Chapter 212: Elemental Annihilation
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“The previous time at the Shadowglen, it was because of my, Mason’s, brilliance that I brought the two of them out safely. Let me tell you, Mage Kevin, it’s not that I am boasting. I single-handedly…” When Lin Li entered the door, he could hear Mason shamelessly boasting.
“No wonder Orrin went to sleep so early…” Lin Li mumbled at the door. But whoever knew what happened would not be able to carry on listening.
“I single-handedly… Uh… Felic, you’re back?” Mason was boasting while beaming with joy, but he saw Lin Li had entered the room. His expression immediately froze.
“Yes, I just came back.” Lin Li did not expose Mason, he only asked Kevin with uncertainty, “Kevin, they did not arrange a room for you?”
“I’m staying next door.”
“That’s not too bad…” Lin Li only then nodded his head and showed a satisfied smile. It seemed like Macklin had already taken Lin Li’s and Kevin’s relationship into consideration when arranging the latter’s accommodations, thus arranging for him to stay beside Lin Li. Not bad, not bad. It seemed like this old man did not lose his mind after the failure.
“How about we go take a look?”
“Okay.”
The layout of the two houses was the same. It was three bedrooms and one living room. The living room had a tea table and a few other desks. It looked simple yet elegant. Looking out from the window opposite of the living room, one could clearly see the whole Guild of Magic, the spacious guild hall, the skyscraping Omniscient Tower and the mysterious magic research center.
“Let’s hear it—the reason behind your asking me to come over,” Lin Li asked directly as he pulled out a rattan chair and sat on it. He did not believe that Kevin asked him to come over simply to chill together. He could tell just by looking at Kevin’s expression. If there wasn’t anything on, would he ask Lin Li to come over at such a late hour?
“Felic, you… do you have any way to help a person whose mana had collapsed recover?” The expression on Kevin’s face seemed to be rather restrained.
“Help a person whose mana had collapsed recover?” Lin Li was stunned. Mana collapse was not a small matter. For a mage, it was the same as receiving a death sentence.
Back at Jarrosus, Lin Li saw it happen once with his own eyes.
Cromwell had the power of a level-14 Magic Shooter back then. Even if Lin Li had Element Surge and broke down his staff, Lin Li would have had to use a lot of effort to defeat if it hadn’t been for his mana collapsing at the last moment.
As to why his mana collapsed, it was due to that level-18 spell.
With Cromwell’s power back then, forcing out a level-18 spell was the same as courting death. It was especially so after Lin Li’s gold rod had touched him and disintegrated that weird magical crystal. That level-18 spell instantly became a death knell. The amount of mana required for a level-18 spell was a terrifying number. Even the current Lin Li would not dare to think about it, not to mention Cromwell from back then.
Mana collapse was just like that. It was due to the forced usage of immense power and the fact that mental strength could not handle the pressure, resulting in the loss of control of immense mana. That then resulted in the bite of mana.
“Who would be so unlucky?” That was why Lin Li felt it weird. Other than Cromwell, which other mage would do something so stupid?
To exaggerate a little, it was the same suicide.
“A friend…” Kevin was rather soft.
“Do I know him?”
“No, no, no, you don’t know him.”
“Oh…” Lin Li nodded his head; for some unknown reason, he felt that Kevin looked rather flustered. However, after thinking about it, with Kevin’s honest character, he would not have lied to Lin Li. In that moment, he did not care too much about it. He looked rather awkward as he said, “This issue is more complicated, let me think of a way.”
“Ok.” In fact, even if Lin Li did not say it, Kevin also knew that this issue was very complicated. He was a mage himself—although his level was not high, he had also received at least ten years of magic education. How would he not know the implications of Mana Collapse?
However, this time the person that had mana collapse was somebody that needed to be rescued. He had to grab onto every shred of hope. In fact, when Lin Li said “think of a way” instead of immediately saying “I can’t do it”, it had already made him overjoyed…
“Wait for a while…” Lin Li rubbed the area in between his eyebrows as he was having a headache.
Lin Li knew of a way to recover from mana collapse…
But this method was the same as not knowing it. It was too difficult to carry out.
Among the guru level of pharmaceutics recipes, there was a potion called the Elemental Arche.
Elemental Arche used a stalk of Black Lotus as the main ingredient and then it used rare herbs such as Heart of Corrosion and Leaf of the Origin Tree. Once concocted, it could fuse all of the mana together in an instant and go through a purification that was like filtration. During purification, the mana that was in disorder could then return under the control of mental strength.
