Chapter 319: Secret Treasure (2)
A large campfire was continuously burning beside the river. A group of wizards was seated around it, talking about some things.
Two Watchers had been designated near the shore, patiently waiting for Angele to wake up.
"Master has woken up!" When they noticed the movement of Angele, they immediately sent word to the camp through energy particles.
"Has Lance finished communicating with the Flame Scorpions yet?" Angele stepped out of the river, and with a flick of his finger, the energy particles remove the river water from his body immediately.
"It is done. Lance has been waiting with the scorpions," one of the black robes answered quickly.
"Thanks for guarding the safe zone for me." There was a gentle smile on Angele's face.
"It is our pleasure." The two bowed slightly to Angele. Clearly, they were a tad different from the other wizards he had met.
Once the wizards in the camp were informed of Angele already finishing his meditation, they quickly walked to him, including the wizard called Lance.
"Ask the Flame Scorpions to get ready. I will have them use their flame breath soon," Angele spoke in a calm tone.
"...Understood..." Lance nodded several times.
Angele turned around and returned to the camp as he still needed to do a few preparations.
"Wait! Master wizard! I have something of great importance to tell you. It is about the secret treasure within the mountain!"
Angele narrowed his eyes; Lance's words surprised him.
"Secret treasure?" Angele repeated. "Is this the same treasure we talked about beforehand?" He looked at Hakeem.
Hakeem nodded slightly and started explaining, "Master, the secret treasure within Nash had come from a rumor. It says that there is a garden of elemental fairies somewhere nearby the volcanic river. Many items considered legendary are within the garden. If you can find the entrance to this place, the fairies inhabiting it will gift you one of those items."
"The garden of the elemental fairies..." Angele rubbed his chin. He had indeed heard of this place before.
He raised his head to look at Lance. The man had a neat and handsome face, yet his expression was complicated.
Lance immediately forced a smile after seeing Angele staring at him.
"Master, we have already found the entrance to the garden. Several of my family members have already entered it as well. We are staying here for a while because we are awaiting their return. They are the only people who can take us to the secret treasure.
"Why are you telling me these, then? Do you truly think I will trust you?" Angele felt a tad curious.
"My family is in trouble right now...master. We are not getting the promised share of the mission. The other two families who came with us might acquire the legendary items and used these to annihilate my family after we return to the city." Lance narrowed his eyes. "I would rather give all the treasures to you so that the other two families cannot use the power of the items to fight against us."
"Let me be honest with you. I am not interested in the treasures. Hakeem, why don't you..."
"Master..." Lance's expression soon changed and interrupted Angele from further speaking.
*Pa*
The female captain slapped Lance right in his cheeks. Using so much force, Lance nearly fell to the ground.
"How dare you interrupt the master." Red glows surrounded her eyes.
"It is fine." Angele stopped the captain from hitting Lance again. "Keep going."
The man gritted his teeth, but he quickly calmed down. His right cheek had already turned red.
"Master, the situation is a bit complicated." He decided to communicate with Angele through energy particles. "The garden of the elemental fairies is the last ancient holy ground of the fairies. All living beings that enter the garden will be blessed by the mysterious holy power and will be given legendary items by the fairies as gifts. In reality, the majority of strong wizards only want to search for the garden for the blessing. You might be blessed with a talent ability or a skill of a mutated beast. Rumors also say of being blessed with a great increase in the affinity with the elements. The only problem is, only five people or creatures can stay in the garden at a time. Three members of the families have already entered the garden. Only two more people can go through the gate."
"Interesting. I know about the place but never heard of the blessing." Angele felt no interest in the legendary items, but he was curious about the blessing. A free talent ability or a special skill would help him greatly. Furthermore, if his affinity with energy particles could be increased, it would become much easier for him to infuse his mentality with the elements.
Angele had read about the garden of the elemental fairies from a wizardry book. It said that the elemental spring in the garden could help remove the impurities inside a wizard's body, but it was the first time he heard of a blessing and its special effects.
"All right. I will go check out the garden of the elemental fairies. I want to know what exactly the blessing is." Angele narrowed his eyes and made up his mind.
"Lyn, tell the Watchers to prepare." He turned to the female captain called Lyn. "And make sure Lance is not lying. He will be the one to show us the way."
"Yes, master," Lyn nodded and quickly responded.
