Whispering Poems

Chapter 3935 Identity Confirmation
The crying caused the dream to burst like a bubble, and Shad suddenly opened his eyes, just as the bubble covering his head popped.

Even after waking from the dream, the sound of crying still echoed in his ears. Even though he had only just heard it, a sense of unease had already set in.

And it wasn't just a feeling of irritation; the crying was actually triggering a primal fear and extreme discomfort in Shad. He felt an urgent urge to go to the source of the crying, even though he knew perfectly well that this urge wasn't something that arose naturally.

At this moment, the black-haired halfling witch who had been curled up also woke up. She turned her head and looked in the same direction as Shad, and her slightly furrowed brows showed that she had also been greatly affected by the mental impact.

"How long will this crying last?"

Shad asked, and Linoë Bredvie replied:

"The spacetime here is abnormally chaotic. The crying doesn't continue according to time, but according to the number of rooms passed through. Once you've passed through six different rooms, the sound will disappear. After that, you need to fall asleep again to find your way."

Shad nodded; he now fully understood why the three witches had been forced to ignite the "Life Furnace." While superhumans could normally go without sleep, in this eerie place, the witches needed sleep to alleviate their mental trauma.

Even Shad couldn't bear being woken up by such a powerful, emotionally charged cry every time he closed his eyes.

"Let's pack up and set off now. If we're lucky, we'll find the second Forge of Life this round, considering we've already explored many rooms. If we're unlucky, it'll be my turn to sleep next time."

The old witch said this, and Shad then took out several glittering crystals from his pocket and handed them to them:
"These are 'Star Dewdrops' made using the power of the stars, which can be used to restore spirit. Each of you should carry a few. [Dark Moon Grace] cannot be maintained for long, so you can use these to restore spirit when I am not around."

The Star Dewdrop was made using materials from Shad's body, and like the Dragon Scale Amulet, it can be considered part of him. Since holy water can already be carried, this unique restorative item can certainly be carried as well.

Even in this age of witches, the consumable item [Star Dew], which can restore spirit, is quite precious. The three witches thanked Shad together. The pure starlight surging within the crystal could not have been created by the strange objects here, and their last doubts about Shad vanished.

Then everyone started packing their belongings. The witches didn't have many things with them, since they had all encountered unexpected situations when they arrived here, and none of them had made any preparations in advance.

What we really need to pay attention to is the rusty iron bucket that was placed next to the old witch, Mrs. Gustave.

The rim of the iron barrel had obvious dried bloodstains. Shad originally thought it was leftover material from building the metal shell of the shelter, but after the old witch solemnly picked it up and handed it to Miss Linor Bradway, Shad realized that the barrel was unusual.

"This is?"

"The storage equipment in this factory was found by Gina before she met us. It can only store the flesh and organs in this factory, and its storage capacity is very large. Moreover, different types of flesh and organs will never touch each other when placed in the bucket."

The Life Forge requires us to provide the materials ourselves for forging. Although once you find the forge, you can repeatedly open doors to find suitable areas to collect materials—the Life Forge room allows this—collecting some items along the way to the forge will make things easier later on.

The halfling witch said that she was the smallest and lowest-ranking, and was responsible for helping everyone carry these odds and ends. Apart from the iron buckets, she carried most of the group's luggage. Although the factory only produced flesh and blood, they had already collected quite a few items left behind by their predecessors.

"Factory and iron drum are indeed a good match."

Shad didn't offer to carry the iron bucket himself, but instead looked at the Pink Dragon Witch as the Old Witch dismantled the metal shelter. The latter blushed slightly for some reason, but still leaned closer to Shad and whispered shyly in his ear:

“Shad Suren Hamilton, do you remember Mana Ferrianana from ‘The Forest of a Thousand Trees’?”

Xia De struggled to understand what she was saying amidst the sobbing around him. He was somewhat surprised, but still asked:

"Who told you this?"

“Miss Emilia Siamold, she is currently attending the academy, but she should be leaving soon.”

The dragon witch continued to answer in a low voice. She didn't want her two companions to hear what she was saying, so she blushed and moved closer to Shad. As she spoke, Shad could even feel her gentle breath.

As for not using telepathy, it's because in such a place, no one dares to open their mind to receive other people's telepathic signals.

