To the naked eye, the alchemy blueprint only looked like a thin layer. But to someone who knew about runes, they could see two layers of runes with different properties stacked on top of each other.
The two layers of runes intertwined with each other, sometimes visible, sometimes hidden.
One of the mageweaths was a real alchemy pattern, while the other was a 'lock'.
If he wanted to see the true face of this alchemy blueprint, he had to unlock this layer of intertwined "lock".
Such "locks" were commonly seen on alchemy blueprints in ancient times. They were used by alchemists to protect their original creations.
Nowadays, most alchemy circles in Floating Mech City were protected by copyright, and such "locks" were gradually lost.
He only read about such "locks" in books. This was the first time he saw one with his own eyes.
This "lock" was made of enchantment mageweath, so it was best for an enchantment alchemist to solve it. Of course, with Sir Aesop's knowledge in runes, there was a chance that he could solve the "lock". However, the "lock" was a bit special. If there was a mistake in the sequence, the alchemy blueprint would self-destruct. This was why Sir Aesop did not try to solve it recklessly, which was why Angor was assigned this task.
Angor had already observed the whole situation before trying to decipher the blueprint. However, he was still very careful when he started.
At first, it was not hard. However, as time went by, the parts where he had to use his engraving pen began to intertwine with each other. In other words, when the alchemy and deciphering patterns intertwined, they would often diverge into different paths.
It was not difficult to distinguish between the alchemy and deciphering patterns. The most difficult part was that the deciphering patterns would also get mixed up, which meant Angor had to determine which one should be deciphering first and which one should be deciphering later.
It sounded like he only needed to determine the order of deciphering. But in fact, it required Angor to do a lot of calculations in his mind, and he had to make sure there were no mistakes before he dared to write it down.
The amount of mental and physical effort consumed in this process was definitely not something that could be explained with just a few words.
The sweat on Angor's forehead was proof of how difficult it was to decipher it.
…
"It's been three hours," Kael, who was sitting next to Angor's cave, spoke with a worried look.
Dorcas, who was sitting on a soft sofa with his legs crossed, looked at Karel, "What? You think a super dimensional wizard can't decipher it?"
Kael shook his head: "No, Mister Chao Wei came from the Research and Development Institute, so his alchemy skills are unquestionable. It's just that … I'm worried about the mental attack on that blueprint. "
Even Sir Aesos only lasted for half an hour, while Angor had been studying the alchemy blueprint for three hours. She wondered if something would go wrong.
Dorcas thought for a moment. "This is indeed something to worry about. However, he didn't change his expression when facing that alchemy blueprint, so he should have a strategy to deal with it. "
"Besides, this is just an insignificant mission for him. If he really can't handle it, he can just give up. Even if the alchemy blueprint is destroyed, do you still dare to ask him for compensation? "
"You're right, my lord …" Kael said with some embarrassment.
If it was really destroyed, there was nothing he could do about it. He wouldn't even dare to say no.
However, Dorcas' words did give Kael some confidence. Angor wouldn't do anything beyond his capability, so he could just give up if something really went wrong. Three hours had passed, and Angor still hadn't shown up. At least for now, everything was still under Angor's control.
…
The two people next door were right. Angor was still in control of deciphering the alchemy blueprint.
Deciphering the alchemy blueprint was easy enough, but he didn't expect it to be done in layers. The creator of the alchemy blueprint must have a wicked sense of humor. It would only take a few hours, or even half an hour, to decipher the alchemy blueprint.
However, after actually deciphering it, Angor realized the creator's evil intentions. There were too many traps in the blueprint, and many of the puzzles were hidden under the alchemy runes. Angor couldn't tell how complicated the blueprint was until he deciphered it.
Deciphering the blueprint for such a long time took a toll on Angor's mind. He had no choice but to use his Hand of Spell to replenish his energy.
These potions weren't expensive, but there were a lot of them. It would cost a lot to store them all up.
Looking at the empty potion bottles piling up around him, Angor began to feel a little frustrated.
Deciphering quests and alchemy quests were supposed to be separate, and deciphering quests were probably harder than alchemy quests!
But Aesop only gave him one alchemy quest, and he didn't mention anything about deciphering the blueprint at all, as if it wasn't difficult at all. This was the result of information asymmetry!
I'll ask Aesop for compensation when I get back!
Angor cursed in his mind while controlling his hand to keep deciphering the alchemy blueprint.
Time continued to pass under such circumstances.
