by Zhuang Bifan
It was frighteningly quiet all around. There was no other sound apart from the rhythmic footsteps. Andoine and Sean held their breath almost concurrently, for they knew that this was the most critical moment. Lin Li, who was immersed in thought, could not be disturbed even by a little.
Time passed by, and it was unknown how long it took for Lin Li to halt his steps at last. He carefully took out a scroll, and gently inserted it into the crevice of the mineral vein. When he bent down, Andoine and Sean saw distinctly the beads of sweat dripping down from his forehead…
The insertion was followed by another one. Lin Li inserted a total of five Air Bomb scrolls into the crevices.
The positions of the five scrolls were not uniform, either. Some were deeply buried in the vein crevices; others were only slightly inserted. Most of the scrolls were still exposed to the air. The depth that they were inserted to would determine the success of this blasting. If there were no mistakes in Lin Li's calculations, this blasting would open the surface of the vein without injuring the accompanying gemstones in the interior.
For Lin Li, the accompanying gemstones were the most important. Although the Eternal Adamantine was a magical metal, it was not very useful for a mage. Its only use was probably to forge a set of equipment for Sean.
After inserting the five scrolls into the crevices, Lin Li rolled up his sleeves again, and wiped the sweat on his forehead. Then, he slowly retreated beside Andoine, and asked with a look of fatigue, "How many scrolls can you control within a second?"
"Three." Andoine thought about it, and gave an exact answer. Besides not consuming magic, there was no difference between a scroll spell-casting and ordinary spell-casting—both were controlled by the mental strength, and required elemental sequencing. After all, the Air Bomb spell was a level-five magic spell. Even if Andoine had reached the legendary level, he dared not undertake more tasks.
It was not as simple as one plus one equaling two to release three level-five spells at the same time.
This meant that Andoine's mental strength had to control three level-five spells at the same time, and complete the sequencing of these three magical elements within the same time frame.
This was for Andoine. If a slightly weaker mage—such as Macklin, who was only infinitely close to the legendary level—were to handed control of three scrolls of Air Bomb at the same time, he would definitely refuse without even thinking about it. Macklin was arrogant, but not crazy enough. What was the difference between controlling three scrolls at a time and seeking death? A little carelessness could lead to a mental breakdown…
"The three left ones are for you." Lin Li nodded. He knew that the three Air Bomb scrolls were Andoine's limit. If he were to add another scroll, not to mention Andoine, even if it was Aldwin—who was a level higher than Andoine—he could probably only watch at a side.
"Are you alright?" Andoine glanced at him, and there was some worry on his face.
His question was obscure, but how could Lin Li not know that the old fellow was concerned about himself? After all, he was just a Magic Shooter, and was still a long way away from the Legendary Realm. Even if he was only controlling two scrolls concurrently, the old fellow was still worried something might happen to Lin Li.
Lin Li felt a gush of warmth to his heart, but merely smiled. "Did you forget how I practiced elemental sequencing?"
"Oh, true…" Andoine chortled at the mention of this. It was then that he remembered the kind of monster standing before him—it was someone who had practiced elemental sequencing all day long. Although he was still a Magic Shooter, his mental strength was far beyond this category.
"Ready." Lin Li tightened his grip on the Winter Staff; his voice was slightly hoarse.
"One!"
"Two!"
"Three!"
"Boom!"
The three of them only felt the ground tremble in the earth-shaking explosion. The power of five Air Bomb scrolls unleashed at the same time was equivalent to the magic spells of an Archmage. At that moment, Lin Li even felt that the whole cave had collapsed; large tracts of rubble spattered, and there was a sharp whistling sound in the air. Clouds of dust filled the air—the whole area was as dark as if a sandstorm was brewing.
With the previous lesson, the three men crouched down almost at the same time with their hands held over their heads as the rubble smashed down on their backs—the burning pain was as if they had been whipped.
It was unknown how long had passed before the cave gradually quieted down.
