Chapter 376: 348
"Donāt be too showy, eat more, grow bigger."
The young man instructed, causing Shasha to nod repeatedly, "Call me when you have news of the Dismal Nether Jellyfish. Iāll come over."
"Also, I might be going on a long trip soon. Iāll let you know before I leave. While Iām gone, be careful on your own. The egg might take several months or even a year to hatch. If you get the chance, kill more Magical Beasts with Pure Origin attributes and pile their corpses beside it. Crystal Island will assimilate those bodies."
"Make sure not to expose the deep-sea entrance, and remember to lock the door after you leave."
Ian went on and on like an old mother.
He wasnāt worried about Shashaās strength and her instinct to avoid danger, but he feared Shasha might get carried away with her power and start bumping into ships for fun, "And stop ramming into ships. If they want to explore the Labyrinth, let them. Whoever tries to damage the Labyrinth, you ram their ship, make them unable to return. Understand? Flash if you understand."
Click!
A bright white light flashed, satisfying Ian, "Good. Youāre mastering your Aurora Titan abilities quickly... Seems Magical Beasts have an advantage in this regard. A human would need at least a day or two to get it right."
Of course, with the help of a Silver Chip for fine-tuning, Ian could also master inheritanceās special abilities right after leveling up.
After saying goodbye to one another, Ian bypassed the South Sea Fleet and stealthily returned to Harrison Port.
It was night by now, and upon arriving home, Ian noticed Elan had already fallen asleep.
The boyās sleeping face was very serious, as if he was having a hard-fought battle with monsters in his dreams.
"At least he isnāt biting the blanket."
Ian touched Elanās head to make sure he didnāt have a fever or cold, then sighed after seeing that the expression was just from a nightmare, "Iāll ask Elan himself tomorrow. If heās willing to give Huai Guang a try, weāll go."
He still believed in his brotherās potential; there had to be resilience in Elanās bones. Itās just a matter of whether he can show it or not.
If he canāt show it, then it will be very difficult for Elan to keep up with him in the future. Ian was sure to have many enemies and rivals, and his relatives must have the ability to defend themselves.
Ian went back to his room and lay down to sleep.
The next morning.
"Huai Guang Church? If brother thinks I should, then Iām willing."
While helping Ian cut seaweed, Elan responded without a second thought, "It might be hard, but, brother, you have it tougher!"
"Iām not having a tough time, Iām very happy every day."
Ian, who was making soup, shook his head; he was genuinely happy.
Practicing and learning Alchemy Inscriptions, others might find it toilsome, but for him, it was even more fun than playing games, something he couldnāt stop doing every day. He even had to set a time limit each day, or else it was easy to overdo it.
However, this was probably something Elan couldnāt understand, so Ian just patted his brotherās shoulder, "If you feel like you canāt handle it, just let me know, Iāll talk to the Bishop of White Mist..."
"Iām sure I can do it!" The little boy got a bit angry, and he looked at Ian with a pout, "Brother, believe in me!"
"Okay~" Ian smiled instead, stretching out his hand to rub Elanās annoyed little face, "Actually, I may believe in you even more than you do... Good luck, Elan!"
"Mhm!"
The following days were fairly uneventful.
Ian didnāt know what deal had been struck between the South Sea Fleet and Viscount Grant, or what Marquis Barton had discussed with the Viscount. Anyway, three days after the attack by Shasha, they retreated back to the port of Nauman City.
However, a group that looked very professional arrived at Viscount Grantās. They proclaimed themselves āprofessional Labyrinth researchers,ā invited by Marquis Barton and recommended to Viscount Grant to explore the Labyrinth.
Ian observed that the group was a four-person squad with three Sublimators, and the remaining āordinaryā person was a woman, likely a retired soldier with some special power, skilled in the use of firearms but yet to take a Magic Potion.
Without a doubt, they were elites among elites. The strongest one, probably of the āFlame Wind Houndā Bloodline, had the strength of the First Power Level Peakāif he had the opportunity to break through to the Second Power Level, the value of this Exploration Team would skyrocket.
