Another World’s Versatile Crafting Master c1-1074

by Zhuang Bifan

  Doomed, doomed!

  Everything is really doomed!

  At this time, even Macklin, who always had extreme confidence in Lin Li, lost nearly all his hope. He had no choice. Matthias was too powerful. His might was beyond reasonable.

  "What should we do?" Macklin's voice shook. He could not stand it anymore. What if Felic were to die in the Aurora Square? It would bring a real tragedy to the entire Guild of Magic. Andoine's rage was not what the Guild of Magic could deal with.

  Macklin's gaze naturally landed onto Aldwin. Now, he could only wait for Aldwin to intervene in the battle once more. Or else, when Matthias had his fun from the cat and mouse game, it would be too late. Macklin had given up rooting for Felic to become the victor of the battle. No matter what, he needed to ensure the safety of Felic. He was too important to the Guild of Magic.

  "Let's wait first…" Aldwin replied as he shook his head gently. Although his voice was very low, his tone was filled with firmness.

  "Still wait?"

  "Don't worry, Felic still has chance."

  Apart from Macklin, the thousands of mages were also extremely nervous. Their hearts were at their throats while they waited for Matthias' attack. Now, even a fool could tell that Matthias had absolutely claimed the upper hand in the battle. One attack would suffice to defeat his opponent. However, after witnessing the miracles the Jarrosus mage had created for them, they were all secretly hoping for another miracle from him.

  The anticipation that was filled with contradiction made the competition become a torment for them.

  Finally, Matthias moved. He spread his black wings with force and swooped towards Lin Li. He was like a sharp arrow aiming at Lin Li's c.h.e.s.t.

  The Aurora Square fell silent immediately.

  Instantly, every one could see a fist landing roughly on Felic, causing him to fall on the ground. Immediately, they realized that it was just their imagination. Felic was not only unaffected by the punch, but he appeared behind Matthias almost immediately. He was as quick as the wind.

  What followed was a "POM!"

  No one expected that the first blow given by Felic would be a punch too!

  Matthias was stunned by the disappearance of his opponent. His attack was supposed to end the battle! When he realized what had happened, and wanted to attack, the fist of his opponent landed on his back like a bomb. Under the extreme impact, he felt as though he was torn into pieces…

  Then, Matthias was like a kite with a broken string. He fell from the sky at once.

  Chapter 277 - Hello, Jarrosus

  The battle concluded with the cheers. Lin Li waited for Kevin anxiously while he listened to Macklin nag by his ear.

  "Darn you, fella. How many times have I told you not to find trouble for yourself? Now that you did such a cruel thing, how would Wilhelm forgive you and Jarrosus?"

  "Alright, alright…" There were still many unsolved mysteries behind the attack of the Emerald Tower. Lin Li did not intend to tell that to the old man at all. He stood there obediently and listened to the old man nag. It was only when the old man's throat went dry from all the nagging that Lin Li interrupted, "Oh, yes. There's something I want to discuss with you…"

  "What is it?"

  "I am going back to Jarrosus tonight."

  "Huh? Why are you so rushed?"

  "Something happened to the Emerald Tower and Gerian asked me to return quickly."

  "Could you delay it?" Macklin frowned hesitantly. "The trial had just finished. The guild must have planned some celebration. If the main character is not here, how are we going to celebrate? Furthermore, your performance at the finals was historic! The Supreme Council is sure to reward you for that. If you leave, you are going to miss out on all the good stuff!"

  "I have no choice too. Gerian said it was urgent…" Lin Li pursed his lips and pushed the blame to Gerian.

  "Gerian, that bastard…"

  "Oh, yes. If I don't remember wrongly, the bet between the Guild of Magic and the Adventurers Guild should be after three months, right? Don't worry, I will think of a way to come back to Alanna no matter how busy I will be."

  When Herza announced the winner, the trial also came to an end. Aldwin said some scripted things to praise all the trial students for their performance, thank the Supreme Council, as well as the audience…

  When he waited for Kevin to come with the coach, Lin Li greeted the VIPs ceremoniously. Since they had met each other at the Pharmacists Guild, they were still familiar with each other. Especially so for Englos, Sendros, and Hoffman—they had rendered great help when Orrin got injured previously. How could he not greet them now?

