Chapter 1200: Stains
Seeing how smug Harquess was, Lin Li shook his head in amus.e.m.e.nt, and casually took out a bottle of ordinary starfish ink that was not comparable to the ink of the Octopus Clan. In fact, it should be one of the most common materials used for drawing mageweaths. If one wanted to use the starfish ink to draw mageweaths, they would often have to add other magic materials, and mix them together according to a certain formula before the ink could be used.
Lin Li didn’t take out the bottle of starfish ink with the intention to draw mageweaths. Instead, he tossed it towards the mageweath on the ground in front of the crowd. The ink bottle was shattered with a loud bang, and the ink inside that was contained in it splattered in all directions, instantly staining the Master-level mageweath.
Lin Li’s actions immediately stunned everyone, who felt that what he had done was simply too shameless. They thought that he was trying to ruin Harquess’ mageweath because he couldn’t draw a better mageweath himself. In their opinion, that was simply shameless!
“Y-you’re the president of a guild. How can you do such a shameless thing?!” Cantory snapped, unable to contain his anger anymore. He was initially extremely displeased with Lin Li. Seeing how shameless Lin Li was, he no longer cared about his manners and gentlemanliness.
The people around him also began pointing fingers at Lin Li, but they dared not go forward to hit him, because they felt that his strength was unfathomable. In particular, Harquess was considered the pride of the Sea Clan, so even if they didn’t dare to fight Lin Li, they still had the guts to criticize him.
However, after doing all of that, Lin Li did not even bother with those people, nor did he say anything more to Harquess. He simply headed straight back to Calicoli’s store, picked up the things he wanted to buy, including the box of Blood of the Sea G.o.d, and left after paying for them with some gold coins.
In the eyes of the people present, Lin Li’s actions were detestable and obnoxious. He had not only polluted and marred Master Harquess’ mageweath, because he was too incompetent to draw a good mageweath, he still had the cheek to take those items and leave self-righteously. They wondered, How can there be such a shameless person in this world? Even those despicable and scheming villains would at least pretend a little. This guy has got no shame at all!
At this moment, the people present suddenly became more agitated as they kept cursing at Lin Li who had already left. Since he was no longer there, they naturally dared to curse without restraint even though Lin Li was far more capable and stronger than them. However, they didn’t expect Lin Li, the young mage in his early twenties, to be a Sanctuary powerhouse.
At this juncture, Cantory obviously wouldn’t miss the opportunity to add fuel to the fire. Looking at the furious Harquess, he exclaimed, “Harquess, I’m so sorry, I should have considered that Felic is from a faraway countryside in the Breezy Plains, and has always been shameless and tyrannical. He never spares a thought for others regardless of what he does. To be honest, if it weren’t for the generosity of the king of my kingdom, I’m afraid I would have declared war on the Tower of Dusk!”
Cantory then began to rattle on and on, from how Lin Li had brutally destroyed the Fifth Fleet of the Gilded Kingdom over a trivial matter to how Lin Li had recently disrespected the Gilded Kingdom, and made a scene at the barracks of the royal guards. Of course, when talking about that matter, he also repeatedly emphasized how concerned the Gilded Kingdom was about the overall situation, and how he could not bear to see the Breezy Plains suffer. After all, those events were considered the dirty linen of the Gilded Kingdom, so he naturally had to explain why the kingdom had been tolerating Lin Li time and time again.
However, to everyone’s bewilderment, Harquess remained silent when Cantory told him all about Lin Li’s overbearing, despicable, and tyrannical behavior. He simply kept his eyes fixed on the marred mageweath on the ground.
Harquess was naturally furious about the fact that the mageweath he had created was married right after he had finished it! Be it when he was in the clan or in other places, his masterpieces would immediately be surrounded by plenty of people who would sing praises for his works right after they were completed and put on display. However, this time, his work was actually stained in front of everyone else, making him feel an urge to go out immediately and teach that human mage a lesson.
However, after taking a look at his mageweath which he thought was marred, the exasperated Harquess suddenly froze in place, and could not move at all. The stains should have looked extremely obvious, but when he looked at the stains, he suddenly felt that it seemed to somehow match the mageweath.
Deep down, Harquess did not think that the ink that Lin Li threw out casually would contain any kind of profound meaning. However, even with such thoughts, he still could not help but keep his eyes peeled to the mageweath.
No one noticed that the anger in Harquess’ eyes was gradually replaced by a somber look when his attention was drawn to the mageweath. Gradually, Harquess didn’t even realize that there was nothing else in his eyes, as it was as if all the clamor around him had gradually vanished. The only thing that existed was the marred mageweath and the stain on it.
After all, Harquess was a distinguished Master of Inscription, and even without the advantage of the natural talent of the Octopus Clan, his attainment in inscription was truly at Master-level. Although he was still in disbelief, he really felt that his mageweath seemed to have undergone an unexplainable change after the stain appeared.
Could it be that there is something mysterious about that stain?! With further observation, Harquess’ thoughts began to waver. At this point, he suddenly remembered a part of common sense that he had overlooked. If Lin Li had damaged his mageweath, the mageweath should have retaliated!
Mageweaths could not be destroyed easily, and if a mageweath could be damaged by a bottle of ink, there would be no point in the existence of the profession of inscription. If that were the case, whenever one encountered traps and defensive barriers made of mageweaths, they could break it easily with a bottle of ink.
