Chapter 927: Exaggerating
At this moment, Prince Kanber, who had been watching indifferently, had also sensed that something was wrong. He slightly restrained the contempt shown on his face, and quickly walked closer to Donald. To his surprise, both Donald and the other metallurgists actually did not react to his arrival. They were still staring at the Alchemy Colossuses.
“Master Donald, are the results of your inspection ready?” asked Kanber, who was displeased about being ignored. He thought, Aren’t these just a few Alchemy Colossuses? Must they behave in such an exaggerated manner!?
Donald snapped out of his thoughts, and glanced at Kanber before shaking his head slightly. In an amazed tone, he said, “Although we’re still not certain what level of alchemy the other party has reached just by investigating these things, the various wonders and mysteries in this do make me feel a bit frightened. What kind of force is that Tower of Dusk? They actually have someone so proficient in alchemy.”
“What Tower of Dusk? I’ve never heard of that force before. What’s there to worry about? I think that dwarf has merely done these randomly by mistake. I think we’d better not waste time on these trivial matters. Let’s discuss the next course of action.” In the eyes of Kanber, only the Brilliance Shrine could be a match for them during the operation this time. The Tower of Dusk, which he had never heard of, was not worth his energy at all.
However, at this moment, Donald’s student, the metallurgist Nick who was in charge of the Array Circulation Pathway, strode towards Donald and Kanber, unable to hide the excitement on his face.
“Your Highness Kanber, Teacher, the results of the test of the Array Circulation Pathway are out,” Nick said in a shaky voice after he bowed to the two of them.
Although Nick had yet to reveal the results of the test, Donald and Kanber could already vaguely make some guesses after seeing his behavior. At the same time, the alchemists surrounding them were also attracted. They looked at Nick nervously.
“Why are you panicking? Tell us, what are the results of the test?” Donald asked with a frown. He lectured Nick, but in fact he was actually trying to relieve the tension he himself felt.
The surroundings became quiet, and all the metallurgists seemed to hold their breath at this moment. They seemed to be waiting for the final judgment, and for Nick to announce the results of the test. Master Russell was like their god, while alchemy was their religion. If the dwarf’s words were real, it would undoubtedly be a huge blow to them.
It was like how a person had painstakingly prepared a trump card which he was very confident in, and was absolutely certain that it would give everyone a shock, only to find out that the trump card was mastered well by someone else. That would definitely be quite a heavy blow to anyone.
“Yes, Teacher,” said Nick, who had also sensed the pressure. He took a deep breath to stabilize his mood a little before saying, “Just now, we conducted a comparison test on the Array Circulation Pathway of the Alchemy Colossus. The results show that the mana consumption of the Alchemy Colossus that was repaired by the dwarf is 17% lower than that of the original Alchemy Colossus prototype. Besides, the operation of the various Alchemy Arrays did not decrease as a result. Instead, the effect was enhanced to some extent.”
“Impossible! This is impossible! The level of alchemy in the Rotterdam Kingdom is the highest in the entire world of Anril, and Master Russell’s proficiency in alchemy is unmatched. There must be something wrong with your tests, go back and repeat them!” Kanber exclaimed while everyone was still trying to digest the shock that the test results had brought them.
“Your Highness, we have already conducted the comparative tests thrice, and the results of all three were very close, so…” At this moment, the metallurgist Nick dared not say anything else. Instead, he handed the detailed data of the tests to his teacher Donald. He was afraid that he might have to say that the dwarf was better than Master Russell.
“Go and conduct another test. If you find any real issues, come and report to me again!” Kanber sounded rather infuriated at this point.
If the one who surpassed Master Russell was from the Rotterdam Kingdom, he would probably be exhilarated. However, the Rotterdam Kingdom had been developing and thriving in alchemical civilization for thousands of years, and Master Russell’s attainments were like an insurmountable barrier, where countless ingenuous alchemists were stuck at.
Yet, there was now a funny-looking dwarf from a small and unknown force whose proficiency in alchemy actually surpassed that of Russell. Hence, all of the effort that the Rotterdam Kingdom had put in was useless!
Kanber was not the only one. That was something that no one in the Rotterdam Kingdom could tolerate.
“Your Highness Kanber, you should know that they can’t go wrong with their tests. I don’t know where that dwarf is from, but he is highly proficient in alchemy. Seems like the force named Tower of Dusk is indeed worth our attention. Since they can have that kind of relationship with the Brilliance Shrine, there definitely is something unusual about them.” Donald closed the detailed test data in his hand, and shifted his gaze onto a distant spot where Archbishop Martin and the young mage were talking to each other affectionately.
At this time, Donald finally felt that the team that had appeared out of nowhere was probably really worthy of his attention. Although he had never heard of the Tower of Dusk, he was well aware of the Brilliance Shrine’s development direction in Anril. Despite Archbishop Martin’s position in the Brilliance Shrine, he was actually having a cordial conversation with Lin Li. Clearly, the Tower of Dusk should have a considerable level of ability in Anril.
Upon hearing Donald’s words, Kanber was stunned, and he finally calmed down a little. He grabbed the test results from Donald, and carefully read them twice. He had considerable attainments in alchemy, and after taking a glance at the detailed data, he could tell that there really seemed to be no problems with the tests.
However, although he agreed with the results of the test, Kanber still didn’t think that Angelano’s level of alchemy would really be better than the god-like Master Russell’s.