  The VIPs were also extra friendly to him. Their tone when they called him "Master Felic" became sweeter and sweeter, especially Hoffman—after he heard that Lin Li was going to build a guild of magic in Breezy Plains, he smiled so hard that his eyes nearly closed. It was no joke to have such a powerful neighbor. As long as he could establish a good relationship with him, the Glittergold Trade Union would stand to benefit a lot.

  When Macklin saw such friendliness, he could not help but scold Hoffman under his breath for his opportunistic behavior.

  After greeting the VIPs, Herza had a long chat with Lin Li. It was nothing important, just regarding Lin Li's good performance in the finals, and telling him that the Supreme Council would be rewarding him for his efforts. At the same time, he also talked about the building of the new guild of magic. When he heard that Lin Li was returning to Jarrosus a while, he asked to know more.

  The conversation lasted for a good half an hour until the sound of hooves could be heard from the distance. Herza concluded the conversation by informing Lin Li that the Supreme Council would send one person in charge to Jarrosus, and that person would be assisting Lin Li in building the new guild of magic.

  Perhaps it was due to Lin Li eagerness to return home, but the trial ended haphazardly. After bidding goodbye to everyone there, Kevin's coach had entered the Aurora Square.

  "Goodbye, everyone!"

  Sean's strong build was like a magical beast, taking up more than half of the space in the coach. When he saw Lin Li come in, the good-natured man who had been gone for around a month suddenly became very nervous. "Felic… Mr. Felic…"

  "Good evening, Sean," Lin Li greeted Sean cheerfully. How could he not know the reason behind Sean's anxiety? That fella had to be afraid of him asking about his whereabouts during the past month.

  "Don't worry, I know that you promised someone and can't tell me anything. Rest assured, if you are not willing to say, I won't force you…" Lin Li said with a warm smile.

  "Thank you, Mr Felic."

  "Oh, yes. Sean, I see that you are close to level-14. Will it affect your breakthrough if you accompany me back to Jarrosus?"

  "N-nope."

  "That's great…"

  After speaking to Sean, Lin Li stuck his head out of the coach. "Kevin, did Ina not come with you?"

  "Yeah," Kevin replied as he nodded his head, and told Lin Li what happened.

  The matter was rather coincidental. When Kevin rented the coach in the afternoon, he went Alanna Guild of Magic to look for Sean who had just returned. Then, the two men followed Lin Li's request and traveled to the campsite of the Silver Hand. Yet, they could not see anyone at the campsite.

  It wasn't until they found an Adventurer that they knew that the Silver Hand had just taken on a huge mission. Everybody had left—except for no more than 10 low-level members, who stayed behind to guard the campsite.

  "I see…" Lin Li replied, and did not ask further. In reality, he actually felt that it was safe to leave Ina with the Silver Hand. Serena was a clever and sympathetic woman. Although it was not extremely safe to follow her, Ina wouldn't be at disadvantage.

  The three men took turns to drive the coach. They passed by the familiar Blackhills Town when it was nearly midnight. This time, Lin Li did not dare to stay over at the Blackhills Town. He had no choice. Once bitten, twice shy—every time he stay
ed at the Blackhills Town, there would be lives lost. Now that the Emerald Tower had a fire and nobody knew Gerian's whereabouts, how would Lin Li dare to waste his time here?

  The three men traveled through the night without stopping. Finally, they crossed the borders of Jarrosus before the sunset. Everything around them became very familiar. Lin Li looked out from the coach and saw the tip of the Emerald Tower clearly.

  "Jarrosus, I'm back."

  …

  After reaching his dear Jarrosus, the breath of the familiar air made Lin Li very anxious.

  "Let's return to the Emerald Tower first."

  "Alright, Mr. Felic." Sean shook the ropes in his hands, and they passed through the streets of Jarrosus. Everything in Jarrosus stayed the same. The Gilded Rose still had great business, and the Adventurers Guild was still bustling with activity…

  The only thing that was different was that it was a little too lively in the Emerald Tower today.

