Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2374: Chapter 2375: Associative Divination

Wilderness of Dreams.

Returning once again to this fantastical city, both familiar and strange, Nausicaa still hadn’t adjusted to it.

"It’s not your first time, why do you still look like someone who’s never seen the world?" Nis’s slightly teasing voice came from behind.

Nausicaa wasn’t the type of girl to blush at a crude joke. Her past as a pirate had exposed her to too many similar scenarios. If it were someone else, she wouldn’t mind joining in with a few off-color jokes. But facing Nis... Nausicaa could only smile slightly and pretend not to hear.

"Don’t mind his nonsense," Angel said from the side.

Nausicaa looked deeply at Angel, feeling sentimental. The young boy who blushed at a few teasing words upon their first meeting had truly grown up and now even defended ladies.

Nausicaa wanted to praise Angel a bit, but she thought better of it. Angel had become an Official Wizard, creating a vast gap between them. Even though they were usually relaxed around each other, Nausicaa adhered to certain rules, avoiding overstepping them whenever possible.

"Have you forgotten what my former profession was? I don’t mind these jokes," Nausicaa blinked and smiled, "I was just thinking that entering this world, it turns out you don’t necessarily need a Log-in Device."

Her Log-in Device was a one-time use device, and the previous one was unusable. Angel had brought her into the Wilderness of Dreams this time.

Angel didn’t respond, as it involved the Nightmare Illusion Dream Technique, which was hard to explain, so he smiled without answering.

Nausicaa didn’t press further and continued, "The Wilderness of Dreams is truly miraculous. I never thought before that you could find a Prophet Wizard here."

"As long as there’s a Prophet Wizard in the Wilderness of Dreams, of course, you can seek their guidance," Angel said. "However, the Wilderness of Dreams is currently not open to the public, and those who can enter are basically only wizards from the Barbarian Cave. You know, there aren’t many Prophet Wizards in the Barbarian Cave, and at this moment, there’s not a single one online."

Online? Nausicaa wasn’t slow and quickly understood the strange wording.

Nausicaa asked, "Do we have to wait for them to log in then?"

Angel shook his head, "No need, just get someone to notify them."

As Angel said this, Nis had already stopped a bald apprentice and instructed him to find Dororo on Starry Sky Island.

Nausicaa didn’t comprehend at first, until the apprentice hurriedly went offline, and she came to an understanding. The apprentice was obviously in the Barbarian Cave and could directly inform those not online after going offline, asking them to log in for clarification.

Thousands of miles apart, they had so easily conducted an interaction and sought someone.

Extending this situation further...

Nausicaa speculated, "If Lord Fanteser is also here, wouldn’t I be able to directly seek his guidance on Bloodline cultivation from thousands of miles away?"

"You can, but the range covered by the Wilderness of Dreams is only within the Southern Domain Wizards’ Realm. If he left the Southern Domain, he couldn’t log in," Angel explained. He knew ’Fanteser’, Nausicaa’s mentor. This grass snail wizard was a typical battle maniac, either fighting on the Abyss frontline or participating in Conquest expeditions to the otherworld. Since joining the Barbarian Cave, Angel had seen him only a handful of times.

Although there are distance limitations, the Southern Domain itself is quite vast, and wizards who leave the Southern Domain are ultimately a minority.

"If that’s the case, the growth and education of future Talented Ones could completely enter a new norm. Even if they’re not in the Barbarian Cave, they could enjoy the same education," Nausicaa remarked, quite sentimentally. She had never thought before about the possibility of listening to mentor teaching from thousands of miles away.

"What you’re describing is mostly feasible, and some of it is already in trial. However, the energy level of the Wilderness of Dreams has limitations; it’ll take quite a long way to fully realize. Also, the magic power here is virtual magic power, and if a mentor constantly uses virtual magic power for instruction, a Talented One will ultimately go off track," Angel remarked.

The Wilderness of Dreams can provide relevant theoretical knowledge, but practical application is best familiarized with in the real world first.

"I see," Nausicaa nodded thoughtfully, "But even so, it’s still quite powerful. For example, when I encounter cultivation issues during practice, I often don’t dare to touch them lightly and wait until I return to the Barbarian Cave to consult my mentor. If I can achieve my goals through the Wilderness of Dreams, it will save a considerable amount of effort."

