Another World’s Versatile Crafting Master c1-1074

by Zhuang Bifan

  Gavin continued his daydreaming as he followed Lin Li into the Tower of Dusk…

  Gavin was immersed in his daydream, and was completely unaware of his future fate as well as what kind of lunatic he was following at the moment…

  Lin Li carried out their registration as members personally. To be honest, he was in a pretty good mood. They were the first members of the Tower of Dusk, which meant that the Tower of Dusk was no longer empty now—the Guild of Magic was properly established, even though this was all due to Basel. From their previous conversation, Lin Li knew that Basel was heavily regarded by all these mages, and if he were to ever fall out with Basel, the majority of those members of the Tower of Dusk would not hesitate to attack him with magic, while the rest would most likely be chanting away…

  Chapter 355 - Rectifying A Mistake

  Lin Li was not concerned about that, however, as he knew this was only temporary. Such was the world—even the most unyielding of faith would not be able to stand the test of time. Their respect and gratitude for Basel was nowhere near the devotion that the lunatic followers of Brilliance Shrine had. With a bit of time, Lin Li was sure he could change their minds…

  Of course, he would have to pull some tricks, and he would need an appropriate opportunity as well…

  As for a breaking point, he knew it would be Gavin. He was the most ambitious of the group, and Lin Li could clearly tell from their conversation that he was deliberately trying to be polite and fawn over Lin Li. He clearly did not think much of Lin Li yet he tried to downplay himself. What did it say? It meant that he had something to ask of the Guild of Magic.

  His ambition and greed were weak points Lin Li could make use of. Lin Li welcomed such ambitious fellows as they were like greedy magical beasts, willing to put their lives on the line for a random carrot even without a stick.

  And Lin Li was nowhere near short of carrots…

  Lin Li twisted the Ring of Endless Storm on his finger. It seems like it is time to churn out some medicine…

  After settling down the first batch of new members, it was nearly evening, and the sun was setting as the last ray of sunlight fell on the balcony of the Tower of Dusk. Lin Li stood quietly next to the crystal ball as he contemplated the inauguration ceremony in three days and how he was going to win Basel's men over.

  At this moment, a flurry of footsteps came from the door.

  "Mage Felic… Mage Felic… I… I beg of you, please save my father…" Just as Lin Li was becoming suspicious, a young man covered in blood rushed through the door.

  "Garso?" Lin Li felt his heart skip a beat when he recognized the young man. He was Uncle Salatt's son, the thug from Doland, Garso. Lin Li panicked. He hurriedly helped Garso sit down as he checked his injuries, and asked, "What happened to Uncle Salatt?"

  "My father… he was injured by the Syer Bandits, heavily injured… Mage Felic, I… I beg of you, hurry and save him…"

  "What happened exactly?"

  "Just now… my father and I were going to have our meal just now when a group of men suddenly barged into our house, they… they said they were from the Syer Bandits, and were looking for the mage who injured their men. They asked father where you were, but father refused to tell them, so they…"

  Lin Li checked Garso's injuries and realized they were all superficial injuries. While they looked serious, his internal organs were not injured. Lin Li let out a breath of relief, and retrieved a Recovery Potion from his pocket as he called Gavin over. "Gavin, could you come over? Please look after him. I have some matters I have to attend to in Black Clouds Town."

  "Alright, President Felic…"

  Lin Li was already clenching his fists as he stood up, but then another flurry of footsteps could be heard from the door. It was louder and messier this time—it seemed like a group of men was rushing to the Tower of Dusk.

  "Looks like I don't need to make a trip…" Lin Li stopped as he passed the Recovery Potion to Gavin. "I'll go receive some guests, help me make sure he drinks this."

  Sunlight fell on Lin Li as he stood outside the tower. Not far ahead, about a dozen men were rushing over. They were already nearing, and Lin Li could clearly see that most of them were armed and looked ferocious. One look and he could tell that these people killed for a living.

  Lin Li was not worried about them, however. He was more concerned about the blood-covered old man in the middle of the group.

