Chapter 196: Fusion
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Lin Li stood quietly in the Void Crack, and felt a powerful force that he’d never encountered before. The fusion that took place just now had given him countless fragments of memories and a strength that was beyond comparison. This strength not only came from the magical crystal of the fire dragon, but also came from the eternal furnace.
Only in this moment did Lin Li understand why Connoris said that if he were to obtain the heart, it would also mean that he had obtained the Eternal Furnace. It was because both the heart and the eternal furnace were a single ent.i.ty. The heart was the eternal furnace, and vice versa.
When Lin Li left his own Spiritual Brand on the gigantic heart, all the memories and power that had been acc.u.mulated by the Eternal Furnace for 1200 years had surged into the Brand Of Dusk like flood waters. This was a process that was repelling and swallowing one another. When the countless fragments of memories had been pieced together, they then formed a complete eternal furnace.
Although Connoris was the only one other than Osric to know of the Eternal Furnace’s existence, even this great soul trader did not know how dangerous the process was. The moment the countless memory fragments surged in, the a.s.sault on one’s mental strength was far beyond what a human could tolerate. Even Osric, the creator of the Eternal Furnace, might not be able to tolerate it.
Fortunately, Connoris met Lin Li. The mental strength that was almost unlimited had saved Lin Li’s life, avoiding the fate where Connoris would be trapped in the Ring of Endless Storm for an eternity.
When the swallowing and fusion had been completed, Lin Li became the owner of the Eternal Furnace.
It could also be said that Lin Li was the Eternal Furnace, and the Eternal Furnace was Lin Li. Through the connection between the Brand Of Dusk and the heart, there was no longer a distinction between him and this enormous sky fortress.
The only thing Li Li needed now was to control this power better.
This process might be long, but it was not incomprehensible, because all the methods and skills had filled his brain along with the countless of memory fragments.
“How is it, Connoris? Have you gotten used to the portal?” Lin Li opened the Ring of Endless Storm and took out the hammer that Connoris was residing in.
“What the h.e.l.l! You dare to treat a great soul trader in this manner!” Connoris was furious. If the hammer had a mouth, it would have bitten Lin Li.
“Am I not doing this for your own good…” Lin Li rubbed his nose; he seemed to feel awkward. He might have been in the wrong. The truth had proven that Connoris had not lied to him. However, it was still awkward. With the thickness of Lin Lin Li’s face, he quickly tossed this incident to the back of his mind. He smiled, and asked, “Oh, yes. Mr Connoris, I have two pieces of news, one good and one bad. Which one do you wanna hear first?”
“I want to hear the good news.” Connoris did not hesitate.
“Ok, then.” Lin Li smiled. “Good news is I have the Eternal Furnace under control.”
“That’s great, that’s great…” Connoris was trembling in excitement, and repeated “that’s great” twice before doubtfully asking, “What about the bad news?”
“The bad news…” Lin Li hesitated for a moment, and shrugged his shoulders. “The bad news is, currently there is no way for you to change a body.”
“Why!?” Connoris’ voice suddenly became really sharp. “Don’t forget that you’ve promised me!”
“F*ck, I didn’t forget!” Lin Li scolded harshly, but he calmed down soon after. He looked really helpless. “The problem is that with my current abilities, I can’t do it. I can’t do it, do you understand?”
“Then… Then what do we do?” It had finally had some hope, but it only got an “I can’t do it” in return. Connoris was about to burst into tears. “I have already been trapped in this d.a.m.ned hammer for 1200 years…”
“There is nothing I can do, blame it on Osric. It is in the domain of high level magic, and he even tampered with those core magic rules. Look at me carefully, do I look like a person with legendary power?” Lin Li felt unlucky thinking about it. Indeed, the memory fragments did contain information about using puppets to create life, but that was useless for Lin Li. The usage of many spells in the high level domain and the tampering of the core magic rules were not a domain that normal humans could set foot in. Legendary power was just a conservative estimation made by Lin Li. It would be more reliable to say that this requirement needed a few more levels…
“Then…”
“What then. Since you’ve already waited for 1200 years, waiting another few hundred years would not matter. Let me give you a suggestion since you are just idling around. Why not follow me? You could help me with forging as well. When I have breached the legendary realm, I will make you a new body. What do you think of this idea?” Lin Li smiled while speaking; he also glanced at Connoris….
