Wizard: Adventures in Two Worlds-Chapter 461 - 020 Aberrant City, Malevolent Entity
"Divine Envoy!"
"You must be a Divine Envoy from another Void City, right?"
Regaining his composure, young John’s face radiated ecstasy, his body tensing involuntarily with excitement.
"Only a Divine Envoy can kill a monstrous creature!"
Divine Envoy? That must refer to me. Void City? The place where the locals live? A Divine Envoy from another Void City? Does that mean this little guy’s home has a being similar to myself? Monstrous creatures? Those must refer to the anomalies born at the time of the world’s decay.
Thoughts raced through Carl’s mind, yet his expression remained unchanged. He simply asked calmly, "What’s your name? Where do you come from? Why have you come here?"
"My name is John." Young John calmed his excited heart and answered earnestly, "I come from a nearby Void City. I came here to find meat worms. There should be a meat worm nest around here."
"Meat worms? A nest?" Carl’s gaze shifted subtly, and he made a light gesture with his right hand toward the ground not far away.
"BANG!"
The ground erupted, and a white mass of a worm nest, drawn by an invisible force, flew out from beneath the earth. It landed in front of young John.
Carl asked, "Is this it?"
"Yes!" Young John trembled with excitement, nodding again and again. "There really is a queen worm. For the next half year... Divine Envoy, sir, this is your harvest."
"Answer a few questions for me, and it’s yours." Carl glanced at the so-called meat worm and shook his head slightly. "I come from a faraway place. There are some things I’m not quite clear on. The ’Divine Envoy’ you speak of is..."
"A Divine Envoy is someone with Divine Power!" Young John said as if it were obvious. "Only a Divine Envoy can fly and kill monstrous creatures."
"Monstrous creatures?"
"The fear demon we encountered just now is a monstrous creature." Young John explained, a flicker of suspicion in his eyes, "Monstrous creatures are commonly categorized into three levels: level one being the strongest, level three the weakest. Fear demons are level three monstrous creatures."
"Hmm... Above level one monstrous creatures, there are also Nightmare level, Despair level, and Catastrophe level, but to us, it’s all the same—we die upon encounter."
All this was basic knowledge for survival, something anyone from any Void City would know, unless... they’re not human! Young John’s heart tightened, but he dared not show any change in his expression.
"Hmm," Carl pondered. "So, Void City is where you live? Where is it?"
"Over there!" Young John pointed towards the distance, a sharp glint in his eyes, and quietly asked, "Are you going there?"
"Hmm." Carl nodded, his long sleeve fluttering as he summoned a Magic Flying Carpet, lifting the two of them straight into the sky. "You guide the way."
"Ah? Oh!" Having never seen a Magic Flying Carpet nor experienced flying, young John was astonished for a moment before quickly coming to his senses. "That way."
To mask his nervousness, he looked down at the worm nest cradled in his arms. The so-called meat worms resembled earthworms, completely white and filled with a gel-like substance. The queen worm was a fist-sized lump of flesh. Meat worms sustained themselves by devouring soil, passing excess nutrients to the queen worm, who then laid eggs to sustain the population.
Young John’s throat bobbed as he pinched a meat worm and held it up to Carl. "Divine Envoy, sir, please eat first."
"No, thanks." Glancing at the slime-covered, writhing meat worm, Carl shook his head speechlessly. "I’m not hungry."
"Oh!" Young John drew back, somewhat surprised, as it seemed unexpected to him that someone would refuse to eat. Then he opened his mouth, stuffed an entire meat worm inside, and closed it, his tongue rolling with enjoyment. The faint sounds of chewing were distinctly audible.
"Young John." After he swallowed the contents of his mouth, Carl spoke, "You just mentioned fear demons are level three monstrous creatures, so what about level one? And how do you all stay alive?"
"Nearby level one monstrous creatures include the Thousand Claws monster, the Sin Stone statues, and the Ghost Sound..." Young John began. "I’ve only seen the Thousand Claws monster." As he spoke the name, his eyes revealed a deep fear and a bone-deep hatred. "Void City teaches martial skills and Divine Arts, but aside from Divine Envoys, none can deal with monstrous creatures. At most, they can only flee to save their lives."
Divine Arts? Carl looked at young John and shook his head slightly. The Divine Arts he mentioned clearly were not a blessing bestowed by deities; there was no scent of divine beings on him. The gods of this world had long since fallen. Sin Stone statues? That rock I encountered a while back?
Carl’s thoughts churned as he continued to inquire, "So, does a Death Specter belong to a special level?"
