Translator: SumTLMan
The azure lake water rose above Angel’s ankles. He could see ripples on the lake’s surface, but there was no sensation of wetness under his feet. Instead, it felt as if he was stepping into emptiness.
Looking through the lake’s surface, he could see swaying aquatic plants at the bottom but not his own feet. The lake seemed like a mirror, separating two worlds.
Submerging his entire body, when Angel opened his eyes, he found himself at the foot of a magnificent peak.
Behind him was a door leading to nothingness, and in front of him was a mountain path.
Angel stood at the foot of the mountain, took out a record card, and input a bit of magic power into the circular hole in the center. The next moment, a straight red light flashed from the hole, shooting into the sky.
At the time, Bass had told him that by inputting magic power, a red light would shoot into the sky, and this light would be the signal to summon Iron Armor Fortress.
As for what Iron Armor Fortress was and where his otherworldly laboratory was located, Bass remained silent, only leaving the words, “You’ll know when the time comes.”
Angel had responded to Bass with the phrase “being deliberately mysterious” at the time, and now, upon seeing the red light, he had the same thought.
As the red light pierced the sky, Angel stood in front of the door to nothingness, waiting for less than 10 seconds before he heard a “clang, clang, clang” sound coming from the side of the continuous mountain range.
The clanging grew nearer, accompanied by the sound of a train horn.
“Could it be a train? But judging by the sound, it’s moving too fast,” Angel muttered to himself, looking left and right, but he couldn’t see any traces of rails.
As Angel frowned, a gray-blue smoke suddenly emerged from the lush mountainside.
Then, a tin house with legs popped out from the mountainside. Every time the tin house moved, the patch-like tin sheets on the outside made a clanging noise.
The tin house, with its slender iron legs, rushed toward Angel from the mountainside.
At this moment, Angel noticed that the train horn sound was coming from the tin house’s chimney.
The tin house took only a few steps before it flew like a kite and finally landed steadily in front of Angel.
As Angel stood there dumbfounded, Iron legs bent down, the tin house’s door opened, and an old woman wearing a blue and white dress, hunched over with a head full of silver hair, walked out.
Despite the old woman’s slow pace, she was quite agile. In just a few steps, she jumped down from the tin house and landed in front of Angel.
“Who are you?” Angel inquired respectfully.
The old woman smiled kindly and said, “You must be Angel. Come, let me have a good look at you.”
As the old woman scrutinized him from head to toe, Angel felt somewhat awkward, unsure whether to move or not.
“Indeed, you’re a good boy; handsome and gentle. It’s a pity you’re with Sanders; you would be better suited with Wallace.” the old woman gestured for Angel to follow her, “Bass has already informed me, and for the next five years, you can access the Flowing Source with your record card.”
When the old woman climbed onto the metal-roofed house, she realized that Angel had not ascended to Iron Armor Fortress.
“Come up, won’t you?” the old woman urged.
Angel stood beneath the metal-roofed house, asking with a puzzled expression, “Old lady, how should I address you?”
The old woman exclaimed, “Oh dear, look at me, forgetting to introduce myself! I’m the caretaker of Iron Armor Fortress and the lookout for the entire Flowing Source.” She patted the metal-roofed house’s shell, “This is Iron Armor Fortress. If you need to go to your lab in the future, you can call me, and the fortress will take you there.”
“As for me, just call me Iron Armor Granny. I’ve long forgotten my name.”
After finishing her words, Iron Armor Granny gestured for Angel to climb onto Iron Armor Fortress once more. This time, Angel did not refuse, and he obediently entered the metal-roofed house.
“Since it’s your first time here, I’ll slowly take you there while telling you about the rules of the Flowing Source.” Iron Armor Granny gestured for Angel to sit.
The metal-roofed house had three floors. On the first floor, where Angel was, various items were piled up, including mechanical parts, flowers, and bread. The items were diverse but orderly. In the center was a square wooden table covered with a blue and white checkered tablecloth, with two cups of hot tea steaming gently.
“Come, have some tea.” Iron Armor Granny pushed the tea towards Angel.
Smelling the rose-scented tea, Angel hesitated and waved his hand, “Thank you, Granny, but I’m not thirsty right now.”
Iron Armor Granny didn’t insist further and took a slow sip of her tea, exhaling deeply, “The Flowing Source has a total of 138 parallel labs, but only 36 slots have been opened to the public, and you’re one of them.”
“Are there still 102 parallel labs?” Angel asked, puzzled.
Iron Armor Granny smiled and asked in return, “Do you know how many official wizards we have in the Savage Grottoes?”