…
Twelve hours later, Kael was about to fall asleep. Suddenly, the space node around him started to change.
At the same time, a dissatisfied voice came from the space node. "Get in here!"
Kael shivered. He stiffened his neck and looked at Dorcas.
Dorcas only shrugged. It had nothing to do with him. He also looked like he was waiting to watch a good show.
It made sense. The strange space node should have alerted Kael, but Angor still used his voice to warn him. This meant Angor was in a bad mood right now.
This was the first time Dorcas noticed Angor's mood change so clearly after meeting him.
It was obvious that Angor was really angry this time.
But Dorcas was still confused. What was so bad about deciphering? Or was there a trap?
With this in mind, Dorcas nudged Kael. "Come on, he's asking you to get in."
Dorcas could no longer conceal his expression of watching a show. Kael, on the other hand, was a little scared. He was just a researcher, and he rarely faced the anger of a wizard.
But when he heard Angor's voice, Kael knew something was wrong. He couldn't move his feet.
"You have to go. You can't run away from it. Besides, it's not necessarily a bad thing. "
Kael stared at Dorcas in silence. Don't you feel guilty for speaking against your own conscience?! If it's not a bad thing, then it's a good thing?!
Dorcas saw that Kael was still trembling, and he really wanted to know what was going on. "How about this? If he tries to kill you, I'll stop him and make sure you don't die."
Kael: "Really?"
Dorcas: "Trust my character."
Kael really wanted to say that Dorcas' character was worthless. But he had no other choice. Just as Dorcas said, he had to go.
Kael sighed. His legs trembled as he walked toward the Catacombs.
Dorcas quickly followed behind him. As for his promise to keep Kael alive, he was just joking. He knew Angor wouldn't kill Kael no matter how angry he was. After all, Kael still had Aesos behind him, and Aesos was a good friend of Rein Mute, the leader of Brute Cavern.
There was no way Kael would die. But did Angor have a habit of torturing people like this?
It would be so interesting if he could see what happened in the princess' room. Dorcas couldn't help but grin at the thought. Should he give Angor some ideas later?
Soon, Kael and Dorcas arrived at the entrance of the underground cavern.
"Come in," Angor's voice came from inside.
Compared to before, Kael's voice sounded much calmer, as if he didn't reveal much emotion. This allowed Kael to relax a little.
However, Dorcas began to add fuel to the fire again. "You know, Kael? The calmer someone is, the angrier they are. On the contrary, those who express their anger are easier to pacify. "
Hearing this, Kael's legs, which had stopped trembling with great difficulty, began to tremble again.
Meanwhile, Dorcas was secretly enjoying himself.
No matter what, he still had to enter the cavern.
Kael pushed the door open with the determination to die. As soon as he stepped inside, he felt a gentle breeze on his face before he even saw Angor.
It wasn't an ordinary breeze either. It simply brushed past his body, and all his mental fatigue disappeared.
Along with the breeze, there was also a gentle light shining on his body, as well as a faint fragrance in the air.
The breeze, the light, and the fragrance all made him feel extremely comfortable. It was as if he was wandering in an ocean of moonlight, and his body was being massaged by a soft hand.
While Kael was enjoying the sudden comfort, a voice rang in his ears, "What's wrong? Is it comfortable?"
As soon as Kael heard this familiar voice, he immediately shivered and looked up.
Angor was standing under the gentle light with a tired face. The light and shadow created a beautiful scene.
"Tsk tsk tsk. Moonlight's Blessing." At this moment, Dorcas' voice rang out, accompanied by the clinking of glass bottles. "How many bottles of Moonlight's Tribute were used? Looking at the quality of the bottles, some of them are even top-tier mid-tier potions."
Kael looked in the direction of the voice and saw that Dorcas was already near the table.
There were piles of potion bottles under the table. Some of them looked ordinary, while others were luxurious. Some of them even had runes engraved on them.
Moonlight's Blessing … Kael remembered Dorcas mentioning this name.
As someone who frequented wizard markets all year round, Kael knew about the famous Moonlight's Blessing.
It was a low-tier potion, but it was one of the best among all low-tier potions. It was extremely expensive, even more so than most mid-tier potions. Its effect was to remove fatigue and recover mental strength. For mortals, simply bathing in the moonlight could strengthen their body.
With Kael's wealth, he could afford a bottle of Tribute of Moonlight, but … Looking at the potion bottles on the floor, Kael felt like he wouldn't be able to afford it even if he sold himself.
