Upon seeing the content of the image, Angel’s pupils shrank, and he closed it without hesitation.
"Mr. Pat, was the ship in the last image a Gondola?" Sitting opposite Angel, little Sam had been secretly watching the scenes from the Photostones. He couldn’t understand the previous content, but in the last scene, although the main focus was a blond, blue-eyed young man, he noticed a dreamlike Flying Boat parked beside him, exactly the same as the Gondola they were on.
Angel’s mouth twitched slightly, and he thought to himself: He closed it so quickly, yet this little fellow still managed to catch a glimpse of the Gondola’s shadow.
Indeed, the protagonist of the earlier image was Angel, captured during the time he crafted the Ocean’s Rhythm.
Angel knew that this image had spread widely across the Flourish Continent due to Jiebo. He just didn’t expect... he’d see this Photostone at such a moment.
Luckily, because of the Seed, he still maintained the appearance of red hair and golden eyes, otherwise, just now little Sam would have asked about the Gondola, and not about him.
Angel didn’t want to explain further, so he calmly and succinctly replied, "Yes."
"I thought such a beautiful Flying Boat was one of a kind in the world, I didn’t expect there to be a second one," little Sam’s eyes flashed with vibrant light, "Is this the world where you reside, sir?"
Angel: "The world I reside in and the world you are in are one and the same."
Little Sam: "But I’ve never seen a boat that can fly, nor did I know that the legends in books are real. Even in the image I just saw, those towering Star Force Puppets and the half-human, half-fish creatures, I’ve never heard of them."
Little Sam lowered his head in some dejection, "It seems my world is different from yours, sir."
Angel: "The world is the same, it’s just the perspective that’s different."
Different perspectives? Little Sam seemed to understand only partly.
"Then, is there a way for me to reach your perspective, sir?" Little Sam asked, full of hope in his eyes.
Angel paused for a moment, "I suppose it’s not easy."
Angel’s directness made little Sam’s eyes flash with disappointment, and he lowered his head in silent contemplation.
Angel could sense little Sam’s yearning for the Extraordinary World, but he didn’t intend to elaborate. Though he hadn’t tested it, with his current level, he could see that little Sam had decent Spiritual potential, but his Mental Power Value definitely didn’t meet the standards.
Since he wasn’t a Talented One, there was no need to give him too much hope.
Because the sudden sight of his Alchemy process in the Photostone, Angel decided not to view it anymore. Instead, he looked up at the starry sky, savoring a moment of peace.
Time passed slowly.
Little Sam had a Mortal Body, even more frail than Duru back then, so Angel piloted the Gondola very slowly. It wasn’t until the next morning that they entered the heartland of the Central Empire.
They were not far from Saint Sem City now.
...
Meanwhile, on the Pamiji Plateau, Rhein arrived outside the ruins where Angel was temporarily staying.
He gently knocked on the large tree at the entrance.
After a moment, a Tree Spirit avatar emerged from the ruins.
"Angel has already left?" Rhein asked.
The Tree Spirit yawned and leaned against the tree, "That’s right, after he returned from the Foul Wing station, he met with Dororo, then took Toby overseas. However, I noticed he’s quite unfamiliar with opening the Plane Corridor, likely to take a detour."
"But, even if he takes a detour, it doesn’t matter. After all, he prepared plenty of casting materials, so there shouldn’t be a problem opening the Plane Corridor a few more times."
Rhein: "Didn’t he let Dororo go with him?"
The Tree Spirit shook his head, "Dororo wanted to, but having just made a name for himself at the Star Observation Day, many people have set their sights on him. Before he advances to Wizard or has self-defense capabilities, Angel decided to leave him behind."
Rhein nodded, "That’s also good. Keep an eye on Dororo, his strategic significance is very high. I recently met Maya, and she told me that in matters of hidden secrets, Dororo’s prophecy might be even stronger than hers."
As an apprentice, Dororo’s prophetic ability in some aspects had already surpassed that of Maya, the veteran Prophet Wizard, which spoke volumes to the Tree Spirit.
After discussing Dororo, Rhein inquired about Regina’s research progress.
At the mention of Regina, the Tree Spirit sighed deeply.
When Angel handed over to Regina, the Tree Spirit thought Regina was quite agreeable, but after personal interaction, he realized Regina was essentially a replica of Lianna.
Not that Regina’s personality was similar to Lianna’s, but Regina’s persistence was a profound reflection of Lianna’s essence.
Knowing that Angel had handed over the mushrooms to the Tree Spirit, Regina frequently came to hassle him, hoping to get them ahead of time.
This persistence reminded the Tree Spirit of the time Lianna had persistently asked him to open a space within the Eternal Tree.
Moreover, Regina wasn’t coming personally, but sending a mushroom avatar. This made the Tree Spirit feel troubled and slightly underappreciated.
The Tree Spirit: "Apart from constantly pestering for mushrooms, everything else is okay. It’s said that the cultivation progress of Mu Ying is also satisfactory."
Rhein patted the Tree Spirit, offering silent comfort.
Rhein then inquired if there were any other anomalies within the ruins—mostly concerned about the Nightmare Light and the sudden return of Culori from the ruins.
After confirming everything was normal, Rhein bid farewell to the Tree Spirit and flew towards the Star Pond Ruins.
The Tree Spirit returned to the ruins, intending to continue reading the books left by Culori.
However, as the Tree Spirit returned to the study, he noticed that a faint light seemed to flicker across the Knight’s suit of armor by the desk.
Curious, the Tree Spirit walked to the knight’s armor and sensed the Magical Energy Array engraved on it.
There was no sign of activation.
"Was it an illusion?" The Tree Spirit hesitated for a moment and decided to check, not believing he could be mistaken.
The Tree Spirit activated the short-distance Teleportation Array on the armor, and the next second, he arrived at the deep corridor. At the corridor’s end was Culori’s bedroom, filled with the Nightmare Light.
The Tree Spirit paced the corridor but found no anomalies.
As for the bedroom... without Angel, he couldn’t enter.
"Could it really have been an illusion?" The Tree Spirit shook his head, left the corridor, and returned to the study.
Soon after the Tree Spirit departed, a soft voice echoed in the empty corridor, "He’s gone..."