Chapter 481: 98. Unusual Aspects
The cave environment where the Snake People lived was very rudimentary—the height was only about three or four fists higher than Fisher’s height, and the distance on both sides was wider to accommodate the transportation of goods. So, long before entering the cave, Fisher had gotten off the back of the camel.
In fact, Fisher did not intend to bring it in; it had been butting its head against him, insisting on following, and with no other option, Fisher had to take it along.
The cave overall was not only cramped but also dark; Fisher felt that the guiding Snake People in front seemed to move faster and more naturally in the darkness. For such powerful hunters as the Snake People, night and darkness might be more comfortable and suitable environments.
The environment in the cave was quite suitable for their habits; the only downside was the temperature. It was not only hot and dry but also had a stuffy heaviness that made it hard to breathe.
Fisher took a breath and looked at the dim cave ahead, which seemed ready to swallow his sight, asking,
“Is this the place where that Sorobato Angel forges holy artifacts?”
“No, no, Sorobato, uh, he usually doesn’t forge them here. Except for the boss, we haven’t seen him. We’re just responsible for transporting materials and such; every time he comes, it feels like a disaster outside—the wind is really strong, and we hide. When we come out, the materials and slaves have already been taken.”
Upon hearing this from the Snake Person in front, Fisher suddenly recalled that when he was in the Holy Realm, Hela had taken him to a class on forging holy artifacts. The Angel named Es had said that there were several prerequisites for forging holy artifacts: a large amount of energy and suitable materials.
In the Holy Realm, the source of energy was the massive solar ring built by Michael, and the medium was the aether created by him. However, Sorobato forged Gospel artifacts in secret, which likely meant he didn’t possess those conditions, although alternatives might exist.
The ocean not only contained water as a medium but also seemed to have active volcanoes, inherently providing the conditions for forging holy artifacts.
Well, seeing this, Jasmine’s aunt, Muxi’s ability to forge artifacts wasn’t surprising; she was originally from the ocean as Whale Folk.
“So what’s the situation with the holy artifact your boss said is still being forged?”
“Ah, I’m not really sure about that. It seems the formation of that item takes time, but Sorobato couldn’t take it away and left it with us temporarily.”
“I see.”
Fisher was about to nod, but just then, a faint fragrance suddenly rushed to his nose. That fragrance was refreshing, standing out distinctly in the narrow cave.
That scent was deeply imprinted in Fisher’s memory.
He paused slightly and then asked the chubby guiding Snake Person ahead,
“That thing is at the end of this path, right?”
“Ah? Yes, this is the location of the smelting room. The item left by that angel is in the furnace; you’ll see it when you go over. But it’s very hot, so I suggest you use some tongs to pick it up.”
“I got it; I’ll be careful. You can go out first.”
The Snake Person lifted its little chubby hand and touched its face, seemingly a bit confused, but since Fisher asked, it had no other opinions. It nodded, picked up its things, and turned to leave the cave, leaving Fisher alone.
“Is there no one else here?”
“No, they all ran away just now.”
After receiving this confirmation, Fisher’s gaze hardened slightly. He looked at the dark, deep cave tunnel ahead, hesitated for a moment, and prepared to move forward while leading the camel. However, at that moment, the camel seemed to sense something and stubbornly refused to budge, its four hooves planted like nails.
“Grrr~”
It gave a low call, and Fisher released the rope attached to its saddle, saying to it, “You can go out first; I’ll go in alone.”
Afterwards, Fisher walked alone into the depths of the cave. But after taking a few steps, the camel’s head poked up again, nudging Fisher’s back; its four hooves finally moved again.
“Hmph~ Hmph~ Hmph~”
A pleasant song spilled from its throat, sounding as melodious as silver bells, as if expressing its intent to follow Fisher.
Fisher smiled slightly, patted its head, said nothing, and continued to lead it deeper.