Lin Li actually put in some thoughts about this…
No choice, the origin of Connoris was too tempting. It was a genuine demon.
And the home of demons was the legendary abyss.
All along, Lin Li was not a person full of desire. There were very few things that could pique his interest. This was especially so after coming to Anril. There were only two things that could interest him. One was to become stronger—this was the only way he could live a better life. The other was getting all sorts of rare materials like black lotus or infernal magic iron. For the sake of becoming stronger and obtaining more rare materials, he could go out of his way and do things that he would not normally do—for example, roping in a spirit that was trapped in a hammer.
The reason for doing so was because Connoris used to live in the Demon’s Abyss. This was crucial for Lin Li because other than being dangerous, it was also well known for producing goods in abundance. At least one-third of the rare materials that Lin Li dreamt of originated from the Demon’s Abyss!
Roping in Connoris was like roping in a guide. A decent guide in a place like the Demon’s Abyss would help prevent Lin Li from taking wrong path.
Therefore, Lin Li was very pa.s.sionate.
He was so pa.s.sionate that it made Connoris suspicious. “Wait for you to breach the Legendary Realm?”
“Is there a problem?”
“You’re a warrior…” Connoris whispered softly, but what it actually wanted to say was “F*ck, wait for you, a level-5 warrior, to breach the Legendary Realm? It would be more practical for me to sleep for another 1200 years….” Of course, Connoris smartly swallowed its words after he considered the ring that this fella was wearing.
“Speaking of this, I remembered that I forgot to tell you something.”
“What is it?” Connoris was stupefied.
Lin Li did not answer, but tightly grabbed Connoris in his right hand. Instantly, there was searing flame arising.
With the casting of Flaming Hands, it was so hot that Connoris immediately howled. “What the h.e.l.l, you ungrateful b.a.s.t.a.r.d. Are you trying to burn me to death?”
“This is what I forgot to tell you…” Lin Li took his time in putting Connoris down. At the same time, he flailed his right hand and put out the flames. “Do you still have any questions?”
“What the h.e.l.l, are you crazy…” Connoris grumbled for a while before realizing something. It asked with disbelief, “You, you, you… You are not a warrior?”
“Duh…”
It was almost instantly that Connoris became excited. “You’re a mage! No, no, no… Not a mage, at least an Archmage! What the h.e.l.l, what a young Archmage. How could it be?”
Towards the end, Connoris’ voice was so sharp that it seemed like it was being choked…
“It’s nothing much…” Lin Li sounded humble, but he could not conceal the smile on this face. There was no choice—even the city walls would not be able to resist it if he was lucky. Just now, when he branded his Spiritual Brand on the gigantic heart, his mental strength and the power of the Eternal Furnace had fused together. Even though he still couldn’t fully control this strength at the moment, that brief moment of contact had brought him a great benefit.
Lin Li estimated that his strength had risen by two levels, and he could clearly feel that it was not just his strength that had increased. There was even a breach in realms. This sensation was too distinct. The difference between a magic shooter and an archmage was like two separate worlds. With the status of an archmage, looking at a magic shooter was like an adult looking at a child…
Lin Li even felt that with his current strength, he was rather confident of defeating Argus if he were to be a.s.sa.s.sinated by him again. Furthermore, it’d be through a battle purely based on strength, and not through some other means.
Unfortunately, such a thing could only be thought of. Argus had already been destroyed. Even if Lin Li wanted to battle him fairly again, it was not going to happen.
“What the h.e.l.l, you’re really an archmage…”
“Do you believe me now?”
“Yes, yes, yes…” Connoris’ voice was full of exhilaration. The turn of events was too stimulating for it. From being filled with hope to being full of despair, and again from being full of despair to being filled with hope. Swinging back and forth was like being sent from heaven to h.e.l.l, and then from h.e.l.l back to heaven. If it had a choice, it would not want to experience it again…
“That’s great…” Lin Li nodded, and did not further excite it. “From now on, you are my private property. I am Felic, nice to meet you Mr Connoris.”
“Me too…” For unknown reasons, the smile on Lin Li’s face made Connoris feel somewhat guilty…
“Oh, yes. Connoris, I heard that all sorts of magical materials were being produced in the Demon’s Abyss. Could you bring me to take a look one day? It might even be useful when I help to create your body…”