Chapter 1232: Section 1233 The Omen of Shrinkage
Angel’s first attempt ended in failure.
And it failed not long after it started.
The reason wasn’t due to a mistake in the alchemy process, but purely because of Angel himself. He had miscalculated the control of his strength, causing a shard of the Fire Transmission Stone that was supposed to be melded to crack.
Although it was just a tiny crack, Angel could have simply replaced the shard of the Fire Transmission Stone. However, he chose to extinguish the flame and temporarily discard the materials already used.
He was so decisive because he wanted to avoid regretting the use of precious materials later on.
Strength control has never been considered the most important aspect by Alchemists, but it’s like humans needing to breathe air—a kind of instinct that seems inconsequential but is deeply ingrained and indispensable.
So, Angel stopped.
Fortunately, he discovered the mistake early, and the wasted materials were not much, leaving him with some room for willfulness.
After halting the process, Angel didn’t start alchemy again but instead began targeted strength training, hoping to gain control over the enhanced physical strength of his upgraded body.
Soon, two days had passed. In the past two days of training, Angel had basically been able to stabilize the control of his hand’s strength. It was also at this time that Angel realized just how much his physical strength had improved.
Compared to his past self, he was beyond measure. In the past, his spiritual power exceeded his physical power, but the difference was not significant; now, however, his physical strength far outweighed his spiritual power, the gap immense.
In terms of energy level, Angel estimated that he could at least reach the standards of a Bloodline Wizard!
However, he had only reached the standard in raw strength, and as for technique… Angel was almost completely ignorant of it. Recalling his previous battle with Zefara, it truly was a brute force approach, and only because Zefara was caught off guard could Angel launch a close-range attack. Otherwise, Angel would definitely not be Zefara’s match.
Fortunately, technique can be learned, but physical standards aren’t easy to breakthrough.
By achieving such a physical standard, Angel could say he had a higher starting point than other Apprentices. It’s important to note that many non-Bloodline Wizards usually need to reach Second Level or breakthrough True Knowledge to possess the physical standards Angel has now!
And now, Angel was still an Apprentice, meaning he had even greater room for growth and breakthroughs!
After recording some supplemental information about his own condition in his notebook on the page about “Projected Bloodline,” Angel turned his attention back to the materials set aside.
Having delayed for two days, he didn’t want to continue wasting time here.
After conducting a detailed check of his hand strength and ensuring there were no errors, Angel immediately began the alchemy process.
As the flames soared, the synthesis of the Fire Transmission Stone officially resumed.
This time, the alchemy process went a lot smoother than the last, flowing smoothly without any mishaps. However, three hours after Angel began alchemy, he suddenly felt the phial of Sanders’ blood heat up in his pocket…
Sanders stood outside Ice Valley, facing the cursed Wind and Snow Valley.
He didn’t blindly rush in, because even if he did, according to Odeclass’s personality, Sanders guessed he wouldn’t bother with him. But getting cursed was not easy to deal with.
Sanders decided to first try to contact Angel through the blood essence.
Previously, when Fafnir was around Angel, using blood essence as a medium to contact Angel was very difficult, and he thought it would probably be problematic this time too. But to his surprise, the connection through the blood was very smooth.
However, after calling out several times, Sanders didn’t get any response from Angel.
“Could it be that Angel encountered danger? Or maybe his blood essence isn’t on Angel, but was picked up by someone else?” While Sanders was imagining various scenarios, after a long wait, the blood essence finally sent a response.
“I’m doing alchemy, Mentor, get back to you.”
Sanders: “…” Get back to you?! What on earth does that mean? What kind of word is that!
The voice on the other end was hasty, but Sanders still recognized it with its high distinctiveness—surely it was Angel.
Although his choice of words was odd, the message conveyed was clear.
—He was doing alchemy and couldn’t be disturbed for the time being.
The reason sounded legitimate, but… it was irksome! He was worried about Angel and rushed over at the first chance, and yet this guy just said “get back to you”!
Sanders massaged his temples, which were throbbing with bulging veins, trying to calm himself down. What could he do? He couldn’t just barge in.
If he barged in, not only would he be cursed, but Angel would also be in the midst of alchemy—it would just be his own suffering.
Sanders always felt that one day he would be driven to the brink by his few Apprentices, especially Angel, who he initially thought would be the most worry-free, but in fact, turned out to be the most artful of them all.
Much later, Sanders sighed deeply, “Alright, at least he is safe for now.”
…
Angel was unaware of Sanders’ frustration. After confirming that Sanders was near Ice Valley, his initially slightly anxious mood had actually settled.
He focused even more on the concoction.
