Chapter 648 Overcoming Difficulties <TOC> Chapter 650 Cathedral of the Dead
Translator: SumTLMan
Looking at this sign, Gloria’s face showed a touch of nostalgia.
Back then, the young man who trembled like a salted fish on a cutting board in the Barbie Restaurant, shirtless and waiting for someone to finish him off, had come this far.
Who would have thought the winds of change in the wizarding world would blow so quickly?
Especially that arrogant “Mithril Shaper” Jailall, who only entered the Barbie Restaurant by riding on Angel’s coattails. He later forced Angel to choose the Fragment Ephemera using strong-arm tactics.
He probably never imagined that in just three short years, Angel’s reputation in the alchemy world would not be much worse than his own.
Life is truly wonderful; the candlelight of old times gives way to a new world’s downpour in the blink of an eye.
Gloria chuckled: “Angel, that kid, must be my most valuable investment in a hundred years, right? But the luckiest one is still Sanders, who got a future alchemy master with just a few sweet words.”
Looking at the lion’s heart entwined in thorns, Gloria raised her eyebrows.
Although she didn’t know the specific meaning of this sign, it didn’t prevent her from taking note of it.
Back to the essence of the “Dream Twins” brooch.
So far, the shape and materials are quite good, but for an alchemy product, the appearance is ultimately not as important as the actual function.
“I just don’t know how many of the requirements I proposed Angel has met.”
As the energy from the magic crystal poured in, Gloria, full of curiosity and anticipation, saw the world in front of her gradually blur and entered a fantastical realm.
Angel’s power was ultimately too weak, and for Gloria to enter the Illusory Realm woven by Angel, she had to completely let down her mental defenses.
For other wizards, letting down their mental defenses might cause hesitation, but with the lesson of the Feather Earrings, Gloria didn’t hesitate at all.
With her mental defenses completely lowered, she calmly let the illusion invade her spiritual world.
In the darkness, Gloria listened with her ears, hearing a faint sound of wind.
The smell in her nostrils was no longer the damp lakeshore but the scent of plants mixed with the smell of grass and wood.
Gloria suddenly opened her eyes, surrounded by darkness with only the pure white moon hanging in the sky, casting cold white frost on the ground.
Ever since she arrived in the Mirror World, Gloria hadn’t seen the night. She didn’t expect to see the night in Angel’s illusion.
Where is this place? What kind of experience would this Illusory Realm bring her?
Gloria curiously observed the surroundings, but it was too dark, even with the moonlight shining, she could still barely see anything clearly.
“Even night vision is stripped away?”
Gloria knew that she could forcibly break through the sensory deprivation set by Angel, but she didn’t do so. In fact, when she asked Angel to create this illusion, she had a playful and relaxed mindset, so why make this rare relaxation time tense?
Gloria stood still, allowing her eyes to slowly adjust to the darkness.
As her eyes became accustomed to the darkness, the basic outlines of the surroundings gradually appeared.
She was standing on a very smooth path, with dense jungles on both sides. The cold moonlight illuminated the tops of the tall and flourishing trees as if covered in the first snow, but only the tops, the lower part was still pitch black.
A forest path covered by tall trees? But this path was too smooth! This astonishing level of smoothness, Gloria had only seen in the Gloriosa Kingdom and rarely elsewhere.
However, the material of this path seemed different from the stone slabs in the Gloriosa Kingdom. It seemed to be a mixture of various materials?
Gloria crouched down and touched the ground, feeling a slight graininess.
“Strange,” Gloria murmured quietly, unable to see the path ahead clearly, she turned back instead.
Her rear path led to a mountain of indeterminable height, and the path she was standing on extended from a very regular tunnel excavated on the mountain wall.
“This tunnel is interesting, similar to a steam train tunnel, but much more smooth and regular. Is this a technology humans can achieve?” Gloria walked curiously towards the tunnel.
Upon reaching the tunnel entrance, she found a small stone post.
Strange ropes were tied to this stone post, with oddly-shaped copper bells hanging from them. On the outside of the stone post, there were many trays of what seemed like offerings.
“So, people worship this stone post?” Gloria looked puzzled as she walked towards the tunnel.
After a while, Gloria returned to the stone post outside the tunnel.
There was a landslide in the tunnel, making it impassable. However, Gloria also discovered that the tunnel floor was as smooth as the path she was standing on now.
Not built for trains, but perhaps for carriages? Too luxurious.
Since the rear path was blocked, Gloria decided to follow the path ahead.
But just as she took a step, a strange wind blew down from the mountain top.
Gloria instantly froze in her tracks as she heard a crisp “ringing” sound behind her.
