Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2899: Chapter 2900: Ancient Ruins of Tooth Fairy

After the Rabbit Girl arrived, she didn’t say a word, and she seemed very uncomfortable being watched. Even when she was staying behind Luigi, she would shrink further away whenever Angel’s gaze fell upon her.

Angel initially wanted to greet the Rabbit Girl, but seeing her current state, he decided to let it go.

With the Rabbit Girl and Luigi both present, only Glaipnir was still missing.

After waiting for another ten minutes, Glaipnir still did not appear.

This was quite surprising, as it hadn’t taken Glaipnir this long when sending things to the Forest of Memories before. What was the issue this time?

Angel looked questioningly at Laplace, who also seemed puzzled, as if she didn’t know why Glaipnir was delayed for so long either.

Laplace gestured for Angel to wait a moment and then closed her eyes, presumably contacting Glaipnir.

Half a minute later, Laplace opened her eyes and said, "Glaipnir went to the Ancient Ruins of Tooth Fairy."

"Ancient Ruins of Tooth Fairy?" Angel couldn’t help looking toward Luigi, remembering that when Luigi previously researched the dreaming behaviors of Mirror World creatures, he went to a place called Tooth Fairy Paradise. There seemed to be a connection between the Ancient Ruins of Tooth Fairy and Tooth Fairy Paradise?

Noticing Angel’s gaze, Luigi plucked a string of notes, speaking in a lyrical tone, "Friend, are you curious about the Ancient Ruins of Tooth Fairy? Let the great Luigi tell you..."

Before Luigi could finish his sentence, Laplace’s cold voice came over: "The Ancient Ruins of Tooth Fairy is the first generation of Tooth Fairy Fortress, built near the coast. The current Tooth Fairy Fortress, built in Tooth Fairy Paradise, is the second generation of the Tooth Fairy Fortress."

Angel: "Near the coast? Close to the Sea of Void Mirror?"

Laplace nodded: "Yes, the first Tooth Fairy Fortress was established by the Elders Council of Tooth Fairy. The core elder at the time was a scholar deeply researching the Sea of Void Mirror, therefore choosing to build the first Tooth Fairy Fortress at the edge of the Sea of Void Mirror."

"However, being close to the Sea of Void Mirror led to an unprecedented disaster for the first Tooth Fairy Fortress — the Hollow Tooth Fairy Spread Event. And the core elder at the time also became a Hollow Tooth Fairy in this disaster."

"A new core elder ascended, and after taking control of the then Elders Council of Tooth Fairy, decided to move the Tooth Fairy Fortress to Tooth Fairy Paradise, thus creating the second generation Tooth Fairy Fortress."

"However, within the Tooth Fairies was a group of stubborn scholars who did not leave. They chose to stay, continuing to live in the Ancient Ruins of Tooth Fairy to research the Sea of Void Mirror."

Angel: "So, are the scholars and their descendants who now live in the Ancient Ruins of Tooth Fairy?"

Laplace nodded: "More or less, but now they no longer call themselves Tooth Fairies, but rather Mirror Sea Scholars."

"Mirror Sea Scholars? That sounds more like a title?" Angel mused.

Laplace: "Yes, it’s considered a title. Other mirror-inhabiting creatures generally still call them Tooth Fairies, just with the prefix: Ancient Tooth Fairy."

"But they themselves do not like that name, even if they admit their race is Tooth Fairy."

Angel: "That sounds very contradictory."

Laplace, having nothing else to do at the moment, decided to share some of the secrets she knew.

"Once you understand Tooth Fairy history, it’s clear that it’s not contradictory."

Laplace then recounted the second major turning point in Tooth Fairy history: the Queen’s ascension.

After the Tooth Fairy Fortress moved to Tooth Fairy Paradise, the Elders Council of Tooth Fairy did not completely sever ties with the Tooth Fairies in the Ancient Ruins. The relationships were quite good, and the Tooth Fairy scholars would settle in Tooth Fairy Paradise when they were tired of research.

However, this scenario did not last long.

After years of researching the Sea of Void Mirror, the Tooth Fairy scholars made some discoveries, the most significant being the Method of Finding Things.

