"I don’t know if there’s any ’good stuff,’ but anyway, I didn’t feel anything." Angel shrugged and spread his hands.
Angel’s words made the eyes of the group of people led by the Traveling rchant dim slightly.
On the other hand, Dox looked utterly incredulous: "Really, nothing at all? Not even touched the shadow on the mirror?"
Dox’s questioning rekindled a glimr of hope in the Traveling rchant’s eyes.
Unfortunately, every ti Dox chid in, the flicker of hope they had was rcilessly extinguished by Angel.
"Since I said I didn’t feel anything, it certainly includes not touching even the shadow of the Traveling rchant." Angel narrowed his eyes as he saw Dox still looked doubtful and coaxed, "How about I send you in, and you see for yourself if there’s anything good inside?"
"Send in? You can really get in there?"
Angel: "I’ve never tried, but we can give it a shot."
Dox was taken aback and seriously considered the feasibility. But the more he thought, the more his brows furrowed. Eventually, his face turned pale, and cold sweat dripped from his forehead.
At this point, the Black Earl suddenly gave a cold snort toward Dox.
It didn’t seem like much to others, but to Dox, it was like a spring thunder erupted on a clear day, booming directly to the sky, yanking him back from his thoughts.
Coming back to his senses, Dox’s face was still pale, gasping as if he couldn’t catch his breath.
Dox’s strange behavior left everyone baffled, especially Angel, whose face was full of confusion. He hadn’t done anything except make a suggestion, so why was Dox so agitated?
Angel turned to look at the Black Earl, trying to get an explanation from him.
"ntal block." The Black Earl simply gave an answer.
ntal block? Angel mused over the term, finding it utterly unfamiliar.
He had heard of "magic block," a sudden psychological disorder, which could be understood as an abrupt obsession. In illusion techniques, there are also many ways to forcibly drag a normal person’s mind into a magic block state.
But he had never heard of the term ’ntal block.’
Not only Angel, but most of the others present were also at a loss.
The Black Earl, after a brief silence, decided to offer a simple explanation: "In simpler terms, it’s... overthinking."
Overthinking? While Angel was pondering this term’s underlying aning, Dox finally ca to. The first thing he did when he regained his composure was to take a deep breath, showing gratitude to the Black Earl, and then, filled with righteous indignation, he said to Angel, "You almost screwed over!"
Angel: "???"
Dox continued his complaint: "I was puzzled about why you suggested going into the mirror, and now I realize you were up to no good, deliberately egging on."
Dox went on to complain bitterly, his words sowhat convoluted and obscure. The Traveling rchant’s group on the opposite side half-understood what they were hearing, while Angel and the others, with Vay’s translation via Mind Ribbon, generally understood what Dox was saying.
Inevitably, the Black Earl’s conclusion was spot on: Dox just thinks too much.
Dox’s inspiration talent originally took so ti to restore, but thanks to the help from the Sunlight Sanctuary, it not only recovered but reached its peak. Because the restoration was too quick without a gradual adaptation process, Dox continued to use his inspiration talent in the old ways and habits.
Earlier, when Angel goaded him, he subconsciously began thinking about whether it was dangerous. If there’s danger, how to avoid it? If avoiding is possible, how to maximize the benefits? If danger is unavoidable but not fatal, how should one benefit? How much benefit would be worth the risk? ... A torrent of such questions flooded Dox’s mind almost simultaneously.
So of these questions might sound unbelievable, even absurd, but this is just Dox’s habitual way of thinking. Previously, with his inspiration talent, and since it was a passive ability, it vaguely guided him in a general direction. Thus, he could quickly resolve most of these questions in a flash.
But now, while the inspiration talent remains passive, after its sublimation, it no longer loosely provides a rough direction. Instead, it becos more detailed and comprehensive, integrating more information to offer Dox more accurate and detailed intelligence.
However, this cos at a huge cost.
It consus ntal power, holistic insight, and enormous computing power.
Even a single question is enough to make Dox a little dizzy; with so many questions coming all at once, it directly leads to a cognitive overload.
