Chapter 271 - Reward
Chapter 271: Reward
Tang Ling expected Joshua’s projection to stay because of some other reason, but to his surprise, the first thing that Joshua’s projection said to him was, “You surprised me.”
Despite Joshua being just a projection, Tang Ling still felt awkward. “I don’t mean to destroy this place since it’s our lives on the line.”
“Do you think I’m blaming you for destroying the place? No, it is not about that. If you cause any destruction to this place, the defense mechanism will go to war with you and only stop when you are dead.” A smile curved on Joshua’s face and his gaze was somehow cunning.
Is this really a projection? He’s so lively. However, when Tang Ling thought of the defense mechanism going after him relentlessly, he shrugged while sweating. The more he understood formations, the more he knew how scary they were. Given his current strength, he would not be able to fight the defense mechanism here.
Thankfully, the composite Lightning Fire Array that he invented did not destroy the place to the point that the defense mechanism demanded his life in return.
Still, it was awkward for him to talk about the topic. The House of Legacy was kind enough to pass its legacy to the three of them, yet Tang Ling had destroyed the place in return. In order to deflect the awkwardness, he shifted the topic, “Respectfully, Mr. Joshua, I’m here to ask you about the space formation. Before we inherited the legacy, you told us that we are able to use the space formation once, even if it’s just a short distance…”
Joshua was also very straightforward as he replied, “Of course, but I did say you surprised me, so…” As he spoke, he pointed at a silver pen that floated up.
From the moment he entered this room, Tang Ling noticed that there was a lot of impressive stuff in here together with the Universal Source Rock, and one of the items that caught his attention was the silver pen.
However, the one that floated in the air was not what captured Tang Ling’s attention. Instead, it was the other one inside the box beside it that had a mysterious luminous glow.
Inside the box were seven other different pens. Tang Ling only realized that the silver pen that captured his attention might be part of a single set together with the other pens.
While Tang Ling was going wild with his thoughts, Joshua waved his hand. The floating silver pen flew to Tang Ling and froze mid-air in front of his face.
Tang Ling knew it was a body array pen, the most important tool in drawing a body array. The other ancillary tools could be easily replaced with other materials such as the thin needle that he used to poke the array points in the end to connect the whole thing together.
Of course, the more complex the body array, the more tools it required and it would be best if one had his own set of professional tools. Still, regardless of the kind of body array, a reliable body array pen was crucial and could even boost the effectiveness of the body array.
“Mr. Joshua, this…” Tang Ling looked at the pen in front of him, his gaze evidently showing his yearning for the pen. He had limited knowledge about body array tools, but he was able to tell that this pen in front of him was uncommon.
“Your talent in body array surprises me and you’ve reached the point that I want to give you this Silver Scale Luminous Pen. I’m sure you’ll put it to good use,” Joshua’s projection grumbled, “I actually wanted to give this whole Silver Scale set to the person who can truly inherit my legacy.
“But if I really did that, I’d be neglecting your talent whereas if I insisted on my initial thoughts, it’d be an insult to my devotion to wizardry.” Joshua shook his head repeatedly, seeming to be in a dilemma.
[For me?] Tang Ling was surprised but also delighted. He reached out for the floating Silver Scale Luminous Pen and the moment he touched it, he felt a little numb as if there was a tiny electric current stimulating his palm.
Eventually, he understood it was actually a micro-current. What a magical feeling!
“Are you really giving this to me?” Tang Ling could not believe it, but he was already playing around with the delicate and beautiful body array pen.
“The handle of the Silver Scale Luminous Pen is made from the rib of a Level 5 vicious beast, the Dark Sovereign Thunderous Tiger, and with the help from the magical formation, it can continuously emanate micro-currents and make your hand a lot nimbler when you are drawing body arrays. The most important part is that with the stimulation from the micro-current, the body array will merge better with the human body.
“I guess you can understand what I’m saying. The better the body array merges with the body, the better its effect.
“The tip of the pen is made from the fur of a Level 4 vicious beast from the Freezing Lands, the Snow Power Polar Bear. Each strand of fur is hollow, so it’s able to gather energy. I’m sure you understand that the energy for drawing the body array mostly comes from the material, but it also requires the artist’s own energy to guide the energy. This fur pen can allow you to guide the energy into the body array better. It gathers energy properly and also decreases the overflow of energy. You should know how important that is.”
Joshua was lazy to answer Tang Ling’s stupid questions, so he took the liberty to explain the Silver Scale Luminous Pen and what kind of benefits it held.
The more he explained, the more delighted Tang Ling felt and his fondness for the Silver Scale Luminous Pen grew.
“Lastly, what wraps the pen is actually just a piece of silver scale that is molded by a magical process to wrap it perfectly. Do you know why only a single piece is used? Because the silver scale is extremely rare. It comes from a mysterious Level 7 vicious beast. Even I don’t know what kind of vicious beast it is, but I got this scale during my early adventures.
“When I realized the silver scale automatically stores the energy of the earth, I molded it into the pen. I’ve got a total of nine pieces.” Joshua sighed emotionally.
He then looked at Tang Ling. “I suppose I don’t have to explain the meaning of storing the energy of the earth to you, do I?”
Tang Ling understood the meaning even without Joshua’s explanation. After all, he had already reached the entry-level of body arraynology. If the pen itself had energy, it would be able to deliver more energy into the body array because the energy of the earth was universal and could be accepted by all types of energy.
Tang Ling’s own energy could only guide the energy from the material to the body array. He could not merge his own energy into it because the body array drew energy from the materials which were mostly from other living beings. Therefore, the energy rejected Tang Ling’s naturally because it was not possible for him to fuse both energies together.
However, the energy of the earth was different since all energy originated from it, thus it was a universal energy source.
