Chapter 399 Ice Cavern <TOC> Chapter 401 The Strange Ice Cavern
Translator: SumTLMan
“Is this place just a cold storage room without any other dangers?” Shadow asked with a deep gaze, staring at Phineas, whose tone had become somewhat dejected: “You said earlier that starting from this level, there is a certain danger in each level above. So, were you deceiving us?”
Phineas: “I did not deceive you. I told you this place was once used by Lady Isabelle for soul training. As long as you don’t insist on going to the depths of the Ice Cavern, there won’t be any danger.”
As they spoke, they had reached a fork in the cold cavern. Two paths, one to the left and one to the right, lay before them.
Both paths extended and, with the help of the wall lamps, one could see that both paths were filled with cold air, frost covering the long corridors. Just standing at this confluence, the icy wind passing through made them shiver involuntarily.
“The left path leads to the depths of the Ice Cavern. The right path leads to the exit of the next level.” Phineas said.
“Which side are the materials you mentioned on?” Angel asked.
Phineas glanced at Angel: “Even if it’s just low-grade materials, if you were to use them casually, and if the mentor discovers it, the consequences would be unimaginable.”
“Once, there was an apprentice who accidentally damaged some unranked materials, the mentor threw her into the Land of Soul Hunting.”
At this point, Shadow also advised: “I know your material list, but now is not the time to think about materials. Besides, Phineas is right, Isabella, that old witch, is a petty and meticulous person. How about this, if we can successfully leave Black Castle, I will give you all the materials on your list for free.”
Angel looked at Phineas and mentally communicated with Shadow: “According to Phineas, are you sure you can pass the Land of Soul Hunting?”
Shadow hesitated for a moment, not understanding why Angel brought it up: “If the ghost are not densely packed, we can sneak through.”
“Regardless of the number of ghost, we can sneak through, but what about Phineas? Without her, can we continue to move forward?” There were many mechanisms in Black Castle, and these mechanism puzzles included forward thinking, reverse thinking, psychological deception, common sense induction… and so on. Just as they had walked from the Blood Prison to this place, they had seen many strange puzzle-solving methods. As Angel said, without Phineas, the local snake, it would be difficult for them to smoothly proceed to the next level.
“I don’t understand what you mean, what exactly are you trying to express?” Shadow agreed with Angel’s statement, but what was the necessary connection between this and the current situation?
Angel: “As I said, I am an alchemist. As long as you provide me with materials, I can refine items to deal with the ghost or expel them.”
When Angel said that he would refine items to deal with the ghost, Shadow did not believe him in his heart.
In his mind, how could a item to deal with the ghost be something that an alchemy apprentice could refine?
Shadow stared at Angel with suspicion, but Angel appeared calm, which made Shadow somewhat uncertain. He pondered for a moment: “Are you sure?”
Angel nodded.
“So…” Shadow wanted to believe Angel, but sometimes belief was not enough: “Even if we have enough materials, it will take a long time, right? We can’t spend too much time here.”
Angel was silent for a moment: “One day, as long as there are materials, give me one day.”
The last time he made a revolver for Bass, it also took only one day. His bracelet contained energy stabilizers, and he had plenty of magic crystals, so as long as he had enough time, he was confident in successfully crafting it within a day.
“One day? That’s so fast?” According to Shadow’s knowledge of alchemy, it was impossible to be that fast… But Angel probably wouldn’t deceive him on this matter, as they both needed to work together to leave Black Castle. He thought for a moment and then said: “Can it really dispel ghosts?”
Angel nodded. Shadow also felt the serious emotion conveyed through their mental link.
Shadow closed his eyes and was silent for a moment. In the end, he chose to trust Angel: “Alright, if it’s only one day, we should be able to afford the delay.”
The two communicated through their mental link, so Phineas was not aware of their conversation. She just stood quietly on the side, shivering from the cold and immersed in her feeling of self-pity from being abandoned.
After leaving the three-layered bath, Phineas only wore a thin gauze bathrobe, which barely covered her, revealing glimpses of her body as she walked. It was clear how thin the robe was. It was impossible for such a thin layer to protect her from the cold. Upon arriving at the Ice Cavern, the cold air continuously harassed her, her skin turning red from the frost, but now that her life was at stake, she dared not move and only wished to leave the Ice Cavern as soon as possible.
With both her mind and body hurt, Phineas felt greatly wronged.
At this moment, she suddenly felt a shadow looming over her head.
“Put this on for now.” Angel’s voice entered her ears. She struggled to sit up and saw that the shadow was a thick black cotton-padded coat.
The coat was a men’s style, wide and large, with a somewhat dim and grayish color, not particularly flattering on a woman.