This was the real recipe of the guru level. Once it had been made, it could allow a Magic Shooter break through to the Archmage realm. Even if the user was a powerhouse that stepped into the Archmage realm, it could also help him raise his mana by several folds.
The problem was…
This potion was not something somebody normal could concoct.
There was no need to mention the Heart Of Corrosion. One had to enter the Demon Abyss because there was no other place that produced it. If the hammer, Mr. Connoris, was willing to cooperate, then there would be a slight chance. As for this Leaf of the Origin Tree, it could be considered impossible. Lin Li had never heard of anyone obtaining this herb during his time at the Endless World—so much so that nobody knew where it grew. The only thing Lin Li knew about it was that several guru level potions required it…
Even if Lin Li’s Ring of Endless Storm had everything, it only had the Black Lotus—just one of those ingredients. The other things could not even be found.
In conclusion, it was rather troublesome…
Lin Li shook his head and placed this issue aside. Sometimes when it came to herbs, it was not something you could have immediately.
“Oh, yes. Kevin…” Just as he was about to return to his room, Lin Li suddenly remembered something. “During the battle with Shadow’s Nest, did you manage to get some magical equipment?”
“I guess so…” Kevin’s face seemed to be uncertain. He did not understand why would Lin Li suddenly mention this.
“Did you bring it over?”
“No, it’s all at Jarrosus…”
“…”
Speaking to Argus in the alley in the evening made Lin Li realize something immediately. Wasn’t the Marathon Family conforming to external forces with immense wealth and backing? Furthermore, Argus also said that the Marathon smithy had coincidentally shipped out a large batch of magical equipment in the last ten days.
Where had this shipment gone? Lin Li was fifty percent sure that half of this shipment had gone to Shadow’s Nest.
It was only the Marathon Family that could produce hundreds of pieces of magical equipment effortlessly, and it was only them that could order a force like Shadow’s Nest around. The dots were connecting.
As to why he’d asked Kevin about that batch of equipment, it was because Lin Li wanted to see if he could discern who exactly was it that made it through the characteristics of the forging handicraft.
Unfortunately, Kevin had not brought them.
It would not do to let Kevin describe it. Other than a true blacksmith, an average person would see the same things in an equipment. It could be either a sword, a knife, or an armor. At the very most, they had some magical attributes. Only a true master blacksmith could see who made them through the traces of craftsmanship on the equipment.
It seemed like he would have to wait for Argus’ reply…
“Oh, yes!” Yet it was at this moment when Kevin smacked his forehead and took something out from his pocket. “This. I found this on a bandit from Shadow’s Nest!”
“What is this?” Lin Li frowned and stretched out one hand to take the item for a look. This thing looked like an incomplete dagger. The handle had been destroyed by fire magic, leaving behind only the blade made from refined iron. Lin Li tested it out on the rattan chair and found it much sharper than he’d expected.
“I’ve obtained this dagger from a bandit.” When Kevin said this, his expression seemed to have some sort of lingering fear. “At that time, I was entangled with a level-8 warrior. This bandit took that chance to sneak behind me and backstabbed me with this dagger. I thought I was dead then. The dagger easily pierced through the Frost Shield and stabbed me in the back… If it wasn’t because of Uncle Gerian’s timely actions, I’m afraid I would not have the chance to come to Alanna…”
“Element Annihilation!” When Lin Li heard this, he immediately realized that Element Annihilation attribute must have been added to this dagger. With the usage of equipment with such handicraft, it would easily pierce through Frost Shield and injure a mage.
“Kevin, do you know how much such equipment does Shadow’s Nest have?”
“There should be fifty or so…” Kevin’s face was rather ghastly. “This time, we’ve lost a total of 40-odd mages. At least ten were stabbed in the back and killed when the Frost Shield was split apart. Based on these numbers, Shadow’s Nest should have at least fifty or more of weapons like this…”
Lin Li nodded, and did not question further, but was calculating something quickly in his mind. Now, he was ninety percent sure that this incident had been orchestrated by the Marathon Family. Element Annihilation was a handicraft that only high-level blacksmiths could master. Furthermore, the forging process was rather complicated. It required a lot of time. Other than the Marathon Family, Lin Li could not think of any other forces that could supply that much equipment with the Element Annihilation attribute.