  Before the coach took a turn at the corner of the streets, Lin Li could hear an argument going on from afar. He immediately realized that the argument came from the Emerald Tower. Lin could not help but feel suspicious. He urged Sean to go faster. The hooves sounded as they passed through the streets. Not long after, they reached the base of the Emerald Tower.

  "What the hell is happening…" Lin Li grumbled as he saw the scene before him. There was a group of 30 men blocking the main entrance of the Emerald Tower. All of them were carrying weapons and had a fierce expression on their face. A fool would have known that they were not to be messed with.

  Something that made Lin Li very doubtful was the abilities of the troops standing there.

  Although all of them looked very threatening, there was only one powerful man among them. He was a level-10 Warrior. He had a long, deep scar on his face that resembled a disgusting earthworm. He was wearing the common rough leather armor of an Adventurer, and holding onto a delicate machete. He blocked the entrance of the Emerald Tower like a loan shark visiting his debtor.

  "What on earth is he trying to do?" Lin Li asked. He was surprised.

  Since the fall of the Merlin Family, the power of the Emerald Tower became unrivaled. Even the wealthy Mannis Family and the mysterious Saruman Family would not have dared to create trouble for the Emerald Tower.

  There was a saying: "a lean camel that dies of starvation is still bigger than a horse". In other words, the intrinsically superior were bound to outdo the inferior! Lin Li could not understand why a fire would cause the Emerald Tower to be the subject of gossips when it was still an impregnable force in Jarrosus. Since these men were not stronger than level-10, why were they here before the Emerald Tower?

  "F*ck, do you think the guild of magic now is still the guild of magic of the past? You morons, wake up now! Jarrosus has nothing to do with the guild of magic now. Even that old coward Gerian had escaped after the fire! What do you have to stop us?

  "Brothers, let's be like the Shadow's Nest, burn this useless Emerald Tower down again!"

  "Yes! Burn their den, and see if they will dare to be so c.o.c.ky!"

  "Hell yeah, I've always been tired of these morons!"

  "Let's do it! Who knows if that old turtle, Gerian, is hidden inside! Let's go and hand him over to the Shadow's Nest!"

  Scarface immediately got the raging support from his men. The over 30 men raised their weapons and ran towards the entrance of the Emerald Tower. There were only a few level-5 or level-6 young mages guarding the entrance of the Emerald Tower. How would they be able to deal with these bestial warriors?

  Although they had exerted all their strength, they were still pushed aside by the men. Seeing that they were about to enter the Emerald Tower, the young mages were so anxious that they sweated profusely.

  Chapter 278 - An End, A New Beginning

  Lin Li shook his head, and said nothing. He just muttered a spell, and countless red vines covered the Aurora Square like tide water.

  "It's the Blood-vine Spell again!"

  Before the audience could calm down, the crazy blood-vines grabbed Matthias' body. It was as though those blood-red vines had their own consciousness. The moment they caught onto Matthias' body, their prickles sunk into his flesh like leeches, s.u.c.k.i.n.g his sweet fresh blood hungrily.

  "AHHH…" Matthias let out a weak scream. It was as though he had his throat strangled by someone.

  The audience was dumbfounded. Everybody stared at that scene blankly. Aldwin shook his head, and a bitter smile surfaced on his face. This old man who had been managing the Alanna for decades felt that he was out of control for the first time. The battle was a disaster. Although he had already intervened in the flow of the finals, he could not change the end result.

  The silence in the Aurora Square was deafening. There was only sound from the growing blood-vines.

  A blood-vine that was filled with blood climbed around Matthias' neck. It was like a poisonous snake. Everyone could tell that if it were to tighten further, the heir of the Marathon Family would die in the Aurora Square.

  "Mage Felic, please let him go!" At this time, 10 warriors clad in armor burst out from the crowd. Their leader looked to be over 30 years of age and resembled Matthias.

  Lin Li suddenly remembered that he was the same man he'd met in the Fire Plume Ridge. That man was with Argus when they visited the Silver Hand to ask Serena about his whereabouts. Oh, yes. Serena told him that this man, named Gaud, was the cousin of Matthias, and the nephew of Wilhelm.