This Method of Finding Things was somewhat akin to the Wizard’s Divination spell, but unlike the Wizard’s version, it could be used in the Sea of Void Mirror. They could use memory fragments fished out of the Sea of Void Mirror to locate solid objects that drifted in along with the fragments.

These objects, which hadn’t been erased in the Sea of Void Mirror, were generally valuable and very suitable for research.

Valuable objects appearing naturally attracted attention.

There were also scholars in Tooth Fairy Paradise who wished to study these objects, so they filed applications with the Elders Council of Tooth Fairy. The council, having good relations with Ancient Ruins of Tooth Fairy and being of the same race, agreed to split the retrieved objects, giving half to Tooth Fairy Paradise.

In return, Tooth Fairy Paradise provided a lot of Crystals to the Tooth Fairy scholars.

— Crystals are formed by compressing rich Aggregation Energy in a special way, creating a crystallized structure that allows mirror creatures to absorb the internal Aggregation Energy without limitation.

Their general use is similar to that of Magic Stones.

This distribution method persisted for many years. Until later, a new elder joined the Elders Council of Tooth Fairy. This elder felt that since both were Tooth Fairies, fussing over Crystals was too petty. Moreover, at the time, a situation similar to an energy tide appeared in the Mirror Domain, with an extreme low in the concentration of Aggregation Energy, causing a shortage of Crystals in their own Tooth Fairy Paradise. Consequently, this elder proposed temporarily stopping the supply of Crystals.

Initially, nothing changed; the Ancient Ruins of Tooth Fairy continued supplying objects as usual, as the Tooth Fairy scholars understood the broader situation and the Elders Council’s decision.

But when the low tide of energy passed and the Elders Council did not resume the supply of Crystals, the Tooth Fairy scholars began to feel perplexed.

At this point, Laplace let out a gentle sigh: "Due to the Crystal situation, conflicts arose that outsiders could not understand. We thought they would eventually find an internal resolution since the Elders Council always sided with Ancient Ruins scholars. But who knew, that new Tooth Fairy elder incited further conflict between Tooth Fairy Paradise and the Fortress."

"It’s like the struggle between the populace and royal authority in your human world."

"In the ordinary human world, the royal authority has military power, making suppression easier. However, in the Tooth Fairy world, rulers value virtue more and lack military strength. In the face of public opinion, the Elders Council was overwhelmed."

"Ultimately, the Elders Council of Tooth Fairy was abolished, and the elder who incited everything behind the scenes seized power."

"She became the first Tooth Fairy Queen."

"This Tooth Fairy Queen was originally the elder who proposed cutting off the supply of Crystals to the Ancient Ruins. Now in power, how could she change her stance? She continued to withhold Crystals, justifying it by claiming the ordinary residents of Tooth Fairy Paradise needed them more."

"Only cutting off Crystals might not have been problematic, but this Tooth Fairy Queen was somewhat naive. She stopped the supply of Crystals while attempting to morally pressure the scholars of the Ancient Ruins to continue supplying objects."

Naturally, the scholars of the Ancient Ruins could not agree to such terms, so from that year on, the Ancient Ruins and Tooth Fairy Paradise completely split.

The scholars of the Ancient Ruins began to call themselves Mirror Sea Scholars, unwilling to associate with Tooth Fairy Paradise.

This behavior angered Tooth Fairy Paradise, and the two sides no longer had a harmonious coexistence, becoming hostile instead.

However, since the Ancient Ruins were near the Sea of Void Mirror, even in hostility, the Tooth Fairy Queen dared not send troops for war. Therefore, the scholars of the Ancient Ruins had no fear of Tooth Fairy Paradise.

This was the second significant turning point in Tooth Fairy history, the Queen’s ascension.

Laplace had essentially covered the major milestones of Tooth Fairy history: "Who was right or wrong is impossible for outsiders to judge. But looking at the current developments, both sides seem to be doing quite well."

"The Ancient Tooth Fairies in the Ancient Ruins continue to study the Sea of Void Mirror, fishing for objects and trading these with other Mirror World creatures. Over time, this led to the formation of the largest trade guild in the Mirror Domain."

