Chapter 934: Nelson
Gondola smoothly proceeded while following the flow of the Shanube River.
Vonman poked his head out to look below when he thought he heard something howling. He wasnât sure if his ears were working properly when the sound of the river almost deafened him.
He almost fell off the boat when he saw a giant head just below Gondola when Gondola should be flying some hundred meters above the ground. It was a giant that was walking on the riverbank while causing more noises into the already noisy area.
âBy gods⊠What is that?!â
Angor also looked over the edge of Gondola.
They were looking at a âHighland Goliathâ, a native inhabitant at Parmigi Highlands. They were known for their long life span and near-human level intelligence. Though they tended to take it easy inside their territory instead of moving around or causing harm.
It was definitely not common for one of them to show up here.
âTulu, slow down and proceed carefully,â Angor called.
âWhatâs the matter, sir?â Tulu was in charge of steering the boat. He quickly decreased the energy output.
âSomethingâs not right around here. Just be careful.â
Vonman and Guina were already nervous when they set foot in the wizarding world for real. Hearing Angorâs words, they grew even more stressful.
The giant noticed Gondola flying past its head. But it didnât pay the vehicle much attention before resuming its travel. It seemed the giant was trying to make it across Shanube River by swimming.
When its form was fully hidden behind the vapor curtain, the recruits on Gondola all sighed in relief.
âThese giants donât usually cause accidents to humans not because theyâre nice, but because theyâre too lazy to do anything. Stay away should you run into one in the future,â Angor explained.
They heard yet more strange noise, but it came from above them rather than from the ground this time.
They saw several odd machines flying past them. These things had different metal parts mixed together, but generally, they all resembled human shapes.
Angor knew them too. They were mechanical puppets, a type of common merchandise found in Floating Mech City. But they were usually crafted by alchemists who were good at Tooling. Angor didnât remember any such alchemist around Brute Cavern. It was strange that a wizard who didnât know alchemy would buy so many mechanical puppets.
As he wondered what was going on, an overwhelming aura descended upon Gondola, along with someoneâs gruff voice.
âNeat vehicle you got there. Iâm taking it!â
The recruits were instantly pressed against the floor by the force. Angor managed to maintain his posture, but he did feel terrible on the inside.
The level of the aura felt similar to Eurekaâs, which couldnât fully suppress his movement. And if he could move, he could escape.
However, Angor was confident in running away by himself only. He couldnât take the other three with him.
He poked Toby, who read his mind and immediately went into Griffin Mode, then fully prepared the power of gravity.
âSequence of gravity?!â The strangerâs voice raised a pitch.
âFor escaping. Note that you canât stop me, sir.â Angor made this clear before he put on a more polite stance. âThis is not very far from Brute Cavern. Do you have to use violence here?â
âYouâre from Brute Cavern?â A man poked his head from behind one of the puppets.
He had a pair of thick goggles and an alchemy robe full of greasy taints, all of which suggested that he was a typical alchemist who spent most of his time in a lab.
âThatâs correct. Iâm Mister Phantomâs student, returning to the organization as requested.â
âMister Phantom, huh?â The stranger removed his goggles, checked Angorâs look, and landed on Gondola with a backflip.
Angor didnât stop the man since it was hopeless to do so. But he did tell Toby to fully prepare a gravity boost so that they could get away the moment it was necessary.
While carrying the smell of burns and catalysts, the alchemist took out a magazine and began comparing Angorâs face with a picture on it.
âYouâre the âmusic box manâ, Angor?â
â⊠My name is Angor, sir. Someone made that moniker up. It has nothing to do with who I really am.â
âIt IS you! I saw that record of you making an item on the sea, but I never learned where to find you. Now I finally got a chance to talk to you!â
âMay I know your name, MisterâŠ?â
âNah.â The man waved an arm. âCall me Nelson, if you would. Youâre the better alchemist here. Donât deny it.â
Angor waited for Nelson to continue.
âSuch⊠masterful work!â Nelson looked around Gondola with twinkling eyes. âYou made this yourself?â
âCan you remove your aura, sir? Or youâre going to seriously hurt my guests.â Angor pointed to Guina, who had begun to bleed from her wounds. âIf sheâs dead, Iâll fail my recruitment quota. That would be sad.â
Nelson muttered âweaklingsâ under his breath and did so.
âVonman, take Guina inside. Tulu, keep the boat moving at the original speed.â
Angor took a seat and looked at Nelson, who also sat down on the opposite side.
âI heard there were tons of wizards who recently went to Brute Cavern to find you. So you were off on a recruit mission?â Nelson shook his head. âThis is nuts. Why would Mister Rein appoint
you
as the recruiter? Such misuse of true talent!â
Nelson seemed to be the talkative type. As he criticized the corruption and inefficiency of large-scale organizations, he also revealed some personal information for Angor to hear.
âDo you need something from me, sir?â Angor found a chance to chip in so that Nelson didnât keep talking for hours and on. âAs for this boat, yes, it is one of my products.â
âItâs freaking beautiful! You brought out the hidden property of Wavy Clams? Nice. They werenât lying when saying that the âthorny lion alchemistâ got skills!â
That title sounded a little better than âmusic box manâ, but Angor still preferred not to hear it. He just hoped that Nelson did not mention âBaron Milkâ next.
âIâm glad to hear your approval, Mister Nelson. You havenât told me why youâre here?â
âOh, I just thought I could come and take the boat away by force. But since itâs you, never mind that.â
â⊠Thanks?â
âNo need to thank me! Iâm a Tooling alchemist too. We can exchange notes and study from each other!â
Angor saw Nelsonâs puppets had surrounded Gondola and sighed. Apparently, Nelson wouldnât let him go easily.
The puppets wouldnât prevent him from leaving, but he didnât want to give up the others. He considered and decided to comply. Nelson claimed that he was an alchemist trainee studying in Floating Mech City and majored in machine alchemy. He should have some valuable knowledge to share.
âI canât get luckier than this! I havenât left my lab in years, and when I did, I met you!â
Angor was still wary at the beginning of their discussion, but as Nelson began to bring up more constructive issues, he changed his mind.
As someone who couldnât tolerate mistakes, Angor slowly grew more excited during their debate, especially when Nelson had other opinions regarding his field of expertise.
Slowly, their alchemy meeting turned into a heated battle of words.
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