Another World’s Versatile Crafting Master c1-1074

by Zhuang Bifan

  Connoris was right regarding the part about devouring the Crimson Dragon's soul, however. While it was not Mephistos who taught him that, Lin Li did learn it from him. The Lord of Souls soul fragment was sealed in the Summoning Lamp, anyway, and thus it was easy to retrieve information from it. The main reason why he chose to kill the Crimson Dragon by having its soul devoured was because he did not want to lose the valuable dragon blood. In such an environment that was densely filled with fire element, the dragon's blood would instantly be swallowed by the fire element before Lin Li could contain it in a flask.

  "This Crimson Dragon's body is a real treasure, don't waste it!" Connoris was not bothered by the fact that he did not receive a reply from Lin Li, once again being in awe of Lin Li's luck.

  "Duh. Why else do you think I went to such great trouble to deal with it?" Lin Li stretched out his hand to tap at the Crimson Dragon's body. This was a priceless treasure indeed, and it was a blessing for it to end up in Lin Li's hands. If it were to land in someone else's hands, one mistake in handling it would have been a great insult to something so valuable. Only someone like him who was a Master in almost every profession there was could skin and debone the Crimson Dragon's carcass properly without damaging it.

  Lin Li was not exaggerating at all. As the Crimson Dragon's carcass was very valuable, the methods needed to process the carcass properly were also very specific. It was not as easy as simply butchering a pig. He circled the carcass delightedly as he already started planning what he was going to do with it, deciding which parts would be best used to make potions, and which would be best used as ingredients for mageweaths or magical enchantments.

  "You think I don't know what you're thinking? You're thinking that only you're able to make full use of this based on your capabilities, and that only in your hands would this not go to waste, right?" Connoris said with a tinge of mockery in his voice.

  Lin Li stopped before saying, "Why, am I wrong?" He did not think that anyone else in the world was more resourceful and knowledgeable than he was. Even if someone were to learn about every field, could they reach the level of a Master like he had? The only way he managed to become a Master at every aspect was thanks to the heaven-defying scroll of Wishes.

  "I knew it. Well, it's just tearing things into pieces; how much better do you think you can do compared to someone else?" Connoris responded condescendingly instead.

  "You mean that you have a better idea?" Lin Li had always been quick to lower his stance as long as he had something to gain from it.

  "Don't you have a Humerus Wyrm sealed in that Summoning Lamp? It was quite a decent helper to you in the past, but it has become increasingly obsolete now. It is still a Humerus Wyrm, though, and after losing the powerful body of the dragon it also lost much of its power and all its potential to evolve. Now that you have the Crimson Dragon's body, things will change." Lin Li did not have to press further now, as Connoris would willingly offer any information that'd benefit Lin Li now. This was because he understood Lin Li's personality very well after spending so much time together.

  It was no use forcing him or threatening him for help. Only if you willingly helped him and had Lin Li owe you a favor would he be forced to keep your matters in mind. This was what Connoris concluded after spending time with Lin Li.

  It was all very simple indeed. If you wanted others to respect you, then you had to learn to respect others first. It was something easy to understand, yet not many were capable of actually doing it.

  "What do you mean? You…" Lin Li was taken aback, and quickly asked, "You're saying that the Humerus Wyrm can take on another body?"

  The truth was exactly like what Connoris had said. While the Humerus Wyrm sealed in the Summoning Lamp was a level-20, it was not very useful in a situation like the one earlier. The Humerus Wyrm's level did not reflect its power as it did not have the protection of scales and the powerful strength that a fleshly body would have. It was merely a rack of bones, or perhaps like an enlarged Skeletal Warrior.

  Hence, it was kind of tricky to use the Humerus Wyrm now. It was not of much help, yet it pained Lin Li to see it destroyed—a level-20 Humerus Wyrm was hard to come by, after all. But if he were to keep it and not use it, wouldn't it be as good as not having it?

  "Of course!" Connoris said proudly. "Don't forget that I used to be an ancient deity. The magic we used then is far beyond what you can imagine now. It is nothing much to transfer a creature's soul into another body. Why else do you think I asked for you help in creating a new body?"

