Pillar of Yita

”It’s done.”

Moonlight like liquid silver quietly flowed and seeped into the pale grain of the wooden surfaces.

Fang Hong took off his Wind Goggles and exchanged a glance with Miss Fairy. He stood up straight, gently placed an exquisite crystal onto the workbench, stepped back two paces, and carefully admired its stunning beauty under the moonlight—the crystal was transparent and sparkled with a prism of colors.

It looked nothing like the early Type-One Crystal.

It had natural geometric regularity. But unlike Crimson Spodumene, which contained color from the substitution of similar minerals and made this fire-attributed crystal seem like a tearstain of blood, prompting restlessness in the observer.

Its surface was like satin. Yet it was not similar to agate, which had too vivid colors flowing through it—the Earth’s Marrow spoken of by the Ameinu People, which held too many rich emotions.

It wasn’t like peridot or aquamarine either. It didn’t have the clumsy thickness of orthorhombic crystals nor the superficial lightness of hexagonal ones; it seemed like a perfect gemstone.

But no, it wasn’t yet perfect. The flocculent impurities in the crystal had not been completely resolved; the threadlike imperfections were like a cloud in flawlessness.

Yet amidst the spectrum of colors, it already contained a hope for the future.

”This is what her true birth looks like, so beautiful,” Fang Hong mumbled to himself involuntarily, ”She shouldn’t be called a Type-One Crystal anymore, we should give her a name.”

Tata looked at him, ”What name would Mr. Knight like to give it?”

”It is not constrained by attributes, nor associated with shadow. There are dark crystals in this world but not gems of light. Let’s call it the Holy Crystal,” Fang Hong pondered for a moment, then suddenly had an inspired thought.

”Holy Crystal,” Tata repeated the name softly.

Its beta form glowed softly in the moonlight, with colors swirling in a seemingly sacred beauty.

Fang Hong did not have the habit of keeping a journal, or else he would have written such words:

’October 20th, Rain

It’s the third day of the trip. The storm named ”Aorxin” finally began to affect Fenris Isle, with continuous rain throughout the day, making the roads difficult to traverse.

After leaving Andelita Waterfall, the team headed southward, and the attacks from the Night Lizards did not occur again, with the agreement with the Rain Listener largely fulfilled.

This night, I completed the β crystal, a day worth memorializing.’

The completion of the β crystal was earlier than he had anticipated.

But he did not plan to install it in the Emerald Bird αAE-type Magic Guided Reactor. Due to the limitations of the max Magic Capacity of the Magic Guided Reactor, the β crystal couldn’t display its maximum effect.

Moreover, he was leveling up too fast; the Emerald Bird αAE-type Magic Guided Reactor would no longer be suitable for him soon. After reaching Level 10, he would need to change to a Magic Guided Reactor of the next level.

Therefore, Fang Hong carefully placed the β crystal into a box lined with velvet, then put it away securely.

Although he had the next phase of the crystal’s design, the yield rate of good products was still very low, and the β crystal required expensive materials such as the Closed Loop Device and eyeballs from the Silver Blaze Forest, making Fang Hong treat it with caution.

After securing the valuable box, Fang Hong finally took a deep breath and rubbed his tired eyelids.

In the past few days, aside from fulfilling the agreed work, he had managed to find time to modify the Armor for the Big Cat People, made a pair of Short Swords for Parker, and upgraded the spear of Miss Atira.

Reed’s Magic Guided Armor was a product of the Forest Sea Temple on Giant Tree Hill; its design philosophy was radically different from that of Colin Ishurian. From it, Fang Hong gained many benefits and also mapped out blueprints for two small components.

He used the materials left over from his work with the Rain Listener to upgrade the armor’s defense from the original Level 15 protection standard to about Level 18, and added a slot for a Protection Plugin on the back.

Fang Hong installed a detachable small shield in that slot which could usually offer additional protection to the back and when necessary, could be detached and mounted on the right gauntlet. It could also be launched to ricochet between several enemies, causing damage.

Then, inspired by Elisa’s Short Swords, he installed a space-sensing plugin into the shield and Reed’s sword, so they could call out to each other.

Mr. Big Cat tried it and couldn’t stop praising the improvement; he dragged Parker and Luo Yu off for ’training,’ putting the new skills to use and giving them a good lesson.

Miss Atira’s spear was upgraded with enhanced protection capabilities, incorporating design ideas from the Magic Guided Armor, including an umbrella-shaped Shield Generator. When necessary, it could be opened with a single voice command to absorb damage equivalent to her Evasion Value.

This device was called Evasion Conversion, a specialty of the Forest Sea Temple.

As for Parker’s Short Swords, they were actually replicas of Elisa’s set. However, Fang Hong found that there was an element of chance in his creation of that Legendary Short Sword.

When crafting Parker’s swords, he could not find that same feeling, and although the fine-tuning was successful, and the plugins were made as perfect as possible, the Quality always remained at A++.

