Warlock Apprentice

“It has something to do with the Supreme Cult. You only need to know that any wizard who discovers an unregistered foreign life form is obliged to recover it.”

Supreme Cult? Recover? Angor did not know anything about this Supreme Cult, but the name suggested it was something religious. Also, the word “recover” sounded terrifying.

Angor thought about Jon. If Jon was found out… would he be “recovered”?

“Professor, what do you mean by recover?” Angor forced a calm expression and pretended to be curious.

“Recover means to make it non-existent anymore.”

Non-existent… From these simple words, Angor only saw blood and terror.

“So, Balba…” Angor finally understood why Balba appeared friendly to him. The aura on him which was “being rejected by this world” was almost the same as the one on Jon.

“Forget it. I’m only using the fragments to determine an area, and I need a master alchemist from Floating Mech City to do the creation. The law will show itself once the master finishes his work,” said Sunders. He chuckled at the boy’s idea.

“Why find an alchemist from Floating Mech City though? There’s no master alchemist in Brute Cavern?”

Sunders shook his head as he explained, “Alchemy knowledge is extremely valuable everywhere, and many deep alchemy teachings are lost in the course of history. Brute Cavern only has several elementary alchemists.”

“Lost? But… knowledge should keep renewing itself, right? Is older knowledge better?” Angor wondered.

“We’re renewing it. That’s why you can see a giant flying alchemy fortress in the sky, alchemy airships, alchemy puppets… Those are all technologies that develop with time,” said Sunders.

He paused a little before continuing, “But that doesn’t mean ancient knowledge is bad. Many ancient techniques originated from unknown, powerful beings. New technologies based on them can never reach the level of the original one. Like the thirty-six-dimensional space coordinate system localization method that you’re about to learn. That concept is already lost, and it’s a lot better than the localization methods used today.

“Remember Initial Glory , the ancestor of all meditation methods? Something in it could never be replaced. Same for alchemy techniques. The alchemy industry today never regained its previous glory because some technologies were forgotten.” Sunders let out a sigh.

Hearing these words, Angor deepened his decision to study alchemy.

Angor was wondering about something else. Judging from Sunders’ words… the man did not find the alchemy books hidden in the secret chamber back in the Nightmare Realm?

Thinking about this, Angor decided to prove his idea.

“Professor, do you remember the blue giant I met in the Nightmare Realm?”

“I do. That’s a Blue Tri-Eye, a low-level monster. Why do you ask?”

Angor kept a calm expression. “I said that in the hall of this blue, um, Blue Tri-Eye, I saw some alchemy books. Do they contain the ancient technologies you mentioned?”

Sunders shook his head. “No. Those books were only common ones. I have them in my collection.”

“Oh! That’s why I thought I saw them somewhere. So they’re in professor’s library.”

Sunders smiled at Angor. “You can remember those books? It means your Nightmare Form is really a high-leveled one.”

“No, I don’t remember the contents. But I can tell their titles.”

Sunders shook his head again. “Let me tell you something. Suppose a book I never saw before appeared inside the Nightmare Realm, even if it’s only a simple storybook, I may forget it completely upon leaving Nightmare Realm. By completely, I mean not a single trace of memory will remain. Unless I find myself lucky enough to bring the book back to reality… which is the only way I can remember the book.

“If I ever read the book in reality and see the same book in the Nightmare Realm, I’ll not forget the book in this case. Unlike me, your memory of the Nightmare Realm is complete. Even if you never take the effort to memorize something specifically, you still remember your basic experience. This means your memory was never blocked by the Nightmare Realm, which makes your talent most valuable,” Sunders explained in a serious tone.

Angor went through his mind. Just like Sunders said, he retained most of his memory of his journey in the Nightmare Realm.

“Professor, you have those crystal balls that record images, right? Why not use them?” asked Angor as he thought about his hologram tablet. He would not have brought the alchemy books back if not for the tablet.

Sunders shook his head. “I can’t. I tried it before, the crystal balls only showed blankness.”

“Then…”

Why can I use my tablet… Does it have something to do with the difference between alchemy and science?

Angor almost asked that question. But he managed to hold it back.

“We’re here. Don’t worry about the Nightmare Realm for now. That place doesn’t follow the common senses. Thinking about it will only add to your confusion. Get yourself stronger and become a wizard as fast as you can. I’m depending on you to take us into the Nightmare Realm next time,” Sunders bantered.

Sunders pointed to the field in front of them which was full of strange flowers and grass. A number of Phantom Servants were already waiting here, each with a multi-holed crystal bottle in his or her hands.