novel bin Chapter 50 The Burial at the Deep Well
Chapter 50 The Burial at the Deep Well
"The Burial at Shenjing".
"Deep well... robbery."
Gebu scratched his chin. Why is this ring-raising ceremony called such a strange name?
and……
So expensive!
As Gebu looked at the alchemical matrix drawn on the ground, his heart ached slightly.
Three rings, one inside the other.
The outermost first ring represents the astral plane—an outer plane beyond the material plane, with lead-molten metal as the medium and white meteorite nuclei as the seed… symbolizing the stars in a flowing galaxy…
White meteorite crystal core: 100 gold coins each.
The central ring represents the material plane, with molten iron as the medium and obsidian fragments as the seed, symbolizing the solid earth and the solidified energy nurtured within it...
Obsidian Shard: 300 gold coins per shard.
The innermost ring represents the etheric plane, with gold and water as the medium and diamond powder as the seed, symbolizing the flow and aggregation of ether...
Gold Water: 10 grams per gold coin
Diamond powder: 20 gold coins per gram, 50 grams needed = 1000 gold coins
Ding, ding, ding.
With each alchemy material taken out of his dimensional bag, Gebu's heart tightened a little more.
This thing is way too expensive. It's definitely not something the average person can afford!
He had previously thought that the alchemy tools costing 1000 gold coins would be the biggest expense, but it turned out that a single ritual required so many things!
It will take more than 2000 gold coins in total!
These things were taken from the old elven woman... Geb deeply regretted not stealing more.
Why bother with herbs and tools? It would be much better to just get some diamond powder!
The ceremony was a success, but everything was used up. What are we going to do next? Money is hard to earn, sigh, so worrying!
Gebu sighed, looked up at the stars, and used his compass and star chart to draw a diagram—it was about time.
He dipped his finger in pearl powder and drew a straight line on the alchemical matrix, starting from the outer ring, passing through the middle ring, and then connecting to the inner ring.
As the pearl thread cuts through the rings, the liquid flowing above the three rings begins to flow along the thread—merging, transforming…
Molten lead merges into molten iron, molten iron flows into molten gold... Stars fall to earth, matter disappears into the ether.
The three liquid metals merged into one, transforming into a pure black, viscous liquid. It surged into the center, engulfing and filling the entire space within the inner ring.
The pitch-black liquid surface reflected no light, like a deep well.
Suck--
Gebu stood in front of the well, took out his bone dagger, and took a deep breath.
He stared into the abyss.
call--
The goblin pricked its own finger, grunted, and let blood drip from its fingertip.
Beep, tap.
Blood dripped into the black well, causing ripples in the ether.
The abyss was staring at Geb.
His gaze focused on the deep well, where the black hole seemed to be gradually enlarging... little by little, until it filled the goblin's entire field of vision.
The door opened.
-----------------
blink.
Geb was startled from his reverie.
Wow! You're in?!
The goblin touched its body; it was neither missing nor lacking anything...
He's been going to a lot of weird places lately, like the world of meditation, the pocket dimension inside the dimensional bag, the hallucinations when he's near death... he's gotten used to it all.
As long as you don't lack anything, just do what you're supposed to do.
Gebu touched his waist; the dimensional bag hadn't come in with him—nor was the Book of Sand.
I have to rely on myself now.
When you arrive in a new place, what should you do?
Observe first, then analyze, and finally act.
Goblin looked around, straining his ears to strain his keen senses.
This place looks like the clearing in the woods where I performed the alchemy ritual, but it's not quite the same.
Everything before my eyes was bathed in a dreamlike purple glow; the trees, the mountains, the clouds, the sky, even the air itself seemed to possess a fantastical quality.
If you look closely and concentrate a little, you can see that the images of things are slightly distorted and swaying in front of you, as if someone is holding the canvas of reality and distorting a part of the space.
Ethereum fluctuations.
Geb thought to himself. This place resembled the material plane, but it wasn't—it was more like a mirror image of reality.
