Chapter 127 Filling Pits and Alchemy

Author's Note: This was meant to be Chapter 127. My apologies for the extra 300 words; it won't happen again.

"Even after some time has passed, they can still defeat a Fourth Tier Mage from the Mage Guild! So it's no surprise they could easily defeat me. Besides, I tried sparring with them back then; their attacks arrived before my spell was even prepared." Mage Roman swallowed the fruit pulp in her mouth, gently wiped the corner of her lips, and revealed this shocking information to Shaoke.

"In a normal battle, they can easily defeat that Fourth Tier Mage from the Mage Guild?" Shaoke looked at the female mage with a face full of shock and disbelief, hoping her next words would provide an answer he could accept. History has no record of any Low-rank Mage defeating a mage one tier higher in a frontal battle, not even the super geniuses recorded in the annals in their time. Of course, sneak attacks and taking advantage of others' weaknesses don't count.

"Yes, in a normal battle. But it wasn't easy. The guild mages may lack experience, but their fundamental power is undeniable." The female mage nodded affirmatively. "It's not surprising you haven't heard of this. Such matters aren't circulated in books or academies. If it weren't for my uncle, I wouldn't have understood the true strength of those mysterious Third Tier Mages." Female Mage Roman gently propped her chin, turning the wine glass in her hand as she explained in a low voice.

As time passed, more and more mages gathered in the tavern. Many mages spoke in hushed tones, and from time to time, the unique crisp laughter of female mages rang out. The growing chaos made Shaoke want to leave, but just then, Mage Roman suddenly remembered something.

"Mage Xueye, do you have time tonight? My uncle asked me to invite you to his place. He wants to talk to you about knowledge related to crafting magic items." Female Mage Roman timely called out to Shaoke. She picked up the small staff placed on the table and stood up, then waited for Shaoke's reply.

"Mm! I'd be honored to accept your uncle's invitation." Shaoke was very happy inwardly and nodded to Female Mage Roman to express his thanks. Then the two left the tavern. Since the Fifth Tier Alchemist's residence was quite remote, they hired a four-wheeled carriage and headed there.

When the two got off the carriage, Shaoke realized the destination was extremely secluded. There weren't many residents on either side of the narrow cobblestone path, and all the houses here were built from long, massive stones, appearing solid and imposing.

Mage Roman pointed to a courtyard at the path's end, within which stood a low stone tower. "Mage Xueye, that courtyard is our destination. My uncle lives there."

Looking at the increasingly narrow, dilapidated cobblestone path, Shaoke understood why the carriage had stopped here and wouldn't go further.

Straightening his messy robe and cloak, Shaoke tightly gripped his staff and followed Female Mage Roman towards the courtyard.

The Fifth Tier Mage's door showed no fluctuation from a magical array. Mage Roman pushed it open directly. The small courtyard only had two or three low-growing red bean trees. The melted snow on the ground had turned it to mud. Fortunately, there was a cobblestone path about one person wide for the mages to walk on; otherwise, Shaoke truly doubted whether the female mage would be willing to tread through the mud in such conditions.

Female Mage Roman took Shaoke straight to the front of the low stone tower, then stopped and slowly began to cast a spell to disarm the magical trap on it.

A Spell Structure more complex than 'Death Gaze' quickly formed a vivid green flame as the female mage's small hand traced it and magic power was injected. This flame looked exactly the same as the ones atop the staffs of those mysterious mages Shaoke encountered on the road back then. However, in his haste, he didn't have time to sense its magical fluctuations, so he couldn't truly confirm if they were indeed the same.

When the flame drifted onto the stone door carved with countless magic scripts and magical arrays, the magical fluctuations on the stone door slowly disappeared. As the stone door slid open, the scene inside greatly surprised Shaoke.

Inside, there weren't many furnishings. Only an ordinary, dim hexagonal glass lantern hung from the center of the ceiling for illumination. On either side of the staircase directly facing the entrance, two figures cloaked in black sat cross-legged. Two vivid green flames floated behind them. Mysterious Third Tier Mages? Shaoke almost instantly recognized their identities. He tensed, ready to channel all his mental and magical energy.

Mage Roman grabbed Shaoke's arm with an apologetic look and shook her head at him, signaling him not to be nervous. Then she pulled Shaoke towards the staircase.

Seeing that the two mages remained seated motionless, Shaoke knew they wouldn't do anything out of line to them. He gently freed his hand from the female mage's grasp, tightened his own cloak, and followed the female mage upstairs. As he passed by the two mages, his focused awareness easily detected the waves of energy emanating from them. Only then did Shaoke truly relax, realizing they were in Meditation and wouldn't attack them.

Only after reaching the second floor of the stone tower did Shaoke gently sigh in relief. At that moment, he also noticed the female mage let out a long sigh of relief. "They are here to protect your uncle?" Shaoke's low voice sounded particularly loud in the quiet stone tower.

