Chapter 2502 Underground Market <TOC> Chapter 2504 Whispers From Afar
Translator: SumTLMan
Angel was no stranger to the ‘dignity’ of the man before him. In the Flowing Source of the Savage Grottoes, wizards often encountered problems with their research and experiments, leading to massive explosions. By the time they emerged, they looked much like the man now before him.
If this man was indeed Kael, their previous guess was correct; Kael was conducting experiments. However, it now appeared that the results of his experiments were likely worrisome.
The dirt-smudged man glanced around with a vacant look before his gaze finally settled on Daus: “Lord Daus, why have you come? Was it you who activated the spatial node just now?”
Daus did not immediately respond but instead expressed his concern: “Kael, are you alright?”
Kael shook his head: “I’m fine, just had a minor mishap while improving a spellcasting material. I blew up a lab, but no worries, there are over a dozen more labs at my disposal.”
Kael’s nonchalant attitude, coupled with his words, made it clear to both Angel and Daus that this man was a research fanatic, one of those who knew the high probability of experimental failure but persisted anyway. Otherwise, who would have over ten labs in reserve…
Seeing Kael’s indifference, Daus hesitated, wanting to offer advice as a senior but knowing Kael had an immensely powerful mentor who might have instructed all his actions. After pondering, Daus managed to say only one thing: “Remember to measure your experiments carefully, otherwise, it could really turn bad.”
“I will be careful with the measurements,” Kael nodded sincerely.
After a pause, Kael curiously asked: “Lord Daus, what brings you here? Is there a problem with the spatial node at the bar?”
Daus shook his head and pointed to Angel standing beside him: “It’s not me who’s looking for you. You’re being sought by him, Wizard Leon.”
Wizard Leon? Kael had noticed Angel from the moment he stepped out. There were only three people here, inluding himself, and Angel certainly did not lack presence. However, since Angel had remained politely silent, Kael had initially overlooked him. But now, with Daus introducing this wizard, Kael was somewhat puzzled; he had never heard of a wizard named Leon.
Kael observed Angel discreetly, and Angel did the same. From the moment Kael appeared, Angel had noticed many details, such as his expression, demeanor, and his casual attitude with Daus, confirming to Angel that Kael was a scholarly type of wizard apprentice, dedicated to experimentation and confident in his space spells, with a deep relationship with Daus.
No wonder Daus had taken the initiative to lead Angel here, likely because he was close to Kael and wanted to ensure Angel meant no harm, providing a safeguard with his presence.
“Wizard Leon, may I ask what you need from me?” Kael inquired with a hint of suspicion.
Angel said nothing and simply handed over the letter from Aesop to Kael.
“You’ll understand once you read it.”
Initially cautious, Kael glanced at Daus out of the corner of his eye and, seeing a reassuring nod, he took the letter.
As soon as he saw the handwriting on the envelope and the familiar space rune emblem, Kael’s eyes lit up.
This is a letter from Mentor Aesop!
After confirming that there were no errors, Kael looked up with a puzzled expression at Angel: “This is my mentor’s letter, how did it end up in the hands of Wizard Leon?”
Angel stroked his forehead: “I just said, you’ll know if you open it. I think Lord Aesop will mention me in the letter.”
Kael: “Is that so?”
Angel raised an eyebrow, too lazy to respond.
Kael hesitated with the letter in hand and said to Angel: “I can’t open the letter right now. If the Wizard Leon isn’t in a hurry, you might as well come and sit at my place.”
After Kael spoke, he also turned his head towards Daus: “Lord Daus, would you join us?”
Daus naturally wouldn’t refuse, but he was curious: “Why not open the letter now?”
Kael sighed and showed the back of the envelope, channeling a slight space energy into it. As the space energy was introduced, the emblem left by Aesop began to shine brightly, and a three-dimensional node appeared in front of them.
Kael pointed at the node and said: “This is an unsolved space formula question. My mentor always leaves a question on the letter each time he sends one to me, also as a way to verify that I haven’t regressed. I must solve this formula to be able to open the letter.”
Angel and Daus showed looks of realization, no wonder Kael had not opened the letter before; there was such a story behind it.
Daus: “What happens if you open the letter without solving the formula?”
Kael: “Nothing. The questions left by my mentor are just to check my learning status, not mandatory. The letter can be opened without solving the question.”
Angel: “……”
Angel: “Then you could actually open the letter first and then solve it.”
Kael immediately shook his head like a bobblehead: “No, it’s a matter of principle. I have my own set of rules to follow; I must solve the question to qualify to read the letter my mentor sent.”