Lin Li stood up with some apprehension.
Then, he saw that there seemed to be a few glimmers of light among the minerals that were all over the ground…
"Indeed…"
Lin Li suppressed the ecstasy in his heart, and slowly walked to the spot of light.
It was a Dragon's Eye about the size of a fist. This was a really good thing. It was said that after the death of the ancient dragon, the pair of eyes would turn into a gemstone with the passage of time.
Granted—legends were just legends, and it was difficult to verify the authenticity of it.
But one thing was for sure.
Legendary dragons were all natural spellcasters. Even newly born dragons could use their dragon roars to unleash a magic spell strong enough to destroy the world. In that distant yet barbaric era, the violent magical elements in the war between the dragons and the titans had torn the whole world apart.
And the Dragon's Eye had a similar power as well.
A Dragon's Eye naturally contained a spell, but no one knew what kind of spell it was and how it came into being. Even Lin Li—a man so erudite he was unlike a human being—had not been able to fully understand its mystery.
He only knew that the bigger the Dragon's Eye was, the higher the level of spell it contained.
Lin Li had seen numerous Dragon's Eyes back in the Endless World.
However, most of the Dragon's Eyes were only the size of the thumb, and the spells contained in them were the likes of the wind blade and icicle. Usually, they were inlaid on rings, and used as underhand tricks.
Lin Li felt that the gemstone before them was too much—it was the size of a fist, and probably contained a spell of at least the Magic Shooter level.
This was no joke…
The spell contained in Dragon's Eye was not like the low-level stuff from the magic scrolls. It was completely instantaneous, and did not require the control of mental strength. There was no need for elemental sequencing, and there was not even a level restriction for it. Only a trace of mana input was needed to directly activate the spell contained in the Dragon's Eye.
Think about it. A spell of the Magic Shooter level could be released anytime and anywhere—and it was even in an instantaneous outburst. If it was unleashed out of the blue, it could probably even take down an Archmage by surprise.
If there were any shortcomings, it would be the mana.
Dragon's Eyes were naturally endowed with a magic spell, but they had no source of mana. After this spell was used once, it had to be supplemented, be it from a magical crystal or a mage. In short, it was necessary to input enough mana into it to restore the Dragon's Eye's terrifying magic ability.
But when a monster like Lin Li came by it, even its only shortcoming seemed insignificant. How would he worry about the problem of insufficient mana with his almost-infinite mana?
Compared to this, it was the size of the Dragon's Eye that had him troubled—it was simply too big…
Lin Li had never seen such a large Dragon's Eye. It was certainly impossible to set it on a ring. Even with such a big ring, Lin Li did not have fingers that were thick enough to wear it…
In addition to this Dragon's Eye, there were several accompanying gemstones scattered around it.
Lin Li glanced at the heap of minerals, and spotted a Heart of Gaia.
The Heart of Gaia was not small, either—it was the size of an egg.
The Heart of Gaia was a good item. The earth element contained
in it was surprisingly massive. If they were embedded on any equipment, even if it was just an ordinary blouse, it could become invulnerable in an instant.
Lin Li was about to bend down to pick up the Heart of Gaia when he discovered something else.
Among the fine pieces of and Eternal Adamantine, a crystal of astonishing size was emitting a faint magical aura…
Lin Li's eyes almost fell out as he looked at the crystal.
It was not only Lin Li's eyes that almost fell out, but also Andoine who had just hurried forward.
"Oh my God…" Andoine's voice sounded like a somniloquy; he was really suspecting that he was dreaming. This Crystal of Eternity was just too big. It was lying quietly among the pile of minerals, reflecting a brilliant halo under the Illuminating Spell.
Andoine estimated the volume of the Crystal of Eternity—it was probably larger than his head!
If this were to be carved into potion bottles, then at least ten of it could be carved out.
At the thought of the ten potion bottles carved from the Crystal of Eternity being arranged in the potion lab, Andoine's aged face was beaming like a flower in full bloom.
