Chapter 470 Clouds, Fog, and Heavenly Machinations <TOC> Chapter 472 Mealtime Conversations
Translator: SumTLMan
Midora was crafting a potion at the alchemy workbench when he glanced at Angel out of the corner of his eye. He gestured for Angel to be quiet and stand aside.
Angel complied and moved to the side.
Since Midora didn’t drive him out, he probably didn’t mind Angel observing his alchemy. Thus, Angel boldly focused his gaze on Midora’s alchemy techniques.
In the various schools of potioncraft, Midora belonged to the innovative school, which focused on reforms and the abandonment of established patterns. They aimed to retain the essence of potioncraft and discard any unnecessary steps.
Angel didn’t know much about potions, but watching Midora craft them, he felt like he was watching a meticulous scientist at work. The occasional appearance of flames and the flow of magic in Midora’s hands, however, reminded him that this was the Wizarding World, not Earth.
Time passed, and when the minute hand of the clock turned 45 degrees, reaching noon, Midora finally put down his work.
A pink potion with blood-red specks was placed into an exquisite silver potion bottle by Midora.
Midora shook the bottle, listening to the sound of bubbles bursting and liquid hitting the walls. He recorded some data with a feather pen, then sealed it and wrote in elegant script: Improved Peach-Red Potion.
The Peach-Red Potion was a famous low-level potion. Despite its romantic name, it was far from it in practice. It was an auxiliary potion used during bloodline refinement, which usually resulted in a bloody scene.
However, Angel had never seen an improved version before and wondered what part Midora had improved.
“I added some blood-producing materials to the improved Peach-Red Potion to maintain the body’s basic vitality during bloodline refinement,” Midora explained, noticing Angel’s curiosity.
Maintaining basic vitality?
Angel’s eyes lit up, as he had been looking for potions that could maintain bodily vitality. Although the primary purpose of the Peach-Red Potion wasn’t to nourish the body, it opened up a conversation.
“Master Midora, I wanted to ask about methods to nourish the body,” Angel asked curiously.
Midora glanced at him and said, “It depends on your purpose. For example, bloodline refinement and bloodline injection both require nourishing the body, but their methods differ.”
“Soul separation,” Angel said. “After performing the Soul Binding spell, how can the body’s vitality be maintained for a longer period in a soul state?”
“You mean this? I thought you were planning on injecting a bloodline…” Midora muttered, looking at Angel: “Actually, you can use some magic plants to create a nutrient solution, and then let your body soak in it to maintain activity for a long time. This only requires understanding basic potion knowledge, and you don’t even need to study it in depth.”
“But, that’s not what I meant.” Angel hesitated for a moment and decided to tell the truth about his situation. However, he obscured the issue of Gravity Lines, saying: “I have a secret spell that requires the consumption of soul power and can only be used when my soul leaves my body. But once my soul leaves, my body’s constraints will cause my soul to be unable to stay outside for too long.”
“An emergency method for nurturing the body?” Midora thought for a moment, “Actually, many potions can achieve the effect you mentioned, which is to temporarily increase the vitality of the body. The longer ones can last for an hour, and the shorter ones can add ten minutes.”
“But when it comes to cost-effectiveness and ease of obtaining, probably the best option left is the Gypsy-style Celyan Witch Soup.”
Angel was not unfamiliar with Witch Soup, as Promi’s alchemy shop sold it. This is a special soup made by the Gypsy school, between potionology and gourmet cuisine, with different materials, effects, and inheritances, but ultimately using the same cooking method to create a collectively named Witch Soup.
The classification of Witch Soup is named after the creator.
For example, Caralan Witch Soup, Celyan Witch Soup, Shanna Witch Soup… Caralan, Celyan, Shanna, etc., are the names of the creators.
Because of the strong constraints of Witch Soup, its application scope is not wide, and it often cannot be applied to the right problem. However, it has one unique feature: Witch Soup has almost no side effects on the human body, which is incomparable to other schools.
“Celyan Witch Soup is mainly for bloodline side-wizards, allowing them to maintain their body’s vitality even after using a lot of physical strength.” Midora paused: “Using it in your situation should be fine.”
After finishing speaking, Midora added: “Celyan Witch Soup is a popular potion, and it’s available for sale in the main city area.”
—Celyan Witch Soup. Angel memorized this name in his heart.
After talking about nurturing the body, Midora said:
“You came to find me not just to talk about nurturing the body, right? Do you want to go to the library or… something else?” His gaze fell on Angel’s hands, where a stack of parchment was held. Although he couldn’t see the specific content on the parchment, the glimpses of a corner made him raise an eyebrow.
Angel handed over the parchment in his hand.
“Mainly, I came to consult the master about the mechanical arm I designed. Are there any omissions or errors?” Angel respectfully asked.
“Mechanical arm?” Midora took the parchment, and just from the name, he could roughly guess the content of what Angel wanted to create.
When Midora saw the first draft on the first page, his eyes lit up.
What Sky Mechanical City takes the most pride in is its mechanical alchemy. Although Midora mainly focuses on potion studies, he is not unfamiliar with mechanical alchemy. As the honorary vice president of the research institute, he spends a lot of time every day exposed to mechanical alchemy. As a result, his vision for mechanical alchemy is no less than that for alchemical potions.
