The Wise Sovereign nodded as he listened, seemingly agreeing with Angel’s words, but not as surprised as at the beginning.
"Just from these clues, you’re able to think of the mana array node, quite imaginative."
Angel smiled and walked straight to the low bedside cabinet, searching as he spoke, "Besides, I have another guess."
The Wise Sovereign squinted his third eye, "Oh? What guess?"
Angel: "Energy cannot arise without a basis, since this is a mana array node, then where does this energy come from?"
The Wise Sovereign paused before continuing, "Where do you think it comes from?"
Angel opened the low cabinet and took out a finely crafted small wooden box made of deep sea wood.
"Generally speaking, most mana arrays use Magic Crystals as their energy source. But if a mana array is fixed in place for long-term operation and covers a large area, relying solely on Magic Crystals might work for a short time, but over time, the consumption would be terrifyingly high, which is when energy circulation becomes a consideration."
Angel opened the wooden box, glanced inside, and continued.
"For a mana array of the level of the Underground Aqueduct, energy circulation would definitely be considered. How to establish energy circulation to solve the energy issue must be discussed in terms of when Naraku City was flourishing and when it was in decline."
"When flourishing, many underground residents brought more benefits. At that time, even using Magic Crystals to sustain it would have more incoming than outgoing. Therefore, during Naraku City’s prosperous times, there were plenty of options for resolving the energy circulation problem, temporarily set aside."
"As for after the decline, how did the Underground Aqueduct solve the mana array’s energy problem? From my observation, I speculate the most likely energy circulation source comes from the life energy provided by Magical Creatures. The filth energy from the sewers breeds numerous Magical Creatures, whose battles and deaths feed back into the mana array."
The Wise Sovereign had by now put away his smile, gazing intently at Angel.
Angel: "Of course, there might be other energy circulation methods, but I personally lean towards Magical Creatures providing life energy. Otherwise, with the mana array’s capability, it could completely eradicate the Magical Creatures in the Underground Aqueduct, so why leave them to thrive and die in cycles?"
"Since the exterior mana array can allow Magical Creatures to provide life energy as a cycle, I thought, why can’t the Hanging Jail Stairway do the same? Even in flourishing times, for Naraku City’s residents, the imprisoned were serious criminals. If they could contribute a little before they died, it’s only fitting."
"So, I guess the energy source here might have originally come from the criminals imprisoned here. Surely the criminals weren’t volunteers; they were forcibly turned into ’energy providers.’"
"Here, they use a lot of deep sea wood for furniture, not just for energy conduction but also indicating that the inhabitant was once a criminal related to the Natural System. Perhaps a Nature Witch, or some type of Extraordinary Creature filled with natural power?"
At this point, the Wise Sovereign finally spoke: "Your deductions seemingly rely on logic, but often they appear specious. Where do these speculations come from, and what connections give rise to them, none have any basis."
"But strangely, your final answer comes very close to the truth. I’m very curious, how do you manage to guess correctly each time?"
Previously, the Wise Sovereign thought of Angel as a new star with a powerful background, very clever, and very competent.
Yet in front of him, it’s still hard to cover that sense of naivety. Although hidden, the Sage felt it wouldn’t be too hard to see through his tricks.
Now, however, Angel suddenly became wrapped in an unclear mist.
The Wise Sovereign was not concerned about Angel’s deduction results; what concerned him was how Angel arrived at his deductions. Also, was he truly a descendant of Noah? If not, what was his real purpose here?
This sudden lack of control over the situation made the Wise Sovereign somewhat uneasy.
"Speculations arise from the place, and connections are born of objects," Angel said blandly. "This is the basis for my conclusions."
Speculations arise from the place? By ’place,’ does he mean the Underground Aqueduct or, perhaps, the sewers?
Connections are born of objects? By ’objects,’ does he mean deep sea wood?
The Wise Sovereign frowned slightly; he felt Angel was being dismissive, but he couldn’t prove it.
The Wise Sovereign pondered for a moment. "What is your name?"
"Why do you suddenly want to know my name?" Angel cast a suspicious glance at the Sage, who offered no explanation.
Angel mused, "I don’t know who the Wise Sovereign is associating me with, but my identity shouldn’t match any of the names in your mind."
With those words, Angel stopped looking at the Wise Sovereign and dusted off his hands, turning to Kaier. "We should go; the Wood Spirit isn’t here."
Kaier glanced surreptitiously at the Wise Sovereign, seeing that he made no move to continue speaking, he promptly replied, "Master, there are still many places we haven’t checked here."
Although the room wasn’t large, feeling every inch would still take some effort.
Moreover, Kaier noticed that Angel had only carefully examined one place, the wooden box in the low cabinet by the bed, leaving the other areas unchecked.
This left Kaier quite baffled.
"This was once a prison for Natural System criminals, and the criminal was drained by the mana array. The Wood Spirit must be aware, and even if it’s safe now, its nature wouldn’t let it stay here."
After all, things that hurt their kind are avoided, and the Wood Spirit wouldn’t know if the mana array’s energy extraction method had changed. If it hasn’t, staying here might mean the same fate as that Natural System criminal.
Seeing Kaier still looking puzzled, Angel straightforwardly questioned the Wise Sovereign: "Wise Sovereign, have you ever found a Wood Spirit here before?"
The Wise Sovereign: "Since you already ’deduced’ it, why ask me?"
Angel shrugged, silently saying ’see’ to Kaier.
"It’s time to go."
With the Wise Sovereign’s tacit agreement, this time Kaier didn’t object, instead following behind Angel, prepared to leave.
On the other side, Dox approached the wooden box Angel had inspected earlier, curiously peering inside.
"You looked so carefully just now, I thought there was something good inside. But there’s nothing." Dox murmured softly beside Angel.
"The wooden box made of deep sea wood, due to its energy conduction, remains well-preserved. However, the items inside aren’t as fortunate," Angel said. "Time took everything away, as well as those forgotten stories."
Forgotten stories? Dox paused momentarily, then retorted, "You say that as if you know the story."
Angel gave a faint smile without replying, but inwardly he sighed deeply.
He really did know this story.
Or rather, the doubts the Wise Sovereign had previously were actually things Angel had learned from this story.