Moreover, there were also unknown bottles of top-notch mid-tier potions mixed in with them. The price was even more sky-high.
"M-my lord, these potions …" Kael stuttered, wanting to say something.
"To decipher them." Angor remained calm.
It was a simple sentence, but it made Kael's throat tighten. The worst-case scenario had come. Sure enough, these expensive potions were used to decipher the secret.
This meant … he had to pay for all of them.
Kael felt a wave of dizziness, and in the next second, he collapsed to the ground.
Dorcas was still laughing. "Let me see. How many magic crystals did you use this time? One … ten … hundred … thousand … ten thousand …"
Dorcas seemed to be doing this on purpose. Every time he added a number, Kael's expression would change from despair to utter utter stupor.
Dorcas shook his head as he looked at Kale, whose soul was about to be scared to death. He said, "Academics are academics after all. Their mental fortitude is really bad."
Dorcas walked to Angor's side. "Did you really use so many potions?"
Angor was still bathing in Moonlight's Blessing, but he still looked tired. "I got screwed over by Aesop."
With just one sentence, Dorcas understood.
"Compared to alchemy, this decryption is the most difficult, right?" Although Dorcas was doubtful, his tone was firm.
"No one in the entire southern wizarding region can decipher it except for me."
Maybe it was an exaggeration, but Dorcas believed it. If even Aesop couldn't stand looking at the blueprint for half an hour, no one else could.
Angor not only spent more than ten hours looking at the blueprint, he also had to spend a lot of effort to decipher it. This was definitely not an easy task.
Just thinking about it made Dorcas feel that this mission was too difficult. Even the veterans in the research department couldn't do it.
As far as Dorcas knew, Aesop only gave Angor an "alchemy" task.
The most difficult decryption had been completely omitted by Aesop.
Angor was only trying to solve a simple puzzle, but he ended up in hell mode. That was why Angor had such a bad temper.
If Dorcas was in Angor's shoes, he would have exploded already. Maybe he couldn't even decipher the alchemy blueprint.
Huh? Did Angor really not decipher the alchemy blueprint because he was too impulsive?
Dorcas hurriedly asked about this matter.
"I spent so many potions. If I don't decipher it, it'll be a waste of my potions."
Angor opened up the alchemy blueprint. "See for yourself. It's solved."
Dorcas quickly looked away. He didn't want to be hit by spirit power.
"Solving the external puzzle won't affect your spirit power anymore."
When Dorcas heard this, he turned his head to take a look. Sure enough, the alchemy blueprint no longer had any mind power attack, revealing its true appearance.
It was the blueprint of a dagger with a unique shape. There were also many rune guides beside it.
Anyway, Dorcas couldn't understand it.
"So what are you going to do now? You used so many potions. Are you going to kill Cael, or torture him like Maudia, then kill him?"
Cael was still dazed, but he still heard Dorcas' words. He felt the world spinning around him. No matter what he chose, Dorcas still wanted Angor to kill him!
Angor didn't answer right away. Instead, he pondered for a moment.
Of course, Angor wasn't thinking about how to kill Cael. He was thinking about what he learned this time.
Yes, what he learned.
He didn't get nothing this time. He used a lot of potions to decipher the puzzle, but the puzzle itself was his reward.
When he solved the puzzle, he also solved the external magic array. Angor noticed that it was a very special magic array, one that wasn't even recorded in his Enchantment Encyclopedia: Perfect Edition.
The magic array wasn't just a "lock". It could continuously attack a target's spirit power.
It could be said that this was a very interesting Magic Array, and it was also a very threatening one.
Angor believed that the wall in the Nightmare Realm had a similar magic array.
The only downside was that the magic array wasn't perfect. He couldn't adjust the intensity of the spirit power attack.
If he could adjust the intensity of the spirit power attack to be as strong as the wall in the Nightmare Realm, Angor could wear the magic array and turn it into a self-propelled spirit cannon. Even truth-finder wizards like Rhine would be affected by it.
Unfortunately, a flaw was a flaw. He could only think about it.
Still, the wall in the Nightmare Realm might contain clues to adjust the intensity of the spirit power. Angor would like to see it if he had the chance.
"So you're thinking about how to deal with Cael, huh? How about I give you some ideas? They'll be even more interesting than Maudia's, "Dorcas said with an excited look.
Cael, who was sitting on the ground, looked like he had nothing left to live for.
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