Chapter 171: Ore Devouring Beast

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The unlucky warrior did not want to confess, and Lin Li did not force him, either. He just bent down and picked up the armor that was said to have issues amongst the mess of equipment on the floor.

It was a common half body armor made from refined iron. It was even plated with Eternal Adamantine in a few crucial spots. The craftsmanship was pretty decent. It was of an above-average standard even from Lin Li’s point of view.

The problem stated by the unlucky warrior was the chest area of the armor. When Lin Li picked it up, he immediately saw a long crack. This crack started from the shoulder, and stretched all the way till the abdominal area. Just by looking, it seemed to be split by a sharp edge.

“I’ll ask one last time, who was it that asked you to come?” Lin Li could guess what was the issue just by looking at the armor in his hands.

“…” The warrior broke out in a cold sweat from fear, but his mouth was tightly shut. It was not because he did not want to say, but because he really did not dare to. The person that made him do this had very powerful backing. Now, he only wished that this young mage was making wild guesses.

Maybe if he were to persevere for a while more, he would let him off…

The warrior could only console himself in this way.

The warrior shut his mouth tightly, but the thief at the side could not tolerate it anymore.

“Honorable Mr Mage, we admit that we are not your match. But, you also can’t just willfully accuse us, right? The armor that was bought yesterday had already been split at night by somebody with a sword. You’ve seen that crack yourself. If it was not because my friend got lucky, he would’ve been already dead. Shouldn’t Boss Buck compensate us for selling us such an armor?”

“Well said, but you seem to have forgotten something…” Lin Li only smiled when facing the thief’s questioning. “While creating this crack, have you guys thought about how much strength is required to create such a long crack?”

“…” The thief’s face suddenly froze. It was as if an invisible hand had shoved a cloth into his mouth.

Lin Li smiled, and turned around to look at the warrior, praising him sincerely, “You must be Titan’s descendant. You didn’t get injured from such a powerful slash. You even have the energy to seek trouble with Buck the next morning. You must be from a circus…

“Also, could I trouble you guys to be more professional?”

“…” The two of them were baffled with the lesson taught to them. They stared at each other blankly.

“So unprofessional even when falsifying. Such a lack of professionalism…” Lin Li shook his head as if he’d been expecting better. “Look at this opening yourselves, does it look like it was caused by a sword? It’s more like it was gnawed by a dog. Just look at it yourselves, there are even serrations. Your swords can cause serrations?”

The warrior and thief were full of confusion while listening to Lin Li lecture them old-fashionedly.

“Ok…” Lin Li felt thirsty after lecturing for so long. He only then passed the armor to a dumbfounded Boss Buck. He used a perilous look to glare at the thief and warrior. “I’ll give you a chance. If you don’t say it now, you won’t have the chance to say it later…”

“We…” The warrior opened his mouth, and thought of continuing to deny it, but only spoke halfway before Lin Li glared at him. Instantaneously, he felt like there was something stuck in his throat, and his voice was terrifyingly hoarse. “We… We can’t say…”

“You’re scared?” Lin Li glanced outside, and then advised the warrior softly, “Relax, there is a total of four people here. If none of us says anything, who would know what happened today? You just need to pretend as if nothing happened later, and walk out with swagger. Nobody would suspect anything…”

“Furthermore… even if this incident spreads out, nobody would suspect you guys. I’ll honestly tell you something. That gentleman behind you isn’t just involved with you guys only. Just less than an hour ago, Buck just sent off another group of people…”

Lin Li’s words were just casually spouted.

The moment he came in, he saw that Buck’s face was bruised, and faintly became aware that something was off. It was just that he did not think about things from this perspective. However, after the warrior and thief came in, how could Lin Li not figure it out?

Such incidents were too common…

Within Alanna city, there were countless cruel businessmen using such methods to undermine competitors. However, it went overboard this time. Not only were two batches of people sent, Lin Li’s star ink was also carelessly smashed. Thinking about that half of a beaker of star ink, Lin Li’s chest started to feel tight. Under the influence of these circumstances, he started to look at those two in menacing manner…

“So, what is it going to be? Hurry and decide, I am running out of patience. If you really want to keep mum, I won’t force you to speak, either. It’s just that when you came in just now, you smashed something of mine. You have to compensate for this loss. It doesn’t cost much, just a bit more than 100,000 gold coins or so. I’ll give you a discount, and round it down to 100,000 gold coins. You can leave whenever you pay me back. It’s fine if you don’t return me… Recently, I am lacking a few living humans to conduct magic experiments. The bodies of you two look pretty decent, I just might be able to use them…”

“…”

When the warrior heard this, he thought he was going to die.

What kind of joke was this, demanding more than 100,000 gold coins instantly? As an adventurer, how could he have such a huge sum of money? The words of these young mage were not a joke. If he really conducted magical experiments on them, would it not be worse than death?

He had heard of the cruelty of mages.

