Chapter 958 The Alchemy Workshop <TOC> Chapter 960 Biological Alchemy
Translator: SumTLMan
Originally, Angel was planning to inquire about the chubby man’s identity, yet it appeared the man had no intentions of offering self-introductions.
Shrugging his shoulders, Angel concluded that secretly learning a bit about biological alchemy seemed unlikely at this point. Nevertheless, he supposed, a bit of quiet wouldn’t hurt.
Following this, Angel fetched the blueprint, seating himself on the side.
After reviewing the steps listed on the blueprint, he didn’t hesitate in the slightest. He immediately began the smelting process using the materials at hand.
After the plump man stepped through the black door, he suddenly realized he had provided the young man outside with a blueprint, but had neglected to mention the specific smelting steps and proportions of materials. Though these were just basic components, novice alchemists rarely managed to grasp the correct proportions. Upon this realization, the man quickly abandoned his task at hand, preparing to step out and inform Angel.
But as he stood at the threshold of the black door, flickering firelight from outside caught his eye.
“Already started smelting?” He frowned, “He’s not just messing around, is he?”
Even if the items being smelted were basic, they were ultimately going to be used in the Wings of Cold Frost. The slightest flaw could easily cause a domino effect and collapse the whole structure.
With that in mind, a sudden jolt of anxiety surged within the man.
He stealthily stepped out of the door, intending to stop Angel. But after observing for a few seconds, he found that both the proportions Angel used and his smelting steps were accurate, and even his speed exceeded his expectations.
The chubby man quietly retreated back into the black door, murmuring under his breath, “Maher’s recruit this time seems to be quite reliable.”
Spotting the correct proportions and steps for smelting immediately pointed to a seasoned practitioner of alchemy. The plump man speculated, “I should ask Maher later where this guy is from… For the experiment coming up, perhaps he could be a useful assistant.”
The man returned to his workbench within the black door. It seemed he could rest assured with the task outside.
Unbeknownst to him, as soon as he re-entered the black door, Angel began to speed up his smelting. During the first round, he took some time to get a feel for the process, but for the following rounds, he didn’t need to — it was simply a matter of routine now.
The chubby man had initially estimated Angel would only finish by the next morning. However, he ended up finishing nearly ten hours ahead of schedule.
Before midnight, a puzzled man was beckoned out of the black door by Angel.
Actually, he was in the process of crafting materials, and halfway through, he sensed someone calling from the outside. He had initially thought that the young apprentice outside must have run into trouble and needed to consult him. But when he stepped out, he saw the other party with a smile, saying:
“The crafting is done, and the semi-finished products are here. I wonder if there’s anything else you need?” Angel, indicating the laboratory table, asked.
“You’ve already finished crafting?” How could it be so quick? The chubby man turned his head in confusion, his eyes bulging round, only to see the table laden with semi-finished parts.
“Even the molding is completed?” The chubby man exclaimed in surprise.
The lingering energy from these semi-finished products revealed they had just come out of the furnace. But, he had just entered the black door not long ago… The chubby man couldn’t help but glance at the wall clock.
11:40 PM.
When he entered the black door, it was probably around 8:30 PM, meaning that it took just three hours to complete the crafting process?
Even if he was going all out, the speed would be about the same, right?
Could it be that these semi-finished products actually have problems? They seem to be completed, but actually do not meet the standards?
With this thought in mind, the chubby man hurriedly stepped forward. His eyes were shimmering with a faint glow as he employed the Eye of Nalda to inspect these semi-finished products.
After the inspection, the chubby man reached a conclusion: All were of high quality, and the degree of crafting was remarkably perfect!
He looked at Angel somewhat dazedly, scrutinizing him for a long while. Besides thinking that the person in front of him looked rather good, he found nothing unusual.
Could it be that any apprentice alchemist pulled out at random would be so remarkably efficient? Or rather… “You’re from Sky Mechanical City,” the chubby man asserted with conviction.
Angel was taken aback, not understanding how the chubby man had reached such a conclusion. He shook his head and said, “No, I’m not.”
“Then your mentor, wouldn’t happen to be a master alchemist, would he?”
“Also no.”
“Then… then who in the world are you?” After some hesitation, the chubby man asked straightforwardly.
Angel was about to respond when a figure entered through the doorway. It was Maher, the man from before.
Maher, seeing Angel and the plump man exchanging puzzled looks, was unsure of what had transpired. After a moment of hesitation, he said, “Lord Bruen, Lord Pat, what’s happening here?”
It was in the third hour inside the laboratory that Angel finally learned the name of the chubby man. His name was Bruen.
Bruen, too, learned Angel’s name. However, his eyebrows furrowed upon hearing Maher address Angel with an honorific. Did this mean that Maher acknowledged Angel’s identity, and even thought he was on an equal footing with himself?
But how could this be possible?!