"And even though the first generation Tooth Fairy Queen was somewhat stubborn and naive, subsequent queens combined virtue with efficiency. Slowly, Tooth Fairy Paradise truly developed into the ’Paradise’ envied by the outside world."

"Later Tooth Fairy queens even considered reconciling with the Ancient Tooth Fairies. Unfortunately, as masters of the largest trade guild, the Ancient Tooth Fairies no longer lacked Crystals. Also, many of the ancient scholars in the Ancient Ruins came from that era; they couldn’t forget the humiliation from the past, thus unwilling to reconcile with the Tooth Fairy Queen."

"This is the current internal structure of the Tooth Fairy society."

After hearing Laplace’s historical briefing, Angel was not overly surprised, only remarking softly, "Similar events constantly occur in the human world."

Laplace: "It’s somewhat different from the human world’s power struggles; at least there was no war between Tooth Fairy Paradise and the Ancient Ruins."

Angel smiled, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with Laplace’s view.

"Speaking of which, you’ve recounted a lot of Tooth Fairy history, but you still haven’t mentioned why Glaipnir went to the Ancient Ruins of Tooth Fairy?" Angel inquired.

Laplace: "Glaipnir, through divination, felt that relying solely on the special Astrological Disk formed by my second molt was not secure enough. After all, that Astrological Disk’s primary functions are divination and defense, lacking any offensive capabilities."

"Glaipnir has been active in the Sea of Void Mirror for years, maintaining a good relationship with the Ancient Tooth Fairy at the Ancient Ruins of Tooth Fairy. Therefore, Glaipnir decided to borrow a weapon from the Ancient Ruins of Tooth Fairy... You might also need to help, bringing that weapon into the Crystal Origin of Dreams."

At this point, Angel understood Glaipnir’s plan, to go to the largest trading society at the Ancient Ruins of Tooth Fairy and find a powerful weapon to deal with the "Greed Feast."

From Angel’s perspective, helping Glaipnir bring a weapon into the Crystal Origin of Dreams wasn’t difficult, but the challenge was whether Glaipnir could wield such a weapon?

Laplace could use the shedded scales because she was their owner, hence she could use them effortlessly. For others to use the shedded scales effectively was uncertain and difficult to achieve even one percent or one-thousandth of their efficacy.

Thus, if Glaipnir wanted to borrow a powerful weapon and be able to wield it, that posed a significant challenge.

Laplace seemed indifferent to this challenge: "You don’t need to worry about that. Once Glaipnir equips the Astrological Disk, it’s equivalent to me equipping the shedded scales, making the control of weapons a breeze."

Upon hearing Laplace’s words, Angel solved some of the doubts he held.

However, Laplace’s words also revealed her support for Glaipnir in borrowing a weapon.

Angel had no objection to this, but judging from the actions of Laplace and Glaipnir, Laplace’s focus on that 1% was even deeper than he had imagined.

Otherwise, Laplace herself could easily dominate the entire "Greed Feast"... though she might not fully explore it.

Originally, Angel thought the Glutton was somewhat pitiful, having to face Laplace, fully armed; but now, the Glutton not only faces Laplace but also gets a fully armed Glaipnir.

Angel silently lit a candle in his heart for the Glutton, hoping it will be more cautious about selecting its hunting list next time... oh wait, will there be a next time?

...

While Angel was lost in thought, suddenly, he heard a tender "eh" sound.

The voice came from the Rabbit Girl, who was hugging Luigi’s leg tightly while looking at the distant tree branches with a puzzled expression.

What happened?

Following the Rabbit Girl’s gaze, Angel saw a cluster of pale pink wind constantly bunching on the distant branches.

Angel was stunned for a moment, seemingly realizing something, and asked in wonder, "Speedy?"

With Angel’s call, the pale pink wind slowly stopped, shaking off the pink disguise it wore and reverting to a near-invisible light blue outline.

It was indeed Speedy!

"What are you doing?" Angel asked in confusion.

Speedy flew back to Angel’s side and expressed its behavior intentions through a contract.

