Pillar of Yita

Gita seemed lost in thought.

At this moment, the Archmage lifted his head, glanced beyond the shipyard, and said, ”Alright, that’s it for today. But the Dragon Language remains the foundation of everything; you two can further solidify in this direction.”

The trio turned their heads toward that direction, only to see a group of people walking over from there.

Gita’s eyes lit up slightly: ”It’s the Captain and the others!”

Fang Hong, carrying a box, with Parker and Tang De, waved their hands enthusiastically in this direction: ”Gita, Tianlan, Luo Yu, Mr. Kalatu, we’ve returned!”

...

In fact, Fang Hong and his party didn’t stay long with the Grand Princess; after obtaining that notebook, they set out to leave the next day.

However, they did have to return to Bargo once because it hosts the largest alchemy market in Istania, where they purchased some necessary alchemy materials—primarily because after the battles in Fanric and Idus, with his level increased further, Fang Hong found the Type-One Crystal β form of the Magic Guided Reactor increasingly insufficient these days.

Particularly when experimenting with his invented ’Construct Alchemy’ using the Siren Gears, the high magic power output nearly drained his current Magic Guided Reactor in no time.

And whenever faced with such a situation, he felt increasingly urgent: the matter of replacing the Magic Guided Reactor was again imminent.

But unfortunately, replacing the Magic Guided Reactor wasn’t as easy for him as it was for others; at most, he could have one custom-made—or, more cheaply, purchase a standard Issue Magic Guided Reactor or second-hand from others.

And because of his need for Non-Attribute Crystals, each time he replaced the Magic Guided Reactor, he needed to first prepare the next rank of Type-One Crystal. So the alchemy materials he purchased were actually to prepare for the third form of the Type-One Crystal—γ form.

The most important magic solvent was already secured at Fanric, and various other materials could be bought from the alchemy market in Bargo.

The remaining portion, he recently managed to obtain from Lady Aierna, after some persistent persuasion.

What was still lacking were the most crucial main materials.

Foremost among these was the material for the Main Crystal.

Fang Hong recounted the travels of recent days to everyone. As for the matters Miss Sicape had reminded him of before, he had already informed Hilveld and Atira during the journey, though not yet the others. In fact, in case of any eventuality, the Elf Miss had even increased the manpower at the shipyard in these recent days.

However, as he mentioned this, he glanced back and saw that the shipyard seemed to have no unusual occurrences recently. He privately asked the others, including Gita and Tianlan, along with the Elf Miss, and everyone said everything was normal.

As for the situation with Miss Sicape, as she said, it had been impossible to contact for the past few days, which made him a bit worried.

After listening to his description of making the Magic Guided Reactor, Kalatu showed some surprise:

”High-quality grey crystal?”

He asked, ”What do you need that for?”

”To make something,” Fang Hong didn’t hide: ”I previously purchased some alchemy materials in Bargo, but I’m still short of a few main components, grey crystal being one of them.”

He paused and asked, ”I’ve heard that some elemental creatures have grey crystals. However, such creatures are rare in Istania. Mr. Kalatu, do you know of any other sources for grey crystals?”

In Eteliria, grey crystal is a very common material used to prepare Non-Attribute Crystals.

Grey crystals aren’t rare in Colin-Ishurian, or among several Sky Lands, but high-quality grey crystals are another concept. They aren’t exactly priceless, and occasionally they appear on the market at fairly acceptable prices.

But hardly anyone goes specifically to acquire this thing, and it rarely appears in alchemy markets around the world.

In any case, Fang Hong had searched all over but found none.

He could only hope that this well-informed Archmage might have some way to help him.

Unexpectedly, after thinking for a moment, Kalatu replied, ”I do know where to find such a thing; in fact, it’s right in Istania.”

”Really?” Fang Hong said with some surprise.

But the other paused and suddenly looked at him and said, ”Ade, I heard from the ’Old Drunkard’ that, during your time with Lady Aierna, you’ve learned a lot and haven’t had time to sort it all out yet, have you?”

Fang Hong was slightly taken aback, unsure why the other brought this up. This Archmage, as an observer, had been following them during these days and had rarely intervened in the Seven Seas Travel Group’s affairs apart from instructing Gita and Luo Yu.

At least it’s the first time he had asked such an atypical question.

The ’Old Drunkard’ refers to the Dwarf Artisan brought in by Kalatu to help construct the ’Seven Seas Traveler.’ And during their discussions about shipbuilding, he not only explored many things with Lady Aierna, but also learned a lot from this Old Dwarf Artisan.

But these weren’t all learned; a lot of it came from his own ideas—ever since obtaining the Siren Gears and ’cloning’ the Numelin Elves’ alchemy, he had many ideas popping up in his mind.

It’s just that the fifteen-level Magic Guided Reactor output was simply too low for many of those ideas to be realized, at least for now.

Thinking of this, Fang Hong still nodded.

Kalatu also nodded slightly, saying, ”Ade, recently, Eteliria hasn’t been very stable, and some changes may occur soon. Besides shipbuilding, you also need to enhance your strength. For now, stay at the shipyard, and suspend the tasks for the princess for a while.”

”As for the grey crystal,” he thought for a moment, saying, ”it requires hunting a big creature in the desert. Tang De and I will figure out how to bring it back for you. During this time, review everything you’ve learned in these days thoroughly.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong was taken aback.

This sounded familiar, just like what Miss Sicape had said, didn’t it?

In fact, he hadn’t told Tang De and Kalatu about this; only the Ship’s Officer Miss and Atira, among others, were aware.

”Mr. Kalatu?” Suddenly a thought flashed through Fang Hong’s mind.

The other had mentioned to Tang De not to interfere in the Seven Seas Travel Group’s matters, just providing protection as observers. Previously, they had kept their word, but this sudden decision made him realize something.

After a moment of silence, he asked, ”Are you...leaving?”

Kalatu looked at him and gently nodded: ”Counting the time, this doppelgänger should only be able to sustain for this long. At that time, I’ll have Tang De bring the stuff back for you.”

After finishing, he paused, and in his light grey eyes flashed a solemn glow: ”Ade, I can only accompany you for this much of your journey. I’ll leave things here now in your hands; remember, be sure to protect yourselves. I’ll wait for you in the Second World.”

Fang Hong opened his mouth.

Beside him, Gita seemed a bit flustered, couldn’t help but ask, ”Teacher, are you really leaving?”

Kalatu extended his hand, gently patting Miss Natural Historian’s shoulder.

As he looked at Fang Hong again, the latter also seriously nodded and said:

”I understand, Mr. Kalatu.”

Kalatu rarely smiled: ”That’s good.”

...