Chapter 2252 Glass Box <TOC> Chapter 2254 Wind Bat Dragon
Translator: SumTLMan
Even though the elemental concentration achieved could not be compared directly with the Elemental Tide, the fact that it reached the level of the Elemental Tide was still astonishing to Dangros and Lobert.
Lobert couldn’t help but ask, “Can you create such a high concentration of elemental environment anytime, anywhere?”
Angel nodded and said, “As long as there are enough materials, it’s no problem.”
“Incredible, truly incredible,” Lobert repeated in awe. “Is this the power of a wizard?”
Watching Lobert and Dangros’ amazed expressions, Angel was moved and said, “Yes.”
“You have all seen —The Future Possibilities of the Tidal Realm—. Now, you should understand why I say that wizards and elemental creatures becoming partners is mutually beneficial. It’s because wizards can use various methods to quickly develop elemental creatures to reach unprecedented strength. The runes I utilize are just one of these methods.”
“An elemental sprite living in a natural environment would take decades, centuries, or even longer to mature. But if it forms a partnership with a wizard, this time can be shortened countless times.”
“This is the incredible power wielded by wizards.”
In seizing this moment, Angel took the opportunity to elaborate further, deepening their understanding of “elemental companions.”
The effectiveness of his words was yet uncertain. However, as Angel’s voice faded, not only Dangros and Lobert but also the quietly observing Cupid and Speedling were drawn into contemplation.
Angel didn’t disturb their thoughts, turning instead to his primary task.
He prepared to encase both the traveling frog and raccoon in crystal-clear glass boxes.
During Angel’s process of encasement, Dangros was the first to snap back to reality, staring blankly at Angel’s actions: “The rescue method you mentioned earlier, is it to place them inside these boxes?”
Angel nodded in affirmation: “This environment simulates the corresponding elemental energies. By placing them inside, even if it can’t heal the cracks in their elemental cores, it can at least ensure the cores don’t deteriorate immediately.”
“If there’s a chance, taking them to domains of water and fire to seek treatment from powerful creatures corresponding to their elements should offer a chance of survival.”
Upon hearing this, Dangros also came to a realization.
The elemental cores of these two elemental creatures had only developed cracks, not yet irreparably damaged, indicating a possibility for recovery. If left in the unnamed land, where the concentration of elements clearly falls short, the cracks would only worsen over time, ultimately leading to their demise.
But even without any intervention, these creatures might gradually heal themselves if placed within the elemental environment of the Voice of the World. At the very least, their condition wouldn’t worsen.
Thus, Angel’s actions were indeed a very appropriate measure.
While Dangros marveled at the fortune of these two elemental creatures, he also pondered another question in silence: It’s astounding that just a few elemental gems can create such an environment. If I could learn how…
Seeing Dangros zoning out again, Angel couldn’t help but nudge him, “By the way, I haven’t asked you yet, what were you doing burning rocks over there? Bored, or just fidgety?”
“I was, I mean, I was…”
Angel had asked casually, not necessarily expecting a thorough explanation, but Dangros’ sudden hesitation and stammering piqued Angel’s curiosity.
He lifted his eyes, quietly gazing at Dangros.
Under Angel’s steady gaze, Dangros, who initially wanted to find an excuse to brush it off, suddenly felt a psychological pressure, panicked internally, and his mind went blank.
Eventually, unable to withstand the pressure, Dangros confessed his thoughts in detail.
“So, you thought crafting the box looked easy, and you wanted to try it out yourself?” Angel, with a mix of amusement and disbelief, hadn’t expected that Dangros was secretly trying his hand at “alchemy” behind a large black rock.
“I clearly saw you burning that bead, and it turned into a beautiful transparent box. But for some reason, when I tried to burn the stone, not only did it not change, but it also exploded,” Dangros said, no longer concealing the truth, with a face full of grievance and pain.
Seeing Dangros’ expression, Angel couldn’t help but laugh, and it took him a while to regain his composure.