"So, the current time point, 3030 of the Fifth Age, is shortly after Miss Wilde parted ways with me and Iluna at the 'Academy of Strange Trees'?"

Shad and Fiona only acquired the northern campus after their experience in the City of Evernight, more than two years ago. However, Emilia was not among the first three students of the academy. The first section of the "History of St. Byron's Comprehensive Academy" mentions that before the establishment of the school in the far north, Miss Mana Ferrianana had already established a school in the Fifth Age, though it was small in scale and more like the relationship between a great witch and her followers.

After acquiring a campus in the far north, she moved her original school there, and from there, she truly expanded and developed the school. As a result, Emilia saw such a mature academy system just two or three years after its founding.

As he thought this, Shad reached out his hand to the Pink Dragon Witch and shook her hand briefly.
“I understand. Please allow me to introduce myself again, I am Shad Hamilton, a student of Professor Felian Anna.”

He cried out "Teacher, save me!" twice, in the "Forest of a Thousand Trees" and the "Battlefield of Moon Bay," and was helped both times, so his status as a student is legitimate.

The Pink Dragon Witch whispered as she shook hands with the girl:
“Gina Rosa, a formal dragon maid in the maid corps of St. Byrons Witch Academy. I work under the head maid Fiona, and I am far from being comparable to a mature maid like Elfina Wilde.”

She felt that Shad's hands were very warm, which reminded her of what Fiona had said about Shad's palms having a strange temperature during the "Midnight Maids' Meeting".

Having confirmed the other party's identity, Xia De asked somewhat impatiently:
"Can you contact Miss Felicia or Britney?"

He asked this because Teresa had brought Violet with her last time in the "Tombstone Wasteland".

The Dragon Witch thought for a moment before realizing that "Brainy" referred to Miss Britney Orlando, the librarian.

She shook her head apologetically:
“I don’t have that kind of power. This place is too strange. All the means I have to contact the academy are not working. Head Maid Fiona gave us other means of communication, but I was working when we entered here and didn’t have that many things with me.”

Shad completely understood that Theresa was exploring an ancient tomb when she entered the "Tombstone Wasteland," so she was fully equipped and even had a relic like the [One-Hit Kill Gun] on her. Since this pink dragon witch was completely unprepared, Shad couldn't ask for too much.

However, since he had actually encountered a witch related to the academy, Shad was already quite satisfied, as this was already considered another convenience given to him by the Tree Father.

He wanted to inquire about the "Book of Dragons: Breeding and Growth," but by then, the halfling witch Bredvy had already dismantled the entire metal shell of the shelter. The four of them stood up to leave, and Shad could only put the question aside for the time being, as there would be plenty of time to ask later.

“This Mr. Hamilton is an acquaintance of mine. I didn’t dare to confirm it until now, but I can confirm it now. He is absolutely fine.”

The dragon witch, who had been whispering with Shad, explained to her companions. Only after she stood up did Shad realize that her figure was even more impressive than he had expected.

Because the somewhat dirty maid dress was loose, he couldn't even tell for a moment whether the pink dragon witch who was good at taking care of babies or Tifa had the advantage.

"Alright, Mr. Hamilton, stay close to us for a while and don't fall behind. The positions of adjacent rooms won't change before the doors close, meaning you won't get separated from the group as long as you're not a whole room away from us."

If we are unfortunately separated, head towards the Forge of Life to reunite. But given the chaos of time, it's hard to say whether you'll ever meet us again in the 'present'.

The old witch instructed that she should not inquire further about Shad's specific identity.

Shad nodded. Although the lack of a long-term "safe zone" made things a bit more complicated, at least his companions were reliable.

"So what do we need to do after entering the room? Just follow the sound to find the corresponding door?"

"Let's observe the situation first. We'll decide based on the room size, the number of enemies, and the complexity of the terrain. If it's safe, we can explore the room to find useful items. But there's one thing you don't need to worry about: most of the doors in this factory can be opened directly. If you encounter a door that you really can't open, you can choose to go around and enter the wrong door, and then continue to follow the crying sound."

As the old witch spoke, she conjured a platinum staff from thin air. This was a spiritual weapon; it seemed this Lady Gustav was an old-school spellcaster.