The surrounding darkness had exceeded the limits of Fisher’s Fourteenth Rank vision; at this moment, the originally cramped cave seemed to transform into an abyss of ten thousand zhang, like a black ocean capable of absorbing all light, giving Fisher a strange feeling of descending even while walking.
Faint sharp and harsh noises echoed around, but fortunately, the singing of the camel behind helped alleviate the discomfort in Fisher’s ears.
After several seconds, the surrounding darkness suddenly seemed to vanish, and before Fisher, the end of the cave quickly unveiled a fiery entrance.
Fisher and the camel entered, and the original narrowness instantly disappeared, replaced by a spacious area where air could flow.
The surroundings were empty, and at the end of this spacious place stood a large furnace burning with a blazing fire, and in front of that furnace stood a familiar figure with long black hair wearing a tunic.
That figure looked just like Renee, but Fisher keenly sensed that it was not the sorceress he knew.
“Muxi?”
Fisher stood at the entrance with the camel, tentatively calling out.
As soon as the black-haired figure heard Fisher’s call, she slightly shuddered, and a pair of long ears adorned with several earrings suddenly stood upright on either side of her cascading black hair.
“Dinglingling~”
The ears hidden beneath her hair seemed to be feeling cramped for a while, energetically shaking up and down, and the silver earrings jingled.
“Ah, we meet again, Fisher.”
The black-haired figure, gazing at the furnace, turned around, revealing her beautiful face identical to Renee’s. Her light golden scattered pupils sparkled in the light of the furnace, appearing quite lively, but this also subdivided her face into two halves—one half revealed in the light, while the other half remained in shadow, directly facing Fisher at the entrance.
“Duke of Peach is your sister. You disappeared a long time ago, yet now you appear in the Duke’s barrier, in Margaret’s Ideal Nation; is all of this related to you?”
“You’re quite straightforward in getting to the point. No wonder you used strange powers to bind me during our first meeting. Truly fits you, lewd human Fisher.”
Muxi’s attitude was friendly, but Fisher did not respond to her words. His expression remained unchanged as he slowly led the camel forward and asked,
“So, what did you want to discuss by bringing me here?”
“Sit down; let’s talk slowly.”
Muxi smiled slightly, raised her hand, and a peculiar set of wooden tables and chairs suddenly rose from the dry stone floor.
Fisher hesitated for a moment, then gently let go of the rope holding the camel and sat on a chair near him. The camel did not leave; instead, it obediently stayed nearby, cautiously observing the elf in front of it.
“Hmph~ Hmph~ Hmph~”
Feeling its gaze, Muxi tilted her head and, pointing at the camel, smiled and asked,
“This camel can sing too? How interesting! I really like this fellow; how about giving it to me?”
Fisher glanced at the camel beside him and shook his head, saying, “It already has an owner.”
“You?”
“No, I haven’t gifted it away yet.”
“Oh, so you were going to give it to someone else?”
For some reason, Fisher felt that the gentle smile on Muxi’s face became more profound, but upon hearing Fisher’s refusal, she did not press it, instead beckoning towards the blazing furnace. Following that, a strange force emerged, and something glowing with unusual waves quickly floated out from the furnace.
Fisher couldn’t recognize the exact shape of the item, but he roughly knew it was the holy artifact Sorobato had left here. However, it seemed that Muxi did not bring him here for this item; she appeared to treat it as some sort of toy to show off.
Seeing that she did not answer his previous question, Fisher decided to proactively ask again,
“Margaret stealing the Loom has to do with you; you definitely heard what the Elf King said before his death, right?”
Muxi did not look at Fisher; instead, she pushed the glowing, incomplete holy artifact towards Fisher.
“I did hear it, but to be honest, I did nothing. I won’t do anything. This holy artifact is still incomplete and far from perfect; if it is completed, it will probably just be a useless decoration. Do you want to try making it complete? Just toss in some materials; we can chat while doing this?”
