Another World’s Versatile Crafting Master c1-1074

by Zhuang Bifan

  But only four days passed and Kevin could feel that Lin Li had already left him far behind in magic.

  He was somewhat surprised, and somewhat dismayed…

  Kevin could not help but feel dejected hanging out with a freak like Lin Li every day.

  Kevin was among the top talents among the young people in Jarrosus City. He had been exposed to magic since he was sensible, all the way until he had become a level-eight mage at the age of 25. Even the proud Cromwell had to admire him given his speed in advancing. But in front of a demon like Lin Li, his genius had suddenly come to nothing. From ignorance to a level-eight mage, and then another breakthrough from level-eight to level-nine and above, it took him only a mere three months. How was he any different from a beast?

  "Good morning, Felic."

  "Good morning, Kevin." After the greetings, Lin Li dragged Kevin to the level certification hall without another word.

  The glow from the crystal ball confirmed Kevin's earlier speculations. Lin Li's magic level had indeed gone beyond level-nine, and even reached the peak of level-nine.

  Even though he was prepared, Kevin sighed a little helplessly when he saw the light from the crystal ball. This was too freaky. A young man under the age of 20 had attained a top level-nine in magic; it would only take him just one more step forward to reach the realm that all mages dreamed of—the Archmage!

  Perhaps only someone like Kevin, who grew up with traditional magic education, knew how many mages had been dreaming of being an archmage all their lives, and how many had never been able to achieve that dream. If they knew that a young man who had only been exposed to magic for three months had come so close to being an archmage, who knew if they would be so very ashamed and resentful that they'd kill themselves over it…

  It was fortunate that Kevin had gotten used to it. Ever since he'd met Lin Li, the young mage had been working miracles. An unprecedented magic genius and enigmatic potion master… Kevin was more or less numb after the repeated surprises. Even if one day Lin Li suddenly picked up a hammer and stood by the fire forging iron, Kevin felt that he would probably only mutter "monster" and then lower his head to do his own thing…

  "Oh, right. Felic, I heard people from the guild say someone came looking for you yesterday." Kevin suddenly remembered after they walked out from the level certification hall.

  "Looking for me?" Lin Li was slightly confounded. Other than people from the Guild of Magic, did he have other acquaintances in Jarrosus?

  Chapter 32 - Black Castle

  "Apparently it's a beautiful female adventurer."

  "Blond hair, long legs?" Lin Li was surprised at first, but quickly recovered. The only beautiful female adventurer he knew in this Jarrosus City would probably be Ina.

  "Seems like it. Why, is it your girlfriend?"

  "Kevin, you were infected by Gerian's nosiness… Where is she now?"

  "I had someone settle her down in the reception room. Wonder if she's still there…"

  "…" Lin Li knew the father and daughter too well. If they had not encountered something that could not be solved, they would never have come looking for him. Lin Li was somewhat anxious at the thought of this. He rushed out of the level certification hall and hurried over to the reception room as he complained, "Why didn't you tell me earlier…"

  "I wanted to tell you…" Kevin rolled his eyes. "As soon as you locked yourself in your room, the President warned that anyone who tries to disturb you will have their heads screwed off by him. Do you think I'd still dare to come?"

  "This old fellow…" Lin Li grumbled, but in his heart, he was slightly touched. Gerian, that old fellow, was thoughtful, afraid that Lin Li'd be disturbed at the critical moment of his breakthrough.

  The two of them reached the reception room promptly. As soon as Lin Li pushed open the door, a weeping beauty came into sight.

  "Mr… Mr Felic…" The long-legged beauty choked in between sobs. "Please help my father…"

  "Calm down first, Ina. Tell me slowly." Lin Li was at a loss after hearing the cries from the long-legged beauty. He hurriedly pacified her, "Tell me first, what exactly happened to Mr McGrenn?"

  "Father… Father is dying…" Ina's pretty eyes were red and swollen from all the crying. Under Lin Li's constant reassurances, she managed to hold back the sadness and began to speak intermittently, describing what'd happened.