Due to Speedy’s poor expressive ability, Angel thought for a while before understanding that it was trying to simulate the effect of the pink wind.

However... the results were negligible.

Angel recalled that previously Speedy fused with other colored winds and was trying to simulate those effects, and now it is simulating the pink wind... are you addicted to simulation?

Faced with Angel’s confusion, Speedy did not immediately answer but hesitated for a long while before communicating its thoughts via the contract.

After listening to Speedy’s ideas, or rather its request, Angel couldn’t help but rub his forehead.

What’s going on?

Are these colored winds bait specially prepared by the World Will of Mirror World?

"What’s wrong?" Laplace’s voice rang in Angel’s ears.

Angel rubbed his temple with a helpless sigh: "Nothing, it’s just that this fellow made a request to me, and this request is about some vague insights it gained within the pink wind."

Laplace’s eyes brightened: "Is it about the information related to the location of this special reflective space?"

Angel shook his head: "No. The insight it gained is—"

"These colored winds are very beneficial to it and might help it advance... But the premise is to make contact with the real wind."

And the so-called "real wind" is not the wind copied from mirror space’s memories, but the wind of the real coordinates corresponding to the reflective space.

This means that the request Speedy made to Angel and Laplace’s pursuit are entirely consistent.

It too wants to go to the real world’s corresponding special space.

Therefore, Angel thought, could this be bait thrown by the World Will of Mirror World? If it was just helping Laplace, Angel might do it, but not with so much enthusiasm.

But helping Speedy, a trusted ally, Angel naturally would put more thought into it.

Laplace also understood Angel’s intention, she spoke softly: "So, your elemental partner also wants to find the special region corresponding to this reflective space? Then... are our goals aligned now?"

Angel murmured: "...Speedy isn’t my elemental partner."

Laplace suspiciously looked at Speedy and then at Angel. She had always assumed that Speedy and Angel had an elemental partnership because from her perspective, Angel treated Speedy exceptionally well, accommodating its every request without opposition, always striving to fulfill them.

On Angel’s shoulder, the Fire Element Elf appeared close to Angel, but Angel would occasionally reprimand it with words.

Is this Angel’s unique way of interacting with his elemental creatures?

While Laplace pondered, Angel continued: "Regardless of whether our goals align, I will do my best to help you find the location of this space, without a doubt."

Angel glanced at the nearby Speedy and sighed lightly: "I’ll also help it fulfill a small goal along the way."

Though that’s what Angel said, he inwardly pondered: his wind-based creatures numbered quite a few, the contract years aren’t long, but they are, in hind sight, his subordinates now. If he finds this special region, why not bring them all over for a baptism?

After all, Speedy seems to have some insights into the wind, maybe other wind-based creatures do too. Even if they cannot advance, having some enlightenment and upgrading their strength a bit would be nice.

As Angel mused alone, he didn’t notice, at his side, Speedy’s almost invisible pair of bluish-green eyes momentarily changed upon hearing Angel’s words, turning into two small crescent moons, smiling...

...

Speedy’s matter, in fact, was similar to Laplace’s, both about searching for the coordinates of that special space. It’s not urgent now, it can temporarily be set aside.

In the following time, they re-entered the whirlpool of waiting.

Angel wasn’t sure what Glaipnir intended to borrow, as it hadn’t arrived yet.

Prior, Angel agreed with Laplace to perform a divination when Glaipnir arrived, then pull Sweet Dreams into the Crystal Origin of Dreams. Now that Glaipnir hasn’t arrived, Angel can’t rashly pull Sweet Dreams.

As time neared an hour from a half-hour mark, Laplace, slightly embarrassed, started a conversation.

"By the way, I recall that Fungal Bloom you took inside earlier, hasn’t come out yet?"

Laplace assumed the topic she found was a dry one meant solely for easing the atmosphere on the scene, but upon hearing it, Angel froze.

Right, where is Fungal Bloom?!

How could he forget about Fungal Bloom!

Angel distinctly remembered that Fungal Bloom was beneath Corpse Mountain before. Now Corpse Mountain has turned into Crystal Mountain, is Fungal Bloom inside Crystal Mountain?