Looking back, the wind had actually blown the bells tied to the stone post. Moreover, with the vibration spreading, all the bells on the rope began to ring.
Ding ding, jingle jingle.
The bells were ringing, the wind hadn’t stopped yet. The trees on both sides of the path were swaying, and amidst their wavering shadows, leaves were blown off.
Each falling leaf carried a crescent of white, floating and swaying before Gloria, resembling sparse snowflakes or melodious willow catkins, blurring her vision.
As Gloria was still observing this rare natural beauty, two headlights suddenly lit up behind the “snowflakes.”
The sudden light not only dazzled her eyes but also made Gloria tense up.
The source of the light was a previously checked abandoned cave! But when she had entered the cave just now, she saw only collapsed earth and rocks; where did these headlights come from?
Moreover, Gloria could feel a slight vibration emanating from the cave, which didn’t seem like vehicles or horses, but more like some magical creature running at full speed.
So, it wasn’t a car light but the eyes of some magical creature?
As Gloria observed cautiously, a horn sounded from within, as if telling her: I am a car! I am a car!
But when “it” truly revealed itself, Gloria’s face was full of astonishment.
“It” was a magical creature, but it also looked like a car.
It was a large orange-striped cat, its eyes bright and shining like car headlights. The interior of the cat was hollow, even having window-like grids.
The orange cat stopped in front of Gloria.
Before she could react, the cat automatically opened the “car door” at its waist, revealing the fluffy space inside.
Accompanied by the sound of the horn, a peculiar phrase came from the cat’s mouth:
“Beautiful lady, the Cat Bus is at your service.”
…
At this moment, Angel was sitting in Iron Armor Fortress, facing Iron Armor Granny.
Iron Armor Granny moved elegantly, picking up the teacup on the porcelain plate on the table, smelling the unprecedented fragrance, and taking a gentle sip.
The warm and energizing tea rolled down her throat.
Iron Armor Granny closed her eyes, savoring the aftertaste of the tea – bitter, mild, and sweet. Although it was her first time drinking this kind of tea, it didn’t hinder her enjoyment of the pleasure the tea brought her.
When she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Toby, swallowing his saliva.
Toby stretched his head, constantly glancing at the teacup in her hand.
Angel couldn’t help but feel embarrassed, trying to restrain Toby, but this insatiable creature showed no respect for his efforts.
“Please forgive him, Granny. When I first met Toby, it was actually because of this tea. I haven’t brewed this tea since then, so…”
“No worries.” Iron Armor Granny smiled and beckoned Toby over. “Come, drink up. Your master left plenty of tea leaves with me, so you can come and drink whenever you want.”
“Granny, you’re spoiling him too much.”
“I told you, I like Toby. Let him keep this lonely old woman company.” Iron Armor Granny said with a light smile.
“Well… alright.” Angel sighed and took some more “Morning Dew After Rain” tea leaves from his bracelet, handing them to Iron Armor Granny. “These tea leaves will stay here with you as Toby’s tea supply. But don’t always give it to him, or he’ll get too used to it.”
Iron Armor Granny accepted the tea leaves, laughing. “I may spoil him, but not as much as you do. This little fellow is fortunate to have met such a good master.”
“We are the closest of friends.” Angel explained: “By the way, Granny, what do you think of this tea? Will Lord Sumesh like it?”
“The tea is excellent, truly top-notch. Whether Sumesh likes it or not, he will appreciate the thought behind it.” Iron Armor Granny gave a simple evaluation, then her eyes flashed with sentiment. “Moreover, this tea seems to have the effect of the White Orchid Elixir, with minimal side effects. It’s also a precious magical material.”
“Granny, do you know about alchemy?”
“I don’t know much about alchemy, but I have taken the White Orchid Elixir before, refined by… a friend of mine.” Iron Armor Granny paused, not waiting for Angel to ask further, and changed the subject. “Speaking of which, you said that you and Toby met through this tea. What’s the story?”
Angel hesitated, then recounted the scene of their first meeting.
An hour later, Angel left Iron Armor Fortress and watched it walk away, crossing mountains and valleys until it disappeared from sight.
Seeing this, Angel couldn’t help but think of the Cat Bus he had created in the “Dream Twins” illusion. The Cat Bus, like the Iron Armor Fortress, also traveled over mountains and valleys using its legs.
The prototype for the Cat Bus came from an animated film in the holographic tablet.
In that illusion, there were many magical areas that seemed unconnected, but there was one thing that connected them all… the Cat Bus.
Angel wondered if Gloria had discovered the Cat Bus yet. She must have, right? After all, he had set up many bus stops for it.
Chapter 648 Overcoming Difficulties <TOC> Chapter 650 Cathedral of the Dead