  That day, after parting at the gate of the Adventurers Guild, McGrenn and his daughter successfully completed the quest with the Manticore's tail Lin Li had given them. According to their usual habits, they would often rest for a period of time after one quest was completed before taking another. She wasn't sure what happened that day, but after turning in the quest, McGrenn insisted on going to the quest notice board to have a look.

  It was also coincidence that as soon as the father and daughter arrived at the quest notice board, they noticed a new batch of quests had just been announced.

  One of the quests was to go to the Forest of Whispers in search of an ancient castle. McGrenn chose this task at first glance. The Forest of Whispers was heaven compared to the Sunset Mountains. The most powerful magical beasts there were no higher than level-ten, and they were pitifully few in numbers. If you were lucky, you wouldn't run into one even if you stayed there for two or three years.

  The quest was also simple—they only had to find out the exact location of the castle.

  A detailed map of the Forest of Whispers was sold in the Adventurers Guild for a mere ten gold coins. The features of the castle were also clearly described in the mission—a black castle that appeared only after dark. Completing the quest was only a matter of time with these two clues. Moreover, the reward was as high as 100 gold coins, which was much more cost-effective than hunting for Manticores in the Sunset Mountains.

  So, McGrenn coolly took the quest. He did not rest in Jarrosus City that day. After a little restocking of supplies, he took Ina and set off for the Forest of Whispers.

  As McGrenn had expected, the quest went smoothly.

  Both father and daughter did not encounter any danger along the way. It took a little over a week to find the ancient castle mentioned in the mission.

  McGrenn was overjoyed at the time, and after marking the location of the castle on the map, he planned to return to Jarrosus City.

  But it was at this moment when the accident happened.

  McGrenn, who had just put the map into his backpack, suddenly collapsed without any warning.

  Ina was scared stiff at the time…

  What was the scariest was that there was no wound on McGrenn's body, and it didn't look like he was attacked by any mental spells. Everything seemed the same—except that McGrenn was asleep. According to Ina's description, McGrenn's current situation could only be described as being asleep; even after returning to Jarrosus City, he could occasionally be heard snoring softly.

  But McGrenn had slept for too long.

  From the day the castle was found, to the day the two returned to Jarrosus City, McGrenn had slept for seven days. He did not wake up once or eat anything in those seven days. He was in deep slumber, and his body was languishing day by day.

  According to Ina, McGrenn had been worn down to a shadow of his past self when she came this morning.

  Lin Li frowned as he listened to Ina, but he could not recall what kind of magic could have caused that. Thus, after much thought, he decided to have a look.

  "Ina, bring me to Mr McGrenn first. I can't think of any solution yet."

  "Yes." Ina nodded obediently. Since her father collapsed, the girl's heart had been at sixes and sevens. Under Lin Li's constant reassurances, she recovered some of her previous vigor.

  Lin Li was rather anxious and did not have time to inform Gerian. He found Kevin and told him, "My friend's in trouble, I have to go take a look. Help me inform Gerian later."

  "Oh, no! I forgot to tell him about this…" Lin Li had already stepped out of the Emerald Tower when Kevin suddenly recalled something impor
tant. But when he wanted to chase after them, he found that both of them had long gone out of sight.

  McGrenn and his daughter did not stay far. After coming out of the Emerald Tower, they turned a few streets and soon reached an old house.

  This house looked like it had been there for ages. As they walked up to the bedroom on the second story, Lin Li could feel the wooden boards tremble under his feet.

  The room was clean and tidy, though the furniture was slightly shabby; even the blankets that had been dr.a.p.ed over McGrenn had several patches.

  He remembered McGrenn telling him that the reward for hunting level-five magical beasts like the Manticores in the Sunset Mountains was only a few dozen gold coins, so Lin Li more or less understood the father and daughter's situation.

  But Lin Li kept it to himself and said nothing to Ina.

  Chapter 33 - The Twilight Curse

  McGrenn was covered with a thick blanket and snored slightly from time to time. He seemed to be sound asleep.

  But his face was unusually pale, as if without a trace of blood. His eyes were deeply sunken and his face was ghastly thin. If it hadn't been for Ina's words, Lin Li wouldn't have been able to connect him with the McGrenn he knew.