  "I heard you were looking for me?" Lin Li stood outside the tower with a smile.

  "It's this fellow, Captain Pierre! This fellow injured us and stole our clothes!" someone from the group shouted immediately after hearing Lin Li's voice. From afar, Lin Li found the man familiar, and after taking a close look, he realized something: wasn't he one of the bandits he forced to run around n.a.k.e.d in Black Clouds Town?

  "You're Felic?" The groups of bandits surrounded the tower's door. Their leader was a buff man in his forties; with a thick beard and hairy c.h.e.s.t, he looked just like a bear standing on two legs.

  "That's right, I am Felic." Lin Li nodded his head as his gaze skimmed past the bear and fell on the old man. "I thought the Syer Bandits were reputable, how come you have resorted to kidnapping old men?"

  "Pfft, this old man is not worthy of our abduction." The bear spat on the ground, disdain evident on his tanned face. "We merely wanted to know your whereabouts, but who knew this old fellow did not know what's good for him—he did not tell us, and even bit me. If I did not teach him a lesson, how can I survive in the Breezy Plains? But this guy is pretty tough, I beat him up for half an hour, yet he still refused to speak. Thankfully, his son is stupid enough, and brought me here after I pulled some tricks…"

  "Is that so…" Lin Li continued smiling as though he was looking at a group of neighbors instead of armed bandits. "You went to such lengths to ask about my whereabouts? Isn't that a little too much?"

  "Cut your crap, I have no time for your nonsense. I'm here today to inform you that you're in luck, kid, my boss wants to meet you!"

  "You mean Vanskore?" Lin Li paused when he heard this. He had thought that these men were here to seek revenge, but in the end, it was because Vanskore wanted to meet him.

  "Good that you know, my boss said that he will be waiting for you in the Dragon Mountains. If you don't turn up, you know what will happen…" Pierre left a fierce warning before he waved his hand for his men to release Old Salatt. He thought for a while, and threw a few gold coins in front of Old Salatt. "Take this as compensation for this old fellow. Actually, I did not want to beat him up, but he was too stubborn for his own good. Damn it, I'll pay for his medical bills. Right, my boss said to ask you when you'll be going. We'll send a carriage for you…"

  "Gavin, please help Uncle Salatt over."

  "Sure, President Felic."

  When Gavin brought Old Salatt over, Lin Li carefully surveyed his injuries.

  It'd seem like the bear was right—he did beat Old Salatt up for half an hour, so the latter was more heavily injured than Garso. One of his arms was broken, and his internal organs were heavily injured as well. If he did not receive immediate treatment, he might not last the night.

  Lin Li hurriedly retrieved a bottle of Recovery Potion, and had Gavin bring him a glass of water from the tower before he mixed the potion with it and carefully fed it to Old Salatt. After the latter downed a bottle of the Recovery Potion, some color returned to his pale face, and his bloody wounds started to close. Only, his injuries were too heavy, and even with the magical healing powers of the Recovery Potion, he would still require some rest to completely recover.

  Lin Li held the unconscious Old Salatt, and silently regretted being too soft the first time. He had stolen the bandits' clothes but only killed one of them. If he had been harsher back then, perhaps this would not have happened.

  Thankfully, he had the chance to rectify his mistake today…

  "Hey kid, are you done? I have no time to waste on you, I still need to report back to my boss after you give
me your answer!"

  "I'm sorry, Captain Pierre, I regret to inform you that…" Lin Li slowly stood up, not a trace of a smile on his face now. "You're not going back…"

  "Bastard, how dare you toy with me!!" Pierre was famous amongst the Syer Bandits for his bad temper, and only wasted his time on this young mage because of his boss' orders—he even compensated the old man—only to find out that he was toyed with. How could he take this insult given his bad temper?

  "Go, damn it, all of you attack, tear down this tower!" Pierre waved his machete, but in his rage, he retained a bit of rationality and remembered his boss' orders. "Right, leave that bastard, boss wants him alive!"