  "Oh? Then what do I do now?" Lin Li's interest was piqued, for even though the Humerus Wyrm was intimidating, it did not have a good image. If he were to pose as the reincarnation of the Holy Light in the Brilliance Shrine, it would not look good on him. It would be much grander if he could summon a real dragon, but a Wyrm was too proud to sign a servant contract with a human, and thus giving a Humerus Wyrm a dragon's body was the next best thing he could do.

  "It's very simple and you don't have to do anything. Just hand the Humerus Wyrm and the Crimson Dragon to me and I'll see to it. Just wait until you can summon a real Crimson Dragon to scare others," Connoris said confidently while he thought to himself that this would be preparation for himself in the future.

  "Alright, I'll leave it to you, then." Lin Li removed the chains on the Crimson Dragon before placing the whole carcass into the Ring of Endless Storm. He did not discard the chains, for they could shackle a Wyrm, and thus had to be made of high-quality materials.

  Lin Li glanced around and saw that there was nothing more that he could take; thus, he stomped on the black stone platform beneath him indignantly. It was capable of turning the Crimson Dragon's power into a power source for the magical traps in the whole underground palace, so it had to be made of expensive materials too.

  "BOOM!"

  The entire platform was placed into the Ring of Endless Storm, and the lava immediately flowed out in its place, creating a majestic whirlpool of lava.

  "You really don't let anything of the tiniest bit of value go, do you?" Connoris could not bear to watch this anymore. This kid was worth millions; he had the Eternal Furnace and the Palace of Darkness, and there were so many treasures waiting to be collected in this underground palace, yet he had to take this stone platform too.

  "Without the Crimson Dragon, the magical traps here would be useless. It will be a waste to leave this platform here then, and it's a shame to be wasteful. Since I can take it away, it might be of use in the future," Lin Li said nonchalantly as he flew towards the entrance of the cave.

  "Fine. There's nobody here now, but don't do this in front of anyone in the future. It's too embarrassing!" Connoris could not help but feel embarrassed for Lin Li. What do you mean it's a shame to be wasteful? Are you that broke? Why do you have to take everything from this place?

  "Who cares what others think as long as I get what I want?" Lin Li pursed his lips in annoyance.

  Lin Li returned to the bas.e.m.e.nt filled with junk after going along the secret tunnel. Ujfalusi and Norfeller hurriedly rushed to welcome their master when they saw him emerge from the secret tunnel. One of the had a blood-oath with him, while the other had a Soul Contract, so the magical wave that came from the secret door nearly scared them out of their minds.

  "What happened to the two of you…?" Lin Li was in shock too as Ujfalusi and Norfeller looked somewhat disheveled. Their clothes had many tears, and the stuff that littered the bas.e.m.e.nt seemed to have been swept by a typhoon.

  "Master, we don't know what happened, either. We were attacked not long after that strong magical wave disappeared," Ujfalusi said with a confused face.

  "Oh, I see." Lin Li immediately knew that this was yet another sinister trap laid by Osric. Since somebody had destroyed the main power source on the inside, then there'd be another one-time attack by the other traps outside to take the people waiting there by surprise. Ujfalusi was nearly Legendary, while Norfeller triumphed in his speed; hence, while the
trap left them a little disheveled, it did not cause them much harm. If it were a large group of men searching this underground palace, then the losses would be serious.

  Chapter 497 - Polar Snow and Raging Flames

  Now that the magical trap had been destroyed, there was nothing else in this underground palace besides Rodhart that could stop Lin Li from taking whatever he wanted, and nobody knew if Rodhart was alive or dead. As Lin Li left the bas.e.m.e.nt with his two Undead servants, the underground palace looked nothing like it had before.

  Firstly, all of the lights had dimmed, and without light, the underground palace was plunged into darkness. It seemed like these magical lamps were also powered by the Crimson Dragon which was the core energy source. It was easy to understand why it looked so dim as though it was lacking energy before. Anyone would struggle at first if they were captured and then their fight would gradually die down, and if anyone touched the trap, then there would be a way for them to stimulate the trap to start working.