The sublimation of his inspiration talent, coupled with embarking on a "new ship" using old thods without adaptation, led to Dox’s incident.
Fortunately, the Black Earl detected Dox’s condition in ti and woke him up. Otherwise, Dox might have ended up seeing stars, smoke coming out of his ears, eyes spinning, lying directly on the ground.
He wouldn’t die, but without half a year to a year’s rest, he wouldn’t hope to use his inspiration talent again.
After understanding Dox’s plight, Angel, although wishing to express sympathy, couldn’t help the corner of his mouth from curving upward, revealing his inner thoughts.
Angel now understood why Dox’s thinking was so erratic; it’s because he relied on his talent, which made his thoughts spin wildly, often leaving others clueless about what Dox was doing.
Now, the sublimated inspiration talent temporarily restrained Dox’s erratic thinking. But the constraint won’t last long; given Dox’s imagination speed, he should adapt to the new inspiration talent in ten days or half a month.
Though the restraint is brief, it’s beneficial during their ti in the Underground Aqueduct. It will make Dox less likely to overthink bizarre things.
"Although I fell into that, what do you call it... ntal block just now, I still sensed so situations. If your coaxing had succeeded and I entered the mirror, there’s a high probability I wouldn’t be able to co back!"
Dox described the fear he sensed.
"Everything was blank, whether in front of or in my mind, all blank. It felt like nothing was there, or maybe nothing should have been there in the first place."
"In that scenario, one might not even know whether they’re dead or vanished. But it’s certain—consciousness will fade, the soul will be torn... In the end, even if I survived, I’d no longer be myself."
Dox’s indignation towards Angel stemd mainly from this. Such a horrific and terrifying world inside the mirror, and Angel actually coaxed him to go in!
Angel rubbed his chin and pondered aloud, "So, the world inside the mirror is dangerous?"
Dox replied in exasperation: "Of course, it’s dangerous! Don’t tell you didn’t know!"
Angel spread his hands, looking innocent: "I truly didn’t know, I’ve never been inside."
"You’ve never been in, and you could still reach your hand in? Who are you trying to fool?" Dox remained indignant.
Angel: "Although I consider this a small matter, if you insist I was inside trying to trick you, I can allow you to use truth magic to confront . I’ve indeed never been inside."
Angel spoke quite candidly, even opened his mind, ready to let Dox probe.
Seeing this, although Dox kept muttering, he was convinced internally.
Angel: "As to how I can reach inside... I once asked advice from a senior and researched similar spell techniques."
As for the "predecessor" ntioned by Angel, he didn’t say, but a na imdiately popped into Dox’s mind.
The most famous predecessor in the Barbarian Cave isn’t a Wizard, but that encyclopedia-like Book Elder. Alongside Book Elder, in the Barbarian Cave, there are two others of equal fa: Tree Spirit and Mirror Lady.
The predecessor that Angel ntioned, especially soone who would use such an extrely esoteric spell technique, is likely "Mirror Lady".
Thinking of it this way, the logic aligns.
Angel: "Besides, I didn’t secretly incite you. I openly suggested you scout ahead. If there’s confird danger, I’d naturally give up."
Dox had rolled his eyes countless tis internally: "The way you say it doesn’t make it any more pleasant."
After speaking, Dox crossed his arms, sulking quietly at the side, and in the mind ribbon, he preached to Vay, recounting Angel’s dark history to persuade him to change his idol.
Angel also heard the slander in the mind ribbon, but seeing Dox’s pale face, he decided to let it pass.
After all, Dox still owes him a big favor. Eventually, ’good karma’ will find its way to him.
...
As soon as they finished speaking, the Gray rchant approached from the other side.
"Mr. Earl Mi can send people into the mirror? If so, could he send in?"
It was obvious what the Gray rchant wanted—to enter the mirror world and retrieve his sealed mories.
Angel: "You also heard the Red Sword Wizard earlier; entering might an never coming out."
