Chapter 946 Into the Abyss <TOC> Chapter 948 Nausica's Letter
Translator: SumTLMan
Nestled amidst a mountainous forest, remote from the Tree Spirit Court, lies a sublime canopy, christened the Rose Peak, wreathed in an ethereal mist.
Upon the deck of his flying vessel, Angel espied a resplendent red emerging from the midst of the mist. Even before he neared it, an almost imperceptible scent of roses wafted his way. It marked the beginning of Liana’s Rose Garden.
Angel had never set foot within this floral realm, but it wasn’t an otherworldly concept to him. Sanders, his mentor, had mentioned it time and again. Whenever Angel found himself entangled in the intricacies of his alchemy, Sanders would suggest seeking Liana in her Rose Garden. However, Angel had never heeded this advice.
Rather than flying straight up to the Rose Peak, Angel chose to descend at the foot of the mountain. Thereafter, he embarked on a tranquil ascent along the winding mountain path.
Liana, in an effort to shield her sanctuary from unwanted intrusion, had crafted a fragrant, poisonous cloud hovering over Rose Peak. Should Angel continue his aerial journey, it would be akin to courting death.
The only pathway led on foot through the serpentine mountain trail. As Angel made his way halfway up the incline, his path was obstructed by a seemingly impenetrable thicket of thorns. Glimpses of concealed architecture and a trail coiling through the shaded forest could be caught beyond the thorns.
Yet, the thorns were a force to reckon with, casting a vast shadow, reminiscent of an intimidating wall. Outsiders had a couple of choices to venture beyond—either leap over the thorny obstruction or hack through it. However, leaping would mean plunging into the poisonous cloud, while chopping through could potentially incur Liana’s wrath. Thus, the only viable option that remained was to resort to bribery.
Angel had heard whispers of secrets that the Rose Garden held, one of them being that this formidable thorny wall was a rose, a constituent of the garden adorning the mountaintop.
Offering a bribe to this rose would cause it to grant access, opening up a path to the intruder. Nonetheless, Angel felt no compulsion to resort to bribery. With a simple flick of his wrist, he procured a delicate crystal rose from his bracelet. As soon as it emerged, the thorny wall seemed to sense something and graciously parted ways, paving a path for him.
With an air of satisfaction, Angel, as deft as a cat threading its way through a thorny fence, managed to traverse the barricade of brambles.
However, in that transient moment of passage, a fleeting whisper wafted over, “Alas, what seemed a ripe lamb for plucking carries the master’s charm of safe passage!”
That crystal rose, the very key to the Rose Garden, had been handed to Angel by Sanders.
Feigning ignorance towards the whispered words, Angel continued his arduous climb up the mountain path. The higher he ventured, the more intoxicating the scent of the roses became. Standing before the gateway of the Rose Garden, the sublime fragrance that greeted him was an invitation that stirred the senses.
Submerged in such an overwhelming floral symphony, Angel felt surprisingly refreshed instead of overwhelmed—a profound sense of serenity washed over him.
Barely a moment of lingering at the garden’s entrance, a resounding “click” echoed, as the grand gate was unbolted from the inside.
A lean, freckle-faced youth, with goggles perched atop his head, stood just beyond the door, his eyes shimmering with astonishment at Angel’s presence.
“Angel—,” the youth, none other than David, whom he hadn’t seen for a while, started to utter something but was cut off abruptly as a rose sprang from behind him.
This rose, stretching its thorny stem, reached Angel’s face.
“Are you Angel? The Angel?!” This colossal rose, possessing a mouth filled with sharp teeth, scrutinized Angel from top to bottom, eventually sighing with lament, “Indeed, a plump lamb ripe for picking. Such a pity, how come you bear the charm of safe passage!”
Angel surmised this must be the rose with a penchant for bribery he’d heard about.
“Even if you have the charm, are you not aware of the protocol when entering unfamiliar territories? In Rose Peak, my rule is the law, and my law demands magic crystals…”
David, rolling his eyes, yanked the rose stem aside.
“Ignore it, Angel. Even without the charm, don’t bribe it. Simply chop it down. Oh yes, it fears not fire but is dreadfully cold-shy. You can also use a freezing spell to solidify its roots…”
“David, you dare defy me! I shall report your misconduct to our master, have her cease any knowledge sharing with you, and have you banished from the Rose Garden!”
David turned to the frothy-mouthed rose, squinted his eyes, and spat out menacingly, “Jacques, can you hold your tongue? Say another word…”
David’s eyes narrowed, a frigid plume of white smoke danced momentarily on his hand.
A rose, christened Jacques, visibly flinched upon meeting the icy fumes and darted back into the Rose Garden, its mouth still uttering threats, signalling to David that it was not finished with him.
It was only when Jacques had made his departure that David once again resumed his jovial demeanor, exchanging pleasantries with Angel.
“In less than two years, your aura has undergone quite a transformation,” Angel commented, a note of admiration in his tone. “Was that the Frosty Smoke Trick you used just now?”
The Frosty Smoke Trick was a zero-level trick. It was an adaptation derived from the detailed analysis of the Frost Condensation spell on the holographic tablet, capable of casting a aura of extreme cold, though without much other use.
It was a trick mentioned in the —Introduction to Tricks: Revised— that Angel had given to David and Baruba back in the day.
David nodded, a sheepish smile creeping onto his face. “Yes, it was the Frosty Smoke Trick. Thanks to that trick, I am not constantly tormented by that nuisance Jacques every day.”
