"Did you discover anything?" The one asking was Black Earl.
Angel nodded, showing a hint of apology on his face: "I found something, but it’s so ancient, and my understanding of magical creatures is actually limited, so it took a bit longer. My apologies."
Vay: "No worries, no worries. You’ve already done remarkably well, my lord!"
Dox glanced at Vay: "Since when did you learn to flatter? Why don’t you also flatter me? I guarantee you’ll reach the wizard rank in no time."
Vay: "No, I don’t want to."
Vay had no shortage of resources or talent; he was even slightly stronger than Dox initially. The reason Dox later caught up wasn’t that Vay couldn’t advance, but because he had his own considerations.
Dox twitched his lips and whispered into Vay’s ear: "We’ve known each other for decades, and you’ve never flattered me, yet Angel, whom you’ve only met a few times, you do?"
Vay remained silent as Angel began conversing with Black Earl. He certainly didn’t want to miss out. As for Dox’s question, it was a separate matter entirely; close friends and idols are on different levels, incomparable. Besides, Angel was Vay’s newfound idol, and he naturally wanted to show off.
On the other side, Black Earl asked: "Have you determined what kind of magical creature it is?"
Angel nodded: "If nothing’s out of the ordinary, this pheromone should belong to the Ghosteye Witch."
"A Ghosteye Witch again?" Everyone exclaimed in surprise.
Angel paid no heed to the others’ doubts and gently pointed in Black Earl’s direction. In Black Earl’s puzzled emotions, a series of wondrous illusion nodes formed an illusion structure invisible to the naked eye right in front of his nose.
"You may want to double-check, my lord. After all, my judgment might not be accurate."
Black Earl sniffed and, to his surprise, found it to be the scent of a pheromone... No, it was the pheromone simulated by an illusion.
Upon confirming this conclusion, Black Earl’s astonishment was no less than when he saw Angel repairing magic patterns and casting the Moving Mirage.
Black Earl was familiar with Sanders and by extension, with illusions. He knew illusions could deceive the five senses. However, pheromones transcend the five senses, touching upon the realm of inspiration.
Yes, it’s the perception of inspiration.
Inspiration perception isn’t just a wizard’s danger radar— it has many other applications.
The Spirit Sea, Land of the Soul, and Mind Space are generally considered higher dimensional existences. And inspiration is the same; in wizard research, it’s also considered a higher-dimensional state, or perhaps a uniquely human high-dimensional sense.
The five senses belong to the material realm, while inspiration is cloaked in higher dimensions.
Identifying pheromones requires both the five senses and inspiration.
Angel simulating pheromones with illusions—does that mean he also has some talent for inspiration?
Black Earl’s guess was actually correct.
Angel already excelled in understanding emotions and mastering the five senses, surpassing ordinary people. Additionally, in the Wilderness of Dreams, he encountered independent existences without souls but with conscious thought, like Popota.
Coupled with Angel’s mastery of nightmare illusions, Angel could now simulate existences beyond the five senses using illusions.
However, Angel himself didn’t realize this was a form of talent as it came so naturally; long ago, Angel had subconsciously combined inspiration and nightmare illusions. For instance, during the chaos at the Twilight Auction, he continuously recalled the stitched woman from the Nightmare Realm, which led to overlapping between the Nightmare Realm and reality, marking the beginning of the change in the Eternal Night Country.
At that time, Angel connected with the Nightmare Realm just by thinking, relying on inspiration. Between life and death, inspiration and nightmare illusions combined, providing him the capital to overturn the tables.
Neither Angel nor Sanders noticed this back then, and now, using such illusions came naturally to Angel.
Though it was his first time simulating pheromones this way, Angel felt no fear of failure, which indicated this talent was deeply ingrained in his instincts.
Instead, Black Earl’s sudden emotional fluctuation left Angel a bit puzzled.
"My lord, did you find something amiss? Was my judgment wrong?" Angel asked, puzzled.
Black Earl saw Angel’s nonchalant demeanor towards the simulated pheromones, which raised a suspicion: could it be that Sanders had advanced illusion research this far?
If so, Black Earl thought he should adjust his mindset too, to avoid appearing ignorant, especially when meeting Sanders in the future. If Sanders were to boast about this, he shouldn’t seem shocked—be calm, be calm...
While self-hypnotizing, Black Earl was thankful that only his nose came out this time. A nose can’t show emotions; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to conceal his astonishment.
Black Earl believed he concealed it well, but little did he know Angel, who could merge inspiration with nightmare illusions, was incredibly adept at capturing emotional fluctuations.
However, Black Earl indeed had a reason to be thankful—not because he hid it well, but because Angel was here instead of Sanders. If it had been Sanders, he would have seen through Black Earl’s thoughts instantly, whereas Angel knew about Black Earl’s fluctuating emotions but didn’t understand what he was thinking.
So, when Black Earl finally calmed down, Angel had no other thoughts. The only question in his mind was: "Did I judge incorrectly, is it not a Ghosteye Witch?"
As Angel anxiously waited, Black Earl steadied his mindset and tone and said coolly: "It is indeed a Ghosteye Witch. Your judgment is quite correct. Well done."
Black Earl offered praise, not for Angel’s discovery, but for the impressive illusion that simulated pheromones.
Receiving Black Earl’s affirmation, Angel let out a long sigh of relief: "I initially thought I was wrong—glad it’s a Ghosteye Witch."
At this moment, Dox, with a teasing tone, said: "What do you mean by ’glad it’s a Ghosteye Witch’? So, you’re only brave enough to face a Ghosteye Witch?"
Dox didn’t understand the undercurrents between Black Earl and Angel. After all, he wasn’t well-versed in illusions; he was just genuinely puzzled by Angel’s words.
And Dox’s confusion happened to set the stage for what Angel had to say next.
"Seeing any other magical creature in the Underground Labyrinth wouldn’t stir much in me. But the Ghosteye Witch is different—I associate its existence with some unique meanings."