  McGrenn's physical condition had actually weakened to this extent even though he was a warrior above level-six, and his physical quality was ten times stronger than an average person's.

  Lin Li frowned and cast a Detection Spell.

  But the result was disappointing—McGrenn had no residual magical wave on him. That was to say, his slumber had nothing to do with magical attacks.

  Lin Li looked at the gaunt McGrenn, unsure what to do.

  "Have you called for a doctor?"

  "I've called for them a few days ago, but they all said that father is very healthy." Tears were brimming in Ina's eyes; she fought hard not to let them fall.

  "Don't worry, Mr McGrenn will be fine," Lin Li consoled Ina before shifting his attention back onto McGrenn.

  "Eh?" This time, Lin Li had found something different.

  It was an inconspicuous black line on McGrenn's right hand. It was thin and indistinct—if Lin Li had not looked carefully, he might not have discovered it.

  Lin Li had a foreboding feeling in his heart as soon as he saw the black line.

  Without bothering to explain it to Ina, he grabbed McGrenn's shirt's sleeve, and with a sniffle, he tore it apart.Taking another look at the arm, there was indeed a thin black line spreading to c.h.e.s.t…

  "It's actually this thing!" Lin Li felt troubled all of a sudden as his speculation was confirmed.

  Never had he thought that it was the Twilight Curse that had put McGrenn to sleep.

  The reason why Lin Li remembered the name of this curse was because of a herb called Heart of Death.

  The Heart of Death usually grew only in places with strong death aura. The stronger the death aura, the easier it was for the Heart of Death to spawn. The places where the Heart of Death grew would usually be haunted by high-level undead creatures. After it spawned, the Heart of Death would need the power of a curse to grow; the Twilight Curse was one of the several curses that could breed the Heart of Death.

  Lin Li had taken a look at some curses when he was studying herb knowledge, and among them was the Twilight Curse.

  It would take at least a powerful level-twenty existence to master the Twilight Curse.They used their own blood and strength as a guide before they died, cursing all creatures which stepped into the realm and making them fall into eternal sleep.

  At the thought of this, Lin Li knew that the black castle was not that simple as mentioned in the quest…

  Lin Li heaved a sigh of relief as he found the cause of McGrenn's deep slumber. Although the Twilight Curse was formidable, it was not entirely unbreakable—at least he knew of two ways that could resolve it.

  Of course, strictly speaking, one of the ways was slightly boring—using a flame to purify the bones of the cursed person in order to break the power source of the curse.

  This was indeed boring. Casting the Twilight Curse before death would almost 100 percent turn someone into an undead creature. Just think about a strong existence above level-twenty turning into an undead; if he was a mage before he died, then congratulations, you might have encountered a Lich. Commiting a suicide would be easier than purifying his bones…

  The other way was undoubtedly much more practical. One bottle of Purifying Potion would solve the problem completely.

  "It's okay, Ina. I've found a way."

  "Really?" Ina's eyes were full of tears, but there was a smile of surprise across her pretty face.

  Ina had been in a panic ever since McGrenn fell into deep sleep. She had tried everything that she could think of, and looking for Lin Li was only a matter of hope. In her heart, this young mage had always been so reliable. He had saved her from the talons of the Wyvern, and then again from the hands of the Leviathan Gorilla. Perhaps he could save her father this time again.

  So, she went to the Guild of Magic. In fact, she knew that hope was slim even when she went there. She had thought of so many ways, but her father was still in deep slumber. Although Mr Felic was an impressive mage, could he really wake her father up?

  "No problem." Lin Li counted the herbs in his pockets and nodded affirmatively.

  Just then, there was a knock on the door downstairs.

  "It should be Doctor Rowling. Mr Felic, please wait while I get the door." Ina shyly wiped away the tears in her eyes, then ran briskly down the stairs.