Female Mage Roman gave Shaoke a sidelong glance, quickly fiddled with something on the nearby stair railing, and then four or five crystal lamps lit up in the corridor of the entire second floor. "Mm! I've been here many times, but every time I pass them, I feel a lot of pressure, as if they are staring intently at me."

Shaoke tried to quiet his footsteps as much as possible, closely following her as they moved through the winding corridor. "I didn't have that feeling. I just sensed they were meditating. Is it because my mental power is too low, and I don't have the ability to sense it?" Shaoke couldn't help but voice his speculation.

"Mm! After your mental power grows for a while longer, you'll be able to sense it." The female mage said as she stopped in front of a wooden door, carefully examining the markings on it. After confirming her uncle was inside, she said meaningfully to Shaoke, "Your mental power is increasing faster and faster now. Although you don't need to worry about your body anymore, you should also consider the capacity of your meditation space!"

Hearing this, Shaoke felt his heart tighten. He knew Female Mage Roman had become suspicious of his frequent use of potions, but out of the courtesy expected between mages, she hadn't pressed him about it.

Just as Shaoke was lost in wild thoughts, Mage Roman did something to the door. She gently manipulated a few magic scripts, and the wooden door automatically opened. Shaoke smiled wryly at this otherworldly version of an automatic password door, sighing inwardly that the technology here was quite advanced, just that he currently had no opportunity or qualification to understand it.

The room Female Mage Roman opened wasn't actually small; it just appeared small because of the messy items piled on the floor. Dozens of bright crystal lamps illuminated the walls, making it very bright.

Shaoke let her pull his arm as she skillfully avoided the piles of stone slabs, plant leaves, various-sized ore heaps, and even some precious books that the owner had casually thrown on the floor, letting the clutter bury them.

After rounding a huge ironwood bookshelf, the owner of this place finally appeared before Shaoke. Behind a round stone table, a disheveled mage with his head lowered said, "Don't disturb my experiment. If you need to replace a staff, look elsewhere. I remember I didn't throw them here. If you're looking for books, help yourself..."

"Uncle, can't you really pay attention to who your guests are?" Female Mage Roman interrupted her uncle's words in a low but firm voice. "Stop for now. Mage Xueye has come to see you." As she spoke, she nimbly jumped over a few clay pots and a pile of messy branches and leaves lying on the floor, like a little white rabbit, arriving at the stone table. Then she waved, signaling Shaoke to follow.

A pile of glass bottles was placed on the stone table, interconnected. Some green liquid inside flowed rapidly through predetermined glass pipes, heated by a small flame floating beneath them.

Everything before him gave Shaoke a great shock. Although he had conducted experiments in the academy's laboratories, he had never seen anything resembling the chemical reaction apparatus from his previous life. Yet here, in a Fifth Tier Alchemist's laboratory, he saw it, making him almost suspect that Transmigrators had come here.

"Are you interested in these?" The Alchemist, reluctantly forced to stop his experiment due to his niece's interruption, turned to ask Shaoke, who was focused on his experimental equipment. "Interested in learning about this knowledge from me? It won't hinder your spell cultivation; on the contrary, it has a certain promoting effect!"

After Shaoke's polite greeting was rudely interrupted by the other party, he tentatively inquired, "The equipment here is very ingenious! I never saw anything like this when I was studying at the academy."

"Ingenious?" The mage snorted coldly, his interest in Shaoke instantly vanishing. "How can the ingenuity of these things compare to the ingenuity of spells? A single refining array is much better than all this messy stuff. If I didn't want to observe the specific reactions and structures of some materials, I wouldn't use this junk at all." After saying this, the mage muttered, "These fragile things break easily. If I weren't afraid of magical energy affecting the results, I would have long carved various arrays on these fragile items to accelerate their reactions."

Shaoke listened to the mage's explanation with an awkward expression. Fortunately, the other party didn't notice, but the female mage opposite him, who was leaning over observing the liquid reactions, saw it and took note. "Those academies rarely have this kind of equipment because they don't need it."

The mage's expectations for his guest were shattered by the earlier incident. However, seeing his niece's pleading eyes as she carefully tended to his experiment, his heart softened in the end. After all, their family only had this one precious daughter.

He quickly found several thick, large-format hardcover books for Shaoke—titles like 'The Relationship Between Fusion Arrays and Casting Materials and Magic Materials', 'Insights on Fusion Arrays with Minerals and Plants', and similar topics. Although Shaoke felt quite awkward due to the other's attitude, he still took each book handed to him one by one. He knew it was because of the female mage's request that the other party was letting him read these precious books. Back when he received compensation from the military, he hadn't found any books of this kind. Yet today, he suddenly received so many. Regardless of the other party's motives, he was still very grateful.