“Hmph.” Kanber humphed coldly and looked elsewhere with a sullen expression. He said, “Master Donald, these things only involve a small portion of the Alchemy Colossus technique. That does not mean that dwarf’s level of alchemy is really qualified to be compared to Master Russell’s. Perhaps, he only got lucky, and happened to get some information about our Alchemy Colossus. What we should really do is to properly investigate how the information got leaked after we go back this time.”
Kanber’s words did make some sense. After all, there was plenty of knowledge in the field of alchemy, and the level of alchemy indeed was not something that could be reflected by just a few questions. However, the explanations he gave next were obviously a bit far-fetched. Although it was not impossible, claiming coincidence seemed to be self-deception.
“In that case, how do you explain the increase in performance after those Alchemy Colossuses were repaired?” Donald questioned, clearly disagreeing with Kanber’s far-fetched claim.
“Well, maybe Master Russell originally hid some secrets in the setting of the Alchemy Colossus, which we have never found. Maybe that dwarf was just lucky enough to discover those secrets that could create an illusion of a boost in performance of the Alchemy Colossus. Besides, we still don’t know if this enhancement is good or bad for the Alchemy Colossuses. If the boost in performance is achieved by overdrawing its lifespan, wouldn’t the losses outweigh the gain?”
Prince Kanber’s argument was not unreasonable, and many of the surrounding metallurgists nodded.
It was just like how one could achieve an increase in strength in a short period of time by overdrawing their mental and physical strength and vitality. Many of the metallurgists knew that the Alchemy Colossus could increase its performance by a large margin in a short period of time by overloading itself and increasing its mana output.
Similarly, humans would become extremely weak after using too much of their mental strength and physical strength. The wear and tear of the various components of the Alchemy Colossus would also be accelerated, thus affecting their lifespan. A person’s weakness could be seen easily, but the wear and tear of the components of the Alchemy Colossus was often undetectable until it underwent inspections and repair. By then, it would already be troublesome.
However, the improved performance brought about by the overdrawing was still largely different from the current performance of the repaired Alchemy Colossus. How could Donald not tell the difference? He just didn’t want to get into an argument with Kanber regarding that matter. He couldn’t bring himself to say that the dwarf’s alchemy level was definitely higher than that of the top metallurgist, Russell!
Donald wasn’t the only one who could see that. In fact, metallurgists who were a little more clear-headed were able to figure out which reason was likelier. However, alchemy had already become something akin to religion in the Rotterdam Kingdom. Whenever religion was involved, there would be no shortage of pious believers. Hence, there were also quite a few metallurgists who were more inclined to believe Prince Kanber’s statement as they firmly believed that outsiders could never surpass Master Russell no matter what.
“Even if that dwarf really only has some secrets of the Alchemy Colossus, we should still be more careful. Besides, we should also try to win him over. Perhaps we can get a better understanding of the Alchemy Colossus.” Although Donald had some scruples about the level of alchemy of the Tower of Dusk, he still thought in line with Kanber’s words. As soon as he said that, everyone agreed with each other, regardless of which mindset they were inclined towards.
However, Prince Kanber was still rather displeased with the outcome, and he didn’t think it was necessary to place much emphasis on the insignificant force and the funny-looking dwarf. However, because of Donald’s prestige, he didn’t express strong opposition to it. Instead, he perfunctorily said, “Alright, we’ll pay more attention then. Master Donald, should we consider the following actions we should take for the exploration?”
Donald could only secretly feel helpless about Kanber’s perfunctory attitude. He seemed to have to worry about the Tower of Dusk and the dwarf. He couldn’t expect anything from the prince at all.
On the side of the team from Rotterdam Kingdom, there was some shock and discussion because of the changes in the Alchemy Colossus. In the end, they reached a consensus. However, everyone had a clear answer deep down in their heart, and none of them could be convinced at all.
On the other hand, Lin Li and the archbishop were chatting in a cordial and friendly manner about their matters, just like what Donald and the others saw. Meanwhile, Prince Jeremiah had been waiting for the test results so that he could annoy Felic.
However, to Prince Jeremiah’s disappointment, there were no other results even after the numerous Alchemy Colossus were dismantled. Damn it, is that funny dwarf really that good at fixing Alchemy Colossuses without effort!?
Of course, Prince Jeremiah didn’t know that the people from the Rotterdam Kingdom also had the same doubts as him. They were also annoyed at Angelano’s level of alchemy.
Jeremiah would look at the situation of the Rotterdam Kingdom’s team for a while before gritting his teeth and clenching his fists. Lin Li, who was at the side, could already tell what the prince was being anxious about. However, given Lin Li’s current realm, he only felt a little amused. For the sake of Archbishop Martin’s face, he didn’t bother to argue with Jeremiah.
After the casual chat with Archbishop Martin, Lin Li also knew how the people from the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam Kingdom had come to the Sky Castle. In fact, just like what Lin Li had surmised, they used a Teleportation Portal on the border between the Ledin Kingdom and Dwarf Kingdom, and not the one in the Haiga Mountain Range.
The people from the Brilliance Shrine and Rotterdam Kingdom had received a clue about the High Elves’ ruins not too long ago, at about the same time as Lin Li’s exploration of Prince Brahere’s mausoleum. They did not know if there was any connection between the two.
However, the people of the Brilliance Shrine and Rotterdam Kingdom did not manage to find Prince Brahere’s mausoleum after following the clues. Instead, they found a ruin that resembled a material transfer station. Unfortunately, none of them gained anything valuable from the ruin which had been vacant for tens of thousands of years.