"By the way, if we encounter unknown puzzles or dangers during relic exploration, can we seek help from the Wilderness of Dreams?"

"Yes. I remember Lianna seemed to have set up a branch of the Task Hall in the suburb of the New City for similar services?" Angel glanced at Nis, not paying much attention to these minor details, but having vaguely remembered the matter.

Nis nodded, "Yes, but that wasn’t something Lianna created, it was under the instruction of Lord Reine. Lord Reine originally planned to build a place similar to the Task Hall in the New City, but since the location and specific building weren’t finalized yet, they first designed a simplified version outside the city, and indeed, limited assistance can be sought there."

Nausicaa nodded continuously. For someone adventurous, the ability to seek limited help unquestionably provided an excellent backup assurance for exploration.

Even Reynaud listened with longing. Unfortunately, it was currently only open internally to the Barbarian Cave, and he could only listen with eager anticipation.

Next, while waiting for Dororo to log in, Angel continued to explain the situation of the Wilderness of Dreams.

In particular, he introduced the Mother Tree Interlinker.

As it was most beneficial for Nausicaa at this stage.

After several version updates, the tree group’s functions became more diverse, and the data in the tree group forum became increasingly abundant. Nausicaa could inquire in the tree group if she had questions, and she could also access some basic information on the forum.

Nausicaa absorbed the influx of new knowledge while marveling at the new content.

Finally, Nausicaa looked at Angel with curiosity, "I feel like you’re quite familiar with the Wilderness of Dreams."

Nis thought to himself: That’s only natural, after all, the Wilderness of Dreams is Angel’s crafted garden.

Angel smiled, "If you visit a few more times, you’ll know it too."

After pausing, Angel continued, "Once we go out, I’ll give you a Log-in Device. You can log in anytime in the future, and if you need to find me, you can leave a message through the tree group."

Nausicaa didn’t refuse. She didn’t know the value of the Log-in Device at that time. Seeing Milu could log in, she thought it was something everyone had one of.

They waited in the Rosewater Pavilion for about a quarter of an hour before finally hearing footsteps approaching from outside.

However, it wasn’t Dororo who walked through the door, but the bent-over Maya Witch, dressed in an ancient black Wizard Robe, leaning on a cane.

Maya Witch walked over slowly, and everyone quickly stood up.

Although Maya’s strength wasn’t formidable among wizards, her status in the Barbarian Cave was exceptionally high, and even Nis stood up to greet her.

Maya Witch surveyed the group, finally stopping on Angel: "Dororo recently entered the Tower of Stars, bathing in starlight to explore the star map of the future. He won’t be able to come out for the time being."

The Tower of Stars, Angel recalled, was a building on Starry Sky Island, but he didn’t know its specific purpose. From the sound of Maya’s words, it seemed like a place for seclusion? Dororo went into seclusion?

With Dororo unable to log in temporarily, predicting Reynaud’s location would be difficult, unless... Angel couldn’t help but glance at Maya Witch.

"If you need prophecy, I can help," Maya offered.

Angel’s face turned red, with an awkward feeling of being caught in his thoughts.

He could speak to Dororo without any pressure, but with Witch Maya, he didn’t dare to be reckless. So, he didn’t dare to speak up earlier. Now, with Maya offering to help, Angel felt slightly relieved despite the awkwardness.

"Then I’ll trouble Witch Maya," Angel said gratefully.

Maya: "I haven’t done a prophecy in the Wilderness of Dreams before, so whether it will work is still unknown. So, don’t be too happy just yet."

Witch Maya was very clear about her situation. Her prophecies were different from Dororo’s, who could often give guidance without using divination because he sees future images in the Spirit Light. But she needed to use divination to locate variables and calculate the greatest possibilities; this was easy in reality, but in the Wilderness of Dreams, she could only use virtual magic power. It was still uncertain whether divination based on virtual magic power would have any variables.

"It’s okay, even if it’s wrong, it doesn’t matter," Angel said.

Reynaud: ... It may not matter to you guys, but it matters a lot to me.

Maya looked at Reynaud, who had a sad face: "It should be related to him, right?"

Angel nodded: "His name is Reynaud. He’s actually entered the Wilderness of Dreams in soul form. According to Nis, he’s a living soul."

"Reynaud has lost part of his memory. He doesn’t remember when he separated from his body, nor does he know where his body is now. So, I want to see if I can use divination to give him a bit of a hint."

