Chapter 437: Careless Thrusting
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
To Hutton and Stephen, it was definitely a meat pie that fell from the sky!
Although they knew from their families’ scriptures of the benefit the Blackstone Mountains would bring them very long ago, they did not expect the benefit to be so amazing. It was the Book of Eternity left behind by the God of Mages, Geresco!
However, after that great surprise, both men landed their doubtful and cautious gazes on Lin Li.
It was only normal to react this way. As the matter was related to the Book of Eternity—a book that could bring any mage the highest achievements with just a step—any generous mage would become stingy because of it.
Of course, these two were not generous to begin with…
The records on the Book of Eternity was the God of Mages Geresco’s knowledge and experience. It was a treasure any mage dreamt to attain. The possession of the Book of Eternity would mean that one had acquired the shortcut to heaven. This shortcut could let any mage enter the Sanctuary-realm without much effort. One might even reach the realm higher than that…
Furthermore, the Book of Eternity had an invincible strength that no one could describe. However, it would definitely be no less powerful than the magic staff that guarded Alanna Guild of Magic. After all, the magic staff was what Geresco used in his younger days, while the Book of Eternity was the work of his entire life.
Who could be generous when such a huge profit was just right in front them?
Hutton was fine. He gave Lin Li a weird glance before lowering his head in silence. He knew that the young president was not somebody to be trifled with.
Unlike Hutton, Stephen cared less about Lin Li. Stephen was the youngest mage that grew up in the most powerful bandit organization of the Breezy Plains. He had always been showered with the love and guidance of the three elders, and had not experienced many setbacks in his life or feared anybody. Overtime, he started to look down on everybody. There were few people he respected in the Breezy Plains. Especially in the younger age group, Hutton was the only one he felt respect for…
As for the guild president who emerged out of nowhere, Stephen had absolutely no interest in him. Since he had not heard of Lin Li’s name, he assumed that he was a man with no background or much ability. How could such a man put his hands on Geresco’s inheritance?
“Mr. Tutankhamun, I have a question… Since Geresco only had two disciples, does that mean that people who are not involved in this matter should leave this place earlier?” Stephen asked politely, but his gaze resting on Lin Li was filled with obvious enmity.
“…” Lin Li laughed awkwardly at Stephen’s query. He did not rebut his words.
By this time, if there were people who knew Lin Li around, they would think that they had lost their eyesight. How could the fella who would seek revenge for the smallest grievance be so easy to talk to? That was a more unusual scene as compared to watching flowers grow on an iron tree and a rooster lay eggs!
Could it be that the fella suddenly understood the virtue of restraining his anger?
Of course not…
The reason behind his calmness was the similar curiosity Lin Li shared…
Lin Li could not understand why Tutankhamun included him in the conflict for Geresco’s inheritance. Tutankhamun might not have known Lin Li’s origin, but Lin Li knew very well he was from other world. That world was totally unrelated to the God of Mages in Anril.
“It is true that Geresco only had two disciples. However, I added another condition into the bet then. That is, apart from the descendants of the two disciple, I have the right to appoint another talented mage to join the competition…” Tutankhamun said as he stood up from the table. “Alright, I have finished what I had to say. Wait here and let me retrieve some things for you to see.”
The three men sat for another minute doubtfully. Then, they saw Tutankhamun coming out of his bedroom with a black crate. The crate was around two square feet. From the dull metallic glow, it seemed that the box was made from a type of metal. However, the blackness of the box looked very unsightly after all the years. There was no magical wave. It seemed to be just a normal metal crate.
“The three things Geresco left behind are all in this box…” Tutankhamun said smilingly as he placed the box on the wooden table gently. He was not in a rush to open it.
“M-Mr… Mr. Tutankhamun, could… could we take a look at the Book of Eternity?”
The gazes of Hutton and Stephen became tense as they looked at the crate with a burning excitement. They could not help but hope Tutankhamun would open the metal box immediately to let them have a look at the relics of the God of Mages.
“Since they are yours, there is no harm showing them to you guys…” Tutankhamun said before showing an uneasy expression. “But, I suddenly recalled that Geresco did not pass the key to this box to me. So… If you want to look at the Book of Eternity, I’m afraid you have to think of a way to open the crate yourself…”
“How difficult could it be?” Stephen laughed in relief. He was still nervous about what Tutankhamun wanted to tell them. So it was just to open a locked metal box.
One of the three Legendary powerhouses of the Dark Blade was a Legendary-level Bandit. Although he chose to become a mage, he had learnt many skills exclusive to Bandits. He had long mastered the skill of lock-picking. Not to mention a small metal crate, if it were the door to Felan’s treasury, he had the same confidence to unlock it if he was given enough time to do so.
“Alright…” Tutankhamun replied as he pushed the metal box towards Stephen. “You shall open it, then…”
“No problem!” Stephen put one of his hands on the box, and fished out a thin iron wire from his pocket. Very quickly, the iron wire entered the rusty keyhole. After turning the wire twice, Stephen slowly leaned over and put his ear against the box. How he tried to analyze every sound from the keyhole was just like a masterful Bandit.
Oh sh*t… Hutton groaned to himself. The Malfa Family and Dark Blade had been competing with each other for a few centuries. How could he not know about the existence of the Legendary-level Bandit in the Dark Blade? Now that he watched Stephen pick the lock skillfully, Hutton knew that Stephen had to have been trained in that domain.
That was not a good thing to Hutton. He knew very well that the items within the box were the relics of the God of Mages, Geresco. Although Tutankhamun did not say much when he took out the box, everyone knew the competition had begun. As long as one of them could pass the tests Tutankhamun gave them, the person would be able to acquire the three relics within the metal crate.
The unlocking of this box had to be one of the tests…
Once Stephen managed to open that box, President Felic and himself would be greatly disadvantaged in that competition.
While Hutton was silently dreading that possibility, Lin Li was totally at peace with himself. He shifted his gaze from Stephen back onto the black metal crate. Lin Li was not the least bit concerned about himself being at disadvantage if Stephen were to open that box…
That was because Lin Li knew very well that Stephen would not be able to open that box…
Just when Stephen was picking the lock, Lin Li let out his mental strength to inspect the box for quite a while. There were no magical waves on the surface of the box at all.
That was usually what normal people would expect when they saw that dull metallic surface. It looked just like any other common metal box. It was not strange for it to lack magical waves.
However, the fact that the box contained the Book of Eternity changed everything.
The Book of Eternity had the knowledge that was the essence of Geresco’s whole life. Every page was created from the Tree of Eternity that had incredibly strong magical force. Not to mention that the box was made from a normal metal, even if it had been crafted from the Eternal Adamantine, it would not have been able to conceal the powerful magical waves within it.
Although Lin Li still had no idea as to how the box functioned; he was only sure that knowledge of magic was required to open it. One would never be able to succeed just by thrusting a random iron wire into the keyhole like Stephen even if he had a hundred years to do so…
This is weird… Lin Li’s doubts grew bigger the longer he looked at the box. How could a common metal crate be able to conceal the magical wave of the Book of Eternity? Could it be that the box had been treated by mageweaths?
That couldn’t be it. There are neither obvious mageweath markings on the box, nor the source of mana that could supply the box with power. Even if the box had been treated by a mageweath, it would not have lasted for 1300 years.
“F*ck!”
Just when Lin Li was still trying to figure out the workings of the box, a bit of rust flew into his eyes. Then, he saw a bright glow in front of him. When he looked at Stephen again, his gaze was filled with sympathy.
Trouble definitely would follow such careless thrusting…