“I was performing alchemy, not just forging with flames. Magic was also involved in the process, refining and detailing; and you were merely burning stones. How could the two be the same?” Angel explained with a laugh: “Moreover, the material I chose for refining is a special magic material called Transparent Magic Glass, not just any black stone you find everywhere.”
Dangros was utterly confused: “Alchemy? What is that?”
With no other tasks at hand, Angel simply sat down on the spot and began to educate Dangros on what alchemy entails.
From the essence of alchemy, to the selection of materials, to melting and shaping, to energy redirection… Angel, using simple words and accompanied by illusions, gave Dangros a vivid lesson on alchemy.
Dangros listened with a fascinated expression. Although he didn’t fully understand many of the concepts, at least he figured out why his attempt at burning stones resulted in explosions, while Angel’s method transformed the waste into something magical.
It appeared that Angel was merely burning stones at random, but there was a deep knowledge inherited from wizards involved, completely different from Dangros’ casual play with burning stones.
“So alchemy is so intricate,” Dangros couldn’t help but exclaim.
Angel said, “Now you understand, alchemy is not a trivial matter.”
Dangros nodded earnestly in agreement.
Angel smiled, glancing to the side, and noticed Cupid and Lobert had also come to their senses. He then said, “Alright, these two elemental creatures are fine for now. We’ve been here quite some time; it’s time to leave.”
Angel called for the Gondola, placing two glass boxes into a small compartment at the back of the boat, then gestured for Dangros and Cupid to get on board.
Cupid flew silently to the tabletop, while Dangros looked thoughtful, as if pondering something, taking a while before snapping back to reality and boarding the boat.
“Let’s go.”
As his words fell, the Gondola rose slowly from beneath the valley, like a glowing meteor, and suddenly disappeared from sight.
Crossing over nameless mountain ranges, through nameless rivers.
About half an hour after leaving the valley, Dangros, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly spoke, “Mr. Pat, can I, like you, use fire to forge a stone into a box?”
Angel had noticed Dangros’ silence after boarding and wondered what was on his mind, not expecting him to still be thinking about burning stones. “Do you want to learn alchemy?”
After a moment of contemplation, Dangros nodded and said, “I am somewhat interested, but I also understand that alchemy is highly challenging, and it might be that I will never master it in my lifetime. So, for now, I just want to learn how to turn stones into boxes, without considering anything else.”
“Why are you interested in this? I thought you were only interested in recruiting little brothers?” Angel didn’t immediately respond to Dangros’ words but was curious about his sudden change of heart.
Dangros explained, “Actually, when sir exchanged tokens with Big Inda, I was impressed by how sir used fire to sculpt a phantom flame butterfly statue. At that moment, I thought it would be great if I could create similar tokens for my little brothers. But at that time…”
At that time, Dangros’ relationship with Angel wasn’t very harmonious, so he didn’t express his thoughts.
Now, as his relationship with Angel had grown closer and after seeing Angel crafting a glass box, the flame of aspiration that hadn’t been ignited in Dangros before began to flare up again.
Of course, Dangros was too shy to say all these words out loud and vaguely passed over them.
“I just want to turn stones into boxes or something else. That’s enough for me.”
“So, it’s still for your little brothers, huh? You really care about them,” Angel remarked.
Dangros didn’t argue but indeed had other thoughts in his mind, which he found hard to articulate.
“Alright, I can teach you,” Angel didn’t refuse.
Angel, not one to withhold knowledge from a keen learner, saw no difficulty in teaching the basics of smelting and shaping. After all, these were not arcane secrets but skills that could be found in any mortal blacksmith’s forge.
What intrigued him most was to see how far Dangros, with his newly acquired smelting skills, could advance.
Having promised Dangros, Angel wasted no time. He used a neutral energy gem, previously acquired from the belly of the traveling frog, as the nexus for an illusion. He crafted an illusion named —A Day of the Old Blacksmith—.
