Gloria is missing, and Angel has no intention of telling Toby for the time being. Whether anything has happened to her is still in question. It is a sheer burden for Toby to know at the present.
Even if Toby was told and learns of Gloria’s disappearance. If he wanted to go to the Nightmare Plane to find her, how would he get there? Where can he find the Winter Plane? Can he encounter a Nightmare Plane channel if he goes to the Winter Plane? All of these issues are unrealistic illusions, at least Angel thinks so. Not to mention that Toby is a bird. Even if Angel is added in the search, the chances of two people finding Gloria together are infinitely close to zero.
Under such circ.u.mstances, concealing the news from Toby is the best option.
The night pa.s.sed quietly under this heavy and complicated mood.
During the day, Angel went to Sky Tower to climb the tower as usual. After all, the kind of contestants like Trickle of the Resting Stream are still in the minority. The climb of the tower still went very smooth today. He fought four battles in the morning and four in the afternoon, winning a total of eight battles. Not only did he end up gaining 24 points, but he also got 96 more contribution points. Although these are not many contribution points, it is still better than nothing.
At night, Angel took out the illusion notebook given by Sanders and decided to formally study basic illusion.
The foundation of illusion is actually just creating illusions. The main point Sanders has also stated is that constructing illusions according to local environments can make the illusion appear more real. Again, the illusion’s foundation should not be created based on logical fallacies.
As long as these two points are followed, there is no problem. The illusion created will be more convincing.
However, the illusion created by basic Illusions can only work if the opponent intrudes into the illusion unprepared or without protection. It is almost useless for someone to put an illusion in front of another person.
Therefore, learning basic illusions is not for fighting. At the very least, illusions created with basic illusion during head-on battles or serious compet.i.tions are a pure death sentence.
Angel is most at ease when he is learning basic illusions. Under the guidance from the notebook. In less than half an hour, the underground laboratory was taken as the background for creating an illusion similar to an underground cave. Although there are still some flaws in the illusion. Such as stalact.i.tes and slipper ground having no water and that a wet cave was dry instead of humid.
If Angel builds this illusion and uses water-based magic to render it at the same time, he will have fewer flaws.
However, it is already a great achievement for a beginner in illusions to construct such rough illusions so quickly. The biggest contributing factors as to why he can learn the basic illusions so quickly is an outstanding combination of guidance method and fit of his talent.
Of course, Wizards, not part of the illusion system, can certainly learn basic illusions. But the rate of learning will be much slower compared with those apart of the illusion system. This is the bonus effect brought by appropriate talent.
The construction of illusions first requires Angel’s own understanding of reality, so the illusions he constructs at least need him to have really experienced them before. If he really wants to create an illusion out of thin air, he will only fool children. And even then, they would be able to see through the illusion at a glance with a little bit of common sense.
For example, in the case of Angel’s magma illusion. He has never seen the real magma before. The notebook describes magma as orangish-yellow or yellowish-orange, so he constructed magma with the colour of orange in mind. According to the book, it is also recorded that magma will produce smoke, so the magma he has constructed emits white smoke like curling steam from a hot spring. In order for Angel to make the white smoke look more ethereal, he also imitates the scene of the smoke circling around when Nausica exhales a cloud of smoke.
Such an illusion, as long as someone has already seen a volcano, will allow them to understand there are many mistakes with his illusions.
Just like the difference between 2D and 3D animation, the loopholes are too obvious to mention.
Of course, if Angel has gained profound knowledge in illusions. Even if he really constructs a general scene from a 2D animation. He has other areas where he can make up for it. For example, combining a magic array with an exotic dreamland would not take a minute before the magic array can make a person crazy enough to kill someone.
Angel has already clear learned the general concepts of basic illusion and constructed an illusion. As long as it is a place, he has experienced before, he can basically make people immerse themselves in it. Next, Angel needs to practice more, go out more and avoid all kinds of logical fallacies when creating illusions. Eventually, his basic illusions will naturally become a success.
While learning the basic illusions, Angel did not rashly learn other low-level Illusions recorded in the back of the notebook but decided to hone these basic skills first.
Over the next few days, Angel climbed the tower while deepening and honing his understanding of basic illusions.
On this day, the sky is bright and clear.
Angel told Toby one day in advance that he would not go to Sky Tower today. So, Toby flew to the forest in the early morning and had no clue where he wants to go and play.
As soon as Toby left, Angel’s face showed a sly smile. Then he began setting up a small dreamland around the courtyard and tailored it to match the local environment.
Angel’s illusion is not actually that big. The fence has not changed, the mistletoe has not changed, and even the house has not changed in general.
All he changed was the position of the window. In the past, the window opened up on the right. Now Angel changed it to open up on the left, but the window on the right under the illusion was still wide open.
Such changes in small details will not register to even those who often lived in one location for a long time.
Toby spent a day outside under the broad daylight and didn’t come back until dusk. Angel was sitting in the living room, probing Toby’s movements with his mental force tentacles.
