Chapter 2635 Void Staircase <TOC> Chapter 2637 Blood Flower Seal
Previous page password is bold portion: pachLcR?Su6L
Translator: SumTLMan
Ticket Box ? ? ?
Everyone looked at the box in the puppet’s hands with bewildered expressions. They had previously thought it was some kind of weapon, but it turned out to be a ticket box?
Originally, the atmosphere was dark and dangerous, so why did it suddenly become absurd?
“You, how are you sure this is a ticket seller?” Daus hesitated for a moment before asking.
“Simple deduction.” Angel finished speaking and pointed to the staircase behind the alchemy puppet: “Don’t be fooled by the appearance of steps over there. In reality, those steps are all projections. If you don’t believe me, you can perceive it yourself.”
“…They are indeed projections.” After sensing, Daus said.
“We’ve already come this far, yet suddenly there are projected stairs. Isn’t that strange? Moreover, there’s a puppet holding a box, resembling a ticket seller. Isn’t the answer immediately deduced?”
Daus looked at Angel with an even more confused expression: “Did you skip a million steps in between? How did you conclude it looks like a ticket seller?”
Daus’ doubt mirrored everyone’s confusion. They couldn’t understand how holding a box made it a ticket seller. The logic was clearly flawed.
Seeing that everyone couldn’t grasp the connection, Angel himself felt puzzled. Wasn’t this a clear logical connection?
After hesitating for a moment, Angel said uncertainly: “Have none of you been to Monsignor Magic Material Street?”
“Monsignor Magic Material Street? Sounds a bit familiar…” Vai rubbed his chin, appearing thoughtful.
Kael also felt he had heard of it somewhere but couldn’t recall.
At this moment, the Black Count spoke up to clarify: “Monsignor Magic Material Street is located in Sky Mechanical City. In the alchemy circle, it’s also known as Alchemy Street because it not only sells magical materials but also handles the vast majority of the Achillea alchemy works.”
“You find it unfamiliar, which is normal. That street has its own rules. If you don’t have the qualifications to enter, you can’t even see the street.”
“As for qualifications, first is strength, second is alchemy ability.”
“Besides that, after entering the street, if you want to purchase alchemy works from the shops, it’s not that casual. Each shop has its own regulations. You must meet their rules to be allowed in.”
“As for the specific rules, each shop is different with no unified standard. However, if you are an alchemist, almost every shop will allow you in.”
After hearing the Black Count’s explanation, everyone recalled the fame of Monsignor Magic Material Street but still didn’t understand Angel’s point.
Daus: “Is there any connection between Monsignor Magic Material Street and what you’re saying?”
At this moment, the Black Count’s voice rang out again: “Probably because the vast majority of shops on Monsignor Magic Material Street have alchemy puppets at their entrances. These alchemy puppets usually serve as attendants and also as ticket sellers who verify your qualifications to enter.”
Angel nodded in agreement: “As expected, Lord Black Count has the experience. Yes, that’s exactly what I mean.”
The Black Count sighed: “Not everyone has been to Monsignor Magic Material Street.”
Angel hesitated and said: “Even if you haven’t been to Monsignor Magic Material Street, you should be able to infer it. Alchemy streets in other extraordinary cities should be similar, right?”
The Black Count gave Angel a meaningful glance without responding further.
Instead, Daus spoke in a strange tone: “The extraordinary city you’ve been to, could it only be… Sky Mechanical City?”
Angel was momentarily stunned.
Daus’ odd tone and the Black Count’s meaningful gaze were subtly conveying a fact to Angel: other extraordinary cities were completely different from Monsignor Magic Material Street in Sky Mechanical City.
Angel cleared his throat and coughed twice: “How is that possible? I’ve been to quite a few extraordinary cities, just didn’t often visit their alchemy streets.”
Daus narrowed his eyes: “For example?”
Angel’s eyes twinkled as he softly replied: “Like, Sleepless City.”
“Sleepless City in the Eternal Night Kingdom, before being covered by the dome, was both a large wizard organization and considered an extraordinary city.” Daus asked: “You went to Sleepless City, didn’t you explore the alchemy street?”
Angel replied: “When I went… there was already a dome.”
Everyone: “……”
Daus: “With the dome, how did you get in?”
Angel: “I walked in.”
“…Then how did you get out? According to rumors, the current Sleepless City is a place of no return. In the years I’ve run the Cross Bar, I’ve never heard of anyone who could come out.”
Angel: “How did I get out? I walked out.”
Daus: “……”
Angel: “But at that time, I wasn’t alone. My mentor, Sanders, was also there.”
Upon hearing this, Daus entered a state of speculation, assuming Sanders had helped Angel escape.
Daus: “Alright, let’s skip the Sleepless City issue. What about other places?”
Angel furrowed his brows, his thoughts racing… He hadn’t actually been to many extraordinary cities; instead, he had visited numerous wizard markets.