Accordingly, some of these really psychopathic mages liked to dissect living humans and transplant all sorts of magical beast limbs on them, creating a monstrosity that was half human and half beast.

Just the thought of it gave the warrior goosebumps…

The warrior swallowed his saliva, and used a voice that was softer than a mosquito to spout out a few words with difficulty.” Hammer of Glory…”

When this voice that was softer than a mosquito’s was heard by Buck, his complexion changed immediately. “Hammer of Glory?”

“Yes…”

The warrior looked at Buck; unknowingly, Lin Li suddenly felt that his gaze towards Buck had a trail of pity. Lin Li rubbed his eyes, and he was not mistaken. This guy that he had almost forced to commit suicide was now looking at Buck with full of pity.

All of these was obviously caused by a placed called “Hammer of Glory”…

Instantly, Lin Li could not help but feel somewhat uncertain.

“What is Uriel Forging Workshop?”

“It is also an equipment store specializing in all sorts of armor. It is only two streets away from here…”

“And then?”

“And then, they have the backing of the Marathon Family…”

“The Marathon Family…” Lin Li rolled his eyes. Boss Buck’s luck was chasing up to his. Just by selling two pieces of armor, he could also provoke the Marathon Family. Thinking about the influence of the Marathon Family, Lin Li could not help but worry about Boss Buck. “Would there be any trouble?”

“It is nothing big, they just belong to the Marathon Family in name. However, in reality, they are under the management of a few businessmen that are not locals…” Boss Buck shook his head; he seemed to be somewhat down. “But, this time, I would have to spend quite a bit of money…”

Lin Li nodded his head, and did not continue asking. He waved his hand in annoyance at those two. “If there is nothing else, you can leave.”

“Thank you… Thank you, Mr. Mage…”

They trembled in fear for a long time before finally hearing Lin Li say those words. At that moment, they did not dare to hesitate. Instantly, they ran away without leaving a trace.

“Sorry to trouble you, Mage Felic…”

“It’s nothing…” Lin Li smiled, and did not say anything more. He could help Buck till this point, whereas for the future, Buck was definitely mentally prepared. There was no need for Lin Li to help him.

After Lin Li went back into the room, he concocted some star ink again.

He spent about half an hour on the mageweath for the two sets of armor. By the time he came out of the room, Boss Buck had just cleaned up the mess on the floor.

Just as he was about to start a conversation with Buck, he saw Sean’s silhouette appear at the corner of the street.

This kid is finally back…

“Sean, here!” Lin Li stood at the entrance, and shouted from afar, “How was it, everything settled?”

“Everything has been settled, Mr Felic.”

“That’s good. This set of armor is for you, keep it safe. Get ready, and then we will leave.” Lin Lin Li nodded, and placed a set of armor in his hands. Then, he turned around and bid farewell to Boss Buck, whom he had inconvenienced this morning. “Boss Buck, I really inconvenienced you today.”

“It’s nothing. You’re welcome to come again, Mage Felic.”

After they left the store, Lin Li went to rent a car from the car rental. On the way there, he also went to Azalez’s house, and delivered ten pieces of Eternal Adamantine that he had promised him yesterday.

After everything had been done, Lin Li drove the carriage and left Alanna heading towards the Fire Plume Ridge…

…

The distance between the Fire Plume Ridge and Alanna was about half a day’s journey. Setting off from Alanna, they’d pass by Blackhills Town and follow the outskirts of the Forest of Whispers heading southwards. If the carriage was fast enough, it would only take a maximum of two hours before they started to feel the temperatures of the Fire Plume Ridge.

The location of Blackhills Town was very advantageous. It was right next to the low-level adventurer’s haven, the Forest of Whispers, and in close proximity of the Fire Plume Ridge, which was full of materials. The travelling adventurers and traders had given the inns overwhelming patronage.

Within a radius of 100 miles, the Fire Plume Ridge should be the area that had the rarest materials in the highest abundance.

It was only extreme environments such as the Fire Plume Ridge’s one that could produce rare materials in high quantities. All sorts of rare herbs and ores, as well as magical beast hides, that were sold for high price could be found here. Most of the adventurers that could explore here had some backing from their families.

The Fire Plume Ridge did not only produce black lotus. In it, there were some rare materials that could even make Lin Li excited. For example, the Infernal Magic Iron, the best material for creating fire-attribute magical weapons, could be found deep in magma. This was not something common. Just any piece of Infernal Magic Iron could be forged into a magical equipment that was incomparable in power. The magical strength contained within was at least at the level of a Magic Shooter. The magical gemstones were also of top quality. Just any one of them would be stronger than Andoine’s Crystal of Eternity.

If they were lucky, they could even find the Flame’s Heart. That was the purest essence of fire. Whether it was for forging or for magical enchantments, it was the best of the best. With just a bit of the Flame’s Heart, one could bestow equipment with powerful fire abilities.

With the rarity of the Infernal Magic Iron, Lin Li could not help but be excited.

