Professor Gregory took out a stone, and Shadow Eleven was puzzled, unsure of what to do next.
Professor Gregory’s gaze fell on the stone, and he instructed, “Throw this stone to them, gently. If it’s really Thor, he’ll know what to do with it.”
“Be very gentle!”
Afraid that Shadow Eleven might not take it seriously, Professor Gregory emphasized it twice.
“Understood.”
Shadow Eleven took the stone, looked at it a few times, and saw nothing special.
It was just an ordinary stone.
Why did Professor Gregory say this stone could verify Thor’s identity?
Shadow Eleven didn’t doubt Professor Gregory’s words. If he couldn’t figure it out, he wouldn’t dwell on it. Letting smarter people solve the problem was his usual approach.
“Step back a couple of steps. I have something to verify your identity. I’ll throw it over, remember to catch it with your shadow!”
The figures on the other side of the mist didn’t hesitate and nodded, “Alright!”
Shadow Eleven carefully threw the stone.
The stone disappeared into the mist, but there was no sound of it hitting the ground.
The figures on the other side clearly caught the stone and seemed to be examining it, not responding immediately.
Shadow Eleven looked at Professor Gregory, who nodded.
He then called out, “Thor, do you recognize this stone?”
The figures on the other side of the mist fell silent, not answering immediately. “Fake.”
The moment Professor Gregory spoke, Shadow Eleven struck, piercing through the mist and shattering the two figures!
Illusions, once confirmed as fake in the mind, were easy to break.
After the figures dissipated, Professor Gregory eagerly said, “Retrieve the stone, be careful.” “Understood.”
Shadow Eleven used his magic to pull the stone back.
He was curious about another matter. “Professor Gregory, what if we misjudged and it was really Thor on the other side?”
“If it was really Thor, it would be even simpler.”
Putting the stone back in his backpack, Professor Gregory smiled and shook his head.
“You mentioned earlier that Shadow Ten came with Thor. You can’t beat Shadow Ten, I can’t beat Thor, and together we’re no match for them.
So you don’t have to worry about killing Thor. From what I know, Thor values his life very much.”
Shadow Eleven’s eyes lit up, clearly thinking of a solution.
“From now on, whether they’re real or fake, hit them first.”
If they can be killed, they’re not Thor!
“That’s the most troublesome part of illusions.”
Professor Gregory rubbed his temples, clearly not in good shape, having been drained over this period.
“You acted decisively earlier, easily breaking the illusion because you were convinced it was fake. If you don’t know whether it’s real or fake, probing attacks won’t help but will make things worse, trapping you deeper in the illusion.”
Professor Gregory patiently explained,
“In an illusion, if you strike and the enemy easily parries, you’ll believe even more that the opponent is Shadow Ten, and you’ll be caught.”
For various reasons, Gregory’s own strength was lacking, but his research into illusions and Soul Element was deep, even surpassing Shadow Nine and Apollo in some aspects.
Listening to Professor Gregory’s explanation, Shadow Eleven nodded heavily.
Professor Gregory sighed and said slowly, “You’ve been by my side for too long, nearly twenty years. Even Shadow Nine’s blade would dull if it didn’t slash a demon god for twenty years. You’ve lived a peaceful life for too long, and your combat awareness has clearly lagged.”
Twenty years ago, Shadow Eleven wouldn’t have needed Professor Gregory’s reminders. Living a stable life for too long dulls the blade and the mind.
Shadow Eleven was about to say something but was interrupted by Professor Gregory, who gestured for him to keep listening.
“When this mission is over, if I survive and return to Earth, your duty as my guardian will end. Meeting is fate, but without parting, there can be no joy in reunion. Life is a cycle of farewells and reunions. You should do something you enjoy, like taking a long vacation.”
Professor Gregory rubbed his shoulder, feeling a bit sore, and chuckled, “I’ve always thought Guardian Shadow’s work system is inhumane, no vacations, working 24/7.”
“Professor Gregory, I…”
For a moment, Shadow Eleven didn’t know what to say.
In fact, the previous [Shadow Eleven] was persuaded to retire by Professor Gregory.
After leaving the position, he challenged his predecessors, rising to Shadow Four in twenty years, now guarding the Forest of Truth.
This was another form of protection.
“Save your words for when we survive.”
With that, Professor Gregory opened the sleep pod and said seriously, “I must rest. The illusions will only get stronger, and my current Spirit state makes me vulnerable. When someone arrives, throw the stone to them. If they respond, wake me up.”
“Alright!”
Professor Gregory instructed, “It’s 2:55 PM now. I’ll sleep for 8 hours. Check every 15 minutes
to make sure I haven’t fallen into an illusion.”
He had no choice; his strength was too weak.
Knowing he was a burden, Professor Gregory’s only option was to minimize his burden and do
his part well.
Trapped in a demon god’s carefully laid trap, he had already accepted that his life might be
over.
He would do his best and leave the rest to miracles, or rather, to Thor?
If it were Thor, creating miracles would be normal, right?
With this thought, Professor Gregory lay in the sleep pod.
The sleep pod activated, emitting a soft blue light, and Professor Gregory quickly fell asleep.
3:32 PM.
Figures appeared outside the mist again.
The same routine, calling out first, exchanging codes.
After the formalities, Shadow Eleven followed Professor Gregory’s instructions, took out the
stone, and threw it over.
As soon as the stone was thrown, the figures outside the mist moved to shatter it! Shadow Eleven acted faster, retrieving the stone and shattering the figures outside the mist.
Fake!
4:08 PM.
Repeating the previous scenario, Shadow Eleven threw the stone.
The figure outside the mist said, “I recognize this stone; it’s from the beginner’s instance!”
Shadow Eleven was invigorated but didn’t conclude and woke Professor Gregory.
Hearing Shadow Eleven’s report, Professor Gregory didn’t even leave the sleep pod.
“Fake.”
With that, he closed his eyes and fell asleep again.
Shadow Eleven struck, shattering the figures and retrieving the stone.
What followed felt like a loop.
Figures outside the mist kept giving answers, Professor Gregory kept waking up, and Shadow
Eleven kept shattering illusion projections.
4:32 PM.
The figure outside the mist said, “This is the beginner’s instance stone. I once auctioned it at
the Mystic Market!”
“Fake!”
5:00 PM.
The figure outside the mist said, “This stone was bought by Professor Gregory for 1 million
gold coins.”
“Fake!”
5:02 PM.
The figure outside the mist said, “This stone can trigger the hidden level of the beginner’s free𝑤ebnovel.com
instance. I gave it to Professor Gregory.”
“Fake!”
5:08 PM….
“Fake!”
“Fake!”
Shadow Eleven was getting tired of hearing the word “fake.”
Shadow Eleven had been guarding from dawn till dusk. But due to the mist, there was no
difference between day and night in the Suture Abyss.
Just as Shadow Eleven was becoming numb, there was movement outside the mist again.
“What’s this?”
Shadow Eleven looked ahead, not understanding what he was seeing.
In the mist, a canine creature was flying.
It should be a canine creature… right?
It had three heads in total, two of which had transformed into wings, while the one in the
middle rotated like a propeller.
When flying, sometimes its head rotated while its body stayed still, and sometimes its body
rotated while its head stayed still. There was no logic to its flight; it just did whatever was
convenient.
Shadow Eleven was stunned, instinctively cursing, “What the fuck, what kind of monster is this?”