Black Panther Merkel Moves In

Hill looked around. Sure enough, a Magus's power was incredibly formidable. The once uneven mountaintop had been flattened into a plain spanning a hundred miles in no time.

Falan had asked Hill to summon Earth Elementals because elemental ores had extremely strong magic resistance and could generally only be surveyed through physical means. Aside from Earth Elemental Spirits, a race born to deal with ores, anyone else who wanted to find Element Nodes within elemental mines would need to spend an enormous amount of time.

Thinking of the mining and civil engineering certificate he had earned in his past life, Hill felt there was a reason Earth Elementals liked him more.

Though he was also an Alchemist, he preferred making tools. As for alchemical potions and the like, he simply followed formulas to produce them. He had never developed new formulas himself like Melanie did, but he did enjoy creating all kinds of fully automated alchemical assembly lines.

Hill sensed that his Earth Elementals had encountered Falan and the others.

To be honest, Elemental Sprites hated dealing with Mages most. Mages dealt with them by beating them half to death until they submitted; their sprites were not summoned, but bound. If these Earth Elementals had not been summoned by Hill, they would have dispersed and returned to the Elemental Realm the moment they saw Falan. Hill simply had the uneasy Earth Elementals disperse themselves and return to the Elemental Realm.

If he had not been helping Falan survey the mine, Hill no longer needed to summon Earth Elementals from the Elemental Realm. He knew Falan and Adrian would not mind him knowing about the Element Node, but as generations passed, the two territories would eventually separate. It was better not to leave any loose ends.

Adrian soon came up and led Hill into the sky. The ground quickly began to tremble. It quivered as it slowly rose, then finally formed into a sixteen-story Mage Tower.

The towering Mage Tower constantly changed materials before finally settling on Obsidian. Hill watched in confusion. After the Mage Tower Core was used, it would further enhance the tower's material, and Obsidian was already the hardest known stone. He had always thought Falan would use a metal tower body. Then a seven-colored beam shot straight into the clouds, and Hill watched helplessly as the tower body turned into a material he had never seen before.

He directly asked Adrian, "What material is that? How have I never seen it before?"

Adrian said, "Crystal Ore. This material generally only exists in the Elemental Realm. If not for this Element Node containing Mixed Ore, Teacher would not have been able to transform it either. Legendary Mages are usually the ones who use it."

Hill said with a smile, "Looks like I found a good place for Grandfather."

Adrian replied, "Teacher had only intended to take a look around. He had even planned to search along the mountain range for several more places."

He had not expected that leopard to bring out nothing but Mixed Ore. That was far more precious than single-element elemental ore.

The mine near Salar's capital is a pure Metal Law magic mine. Its pure Metal Law Elemental Crystals have Mithril as their associated ore. Their Mage Tower is made entirely of Mithril.

You know how precious this kind of ore is, so you can imagine how massive that mine is. It is said that its Element Node directly connects to the largest settlement of Metal Elemental Spirits.

If they did not have several Legendary figures, Salar would never have been able to hold on to that mine.

But for a powerful Alchemist like Teacher, this kind of elementally balanced Mixed Ore was the most important. This is the Element Node Alchemists dream of most. Who would have thought there would be one near your territory? It seems our luck has finally turned."

Hill said cheerfully, "Nature loves me. It will not let me down."

Adrian sneered. "Of course. Earth Bears are known as Children of the Earth, while Elves are nature's daughters. You have the strengths of both, so naturally both earth and nature love you."

Hill gave him a sidelong glance. "Do you dare say that in front of Grandfather?"

Adrian suddenly could not help laughing. "After Teacher learned of your bloodline, he was silent for a long time and never offered a single comment. He did not say anything even when he saw all those Wood Elemental Spirits in your territory. As for your Alice, Teacher did not even seize her for analysis. Whenever he passed her, he kept his eyes straight ahead."

Hill said coldly, "I will not discuss this with you, Uncle Adrian. If you want to get yourself killed, I will not stop you."

Hill felt the Alchemical Map in his pocket vibrate. He quickly took it out and saw that beside his Barony of Bolanio, a territory marked Falan's Magus Tower had appeared.

The two hurriedly descended. Falan soon appeared at the Mage Tower's entrance.

He said to Adrian, "The puppets have all been released. Take Hill back, and bring that Bourne family over while you are at it."

Falan warned Hill, "Go back and train properly. Adrian will build the road to the entrance of your territory within the next half month. Do not go out again."

"Yes, Grandfather!" Hill replied respectfully.

Falan turned and called, "Diamont!"

A figure gleaming with white light appeared at the entrance: white hair, white eyes, ordinary features, a cold and rigid demeanor, and a white mage robe.

Hill grumbled inwardly, Was this Tower Spirit designed after a diamond? Then it should have looked better.

Falan said to Diamont, "Hill may enter the Mage Tower. Remember his aura."

"At your command, sir!"

Watching the stiff and methodical Tower Spirit, Hill secretly sympathized with Adrian. Once a Tower Spirit's personality was set, it could not be changed. Adrian would have plenty of headaches in the future.

