Chapter 497: Polar Snow and Raging Flames
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
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 n.o.body 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! n.o.body 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, n.o.body 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. n.o.body 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. n.o.body knew that he was with this fellow anyway, and even if it was embarra.s.sing, 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 bare 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 gla.s.s. As the wall collapsed, it revealed a 1000 years old secret.
What appeared before Lin Li and the rest was a place much more s.p.a.cious 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 light 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.
For some reason, the Magma Python had left the volcano it lived in, and Bright Moon City at the foot of the mountain was turned into a sea of fire overnight as the Magma Python crazily attacked everything in its sight. Not even the gamers’ organizations and the city militia could stop the Magma Python’s attacks, and so the castellan announced an unprecedented mission reward of 1,000,000 gold coins to the person who killed the Magma Python in order to protect the city.
Lin Li had just emerged from the Well of the Sun then. In order to obtain the legendary weapon, the Stars of Fury, he had devoted all his a.s.sets, so when he saw the mission announced by Bright Moon City, he was tempted as the huge reward was a timely financial aid for him. He rushed overnight to reach the city engulfed in flames and faced the Magma Python alone. While everyone thought that he was going to meet his death, he had taken down the Magma Python that left everybody helpless with just a strike from the Polar Snow and the Raging Flames, making it disappear in a puff of smoke in an instant.
While others thought that it was a legendary feat, Lin Li thought that it was far from one. The Polar Snow and the Raging Flames were so incredibly powerful that that was hardly a fight at all as there was no danger in it whatever.
The Polar Snow could take on countless forms, while the Raging Flames was capable of burning down everything. Once Lin Li had both of these pieces of the debris of the stars, his power would increase tremendously, marking an otherworldly difference. After all, just one strike of the Polar Snow and the Raging Flames wiped out the Magma Python that not even its bones were left.
Even though Lin Li did not have the Stars of Fury now, and could not maximize the effect of the two pieces of the debris of the stars, he still had the light and dark pieces of the debris of the stars, and that was usually enough to make other Legendary powerhouses avoid him.
Actually, the most important thing to Lin Li now was not to use these pieces of the debris of the stars as a weapon. He was, after all, no longer the hunter from the game, but a true mage. The most important thing for him now was to understand and use the elemental Rules, and the pieces of the debris of the stars were br.i.m.m.i.n.g with the purest elemental Rules.
Lin Li had understood the darkness and light Rules from the Gloomy Dark and the Holy Light, and even though it was only a shallow understanding, he had been able to use the Gloomy Dark and Holy Light to create a Magical Domain of frost, light, and darkness. With that Magical Domain, he was able to take down a powerful opponent like the Lord of Darkness even though he had just entered the Legendary-realm.
A Magical Domain’s power was not determined by its purity, as too extreme of one kind of power would only result in one losing the others. Hence, the most powerful Magical Domain in the eyes of mages was the world they lived in. It was thus every mage’s dream to create a Magical Domain as close to the world as possible.
However, it required an incredibly large amount of effort for a mage to understand every Rule, and it required luck as well. It was hard to even understand, much less master, even one of the seven Rules that governed the world of Anril, so who could master all seven of them? Hence, creating a Magical Domain that was comparable to the real world was still something that only existed in theory.
Lin Li did not know whether humans were capable of creating the world, and he did not bother thinking that far, either. What he knew was that now that he would once again be in possession of the Polar Snow and the Raging Flames, he could use their strength to understand the water and fire elemental Rules and make his Magical Domain even more powerful.