Chapter 194 - Trading Spirit
“Oh, yes. I forgot to tell you something…” Lin Li held the hammer, and smiled as if he was up to no good. “Other than being an incompetent warrior, I am also a blacksmith. You know what is a blacksmith, right? So, I advise you to be more honest. If you were to piss me off, I will throw you into the furnace and see if the legendary Mjölnir can be melted.”
After Lin Li finished his sentence, the hammer in his hand stopped struggling. After a while, Lin Li then heard a hoarse voice. “You… What do you want to know?”
“Your origins.” Lin Li grinned after speaking, and kindly reminded, “Take note—your true origins, not some damned Mjölnir’s. I really don’t know what you are thinking… Do you not know how to look in the mirror before pretending to be Mjölnir? Look at yourself, you are so dirty. It’s worse than those prostitutes that have worked for tens of years. You still dare to call yourself a relic of the Dark Iron Dwarves? Do you have no shame?
“…”
“Forget it, enough nonsense. Just be more honest, I am not that patient…”
“You’re right, I am not the relic…” After being silent for awhile, the hammer finally spoke, “I am just a trapped soul”
“Mmm.” Lin Li nodded, signalling it to continue.
Unfortunately, he chose the wrong person to tempt. Lin Li knew how much he himself was worth. Was the mausoleum of the highlord somewhere that people could just casually enter? Without the power of the Guild of Magic or the Adventurers Guild, there was no need to think about it. All sorts of machines and traps, and maybe countless curses, were waiting…
Furthermore, what could a few clues do? If I want clues, I will go look for Macklin. What’s the point in exchanging with you?
“How unfortunate…” Connoris was not dejected after failing in tempting; he just started speaking to himself. “On the day that the mausoleum was built, Osric came to the Eternal Furnace for one last time. I saw with my own eyes that he used the Earth Element Essence, a pile of steel, and a mageweath that was so complicated that it was unparalleled to create something that was close to life.”
“What was it?”
“This thing…” Connoris hesitated for a moment. “I am also not sure how to describe it. In short, it is just something weird. It had no thoughts or soul, just pure primitive instincts. It even dared to resist its creator, Osric, when he attacked it!”
“Oh…” Lin nodded, and did not question further.
He had already understood. The essence of earth element, the hardest steel, and a complicated mageweath. Weren’t these requirements for creating a soul puppet? Lin Li remembered clearly that a branch of alchemy specialized in creating soul puppets. Accordingly, the soul puppets that were created after attaining the Divine Smith level could be compared to the ancient titans.
However, this had nothing to with Lin Li. He had never chosen any branch before. From a certain point of view, he was a traditional metallurgist. He was cultivating the path of the king of the metallurgy skill tree. As to why he made this choice, it was to complement Epigraphy. As a master of complex Epigraphy and Metallurgy, it could only be described as nothing was impossible.
His knowledge about soul puppets was mostly heard from people in the same trade. He was only an amatuer. When it came to something as difficult as creating life, he was not much better than Sean…
“The biggest weakness of these creations was that they do not have their own souls. But for me, this was the biggest advantage because when I was alive, I devoted myself to the research of Souls.”
“Devoted to the research of souls?” Lin Li frowned, and doubtfully asked, “You were a Necromancer?”
“No, no, no… How could a low-ranking profession like Necromancer be befitting of my noble status? Let me tell you something: I used to deal with souls. As long as the price was right, you could discuss with me about all sorts of souls. No matter if it was low-ranked, noble, dirty, or pure… Are you interested?”
“F*ck, demon?”
“Wrong, you should call me the Great Soul Trader. Mr Connoris, the philanthropist.
“Pff, demon means demon. What philanthropist or great soul trader. You deserved to be killed by Osric for doing such an wicked business…
“You really do not have sympathy…
“To sympathize with a demon? What kind of joke is this…”
“Look at my current state, can I still be called a demon?”
“You’re trying to say that you want to create a soul puppet to transfer your soul into?”
“Yes, yes, yes! So, could you help? I’ve been waiting for this day for a long while. This damned hammer will be the death of me. I really dream of walking with two legs…”
“What benefits can you give me?”
Connoris pondered for a long while before he finally decided. “If you help me, I will tell the method to control the Eternal Furnace!”
“No, you will tell me the method to control the Eternal Furnace, and then I will help you create a new body. This is the proper order—don’t be mistaken.”
“…” Even though he was unwilling, the great soul trader had to lower his noble head in the face of his only chance. “Deal. I hope you keep your words!”
“Relax, honesty is the best policy. Even though I am not some damned soul trader, I still run by this principle.”
“Ok, I’ll trust you!”
“You can only trust me…” Lin Li pouted, and did not show Connoris any respect. It was obvious that the Brand Of Dusk was its only chance. If it were to miss this opportunity, it would have to wait thousands of years again. With such a long end of the stick, why would Lin Li be polite to it? Anyway, this fella was a demon, so Lin Li did not feel any remorse for extortion.
Both of them walked past the corridor, and quickly arrived in front of tightly shut door.