Although some wizard markets were comparable in scale to extraordinary cities, they were ultimately not extraordinary cities.
After a few seconds, Angel said: “There are many more, like Emberstone Titan, Sky Island, Watchtower Fortress, La Sutherland, Cold Ancient Ruins… etc.”
The names Angel mentioned, except the first three, were unfamiliar. They were frontline bases of the Abyss. They might be considered wizard markets but not exactly extraordinary cities.
“The first few can be considered extraordinary cities, but isn’t La Sutherland a Demon City? And what the Abyss is Cold Ancient City?”
Angel: “Anyway, they’re just extraordinary cities. Why are you nitpicking? The most important thing now is what’s in front of us, not my experiences. Moreover, I don’t need to explain everything to you.”
After finishing his sentence, Angel quickly changed the subject: “Back to the main topic, besides my previous deduction, there’s another important point that supports my conclusion.”
Angel pointed to the floor near the alchemy puppet’s feet and the puppet’s hands: “Both places have runes, and they are interconnected. As long as you have some knowledge of runes, you can understand the purpose of the alchemy puppet by deciphering them.”
Daus: “……You could have just said that reason from the beginning.”
This evidence was evidently more substantial, making the deduction seem almost like a joke.
The thoughts of the crowd were similar to Daus. However, Angel personally still felt that his own reasoning was more important. It was precisely because of the related conjectures that when observing the runes later, the speed of understanding was faster.
However, Angel did not argue this issue with Daus. As he himself said, it was more important now to consider how, after obtaining the answers, they could leave this platform, rather than focusing on how to get the answers.
“Actually, we don’t necessarily have to follow the rules, right? Even if the stairs are projections, we can fly to the end following the projections,” Daus presented his own idea.
However, as soon as Daus finished speaking, the Black Count spoke up: “There is a scent of danger in the void.”
At this moment, Angel also said: “Even if we disregard the hidden dangers in the void, are you really sure that following the projections can take us to the end? Perhaps these projections themselves are misleading.”
“So, we have no other choice now but to leave this platform through this alchemy puppet.”
Kael: “Then should we consider how to purchase a pass now?”
“If there is a ticket box, do we need to use magic crystals to buy a pass?” Vai asked.
Upon hearing that it would cost magic crystals, Daus instinctively took a step back.
Angel glanced at him, and Daus immediately said: “I didn’t bring too many magic crystals this time, so…”
Daus hesitated to speak, his eyes continuously glancing at Angel’s bracelet, occasionally giving a coquettish glance.
Angel said somewhat speechlessly: “Are you guys so sure it’s magic crystals?”
“Not magic crystals, then what?” Daus stammered.
Angel: “Go ask and you’ll know.”
“Ask?” The crowd was stunned. Before they could understand the meaning of this statement, they saw Angel quickly walk out of the moving illusion realm and arrive in front of the alchemy puppet.
At the moment Angel came out of the illusion realm, the alchemy puppet’s dim and lifeless eyes began to emit a faint dark red light.
“Sensing activation, a rather primitive mechanical activation method. However, the sensing speed is quite fast. Even in the current Achillea assessment, this sensing speed can still achieve high scores,” Angel explained to the crowd through the mental connection while watching the alchemy puppet.
Click, click-click——
After the red light flickered in the eyes, they heard the internal click sounds of the alchemy puppet, indicating that it had entered the “activation” phase.
One second, two seconds… until five seconds later, the clicking sounds ceased.
“Although the activation time is slow, considering the factors of age erosion, this activation speed has exceeded my expectations. The crafter is not very proficient in mechanical alchemy, but has quite good expertise in runes.”
While Angel made comments in his mind, the alchemy puppet also lifted its head, staring at Angel with red light.
About two seconds later, the red light began to flicker, followed by a series of mechanical sounds entering the ears of the crowd.
“Face not recorded, non-researcher, non-prisoner, no criminal record.”
“Temporary Identity: Civilian.”
“Manipulation Authority: None.”
After saying this, the alchemy puppet stopped speaking and stood dumbfounded in front of the stairs.
“Didn’t you say it was a ticket seller?” Daus asked in the mental connection with confusion: “You might have misjudged, right?”
Angel ignored Daus and directly addressed the alchemy puppet: “I want to go over, what conditions need to be met?”
The alchemy puppet’s eyes emitted dark red light again, flickered for two seconds, and familiar mechanical sounds came.
“Please present your pass, or pay the toll.”
When the alchemy puppet said this, everyone’s expressions became strange.
Earlier, when Angel said this was a ticket seller, they actually had doubts, but since Angel was a professional in alchemy and runes, they couldn’t refute him in person.
Anyway, whether this alchemy puppet was a ticket seller or not could be tested.
At first, when the alchemy puppet spoke, they thought it was a professional gatekeeper, with even face records. So, they didn’t believe it was the so-called ticket seller.
But when Angel indicated that he wanted to go over, the alchemy puppet’s speech changed.
