Chapter 1235: The Cloud School
Valkries shook her head and forced herself to calm down. She was certain that the Cloud School was gone. After their kind occupied the northwest of the Land of Dawn, Valkries visited the mountain where the school used to be situated every 100 years and would stay at the ruins of the school building for a couple of days every time she went there.
Because she used to be one of the students in the school.
She had learned how to connect to the Realm of Mind and also about human beings on that mountain. Her teacher was the "Transformer", Heathtalese, who was also an Upgraded.
Heathtalese was not exceptionally powerful. In fact, she was even weaker than a relatively strong Inferior Demon. Because of this, the clansmen treated her with utter contempt. However, Valkries knew that the upgrade ceremony had nothing to do with fighting capacity. Heathtalese had successfully merged with magic stones three times, and she was a genius Upgraded in every aspect.
As her title suggested, the Transformer had obtained the ability to transform after merging with her second magic stone. Hence, she rarely revealed what she truly looked like. Most of time she disguised herself as a human. Since she could speak the human language fluently, many people would think that she was human at first.
Lan on the television was the identity she had used most often.
Valkries stared at that familiar face, and her thoughts strayed back to 1,000 years ago. Although the woman's countenance and clothes were slightly different, Valkries was sure it was the same face.
If the founders of the Cloud School were aliens among humans, then the "Transformer" was an alien among her clan. Heathtalese did not really care about the fighting capacity that her magic stones would afford her, but she had a devouring curiosity about everything unknown. The "Transformer" was also the first person that made the initial contact with the Cloud School.
At that time, rumors about the Battle of Divine Will had been spread throughout the whole clan, and they had viewed the mankind on the Land of Dawn as their potential enemies.
Valkries was very grateful to her first teacher who had taught her so many things. She did not disdain Heathtalese because the latter was not good at fighting. Valkries knew very well that the "Transformer" had had a more profound understanding of the Realm of Mind as well as the Origin of Magic than anyone else in the clan. She had written dozens of books, half of which provided guidance to the later generations and helped them go through the upgrade ceremony. She was what human beings called a "mentor" for most of the clansmen.
In fact, the "Transformer" was probably the first person who had made an attempt to merge with four magic stones.
Had she succeeded, she would have become the first "Senior Lord" of the clan. At that time, there had been very few Inferior Demons, let alone a Senior Lord.
Unfortunately, the "Transformer" had failed. She had been devoured by her own magic power, without leaving the slightest trace behind her.
Valkries remembered that day because she had been right beside the Transformer at that time. She had witnessed how the "Transformer" gradually had fallen apart and collapsed. That was also why Valkires felt that the "Lan" on the television was a little unfamiliar. She had never seen two people that looked so alike over the past 1,000 years.
Valkries had asked the Transformer why she wanted to present herself in this way, for she believed that the face she had created did not belong to any prominent historical figures.
Heathtalese' answer, however, was incomprehensible.
She said this was the face of an apostle.
As for who the apostle was, the Transformer did not know either. When she dived into the Realm of Mind, she sometimes could feel an entirely different strand of mind. It was whispering, but she had never officially met it. Nevertheless, the Transformer later remembered what it looked like.
The Transformer also said that if she could stablize herself in the chaotic Realm of Mind, she would be able to connect to that whispering sound. Unfortunately, she was not powerful enough to do so.
Valkries did not understand what that meant at that time, for she had just upgraded and known nothing about the Realm of Mind. In other words, the Transformer was a pioneer in the exploration of the Realm of Mind. The king, as a matter of fact, had not marked out its own territory in the Realm of Mind until the night before the second Battle of Divine Will.
Valkries had also asked the king whether he had seen that apostle, but the king denied.
Therefore, there could be two possibilities.
One was that this world belonged to the apostle "Lan". However, according to the news on the television, Lan was dead. That did not make sense, for the creator of a territory would never die or leave the Realm of Mind.
The other was that the Transformer had returned to the Realm of Mind before being devoured by her own magic power and had thereby created her own territory. This theory might explain why the presence of Lan did not raise any suspicions, but it failed to explain the strange surroundings.
Valkries had wanted to leave this weird place as soon as possible in the beginning, but now she changed her mind.
She was concerned about what the Transformer had said when the latter had failed her fourth upgrade. The Transformer had said that even if they won the Battle of Divine Will, they would not gain the Divine Domain. Valkries wanted to know what had made her mentor say this.
Perhaps, this was an opportunity for her to find out the reason.
...
Roland yawned as he drove his mini van on the 2nd ring highway.
Although he pressed hard on the gas and the engine also roared, he still fell behind from other vehicles.
"What's wrong? You didn't sleep well?" Garcia, who was now sitting in the passenger seat, asked. For some reason, Roland felt that Garcia had become much more polite to him since she had stayed over at his place that night.
"It's my day off. I planned to sleep in. Thanks to the Association, I have to get up early again," Roland complained, unable to help himself. He was very tired after the meeting regarding the immigration policy. As time in the Dream World traveled three times faster than that in the real world, he had decided to take a good rest in his dream. It would not only save him a lot of time but would also give the Taquila witches an opportunity to enjoy themselves.
Now, the witches could have fun on their own.
Also, apart from entertainment, the ancient witches also shouldered the responsibility of searching for the magic creatures that had appeared during the Erosion. Roland remembered that Lan had told him that the God was watching this world. To eliminate the threat and reach God's territory, the most effective way was to kill the Fallen Evils and use their power to expand the Dream World.
However, the reality was always cruel. Garicia had called him at noon and informed him that he had to visit the survived Association members in the hospital. All the celebrated martialists and the executives would be there.
Roland had intended to decline, as he had thought it was simply Garcia's own idea. He had not anticipated, however, that it was a request from the Association and that the Association had appointed him, a licensed hunter, instead of Garcia.
"The Association wants to re-establish confidence in the Prism City after this massive attack," Garcia commented while raising her brows. "I believe what they really plan to do is to hold a conference in the evening."
Roland fell silent. It was not enough to calm down the public by just visiting patients. What they needed to do now was to display their power and fight back. In consideration of that, the meeting in the evening must have something do with the magic creatures.
This provided Roland with a perfect opportunity to conduct his own search.