It took three days for this concoction, and no mistakes occurred along the way; Angel smoothly reached the moment of final product emergence.
During the concoction process, Angel had felt the terrifying energy contained within the Fire Transmission Stone. Only then did he understand why the Fire Transmission Stone was known as a “legendary treasure” in the Abyss, and even in the Wizards’ Realm, it held a famous reputation.
With the fluctuations produced by the semi-finished Fire Transmission Stone, Angel was already certain that it had the highest energy content of all the artefacts he had ever concocted!
Therefore, when the moment to reveal the finished product arrived, Angel started to feel apprehensive.
He wondered how terrifying the Alchemy Omen would be for such a high-energy item and began to worry whether he would be able to pass through the Omen space.
By now, some phenomena had started to appear in the outside world.
The clouds in the sky gathered, and amidst the wind and snow of Ice Valley, faint sparks occasionally drifted by.
Such sparks might seem minor, but in Wind and Snow Valley, sealed in ice for ten thousand years, it was almost impossible to witness such a widespread presence of the Fire Element unless Odeclass took action.
At the same time, Odeclass, who was standing in front of the Binaqionse mural, also slowly turned his head to look outside.
A hint of surprise appeared on his face, which for thousands of years had been unchanging and indifferent.
Odeclass had always been skeptical about whether Angel could concoct the Fire Transmission Stone. He knew very well how precious the Fire Transmission Stone was. This pure Fire Element energy was the pursuit of all fire-related creatures in the Abyss; even the Monarch of Fire, if they obtained the Fire Transmission Stone, could use it as a reserve energy source.
This shows the preciousness of the Fire Transmission Stone.
The trade that Odeclass initially offered to Angel was completely unequal, and he did not think Angel would succeed. He only held a faint hope: what if a miracle actually happened?
Unexpectedly, it seemed like Angel might have really done it?
Joy, rare for him, flickered in Odeclass’s eyes, because given Binaqionse’s situation, Odeclass was unwilling to leave Ice Valley. However, his stay strained him with the chilling cold, significantly weakening his strength over the years. It wasn’t that Odeclass stopped pursuing power; external forces simply didn’t allow it. But if he had the Fire Transmission Stone, given its restorative properties, not only could his power return to its peak, but he would also have no fear of reduced strength, even if he stayed in Ice Valley in the future!
Perhaps, there was even further potential!
Thinking of this, Odeclass’s heart, frozen for many years, seemed to slowly warm.
Odeclass looked intently outside, then turned back to gaze at the mural on the wall. He seemed to see the scenes from when he had painted it long ago.
That human named Feng was instructing him, stroke by stroke, on how to paint.
But no matter how he tried, he seemed unable to capture Binaqionse’s essence more vividly.
As Odeclass started to feel discouraged, Feng suddenly said, “I can teach you a method that will allow you to convey the emotions in your heart, your thoughts, your yearning, and even your nostalgia onto the canvas. Moreover, you can even enshrine her soul within the painting.”
After Feng finished speaking, he immediately piqued Odeclass’s emotions, then turned the conversation, saying, “However, I need you to promise me one thing.”
“As long as humans do not provoke you, you shall not harm them of your own initiative.”
It was precisely because of this pact with Feng that Odeclass never harmed humans over the years, which led him to encounter Angel centuries later.
“So, this is the ‘cycle of gain and loss’ you spoke of?” Odeclass looked at the mural; for the first time in many years, a trace of warmth touched his indifferent eyes.
…
At the moment the finished product emerged into the world.
Brilliant red light burst forth, and the howling wind and snow outside rapidly transformed into flames dancing in the air.
Witnessing this scene, whether it was Odeclass or Popota, they understood that Angel had succeeded. The legendary treasure was revealed to the world right here!
Odeclass even appeared directly outside Angel’s door. He did not knock, just stood quietly amidst the fiery wind, waiting.
Meanwhile, inside the room, Angel was full of confusion.
The Alchemy Omen he had been anticipating did indeed start to manifest outside, but it wasn’t as grand as he had imagined, not even close to the Phenomena he encountered when he concocted “Samsara” for Promy.
Moreover, the so-called Omen Space, he had already gone through it.
It was merely a test of will across a sea of fire to reach the mountain on the far shore. Furthermore, this sea of fire wasn’t entirely ablaze; there were many empty areas. Even an ordinary person, as long as they weren’t afraid of the heat and had a firm will, could pass through, let alone Angel.
When Angel reached the far-shore mountain, he thought it would be like the “Blood Night Shelter” concoction, with even more severe and profound Phenomena waiting to be tested. But then…the Omen Space just disappeared.
Angel, holding the red-glowing stone in his hands, was completely stupefied.
“It’s over, just like that?”