  The gravity of the situation made Gaud lose the cool he'd had back in the Fire Plume Ridge. He brought the team of warriors through the crowd and barged into the Aurora Square. The two judges who had been hiding in the corner got shoved away by the warriors.

  "Get off!"

  Gaud was aware that he was in the Aurora Square, and knew that it was the day of the finals. After bringing his team in, he only asked the judges to stand aside, and did nothing intrusive. The group of men in armor were also left at the edge of the Aurora Square. He walked up to Lin Li alone and stood a few meters in front of him.

  "Mage Felic, please think of Master Wilhelm and give Matthias a chance!"

  Lin Li glanced at him, and said nothing. He secretly dispersed his mental energy while scanning the four mageweaths that were tampered with by someone. At the same time, he controlled the strength of the blood-vines to ensure that they did not wrap Matthias too loosely or tightly. He let Matthias hang there lifelessly.

  "Mage Felic, you are a smart man. I'm sure you know that you gain nothing if you kill Matthias. You had already won this battle. Why are you creating more trouble for yourself?"

  Yet, Lin Li could not care about Gaud's patient advice. At this time, his gaze was on a sky-blue-colored streak of mageweath on his right. It was between a few cracked stone slabs, and at least 10 meters away from him.

  As the Guru of Inscription, Lin Li could tell straight away that it was a bipolar mageweath. Its mana was supported by two level-15 magic element crystals, namely ice and fire. It had a total of 33 magic nodes and 14 magic circuits. The reason for its existence was to balance out the clash between magic from the two elements.

  Within the area it covered, the impact of the magic would be minimized. While the same Flaming Storm could burn a cargo ship outside, it could only burn a long robe inside the area.

  However, when Lin Li's gaze fell onto the mageweath, he frowned. While there were indeed 33 magic nodes, there was a lack of the most crucial magic circuit. Lin Li remembered that there should be one more magic circuit near the source of the mana. This magic circuit would be the one that would ensure the balance between the ice and fire elements.

  This magic circuit was absolutely vital on the bipolar mageweath!

  Without it, the entire bipolar mageweath would be incredibly dangerous. It was difficult to stabilize the energy between ice and fire elements by itself. If the concentration of either magical element were to get higher than the critical point, the balance would be broken. Then, it w
ould engulf the person who cast the spell…

  "Darian is indeed a talent…" Lin Li muttered sarcastically. To be honest, at first, he did not believe such a narrow-minded man would be able to craft such a comprehensive conspiracy.

  Unfortunately, he had used in at the wrong place.

  To play tricks in front of an Inscription Master was insignificant. Lin Li did not need to do anything much on his side. He only need to release a small sense of mental energy to change the entire bipolar mageweath. In reality, Lin Li only tweaked the bite of mana effect brought about by the mana imbalance such that it became a magic sequence that would allow direct attacks…

  "Mage Felic…" Gaud drew a breath after realizing that Lin Li was not responsive to his persuasion. "Could you let Matthias down first? I'm afraid that those blood-vines might…"

  "Let him down? Sure…!" Lin Li raised the Aether Staff in his hand. A dark red glow flashed past. Immediately, the numerous blood-vines dispersed like snow under the sunlight.

  Matthias stood himself up with his staff. The loss of blood had made him really dizzy and weak.

  "Thank you…" Gaud thanked Lin Li after seeing the blood-red vines disappear and Matthias get down. He sighed, and just when he wanted to continue thanking him, he felt gentle magical waves around him.

  The magical waves were not vigorous. They were like ripples on the surface of a calm lake.

  The magical waves from Lin Li were not vigorous, but caused the imbalance of the ice and fire elements in such a s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e environment.

  At once, countless Wind Blades came flying in like butterflies.

  Matthias, who had just got away from the blood-vines, had no time to understand the situation. A Wind Blade slit his throat.

  "Mage Felic…" When Gaud realized something was amiss, and wanted to stop it, but it was too late. He could only watch while the Wind Blade cut Matthias' throat.