Fisher glanced at her, and Muxi smiled back. Her appearance identical to Renee and her casual words effortlessly brought Fisher back to the days when he lived in Saint Nali.
During that time, he would often go out with Renee, sometimes shopping, sometimes watching a play. Of course, in hindsight, those were dates, but back then, Fisher didn’t think of them that way.
Fisher did not refuse, looked around, and found a lot of treasure left by the Snake People, such as gold coins and magic materials.
He casually grabbed a few pebble-like gems and tossed them into the floating light sphere as if skipping stones on water. When the stones completely dissolved without any ripple, he asked,
“Can these stones work too?”
“You only asked after you did it?”
“Is that not allowed?”
“It is.”
Muxi imitated Fisher and tossed two gems into the light sphere, then propped her chin up, replying as if spoiling someone.
Fisher rubbed the stones in his palm, then returned to the main topic:
“You did nothing? But legends say your birth went through the Loom of Fate and was bestowed with the power of the future; did you not see the future?”
“No.”
Muxi shook her head, spreading her hands as she replied,
“I haven’t used my abilities at all. I don’t like the powers my mother gave me, and I didn’t stay on Tree Continent simply because I didn’t want to take responsibility like Duke Peach or G.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
Fisher fell into silence for a moment, as if contemplating something. While he struggled in thought, he continued tossing stones into the holy artifact.
After a long time, he spoke again,
“You mean to say it’s purely coincidental that you encountered me in the Duke’s barrier? Then why did you appear there?”
“Don’t forget, it was you who took the initiative to contact me, lewd human. I did nothing. I’m merely playing the role of an observer; it was you who discovered me, and originally, no one would notice me; the course of events here wouldn’t change because of me.”
When Muxi said this, Fisher thought of Hela’s nearly perfect changes and concealment abilities, which even the Loom of Fate could not detect. That ability was derived from the item belonging to this elf before him, so logically speaking, her concealment indeed seemed perfect. It was just that he had sought her out because of her resemblance to “Renee.”
“.Even if the last time was a coincidence, is it also a coincidence that you took the initiative to reach out to me this time?”
Muxi smiled slightly, then waved her hand, drawing more materials from afar and placing them in front of Fisher, indicating he should continue throwing materials into the incomplete holy artifact to help it take shape.
There were many materials before him, but Fisher selectively tossed in the expensive stones; after all, they weren’t his, so he didn’t feel pain in doing so.
At the same time, Muxi’s words reached him as well.
“No, it’s not. The reason I came to you is simple—it’s just because of ‘you.’”
“Me?”
“Fisher, don’t you realize how special you are?”
At these words, Fisher, who had been preparing to toss more gems, paused slightly in his actions.
The first thing that came to his mind was: Could it be that his most proud reproductive abilities have been discovered?
Fisher inconspicuously glanced at his waist, but that subtle move was noticed by Muxi in front of him, and she couldn’t help but cover her mouth and burst into laughter,
“Hahaha, it turns out you’re such a lewd human! Although your abilities in that regard are quite special—on a perverse level—that’s not what I’m referring to. Do you remember how you escaped when Duke Peach was about to kill you?”
Indeed, Muxi had witnessed their journey in the Royal Capital, including how they escaped in Jianmu Palace.
Fisher remembered how he had gotten out during that time; he borrowed the power sealed within him by Renee in a desperate attempt to perish alongside Duke Peach. Was Muxi’s mention of “special” related to this?
“Fisher, the seal set by the chaotic power on your chest has only one layer; that is to say, it was originally meant to be triggered only once. At that time, in front of Duke Peach, you destroyed that seal and completely released the power within it, but not in its original functional way.”
Yes, originally, the seal left by Renee was to alter the force of fate again and send it back to the future, but at that time, Fisher had directed that power at Duke Peach with the intent of mutual destruction, leading to a total lack of time-changing effects—only the destructive force remained.