When he was in the Endless World, he could be said to be the richest person. He had several private mineral veins, but he drooled over the Infernal Magic Iron. The requirements for mining such a rare magical metal were too difficult. An average person would not even have the chance to discover it, so how could they have the ability to mine it?

However…

The things that could not be done in the Endless World had a chance of succeeding in Anril…

Before leaving for the Fire Plume Ridge, Lin Li specially went to the Omniscient Tower to find information related to it.

Who knew that with this search, he found traces of a clue.

It was the diary of an archmage. According to the memories of this archmage from three hundred years ago, he followed a team of adventurers to the peak of the Fire Plume Ridge when he was younger, and challenged a level-16 Ore Devouring Beast.

Frankly, from Lin Li’s view, there was nothing much about the fight. The archmage only had the strength of level-12 at that time. When facing the level-16 magical beast, he’d only showed his face before rocks rolling down from the summit broke his leg. The whole battle had nothing to do with him, and he relied on his powerful teammates to survive.

However, within these few phrases, Lin Li found two interesting points.

According to the memories of the archmage, the Ore Devouring Beast’s body would be covered in magma when it appeared. Just a slight shake would cause fill the sky with a rain of fire.

This was an important point. A creature like the Ore Devouring Beast did not require severe living conditions. It could walk in the searing heat, or rest in a cool cave. The only important condition was that their living environment required rare mineral veins. The stronger the elemental strength contained within these mineral veins, the stronger the Ore Devouring Beast.

The body full of magma also meant that the Ore Devouring Beast lived within the magma.

Furthermore…

The memories of that Archmage also hinted that the Ore Devouring Beast had also summoned a Meteor Shower.

This was an equally important point. The strength of Ore Devouring Beast came from the rare ores that it devoured. If it consumed Ice Crystal Metal, it would have magical elements of the ice attribute in its body. The spells that it used would also be something like Crystal Nova.

Since it unleashed Meteor Shower, the rare mineral veins that it devoured would naturally contain magical elements of the fire attribute.

An Ore Devouring Beast that lived in the magma and devoured a rare fire-attributed mineral vein. All of the signs hinted that the Fire Plume Ridge had a high possibility of containing an Infernal Magic Iron mineral vein.

When the carriage entered Blackhills Town, it was close to dusk. Lin Li looked at the sky, and decided to stay at the town for a night first.

The Fire Plume Ridge was unlike the Forest of Whispers. There was no knowing what trouble might arise if they headed over at night..

“Two rooms.” Lin Li stopped the carriage, and brought Sean into an inn that was rather clean. When he asked for the rooms, he even emphasized it once more. “It must be two rooms!”

The experience at Blackhills Town previously had terrified him.

In Lin Li’s mind, Sean’s snoring had already surpassed the realm of noise. It was a torture that could not be tolerated by humans. Lin Li could even bet that if a dragon were to share a room with Sean, it would also not be able tolerate the torturous sound.

Luckily, this inn’s business was not as good as the previous one’s. Lin Li managed to get two rooms without a problem.

“Oh, yes. Please bring us some food later,” Lin Li instructed a maid before entering the room.

“Yes, Mr Mage.”

Lin Li remembered something when the maid addressed him as “Mr.Mage”.

It seemed that the leather armor that was painstakingly made had not been worn yet…

After returning to the room, Lin Li opened up the Ring of Endless Storm, and retrieved the leather armor that he had crafted in the day.

Speaking of which, this was the first time that Lin Li had worn something else other than robes ever since he had came to Anril.

When he transmigrated, he was already wearing the Robe of Wrath, and had already been wearing it for almost half a year. From the Sunset Mountains to Jarrosus, and from Jarrosus to Alanna, all the way till some time ago, when he changed into the Robe of the Void.

Lin Li, who’d got used to wearing robes, felt somewhat uncomfortable after wearing the leather armor…

“You’re… You’re Mr Felic?” Sean had a shock when he was having dinner.

“Duh…” Lin Li wanted to smash a plate on this fella’s head. He merely changed clothes, was there a need to exaggerate it?

This time, he might have misunderstood Sean.

Lin Li was clad in a suit of tight-fitting red leather armor, with sharp daggers on his leather boots, a crossbow on his back, and a quiver at his waist. There were two Vampiric Fang Bolts amongst them. By walking around with this image, who would have imagined that this guy was a mage that wore a robe and carried a magic staff if he did not say it himself?

After being tossed around for half a day in the carriage, Lin Li felt exhausted. He dismissed Sean to the room after having dinner. He closed his door, and prepared to have a good sleep to rejuvenate himself so that he could take a good look at the Fire Plume Ridge to see if there were really that many rare materials for him to gather…

Just when he had laid his head on the pillow, there was clear “PAK” coming from downstairs…

“F*ck…” When Lin Li head this sound, he immediately felt like smashing his head against the wall. The last time when he was at Blackhills Town, it was also a slap that made him not have a good sleep. He really felt like blasting a fireball through the floor and asking those fellas: “Are you f*cking gonna let me sleep?”

…