The Gray rchant was eager to express fearlessness, but Angel interrupted, "I know what you’re going to say: even if it’s dangerous, you’re willing to try... It’s a testant to your confidence in your abilities, and I won’t deny that."
"But if I tell you that once you go in, you’re certain to die, would you still choose to enter?"
Would you still go in if you were certain to die? Faced with this question, the Gray rchant fell silent.
Even though he didn’t speak, the answer was clear. Compared to a death warrant, what significance do sealed mories hold?
After a long pause, the Gray rchant spoke again, "Mr. Earl Mi, would you be willing to trade with ?"
The Gray rchant didn’t want to die, yet he didn’t want to give up either.
Angel: "Regarding the trade... Are you certain that once you retrieve this shard, you’ll have a way to recover your mories?"
Faced with Angel’s repeated inquiry, the Gray rchant’s response was the sa—silence.
Not only the Gray rchant but also the Wicked Woman and several apprentices from the rchant Organization looked uneasy.
They had considered this issue.
The Mirror Bearer had only assigned a task, claiming that as long as it was completed, the Gray rchant’s mory would be restored. However, there was no contract or constraint ensuring the Bearer’s words would hold true.
It’s not that they didn’t want to sign a contract, but the Mirror Bearer’s imnse power and mysterious yet intangible ability left them no ti to sign a contract or room to resist. They had no choice but to accept the terms.
Throughout their journey, they tacitly avoided discussing this topic, unwilling to consider the worst outco.
They could only pray for the Mirror Bearer’s good faith.
After all, given the Bearer’s formidable strength, as a powerful predecessor, he wouldn’t deceive newcors like them, right?
Besides, the sealed mories were only useful to the Gray rchant. Even if others obtained it, they’d likely find it distressing rather than beneficial.
So, surely, it would be returned? Surely...right?
Holding onto this unfounded hope, they had reached this point.
Angel’s revelation was like tearing away this veil of false hope, forcing the Gray rchant and his group to face this all-too-possible scenario.
Seeing the evident unease among the Gray rchant and his group, Angel understood that they truly hadn’t prepared any escape, fully betting their fate on Adanis’s credibility.
But would Adanis keep her promise? Angel personally thought... it unlikely.
Clearly, Adanis had been observing Angel up close in the mirror earlier, and the Gray rchant’s mories must have been nearby then. Yet, until Adanis departed, she never released the Gray rchant’s mories.
Moreover, the male voice Angel later heard explicitly instructed Angel to take the mirror shard but not to enter the mirror.
In essence, it was clearly stated that Adanis wouldn’t return for this shard.
Since she wouldn’t return, how would the Gray rchant’s mory seal be lifted? Was he supposed to find her in her hideaway?
Therefore, dreaming of Adanis coming to unseal the mory was very likely a fragnted dream.
"I cannot guarantee that obtaining the shard will definitely unseal my mories. But without it, I certainly can’t unseal them." The Gray rchant’s voice, initially resolute, grew more somber, almost muttering at the end, "Even if she doesn’t fulfill her promise, I can seek others..."
Angel: "Seeking others is one way. But who would you find?"
The Gray rchant stayed silent.
From the birdcage, the Wicked Woman spoke: "No matter who you find, there’s a chance. But staying with you leaves no chance at all."
The silenced Pink Moth also nodded vigorously, showing an "I agree too" expression.
Angel didn’t respond, but Dox, ever the professional at chiming in, voiced a contrary opinion from the side: "Who knows, if you take it outside to find soone, maybe there’s even less of a chance."
In other words, remaining with Angel might an a slightly better chance.
Dox’s words didn’t stir much of a reaction; neither side took it seriously. But the Wise Sovereign in the high sky, with a cloak that hinted at amusent, found it intriguing.
Angel: "I can tell you clearly, our desires for the mirror shard differ. You’re only after the mories, while I want the shard itself. So, to so extent, we could have our own needs t."
The Gray rchant replied bitterly, "However, without the shard, there’s no way to retrieve the mories."
Angel pondered for a mont: "I understand that, but upon further thought, it’s not entirely impossible to retrieve your mories."
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