The mere mention of Jacques seemed to evoke a torrent of complaints from David.
From David’s diatribe, Angel gleaned that Jacques was actually a magical servant cultivated by Liana. The creature had an affinity for magical crystals and was not only excessively talkative but also had a sharp tongue that could sting. David, who practiced in the Rose Garden every day, was regularly pestered by Jacques.
Were it not for David mastering the Frosty Smoke Trick, which had low magical consumption and long endurance, he would have been at a loss about how to deal with Jacques.
Once David had exhausted his litany of grievances, he abruptly remembered that they were still standing at the entrance to the Rose Garden.
“Damn, it’s been so long since I’ve had a normal conversation that I nearly forgot what we’re here for.” David slapped his forehead in an ‘aha’ moment, turning to Angel. “Are you here to see Mentor? I can call her for you right now.”
“No, I’m here to see you.”
After a while, Angel and David took their seats at a table in the middle of the Rose Garden.
“I heard you had returned a while ago and meant to visit you, but Mentor caught me and had me deepen my understanding of the Solidification spell, so I couldn’t break away,” David admitted, a hint of apology in his expression.
Angel, however, didn’t mind. Furthermore, knowing that David had managed to take Liana as his mentor, he felt genuinely happy for his friend.
“Right, this is for you.” As if suddenly remembering something, David took a disposable spatial capsule and a music box from his pocket, handing them to Angel.
“This is the money from selling the music box at the Ancient Auction last time.” David pointed at the disposable spatial capsule, then at the music box, “I haven’t sold this music box yet. With too many music boxes on the market in such a short time, it likely wouldn’t fetch a high price. I was planning on waiting some time before selling it, but now that you’re back, I might as well give it to you.”
Angel pushed the music box back to David, “The reason I came to find you is because I’ll have to leave again soon, so…it’s better if you sell it for me, the commission remains the same.”
“You’ve just returned, why are you leaving again?” David questioned with surprise, “Where are you planning to go this time?”
At David’s inquiry, Angel merely offered a nonchalant smile, opting not to reply. If he revealed his plans to delve into the Abyss, David would likely worry—it was better to keep quiet.
Angel picked up the disposable spatial capsule, sensing the number of magic crystals inside, “190,000 magic crystals? Didn’t you take a commission?”
During his time in Rhodes, Angel had heard that his music box had sold for 200,000 magic crystals. The commission for the Ancient Auction, when over 100,000 but not more than 1,000,000, was 5%. In other words, the auction house took a commission of 10,000, so the 190,000 magic crystals here indicated that David hadn’t taken the agreed 10% commission.
Scratching his head, David confessed, “The last time I went to the Ancient Auction, I actually benefited greatly. The fact that I was able to take Liana as my mentor is because of that…so, I didn’t take a commission.”
David recounted the events that transpired during the auction and how, with Liana’s help, he managed to leave the ancient beach.
After listening, Angel felt somewhat embarrassed. His request for David to auction off a music box had nearly resulted in David not returning, an outcome he hadn’t anticipated.
“Anyway, nothing bad happened to me. I even ended up with Liana as my mentor. You could say I stumbled upon a huge stroke of luck!” David, in high spirits, didn’t seem fazed by the ordeal. Despite the journey being fraught with peril, the outcome was positive.
Angel opened the disposable spatial capsule, a cascade of magic crystals spilling across the floor.
Swiftly, Angel took twenty thousand magic crystals from the pile, extending them towards David, “Since we agreed on the commission from the start, there’s no room for second thoughts.”
“But…”
Before David could muster a counterargument, Angel interjected, “As for the fortuity you stumbled upon later, that was your rightful due, unrelated to our agreement.”
After a moment of hesitation, David finally nodded in acquiescence, carefully pocketing the magical crystal.
Yet, just as he did, he felt an unusual disturbance beneath his feet. Glancing down, he saw Jacques, mouth agape, salivating at the sight of the magical crystal strewn across the ground, inching covertly closer.
“One more step, and I’ll turn you into a frozen Jacques!” David threatened harshly, pivoting back towards Angel. “Hurry, snatch up the magical crystal.”
Indignation spread across Jacques’s face. “The Rose Garden is my domain. Anything that falls here is mine! No touching!”
As soon as he finished speaking, the ground beneath began to churn violently, countless thorns erupted from the soil of the Rose Garden, clawing towards the magical crystals in a brazen act of pillage.
“You dare!” David instantly deployed a chilly mist spell, aiming to drive Jacques away.
But the chilly mist spell was just a cold breeze at its core. Jacques, despite his dislike, could resist for a while. Given the amount of magical crystals scattered across the ground, even a brief freeze was a small price to pay!
As David watched helplessly, the thorns swooped up and made off with the majority of the magical crystals. In desperation, he even stepped forward to physically confront Jacques.
But Jacques was unafraid. All he cared about was seizing the magical crystals.
In no time at all, more than half the magical crystals had disappeared.
Jacques was triumphant. In contrast, David watched, heart aching with loss.
However, Jacques’s triumph was short-lived. Angel, who had remained still until now, suddenly reached out and lightly touched one of the thorns greedily hoarding the magical crystals. An invisible nightmare force infused into the thorns.
In a flash, Jacques’ figure started to wobble.
Chapter 946 Into the Abyss <TOC> Chapter 948 Nausica's Letter