Chapter 187: The Growth of a “Novice”

Chapter 187: The Growth of a “Novice”

Inside a sturdy, lightless room, Derrick Berg, who had been pretending to be unconscious, abruptly rolled over and sprang to his feet.

His Hurricane Axe had already been taken away for inspection, and every pocket in his clothes had been emptied, leaving not a single item behind.

Derrick drew in a breath and calmly swept his gaze around the room.

All at once, two tiny suns lit up within his eyes, allowing every object in the room to enter his vision one by one.

The furnishings here consisted only of a table and two chairs. Apart from that, there was only a stone floor carved with strange patterns.

On the table lay half a used candle. It was standard equipment in every room of the City of Silver, because if darkness lingered too long, monsters truly could appear without warning.

Derrick hesitated no further. He sat down and reached out to pick up that half candle.

Immediately afterward, he pulled and snapped it apart, splitting it into three sections: one section made up three-quarters of the original candle, while the other two shared the remaining quarter.

After Derrick’s adjustments, the wicks of all three pieces were exposed.

Snap!

He rubbed his fingers together, producing a golden flame, and lit the three candles.

The two candles placed at the top represented Mr. Fool. The remaining one symbolized Derrick himself.

After completing these preparations, Derrick did not follow the normal procedure of burning herbal powders or dripping in essential oils. Instead, he leaned back and recited the Fool’s honorific name in a very low voice, swiftly entering a meditative state.

Again and again, he repeated the prayer. It was monotonous and repetitive, as though he were constantly hypnotizing himself.

With the help of meditation, Derrick entered a bizarre state in which his mind slept while his spirituality dispersed outward. He felt both muddled and strangely awake, his spirit continuously drifting upward, higher and higher.

This was precisely “artificial sleepwalking.”

And Derrick, having obtained Mr. Fool’s permission, was able to simplify some of the unnecessary steps.

…

Above the gray fog, inside the towering ancient palace.

The Fool, Klein, was toying with the All-Black Eye when he suddenly saw the crimson star representing Little Sun swell with radiance, condensing into a humanoid phantom. At the same time, a small portion of the mysterious space’s power was pried into motion.

Seeing this, he quietly let out a breath of relief, because it meant Little Sun had already completed the relatively more dangerous preliminary matters. Only the final “wrap-up” remained.

Klein did not delay. He immediately set down the All-Black Eye and picked up the Black Emperor card.

His level and status rose in an instant, causing the power that had been stirred above the gray fog to submit one after another.

Then he grabbed a paper figurine, flicked his wrist, and threw it out—toward the crimson star corresponding to the Sun.

The paper figurine merged with the flowing, waterlike power and rapidly expanded into a colossal angel with twelve pairs—twenty-four in total—of pitch-black wings.

The “angel” passed through the crimson light and overlapped with Little Sun’s phantom.

Then it burned soundlessly, turning to ash in less than a second.

At this point, Klein could no longer influence the situation in the City of Silver. As for whether his “angel substitute” could help Little Sun smoothly pass the questioning and investigation to come, he had no absolute confidence. He could only sigh inwardly.

“Once I’ve done what I should and tried what I could, all that’s left is to wait for fate’s arrangement. I hope it’s a good outcome…”

…

In a haze, Derrick saw an angel descend before him with the momentum of a presence capable of covering the firmament. Its twelve pairs of black wings wrapped around him layer after layer.

He abruptly woke. Before his eyes, three candle flames burned…