Chapter 2410 Fire Scale Familiar <TOC> Chapter 2412 Shortcuts
Translator: SumTLMan
“I always feel you have nothing good to say,” Nisi muttered before softly adding, “Let’s hear the good news first.”
Angel replied, “The good news is, the corridor leading to the fifth level is filled with danger, as all the magic formations there have been activated. With the abilities of Wizard Nisi, entering might not end well.”
Nisi looked puzzled: “How is that good news?”
Angel explained, “Of course, it is. You took the wrong path, so you **didn’t enter that corridor. Isn’t that good news for you?”
Taking the wrong path, thus avoiding the dangerous corridor and finding themselves in a safe one, Nisi paused, realizing that it somewhat counted as good news.
However, the good news primarily boiled down to… taking the wrong path.
Why did they take a wrong turn? Because Reynolds suddenly had a memory lapse at a junction and led them the wrong way.
Nisi turned to look at Reynolds, who still seemed a bit lost.
Previously, Nisi thought Reynolds had simply had a moment of stupidity, but now it seemed that it wasn’t about being dumb; rather, Reynolds’ “talent” had come into play.
The luck of the draw made by the fortunate one turned out to be a stroke of luck in avoiding danger.
How should one put it? Reynolds indeed seemed to be someone endowed with “John’s Comeback.”
Canter was also observing Reynolds. Earlier, when Nisi mentioned Reynolds’ natural luck, he thought it was just baseless praise. Now, it seemed he might have misunderstood. Perhaps Reynolds truly had a vein of “luck” running through him.
Reynolds, unaware of Canter and Nisi’s thoughts, let out a long sigh of relief: “Thank goodness we **didn’t take that path, or we might have suffered. It seems our luck isn’t too bad.”
Nisi and Canter thought: …It’s not that our luck isn’t bad; it’s that your luck is really good.
Seeing Reynolds’ lack of self-awareness, Nisi didn’t point it out but continued to ask Angel, “Well, that barely counts as good news. Then, what’s the bad news?”
Angel said, “Before I tell you the bad news, aren’t you curious why the corridor leading to the fifth level had its magic formations activated to the maximum?”
Nisi responded, “Isn’t it obvious that it’s to deal with us?”
Angel sadly informed him, “I’m sorry to say, it’s not.”
Under Nisi’s puzzled gaze, Angel briefly described what he had observed.
Through the manipulation and retrospection of the main control node, he had seen some events on the fourth level. The reason all the magic formations towards the fifth level were suddenly activated was because a magical creature had run in that direction.
Nisi asked in astonishment, “A magical creature? Are you talking about the Fire Scale Familiar that escaped from the research center?”
Angel confirmed, “Yes, that’s the one. It seems its goal was the same as yours, to head to the fifth level. And to the people in the laboratory, the fifth level is clearly off-limits. To stop it, the person controlling the magic formations on the fourth level activated all the formations in that corridor.”
“Indeed, the one manipulating the fourth level’s magic formation wasn’t using the sub-control nodes but something else, which I speculate might be a certain object left by the creator of the magic formation. His control effect is incomparable to directly manipulating the sub-control nodes, making it relatively difficult for them to activate all four levels of the magic formation. That’s also why they targeted you first, because that magical creature got to the fifth level before you did, presenting a higher risk priority, and the mastermind behind this doesn’t have the flawless ability nor the leisure to be distracted by anything else.”
Nisi suddenly understood: So that’s how it is?
On the other hand, Canter, after hearing Angel’s words, couldn’t shake off a bad premonition: “You’ve said so much, probably as a lead-up to some bad news, right?”
Angel: “Yes.”
Angel paused, then straightforwardly said: “That magical creature, namely the Fire Scale Familiar, is very familiar with the layout of the fourth level, and its speed is incredibly fast. Before the manipulator could fully focus on it, it had already successfully entered the passageway to the fifth level. If nothing goes wrong, it should have reached the fifth level by now.”
“And the manipulator of the fourth level’s magic formation certainly can’t control the fifth level’s magic formation. So…”
Canter: “So, the bad news is, he will now focus all his efforts on us?”
Angel: “You’re right, Lord Canter. He indeed intends to focus all his efforts on you, but that’s not the bad news. Because, with the main control node, I can partially suppress and limit the fourth level’s magic formation. It will be quite difficult for him to use the magic formation against you next… unless they can enter the sub-control nodes and manipulate the magic formation through them.”