Hmm... It's a little better than I expected; at least I can recognize where I am.
Next, let's analyze it...
Gebu's purpose in coming here was very clear: the place he had come to had a series of trials—by passing these trials and returning to reality, he could obtain the wizard level.
What exactly do these trials include? The Book of Sand doesn't say, nor is it written in the Basic Meditation Method.
Perhaps every wizard faces different challenges?
What would happen if I failed… Gebu wondered to himself. Would he be trapped here? Or…
Just as he was struggling with this, a gentle breeze blew by—it didn't lift the goblin's clothes, but he sensed some kind of magical fluctuation. It brushed against his face and then blew behind him.
Geb squinted. He could see a thin golden thread extending into the distance with the fluctuations of the ether—was it guiding me?
...How can you get discouraged before you've even started! Cheer up!
Gebu, you're full of energy!
The little goblin cheered himself up, straightened his back, crossed his arms, and followed the golden thread with great pride, heading into the distance.
-----------------
An ivory-white rotating tower soars into the clouds, like a pillar supporting the sky, with no end in sight.
Wow, that's so high...
Goblin looked up and saw steps, colonnades, and rows of round windows densely packed around the outside of the tower. One glance was enough to trigger his trypophobia, and the goblin felt dizzy.
Following the winding road, the goblin reached the bottom of the tower—a huge archway, over ten meters high, blocked the way. The archway was blocked by a silver barrier, which reflected the scene in front of the gate like a giant mirror.
A figure stood in front of the mirror, dressed in a white robe and wearing a pointed hat; the figure appeared to be a human woman.
Uh… there’s someone else here? Gebu scratched his head. Or, is she part of the trial?
"ah!!!"
The girl suddenly screamed and rushed towards the mirror.
boom!
The girl collided with her reflection in the mirror, bounced off, and landed hard on her bottom.
She fell quite hard, and her shoes flew off.
"...Ogmar's beard! It's infuriating!"
The girl sat on the ground in a huff, refusing to get up, grabbed her flying shoe, and threw it at the mirror.
The shoe flew towards the mirror—and the object actually passed through the curtain and disappeared into the mirror.
A person can't get in, but a shoe can?
Geb stroked his chin. Quite interesting.
This person is also going to that tower. Could she also be a wizard apprentice?
Gebu hid in a secluded corner for a while, observing the girl's actions.
This guy didn't give up. He rested for a while, and then rushed towards the mirror again.
Bang! I fell on my butt again.
Again! Stubborn to the end!
boom!
This time, the hat flew off.
"Let me in!"
The girl got up from the ground, angrily pressed her face against the mirror, and looked inside; her face was squashed flat.
He doesn't seem very smart, but he's quite stubborn... Geb thought.
This woman doesn't seem to be giving up... Hiding like this isn't a solution; it's a waste of time.
Since she is in the same situation as me, there is no need to treat her as an enemy from the start—if we are both wizard apprentices, I am not afraid of her.
After a moment's thought, the goblin emerged from the corner. The girl, oblivious to his presence, didn't notice him approaching.
"Cough cough—"
"Hmm?" The girl turned her head to look at the person who came, but didn't see him at first glance—she looked down and saw Gebu's little green face.
"Goblin... goblin?!"
"Hello, I am... Wait a minute! Don't fire! I can do it too! Don't move!"
Geb and the witch faced each other five steps apart, finger guns pointing at each other, sparks flying from their fingertips.
"You can use magic?" The witch looked at the goblin in surprise.
"How novel! Isn't everyone who comes here for that..." Gebu stared warily at the fire at the girl's fingertips—she also knew how to use fire arrows, and judging from this, their abilities should be about the same.
This person was dressed neatly and cleanly, like an academic.
After a moment, the girl calmed down a bit from her shock. She lowered her hand slightly, but did not dispel the spell.
She asked with a slight hesitation:
"So, you're here to participate too..."
"Yes, I'm here to participate in..."
The two spoke at the same time:
"The Burial at Shenjing".