  The group of bandits rushed ahead following Pierre's orders, brandishing their weapons. Even Gavin was somewhat worried—he could deal with them without a problem as an Archmage, but he was worried that they might hurt President Felic. How would he answer to Mr Basel then…?

  Chapter 356 - Death Frost

  Gavin was an Archmage, however, and had always been carrying out missions for the Adventurers Guild, so he was the most experienced in fights out of all the mages in Doland's library. Thus, he quickly made a decision after a moment's pause. He raised his magic staff and conjured a shield in front of them before he tugged at Lin Li. "President Felic, let's retreat first…"

  Gavin originally wanted to drag the young President into the tower. While no defense had been laid down, it was still better than facing a dozen Bandits.

  But Gavin did not complete his sentence before his voice trailed off…

  He suddenly felt a terrifying magical wave around him.

  There was no premonition nor any sign as the previously calm magical elements suddenly turned violent without reason. It felt like a storm brewing suddenly on a sunny day as dark clouds gathered and thunder roared all of a sudden. The torrential magical wave was brewing a storm outside the Tower of Dusk like a surging wave!

  "What's going on?" Gavin paused before he suddenly remembered something, and whipped his head around…

  Then, Gavin paled in shock…

  Gavin clearly saw the young President standing beside him and raising his magic staff as he chanted indiscernibly. The torrential magical wave had come from him! Gavin could not believe his eyes. He just could not believe that this young man who looked frail and somewhat pale and always had a warm smile on his face could wield such powerful magic…

  Not only Gavin could not believe his eyes—the bandits could not, either. They waved their machetes wildly and cursed filthily as they tried to pounce on the young mage, only to realize to their horror that they could not take a step further no matter how much they tried to…

  This was because their legs were sealed in ice.

  The sun had yet to set in the west, and the evening sky was painted red. Some sunlight still fell on them, and they could feel its warmth still. Yet, outside the door of the Tower of Dusk, there was a thick layer of ice that not only froze the earth, but their legs as well—this strange sight left everybody's skin crawling…

  Gavin paled…

  This was level-16 magic, Death Frost!

  Even he had only started learning it two months ago, and had only managed to remember the chant. As for the working of the magic, he was still in the midst of figuring it out. Yet, this young mage was able to unleash it so easily…

  Could a young mage in his twenties really be capable of such magic?

  "Thank you for giving me the chance to rectify a mistake…" A polite and warm smile remained on the young mage's face, but this smile was scarier than a magical beast brandishing its claws and teeth in the eyes of the bandits.

  "What… what do you want?" Pierre gulped. Perhaps to mask his fear, or maybe because he remembered Vanskore's bidding, this beefy captain mustered the last burst of courage in his life. "I-I-I… I'm warning you, don't do anything weird… If you kill us, my boss will avenge us for sure!"

  "You don't have to worry about such things…" The young mage continued smiling as though he was not facing ferocious bandits, but waving hello to his neighbors. However, in the midst of this conversation, a slicing sound made everyone's hearts clench.

  All they could see was the splatter of blood before the beefy bear collapsed like a rag doll…

  Everyone outside the Tower of Dusk was scared out of their wits as their eyes fell onto the body of Pierre. Nobody could believe that the powerful Pierre had died just like that…

  The sight before their eyes was undoubtedly real, however, and they could not refute it. The wound on Pierre was not big, merely a slit on his throat like that of a strangle mark, yet blood gushed from it like water out of a broken dam, spurting out of the thin wound. It was only a moment before the crystal-clear ice was dyed a scarlet red…

  "My God…" Gavin could not help hissing sharply as he took in a breath. Only he knew what had truly happened…

  That was a light and thin Wind Blade—only a light touch, and it had slit Pierre's throat. The one who had unleashed the Wind Blade was none other than the smiley President.

  Gavin stared blankly as he felt his skin crawl.

  Gavin only realized then that the seemingly mild and polite young President was a ruthless killer.