He was utterly confused about this since it was one of the consequences of not having any guidance. If he had been with the Grand Guild, or if he had the backing of an Artisan Association, there would certainly be experienced craftsmen to identify the crux of the issue.

But now, he had to grope for experience on his own. This knowledge of the crafters’ domain, Mr. Reed, and Miss Atira obviously couldn’t teach him much.

It was Hilveld who gave him some hints. She mentioned that a craftsman’s inspiration is very important when creating Magic Guided Equipment of legendary or higher Quality, but what exactly is inspiration—this intangible and elusive concept—even the Lady Noble did not know.

However, to others, Fang Hong’s troubles might seem enviable, even deserving of a punch. Usually, a craftsman would only manage to create their first piece of legendary-quality Equipment after reaching Level 20, and even then, masterpieces would be occasional.

Being stuck at an A++ Quality in crafting may sound like a happy worry. The Quality of Equipment at Grade B and above is already considered Fine-Tuning, and A++ is the top level of Fine-Tuning.

The difference between it and a legendary piece is just that inscrutable element.

”I need to step out for a look, will you come with me?”

Miss Tata shook her head.

”Do you need me to stay and keep you company?”

Miss Tata shook her head again, ”Mr. Knight hasn’t left the house all day.”

”Alright then.” Fang Hong gave Miss Fairy a gentle glance, ”Thank you, Miss Tata.”

As long as he hadn’t left the house, Miss Tata naturally had been accompanying him that entire time, yet she never complained, always so quiet and considerate.

Miss Fairy blinked, somewhat puzzled; she possessed the ability to empathize, to feel the emotions deeply rooted in Fang Hong’s heart, but she was unable to understand the logic behind them.

However, she was always very quiet. If Fang Hong didn’t speak, she wouldn’t ask.

Fang Hong packed up his tools, nodded at her, and then pushed the door open and left.

Mr. Greyrock had Dark Vision; the Beasts of Burden could also trek at night, possessing impressive stamina that allowed them to go without sleep for days and nights. But humans needed to stop and rest, and several guilds had set up camps in the forest, where afar, amidst the darkness, the light from scattered campfires twinkled like stars.

It was as if stars from the heavens had fallen to the earth.

But the sky was overcast, dark clouds blanketed the night sky, and serrated purple clouds cut across the mountain’s shadowy side, leaving not a single star twinkling above.

Reed leaned against the railing of the platform, looking out at the distant glow of the fires.

Luo Yu and Parker stood by his side, competing to see who could throw stones farther into the forest, but it was clear that the Papalarians were cheating with their professional abilities, and it wasn’t long before the former admitted defeat.

”I won!”

The youth shook his head indifferently and tossed a silver coin to Parker.

As Fang Hong approached, the two stopped, and Reed turned to ask, ”Is your work finished?”

Fang Hong nodded.

”You need to get out more; just look at your complexion, you’re as pale as a vampire I once saw in Detaya, practically translucent,” Mr. Big Cat shook his head, ”Work can always be finished later, isn’t it true that there is no rush about the progress? Fuli has been complaining that she hardly ever sees you, and although Gita hasn’t said anything, she feels quite the same.”

Fang Hong smiled but said nothing; Alchemy had become his pleasure, he really didn’t feel the burden of the work.

Reed looked at him with his silver-grey eyes, then shook his head.

However, Fang Hong noticed the scar that traversed Reed’s cheek and eye, a detail the man had never spoken of, and asked curiously, ”Mr. Reed, did you get that facial wound in combat?”

Reed touched his cheek with a paw and nodded.

”But I’ve never heard Mr. Reed mention it before.”

”Because it’s an old story. What, you’re interested?”

”If Mr. Reed doesn’t mind sharing.”

”I don’t mind,” Mr. Big Cat said with a nonchalant smile, ”That was left by an enemy’s hand in Rotao when I went to seek vengeance; I was ambushed during a fight and lost sight in my left eye. Although my eye was later restored, the scar remained.”

He mentioned it lightly, but his audience listened with bated breath.

”And what happened afterward?” Luo Yu couldn’t help but ask.

”What ’afterward’?”

”Did you get your revenge?”

Reed touched the scar. ”I’ve killed him four times, and he’s killed me three times. By my count, he still owes me two lives.”

Fang Hong couldn’t help but be astounded by Mr. Big Cat, seemingly harmless and yet carrying such a past. Wanting to delve further, but seeing that the other’s countenance didn’t invite more on the subject,

Fang Hong changed the subject, ”So, Mr. Reed, how did you come to know Miss Atira and Parker?”

”When Atira and I met this little guy, he was stealing food in the Forest Sea Temple. When I caught him, he outright denied it, claiming he was sleepwalking.”

”Sleepwalking? You have that habit?” Luo Yu turned back and asked Parker.

Parker’s dark eyes darted as he replied, ”It’s not a habit. Once, I fought a Giant Dragon for three days and nights to protect a Papalarian village. After that, I was left with this condition.”

The trio exchanged smiles but did not expose the lie.

Only then did the Lion People speak about their own encounter with Atira.

…