Delivering extra energy into the body array was a huge addition; it was like giving the body array an adrenaline boost!
The Silver Scale Luminous Pen was indeed very valuable!
Whilst Tang Ling was excited, he said to Joshua solemnly, “You don’t have to explain anymore. I know what the silver scale does. This Silver Scale Luminous Pen is valuable and I’ll put it to good use.”
“With your talent, of course, you’ll be able to put it to good use. This set of pens is my lifework. It’s safe to say that it’s my masterpiece! Even if it isn’t from that mysterious place, it’s on par with the items from there,” Joshua replied calmly.
Tang Ling understood what he was talking about. It was something only Dream Seeds would understand. Now that he knew how magical this Silver Scale Luminous Pen was, he simply nodded in agreement.
Joshua’s projection also beamed in satisfaction. He then added, “The Silver Scale Luminous Pen might be decent, but it’s only a Class 3 magical item. There are seven classes of magical items, the highest being Class 7. I hope you can find a better body array pen in the future.”
“A better one?” Tang Ling never thought of it at all because the Silver Scale Luminous Pen was already remarkable enough to him.
“Yes, you are very talented. If you devote yourself to the study of body arrays, you’ll need a better pen in the future.”
“I’m talented?” Tang Ling did not feign ignorance just to receive more praise. Since he had accepted the legacy behind closed doors, there was no comparison and no one to ask, so he had no idea how talented he was in body arraynology.
“Very, very, very talented. I can’t talk to you in detail here since the study of wizardry is as vast as the ocean. Every branch is worthwhile for one to devote his life to study. Body arraynology isn’t my specialty, so all I can do is give you an example. Talent is required to learn any branch of knowledge in wizardry.
“A rookie with normal talents can, at most, finish the first volume of basic body arraynology and maybe carry out some array simulations. But you, you completed a Level 1 general array! You must know that the general array is considered a difficulty in body arraynology. Only a handful of rookies can complete it.
“On top of that, you also completed a composite ability body array which was even close to a Level 2 composite array…
“Oh, I can’t possibly comment more. You should find a professional and respectable array artist to further your studies. Remember, don’t give up on body arraynology.”
Joshua looked at Tang Ling seriously when he uttered the last reminder. He would be deeply disappointed if Tang Ling stopped or remained stagnant in body arraynology.
“I won’t give up.” Tang Ling held the pen tightly. He bore the kindness from Joshua in his heart even though the real Joshua was dead and the one who had given him the Silver Scale Luminous Pen was just a projection.
“Great.” Joshua was done with his reminder for Tang Ling. He then looked at the siblings.
At this point, Ro Li was still looking at Tang Ling dully.
Is Tang Ling this great? Dad told me to follow him and my smart sister agrees in hopes that I can learn from him. Now, even Joshua acknowledges his talent, so it seems like Tang Ling is going to be my boss from now on!
“Ro Xin, Ro Li, your learning of my legacy is also completed with decent progress. Your talents are outstanding too, but not as great as Tang Ling’s. I shouldn’t appear after you two complete your inheritance process. The artificial brain that controls this place will give you a completion reward, but since I’m already here, then I’ll handpick something suitable for you two,” Joshua said kindly.
“We have rewards too?” Ro Xin was also surprised.
Joshua’s projection nodded.
More than 10 minutes later, Ro Xin was given some materials to create puppets, plus a note about puppet creation. Although the note only contained the elementary basics, it would provide self-explanatory assistance in her study.
According to Joshua, the materials given to her were just for practice, but she told Tang Ling that they were valuable enough. At least, she could create three puppets similar to the black-mantled puppets, and if possible, she could use all the materials to create a Soul puppet which was a level higher than the black-mantled puppets.
A Soul puppet? Tang Ling was not clear about the categorization of puppets, but based on how excited Ro Xin was, it should be something powerful.
As for Ro Li, he was given three more puppets that were upgraded versions of the dozen of black-mantled puppets from before.
Even though Joshua remained a projection, he was able to forge and modify the puppets himself. It was astonishing to Tang Ling. What was the theory behind this mechanism that allowed projections to perform such actions?
“I remember all the magical arts that I’ve learned in my whole life, but I’m just a projection. My current power comes from the Universal Source Rock. If I’m still alive, these three will automatically be upgraded to Soul puppets.
“But your partner, Ro Xin, has outstanding talents in creating puppets. When she’s more familiar with puppet creation, all she needs to do is slightly modify these puppets and they will be upgraded to Souls,” Joshua told Ro Li.
However, even though the three upgraded puppets were not Souls yet, Ro Li was already over the moon.
He tested out the three puppets. The defenses were a third stronger than the old ones and the attack was at least twice as strong.
If Ro Li controlled these three new puppets against Draconic Seven’s men, they would not be his match.
Nevertheless, Joshua had something else for Ro Li. He believed that there was another talent within him that he could not see because it was being suppressed and shackled down.
If one day, this said talent came out, Ro Li’s talent at magical control might be even better than Tang Ling’s talent in body arraynology. Puppet control was just a branch in magical control, a very tiny branch, in fact. Therefore, controlling puppets was not the path Ro Li should pursue. Instead, he should spend time controlling other organic beings and maybe he could walk his own bright future path with his hidden talent.
After all the rewards and reminders, it was safe to say that Tang Ling, Ro Xin, and Ro Li got a perfect ending in the Ninth Ruins.
In the end, Joshua’s projection frowned as he told Tang Ling, “I’m done with my reminders, but I have one last request.”
One last request? Tang Ling was confused. What else could Joshua possibly want?
“I’m just a projection, and since I don’t have a body, I can’t move the bodies away. So, you three need to clean this place up.”