Vay couldn’t stand it anymore; although he’d been hurt psychologically and didn’t want to speak, seeing Dox act like an obsessive fan, he couldn’t help but retort: "Have you been so deluded you can’t tell good or bad scents anymore? What you’re smelling isn’t Simos, it’s Kaier’s sweat stink."
Dox insists, "No! It’s a fragrance! It’s a faint cool scent, one that haunts my dreams!"
Vay: "There’s no cool scent, you’re hallucinating!"
"No, absolutely not!"
As Vay prepared to continue mocking, Black Earl’s voice sounded in the Mind Ribbon: "There is indeed a different scent, and it smells quite familiar..."
Vay didn’t believe when Dox spoke, but when his own master said so, could there really be a scent?
Vay hesitated for a moment, then walked over to Kaier’s side and buried his head in the robe as well.
Now Kaier is like a big tree, with a koala hanging on each arm, one Vay and one Dox.
Vay inhaled deeply for a long time before he caught a faint cold scent beneath the pungent metallic smell on Kaier.
Although this cold scent was very faint, its presence was undeniably strong.
Vay’s talent-boosted sense of smell was more acute than many witches who loved fragrance.
This faint cold scent was the most contrasting scent Vay had ever encountered. Though the smell was light, it left a deep impression once detected; it was akin to the cool and serene fragrance of an alpine flower, yet it carried an intoxicating and irresistible allure.
It was more captivating than many enchantments infused with Shulomon’s enticing fragrance.
In the words of some fragrance-loving witches, it was more advanced. Subtly and without leaving traces, it made people flock to it, gradually driving them mad.
This was the first time Vay had smelled such a scent.
However, his master said this scent seemed familiar, could it be that the master had smelled it before?
"Simos... does it have such a fragrance?" Vay asked the Black Earl as he recalled the information he knew about Simos.
Simos is a void creature that, from birth, possesses strength close to that of a wizard, and in its growth phase, its strength can generally reach above True Knowledge. They are well-versed in the ways of space and can move short distances without obstacles in the void... although short distances, in the vast environment of the void, they are quite far.
Their bodies are considered small among void creatures, but they are still four to five times larger than humans. They resemble hawks and falcons, with what appear to be wide, large wings on each side, but in reality, these are not wings; their function is more like a gecko’s tail.
When encountering danger, Simos can sever these "wings," consuming the spatial power stored within to achieve pinpoint teleportation. Simultaneously, the severed wings cause spatial collapse at the original location, unleashing some space storms.
In simple terms, it’s like wizards using a Plane Corridor in times of crisis; it’s an escape technique. However, Simos need not worry about backlash, and it can be released instantaneously, threatening the enemy and preventing them from tracking its location.
However, this ability has its drawbacks. For instance, it requires leaving a void path mark in advance to sever its wings in search of survival. Moreover, since it’s a pinpoint teleportation, if the location after teleportation is also surrounded, it becomes awkward. Lastly, although the wings can regenerate like a gecko’s tail, it takes decades for them to regrow. During this period, Simos, if encountering a strong enemy, can only live cautiously.
But despite many drawbacks, they do not overshadow its merits.
Simos’s ability to sever its wings for survival makes it nearly impossible for wizards to lock onto it.
All wizards know that every part of Simos is precious. Whether it’s skin, bones, or flesh, it’s all useful, especially the skin and bones, which can replace many lost spatial materials. Even if not refined into alchemy tools, it can serve as the main casting material for Plane Corridors, and due to its innate spatial nature, it does not deplete after a single use, allowing for repeated use.
But knowing this, what use is it if you can’t catch it?
Furthermore, the strength of Simos basically exceeds the True Knowledge Level. True Knowledge Level creatures and True Knowledge Level wizards are two different concepts. And void creatures at the True Knowledge Level and magical creatures at the True Knowledge Level are yet different concepts.
In the same rank, void creatures do not fear wizards at all. Therefore, wizards capable of hunting Simos in the Southern Domain are very few in number. This also makes Simos’s materials even more rare and precious.
At least the Southern Domain hasn’t seen materials from Simos in a very long time, and each time they appear at an auction, they stir up a frenzy. Although the majority of the frenzy is deliberately stirred up as a prelude to the auction, in the Wizards’ Realm, where information dissemination efficiency is low and information authentication is quite effective, the momentum built by public opinion signifies its value.
Therefore, when Dox learned it was Simos’s skin, he almost drooled with covetous desire and shamelessly uttered a bunch of words. Knowing Dox well, Vay understood his intention, probably wanting to try his luck... After all, Angel could generously lend out Simos’s skin, maybe a few cheeky words could allow him to benefit?