This illusion, —A Day of the Old Blacksmith—, showcased the daily routine of a blacksmith. It detailed every step from selecting raw materials from an open-pit mine to forging metal back at the forge and finally shaping the metal. Each detail was vividly brought to life within the illusion.
Despite the old blacksmith not uttering a single word throughout, those who observed closely could learn much about the craft. Moreover, as it was all an illusion, one could step into the bellows or the furnace without harm, allowing for a close-up view of each process’s real-time changes.
Given that Dangros was a sprite of fire, his mastery over flame was unparalleled. The illusion’s depiction allowed him to grasp the nuances of temperature control more swiftly.
In Angel’s view, —A Day of the Old Blacksmith— was the perfect teaching tool for Dangros.
After creating the illusion, Angel handed the gem, as smooth as a goose egg, to Dangros.
“The energy of the illusory realm originates from the gem itself, hence once the gem is devoid of energy, the illusory realm will also vanish,” Angel stated, “Currently, the energy within this gem is sufficient to support you in viewing the illusory realm from start to finish over one hundred and eighty times. If you haven’t learned by the time the gem’s energy is completely depleted, then I advise you not to bother learning.”
Clutching the gem with a look of wisdom grasped tightly in his expression, Dangros declared, “I can definitely do it!”
With those words, Dangros, full of confidence, entered the world of the illusory realm.
With the absence of the mischievous child’s clamor, the Gondola regained its tranquility.
However, the calm did not last long; a few minutes later, a chirping sound, jibber-jabbering away, reached their ears.
The sound came from Toby.
The elemental creatures present could not understand what Toby was saying, but Angel understood his meaning.
Toby was signaling Angel to look at Cupid.
Due to having watched —Super Pig—, Toby had taken a keen interest in Cupid from the first sight, wishing to glue his eyes onto Cupid. Although the fervor had gradually cooled down over the days, Toby still occasionally spied on Cupid covertly.
Following Toby’s direction, Angel looked over.
Cupid was quietly watching Dangros, his small eyes seemingly flickering with big question marks.
“Are you also interested in experiencing —A Day of the Old Blacksmith—?” Angel curiously asked.
It took a while for Cupid to realize that Angel was talking to him. He quickly shook his head: “No, I’m not interested in blacksmithing.”
Angel: “Then are you interested in Dangros?”
Cupid still shook his head.
Angel: “I see a lot of questions in your eyes, can you share them?”
After hesitating for a long time, Cupid finally said, “I feel that you are very kind to Dangros. According to the records in —The World of Wizards— in the Drama Shadow Box, wizards pursue fairness and equivalent exchange. Dangros hasn’t given anything, but you have given a lot. Is it because you hope Dangros becomes your elemental partner?”
“Is that the only answer you see?” Angel asked back without answering.
Cupid looked a bit lost and shook his head without speaking.
“I once asked you why you came aboard,” Angel said. “Your answer was that Sage Camus told you that the wind seeks freedom and yearns for the horizon, so he hoped you would step out of your comfort zone to see the world outside.”
“But your strength is not yet enough to go on your own, so Sage Camus asked you to board my ship, and I could protect you for a time.”
Cupid nodded, “Yes.”
Angel said, “If we go by the principle of equivalent exchange, think about it, what have I gained from you by offering my protection on your journey?”
Cupid replied, “But, sir, didn’t you trade with Sage Camus?”
Angel responded, “I haven’t received anything from Sage Camus.”
After a moment of silence, Cupid said, “So, sir, are you simply being kind to Dangros?”
Angel smiled, “Whether it’s simple or not, I don’t know, but the utilitarian mindset you’re thinking of is certainly not there.”
Cupid confessed, “I still don’t quite understand.”
Angel suggested, “If you don’t understand, you can keep observing. Haven’t you been observing all this time?”
Since coming aboard, Cupid had kept a very low profile, speaking little and mostly just observing and thinking.
This was indeed a trait of a sage.
Considering that Cupid might be a spiritual light born from an avatar of Camus, this was understandable.
“I understand now,” Cupid nodded and then fell silent.