Muxi rested her chin on her folded hands and looked at Fisher with a smile, asking,
“That power was like a runaway wild horse, almost tearing everything apart. Duke Peach faced you and fled in panic; even Remiel in the sky did not dare approach Jianmu Palace. Aren’t you curious why the two Nineteen Rank beings fear the power blossoming on you, yet you experienced minimal damage?”
Fisher’s hand trembled slightly, but after pausing for a moment, he still tossed the gem in his palm into the glowing holy artifact.
Fisher was not a fool; he could hear the implications in her words. Initially, he thought that the power sealed in him by Renee hadn’t fully released, which was why it could still be sealed away. But now he realized that the power had indeed completely unsealed, and he had inadvertently stuffed the fully unsealed chaotic power back into his body—and it remained unharmed to this day?
At the same time, he suddenly recalled another matter mentioned by Erwind: the Magic Lord had a rule that all members of the Creation Society could only read one Supplement Handbook, but he had clearly read both the Supplement Handbook for Sub-Humans and the Soul Supplement Handbook. Of course, this was assuming that the Supplement Handbook for Sub-Humans was also counted as a complete handbook.
So, could it be true what the Magic Lord said—that only because of himself was he able to read multiple Supplement Handbooks?
Fisher looked up at Muxi, asking,
“So, your reason for coming to find me was to tell me all this?”
“That’s about it; it’s just that you seem to have never realized that you are very important, like an actor on stage who has no awareness that he is a gem, enough to make the audience jump on stage to dance with him. However, besides that, there is indeed something else. It seems your level of existence is about to reach the peak before the myth, and it appears you have chosen to step into the myth’s door; I am here to tell you the exact method.
“At night, find a quiet place, take out the triggering object, create a wound, and link the trigger with your wound, then just wait. Soon, you will discover the knack for it yourself.”
After saying this, Muxi, who looked just like Renee, gently lifted her finger, taking the gem Fisher hesitated to insert into the holy artifact from his hand and elegantly placing it into the hovering light sphere.
At that moment, the light sphere seemed to fill up and slowly began to move, as if a drop of water was gradually forming into a concrete shape.
“Woo~”
Quickly, amidst waves of fluctuating energy, the shape of the light sphere soon solidified.
It turned out to be an exquisitely beautiful crown, inlaid with sparkling gems. However, compared to other holy artifacts, Fisher felt that this crown was only beautiful and lacked any further function, entangled with a unique, murky feeling.
“Indeed, just a failure, but thankfully it’s pretty; your taste is good.”
Muxi shook her head with a smile, then stood up. The wooden table and chairs in front emitted a crunchy sound as if they were about to fall apart. Feeling the loss of weight, Fisher quickly stood up, watching the sparkling crown about to fall to the ground, and hurriedly reached out to catch it.
But it seemed Muxi no longer cared about the crown; she turned around to stroke the obedient camel, and a hint of smile appeared in her light golden scattered pupils. Then she waved her hand, directly crossing past Fisher toward the entrance.
Fisher turned his head, wanting to ask something, but she suddenly cut off his words, saying,
“Take it and give it to the person you like; it might have some extraordinary effect, at least it’s pretty enough?”
“….”
What superstitious nonsense?
Fisher watched Muxi, who looked very much like Renee, disappear into the shadow at the entrance, leaving him with the crown he had just helped mold. The crown still held a lingering warmth, gleaming brightly, and should be considered a superb piece of jewelry.
He was still savoring everything Muxi had just said, feeling disinterested in the crown in his hand, initially thinking of casually tossing it aside. But in his peripheral vision, he suddenly saw the camel that had been watching him obediently all along.
“Grrr~”
Fisher’s gaze shifted slightly, his action of tossing it casually paused momentarily and instead embraced the crown in his arms.
Special thanks to: The friend Shuyou Chen Yu for their support as the leader. Thank you very much.
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(End of this chapter)