Bruen’s brows creased, thinking, “Could this Pat be someone extraordinary?” However, what could an apprentice possibly have to his name, unless he was the one from the Savage Grottoes a while back? As he thought about this, Bruen froze. The Wings of Cold Frost were currently at the Paramjit Plateau, and they had just picked someone up from the Savage Grottoes not long ago. Could this apprentice be the person from the rumors?
With this thought, Bruen turned his head, his eyes intensely scrutinizing Angel.
“You’re the… Milk Baron?” Bruen hesitated, then asked.
Angel: “…” The Milk Baron, what a nostalgic title. However, this nickname didn’t spread in the Savage Grottoes, so how did it get out?
Angel envisioned the figure of a person in his mind. There weren’t many who knew of this nickname, and of those who did, only a few held influence. There was Sanders, for example, but Sanders definitely wouldn’t screw him over.
That left only two people who were there when he registered at Sky Tower: Baroque and Melanctha.
Baroque was still in the Savage Grottoes, so it couldn’t have been him. Melanctha was the most likely suspect since her father was one of the two city lords of Sky Mechanical City, ‘Mechanical Beast King’ Rosen.
As Angel was silently contemplating how this embarrassing nickname got out, Maher said, “Lord Bruen, I believe Lord Pat’s nickname is the Music Box Magician.”
Angel: “…” He also disliked and rejected this nickname.
Upon hearing Maher’s words, Bruen was certain of the person in front of him. His eyes brightened, and his mind began to race, even though his mouth still carried on chatting nonchalantly…
“Ah, the Brown Sugar Servant, the Milk Baron, quite the compatible pair. You should adopt the title of Milk Baron. Quite a suave moniker, wouldn’t you agree?”
Angel’s face contorted, vexation apparent, as he found himself unable to resist replying, “None of these are my chosen monikers. I haven’t settled on one yet.”
Sensing that the debate around the nickname was teetering on the edge of a spiral into relentless back-and-forth, Maher timely intervened. He had a separate task at hand for this visit and couldn’t afford to waste time.
“Let’s temporarily set aside these trifling matters,” Maher projected a sense of gravity, “Lord Bruen, Lady Sineva has just received news that in a day’s time, the energy tide of the planar passage will recede. If we fail to venture into the Abyss before this happens, the risks associated with planar travel will significantly escalate. Therefore, she hopes that you could complete the restoration of the Wings of Cold Frost within two hours.”
“Two hours? How could that possibly be? I was told it would be ready by morning, but now you’re moving the goalposts. There’s no way I can finish that in time!” Bruen instinctively objected.
Maher furrowed his brow, “If the energy tide surges, our planar excursion could result in greater losses. Thus, can you expedite the repair process?”
Bruen also scrunched up his face, understanding the implications all too well. Yet, for him alone to accomplish this task within two hours was practically impossible… Suddenly, it dawned on Bruen. He wasn’t alone anymore!
His eyes darted towards Angel, “If the Milk Baron would cooperate fully with me, I believe we can get it done.”
Angel timidly responded, “Master Bruen, just call me by my name.”
Upon hearing this, Maher turned his gaze to Angel, eyes pleading, “Lord Pat, may I ask for your assistance in this matter?”
Angel hadn’t fully understood their previous conversation, but the general idea seemed to be that if they failed to repair the Wings of Cold Frost in time, they might miss a safe window for planar travel.
Given that this involved his own safety, Angel contemplated briefly and then nodded, “I agree.”
Relieved by Angel’s affirmative response, Maher let out a sigh. Bruen, originally keen on chatting with Angel after confirming his identity, now found himself pressed for time.
Diverting a sliver of his spiritual light, Bruen directed it towards the alchemical puppet sitting in the corner of the room.
The visage of the puppet, once as blank as a canvas, was sculpted into the likeness of Bruen, reflecting the brilliance of this spiritual light.
“This puppet is my avatar, here to guide you through your crafting process. We cannot afford to delay if we want to complete this task within two hours,” Bruen, letting go of his casual demeanor, advised Angel.
Following this, Bruen immediately engaged in the crafting behind the black door, and his avatar also started to lay out the necessary materials, explaining to Angel the parts required for crafting.
For any other person, it might be necessary to teach the specific steps of crafting, including the intricate details. But Angel needed no such thing. Each time the avatar articulated the crafting details, without a hint of hesitation, Angel launched into the crafting process.
Maher, watching the efficiency in front of him, allowed a slight smile to curve his lips and retreated from the laboratory.
With Angel’s contribution, the pace of the repairs quickened. Bruen handed over all the metallurgical crafting to Angel, focusing his own efforts on the aspect of biological alchemy.
Their collaboration was a union of skills, amplifying the overall efficiency; it was far more than the simple sum of one plus one.
Not long past midnight, not even reaching one o’clock, work that would usually require several hours was already completed.
The remainder of the task now rested on Bruen’s shoulders—the repair through biological alchemy.
Chapter 958 The Alchemy Workshop <TOC> Chapter 960 Biological Alchemy