The Experiment

"What do you mean by the Burn Blue Experiment?" Andrea asked curiously.

She knew that if he was willing to conduct the experiment in front of her, it probably wasn't a secret.

"It's an experiment in melting tiny sapphire fragments into a single piece. It can also make lower-quality stones clearer."

The princess covered her mouth in surprise, then asked excitedly,

"Doesn't that mean you'll make a fortune?"

Edward glanced back at her and smiled.

"Don't get excited too soon. Alchemists proposed this experiment back in the Guoluo Muluo period, two thousand years ago.

Back then, two Great Magisters fought over a sapphire mine, and their spells eventually blasted the whole area into scorched earth.

Neither of them got the mine. But they found a large amount of Land Essence in the scorched earth. The layer was thin, but it proved that sapphires could be melted.

Some alchemists hoped to replicate the process, recrystallizing sapphires to create larger ones.

The results weren't ideal. Otherwise, we'd be seeing Sky City flying through the sky by now."

Andrea was thoroughly confused by his explanation. She'd also forgotten why she'd come in the first place, and asked,

"What wasn't ideal about the results? And what does that have to do with the legendary Sky City?"

Edward had already turned off the furnace. The flames inside had died away, and it was gradually cooling.

Edward explained,

"The sapphire's greatest use in this world is storing Magic Power. It's the second-best material for storing Magic Power, after diamonds. Its use in jewelry comes second, even for you girls.

The more transparent and larger a sapphire is, the more Magic Power it can hold.

According to legend, the Magic Core of the Magic Empire's Sky City was a Magic Crystal as tall as a person.

In the Ancient Language, 'crystal' and 'gemstone' mean the same thing. Some people believe it was an enormous aquamarine.

We alchemists have always wanted to restore the glory of Ancient Magical Creations, but we've been unable to do so.

That's because an Alchemist's Transmutation Circle can't shape sapphire into a crystalline gemstone.

Gemstones shaped that way either crumble into powder at the slightest touch or explode.

That's why people have high hopes for this method of melting sapphires. As for the results... This batch is ready. It hasn't been in the furnace long, but the temperature from the magical flames I added was higher than I expected. We'll see how it turned out in a bit."

"How long do we have to wait?"

"About half an hour. It needs to cool naturally. Since the pieces are small, they'll dissipate heat fairly quickly."

Edward picked up a pair of iron tongs and took two long, slender crucible containers, glowing red-hot, out of the furnace.

He carefully set them on a nearby Stone Platform, then turned around and took off his leather apron, smiling.

"I forgot to ask: What brings the Princess to my humble home?"

"Uh..." The princess had been so bewildered by his explanation that she'd forgotten what she'd meant to say.

"Never mind. We'll be looking at the experiment's results together anyway. Sit down and have some tea while we talk." Edward invited the princess to the sofa, then went to make tea.

When he returned with the tea, Andrea had taken out the fragment and was turning it over in her hand.

Edward set the tea he'd poured in front of the princess and took the fragment she offered him. He examined it. It looked like a fragment from the back of the RPG.

The princess raised her hand, as if inviting him to begin his performance.

"You mean what happened last night? Looks like you already know. I was going to tell you when I got the chance, even if you hadn't asked."

Andrea asked, "You mean that after leaving my house last night, you took down a beast at the Sky Knight level?"

"Strictly speaking, it wasn't a beast. It was a Hunter with the strength of a peak Sky Knight."

Andrea was startled. "Didn't you say they wouldn't find us for a while? And how did you do it? I mean, how did you kill that Hunter without a strong surge of Magic Power?"

"I never expected that thing to show up out of nowhere. They seem to be able to use vampires to track our scent. Those two vampires were like Hunting Dogs they'd sent out." Edward shrugged helplessly and continued,

"I ran into it as soon as I left the Duke's Mansion. Luckily, that Hunter was a newly turned rookie, and I lured it outside the city and killed it. I used some of the devices I'd made—the kind that don't produce much of a magical fluctuation."

"What exactly are these 'Hunters' you keep talking about? How can they take the form of beasts?" Andrea asked.

"Hmm... All I can say is that those things are monsters. They capture Baptizers to take over their bodies and live in this world in their place! Based on the little that one of them let slip, they're probably long-dead undead... and not ordinary undead."

"Go on! What do you mean, not ordinary undead?" Andrea pressed.

"It's only a guess for now. You'd be better off not knowing. I don't want to lie to you," Edward said uncertainly.

"You're just making me more curious. You might as well say you don't know!" The princess rolled her eyes, thinking he really didn't know how to hold a conversation. Then she urged him on,

"Just tell me already! You're going to drive me crazy if you don't!"

"Tell me, how many gods are still widely worshipped today?" Edward suddenly asked, changing the subject.

"There are the Seven Churches: the Holy Light God, the God of Steam and Machinery, the God of War, the God of the Ocean and Storms, the Goddess of Earth and Harvest, the God of Commerce and Wealth, and the God of Love and Beauty. Why do you ask?" the princess said.

