Boulder's cup clinked against the low table.
He stared at Ethan for two seconds, then suddenly burst out laughing. “Ha! Do you have any idea how many magic crystals a dragon bone is worth? If you put that thing up for auction in the Wizard World, it would go for at least eight thousand magic crystals to start. You dare ask for a dragon bone right off the bat? Aren't you afraid this prince will turn on you?”
“Go ahead then,” Ethan said, taking another sip from his coral cup. “Kill me, and then try to find another First-Tier Wizard who can instantly slaughter thirteen Sea Race elites. Let's see how long that takes you.”
A flash of cold light flickered in Boulder's pale blue pupils.
The cold light vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
He picked up his coral cup again and took a large gulp of the brew. “A dragon bone is impossible. The remains of every member of the Sea Dragon tribe must be buried in our ancestral lands. That is an absolute law. Even if I am the Three-Thousandth Prince, I cannot give away my clansmen's dragon bones to outsiders.”
Ethan nodded.
He had only asked for the dragon bone to test Boulder's bottom line.
The fact that the other party hadn't turned on him despite being offended showed that the Sea Dragon prince truly wanted to recruit him.
“Then let's change the terms,” Ethan said. “I want the spell models now.”
“Oh? Want to see my sincerity?”
“Why? Surely the dignified Three-Thousandth Prince of the Sea Race wouldn't be unable to show even this much sincerity?”
Boulder tucked the knowledge crystal back into his robes, the smile on his face widening.
“Sincerity?” He took another sip from his coral cup. “The terms this prince has offered are top-tier even in the deep sea. You are merely a First-Tier Wizard, yet you demand to have the spell models handed over right now. Aren't you being a bit too impatient?”
Ethan smiled and tapped his fingers twice on the low table. Dozens of hair-thin vines suddenly shot out from the cracks in the shattered crystals on the altar's walls.
The vines silently climbed the dome, weaving into an airtight net three meters above Boulder's head.
The entire process took less than half a second.
Boulder's eyebrow twitched. He set down his coral cup, raised his right hand, and lightly flicked his index finger toward the ceiling. A single drop of seawater shot from his fingertip, striking the vine net.
The water droplet exploded, turning into hundreds of water needles as thin as cow hair, which precisely pinned down the nodes of every single vine.
The vine net froze in midair, unable to contract even a fraction of an inch further.
“Ha.” Boulder withdrew his finger. “You indeed control these vines beautifully. Among First-Tier Wizards, I've seen no more than three who can use wood-attribute cantrips to this degree.”
Ethan tapped his finger on the low table once more.
Countless emerald-green specks of light surfaced on the vine net, and the nodes pinned by the water needles exploded simultaneously.
The shattered vines did not fall to the ground. Instead, they regrew, intertwined, and wove together in midair, turning into dozens of thumb-thick, dark green vine spears.
The spear tips pointed directly at Boulder's vital points, barely three feet away.
Boulder didn't dodge. He picked up his coral cup and took another sip.
The vine spears froze in midair, their tips less than an inch away from his scales.
“Not bad,” Boulder said, setting down his cup. “For a First-Tier Wizard to be able to instantly cast cantrips to this level, the purity of your mental power must be at least thirty percent higher than those of the same tier. This prince believes you now—staying in Blood Bone Tower is indeed a waste of your talents.”
Ethan retracted the vine spears.
The shattered vine fragments drifted down from midair, dissolving into fine specks of light before they even hit the ground.
“Your Highness,” Ethan said, lifting his cup of Coral Brew and gulping down half of it. “If you want me to stay in the deep sea for three hundred years, sweet talk alone won't cut it. I want one Second-Tier spell model right now as a deposit. Once I arrive in the deep sea, we can slowly discuss the remaining two Second-Tier models and the dragon bone.”
Boulder stared at Ethan for two seconds, then suddenly threw his head back and laughed out loud.
His laughter echoed through the empty altar, causing the few remaining crystals on the dome to vibrate slightly.
“Good!” Boulder slammed his coral cup down hard on the low table. “This prince likes your cautious attitude. A Second-Tier spell model, you shall have it now.”
He took out three knowledge crystals from his storage tool and lined them up on the low table.
All three crystals were thumb-sized, crystal clear, and swirled with light patterns of different colors inside.
The one on the left glowed with an emerald-green light, the middle one was a deep azure, and the one on the right was dark green.
Boulder pointed to the one on the left. “This is a wood-attribute spell, ‘Thousand Vines Blood Burial’, a Second-Tier spell. Once cast, it can summon countless venomous blood vines within a three-hundred-meter radius. The vines will automatically lock onto all living creatures within range, wrapping around, crushing, and draining them dry. The blood vines can also absorb the target's blood and life force to nourish the caster, making its sustaining power rank among the top three of same-tier spells.”
He pointed to the middle one. “This is ‘Azure Wood Dragon Scale’, a Second-Tier defensive spell. It condenses a layer of dragon-scale-like wooden armor plates on the body's surface, with a base defensive power of eighty thousand degrees. The plates are connected by resilient vines, automatically dispersing the impact when attacked. The Sea Race plundered this spell from a certain wood-attribute world, and it is the only copy in our entire deep sea treasury.”
He pointed to the right one. “This is ‘Decay and Flourish Domain’, a Second-Tier auxiliary spell. It expands a hundred-meter-radius domain centered on the caster. Within the domain, the growth speed of all wood-attribute plants is increased by a hundredfold, while all non-wood-attribute living beings will have their life force continuously drained. The domain's duration and range expand as mental power grows.”
Boulder withdrew his finger. “Three spell models, pick one. Consider it this prince's deposit.”
Ethan's gaze swept back and forth across the three knowledge crystals.
Thousand Vines Blood Burial was purely offensive, Azure Wood Dragon Scale was purely defensive, and Decay and Flourish Domain was a domain-type that integrated both offense and defense.
Their value went without saying.
He fell silent for a few seconds.
Boulder didn't rush him either, slowly sipping the brew from his coral cup.
Ethan reached out and picked up the emerald-green knowledge crystal on the left.
“Thousand Vines Blood Burial,” he said, storing the crystal into his storage ring. “An offensive spell suits my style better.”
The corners of Boulder's mouth curled up. He raised his coral cup toward Ethan. “Good eye. Thousand Vines Blood Burial is a renowned killing technique even among Second-Tier spells. Combined with your vine control skills, its power will increase by at least thirty percent.”
Ethan also raised his cup and clinked it against Boulder's.
The crisp sound of the coral cups clinking echoed clearly through the altar.
The two of them threw their heads back at the same time and drained their cups in one gulp.
Boulder filled both cups once more.
He picked up his own cup, but instead of drinking immediately, he looked at Ethan.
“Little wizard, this prince still doesn't know your name.”
Ethan took a sip from his cup. “Genos Bezos.”
Boulder fished out a new bottle of Coral Brew from his storage tool, unscrewed the cap, and poured half a cup into each of their cups.
He poured very slowly this time, the deep blue liquid tracing a thin arc as it fell into the cups.
“Genos,” Boulder said, placing the bottle on the corner of the table. “This prince is never stingy with friends. But if you take this prince for a fool, that wouldn't be very nice.”
“Your Highness is joking,” Ethan said, raising his cup. “I simply feel that since we are going to cooperate, it is better to speak plainly upfront. It saves us from any unpleasantness down the line.”
Rate on N.U.