Even if they enter the sub-control nodes, their control over the fourth level’s magic formation would only temporarily surpass Angel’s. With Angel’s expertise in runes and the main control node’s authority far exceeding that of the sub-control nodes, Angel could quickly regain control.
Moreover, Angel didn’t believe they had a way to enter the sub-control nodes. If they could, they would have done so already.
Hearing Angel say this, Canter and Nisi breathed a sigh of relief. They didn’t want to face such a massive backlash from the magic formation. The fact that Angel could suppress the fourth level’s magic formation was already a significant relief.
However, at this point, Angel hadn’t mentioned what the bad news was, which made them curious: “So, what exactly is the bad news you’re referring to?”
“The bad news is that the paths leading to the lower and upper levels, namely the ‘tendrils’ ——the external corridors outside the laboratory, have been completely abandoned, Physically Abandoned.”
That is, the manipulator detached all these external corridors from the main structure, sinking them into the ground and cutting off all external passages.
“In other words, although the fourth level is still part of the laboratory’s overall structure, by cutting off the access passages, it has essentially become an isolated island.”
People outside can’t get in, and those inside can’t get out. It is truly and utterly an isolated island.
Nisi: “But, aren’t all the laboratory’s researchers on the fourth level? By doing this, they’ve also trapped themselves here.”
Angel: “That’s correct, but by cutting off the external passages, they’ve also trapped you here, and at the same time, they’ve trapped that magical creature on the fifth level.”
At this moment, Canter also understood and said softly, “The person controlling the magic formation on the fourth level indeed has courage.”
Rather than letting anyone leave, they chose to cut off all exits.
Nisi commented, “They might have a bit of courage, but more so, they are unaware of Angel’s existence and believe they can counter us with the magic formation.”
In reality, the situation was as Nisi had thought. At that moment, they had already started manipulating the magic formation to act against Nisi and Canter… However, Angel had already begun to counteract at the main control node, rendering their efforts ineffective at this moment.
“Angel, with the outer corridor detached, is it a permanent detachment? Without passing through the outer corridor, we can’t leave, can we?” Nisi asked.
“If no one outside attempts to excavate the outer corridor, it is considered a permanent detachment. However, there are still ways for you to leave.”
“What way?”
Angel replied, “Planar passage. I can suppress the magic formation’s limitation on spatial abilities, making it nearly nonexistent for a short time, allowing you to use the planar passage to return to the outside world.”
If the magic formation wasn’t suppressed, forcibly using the planar passage would still offer a chance to escape but would carry certain risks.
Upon hearing about the planar passage, Nisi’s face wrinkled with concern.
The cost of using the planar passage was not cheap! His visit this time utilized the planar passage; inviting Canter to escort also required him to cover the costs of the planar passage; according to the contract signed with Canter, all expenses for using the planar passage during the contract’s execution would be borne by Nisi. This meant if he used the planar passage to leave, he would be paying for three uses of the planar passage in one day.
The cost was frighteningly high, enough to make even Nisi, who had some savings, tremble with fear.
“Is there no other way? Isn’t short-distance teleportation possible?” Nisi’s voice trembled, “Isn’t there a spare outer corridor?”
“Currently, there are no other ways. The spatial energy for short-distance teleportation might be suppressed by the magic formation, making the planar passage the best option.”
“As for a spare outer corridor, the fourth level originally had one, but even the spare ones were completely stripped away by the manipulators.” It must be said, the operator was decisively thorough, leaving no chance for retreat.
“How infuriating!” Nisi roared with anger, “My needed documents!”
“I will kill them, I must kill them!” Nisi said furiously, “Angel, can you pinpoint their location?”
“I can, but killing them now is pointless, they are already like ants on a hot pan.” Through Angel’s initial control over the fourth level’s magic formation and leveraging some authority, he could roughly observe the situation on the fourth level. The group, upon finding the magic formation suddenly “out of control,” was already in a state of panic.
“I must teach them a lesson.” Nisi clearly couldn’t let it go; even in front of a group of apprentices, he had maintained silence to avoid alarming the enemy. However, these apprentices had slapped him in the face, and he couldn’t just let it slide.