  Even though they knew that their master had destroyed the magical traps' mechanism, Ujfalusi and Norfeller were still shocked when they saw the situation in the palace. It seemed like many of the magical traps had been activated as the locations of all the traps were revealed. It did not feel like much to them when they were in the bas.e.m.e.nt, but now that they were looking at it, they could not help the chill that ran down their spines.

  Now, everything they were looking at was theirs! Nobody would mind getting too much money, and even though Lin Li had already gained a lot from the Throne of Darkness, he was still in a good mood to have another large sum of money going into his pockets.

  As he had already scanned the place using a Warlock's Eyes previously, Lin Li knew where everything was located, and thus he did not have to search any further. He merely led his two servants around from place to place, gathering everything they saw and placing it in the Ring of Endless Storm.

  He could contain the entire underground palace with the Ring of Endless Storm, much less just the treasures. However, Lin Li was not that in need of money, and thus he decided to have mercy and leave the underground palace whole. The same could not be said for the things that he could move; not even a chair was spared as everything went into the Ring of Endless Storm.

  Ujfalusi and Norfeller were servants, and thus could not comment much on what their master was doing. On the other hand, Connoris had had enough, and was screaming in Lin Li's mind by now. "Hey kid, you're too much! How is that chair of value to you?"

  "What do you know? This is an antique. Do you know how much Elven-style furniture is worth on the market?" Lin Li casually pocketed a bookshelf, and just like that he emptied yet another house.

  "Are you short of that money?" Connoris asked incredulously.

  "I didn't say I was going to sell it. Anyway, the Tower of Dusk needs this furniture, so I might as well let them use it. Which other Guild of Magic would be able to use only Elven-style furniture like us?" Lin Li replied delightedly.

  Lin Li did not think much of it at first, as he simply wanted to collect everything he saw. Besides, the furniture was very beautiful, so it would be a waste to leave it here anyway. However, after he gave Connoris a few patronizing replies, he realized that his idea was in fact a pretty decent one. If he wanted to attract more mages to join the Tower of Dusk, then he not only had to provide them with impeccable magical equipment and precious potions, he also had to make sure that their learning environment was comfortable.

  That was especially the case for a Guild of Magic, which was actually a very loose organization as opposed to a closely knit one. If he wanted to increase the mages' sense of belonging, then just providing them with material benefits was not enough—building upon their mental well-being was important too, hence why having a Legendary-mage as the president was so influential: it meant that joining would give them a chance to be taught by a Legendary-mage. Having an elegant environment was also important for the mages as it would soothe their minds and increase their productivity at work.

  Even though the High Elves were cruel dictators and were overthrown by humans as a result, nobody could refute the fact that they had an understanding of the word "elegance" like no other. Every artifact left behind by the High Elves was a masterpiece highly valued by everyone. Many people, even mages, thought that owning a piece of Elven-style furniture was something to be proud of.

  Now, if all the furniture used in the Tower of Dusk was of the Elven-style, it would become a lethal temptation to many mages. Nobody would refuse an elegant environment to work and learn in, and when they truly liked a place, that was when they'd start to develop a sense of belonging.

  "Alright, you always have a reason for things." Connoris admitted defeat. Nobody knew that he was with this fellow anyway, and even if it was embarrassing, it had nothing to do with Connoris.

  Various precious magical ingredients, powerful magical equipment, and the lost chants that were written in the High Elves Print were all collected and placed in the Ring of Endless Storm. Lin Li was like a locust swarm, devouring everything he could without leaving a single thing behind. Well, he had taken over the entire Throne of Darkness back in the Abyss of Tharlen, so he was actually showing Osric respect by leaving the underground palace be.

  After taking away everything, Lin Li led his two servants back to that wall again. Even after taking all that he had taken, it was the things here that were of the most value to Lin Li.