Angel’s draft on the first page was actually just an exploded diagram.
It was an exploded diagram of a mechanical arm, including the wheels, the functions of each part, and the general appearance.
However, in order to make the image complete, Angel drew the entire thing, not just the mechanical arm. He drew the head, body, and legs as well. However, only the mechanical arm had a complete cross-sectional exploded diagram, while other parts were just conceptual sketches.
The source of this concept, of course, was the “mecha” originally shown to Nausica.
The mecha, full of Earth’s technological style, was completely different from the mainstream aesthetics of the Wizarding World, but the shock it brought was the same. At that time, Shalem, who saw the mecha painting for the first time, also exclaimed, “cool” repeatedly.
At that time, Angel had only drawn a half-length image of the mecha. This time, he drew the entire mecha, with its metallic texture and distinct, futuristic appearance, which was very eye-catching.
Midora pointed to the mecha on the parchment and asked, “Have you seen mechanical armaments?”
Angel was puzzled: “What are mechanical armaments?”
After asking this question, Midora shook his head in denial: “This style is different from what the research institute has designed, but the concept is very similar.”
After talking to himself, Midora looked at Angel more kindly: “Not only do you have a high alchemy talent, but your vision and creativity are also very good. This thing should be wearable, right?”
Angel thought about the mechas on Earth. Most of them were wearable, but there were also those controlled remotely or operated by artificial intelligence: “Yes, it is.”
“I thought so.” Midora showed an “as I expected” expression: “You know about the research institute, right?”
Angel nodded. The research institute is the core of the entire Sky Mechanical City. All cutting-edge mechanical alchemy products come from the research institute. The person in charge is one of the two city lords of the Sky Mechanical City, the one responsible for the negative side area — ‘Mediocre’ Muse.
“About thirty years ago, Muse began to develop mechanical armaments in the research institute, which were also wearable full-cover mechanical armor. Several sets have been completed so far, but he has always been dissatisfied with their power, so they have not been released publicly. The number of people who know about this matter does not exceed ten.” At this point, Midora sighed slightly: “I didn’t expect your idea to coincide with Muse’s.”
Midora spoke at this time, fully believing that Angel would definitely become a master-level alchemist in the future. Such an outstanding vision and terrifying talent all prove that the title of “Master of Tomorrow” is not an illusion.
After praising Angel, Midora suppressed the urge to immediately go to the research institute to share the news with Muse and began to look at the mechanical arm designed by Angel.
After looking at the analysis diagram of the mechanical arm, Midora first asked about his intention to craft the mechanical arm, and then began to analyze the practicality of each function little by little.
This discussion took half a day.
When the laboratory door was pushed open, the outside world was already dusk.
When Adelia entered, she saw Midora and Angel with their heads together, discussing something intently. They occasionally used illusion magic to help visualize their ideas.
Adelia had thought it would be a one-sided teaching session from Midora, but instead, it was an exchange between the two of them. Angel even held his ground at times, causing Midora to become red-faced and angry, and even cursing in frustration.
Such a scene usually only occurs when Midora interacts with other alchemy masters, but now he is facing a wizard’s apprentice. Adelia found this scene interesting, and she didn’t feel any sense of incongruity.
Adelia watched for about half an hour, and seeing that their discussion was coming to an end, she took advantage of the break before the next stage of the conversation and interjected, “Okay, let’s go eat first. Continue the discussion after the meal. Duoding is waiting outside and is almost starving. He is growing, and we can’t let him go hungry.”
Upon hearing Adelia’s words, Angel felt as if he were here just for the food and wanted to excuse himself and leave.
But Midora stopped him. It was rare to encounter a good perspective, and the holder of that perspective was also quite good. Although Angel might be wrong in many alchemy basics, his vision and breadth of thinking were wide. Under the influence of this, he also provided a lot of inspiration to Midora. It can be said that Angel is an excellent exchange partner, even if he is only an apprentice.
Having tasted the sweetness, Midora was unwilling to let Angel leave easily, “Don’t go back, let’s have dinner here. After dinner, I want to argue with you about several issues, especially the choice of materials. You have to listen to me.”
Angel smiled bitterly, “Master, it’s not that I don’t listen to you, it’s because those materials…”
“Stop!” Adelia stepped between the two, “Save the discussion for after dinner. Angel, come with me upstairs first, otherwise this old fellow won’t let you go.”
With that, Adelia dragged Angel up the stairs.
Back in the cozy little cabin, Adelia signaled Angel to sit down first, and she went to the kitchen to finish the cooking.
Perhaps because of the long wait, Duoding was lying on the table, fast asleep, saliva flowing down the side of his mouth.
Doduo, on the other hand, was coiled on his lap, also resting.
The window showed the moon and stars, while the scent of food wafted in the air.
In this peaceful moment, Angel felt inexplicably at ease in his heart.
Chapter 470 Clouds, Fog, and Heavenly Machinations <TOC> Chapter 472 Mealtime Conversations