  Lin Li was in a pretty good mood seeing Ina had regained her vigor. He fumbled through his pockets and placed the herbs on the table. There were four ingredients required to make the Purifying Potion—silver hairgrass, sungrass, dreampetal, and terocone. Among them, the effects of the silver hairgrass and sungrass were similar: both had strong divine purifying effect. Using one alone would enable you to concoct a potion that could amplify the divine power; using two at the same time would enable you to purify almost every negative effect.

  But it was also because the purifying power was overly strong that it had to be accompanied by the dreampetal and terocone. The dreampetal was used to calm the mind, while the terocone was used to protect the consumer's body from harm due to the overly strong divine power.

  The four herbs complemented yet restrained each other. An ordinary pharmacist usually would not dare to concoct the Purifying Potion, because the dosage of herbs had to be accurately controlled. A small mistake could hurt the consumer.

  Of course, to Lin Li, this was not a big problem. Besides, the preparation process was very easy. It only involved simple extraction and blending, and did not even require assistive tools.

  Considering that he didn't even need any tools to aid him, Lin Li decided not to return to the Guild of Magic. He took out four glass bottles from his pocket and set them on the table.

  Just as he was beginning to extract the succus, he heard footsteps coming from the stairs.

  Lin Li turned around and saw a head of long, fiery-red hair.

  Underneath the long hair was a stunningly beautiful face.

  Lin Li glanced in a hurry, but he could only describe it as amazing…

  It was an almost-fatal kind of aesthetic—proud yet cold. A person couldn't help but feel the d.e.s.i.r.e to conquer her, and even with Lin Li's mental cultivation, he had gotten momentarily lost the moment he looked back.

  Chapter 34 - Quack

  Seeing a stranger by the sick bed, the redheaded beauty knitted her fine eyebrows slightly with a hint of caution. "Ina, who is he?"

  "Mr Felic from the Guild of Magic…"

  "Why did you let him in?" The redheaded beauty had some discontentment in her tone, but when she saw Ina's innocent eyes, that trace of discontentment turned into helplessness. "Ina… I've told you many times, Mr McGrenn's illness cannot be cured by an average person. If mages were of use, I would look for one for you…"

  "But, Mr Felic, he…" Ina was somewhat
aggrieved, her big eyes blinking at Lin Li, asking him for help.

  "Ina, be good and listen. I will find the way to cure Mr McGrenn." The redheaded beauty turned her autumn-like eyes to Lin Li after coaxing Ina. "Let me warn you, don't try to hit on Ina. If not, even if Gerian comes, he may not be able to save you."

  By the end, the redheaded beauty's voice was bitterly cold. The imposing manner that was displayed by her inadvertently frightened Lin Li. It was an aura of at least a level-ten player. At this moment, the redheaded beauty was like a magnificent sword, full of murderous intent in her eyes that flowed like the autumn waters.

  This was actually a warrior above level-ten! Lin Li was slightly surprised, but he showed no sign of it on his face and merely laughed gently. "If I leave, will you be able to cure Mr McGrenn?"

  "This… This is none of your business!"

  "None of my business?" Lin Li suddenly chuckled. "Mr McGrenn is my friend. If not for him, I would've probably still been lost in the Sunset Mountains. And you say this is none of my business? Furthermore, since you'd like to be in charge of the treatment, let me ask you: do you know where the problem lies with Mr McGrenn?"

  "Hmph! Still thinking you're capable…" With the topic being what she knew best, the redheaded beauty lifted her fine eyebrows and a confident smile appeared on her face. "There are no wounds on his body, and there was no magical attack. There are only two possibilities for Mr McGrenn's current situation. It can be either a mental attack or a curse!"

  "Not bad that you're able to see this, it means you're a decent doctor," Lin Li complimented her with a grin, but quickly changed the subject. "A pity your eyesight isn't good…"

  As Lin Li spoke, he lifted McGrenn's right hand. "Look at what this is."

  The redheaded beauty shifted her attention and turned pale from fear as she saw the thin black line. "Curse?"

  "Do you know what this is?"

  Lin Li stopped mid-sentence and did not reveal the answer. He sat grinning on the bed, looking at the redheaded beauty teasingly. The expression seemed to say: want to know? But I won't tell you…