Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 3201: Chapter 3202: Sevenfold Shield

After listening to Laplace’s introduction of the Mirror Droplet, everyone fell silent. No one expected that Hylan Vojia had possessed this mysterious artifact for so long without even figuring out its side effects.

It’s even more unexpected that the restrictions of the Mirror Droplet are so significant.

Luckily, the former owner of the Mirror Droplet explained in person. Otherwise, if the Mirror Droplet were truly loaned out and problems arose, it would not be good.

After all, not everyone is like Hylan Vojia, who is obsessed with giant trolls and is too lazy to experiment with other functions of the Mirror Droplet. But if loaned out, there are certainly many with thoughts like Angel. Not knowing the Mirror Droplet’s restrictions could indeed lead to major issues.

"Guest, do you... still plan to borrow the Mirror Droplet?" Aor Shanzhuo hesitated for a moment, breaking the silence first.

Angel: "..." When did I say I wanted to borrow the Mirror Droplet?

Though he did have some imaginations earlier, those imaginations hadn’t even evolved before they were dashed with cold water, becoming mere fantasies.

"No need." Angel shook his head. "Are there other things? All are Secret Treasures; are there no real Mysterious Objects?"

Aor Shanzhuo hesitated a bit before saying to Angel, "The master does indeed have one Mysterious Object, but the master will not lend it out."

"No need to borrow it either; can I hear about its effects?" Angel wasn’t necessarily intent on borrowing a Mysterious Object; hearing more and learning about them widens one’s knowledge.

Aor Shanzhuo nodded. "That is possible; this Mysterious Object is no secret within the Daylight Mirror Domain."

"The name of this Mysterious Object is—Seven-layer Shield."

When Aor Shanzhuo started to describe the "Seven-layer Shield," Angel didn’t notice that Laplace’s brow suddenly furrowed, eyes lowered, not knowing what he was contemplating.

"Mysterious Object: Seven-layer Shield"

"Appearance: A round shield that can be strapped to the arm, wrapped in seven layers of cowhide, each having the same central pattern—a balance scale."

"Effect: The Seven-layer Shield provides absolute physical defense. Each layer of cowhide you unwrap significantly extends the defense range."

"Notes: 1. Each cowhide unwrapping requires a sacrifice to satisfy the balance of the scale. 2. The cowhide covering the shield is not a sealing but protection."

The effects of the Seven-layer Shield are straightforward and simple.

Moreover, it has the rare stable trait. Without unwrapping the cowhide, its existence is almost devoid of consumption.

When in a stable state, this Mysterious Object’s Pat gauge shouldn’t be too high. Perhaps it might be below 10.

However, once the cowhide is unwrapped, stable traits begin to transform, involving "sacrifice." In such cases, the Pat gauge will be determined by the consumption of the sacrifice.

According to Aor Shanzhuo, up till now, only three layers have been unwrapped from the Seven-layer Shield.

The first layer of the Seven-layer Shield has no consumption and requires no sacrifice.

The second layer of the Seven-layer Shield involves sacrifice, with the defense range expanding to the size of a city.

The third layer of the Seven-layer Shield involves a continual sacrifice, expanding the defense range to encompass the entire Hundred-Dragon Divine Kingdom.

Aor Shanzhuo did not specify the requirements for sacrifice, but from his grave expression and explicit mention that "it’s best not to use the Seven-layer Shield unless necessary," it’s clear that unwrapping more cowhide layers leads to continuously increasing sacrifice consumption.

Moreover, this kind of sacrifice isn’t avoidable at will. Once you unwrap the cowhide, compulsory sacrifice begins within the defense area.

When the third layer of the Seven-layer Shield was unwrapped, the entire Hundred-Dragon Divine Kingdom suffered unprecedented devastation.

For this reason, the Seven-layer Shield hasn’t been unwrapped beyond the third layer.

According to Hylan Vojia’s hypothesis, if the seventh layer of cowhide was unwrapped, the defense range might encompass an entire world.

If such a situation happens, when a weak world faces an invasion from outer forces, under protection from the Seven-layer Shield, it might survive the crisis.

However... if encompassing an entire world, the sacrifice range also includes the whole world.

Not all people would necessarily be sacrificed, but the chosen sacrifice targets certainly wouldn’t be few. Perhaps half the population, seven-tenths, or eight-tenths might perish?

In sum, the Seven-layer Shield becomes more terrifying the more cowhide layers are unwrapped.

