"I don’t know if there’s any ’good stuff,’ but anyway, I didn’t feel anything." Angel shrugged and spread his hands.
Angel’s words made the eyes of the group of people led by the Traveling Merchant dim slightly.
On the other hand, Dox looked utterly incredulous: "Really, nothing at all? Not even touched the shadow on the mirror?"
Dox’s questioning rekindled a glimmer of hope in the Traveling Merchant’s eyes.
Unfortunately, every time Dox chimed in, the flicker of hope they had was mercilessly extinguished by Angel.
"Since I said I didn’t feel anything, it certainly includes not touching even the shadow of the Traveling Merchant." Angel narrowed his eyes as he saw Dox still looked doubtful and coaxed, "How about I send you in, and you see for yourself if there’s anything good inside?"
"Send me in? You can really get me in there?"
Angel: "I’ve never tried, but we can give it a shot."
Dox was taken aback and seriously considered the feasibility. But the more he thought, the more his brows furrowed. Eventually, his face turned pale, and cold sweat dripped from his forehead.
At this point, the Black Earl suddenly gave a cold snort toward Dox.
It didn’t seem like much to others, but to Dox, it was like a spring thunder erupted on a clear day, booming directly to the sky, yanking him back from his thoughts.
Coming back to his senses, Dox’s face was still pale, gasping as if he couldn’t catch his breath.
Dox’s strange behavior left everyone baffled, especially Angel, whose face was full of confusion. He hadn’t done anything except make a suggestion, so why was Dox so agitated?
Angel turned to look at the Black Earl, trying to get an explanation from him.
"Mental block." The Black Earl simply gave an answer.
Mental block? Angel mused over the term, finding it utterly unfamiliar.
He had heard of "magic block," a sudden psychological disorder, which could be understood as an abrupt obsession. In illusion techniques, there are also many ways to forcibly drag a normal person’s mind into a magic block state.
But he had never heard of the term ’mental block.’
Not only Angel, but most of the others present were also at a loss.
The Black Earl, after a brief silence, decided to offer a simple explanation: "In simpler terms, it’s... overthinking."
Overthinking? While Angel was pondering this term’s underlying meaning, Dox finally came to. The first thing he did when he regained his composure was to take a deep breath, showing gratitude to the Black Earl, and then, filled with righteous indignation, he said to Angel, "You almost screwed me over!"
Angel: "???"
Dox continued his complaint: "I was puzzled about why you suggested going into the mirror, and now I realize you were up to no good, deliberately egging me on."
Dox went on to complain bitterly, his words somewhat convoluted and obscure. The Traveling Merchant’s group on the opposite side half-understood what they were hearing, while Angel and the others, with Vay’s translation via Mind Ribbon, generally understood what Dox was saying.
Inevitably, the Black Earl’s conclusion was spot on: Dox just thinks too much.
Dox’s inspiration talent originally took some time to restore, but thanks to the help from the Sunlight Sanctuary, it not only recovered but reached its peak. Because the restoration was too quick without a gradual adaptation process, Dox continued to use his inspiration talent in the old ways and habits.
Earlier, when Angel goaded him, he subconsciously began thinking about whether it was dangerous. If there’s danger, how to avoid it? If avoiding is possible, how to maximize the benefits? If danger is unavoidable but not fatal, how should one benefit? How much benefit would be worth the risk? ... A torrent of such questions flooded Dox’s mind almost simultaneously.
Some of these questions might sound unbelievable, even absurd, but this is just Dox’s habitual way of thinking. Previously, with his inspiration talent, and since it was a passive ability, it vaguely guided him in a general direction. Thus, he could quickly resolve most of these questions in a flash.
But now, while the inspiration talent remains passive, after its sublimation, it no longer loosely provides a rough direction. Instead, it becomes more detailed and comprehensive, integrating more information to offer Dox more accurate and detailed intelligence.
However, this comes at a huge cost.
It consumes mental power, holistic insight, and enormous computing power.
Even a single question is enough to make Dox a little dizzy; with so many questions coming all at once, it directly leads to a cognitive overload.
The sublimation of his inspiration talent, coupled with embarking on a "new ship" using old methods without adaptation, led to Dox’s incident.
Fortunately, the Black Earl detected Dox’s condition in time and woke him up. Otherwise, Dox might have ended up seeing stars, smoke coming out of his ears, eyes spinning, lying directly on the ground.
He wouldn’t die, but without half a year to a year’s rest, he wouldn’t hope to use his inspiration talent again.
After understanding Dox’s plight, Angel, although wishing to express sympathy, couldn’t help the corner of his mouth from curving upward, revealing his inner thoughts.
Angel now understood why Dox’s thinking was so erratic; it’s because he relied on his talent, which made his thoughts spin wildly, often leaving others clueless about what Dox was doing.
Now, the sublimated inspiration talent temporarily restrained Dox’s erratic thinking. But the constraint won’t last long; given Dox’s imagination speed, he should adapt to the new inspiration talent in ten days or half a month.
Though the restraint is brief, it’s beneficial during their time in the Underground Aqueduct. It will make Dox less likely to overthink bizarre things.
"Although I fell into that, what do you call it... mental block just now, I still sensed some situations. If your coaxing had succeeded and I entered the mirror, there’s a high probability I wouldn’t be able to come back!"
Dox described the fear he sensed.
"Everything was blank, whether in front of me or in my mind, all blank. It felt like nothing was there, or maybe nothing should have been there in the first place."
"In that scenario, one might not even know whether they’re dead or vanished. But it’s certain—consciousness will fade, the soul will be torn... In the end, even if I survived, I’d no longer be myself."
Dox’s indignation towards Angel stemmed mainly from this. Such a horrific and terrifying world inside the mirror, and Angel actually coaxed him to go in!
Angel rubbed his chin and pondered aloud, "So, the world inside the mirror is dangerous?"
Dox replied in exasperation: "Of course, it’s dangerous! Don’t tell me you didn’t know!"
Angel spread his hands, looking innocent: "I truly didn’t know, I’ve never been inside."
"You’ve never been in, and you could still reach your hand in? Who are you trying to fool?" Dox remained indignant.
Angel: "Although I consider this a small matter, if you insist I was inside trying to trick you, I can allow you to use truth magic to confront me. I’ve indeed never been inside."
Angel spoke quite candidly, even opened his mind, ready to let Dox probe.