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Chapter 88 I felt it, Powder!
Chapter 88 I felt it, Powder!
She looked at the metal box she was holding and suddenly became curious.
"Weren't you wearing any magical equipment the day you died?"
Nan An shook his head: "No, it's just a bookworm's work after all."
In actual combat, the ample magical power supply from his magical artifacts, along with the movement speed buff triggered by being hit, saved him more than once.
The concept of machine souls does not exist in Nora's worldview.
However, just like long-haul truck drivers who burn incense and pray to accident-free trucks, on the day of the incident, Nan'an specially cleaned and washed the magic tools and bought a metal box similar to the one Suiyue was holding at that moment for storage.
Unable to imagine the scene of magic tools drinking alcohol, he threw in one of his treasured magic crystal blocks as a way of treating magic tool daddy to a good meal.
I also bought some purified and mixed slime, a high-end product that I usually don't use for skincare, and took it out as a treat for it.
This was one of the most ceremonial things Nan'an did after crossing Nora.
Who can say that sacrificing to the spirit of the machine is not a ritual?
Suiyue was confused and couldn't help but chuckle.
"Is it that funny?" Nan'an asked, puzzled.
"It depends on who said it."
Suiyue tried hard to purse her lips, trying not to burst out laughing in public.
"The old man can twist people's heads with ease, and he would rather use their spines as swords. He would be considered merciful if he didn't fold the victim into a folded shape before killing them. It's really hard to imagine that he would do such a thing."
Nan'an sighed.
"Laugh all you want, I know you can't understand—"
Before he transmigrated, he was just an ordinary, unremarkable person.
"Alright, alright, continue," Suiyue said hastily. "It's rare for the old man to share his past; we couldn't get anything out of you before."
"There's not much to say—I was chatting and hanging out with a nerd when we were attacked, surrounded by trolls, and I died."
"Just saying it casually," Suiyue patted the box, "If we had magical tools back then, would we have survived?"
"Probably." Nan An shook his head. "I replaced the leading troll, but there are still quite a few around. At most, I'll just drag a few more down with me."
After walking a while longer, Suiyue, who had been quietly fed snacks by Nan'an and had stopped talking, suddenly had a whimsical idea.
"Do you think—won't the nerd think she's the one who killed you?"
"Probably not—" Nan An pondered for a moment. "Separation and death are commonplace in our line of work. Accidents and death always come unexpectedly. In high-intensity combat, everyone is used to discarding feelings of guilt. Otherwise, it would be very difficult to endure the injury or death of a comrade, and besides—"
"Don't be fooled by how vividly I describe her to you. In reality, she's a very aloof person. She only shows her emotions occasionally, and I don't recall ever seeing her smile much. She always has a grumpy face."
"Specifically?"
Scratching his head and thinking carefully, Nan'an found the remaining memories left in that empty room where his consciousness had been erased because of the bookworm.
"Judging from her magical artifact crafting skills and her expertise in magic, you should know she's a very talented but poor witch, right? Yet, before Aslipan took the initiative to speak to her, no adventurer's party wanted her. Do you know why?"
"Why?" Suiyue immediately chimed in, playing the straight man.
"She's extremely harsh on those less talented or capable than her, and during commissions, she'll criticize those who drag her down, telling them they should just go back to breastfeeding," and "Buy a crib, put them in, and let them cry their hearts out."
"Waaaah—" Suiyue was embarrassed.
She suddenly realized that if she were standing in front of the bookworm right now, she would probably be a baby who needed a pacifier.
The thought made her unconsciously shrink her neck.
Thankfully, it was the patient Nan'an who was summoned!
Information travels relatively quickly within the local adventurer community, and after several consecutive commissions, the bookworm's reputation naturally spread.
No one dislikes a high-level player, and having such a high-damage mage can solve many problems.
If we follow the game's logic, these kinds of skilled core heroes are meant to be revered and the entire team should build their strategies around them.
However, reality and games are fundamentally different.
Humans are not simply data; they can get injured in battle and die from excessive blood loss.
Emotions can affect a person's performance.
A single field assignment can take anywhere from a few days to ten days to half a month.
Team members spend a lot of time together and need a relatively harmonious team environment.
If you can't keep up with the nerd's pace, you'll get flamed. The whole team also has to tolerate the change in atmosphere she brings and change their original playing style to develop tactics around her.
As a result, she became a very special outsider in the local adventurer circle.