Witch Maya understood and nodded. Locating a soul’s remains, she had done this many times in reality. Reynaud’s situation was slightly different, but the type was the same; it’s just that the location of the remains had changed to locating the body.

In reality, she only needed to use the Art of the Heart’s Eye to solve the problem. But the Art of the Heart’s Eye was a half-deduction, half-creation technique, and with the current energy level of the Wilderness of Dreams, it couldn’t be used.

Witch Maya pondered for a moment and decided to use a type of divination that all Prophecy Apprentices learn but few master: Associative Divination.

Associative Divination, a third-level trick, involves gathering and calculating collected information for vague divination.

The reason few master it is due to the high difficulty of the trick. It requires extraordinary imagination, calculation ability, and an unobtainable condition: inspiration.

Inspiration refers to the interpretation of the divination result. The stronger the inspiration, the truer the interpretation; the weaker the inspiration, the more fragmented the content interpreted.

Currently, there are two ways to achieve high inspiration. One, some are born with high inspiration, like Dororo; two, through a large accumulation of knowledge and experience, fostering inspiration through deep foundation.

Those who truly "nurture" inspiration have surpassed official wizards in foundation; they certainly have better divination techniques. Learning Associative Divination, in turn, is unnecessary.

Thus, few have mastered Associative Divination.

"Next, I will ask you some questions. This is a necessary prerequisite for Associative Divination. I need to understand more about your mind to integrate the information for divination." Witch Maya looked at Reynaud.

Reynaud nodded without hesitation.

"The first question is simple. If these three colors represented the future, which color would you lean towards to define your future?" Before Witch Maya, white, gray, and black color clusters floated.

Reynaud pondered for a moment, just about to answer, when Witch Maya started the second question: "If you encounter an enemy and need to change your appearance to avoid them, what would you choose?"

Before her were several options, representing different age groups, genders, and non-human choices.

While Reynaud was still thinking, Witch Maya began the third question...

Reynaud was bewildered: "I haven’t answered the first two questions yet."

Witch Maya lifted her loose skin, covering her hidden eyelids: "Did I ever say I needed you to answer my questions?"

Reynaud recalled and realized that Witch Maya hadn’t indeed asked him to answer. She merely said she would ask some questions to understand his mind and integrate information for divination.

But if he didn’t answer, how could the information be collected? And how could it be integrated?

Witch Maya seemed able to see through Reynaud’s thoughts, even before he spoke, she said lightly: "The choices you say out loud aren’t necessarily your true thoughts. Like the first question, you just told me your leanings, didn’t you?"

Reynaud thought for a moment: "White, maybe?"

Witch Maya didn’t comment, but gave Reynaud a cold glance: "Now you understand, don’t you?"

"Huh?" Reynaud looked completely puzzled.

Seeing his confusion, Witch Maya frowned, as if looking at a fool. After a long time, she said: "When humans think, the truth laughs."

Shaking her head, Witch Maya said nothing more.

Nis also shook his head, saying to Reynaud: "Think carefully, if in your heart you really decided on white, would you say ’White, maybe’?"

Nis’s words made Reynaud vaguely understand something, but he still didn’t quite grasp it. Perhaps his answer wasn’t certain, but without answering, there’d be no answer.

Nis also was too lazy to explain further: "Trust me, Witch Maya will certainly see your inner answer before you do."

Reynaud felt embarrassed to keep asking, so he could only silently watch Witch Maya.

"Continuing, the third question: When you wake up from unconsciousness, what temperature and texture do you hope the first thing you touch to be?"

"Fourth question..."

Maya asked a lot of questions in succession, and Reynaud didn’t speak from beginning to end, and the inquiry ended.

"I have enough information, next I will integrate the information for Associative Divination," Witch Maya said, and without waiting for others to react, she closed her eyes.

To avoid disturbing Witch Maya’s divination, everyone remained silent.

The quiet time slowly passed.

A strange fluctuation began to emanate around Witch Maya. These fluctuations weren’t related to energy levels and were entirely imperceptible to others, but Angel managed to capture them.

However, even at Angel’s level, he couldn’t understand the core of these fluctuations. He could only guess that they were the essence of the divination technique.

About five minutes later, Witch Maya opened her eyes.

"The interpretation of the divination has concluded, and I have an answer," she stated.