly impression. The mountain is empty, but it is not ‘dead’.”
Then what? Angor wondered. Is it “barren” or “waste” in this case?
Sunders interrupted his thoughts. “There’s no point in making blind guesses. Sooner or later, Greya will come and tell you about it.”
Angor complied but he had another question. “So we can only learn spells out of ‘conceptual’ manifestations but not actual objects?”
“Your point?”
“I made several dozens of different illusions and discovered the manifestations they contained. I could feel the immeasurable wisdom flowing around me, which helped me see something. But it was pretty much impossible to get a new spell directly.” Angor frowned.
“I need to analyze more of your illusions to give you an answer to that,” said Sunders, “but I can tell you that I did not learn ‘Wither’ out of nothing. The manifestation helped me better digest what I already learned, and in this way, I successfully created ‘Wither’. As for your case...”
Angor already knew what Sunders was implying—he had not studied enough.
However, Angor believed that when it came to alchemy knowledge, he should be the better one when compared to his professor. So could he create a new alchemy spell?
No, at least not yet. There might be other restrictions that prevented him from learning new spells.
Speaking of “restrictions”, Angor suddenly recalled the bizarre moment he spent inside Spotty, where he witnessed the birth and termination of miniature civilizations that were accompanied by different laws of nature. He wondered if he could only learn new knowledge shown by the strange presence in Spotty since the “sensation of Mystery” also came from there.
This was only his presumption. He wished that he could learn a different kind of sensation from another Mystery item, which would definitely help him prove his theory.
But this was quite difficult. For some reason, the Mystery presence inside Spotty allowed him to get close and observe. For any other Mystery items, approaching the core of their power could be dangerous, not to mention how hard it was to find a new Mystery item.
If everything went well, when returning to the Old Earth, he would go and find Freud’s “Whelk of the Dreaming Coast”, which was supposed to be a Mystery item. By doing so, he might try learning a different type of Mystery sensation from it.
He thought and decided not to tell Sunders about his plan. He could always do it after proving his idea.
Their discussion ended at dusk.
“Make sure you give me some kind of forewarning before bringing scary inventions next time so that I know what to expect,” Sunders sighed. “You... You’re more of a troublemaker than Flora.”
Angor scratched his head. “I... didn’t know these illusions meant so much.”
“Just be careful. Now I’m no longer worrying about the thugs from the Centipede Guild. Compared to those lowly thieves, I’m more concerned about certain old wizards who usually stayed away from civilization, who might get attracted to you. As an alchemist, you can make something to protect yourself, no? Get to it.”
Angor nodded. This was also his plan. He couldn’t leave Brute Cavern and travel through Devil’s Water unprepared.
“Now go. You can take books from my collection if you need to.” Sunders waved Angor off.
Angor stood up. He took a while to make a decision before he asked, “Are you going to the Nightmare Realm right now, professor?”
“Not yet. I have something to attend to.”
Angor thought about staying with Sunders for a bit longer so that he could see what his professor looked like when entering or leaving Nightmare Realm. But apparently, Sunders would like him to leave.
Before going away, Angor placed Monument Loop on Sunders’ desk.
“What’s this?” Sunders’ eyes widened a little when he saw the Monument Loop.
“This is Monument Valley, sir. There’s no manifestation of Mystery though, it’s just a simple illusion.”
Sunders nodded. “That was pretty fast. Alright, I’ll thoroughly inspect it and tell you my opinions.”
“Thank you very much, professor,” Angor replied with a straight face and turned away.
He saw Butler Goode and Hobbiton outside the study. Hobbiton was holding a large plate at his chest level single-handedly. There were a pot and a small dish of pastries on the plate, which looked pretty heavy. Angor noticed that Hobbiton’s arm was trembling, which meant he had been staying still like this for some time.
Seeing Angor coming, Hobbiton showed a delighted look and began heading Angor’s way. However, he walked too fast that he lost balance and let go of the plate he was carrying.
Goode facepalmed. In the next second, he reappeared beside Hobbiton and gracefully caught the falling plate, while Hobbiton fell face-first onto the floor.
While Hobbiton tended to his sore nose with a miserable look, Goode politely bowed to Angor. “Mister Padt, we’re just bringing afternoon tea to your room. Or do you prefer having it in the guest room?”
While speaking, Goode moved closer so that Angor could better look at the food and drink on the plate.
Afternoon tea? Angor removed the lid of the pot and immediately sensed the sweet smell of milk. Oh, milk tea!
“To my bedroom. Good timing, for I’m feeling a bit hungry,” Angor said while maintaining that straight face he had been using.
Hobbiton made a duck face and followed behind them obediently. According to his grandfather, Mister Sunders had not decided whether to allow him to stay at Phantom Island. However, he could try earning his chance from Angor.
Sending Angor food and drink was one part of the grand plan, but after what happened just now, Hobbiton was feeling too embarrassed to get close to Angor, so he kept his distance.
“Hobbiton prepared these?” Angor asked.
“Yes. Hobbiton knows that you prefer milk product, Mister Padt, so he suggested making these.”
As an experienced butler who helped Sunders deal with all kinds of visitors, Goode quickly noticed Angor’s strange expression and changed the subject.
“You must have known Hobbiton’s condition that left him with an immature body. With the mind of a child, he mainly chose what suited his own taste, naming, milk. I hope you enjoy the same flavor as well, Mister Padt.”
By this, Goode meant to say that Hobbiton made all the milk-related food because of his underdevelopment of mind. Nobody would notice Angor’s habit.
Angor cleared his throat in embarrassment. He knew Goode was trying to help him, but the whole matter looked as if he were a spoiled rich kid bullying a house servant.
“I-I see. I’ll gladly accept Hobbiton’s gift.”
While walking past the guest hall, Angor saw Flora entering the mansion by the main door while mumbling curses with an unhappy look.
“He locked all the windows, so I have to waste time going the long way!”
Flora saw Angor staring at her and raised an eyebrow when she smelled what was on the plate. She thought about having some fun by making bad comments on Angor’s childish taste, but “Little Red” interrupted her by moving ahead first and giving Angor another rose.
Angor greeted Flora politely, accepted the flower, and thanked Little Red, all the while maintaining his best manners.
Flora clenched her teeth. She could no longer use harsh words against Angor right now, which would only make her look like a wet blanket.
“Don’t eat too much sweet stuff. It’s bad for your teeth!”
That was the only thing she said. After this, Flora headed to Sunders’ study without looking back.
Behind Flora, Little Red smiled at Angor while waving a skeletal arm at him.
Angor watched Flora go and wondered if his professor was waiting for her to explore the Nightmare Realm together.
“Ugh. Let’s go.” He placed the rose on the plate and went for his bedroom while Goode and Hobbiton followed.