The fixed team doesn't need her, and the assembly line can't accept her high bonuses.
Before Aslipan took the initiative to contact him, the nerd had been wandering around the city-state for two months without any sizable group willing to take him in.
Upon hearing the description, Suiyue was truly shocked: "Then you still like her?"
Nan An shrugged: "We spent so much time together, and also—although I really can't remember what she looked like, she must have been pretty. In short, she definitely moved me—but after being rejected, I just treated her like a buddy."
What does "treat each other like brothers" mean?
"Given our current situation."
"——".
."
Suiyue savored the moment, her brows furrowing deeper and deeper.
She felt something was off, but couldn't quite put her finger on it.
"You and that nerd, are you sure you won't end up arguing?"
In Suiyue's view, although Nan'an kicks people's heads around like a ball and is an absolute scoundrel, he is actually a very peaceful and gentle person in private.
Every night, she would enter his dreams and fight against him in his consciousness. No matter how foolish her actions were, Nan'an could only sigh helplessly, pulling on her ox-antlers with exasperation and repeatedly giving her instructions.
When her antlers are pulled, Suiyue always instinctively shrinks her neck.
But she also knew that this was the most outrageous thing the old man had ever done.
"It seems like there were a few times when I joined the team," Nan An said, puzzled. "But—it seems like he changed his mind after that?"
He boldly speculated that it was the two-month-long period of being single that made the bookworm realize her increasingly unpopular situation.
In short, during the Red Rat Adventurers era, the nerd's biggest flaw was that he always had a sour face and spoke very rudely.
Compared to previous rumors, this can be considered quite innocent.
The legendary story of external magical artifacts continued in the Black Mist Era.
Nan'an had already prepared a wind element essence in the Kren Cave. With the readily available magical tool in hand, he worked day and night to copy down the perfectly intact patterns from his memory.
The basic template was completed in two days.
He placed the essence into the magic tool's latch, closed it, and tested it.
A faint light shone through the gap in the buckle. It was first a pale blue, then gradually brightened, like a long-dormant creature finally opening its eyes, with a whistling wind overflowing from its fingertips, wrapping around its body, and rustling.
The surface of the buckle, which was originally cold metal, now exudes a warm glow.
The internal magic flowed normally, steadily flowing along every line he had carved.
Like a stream finding its long-lost riverbed.
"What? I actually have quite a talent for this," Nan An said proudly. "Success on the first try."
Even a bookworm standing here would have to reluctantly agree with "You win," right?
Cat Food lay on the dining table, glancing sideways at Nan'an fiddling with things, occasionally muttering to itself, utterly perplexed.
Only when he saw the magic tool flickering with a faint light did he lazily sway to his feet and expertly pull up the sleepy-eyed Suiyue.
Cat food is amazing.
Over time, it has become familiar with Nan'an Suiyue's way of getting along.
Knowing that the magical artifact was being used by Suiyue, she immediately helped bring the person in question to the scene.
Nan'an couldn't help but stroke its fur. The moment his hand landed on the cat's back, the sensation of that fur came from his palm.
It has a soft, smooth finish, like fine silk flowing between your fingers.
So cool!
He gently stroked it, once, twice, three times—until the cat lowered its head on its own.
That movement caused the hair on the back of her neck to part slightly, revealing a small area that is usually difficult to reach.
Nan'an's hand slid over naturally, his fingertips sinking into that softness.
Cat food groaned contentedly.
"Aside from not being able to speak human language, what's the difference between you and Nora, the intelligent being?"
Cat Food remained silent. It simply rolled over, revealing its soft belly, then raised its tail, drawing an arc in the air, pointing towards the area covered in soft fur.
"You can touch it here too."
There was no need for words; Nan'an immediately understood.
The opportunity was rare, so Nan'an and Suiyue worked together, one taking care of the upper body and the other vigorously rubbing the lower body, making the cat's V8 engine roar incessantly.
Suiyue seized the opportunity to grab the tender flesh on both sides of Nekofan's cheeks and gently pull it outwards.
Cat food was forced to put on a smiling expression.
"Lulu~~~~"
His teeth were slightly showing, and his eyes were squinted, making him look so comical that it was hard not to laugh.
"Let's get this straight, this massage isn't for nothing. If we ever run into serious trouble, you'll have to bring out the best cat food to save us."
The cat's tail spins like a propeller.
Nan'an forcefully lifted the large horn of Suiyue.