The first sentence: “Please present your pass,” was still normal. This kind of important area requires a pass to enter, which is understandable.
But the latter sentence: “Or pay the toll,” was off.
The first sentence was like a cold and heartless guard, while the latter sentence turned into a corrupt official accepting bribes.
This was a stark contrast, even Black Count, such an experienced big shot, had a moment of confusion.
“Unexpected, it really is… a ticket seller,” Daus said with difficulty: “Why is that?”
Not only could Daus not figure it out, but the others couldn’t either.
At this moment, Angel spoke again: “If I choose to pay the toll, by what standard is this based on?”
This statement once again triggered the alchemy puppet’s response. With the intellect of this particular alchemy puppet, it would be very difficult to converse fluently with Angel. The current situation clearly arose because its creator had previously set the answer for this question in advance.
“Offer your treasures to the Box of Cecia, and it will naturally determine whether your toll meets the standard.”
“Box of Cecia?” Angel, puzzled, fixed his gaze on the box in the alchemy puppet’s hand.
Previously, he hadn’t paid much attention to this box, assuming it was merely a ticket receptacle. But now it seemed he might have misjudged it. This was not just a ticket box, it also possessed the ability to appraise treasures?
Yet, treasures are inherently difficult to evaluate.
Just as Jon once said: “One man’s honey is another man’s poison.” Many so-called treasures carry additional subjective values, making it very hard to apply a single unified standard in their appraisal.
For example, the painting of the Magic Painter Wizard, even if it were just a painting devoid of any extraordinary power, would not be cheap. This is because the Magic Painter Wizard, by virtue of his own status, bestows additional value upon the artwork.
Therefore, Angel found it a bit hard to imagine how this Box of Cecia could judge whether one’s toll was sufficient.
“Or is it that this Box of Cecia requires specific types of treasures in order to make its evaluation?”
Angel conveyed the doubts in his heart to everyone.
The Black Count contemplated for a moment before speaking: “An appraisal-type alchemy item? That is indeed very rare. I haven’t heard of one for many years. I only vaguely recall that thousands of years ago, a prophecy wizard once combined the art of prophecy to craft an alchemy item with a similar effect.”
The Black Count’s words enlightened Angel. Assessing the value of a treasure is indeed highly subjective, but if guided by the power of prophecy, it might still be possible to achieve appraisal.
In other words, appraisal-type alchemy items basically all contain a prophetic quality. Without it, it would be very difficult to discern the value of a treasure.
The Black Count added: “However, to my knowledge, that particular item was not called the Box of Cecia. Moreover, its appraisal effect wasn’t all that impressive.”
When he finished speaking, everyone turned their eyes toward the box in the alchemy puppet’s hand, each showing a hint of thoughtfulness.
Although the Black Count said that the other item’s effect was underwhelming, even so, as long as the Box of Cecia truly was an appraisal-type alchemy item, it should still be of considerable value, right?
Even if they didn’t express it, Angel could guess from their expressions what everyone was thinking.
After a moment’s thought, Angel said: “While I can’t confirm whether the Box of Cecia is connected to the magic formation of this place, I am certain that the alchemy puppet itself is linked to the magic formation of this alternate dimension.”
In other words, in this strange alternate dimension, it’s best not to provoke this alchemy puppet.
“Of course, if someone among you has already made up your mind to snatch the Box of Cecia, I trust you’ve also thought of a strategy. Whether you succeed or not is none of my concern. However, it’s best to wait until we leave here before you make a move.” Although Angel did not name anyone, everyone’s gaze shifted to Daus.
Daus said: “Are you all so certain I’m going to grab it?”
Seeing that no one answered, Daus snorted coldly, walked over to Vai, and used his red sword to cut a small wound on his index finger.
When fresh blood oozed out, Daus hurriedly said: “Quick, quickly, help me smell it.”
Before Vai could speak, the Black Count calmly said: “The shadow of death shrouds the choice you are contemplating in your mind.”
Daus froze: “My lord used Death Scent?”
“Otherwise?”
“My lord truly sensed that I am covered by the shadow of death?”
The Black Count said flatly: “Believe it or not, that’s up to you.”
With that, the Black Count ignored Daus. Daus stood there in a daze for quite some time, his face alternating between blue and white, before finally swallowing hard and raising his head to speak to everyone: “I never intended to snatch that Box of Cecia. Don’t slander me. I—I am planning to follow all of you until the end.”
Everyone: “……”
Angel also found Daus rather exasperating, but over the past few days he had grown used to Daus’ thick-skinned behavior and was too weary to mock him further.
“Let’s set irrelevant matters aside for now.” Angel said: “We’ll know if the Box of Cecia is indeed one of those appraisal-type alchemy items with prophetic qualities that the Black Count mentioned once we test it.”
As for what to use to test it? Undoubtedly, magic crystals should be the first attempt.
Chapter 2635 Void Staircase <TOC> Chapter 2637 Blood Flower Seal