"Death Specter?" Young John nodded. It seemed the term was commonly used. He replied, "Nightmare level! Beings of such level are hard to dispatch even for a Divine Envoy and, moreover..."
"Death Specter!" His words cut off abruptly, replaced by a piercing scream. Ahead of them, a Death Specter stood quietly—the Nightmare-level monstrous creature he had just mentioned.
Encountering such a monstrous creature outside, unless one could hide in the Void City, there was no other outcome. Young John’s face was awash with despair. Special-level monstrous creatures were indestructible; even Divine Envoys could only temporarily drive them away. Even in most cases, Divine Envoys would actively flee.
Fearful and in utter despair, Young John did not notice someone was missing from his side until a Buddha statue emerged in the void.
Thousand Buddha Hands! Carl’s eyes narrowed in concentration as he formed hand seals. An invisible oppressive force descended, forcibly blasting the Death Specter into the earth.
Hmm? An unexpected inspiration struck me, leaving me slightly moved. Could this be... the sensation of a breakthrough? I’ve lingered in the Ten Hands Realm of Thousand Buddha Hands for quite some time, and due to the Divine Domain Fragment, the Ten Hands Realm has long been at Perfection. Yet, I’ve never managed to advance to the Hundred Hands Realm. Once more!
His eyes gleaming, Carl transformed into streaks of light, rushing toward the depths of the earth.
Thousand Buddha Hands—Great Bright Seal!
Fighting the Death Specter several times, he discovered that only the Great Bright Seal had a certain restraining effect on it.
"BANG!"
"BANG! BANG!"
A man and the Death Specter collided wildly amidst the ruins. The sturdy earth before them was like soft tofu, crumbling, twisting, and even tearing.
"Die!"
Thousand Buddha Hands—Vajra Pestle!
With one hand forming a seal to mimic a pestle, he fiercely plunged it into the Death Specter’s body, and a fierce, yang energy burst forth violently.
"BOOM!"
Its spectral body disintegrated.
Seizing the moment, a Crystal Wand emerged.
Purification Spirit Light!
A halo slowly appeared; the already crumbling spectral body quietly vanished, leaving behind a black soul core.
"What a pity." Taking the soul core, Carl wore a look of regret. "Just a bit short."
If Thousand Buddha Hands could break through to the Hundred Hands Realm, I estimate I could annihilate the Death Specter without using the Crystal Wand. At that time, the chances of advancing to Second-Order Holy Knight would greatly increase.
Shaking his head, he flashed towards the Magic Flying Carpet, quickly packed it up, grabbed John, and darted away at high speed. The recent commotion had attracted many things; now was not the time to linger.
"You..." Young John stared in shock. "You killed a Nightmare-level Death Specter?"
"Killed?" Carl pondered for a moment. "You could say that."
Death Specters were born of the very essence of death; to them, concepts like ’killing’ or ’death’ didn’t apply. They were never truly living to begin with.
"You can kill a Nightmare-level monstrous creature? How... how is that possible?" Young John was still wearing a face of shock. "Aren’t Nightmare-level monstrous creatures undying?"
"Indeed, they do not die," Carl spoke, then suddenly his eyebrows lifted, and he fiercely grasped John’s shoulder. "Your body... Open your mouth!"
He pulled open John’s lips, examined his teeth and oral cavity, and casually felt his bones.
The oral cavity has glands capable of emitting thunder and lightning, the bone structure is peculiar, and internal organ placement is abnormal. This lad’s body has been modified; he can no longer be considered purely human. No! It must be an evolution to adapt to the environment. No wonder he showed no rejection to the Thunder Wings’ flight. Interesting! Are all the people here like this?
Carl’s eyes flickered as he asked, "Which martial skills and Divine Arts have you learned?"
"This..." Young John was still in shock and hadn’t recovered. He paused before answering, "For martial skills, I know Concealing Breath, Thunderbolt Step, and Spirit Hands. For Divine Arts, I’ve learned Thunder Juice Saliva, Essence Bone, and Affinity with Divine Stone."
Strange names. Carl pressed his lips together, then looked ahead. "Is that the Void City there?"
"Yes!" John looked in the indicated direction, his face lighting up with ecstasy as he nodded vigorously. "That’s where we live."
Today’s encounters had been thrilling and harrowing for him, fraught with all kinds of dangers and bizarre things...
"Divine Envoy," he asked softly, "how should I address you?"
"Carl," Carl said as he descended near what Young John referred to as the Void City and fixed his gaze forward.
Void City? In my view, it was an extremely dilapidated small village. The village was built beside a vein of ore, shrouded by an invisible power that protected its inhabitants. This power... appeared to originate from the vein of ore itself.