"Ugh—that old man is bullying me again!"
"The Elu Code states that private transactions or agreements with gods and demons are forbidden."
Suiyue covered her head and shrank back: "Waaah—what's wrong with that? I don't mind the cat food either."
17
"Are you still going to wear that magical artifact?"
"Give it to me!" Nan An hadn't even finished speaking when she jumped up.
Those big eyes shone as if they were filled with starlight. She lunged at Nan'an and reached out to grab the magical artifact.
The antlers shimmered with tiny halos under the candlelight, brushing past Nan'an's chin.
It makes you really want to take a bite.
The waist was secured smoothly, and the buckles made a crisp sound when they engaged.
But as soon as the two magic storage jars were in place on her back, Suiyue's brows immediately furrowed.
The overall structure of the magic tool looks bulky, but in reality—it's not light at all.
The need to store magic caused Black Fang to frantically pile materials onto the two oxygen tank-like containers. Even with just the waist being secured, Suiyue felt a heavy, downward pressure coming from her back.
"Don't fight against the weight behind you," Nan An said, lightly touching the buckle and channeling magic into it, "Otherwise—"
The light was faint, like a candle flame flickering in the wind.
But immediately afterward, a gentle current of air surged from behind, instantly enveloping Suiyue's entire body.
She remained leaning forward.
Her muscles tensed, trying to resist the weight that no longer existed, and the moment the airflow lifted her up, she felt like a bowstring being released.
Soaring into the sky.
The cave ceiling rapidly approached her, and having used the first version of the magic tool, she successfully braked at the last moment before she was about to come into close contact with the stalactites.
"Waaaah—old man, I'm floating, I can fly!"
77
The magical artifact continuously transforms magical power into wind element.
The wind element automatically forms an airflow that surrounds the wearer, thereby enabling actions such as acceleration, flight, and levitation.
Realizing this, Suiyue could no longer suppress her joy and floated happily left and right in mid-air, occasionally making swimming motions with her hands.
Nan'an smiled and said, "Cows can fly!"
The child received a new toy from a relative during the Chinese New Year and played with it happily, but it's nothing special.
The magical artifact itself is not very difficult to operate; as long as you have some control over magic power, you can control the butterfly wings.
External magic and external skeleton: two pain points, solved together.
"Old man, what about you? What about you?" Suiyue clenched her hands impatiently, gathering magic power into a ball of light in her palms. "I can already sense the power of a high-level mage, you must be even stronger now, right?"
The feedback received from Nan'an was far more significant than expected.
A continuous stream of magical power flowed from Suiyue's body, amplified and transformed by magical artifacts, and then poured into his being through a summoning ritual.
The abundant, almost overflowing, water source thoroughly nourished Nan'an, which survived through the summoning ritual.
The dried-up riverbed has finally received water from upstream!
The power that once required careful planning to utilize now flows quietly within the body, waiting to be awakened.
"I feel so full of 'thuja'!"
Suiyue's eyes suddenly became uneven.
"Throw, throw tiles?"
Again, it was that she couldn't understand those strange and unusual words.
"It's power," Nan'an explained with a smile. "With the amplification from the summoning ritual's heroic spirits, and your 6th-tier magic enhancement—hmm, I'm really looking forward to trying it out with 7th or 8th-tier mages; it sounds like it would be quite interesting."
Suiyue shrugged: "How can you find a level 7 mage willing to fight you seriously in a place like this? You can only pick one alive to satisfy your craving—how about that Almahern? I support you in killing her."
"You seem to dislike her."
"You said it, wanting both is the most disgusting thing. Why should the fruits of our hard work in maintaining order be enjoyed by that kind of person?"
Perhaps thinking of her own experiences of encountering danger several times while entering the black mist, Suiyue spoke through gritted teeth.
Unfortunately, Nan'an has no intention of continuing to go head-to-head with that slippery mudfish for the time being.
The basic housing construction in Lianshui Town is now largely complete, providing shelter for the residents.
It's time to organize the first wave of exploration into the Haunted Mist. The selected Living Erosion members need to follow Nan'an to familiarize themselves with the internal environment. Next, it will be their turn to produce "contributions".
Fragments of the Divine Nightmare —
Thinking of this, Nan'an took out the fragment given to him by Elmar Hern and carefully poured it into his palm.
"Swoosh—"
Suiyue's eyes widened.
"Old man, how come your body eats everything?"
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