Recalling so much information related to Simos, Vay found that no information mentioned Simos having a scent.
Such details might seem trivial to ordinary people, but in the Wizards’ Realm, due to the existence of Fragrance Alchemists, scents generally are not overlooked.
Since none of the information mentioned Simos having a scent, it’s very likely that Simos’s scent isn’t special?
After analyzing and reaching this conclusion himself, Vay felt somewhat unsure and looked to the Black Earl.
The Black Earl pondered and said, "Magical creatures in the void generally do not have a scent. They suppress the dissemination and transmission of pheromones."
The reason is quite clear—exposing one’s pheromones in the void is akin to a hunter exposing their position in a dark forest; predators can track you down by scent and hunt you.
Therefore, most void creatures do not emit pheromones, which means they don’t have a scent. However, this is not absolute; there are still some void creatures that do emit a scent.
However, the scent emitted by this kind of void creature is something most void creatures would keep away from.
This is because those who dare to reveal their scent are either powerful enough to fear no challenge, or too weak and need to lure or ambush, using scent; the former can’t be beaten, so others evade them; the latter aren’t worth the effort, those using such petty tricks are negligible, not worth wasting time on.
And Simos, he’s not powerful to the point of fearing no challenge, but neither is he so weak that he needs petty tricks, so he fits squarely in the middle—void creatures that actively conceal their scent.
"Master means, this is not Simos’ scent? Then what scent is it?" Vay hesitated for a moment and said cautiously: "Is it a scent from a human?"
If it’s a scent from a human, then isn’t it related to Lord Chaowei as it’s not from Kaier?
Of course, this scent certainly isn’t Lord Chaowei’s, given the time they’ve spent together. If Lord Chaowei had this scent, it would’ve been noticed long ago.
But if it’s not from Lord Chaowei, could it be from Lord Chaowei’s... lover?
This cold fragrance tinged with allure, if it’s body scent or fragrance, is nearly impossible to come from a man. Then it could only be a woman closely related to Lord Chaowei?
The Black Earl understood Vay’s thoughts: "This is the scent of the Abyss. For specifics, you can ask Angel yourself."
Angel actually wanted to speak long ago, but since Vay and the Black Earl were conversing, he felt it was inappropriate to interrupt. Now that the Black Earl mentioned him, he immediately spoke up: "This is the scent of Pannas Charm Demon."
To be precise, it’s the scent of the saliva of the Pannas Charm Demon.
Back then, the Pannas Charm Demon ’Jun’, after experiencing the sea symphony in Lassudral, gave Angel a Simos’ corpse as a reward.
—spat out from its mouth.
The Pannas Charm Demon, being a powerful charm demon of the Abyss, naturally had some transcendent qualities in its saliva, but over time, these transcendent traits gradually faded, yet the lingering exotic aroma in the saliva remained.
This is also the source of the fragrance mentioned by the Black Earl.
Angel only explained the origin of the scent on Simos’ skin but did not elaborate on how it got there. They tacitly did not question further, as probing into privacy would be awkward.
Vay turned to Dox: "Now you know, the scent you smell when dreaming is not that of Simos’ skin, but the scent of the Pannas Charm Demon."
Dox glanced at Vay and scoffed: "Whatever the scent, at least it’s not of mushroom barriers."
Vay’s pupils narrowed, clutching his chest, he staggered back a few steps... the impact visibly stunned him, and his expression turned blank.
In the eyes of others, Vay seemed colorful at first, but now suddenly he appeared black and white. Even the style of painting turned from realistic to abstract.
Dox paid no attention to the disarmed Vay and instead turned to Angel, his eyes filled with flattery and eagerness, his intentions obvious.
Angel naturally grasped Dox’s intent and chuckled lightly: "If you can offer something I’m interested in and of equal value, I’m not opposed to a trade with you."
Simos’ skin is indeed precious. Even without refining it, it can augment spatial abilities to some extent, and being a rare material, Angel treasures it immensely.
Since obtaining Simos’ skin, until now, he has only refined an armor for Earl Mi to shield against the Seed of Distortion. His own armor is still in the sketch phase, normally, Angel wouldn’t easily trade it.
However, exceptions exist.
Developments can outpace plans.
Since Heideland followed Angel, he has had a stable Void intelligence station. When contacting Wang Wang, he often heard about happenings in the Void, including Simos’ whereabouts and even the spatial beacons set by Simos.
Due to this "Void intelligence station," Angel actually has a chance to acquire Simos’ materials again, so his words aren’t unfounded.
If Dox truly can bring forth something that piques his interest, Angel doesn’t mind enduring the pain of giving it up.