  Lin Li stretched out his hand and pressed a Magic-resistant Gem. When he took his hand away, the Magic-resistant Gem bounced off the wall. He gave a slight nod of his head before he told Norfeller, "See what I did just now? Take all these stones off."

  "Yes, Master." Norfeller's figure swerved, and a blurry figure could be seen gliding around the wall, accompanied by the sound of the Magic-resistant Gems bouncing off. He returned to Lin Li's side and handed over the bag filled with Magic-resistant Gem, the wall behind him b.a.r.e save for the hundreds of holes that were once outfitted with Magic-resistant Gems.

  Lin Li tapped the wall with his hands. These Magic-resistant Gems were no less valuable than the things he had collected earlier, but what could there be behind this wall? Without the Magic-resistant Gems, the powerful aura that seeped through the wall seemed even more powerful than that of the Crimson Dragon. Lin Li was not afraid, however. He even felt a sense of familiarity from that powerful strength.

  "You sure you want to knock down this wall?" Connoris asked with a bit of worry.

  Ujfalusi and Norfeller could not hear Connoris, but they were thinking the same thing as they looked at Lin Li questioningly. The energy waves that came from the other side made them tremble uncontrollably as they were well aware of the fact that they were incredibly insignificant in front of this powerful strength.

  "Don't worry, I know what to do," Lin Li said as he waved and cast a spell. The once hardy wall was now incredibly weak without the Magic-resistant Gems. With just a simple spell, the wall fell as easily as shattered glass. As the wall collapsed, it revealed a 1000 years old secret.

  What appeared before Lin Li and the rest was a place much more spacious than the underground cave that the Crimson Dragon was in. It was also a world that made everyone feel strange. There were frozen flames and burning snow; it was a world of fire and ice where large blocks of ice floated in lava. The two extreme forces were in conflict with each other as they continued to oppose each other, yet they were reborn again and again. They repeatedly suppressed each other, but strangely enough, none of them gained the upper hand.

  "This is…" Even Connoris was stunned. Two forces that could not coexist with each other but were trapped in the same place… What exactly was this Osric thinking?

  Lin Li lifted his head, only to see a stream of blue and a stream of red light zip across the sky, sometimes entangled with each other as they took turns to play catch.

  No wonder he felt a sense of familiarity from here. Lin Li was now sure that the two streams of li
ght that were chasing after each other were two of the seven pieces of debris of the stars—the Polar Snow which represented the water element and the Raging Flames which represented the fire element.

  That was right, that was it—the Polar Snow and Raging Flames! Lin Li's feelings were indescribable as he was shocked that the Polar Snow and the Raging Flames would be here. He was also trying to contain his emotions and felt a hint of nostalgia upon seeing them. He had once been in possession of them when he was still in another world. Now that he was seeing them again, he was already a true mage.

  The seven pieces of the debris of the stars contained the basic elemental Rules that the world was constructed of. Polar Snow and Raging Flames were also the two most powerful pieces of them. The Polar Snow contained the water elemental Rule, and as water had no fixed shape, the Polar Snow could take on many different forms. It could turn into tidal floods and swallow the earth, or become invisible frost to freeze up everything in the world. The Raging Flames contained the fire elemental Rule and was violent, using its strength to sweep through everything, leaving nothing but ashes in its wake.

  As the Polar Snow and the Raging Flames were two of his favorite pieces of the debris of the stars, many powerful magical beasts in the Endless World had died a horrible death to them. He had accomplished the highest-paying mission back in the Endless World thanks to the Polar Snow and Raging Flames, leaving behind a legend as he did so.

  While others thought that he had finished the mission with a tinge of a legendary flavor, Lin Li thought that there was much more he could have improved on.

  It had been a fight with a Magma Python that lived in the deeper parts of a volcano. As it lived in a scalding environment, it not only had powerful physical strength, but was also gifted with fire element magic of all kinds. Having spent years in magma, it was also covered by a hardy layer of crystallized armor, which not only protected it from ordinary weapons, but also made it very resistant to magic. Even striking at it with full force using a magical weapon could not break through the Magma Python's defenses.