The old man had even thought out a scene in his mind—when the ten bottles were carved, he would show them off in the Pharmacists Guild. He wondered what would the expression on Burnside's face be like when he saw the bottles.
The old man's satisfaction grew as he stared at the Crystal of Eternity.
By this time, Lin Li had filtered all the gemstones.
The harvest for this trip was far beyond his expectations. In addition to the Eternal Adamantine, there was a fist-sized Dragon's Eye, an egg-sized Heart of Gaia, and a terrifying Crystal of Eternity.
It was a pity to him that there was no Infused Crystal—the one he wanted most—in the pile of minerals.
However, he soon cast it aside after thinking it through. The Infused Crystal was something that could be met, but not sought. In a thousand Eternal Adamantine veins, it was not necessarily possible to dig a piece of it out.
After blasting the veins, they'd naturally divide the loots.
First on the list was the huge Crystal of Eternity. Andoine stood up and called dibs on the crystal in exchange for all his wealth. Lin Li pouted, and thought to himself, I know very well about how little your assets are. You're trying to exchange such a huge crystal with what little you have? It'll be good enough for you to exchange them for an amethyst potion bottle.
Chapter 133 - Shapeshifter
But then again, of the three, Andoine was probably the most suitable to get this Crystal of Eternity.
The Crystal of Eternity was really good stuff. Besides the permanent preservation of potions, it could also slowly improve the efficacy of the potions. For a pharmacist, this was a dream treasure. The temptation of this thing to pharmacists was something that Lin Li had personally experienced. He had once sold a small piece of it back in the Endless World. He didn't expect then that what was originally a tentative move had attracted numerous pharmacists, and the price that he sold it for was unbelievable to Lin Lin himself.
But the one in front of them was even bigger than others. Lin Li dared not imagine how many pharmacists would have a heart attack if such a large piece of Crystal of Eternity was brought out.
But because it was too big, Lin Li insisted that it was only suitable for Andoine.
Indeed—the bigger the Crystal of Eternity, the better it was. But when it reached a certain extent, its actual value would be greatly discounted. For example, the Crystal of Eternity before them was big to a scary extent. If it were to be carved into a potion bottle, it could be carved into at least ten bottles, from big to small, to make a whole set.
However, what about that?
A whole set of potion bottles carved from the Crystal of Eternity was really perverted and violent, but that was all. Besides being used for showing off, Lin Li really couldn't think of any other use for them.
To preserve potions? There was no need for it at all. Apart from a few, how many potions had to be preserved with the Crystal of Eternity? A glass bottle was more than enough…
To improve the efficacy of potions? Stop kidding… It would take months to turn a bottle of Mana Potion into an Awakening Potion. It was better to just concoct hundreds of them—it'd be more than enough for them to drink one bottle and throw one bottle away. Was there a need to spend a few months on it?
This fellow was a real pharmaceutics guru; apart from those master grade potions, how many were worth it to be contained in the Crystal of Eternity?
For Lin Li, the size of the Crystal of Eternity was actually irrelevant. One bottle of potion carved from the Crystal of Eternity was enough for him. If he was given a set of bottles of different sizes, he'd have a headache instead. What if he broke one, or what if others were jealous of him? The less trouble you had, the better.
Lin Li hated trouble, so he did not hesitate at all, and pushed the Crystal of Eternity to Andoine.
"Hahaha…" The old man held the Crystal of Eternity in his hands, and laughed so hard that his eyes narrowed. "If old Burnside could see it, I wonder if it would frighten him out…"
"You should acc.u.mulate some virtue…" Lin Li looked at the crystal, and suddenly sympathized with Old Grimm. As a potion master, it would be strange to see such a large Crystal of Eternity and not be scared into a heart attack by it.
After a long look at the Crystal of Eternity, Andoine finally opened up his spatial equipment. With a cautious look on his face, he kept the king of all crystals away.
