It was a bit of a hassle, but it didn't matter.
As an alchemist who understood magic circles, Lan Qingyou had taken many photos during her battle with the Ancient of Knowledge.
They were all taken at the exact moments the creature activated its magic circles.
With these magic circles as her primary research subjects, she was confident she could master this field of study quickly.
Moreover, this book lacked the word "Basic" in its title. To Lan Qingyou, it likely represented an advanced form of semiotics.
"Squeak, squeak!"
Just as Lan Qingyou was planning to dive into the book later, Spoon tugged on the hem of her clothes.
"Hmm? Outside?"
At Spoon's cry, Lan Qingyou turned to look toward the door.
Nothing had changed; it looked exactly as it had when she entered.
Spoon, however, didn't care about appearances. It took off running toward the outside, and Lan Qingyou stuffed the book into her herb bag and followed.
Finally, Spoon stopped at the very center of the area and looked up.
Lan Qingyou followed its gaze. Oh, weren't they standing directly beneath the crystal clusters?
Because the large crystals housing the four ancients had fallen, four massive, dark holes now gaped in the ceiling above. Even from a distance of nearly two hundred meters, Lan Qingyou could see them clearly through her identification glasses.
"Hmm... Could it be that the real treasures are actually up there, and the stone house was just a decoy?"
Lan Qingyou frowned slightly.
She tucked Spoon into her coat, activated her thrusters, and flew upward.
As she drew closer, the view became clearer.
Each of the four gaps in the crystal clusters indeed led to an accessible cavity. When Lan Qingyou reached the entrance and looked inside, she found it was pitch black. Compared to the brilliance outside the crystal clusters, which served as the area's sun, it was a stark contrast between light and darkness.
Or rather, it was because the light outside was so bright she could barely keep her eyes open that the interior seemed even darker.
Should she go in?
Lan Qingyou cautiously circled all four entrances and found them to be largely identical. Seeing nothing, she decided to venture inside anyway.
However, she certainly wouldn't act recklessly.
She released a purple knight with a broken arm, a magic lantern hanging from its waist, to scout the situation first.
The magic lantern immediately illuminated the space.
Lan Qingyou looked closely. There were indeed things inside, though only two.
One was a large, three-legged iron pot, about one and a half meters wide, containing a red liquid.
The other was a branch that looked somewhat withered.
Lan Qingyou adjusted her glasses and attempted to identify the two items. The result...
【？ ？ ？】【？ ？ ？】【？ ？ ？】【？ ？ ？】
Four sets of question marks instantly appeared before her eyes.
This sight left Lan Qingyou stunned.
Seriously?
She could identify creatures of the ancients' level, yet these items were nothing but question marks.
Had she really stumbled upon world-class items?
And four of them at that?
Wait! Four!?
Lan Qingyou looked left and right, but aside from the pot, the red liquid, and the branch, there didn't seem to be anything else inside.
There were no hidden compartments or anything of the sort.
Though confused, she collected the three items she could see into her herb bag and checked again.
【？ ？ ？】
The fourth set of question marks was still there.
What could it be?
Could it be the massive crystal cluster itself?
Lan Qingyou flew back out to look, and it turned out she was right!
But how was she supposed to deal with something this large?
She frowned as she contemplated the crystal cluster, which was at least fifty meters in diameter.
As it was the only light source in the area, she didn't want to move it just yet. Then, remembering it was still the mana tide period and she couldn't leave anyway, she decided to let it stay hanging. She would take it with her when she left.
Returning to the ground, Lan Qingyou sent all three items to Shang Chuan for identification. Then, she picked up her discarded Magic Broom and inspected it.
Aside from the new shoots that had sprouted earlier, it wasn't damaged. It could still be used with a little trimming.
With that, Lan Qingyou pitched her tent.
Since she couldn't leave, she might as well wait here.
There was about a day left before the mana tide ended, so a good rest wouldn't hurt.
Most importantly, Lan Qingyou truly didn't want to move anymore.
The amount of potions she had consumed over the last few hours made her feel so full she didn't even want to eat.
She was full—the kind of full where you could hear the liquid sloshing in your stomach if you moved too much.
The thought that all those items marked with question marks were hidden inside the crystal clusters amused her.
If not for her talent that allowed her to fly, she likely wouldn't have been able to investigate even if she had known something was up there.
No, it was more accurate to say that anyone else, as long as they couldn't fly like her, would have had no chance of obtaining those items.
In a sense, was this a form of luck?
Was she fortunate to have a flight-based talent?
Looking at her legs, Lan Qingyou shook her head with a wry smile.
Losing the sunrise but gaining the sunset—that was likely the best way to describe it.
The Moon: "You really are lucky! To be honest, I'm jealous. Are you selling? I can find a buyer for you."
...
Just as she was counting her blessings, a message arrived from Shang Chuan, and it seemed to be good news.
Then again, given all the question marks, they were bound to be good items.
The Tower: "What's the specific situation?"
Lan Qingyou asked after receiving the three items back.
Shang Chuan then sent over the identification results for the three objects.
【Seeker of Fire Crucible (World-class)】
【Effect: Potion crafting speed +50%, Potion crafting success rate +80%】
【Description: Handcrafted by the world-class magic item master 'Feng.' It possesses excellent preservation properties and will never corrode.】
【Ancient Tree Branch (World-class)】
【Effect: Attraction for flying monsters +100%, Taming probability +100%】
【Description: Planting this in any tree will attract flying monsters to roost, with a high probability of them being tamed. It also provides a safe home for flying monsters; long-term residence has a chance to improve their constitution.】
【Star Dragon King Essence Blood (World-class)】
【Effect: Dragon evolution rate +100%, Attribute correction】
【Description: The Star Dragon King is the beginning of all things. A single drop of its blood can evolve a human into a Dragonkin or transform other creatures into dragon-type species.】
Lan Qingyou hissed.
Seeing these three descriptions, she sucked in a sharp breath, nearly fainting from the shock.
She was especially overwhelmed with excitement upon seeing the Star Dragon King Essence Blood.
No wonder Shang Chuan had offered to find a buyer before she had even seen the results herself; this was something everyone would covet.
Dragonkin?
She didn't know what that was exactly, but it had to be incredibly powerful, right?
At the very least, it had to be superior to her current Blue Star human race.
Otherwise, it wouldn't be worthy of the "World-class" rank.
While there were levels of strength even within the world-class rank, Lan Qingyou felt that a Dragonkin must be terrifyingly strong.
As they say, the more significant the matter, the fewer the words.
Rate on N.U.