  He did not offer bandits a chance to explain themselves or plead. Instead, he had turned a person into a corpse with a wave of his hand. He was basically a cold-blooded beast, and even though Gavin had killed countless magical beasts and seen countless bloodshed, Gavin still paled at the sight of this young President's cold-blooded killing.

  He should not be a mage; he should have been an assassin, or even an executioner!

  At that point, Gavin suddenly realized that his previous thoughts were beyond naive…

  He had to be blind to think that this young President would be a pushover. To think that he'd thought of using his age as a weakness to try and control the Guild of Magic… It sounded ridiculous now—how could such a person be a pushover? Thankfully, he had merely thought of it, and did not expose his intention, or else the corpse lying on the ground might well have been him…

  No wonder Mr Basel had repeatedly warned him not to go against President Felic.

  He had thought that Mr Basel did not dare go against the Supreme Council, but now he knew that this was out of concern for his life…

  "Gavin, come give me a hand and help Uncle Salatt in." Lin Li showed no change in his expression after he sliced Pierre's throat with a Wind Blade as though it was something he did all the time. He only rushed Gavin to help him as he supported the unconscious Old Salatt.

  "Yes…" Gavin finally came to his senses after Lin Li spoke to him, and stretched out his hand to support Old Salatt before slowly helping him into the tower.

  "As for all of you…" After handing Old Salatt to Gavin, Lin Li turned his head around, and smiled at the bandits who were still terrified out of their souls.

  Pierre's death still loomed over them, and as the cold-blooded sadist stared at them, even the bravest of bandits could not take the immense pressure.

  "Have mercy, Mr Mage…"

  "Yeah, please spare us, Mr Mage, we were forced to do this…"

  "Yes, yes, yes, that bastard Pierre forced us to do this. Mr Mage, just treat it as charity and let us go…"

  Sounds of pleading were the only thing one could hear as the ferocious bandits hurried to bow before Lin Li. If not for their legs being sealed by the ice, they would have rushed to kneel before Lin Li to cry for mercy.

  "I do want to let you off…" Lin Li slowly raised his magic staff as the bandits looked on in despair. "Unfortunately, I only need one of you to bring the message.."

  Then, the Dragon's Eye on the magic staff glowed…

  "My God…" Gavin had just settled Old Salatt, and came back intending to ask President Felic if he needed help when he saw the chilling scene.

  The Dragon's Eye on the magic staff glowed, and the magical wave that made him tremble filled the air once again. A cracking sound later, the once stagnant
ice seemed to come to life and spread out on the bandits' bodies. The ice climbed up their legs and to their c.h.e.s.ts before engulfing them completely; it was only a moment before there were more than a dozen life-like ice sculptures at the door of the Tower of Dusk.

  Fear was evident in Gavin's eyes as he covered his mouth with his hands, scared to make a sound. Even in his worst nightmares, Gavin had not imagined such a scary sight; he was even somewhat angry at Mr Basel for recommending him here. Did he not know that this fellow was a ruthless executioner?

  Gavin could not believe it. What would happen to him if he offended this fellow one day? He always prided himself on his magic, but even that would be of no use to guarantee his life. Before this young President who wielded the Death Frost so easily, his own magic seemed like child's play.

  Chapter 357 - Vanskore

  Of course, Lin Li noticed Gavin's fear. His previous actions had to have worried the ambitious Archmage…

  However, Lin Li had no intention of explaining himself. He lived in Black Clouds Town and was far more aware of what kind of group the Syer Bandits were as compared to someone who spent their time in Doland's library. They were true bandits who engaged in arson and robbery, and there was no crime they had yet to commit. They attacked villages and robbed merchants for years, and everyone of them had at least a dozen lives on their hands, most of which were defenseless civilians!

  This was what truly infuriated Lin Li!

  In Lin Li's eyes, they were inhumane for harming civilians. Thus, killing them was no more than exterminating magical beasts, and he did not feel guilty about it at all. Moreover, they harmed Old Salatt, who was his neighbor for two months, an Old Salatt who gave him a share whenever he made something to eat. Lin Li could not forgive them based on that alone…