"Good. Let us deal with those Flame Scorpions first. It is important." Angele walked to the scorpions that were still in captive.
They had not eaten for three days but looked the same as before nevertheless.
Lance followed Angele and communicated with the Flame Scorpions. The scorpions nodded after listening to his words.
"It is done, master" the man respectfully said.
Angele nodded. Soon, the scorpions formed an encirclement around him and they started releasing flame breaths one by one.
*BAM*
The green flame from the first scorpion struck Angele's body with great intensity.
However, the flame breath of Flame Scorpions could only deal about ten degrees of damage, so it was nothing to Angele.
He deactivated his Metal Mastery forcefield and let the green flames brush over his body. Angele slowly closed his eyes and began his meditation in order to comprehend the runes of the second stage of Molten Core River.
Angele must decide on the form of his second body upon the start of meditation in the second stage.
Beginning from the second stage of Molten Core River, Angele must create his second body using pure energy or physical materials. He could modify the shape and property of the body however he wanted but the difficulty and requirements varied depending on the shape and property. Moreover, the power of the final form was decided by multiple factors.
This was the special ability granted by the advanced meditation technique, Molten Core River.
The second body Angele would create would grow stronger as he continued to progress further.
The red bird controlled by the female captain was her second body. Her soul could still survive in the second body even if she lost her physical form. The only way to kill her was to destroy both her second body and her physical body. She might survive if she turned herself into her soul form or her pure energy form, but her strength would tremendously wane.
Angele needed to decide on the property and shape of his second body. This incredibly strong special ability was what made the Molten Core River famous.
The only problem was if Angele was not strong enough, he would not be able to gain full control of the second body. Once it was so, the creation of his second body would depend not on him but on its own devices.
Time passed.
Thunder continued to rumble in the sky as lightning ceaselessly struck the land.
Rain finally descended from the clouds. Several minutes later, it turned into a horrifying downpour.
Hakeem pointed at the wall of the deep pit immediately and created a large cave.
Two Watchers stayed beside Angele to keep guard, while the rest of the group entered the cave to avoid the rain.
Angele sat in the center of the Flame Scorpions' encirclement, his body being surrounded by green flames.
The flames did not touch his skin directly, as they were being blocked by a distorted energy barrier several centimeters away from his body.
Miniscule specks of green light separated from the flames, slowly being absorbed by Angele.
About ten minutes later, the energy of all the Flame Scorpions was completely spent, causing them to faint.
Lance patiently waited for Angele to finish his meditation at the side.
A crimson rune suddenly appeared on Angele's forehead then disappeared after several seconds.
*WOO*
The translucent energy barrier disappeared and all the green flames were absorbed by his body.
Zero's mechanical voice echoed in his ears.
'2nd stage of Molten Core River mastered. Mentality increasing...'
'Checking...Mentality increased to 91.7.'
Zero's report woke Angele from his meditation. Angele's limbs had become numb; such feeling was quite strange.
'That's it?' Angele found it hard to believe. The progress was so smooth that he did not even feel the excitement of mastering the second stage.
Once again, this was the advantage of the wizards inhabiting the central continent.
'Have you finished the analysis for the third stage yet?' he asked.
'Estimated time for complete analysis: 73 hours, 21 minutes.' Angele felt a slight disappointment about Zero's response. He could feel his resistance vastly increased and he could now manipulate fire far better than before.
In his mind, while meditating, there was a hazy image of the second body, but he was not certain what it looked like.
It seemed that the second body would depend on itself to find the most suitable form for Angele, as he was not strong enough to form it himself.
According to the explanation recorded in the book, the second body's form and property would be influenced by its owner's characteristics, desire, body strength, and mentality.
However, Angele must first master the third or fourth stage in order for him to control his second body.
He was not particularly worried about his progression on the Molten Core River due to the assistance coming from Zero.
Angele stood up heading to the cave with the two Watchers and Lance.
"Master."
"Glad to see you back."
Hakeem and Lyn were meditating but when they noticed Angele's presence, they greeted him immediately.
"Thanks. Have some rest. My task was finished earlier than I thought it would be. We can go check the secret treasure out tomorrow." Angele smiled. "What do you think?"
"As you wish, master." Hakeem chuckled.
Liv nodded slightly and responded in a cold tone, "Certainly." She had never shown Angele respect due to her special position in the Watchers.