Angel no longer dissuaded them and directly reported their locations.
“Most people are in the research center, with a few scattered across various rooms. The person controlling the magic formation is in the archive room.”
“Archive room? There’s an archive room on the fourth level?” Nisi turned to look at Reynolds.
Reynolds was momentarily stunned before responding softly, “Yes.”
Nisi asked, “I remember there seemed to be no archive rooms on the first three levels?”
Reynolds continued nodding, “That’s correct, the archive rooms are only on the fourth and fifth levels. Similarly, the medical center is only on the third and fourth levels, the magical beast garden is only on the first level, and the magical plant cultivation rooms are on the first and second levels…”
Reynolds enumerated the unique structures of each experimental level.
“Why didn’t you say there was an archive room on the fourth level before?” Nisi, who showed no interest in the medical center or magical beast garden, found the archive room to be of utmost importance. He came here for the research data.
Reynolds made a gesture of swallowing hard, “I forgot.”
Nisi narrowed his eyes. As a wizard specializing in the soul, Reynolds was too familiar with the small movements of the soul, and how external emotions guide the internal energy flow. Reynolds’ gesture of swallowing “saliva” clearly indicated he was not telling the truth.
Nisi seemed to ask casually, “I remember you mentioned before that there were only three rooms on the fifth level, corresponding to the first three numbers. Are you sure there’s an archive room there?”
Reynolds replied, “Yes, the rooms for the first three numbers are very large, and each number’s room has a private archive room.”
Nisi asked, “The information you’re looking for, regarding the removal of soul marks, which room would it be in?”
Reynolds subconsciously said, “Probably in the 01 archive room.”
Nisi looked deeply at Reynolds, probably guessing Reynolds’ thoughts. This was actually Reynolds’ selfishness; he was worried that if Nisi found the research data in the fourth level archive room, he wouldn’t go to the fifth level. Therefore, he didn’t directly mention the archive room, suggesting that the information was in the hands of the first three numbers.
Nisi ultimately didn’t say anything about Reynolds’ ulterior motives.
Everyone has their selfishness, and Nisi could understand Reynolds’ position. However, understanding does not mean agreement. For Nisi, the key content was the archive room, and Reynolds’ overlooking this detail naturally did not sit well with Nisi.
But for now, Reynolds was still useful, and his “talent” was also very useful. Considering these two aspects, Nisi temporarily suppressed the emotions stirring within him.
He did not look at Reynolds again but turned towards the authority representing Angel: “Can you restrict the guy in the archive room?”
“What kind of restriction?”
Nisi replied, “I’m afraid he’ll destroy the important data in the archive room.”
Angel understood what Nisi meant and pondered before responding, “His movements can be restricted, but even without restrictions, it would be difficult for him to damage the archives’ materials. Like the exhibition room, the archives’ materials are enveloped in a magic formation, with intrinsic rules governing their access.”
“Rules in the archives as well? Don’t tell me there’s also a time limit and one can only take away three items?” The mere mention of rules made Nisi’s head hurt.
“Indeed, there is a time limit. Depending on the permissions, one can only take out 3 to 10 books or research materials at a time. Only after returning these books and materials can one obtain new materials.”
This means that even if someone wanted to damage the archives’ materials, they could at most damage 10 research items. And without returning the borrowed materials, no new research materials could be obtained.
“Is that so… Can you modify these rules?”
Angel replied, “Not at the moment, unless I gain complete control over the magic formation, which could take ten days to a half-month, maybe even longer.”
Nisi sighed in disappointment. However, this regulation was somewhat within his expectations. If necessary, he could just spend more time in the archives, looking through each book one by one.
Nisi then asked, “What about the situation in the exhibition room?”
Angel replied, “The same situation applies; currently, there’s no one near the exhibition room.”
Nisi’s eyes lit up. If the exhibition room was in the same situation, then he could continue searching there for transplant organs. Even if he couldn’t find the corresponding research materials, he could deduce some information through the study of soul armor.
Without hesitation, Nisi headed straight for the archives.
Since there was temporarily no way to leave, he decided to take full advantage of the fourth level first, starting with searching the archives and then scavenging in the exhibition room.
Chapter 2410 Fire Scale Familiar <TOC> Chapter 2412 Shortcuts