As Angel expected, Toby did not suspect the open window at all and rushed in directly from the open position on the left.
Bang-
The sound of a head hitting against the gla.s.s.
Angel was holding back his laughter in the living room, and Toby became puzzled. Isn’t the window wide open? Why can’t I get in?
Toby came to the window and felt it with his claws. Now the window turned out to be closed, but it looks open.
“Is he hallucinating?” With confusion, Toby decided to come in through the attic window.
Angel also tampered with the skylight in the attic. Toby crashed into the gla.s.s again when he tried rushing in. Toby, who had hit his head, walked while swirling all around the roof in a daze.
Angel was in the living room and could not help laughing when he saw the scene through his mental force tentacles.
When the laughter spread out, Toby had naturally heard it.
At last, he understood why he hit his head continuously. He a.s.sociates this to Angel and remembers he is practising illusion these past couple of days. How can he not know he is the test subject for Angel’s magic?
He puffed out his cheeks angrily.
“Well, no more jokes. I have already removed the illusion. You can come in!” Angel came to the attic and smiled at Toby.
Toby ignored Angel. Instead of shouting, he bulged his cheeks.
Angel climbed from the attic to the roof, smiling and apologizing to Toby. Toby still ignored him and turned around and pointed his grey tail at Angel.
“I was just kidding.” Angel grinned from ear to ear: “I’ll take you out for a big meal later. I heard that a batch of deep-sea fish came into the town market. Let’s give it a try?”
Toby turned slightly back but still did not speak. Just staring at Angel, with his eyes full of grievances.
Angel felt a little guilty when he was stared at by Toby. He made fun of Toby and tested his illusion results. But it was really just a joke…
Angel coughed twice: “Well, lend me an echo flower, and I’ll surprise you later.”
After Angel finished, he picked up the echo flower in the attic and went down to the quiet room.
After Angel left, Toby’s cheeks calmed down slightly and came to the window with a suspicious expression. He used his claws to make sure the window is open before he flies into the attic.
Toby flew from the attic into the living room and was teased by Angel. He wasn’t really angry. Just pretending to be angry, he just wanted to take this opportunity to blackmail another echo flower.
But he didn’t expect the extortion had not worked, and Angel also ended up taking away an echo flower from him.
He doesn’t know what surprise Angel was talking about.
…
After a long time, Angel came up with the echo flower. Seeing Toby standing on the table in the living room. He looked at him with an urgent man-to-man stare. Or rather, specifically at the echo flower, for fear that he might break the echo flower.
But so far, the echo flower has not changed much.
“Mumbling~” Toby called Angel a few times.
Angel, who is level 10 in bird speak, knows that Toby is urging him to show where the surprise is.
Angel gave a mysterious smile, then placed the echo flower on the table and motioned Toby to step on the exposed roots of the echo flower.
The echo Flower is essentially a sound type alchemy material, but it has always been used by Toby as a recording tool.
Toby c.o.c.ked his head and squinted at Angel. Urged by Angel, he put his claws on the root of the echo flower with a little bit of suspicion.
When the roots of the echo flower have been trampled the petals of the lavender trumpet-shaped flower moved—
Then a melodious note came out of the petals.
All kinds of musical instruments are intertwined, but they were not jumbled up, bringing about a soothing harmonic rhythm. Among them, music from string instruments is particularly prominent, just like a faint hum that captures all the senses in an instant.
Although Angel is listening to this song for the second time, he still feels joy and numbness in his scalp.
This is Castle in the Sky.
A music piece from another civilization.
However, it has the same emotional appeal to those who listen.
The echo flower can record an extremely high-frequency range of sound. Even the compound scales are perfectly presented.
This Castle in the Sky, under the perfect recording of the echo flower, reverberates a piece of fascinating music and magical power.
Toby was frozen in place. This bird has always been proud of its so-called quartet. In contrast to this Castle in the Sky, it is like a pile of dust or dirt which cannot be compared with at all.
Toby thought his quartet was music.
But he didn’t know until this moment that music actually has ups and downs. Music has feelings and can let one follow the heart of the performer when they want to express their wishes.
When Castle in the Sky came to an end, Toby almost immediately took out his claws and pressed it against the root of the echo flower again.
However, the echo flower is a plant. After all, it is not a music device. Although it can record, it can only record once from a previous time. After playback, this audio is automatically eliminated.
Therefore, Toby pressed for half a day, but there was still no sound.
“Muttering?” Toby looked at Angel with pleading in his eyes.
Angel sipped at the corners of his mouth, deliberately ignoring Toby’s request and said, “This song is called Castle in the Sky… this is an apology for the prank I just played. Yes, I think it is very sincere!”
Toby was had been anxious while “mumbling” and wanted Angel to play it again.
Angel took a tall stance for half a day before he gave in to Toby’s pleading look and said. “Well, give me two of your echo flowers, and I’ll try to make a music box for you. However, my production cost is not cheap.”
Toby looked at Angel with a face of injustice: I have no money.
“I won’t accept your money either. All you have to do is promise me one thing.”