In the seemingly endless passage, darkness is the eternal theme.
However, it’s not always dark here. When someone arrives, lights come on to guide the way forward.
At this moment, a series of faint footsteps echoed in the passage.
As the footsteps continued, the wall-mounted lights gradually ignited, illuminating the visible end.
"Is this the Wise Sovereign’s arrangement?" Dox stopped by a wall candle, observing it for a moment: "It seems quite ordinary, even the quality of the lamp oil is average, but with a large quantity, it should fetch a good price if taken all."
"Lord Chaowei already said that the Wise Sovereign’s arrangement merely guides the path through the illumination, not gifting them to you," Vay commented dryly.
Ever since being scolded by the Black Earl, Dox has become more excessive, not even wanting to spare these wall candles. But what the Black Earl meant by foundation is not just "Magic Crystals"!
Dox: "The Wise Sovereign hasn’t prohibited me from taking them, right? If there’s no prohibition, it’s tacitly permitted."
"That’s one way to put it," Angel turned to Dox: "But do you dare to take them?"
Dox rambled on but didn’t make a move, showing he didn’t really dare to act recklessly. After all, this is an underground aqueduct filled with magical energy arrays.
Just because he didn’t act doesn’t mean he didn’t want to. That long tirade was just a ploy to catch Angel’s attention, wasn’t it?
"If you say I can take them, why wouldn’t I? After all, I’m bound to serve you; surely you won’t let me fall into danger, right?" Dox’s tone was firm at first, but quickly turned sycophantic.
Witnessing this, Vay couldn’t help but roll his eyes internally.
Dox used to appear as a fierce renegade, firm in not wanting to lose his freedom. But after incurring debt with Angel and deciding to ’sell labor’, he seemed to have changed entirely, like he was Angel’s servant...
Indeed, if Dox truly ’sells himself’ in the future, he would be considered Angel’s subordinate servant. But from Angel’s disdainful gaze, Vay could see that Angel only needed Dox’s ’labor’, not his person, indicating merely an employer-worker relationship.
No matter what the result is, Dox’s transformation indeed left Vay surprised.
"You can take it," Angel said while looking at Dox.
Dox didn’t move, instead, he continued to stare at Angel.
After a while, Angel finally sighed and added: "As long as you’re not afraid of death, you can take it."
"Just as I thought, there’s definitely a catch," Dox muttered, yet he wasn’t concerned. Having been tricked by Angel numerous times, even without inspiration, he could sense Angel might be setting a trap for him.
Or rather, the calmer and more agreeable Angel is, the less Dox trusts. The current ’compliance’ might mean he’s planning something worse.
Angel: "These wall candles are linked to the magical energy arrays, though the connection is weak."
As Angel spoke, he walked up to a candle, casually severing a few energy streams before taking the candle without any unusual occurrences overhead.
Angel tossed the candle to Dox: "Since you want it so much, keep it as a memento. I believe the Wise Sovereign wouldn’t be stingy with these candles."
Dox: "I wanted more than just one. Since it’s so simple, why not take them all..."
Before Dox could finish, Angel’s smile grew increasingly benevolent.
Dox instinctively shut his mouth. Whenever Angel showed that kind of smile, it usually meant trouble.
"Do you want me to spend a lot of time and magic power to help you remove all these candles?" Angel asked with a smiling face.
Dox: "I... I, I was just saying, if you have the time."
Angel: "With the same time and magical power, I should be able to refine alchemy tools worth at least ten times the total value of these candles."
Dox: "..." Hear that? Is this humanly possible?
Despite Dox’s efforts to control his emotions, the envy in his eyes inadvertently revealed his thoughts.
After "politely" rejecting Dox’s suggestion, Angel continued forward.
Dox hurriedly followed: "Since these aren’t gifted to us, what surprise did the Wise Sovereign mention?"
Angel: "You’re asking me, whom should I ask?"
Although Angel and the Black Earl had conversed with the Wise Sovereign, the discussion concerned the subsequent journey, with no mention of a "surprise."
The Wise Sovereign’s remark before departure left Angel puzzled.
However, compared to Dox’s expectant gaze, Angel was less optimistic about this so-called surprise.
Surprise could be literal or ironic, depending on context and the speaker’s personality.
If spoken by the Academy Faction’s White Wizard, Angel would believe; but the Wise Sovereign ... Angel still held reservations.
Not only did Angel think so, evidently Vay did too: "It could be more surprise than pleasant."
Dox: "If it’s truly more surprise than pleasant, then I’ll..."
"Then what?" Vay glanced at Dox: "Are you... one-sixth?"
Upon hearing "one-sixth," Dox became dejected, lowering his head with a sigh, and even his walking pace turned weak.
But after a few steps, he heard a "bang!" as his head collided with something metallic.
Rubbing his head, Dox cursed as he backed away a few steps.
Once at a safe distance, he looked up to find he’d collided with none other than an alchemy golem.
This very alchemy golem was the one possessed by Speedy; Angel hadn’t let Speedy out since possession.
Dox had asked Angel before, and Angel explained: Speedy doesn’t want to leave.
For Speedy, who was always energy-based, having a body for the first time, even if it’s just a steel corpse, was a fascinating experience.