There are many people who have the potential for the Second Energy Level, but few actually reach it.
"Fortunately, I elevated Shasha to the Second Energy Level in advance, otherwise, I might not have been able to deter this team,"
This team obviously knew about the āLabyrinth Species Iron Armor Sharkā in the Great Labyrinth, so they had been collecting intelligence lately and were not in a hurry to enter the Labyrinth to explore.
As Harrison Portās Appraiser, Ian had met these adventurers a time or two and could vaguely tell during their conversations that the team was actually a bit lackadaisical about their work.
How could true elites fail to see that they had become pawns in the strife between the Nobles of South Ridge? If they didnāt explore, they would incur the wrath of Marquis Barton, yet if they explored too zealously, they were likely to be ādispatchedā at sea by Viscount Grant with Aether Armaments.
It was a hard choice of means to die.
So, the group dragged their feet, producing various reports and monitoring data daily, but the real progress was hard to articulate, fully displaying their craftiness.
"Viscount Grant recommended me to be an Inspector Knight for Marquis Barton; could it be to annoy the other party?"
Ian frowned, feeling a bit worried about his future journey as a Knight, "Never mind, at least I havenāt seen any bad possibilities."
It was just a few days after this group of explorers arrived at Harrison Port that Yisen Gard delivered the brand new Alchemy equipment Ian had agreed to.
There were also Second Energy Level Fae materials and an āAdvanced Magic Potion Formulaā with Fairy Bloodline.
"This is... the newest model of Origin Quality catalyst dish? It can automatically adjust the Origin Quality frequency to release it at the most stable frequency for catalysis, a great invention that frees the hands of Alchemists!"
"This one is a matching Mist Plate; Iāve always wanted one. With it, many experiments involving Origin Quality itself can now be undertaken!"
"Oh wow! A complete set of Inscription engraving equipment! Although I never really mentioned it, Yisen actually remembered, and this whole set must cost at least three hundred fifty Talle... Huh? A collectorās edition?!"
Ian was truly shocked by Yisen Gardās generosity, or rather, the wealth of the Ellen Family.
Upon realizing that the Inscription engraving equipment was a collectorās edition, he took a closer look at the other Alchemy apparatus and found they were all meticulously crafted, costing at least fifty percent more than those from flagship stores, and some even bore the personal signature of artisans.
"This is bad."
The youth inhaled sharply, "If these break, wonāt I be the only one who can fix them? This kind of meticulously crafted product is durable, sure, but the maintenance costs are exorbitantly high!"
Fixing it twice would almost amount to buying a new one!
Though he said so, Ian didnāt think it was a bad thing. Yisen Gard meant well, or maybe the young master from this wealthy family never really considered such issues.
"Next is the Second Energy Level Fae material..."
Inside the workshop, Ian opened the Inscription box that Yisen Gard had sent over.
Then, a wave of aqua light washed over his face.
It was an aqua-blue sphere, like a pearl, with a constantly changing, turning luster on its surface.
[Fairyās Streaming Light (Frost Sea Species)]
[Second Energy Level Ā· Untreated Ā· Excellent Ā· Edible]
[The core left behind by a Fae that wandered the underwater city in the southern Frost Sea and died by accident. Mainly made from āCursed Iceā and āSilver Frostā, fused with a āCold Light Coreā, it is extremely soft, yet quite durable.]
[It can be used as a Water Attribute Magical Medicine Ingredient, high-level Alchemy material, and Inscription Light Ink raw material.]
[For regular storage, care should be taken not to place it too close to Fire Attribute materials, as it may cause both of their Origin Qualities to interfere with each other and become ineffective, nor should it be icebound. The Cold Light Core would be activated and continuously cool surrounding materials, leading to a reduction of Origin Quality, and must be vacuum sealed at around twenty degrees for storage.]
[Soaking it in water or tea can be somewhat beneficial for Sublimators of Water Element Origin.]
[Contained Primordial Essence: 954.2576 Elite units]