“So… how did you teach Angor? Where did he learn about all those magic plants as well as their effects?” Ness chattered, “Look at my students… They’re terrible compared to Angor.”
Sunders briefly revealed an uneasy expression. He never taught Angor any alchemy knowledge. When Ness praised his student, the gentleman felt both proud and embarrassed.
When Sunders did not respond, Ness continued to chatter, “He even knows about the catalytic effect of Mero Scorpion Flower… I only learned about it recently. Impressive. Did he receive enlightenment from the Elder of Books?”
Sunders was curious about Angor’s knowledge, but he did not intend to look into it. Wizards all had their own ways to study, and everyone could know something that others did not.
For example, Sunders did not know much about soul knowledge, and he had to come looking for Ness’ help.
“Enlightenment? Not really. But he did receive some pointers.” Sunders felt proud of Angor’s achievement.
No one had gained anything from the Elder of Books in many years. Whatever Angor did, the boy proved his superior talent.
Ness was jealous now. “I’d have been the one getting the recruits! Then maybe Angor would be my student instead. I’ve got so many questions to ask the Elder of Books, but he always chased me out of his room! Damn it.”
Sunders sneered in his mind. You won’t get Angor anyway. I intercepted the boy from White Coral Floating Academy’s ship.
As they talked, Angor felt himself returning to the chaotic space again.
This was the place where he fought with Parasite Queen.
“I returned to my soul form again?” Angor looked around curiously. The place might look like his mind space, but Anger knew that it was not because he did not see his Axes of the Universe here.
It was mostly empty. Apart from his own soul, there was only one other object: a green flower bud which was releasing a pale green light.
So this is the core of Green Velvet?
Angor tried to move. He thought his soul was trapped in the body like how it was when fighting Parasite Queen. Surprisingly though, he realized that he could move around this time.
“Huh… I can move?” Angor floated about. It felt similar to when he was in the Nightmare Realm, where he was not bound by gravity at all.
Angor floated to the Green Velvet and circled around the bud. He was not confident enough to actually touch the plant, but he sensed something comforting when staying near the bud.
Just like Sunders mentioned, the Green Velvet could nurture his soul.
But… the Green Velvet core should be inside some part of my body, right? Why can I see it here?
Does this mean that the chaotic space is the inside of my body? But why are there no blood vessels and other body parts? It looks so empty.
Where exactly is the Green Velvet? And what is this place?
Angor decided that he would ask his professor later.
He stayed near the Green Velvet and enjoyed the refreshing aura it released until a strange force appeared and drew him away.
The strange force was like a delicious candy that lured a child.
Angor thought he could easily ignore the urge to follow it, but his mind worked too slowly. By the time he came to, he already floated to an entrance that looked like a vortex.
He could see the outside world through it. Sunders was right there, but the gentleman never looked his way.
He saw Ness too. Unlike Sunders, Ness bent a finger at him and beckoned.
Angor was already attracted by the unknown force. Now that Ness asked him to come out, he stepped through the entrance without a second thought.
…
“Good boy. And finally! His soul space is pretty large. The Soul Attractor has been burning for an hour.”
Ness snuffed out the flame on the grass and the strange force that attracted Angor’s soul vanished.
“So, it was successful. Now we need to test his soul,” Sunders spoke.
Angor could not feel the nutrient liquid around his body when existing as a soul, so he believed he was an ethereal being who could go through solid objects.
He was quickly proven wrong. When Angor went for the outside of the glass chamber, he bumped his head on the glass. Hard.
Sunders looked at the silly move of his student and held back the urge to facepalm.
Ness laughed out. When Angor’s expression went darker, the old man slowly explained, “My equipment are all made from special materials. Souls cannot go through them.”
Looking at how Ness was still laughing, and his professor’s embarrassed look, Angor found an exit at the top of the chamber and floated out, blushing.
He tried to stand on the floor, but he failed to sense anything solid. It was strange when looking at his body submerged in the chamber. Angor still felt a connection between his body and soul, but he could not tell why.
Ness spoke to Sunders. “The kid is still trying to hide his ‘privacy’. Look, he even made some ethereal clothes around his soul.”
Like what Ness said, Angor’s soul was not naked. He was wearing some basic cover-up.
Sunders sneered, “Unlike you, people know about shame.”
“Ptui. Why would I need to know shame? That’s mortal stuff that constraints a human’s nature. Wizards should all let it loose!” Ness retorted.
“That’s your one-sided and extreme standard, and the reason why you failed to break through,” said Sunders. He had grown tired of explaining moral issues to Ness. “Let’s begin. We’ll note down his condition first.”
Sunders turned to Angor. “Do you feel the gray fog in you?”
Angor tried, and he did sense the strange ripple coming from the depth of his soul. “Yes, sir.”
“Can you control it then? Release it,” Ness said.
Angor tried again. “I… don’t think I can.”
After how he released the fog to an extreme extent last time, the fog seemed to be in dormant. Now, it looked like a stagnant puddle that refused to move around no matter how hard he tried.
“I see. Then, we need more tests. We shall find where it exists, and do something specific to trigger it,” said Ness. He pointed at the experiment bench where he processed the female corpse. “Get on the bench.”