"These are all gods of the Present World. What came before them?"

"There were so many. For example, the Celestial Mountain Pantheon from the Guoluo Muluo period, and the Northern Pantheon worshipped by the Northern Barbarians..." The princess racked her brain, searching her knowledge of history and theology.

"And what about even earlier? We can skip the Magic Empire era; the gods of all pantheons had a hard time then. What about before that? The Elf Pantheon and Dwarf Pantheon from the Elf Era, for instance?

The God of Steam and Machinery is considered an Ancient God. The deity has been around since the time of the God of Dwarves and Craftsmen. That must have been tens of thousands of years ago, right?

Have you ever wondered where all the gods from before went?"

Andrea suddenly felt a chill run down her spine. She said nothing, staring blankly at Edward as she waited for him to continue.

Edward took a sip of tea and said calmly,

"They all died. Some call it falling; others call it eternal slumber. Whatever the term, they died.

And it wasn't just them. There were also the Demigod Heroes who tried to become gods, the top powerhouses who kindled Divine Fire but died on the path to godhood, the Servant Gods who served powerful deities, and the angels who were commanded by the gods...

Every one of them disappeared from this world!

When people die, their souls return to the endless Nether Sea. Those who refuse to return to the Nether Sea become undead.

So what happens when a god dies?"

Edward's calm words struck like a thunderclap, jolting Andrea from her daze. She asked instinctively,

"Are you saying those Hunters are the undead of gods?"

"Maybe. The theological texts I've found all say that when gods fall, they return to nothingness. Those whose divinity is stolen meet an even worse end: they're devoured outright. Even if those things really are the undead of gods, they're probably just a few stragglers who escaped their fate back then.

Perhaps they've returned to the world to try to ascend to godhood again. And they said something about the Fifth Stage just being the beginning... As if I couldn't understand them! A bunch of creatures that can't stand the light!"

"Will they come back?"

"Maybe. But next time, it probably won't be a rookie," Edward said.

"Next time, you can't go risking your life alone. You have me, too!" the princess said firmly.

"Huh? You don't blame me for dragging you into this?" Edward asked.

"No. I've thought about it over and over since it happened. If you hadn't sent me in, Alice and Elwin would have been in danger. If that had happened, I'd have been even more helpless, since I wouldn't have known the truth!

I don't care who comes after us. Whoever dares touch my sister, I'll kill them, even if they're a god!" the princess declared firmly.

"Yikes..." Edward was momentarily speechless at her protagonist-worthy declaration. After thinking it over, he added,

"Actually, they're not without weaknesses. For one thing, they seem unable to attack ordinary people, or at least unable to kill ordinary people in large numbers. Also, I suspect they don't dare let the Seven Churches find out about them. That's why all their actions have to stay hidden.

"But they have their advantages, too. Each of them seems to have their own strengths, and they're all skilled in different fields. Also, although their real strength is below that of a true Sky Knight or Magister, their regenerative abilities are extremely powerful..." Edward went into detail about what he knew of the Hunters, giving his future ally all the information he could.

After the two reached a defensive alliance, Edward decided it was about time. He got up, brought over the two crucible containers, and set them on the coffee table. In front of Andrea, he opened one of them.

The name "crucible container" came from what people in Edward's Previous Life called the containers used to fire porcelain. It was basically a crucible with a sealed lid, though he'd made it long and narrow.

He took out a slender rod covered in white powder. It was about a foot long and as thick as his thumb.

Edward wiped the rod clean with a towel, handed it to Andrea, and said,

"Take a look. This is the result of the experiment."

Andrea took the rod and examined it under the light. "It looks like a blue Frosted Glass Rod. I can't tell what's special about it!"

Edward took out the other one, pulled a glass cutter set with diamond fragments from his Spatial Ring, and scored the Sapphire Cylinder twice. He cut off a small piece and handed it to Andrea.

"Take another look. The one you're holding hasn't been cut or polished."

Andrea examined the piece Edward had cut under the light. The gemstone was clear and transparent, with an even color. It was a fine sapphire. She exclaimed in delight,

"Doesn't it look beautiful? This one alone must be worth hundreds of gold coins!"

"No. This one can only be used as jewelry. Let me show you."

As he spoke, Edward took the gemstone from the princess and infused it with Magic Power. The gemstone immediately shattered into four pieces.

"See? It can't store Magic Power. If you like, take these and have a jeweler make you a necklace set."

"You knew how this would turn out, and you still did the experiment?" the princess asked, puzzled.

"I just couldn't let it go. I wanted to increase my strength as quickly as possible by taking a shortcut," Edward said nonchalantly.

"Were you afraid you wouldn't be strong enough to deal with those Hunters? No, wait... Why do I get the feeling you know how to make sapphires artificially?" the princess asked. Her instincts had always been sharp.