When Kael mentioned the so-called “qualification,” his eyes were particularly bright.
Angel read another piece of information from this, realizing that Kael was indeed obsessed with his mentor, admiring Aesop greatly. This admiration even influenced his principles of action.
Angel sighed. Since Kael had put it that way, and he was not an enemy or a fool, Angel could only compromise. Besides, he had seen the three-dimensional spatial node; the question was intricate but not too difficult, and Kael, being able to set up these true and false spatial nodes in this big pit, should be able to solve it… right?
Seeing that both Angel and Daus had no objections, Kael immediately enthusiastically invited them to his ‘home’.
Speaking of home, it was actually a deeper cavern.
This cavern resembled a narrow alley, not particularly spacious, but with occasional doors on both sides. As they walked, Kael introduced: “This is my first laboratory, used for… This is the second laboratory… This is the third laboratory…”
Every door along the alley concealed one of Kael’s laboratories, sixteen in total.
The eighth laboratory had already collapsed. From the heat emanating from within, it was presumed to be the laboratory Kael had previously blown up.
“Don’t worry about these blown-up laboratories; I’ll fix them. Actually, all the labs here have exploded at some point, and now they’re all perfectly fine,” Kael declared proudly.
This left Angel and Daus somewhat speechless. It seemed that, in Kael’s view, being able to blow up a laboratory was a testament to his diligence and prowess…
Kael didn’t take Angel and Daus inside any laboratory; instead, he led them to the end of the cavern, where a pit awaited.
Without explanation, Kael jumped down.
After exchanging glances, Angel and Daus followed suit.
The pit was quite deep, about twenty meters down. When Angel landed and looked up, he realized they were in an even deeper cavern, which was quite spacious.
Moreover, there were clear signs of artificial excavation, and the ceiling had some relatively intact but still shattered magic formations.
Angel had guessed this place might have been a type of underground palace ruin when he first came to the black market.
Now here, Angel could confirm that it indeed was a ruin. Moreover, judging by the scale of the magic formations, the ruin was considerably large.
Kael noticed Angel’s gaze: “I guess you figured it out too, this is actually a ruin.”
Kael continued: “It’s said to be the underground palace of a legendary wizard from over six thousand years ago… Don’t be so surprised, it’s just a legend, who knows the truth about such ancient matters? Besides, over ninety percent of this ruin has already been developed by the Lawrence family; any good stuff would have been taken by them. Otherwise, why would the Lawrence family run a black market here?”
Angel had already heard about the Lawrence family before, during his visit to the Sandworm Market. He learned that all members of the camel bell caravan were from the Lawrence family. The various rules of the Sandworm Market were also set by the Lawrence family. In Angel’s view, the Lawrence family probably was the actual controller behind the Sandworm Market.
As controllers of the Sandworm Market and operators of both the market and the black market outside, the Lawrence family had a large appetite, playing both sides. It seemed that no other wizard family could compete with them here, otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to monopolize the market to such an extent.
“I’m going to solve the puzzle on the envelope now; just give me a moment. With my abilities, I should solve it quickly,” Kael expressed with confidence.
With that, Kael approached a desk to the side and began to furiously scribble on a piece of parchment.
Yes, a desk.
Although this was just a corner of the ruin, Kael had completely made it his base, furnishing it modestly yet sufficiently to host and entertain.
Seeing that Kael didn’t regard them as outsiders and started solving the puzzle right away, Angel and Daus exchanged a look and sighed helplessly.
Daus: “Why don’t we have a conversation?”
Angel thought about it and since he was free at the moment, he agreed to the chat. Given that Daus was known as “Red Sword,” it indicated that his swordsmanship was likely proficient. Angel’s brother Leon wielded a knight’s sword, so exchanging ideas might prove beneficial for him.
Angel nodded, and they moved to a place away from the desk to sit face to face.
There are some unwritten rules in the exchanges between wizards. Whether they are strangers, acquaintances, or close friends, each has a set of procedures.
Their exchange was naturally among those of unfamiliar wizards, starting with the simplest basics to gauge each other’s interest.
Once a common ground of mutual interest and respect was established, deeper conversation could ensue.
Angel was specifically interested in Daus’ sword techniques, so he steered the conversation in that direction.
Though Angel was not deeply versed in complex sword techniques, he had observed the saber knights instruct Leon, which although not profound, gave Daus the impression that Angel was interested in swordplay.
For a creature several hundred years old to seek sword instruction from a young man of eighty like himself inflated Daus’ ego.
With his pride swelled, he began to teach.