The old man's spatial equipment was similarly a ring.
Nevertheless, compared with the Ring of Endless Storm, the space of this ring was much smaller. A mere Crystal of Eternity had occupied almost half of the space. In the end, Andoine was forced to clear out several magic books from it.
And at this time, Lin Li held the Dragon's Eye in his hand.
To him, this was the best choice.
Compared with the giant Crystal of Eternity that was filled with an upstart temperament, this Dragon's Eye was much more low-key. It was yellow and slightly dim. It might be mistaken for an amber stone by someone who had no knowledge of gemstones.
Only those who really knew magical gemstones understood the huge gap between the two gemstones.
The amber stones were usually used by mage apprentices because they were too weak to control the mana contained in the magical crystals. Therefore, ordinary mage apprentices used mageweaths set on the magical staff to control the mana contained in amber stones. This control was simple, and did not require too much skill.
The Dragon's Eye was at the other end of the pole.
Especially the one before them—it was so big that it was scary. Lin Li was almost certain that it contained a spell of at least a Magic Shooter level!
Lin Li had already thought about it—it was impossible to set such a large Dragon's Eye on a ring. He'd probably have to try on a staff when he returned. Anyway, magical crystals were of little significance to him; they were only a source of mana. To a monster with infinite mana like him, whether the staff was inlaid with a magical crystal or not made no big difference.
So, for a long time, Lin Li seldom used the magic staff. The reason why he always carried the Winter Staff was merely to make himself look more like a mage.
However, if the magical crystal was replaced by the Dragon's Eye, then things would be different. That was some real combat effectiveness—if used skillfully, one could even defeat an Archmage.
"As for this…" Lin Li picked up the Heart of Gaia after putting the Dragon's Eye into the Ring of Endless Storm. This defensive gemstone could only belong to Sean…
"I'll keep it first. I'll help you blend it into the armor when we get back."
"Orh…" With Sean's knowledge, how could he know what the Heart of Gaia was? He only knew that anything Mr Felic said couldn't be wrong…
The three precious accompanying gemstones were distributed. As for the pile of Et
ernal Adamantine on the ground, nothing more had to be said about it—Lin Li had swept them all into the Ring of Endless Storm.
Watching Lin Li made a sweep of the mineral stones, Andoine had the urge to curse him.
This was perhaps what was meant by "comparisons are odious"…
He was a legendary figure to say the least, but the spatial ring he had was so miserable—he had barely managed to stuff in just a piece of Crystal of Eternity. And look at this kid—the Ring of Endless Storm he had was like a bottomless pit. He could still load it with mineral stones after putting the gemstone in. If it hadn't been impossible to move the cave, the kid would have packed the whole cave into the ring.
With the Ring of Endless Storm in hand, the speed at which Lin Li swept through the mineral stones was simply astounding.
It took him only a few minutes to sweep away the Eternal Adamantine piled up all over the place a moment ago. As the last of it was put into the Ring of Endless Storm, Lin Li rubbed his sore arm, and was about to stop for breath when he suddenly noticed that there seemed to be something shining in the rubble under his feet.
This pile of rubble was located in the center of the previous vein. The whole vein had been blown up by five Air Bomb scrolls. At this time, the stones piled on the ground were those that were connected with the vein.
"Another accompanying gemstone?" Lin Li started in surprise. He hadn't expected that after coming across three of the best gemstones, there was another one waiting for him in the rubble heap.
Lin Li had quickly forgotten his sore arm in the face of this unexpected surprise. He bent down in a hurry, and moved the rocks away with his hands; soon, the shining thing showed its true self.
What lay beneath the rubble was not the accompanying gemstone he'd expected, but a glittering and translucent crystal.
It was a common crystal. It had neither a magical wave nor elemental power. Lin Li could clearly sense that it was no different from the crystal jewelry from the jewelry stores.
To be honest, Lin Li was rather disappointed.