Adrian lowered his head to glance at Hill, grabbed him, and flew into the air.

Only after they had flown a long distance did he say, "Do not think I do not know you were secretly laughing."

Hill said with a grin, "Anyway, I will not be the one dealing with Diamont in the future."

Adrian said disdainfully, "A Sorcerer who can only work alone does not need to worry about me. Once things settle down, I will take in a few disciples. It is time I trained an heir."

Hill said with a smile, "Uncle Adrian is very confident! Then help me look after Bourne. It would be best if he could become a Mage sooner."

"I did not expect you to care more about Bourne."

"Didn't Uncle Adrian arrange things well for his former playmates too?"

"Then why does he have to become a Mage? Wouldn't becoming a Knight and a minor noble be good enough?"

"Uncle Adrian, your playmates were only playmates. Bourne was my only friend during childhood."

"That is true! That family has never been easy to deal with." Adrian spoke his mind. "Teacher is good in every way except that he cares too little about mundane matters. His former disciples were all snide and exclusionary. What great noble would let their child suffer that kind of treatment? It was only after the Melanie incident that my family acted quickly and sent me in. Then Teacher suddenly decided to take only me as a disciple. I was almost drowned in the flames of jealousy."

"Grandfather simply did not want to deal with those matters. Once he had taken in a disciple he was satisfied with, why would he bother with all that?"

"That is true!" Adrian said proudly. "When I became an Archmage, my family practically went mad with joy."

He added one last complaint. "At least all the money they paid the Temple of Knowledge was not wasted!"

Hill truly admired Adrian's family for their far-sightedness. Ever since they had established themselves in Salar, generation after generation had continuously bought magic books from the Temple of Knowledge. Every child received magical enlightenment.

When Adrian displayed outstanding magical aptitude, they had not hesitated to spend a great deal of money to place him under Falan.

A Magus could live for at least eight hundred years! The higher one rose, the greater the difference between Knights and Mages became. Even Legendary Knights only lived eight or nine hundred years, and unless they possessed exceptional talent, few Knights could achieve that.

After all, no matter how well they maintained themselves, Knights still had to temper their bodies. Any hidden injury left unattended could affect them for life.

With an eight-hundred-year pillar of support, the Adrian family had far less to worry about.

Adrian carried Hill down before the Mage Tower.

Alice soon appeared with Merkel.

"Hill, Merkel still wants to live on the mountain."

Hill thought for a moment. "There is a protruding ridge on the mountain wall to the left of the entrance that does not need a magic array. He can live there. He can guard the gate while he is at it!"

He took out the enormous bundle and said helplessly, "How did you dig up so much? I am almost too embarrassed to face Grandfather!"

Merkel howled, and Alice said helplessly, "Merkel believes that if he had not guarded the mine, the mountain would have been discovered long ago. This is his reward for guarding it."

Adrian said with a smile, "Do not worry. Neither Teacher nor I mind. Let him keep it for his nest."

Merkel nodded in satisfaction, took out ten high-grade ores and placed them before Hill, then happily trotted away with the bundle in his mouth.

Alice hurried after him, then turned to Hill and said, "I will keep an eye on him. I will not let him touch the magic array!"

Hill waved in agreement.

His cheerful mood instantly fell silent when he turned and saw Bourne standing at the door.

Looking at Bourne's reddened eyes, he knew that this family was finally about to leave.

As a mother, Lina could always persuade her son.

The hesitation in his heart finally settled completely.

He had deliberately given Adrian those blueprints so that Bourne and his family would gradually grow apart. Once Bourne painfully trained himself into a Mage in Falan's tower, his feelings toward his family should mature considerably. He would no longer be hurt by his parents' neglect.

He smiled at Bourne. "Why are you crying? Once you become a Mage, come see me often. You will not even need an hour to fly over from the mountain."

Bourne agreed through choked sobs.

Hill looked at Locke and Lina standing behind him. "Uncle Adrian will take you over. Go pack your luggage quickly! Grandfather's people will not arrive for another half month, so you will have a hard time during this period!"

The two hurriedly agreed. Only after Lina expressed her reluctance to part with Hill did she turn and go upstairs to pack.

Hill turned to Bourne. "Keep a small ring on your hand. There is no need to tell your mother and the others, or they will scold you. Give the rest to Liszt."

Bourne shook his head. "You should keep them all! I have no use for them anyway!"

Adrian spoke with a sneer. "Do not be foolish. Hill wants you to carry something your parents do not know about! You will live on Apprentice Street in the future, far from them. You do not need to tell your parents everything!"

Hill hurriedly stopped him. "Uncle Adrian!"

Bourne shook his head and said to Hill, "I know! It is normal for Father and Mother to prefer the younger one. They have not treated me badly either. You do not need to worry."

Seeing Hill's worried expression, he finally smiled. "You always said I was smart as a child, that I had what it took to become a Mage. There were some things I simply had not noticed. Today, they were so eager for me to agree to leave that they let quite a lot slip. I understand this is the best way to handle things. I will take a ring with me, and I will not tell them either. Do not worry about me. I have to walk my own path too!"