He did not share any secretive or special knowledge, but started with the basics of swordsmanship, which alone was of little use against a transcendent. The techniques that posed a threat to these beings, even to formal wizards, involved additional powers, either through bloodline enhancements or magical empowerment.
How to maximize these enhancements was a key part of Daus’ lecture, and he even shared some personal tips.
This information was quite enlightening for Angel. Believing that his brother Leon would benefit even more, Angel planned to record the insights as illusions for Leon. After all, this was guidance from a wizard himself.
However, Daus was unaware that the seemingly earnest and serious Angel listening to him was actually thinking about how to covertly learn and record these teachings…
Daus shared practical tips and techniques, and as the exchange went, it was a give and take. Angel also shared some of his meditation insights.
For instance, he discussed the key breakthroughs and taboos during the plateau phases of cultivation… These were not exactly secrets within wizard organizations. As long as one’s realm was high enough and they had enough contribution points, one could access this information from the High Cloud Library.
But as a wandering wizard, Daus might have had some comprehensive inheritances, yet he lacked these intricate details, which he listened to with utmost seriousness, wishing Angel would share more.
The session lasted for half a day and because Angel was sincere, Daus shared more sword-fighting techniques, and both gained significantly.
During their discussions, they occasionally glanced towards Kael.
Angel noticed that Kael had started confidently, but his expression became more serious and then clouded with worry… It seemed that Aesop’s problem had stumped him.
His already frizzy hair was now completely tousled by Kael’s anxious scratching.
“Will he be able to solve it today?” Daus noticed Kael’s changing expressions too.
Angel didn’t immediately respond but instead, extended his mental power from a commanding height to observe Kael’s problem-solving.
This act was somewhat intrusive, similar to spying on knowledge, but since Daus had just benefited a lot from their discussion and didn’t voice any objections; and Kael, deeply engrossed in the problem, was oblivious to the external world.
After reviewing Kael’s approach, Angel withdrew his mental power and explained to Daus: “He’s fallen into the multiple traps set by Lord Aesop. From the direction of his problem-solving, he’s realized he’s trapped and is now retracing his steps to find where he fell in.”
“However, even if he manages to backtrack to the trap’s entry point, avoiding the trap entirely is impossible.”
“Why is that?” Daus asked, stunned.
Angel pondered for a moment: “Because the only exit is hidden within the trap itself.”
Daus was shocked: “You can solve the spatial node left by Lord Aesop?”
Angel hesitated, then admitted: “Somewhat.”
Daus had known about Angel’s expertise in space subject matters but was surprised that Angel could decipher Aesop’s challenge so quickly. Kael was at the peak of his apprenticeship in space magic and hadn’t figured it out yet, but Angel had discerned the solution in just a few seconds. The difference was clear.
“Are you sure you’re not a space wizard?” Daus asked again.
Angel responded resignedly: “I’m sure.”
Daus was inclined to believe Angel’s words, but the depth of Angel’s space mastery was formidable, almost reaching the level of a formal wizard even with cross-disciplinary practice!
Could this be the difference between a wizard from an organized group and a wandering wizard?
No, Daus had also fought with wizards from organizations, and he knew their level… Perhaps, Angel was an exception, or rather, he was academically inclined!
Yes, he had to be the academic type. Only they would indulge in relentless study.
Daus once again elevated his estimation of Angel, and simultaneously, Angel’s lifespan. To advance the space discipline to this extent through cross-disciplinary practice, one would need at least a thousand years.
Although he was outmatched in terms of knowledge depth by Angel, who was an old monster piled up by time in the academic realm, he was an eighty-year-old prodigy. In terms of combat power, it was still uncertain who would win.
As for talent, he certainly had the upper hand!
With this thought, Daus felt a renewed sense of completion in his heart and found Angel more agreeable to look at.
After resolving his internal doubts, Daus felt refreshed and asked with a smile: “Since you could spot Kael’s mistakes, do you think he can solve them? If so, how long might it take?”
Angel hesitated for a moment: “Solving it shouldn’t be a problem, but how long it will take depends on when he guesses Lord Aesop’s line of thought. Quickly, half a day should suffice, but if slow, perhaps two or three days.”
Daus: “Half a day is manageable. But if it takes two or three days, are we to just sit here and wait?”
After Daus spoke, he received no reply from Angel for a long time, prompting him to turn back and look at him.
He saw Angel with a furrowed brow, his gaze fixed on a certain spot.
“Wizard Leon, what’s wrong?”
Angel paused briefly, then asked: “Did you… did you hear any sounds?”
Chapter 2502 Underground Market <TOC> Chapter 2504 Whispers From Afar