Due to this trait of the Seven-layer Shield, how could it possibly be lent out? If many layers of cowhide were unwrapped, wouldn’t it be a trap for oneself?

Moreover, let alone Hylan Vojia or the Hundred-Dragon Divine Kingdom being unwilling, even most races throughout the Daylight Mirror Domain, knowing the Seven-layer Shield’s effects, wish for it to remain forever within the Hundred-Dragon Divine Kingdom.

Because the Hundred-Dragon Divine Kingdom is strong enough, no one dares to attack the Hundred-Dragon Divine Kingdom, rendering the Seven-layer Shield almost useless there.

But it might be different among weaker races.

Considering the effects and restrictions of the Seven-layer Shield, Angel silently calculated its Pat gauge in his mind... feeding the effects and potential consequences into the Mind Space’s ’server,’ soon yielding a roughly defined gauge range: 40-70.

The fluctuation range is quite large, mainly because the difference between the stable period and unsealing all seven layers is significant, leading to such a wide fluctuation.

Although the Pat gauge doesn’t represent strength, such a high gauge could be disastrous if disordered...

However, studies on disordering Mysterious Objects still only exist within the Orderly Guild, with virtually no success; thus, there’s no need for too much concern.

"Although the Seven-layer Shield is the master’s, it is actually jointly supervised by the entire Hundred-Dragon Divine Kingdom, so borrowing is impossible," Aor Shanzhuo explained.

Angel nodded: "I understand, this Mysterious Object... is strong and terrifying. Placing it in the Hundred-Dragon Divine Kingdom is definitely the best choice."

Aor Shanzhuo smiled: "It’s good that the guest understands."

With that, Aor Shanzhuo prepared to move on from this topic and discuss other Secret Treasures available for loan.

However, before Aor Shanzhuo could change the subject, a sudden energy barrier manifested unexpectedly in the hall, directly enveloping Angel and Laplace.

Aor Shanzhuo and Khuntela were startled and were about to investigate the situation when Laplace’s voice came through: "I have a matter to discuss with him, please do not disturb."

Aor Shanzhuo and Khuntela exchanged a glance and silently retreated to the side.

They could also sense that the barrier was indeed released by Laplace. Though unaware of the situation, they dared not spy openly.

Meanwhile, Angel, pulled into the energy barrier, looked at Laplace in confusion.

At this moment, Laplace was furrowing his brow, eyes still lowered, seemingly deep in thought.

After a long while, Laplace raised his head and spoke to the perplexed Angel: "Little Laplace just logged off and told me something..."

Little Laplace refers to the Rabbit Girl. Laplace usually calls her by name, but added "Little" for Angel’s convenience.

Upon hearing it’s about the Rabbit Girl, Angel’s expression grew solemn as the Rabbit Girl previously served as the "receptionist" at the Crystal Origin of Dreams, hosting Kukurus and another visitor.

Now, the Rabbit Girl suddenly went offline and synchronized her mind with Laplace, obviously due to some unforeseen change in the Crystal Origin of Dreams.

Angel: "What exactly happened?"

"Shi Zhong... appeared."

Shi Zhong? Who is this? Angel’s question was quickly addressed by Laplace’s explanation.

This is how it happened—

We go back to fifteen minutes earlier.

At that time, Kukurus and Luskania had logged into the Crystal Origin of Dreams through the Dream Bridge.

The place they entered was already set by Angel: inside the Earth Cavern near Rabbit Town.

The reason it wasn’t set in Rabbit Town wasn’t out of concern but simply because the Rabbit Girl happened to be in that cavern chasing a leftover Eliminator.

To make it convenient for the Rabbit Girl, the birth location of the Cave Dragon siblings was adjusted to this cavern.

As soon as Kukurus and Luskania entered the Crystal Origin of Dreams, before they could marvel at the surrounding changes, they saw a bright purple scorpion, ten times larger than they were, lying dead in front of them.

After the giant scorpion died, it turned into a mist of white, merging into the void.

Only then did the Rabbit Girl step through the white mist to meet Kukurus and Luskania for the first time.

The Rabbit Girl was actually very shy, not knowing how to interact with strangers... or strange dragons.

While she hesitated on what to say, the two Cave Dragons had already begun pointing at each other in surprise... especially the slightly smaller Cave Dragon, whose pupils were brimming with tears.

When the Rabbit Girl was perplexed, the slightly smaller Cave Dragon rushed to the large one, embracing it tightly.