Angel recalled what Aubrey had said when he first entered the Savage Grottoes, in the resource hall: “118 people?”
Iron Armor Granny shook her head, “When you first entered the Savage Grottoes, it was indeed 118 people. However, during this past year, 11 official wizards of the Savage Grottoes died, 3 defected, 3 voluntarily left, and 1 was promoted. So, there are currently 102 official wizards in the Savage Grottoes.”
After Iron Armor Granny finished speaking, Angel immediately realized that the 102 parallel labs must belong to these 102 official wizards. However, compared to this, Angel was more concerned about the seemingly understated but potentially bloody statistics.
Within a year, 11 official wizards had died, but only one was promoted. Angel suddenly felt a chill down his spine, as the wizard population was experiencing negative growth.
No wonder the vast world of wizards remained unknown to ordinary people.
The number of wizards was simply too low. Moreover, at this rate, their numbers might dwindle even further.
Angel set aside these unnecessary thoughts and whispered, “Are those 102 laboratories for official wizards’ positions?”
Iron Armor Granny shook her head, “Of course not. These 102 laboratories are gifts given directly to official wizards by the organization.”
“Whenever a wizard dies, you wizard apprentices will have an additional position. Positions are for you.” After saying this, Iron Armor Granny pulled out a map and pointed out the 102 laboratories where the official wizards were located, “Although there are currently only a handful of people in these 102 laboratories, you must not enter these areas. Many wizards set traps outside their laboratories, which you cannot handle now.”
Angel nodded in agreement.
“You can use your laboratory as you please, but if it gets damaged due to explosions or destruction, you must provide compensation of equal value.” Iron Armor Granny sipped her fragrant rose tea and listed the rules of the Flowing Source.
“…Apart from the above, there are no other rules to pay attention to in the Flowing Source. Oh, one more thing: if you want to bring friends in, they must stay with you at all times; otherwise, without an ID card in the woods, no one will come to the rescue in case of ‘danger’.” Iron Armor Granny said this, smiling and pointing to Angel’s chest.
Underneath Angel’s wizard robe, Toby was lying on his back, fast asleep in the pocket.
Angel chuckled, “Understood.”
“Alright, we’re here. In the future, whether you’re leaving or entering, you can call Iron Armor Fortress for transportation.” Iron Armor Granny walked slowly towards the second floor, “I won’t see you off. There are no people within a hundred miles of this place. Whatever omen you want to create, no one will see it, so don’t worry.”
After saying this “considerate” sentence, Iron Armor Granny disappeared around the staircase corner.
Angel rubbed the back of his head and showed an awkward expression. It seemed that the dark cloud omen he caused in the Apprentice Town had spread, even reaching the ears of reclusive people like Iron Armor Granny.
However, Iron Armor Granny’s reminder reassured Angel. The spatial item he was about to refine should be able to advance to the intermediate level without any accidents. If another omen occurred at that time, it would be troublesome.
Although alchemical omens were not a big deal, they were still rare, with only two or three occurrences in the Savage Grottoes per year. If Angel’s alchemy level and the high completion of his enchanted alchemy were combined, omens would appear frequently and differ each time. In that case, a small matter might escalate into a significant issue.
At this moment, Angel was immensely grateful to Bass. Working on alchemy in the Flowing Source allowed him to be carefree and bold.
It’s not just that there was no one around for miles, but even if there were people, they wouldn’t casually intrude into someone else’s laboratory area. This was the basic principle of the Flowing Source.
……
The laboratory marked with number 13 was about ten meters tall and was a composite three-story castle-style building. However, like Iron Armor Fortress, it was made of iron sheets.
Not only was its exterior magnificent, but the interior design was also full of ingenuity.
The top three floors were living quarters. Angel took a stroll around, and all the basic furniture and decorations were in place. The basement was designed as a laboratory, with an incredibly spacious floor area and dozens of sections for different professions. Even tools for tailors could be found here.
Angel found the area dedicated to alchemy, and it was ten times the size of his own laboratory. The tools provided were of a higher quality than what Angel used. He couldn’t help but be enamored by the engraving pen that could add inscriptions.
After casting a dust removal spell and checking the magical energy setup in the room, ensuring there were no anomalies or traps, Angel woke Toby up.
Toby took out all the materials stored in the Snowy Feather and Angel moved them one by one to the material area. This material area also featured several different greenhouses and botanical gardens, with equipment that could gather sunlight from the outside world and observation cultivation tanks. Considering the uniqueness of various materials, Angel felt like he had hit the jackpot in this regard.