In fact, not to mention splashing a bottle of ink, even if the mageweath was blasted by a powerful magic spell, it would not be destroyed as long as the power of the magic spell did not exceed the power of the mageweath. If one wanted to make the mageweath malfunction, they would have to have a deep understanding and profound mastery of the structure of the mageweath, its laws, and the way it worked. As with cracking magic gears, one would have to follow the correct steps to stop the operation of the power of the mageweath. Otherwise, it would definitely cause a strong counterattack of the mageweath.
The mageweath that Harquess created was truly at the level of a master, and once its power erupted, it would probably be enough to erase the Gift of the Sea market from the city. If Lin Li had really marred the mageweath with a random bottle of ink, the mageweath should have issued a powerful counterattack.
That sort of common sense was known not only to inscribers, but also the vast majority of people who knew nothing about inscriptions. Due to the fact that it was too common, the infuriated Harquess didn’t even think of it. In fact, even the people around him probably didn’t think of that ordinary issue, either.
With that strange feeling that arose within him, and after remembering that common-sense problem, Harquess couldn’t be calm anymore. Regardless of the effect that the stain had on the mageweath, the fact that it did not cause the mageweath to retaliate was enough to show that Lin Li was not simple!
With that thought in mind, Harquess couldn’t be bothered to be angry, either, as he channeled all his mental energy and attention on his work, truly committing his energy to studying the impact of the stain on the mageweath.
In Harquess’s opinion, although he could not tell anything at first, it was only because he did not think in that direction. Simply put, he had underestimated his opponent. With his attainments in the field of inscription, it should not be difficult to solve the issue if he really put effort into studying it carefully.
However, when Harquess really channelled his energy into trying to decipher the effects of the stain, he discovered that things seemed far from as simple as he thought. He was surprised to find that under the influence of that stain, the structure of his own mageweath, which was initially the most basic one, had changed into one that completely exceeded his knowledge.
Harquess originally thought that regardless of the changes, the change of the mageweath would not break free from the original framework. It would at most influence the original power of the mageweath by enhancing or reducing it. After all, things could not be added or removed from a formed mageweath easily.
However, Harquess now realized that he was somehow unable to recognize the mageweath that he had personally drawn. In other words, the mageweath had essentially become a completely new one in terms of its structure and its laws. If the original mageweath was offensive, the current one might be defensive. If the original mageweath had water attribute, the current one might have fire attribute or attributes of other elements.
What made Harquess even more stumped was that he was now unable to a.n.a.lyze the nature and power of this brand-new mageweath, which was actually his own mageweath that was altered by the ink. He had never seen any mageweath like the current one at all, and despite his deep knowledge of inscriptions, he could not a.n.a.lyze it.
At this point, Harquess knew that he had already lost. Regardless of whether Lin Li had really drawn a new mageweath in its entirety, the fact that the bottle of ink that he had casually tossed had resulted in a drastic change was enough to show that Lin Li’s attainments in the field of inscription were not something that he could compare to.
However, Harquess did not want to give up just like that. The more he could not a.n.a.lyze the mystery of this mageweath, the more he concentrated on it. As he was the most outstanding Master of Inscription among the young generation of the Octopus Clan, the pride within Harquess made him unable to bring himself to give up such a challenge easily.
On the other hand, in the opinion of the people beside him, especially Cantory, Harquess’ emotional changes from his initial fury, to his suppression of anger, and finally to the point of turning pale and shivering, were obviously a manifestation of anger.
Felic, you’re finally getting karma for your obnoxious and condescending behavior. This time, you’ve provoked a person whom you cannot afford to provoke! Cantory was secretly overjoyed, and he said to Harquess, “Harquess, don’t worry, I will testify for you regardless of where we go. Felic was being completely unreasonable. Not only was he incompetent, he even shamelessly stained your mageweath. We must make him apologize to you in person.”
Cantory thought that the next thing he and Harquess should do was to work together and think of a way to make things hard for Lin Li. However, he did not expect that despite everything he said, Harquess actually did not respond to him at all. It was as if he had not heard anything!
At this point, Harquess indeed didn’t hear what Cantory said, and it was as if all that was left in this world was the mageweath that he was looking at. However, even so, he couldn’t get any useful information out of the mageweath. In fact, he couldn’t even figure out the role of the mageweath, let alone the other deeper aspects.
At the same time, Harquess’ mental strength was being depleted at an alarming rate, as if the mageweath was a black hole that devoured mental strength. Even though a large amount of mental strength was fused with it, it did not result in any ripples.
Although Harquess’ mental strength was countless times greater than that of a normal person, it couldn’t withstand such a ma.s.sive consumption. After just a few minutes of watching, Harquess finally could not stand it any longer as he snapped out of his concentration, and stumbled backwards uncontrollably with a look of exhaustion on his face.
“Harquess, what’s the matter with you?!” exclaimed Cantory, who was standing right beside Harquess. He quickly reached out to hold Harquess while secretly rejoicing. I didn’t expect Harquess to be so narrow-minded to have been angered by Felic to such an extent. If the elders of the Octopus Clan saw this, they’d definitely go confront Felic and settle scores with him immediately!
However, Harquess still did not respond to Cantory. Instead, he took two steps forward and took out a 16-sided crystal from his arms. It was known as Memory Crystal, and could record some important images and store them for a long time.
Harquess had finally come to terms with reality, and figured out that the mageweath was not something he could understand and crack. Hence, he wanted to use the Memory Crystal to record the mageweath and bring it back to consult the elders about it. As he mouthed a silent incantation, the Memory Crystal flew out of his hand, and hovered above the mageweath. The faint rays of light spread out, and the mageweath was soon engraved on the Memory Crystal.