It was the 16th day in the Month of Lingering Rains.
Upon sensing the first sunlight, Angor left his soft blanket and slowly climbed out of bed while feeling a little dazed.
He thought about closing the room’s curtain and enjoying some more sleep since he really needed it after working day and night for half a month. However, when he walked to his window, he was fully woken up by the chilly morning wind that slipped into his room because the window was left open.
He yawned and rubbed his sleep-mangled hair. He then looked at his nightstand, where an oil lamp was supposed to be placed. But now, the lamp was replaced by a miniature canopy bed. Across the translucent bed curtain, he saw a gray-feathered bird sound asleep under a bright yellow duvet.
Angor listened to Toby’s snores and quickly realized who was the culprit that invited cold air inside. It seemed Toby had grown terrified of Greya’s training and escaped from Phantom Island to find a better sleeping spot.
Angor shivered a little and was going to wake his little partner up, but in the end, he decided not to.
Well, guess he needs some sleep as much as I do.
He stayed inside The Tributary for half a month without minding what was going on at Sunders’ place. Even so, he could more or less imagine how harsh Greya’s “lessons” were.
Since he felt refreshed enough in the cold wind, Angor gave up sleeping in and walked onto the balcony to get more fresh air.
The bedroom was located on the 3rd floor of his rented laboratory. From the balcony, he would see a narrow path leading toward a small river in the distance, while the sides of the path were lush mountain woods.
He took a moment to admire the green nature. He then took a deep breath, stretched his arms, and exhaled.
When he turned around and was going to get washed, he suddenly stopped moving as he heard something.
He thought he heard someone’s singing voice, which came from the other side of a hillock nearby. But then, it also sounded like whistling noises caused by the mountain winds.
When he shook his head and tried to get back inside the bedroom, the sound came again, more clearly this time.
And he was sure it was music.
He gazed at the direction where the music came from with a confused look. The Tributary was a huge “mirror dimension”, which allowed every lab facility to own a large, empty territory. According to unspoken rules, those who trespassed on someone else’s territory should expect the worst consequences, including getting killed, and there would be no one to help them. This was quite reasonable, especially since every owner of a lab here would probably be doing important jobs during which they absolutely could not tolerate intruders.
Angor checked again and made sure that whoever was playing music lay within several kilometers from his position, which meant INSIDE his rightful territory.
Is it a wizard from another lab? Surely they should know this violates the rules?
He found a random wizard robe from his wardrobe, put it on, and jumped down from the balcony. He was going to check this unknown intruder. Whether they meant to harm or not, he should at least act first and be cautious.
Two minutes later, he revealed a relieved look when he saw an iron house with four “legs” parked at another mountain peak.
While the chimney of the house was releasing cooking smoke into the environment, it also gave out that music Angor heard earlier.
The Iron Fortress was allowed to go anywhere in The Tributary. Or rather, Iron Granny did not need to get anyone’s consent to enter their territory. On the outside, Iron Granny appeared as a kind-hearted old woman who loved talking to her guests. Angor once asked his professor about who she was. Instead of explaining her identity, Sunders said that he should avoid offending Iron Granny at all costs.
Angor always maintained his good manners in front of Sunders. He was rather surprised when Sunders would remind him of this matter.
At least this told him that Iron Granny was not a common landlady.
Angor decided not to mind the music for now. Perhaps Iron Granny was meeting with another guest.
However, before he could head back to his lab, the music coming from the Iron Fortress changed into something he knew.
The City of Sky.
Once again, he looked at the iron house with a confused expression. Up until now, he had only created three music boxes that played the City of Sky, and these music boxes were held by Lady Mirror, Lydia, and Toby. So was it Lady Mirror or Lydia who was inside the Iron Fortress right now?
The Iron Fortress suddenly changed its direction and began hopping toward his position on its metal legs, leaving the sound of a train whistle behind.
Since it was no longer a good choice to leave, Angor chose to remain still and wait.
The structure stopped in front of him, and a wooden ladder was released from its door. Angor climbed on without a second thought and entered the house.
While stepping through the door, he managed to hear the music of the City of Sky clearer, and at the same time, he noticed something strange about it. It seemed the music he was hearing right now had its melodies lowered by a pitch compared to the original City of Sky. Also, he heard several accompanying instruments that didn’t belong to the original piece.
The music was not bad though. He would admit that whoever made these changes was pretty good at music.
The interior decoration of the Iron Fortress was the same as what he saw last time. Flower pots, bookshelves, a table with a fruit basket and a teapot on it... Everything suggested a lovely and cozy home.
Neither Lady Mirror nor Lydia was inside the house. There was only Iron Granny alone, who was enjoying some hot tea.
There was an octagon-shaped music box placed inside a cabinet beside her, which was playing the City of Sky or something that sounded like it.
“Good morning, Angor.” Iron Granny looked away from her teacup and smiled at him.
“Good morning, ma’am!” Angor bowed.
The old woman asked him to take a seat while she prepared another teacup for him.
“Do you like it?” Iron Granny saw Angor looking at the music box curiously and went to pick it up. “Take your time. I know all about alchemists like you. You can never escape from the charm of these interesting toys.”
Angor scratched his head. “Um, what is—”
“Don’t ask me. I know nothing about alchemy. YOU are the alchemist here, no?”
Angor was trying to ask where Iron Granny found this music box, but it seemed she misunderstood him.
He held the item in his hand and inspected it carefully.
This one had a completely different design compared to the previous music boxes he made, but he still found something he recognized, which was a small button at the bottom of the music box used for activating the illusion.
When he pressed it, the small room was immediately replaced by the sky and drifting clouds.
Angor frowned. He was just thinking about “anti-copycat” problems yesterday night, and on the next day, he witnessed a copycat version of his music box.
It even copied his illusion. Impressive.
However, this illusion was obviously inferior, as the clouds nearby were only poorly-made decorations, which could do nothing more than floating about. They did not reflect the vividness of the real sky in the least.
Besides, the music was approaching its climax, yet the “floating island” at the end of his illusion did not show up.
Tsk.
Nevertheless, this meant the creator of this item knew both alchemy and illusions. More importantly, Angor was beginning to like this altered version of the City of Sky.
When the music ended, Angor thought about asking Iron Granny again, about where the music box came from. However, the item stopped him by playing another piece of music that he had never heard of before, and this one was just as brilliant as the City of Sky, if not better!
Following the music, the illusion also shifted and became one that suited the theme of the melodies.
But just like before, the illusion was not as perfect as the music. Angor now understood why Iron Granny had been listening to the music without activating the illusions.
Putting the bad illusions aside, this music box had a nice “function”, which allowed it to play different pieces like a music player, and Angor liked that.
“Where did you find this, Granny?” Angor switched the illusion off and asked when the music was entering a small interval.
“What, you want one too?”
“Oh, I’m just... interested.”
“Like I said, you alchemists are all curious souls. Well, it’s not really a secret.” Iron Granny pointed to the window. “The owner of Lab Seven gave it to me. He bought this music box from Twilight Well. He said something about how this thing is becoming popular among people. It shouldn’t be hard for you to find one in the markets.”
“Twilight Well...” Angor narrowed his eyes.