The Rabbit Girl initially thought she had entered some romantic fairy tale stage, but after hearing the two Cave Dragons’ confessions, she realized she misunderstood.

Luskania hadn’t moved in her Cave Dragon body for a long time, always appearing in a doll form, and now, she was showing her original form in the Crystal Origin of Dreams.

Even with body size control, her and Kukurus’s forms were within three meters, completely different from their true body sizes.

Even though she could feel her Aggregation Energy was nearly frozen, completely immobile, and there was no energy response in her body.

But this did not affect her excitement.

The sensation of a puppet body and one’s own body is completely different. She hadn’t felt the integration of spirit and flesh for so long, and this sudden delight brought such poignant feelings to Luskania.

She almost shed a dragon maiden’s tear.

After calming down for a while and with the Rabbit Girl explaining on the side, Luskania and Kukurus gradually understood their current status and the general situation of the Crystal Origin of Dreams.

Even though it was empty around, with nothing interesting in sight, and the Rabbit Girl explicitly stated: the Crystal Origin of Dreams is still in a state awaiting development.

But these did not extinguish Luskania’s flame of enthusiasm.

Luskania was rarely so spirited, and while Kukurus was gratified, his fondness for the Crystal Origin of Dreams also began to grow.

Especially when the Rabbit Girl led them to tour the Crystal Origin of Dreams and reach Rabbit Town, seeing a group of children happily playing games.

The Rabbit Girl smoothly said: "Apart from the Indigenous People, there are also some children from Charles Palace here; they can expand their horizons in the Crystal Origin of Dreams without stepping outside."

These words were taught to the Rabbit Girl by Glaipnir, aimed specifically at the "Mirror Dragon Hatchlings" pain point.

Indeed, when the Rabbit Girl uttered these words, Kukurus’s gaze grew more solemn, as if he had thought of something.

The Rabbit Girl then talked about some stories of Rabbit Mansion.

Among them was mentioned—Jeanne.

Jeanne is considered a half New Resident. She encountered a crisis from the Mirror Domain outside, suffered a severe injury; she didn’t die but was critically hurt, recuperating in Charles Palace for years, yet has not fully recovered, spending three hundred days a year in a stupor.

Because the Mirror Domain is dreamless, Charles XIII took pity on her and gave her a Log-in Device so she could have a place to go while in a stupor.

Now, Jeanne has established herself in the Crystal Origin of Dreams and has started challenging the Little Treasure Tower on Silver Coral Island.

Jeanne’s experience resonated deeply with Luskania.

Luskania seemed to see another version of herself in the world.

As a result, Luskania grew more curious about the Crystal Origin of Dreams and expressed to the Rabbit Girl her desire to meet Jeanne.

The Rabbit Girl agreed, leading them to Silver Coral Island.

However, just as they were about to enter Silver Coral Island, Kukurus heard a nearby Indigenous child pointing to them, saying, "Two more dragons are here!"

Being idly discussed by ordinary people made Kukurus a bit upset; originally, he wanted to assume the posture of a Mirror Dragon, but before he could make a fierce expression, Luskania spoke softly first:

"Does that mean you’ve seen more than just the two of us?"

The Indigenous child gathered together, and a daring child stepped forward, nodding to Luskania: "Yes, we met a kind of fierce dragon before; it even said it was called... Baba Ragon."

"We wanted to ask it to play, but it called us childish and left." The child said this, putting their hands on their hips in mock anger: "How are we childish? Our hide-and-seek game is not only fun but also explores Rabbit Mansion!"

But by this time, Luskania and Kukurus had stopped paying attention to the Indigenous children’s words; all their thoughts were focused on that name.

Baba Ragon?

Baba Ragon!

Originally, Kukurus thought that Luigi’s mention of encountering Baba Ragon was just a tease, but unexpectedly, soon after entering the Crystal Origin of Dreams, they obtained news of Baba Ragon!

Luskania was also very concerned about Baba Ragon and immediately bent down to look into the child’s eyes: "You mentioned Baba Ragon just now. What does it look like? Do you remember?"

The Indigenous children all nodded: "Of course we remember; it looks different from all of us."

A flock of children started to chitter-chatter, describing Baba Ragon’s appearance.

And the features of a Multi-headed Dragon are just too distinctive!

With their precise description, Kukurus and Luskania finally confirmed that this Baba Ragon was indeed that Baba Ragon!

After receiving news of Baba Ragon, Luskania, after a moment of hesitation, decided to forgo looking for Jeanne for now, instead asking about Baba Ragon’s whereabouts.