But now was not the time to be picky. Phineas timidly thanked him and put on the coat.
Instantly, the cotton’s touch brought a gentle warmth, and the redness on her skin gradually faded.
“Where should I put the materials?” After Phineas put on the coat, Angel asked.
Phineas glanced at Diavolo and noticed he didn’t try to dissuade Angel as before. Apparently, they had reached an agreement during their mental conversation earlier.
Phineas didn’t say anything else and pointed to the left side of the fork in the road: “The materials are all stored here.”
“In the depths of the Ice Cavern?” The left side was previously mentioned by Phineas as the way to the depths of the Ice Cavern.
Phineas nodded: “Because the temperature is lower near the depths, the preservation effect is better. However, it’s only close to the depths and still some distance away, so there won’t be too much danger.”
Shadow didn’t hesitate to turn and walk towards the left: “Then let’s go this way. Phineas, we need to spend one day here.”
Shadow did not explain the reason for the delay to Phineas, and Phineas understood the situation. She simply responded with a “Hmm.” indicating her understanding, and said nothing more.
As they walked along this path for less than ten minutes, the temperature began to drop rapidly, but it was still within tolerable limits.
The deeper they went, the more severe the signs of freezing on both sides became. What had initially been frost marks had now turned into ice tracks.
“Is the danger in the heart of the Ice Cavern the cold?” Shadow asked.
Phineas covered her mouth with both hands, breathing out white mist to keep warm. Her voice also became muffled: “Yes, I’ve heard that the center of the Ice Cavern has an ultra-low temperature that can even freeze souls. Even a formal wizard wanting to enter must prepare some means for soul protection.”
“It must be really cold then, if even souls can be frozen.”
They chatted for a while about soul protection. Finally, under Angel’s deliberate guidance, the topic shifted to “souls.”
At this point, Angel suddenly asked: “Phineas, do you know about Soul Beads?”
Phineas was startled for a moment and nodded: “Yes, I do.”
“I’ve heard that Soul Beads have the power to repair souls?”
Phineas thought the topic had naturally turned to Soul Beads, so she did not hide anything.
“In addition to repairing souls, they can also replenish soul energy. They are the most natural and harmless products. I’ve heard from my sisters that it seems that only our Black Castle produces Soul Beads.”
“Could there be Soul Beads in there?” Angel pointed to the heart of the Ice Cavern.
Phineas shook her head: “I don’t know where the Soul Beads are stored, but they’re definitely not underground because they attract too many ghosts. Keeping them underground would cause a ghost wave.”
After obtaining the information he wanted, Angel changed the subject again and began discussing other matters.
After walking for about another ten minutes, Phineas suddenly pointed to the open space in front of them: “We’re here. That’s where the materials are stored.”
The space was very open, covering an area of roughly twenty meters in diameter. Around the space, there were several iron doors. On the iron doors were marked identifiable patterns, such as a green sprout representing magical plants, a crystal representing ore, and a wave representing liquids…
“Materials are inside the door, and there are no traps here.” After a moment of silence, Phineas said to Angel: “If you’re prepared to face the consequences, you may enter.”
Angel and Shadow exchanged glances, and Shadow conveyed: “These are just low-grade materials. The chains of the Blood Prison you cut were probably more valuable than these materials. Don’t worry, if the old witch investigates this, I’ll share the responsibility with you.”
Angel nodded to Shadow, asking the two of them to stay outside while he entered following the markings on the door.
As Phineas had mentioned, the room was filled with various materials. However, they were all low-grade, even ungraded materials, and there were many of them.
Angel needed these low-grade materials. He moved in and out of the room, shuttling back and forth between the iron doors, quickly collecting the required materials.
He exited the iron door and found Shadow and Phineas warming themselves by a torch outside.
Angel said to Shadow: “I’m going to do some alchemy. Don’t disturb me during this time unless it’s important. Phineas, keep an eye on her. Although she seems resigned to her fate, we must still be cautious.”
Shadow nodded, signaling Angel to be at ease.
Angel ran a short distance back along the path he had taken and activated the Nightmare Domain.
As long as it wasn’t Sanders, Angel could definitely perform alchemy safely within the Nightmare Domain without worrying about being spied on. However, to be on the safe side, he left an illusory doppelganger outside while his true self hid within the Nightmare Domain.
Angel still planned to craft a revolver engraved with the “Prelude of Death” because after crafting it twice in a row, he was familiar with the process and less likely to make mistakes.
Without the need for deliberate foresight, Angel directly took out the materials and alchemy items, made the final adjustments to the holographic tablet’s projection, and prepared to begin crafting.
Chapter 399 Ice Cavern <TOC> Chapter 401 The Strange Ice Cavern