Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 3076: Chapter 3077: Material Vault No. 1

There are currently seventeen registered material depots for Fragrance Studies, and each depot has a theme, which corresponds to the main type of stock stored there.

For example, the theme of Depot No. 3 is "Crimson Broth," and its inventory consists of blood and various bodily glandular secretions. The theme of Depot No. 10 is "Earth Power," and its inventory is basically all scent-ores.

As for Depot No. 1, its theme is called "Transmutation," and ninety percent of the stored substances are excrement; the only difference lies in the various species the excrement comes from.

And all this excrement counts as basic raw material in Fragrance Studies.

So calling it the "Rice Shared Pit" really isn’t an exaggeration at all.

...

Using feces as scent raw material sounds a bit baffling, but anyone who knows even a little about Fragrance Studies will understand what’s going on.

Take Alchemy Apprentices of Fragrance Studies, for instance: in their very first class, they’re introduced to a concept—fragrance and stench share the same source.

humans, because of their own preferences, have drawn different boundaries between what counts as fragrant and what counts as foul; but in truth, if you look only at smell itself, fragrance and stench are basically the same thing.

So extracting odor-factors from excrement is nothing rare.

Consequently, handling excrement is a Skill every Fragrance Studies Alchemist can do.

However, based on personal taste and the fact that extracting odor-factors isn’t exactly difficult, most Alchemists no longer handle excrement themselves and instead hire Apprentices to do it...

Of course, there aren’t many Apprentices willing to take on this kind of task.

After all, the Skill of extracting odor-factors is constrained by geography: it can only be performed on-site at Depot No. 1, and you’re not allowed to block your sense of smell. So usually, only when someone truly needs the material will an Apprentice go there to deal with excrement, and as soon as they’ve processed a certain amount, they leave immediately.

Take what you need when you need it; they absolutely won’t do any extra, and still less will they help organize the depot.

But Ashiliye Academy is, after all, renowned for Alchemy. Every department’s material depot "gets new arrivals" daily, and Depot No. 1 is naturally "updated" every day too, so there will always be old stock continuously settling at the bottom.

This has led to a constant build-up of materials in Depot No. 1... until it became what everyone now unanimously calls the Rice Shared Pit.

Judging from the current stock of Depot No. 1, even if someone worked around the clock, twenty-four hours a day, it would take at least half a year to process everything.

And that’s only Angel’s rough estimate; when you actually get down to it, all sorts of hassles will drag out the timeline. If it’s someone like Qi Li, a complete layperson, doing the odor-factor extraction, then the needed time would be even longer.

A year, two years, or maybe even more wouldn’t be out of the question.

"Qi Li has already agreed? So that means she’s already gone to Depot No. 1?"

Kanter nodded somewhat helplessly. "That’s right, she’s already been in the depot for close to two months. Even though I currently have no way of knowing her progress, when I left Sky Mechanical City she hadn’t processed even a tenth of the materials. And most of the odor-factors were still below standard and often had to be re-extracted again and again."

"Ugh, just hearing about it makes my heart ache."

Angel blinked. "Hearing?"

Kanter coughed twice. "Whether I’m hearing it or seeing it, th-that... isn’t important."

Angel: "..." Fine, he understood now: so Kanter didn’t dare go near the depot either.

Faced with Angel’s skeptical gaze, Kanter’s eyes couldn’t help but drift away. "I went once. There are some Extraordinary Monster droppings in there that are downright lethal—their stench can marinate your very Soul..."

Angel: So you just never went back, and left Qi Li there on her own?

Kanter gave a few dry little laughs.

Angel looked at Kanter, somewhat speechless. He could tell Kanter truly cared about Qi Li, but he was just as truly terrified of being steamed alive by the smell...

Still, Angel could understand Kanter. After all, even though Qi Li’s situation was pretty miserable right now, her life wasn’t in danger.

And Qi Li was also "atoning" there; if Kanter went along, he might actually make things more difficult for her.

Most importantly, although Kanter followed Qi Li from House of Lilith to Sky Mechanical City, in order to spare her dignity he had been Concealing his presence the whole time and never let Qi Li know. Only when negotiating did he secretly send a Message to the relevant Wizards.

Qi Li might suspect Kanter was following her, but it would be no more than a guess. As long as Kanter didn’t show himself, Qi Li couldn’t really say anything.

After listening to Kanter, Angel basically understood what he meant. "You’re hoping I’ll go and plead on Qi Li’s behalf, right?"

Kanter nodded. "Yes. If Qi Li stays there for a long time, who knows, she might end up pickled through from the inside out. I really have no other way; I can only pin my hopes on you."

Angel lowered his head and sank into thought.

Ironclad Granny had previously said this matter would be hard for Kanter, but very easy for Angel.

Yet after hearing the whole story, Angel didn’t think it was easy at all.

He understood what Granny meant: Angel just had to say a word to the people at Ashiliye Academy... and that would count as helping. Whether it worked or not would have nothing to do with Angel.

But Angel himself didn’t want to handle it that way.

Depot No. 1 is a place even Kanter avoids at all costs. If Qi Li really stayed there for a year or half a year, she might well end up saturated through and through.

Even if Qi Li herself didn’t care, this would definitely have some level of impact on her. Any Transmutation is not something you can resist just by saying "I won’t change" and expect to remain unchanged in the face of all change.

Like that initial ban order: it was only meant to block Qi Li and Jiebo, yet those affected by it were far more than just the two of them.

The invisible repercussions are things even Qi Li herself can’t foresee.

And it’s easy to predict that such invisible fallout is overwhelmingly likely to skew in a bad direction.

As a friend, Angel didn’t want to see that happen. So if he really was going to help, then he would have to completely resolve Qi Li’s predicament.

And that’s not something that can be fixed with a single casual Message.

Seeing Angel remain silent for a long time, Kanter assumed he was hesitating. He thought for a bit, then spoke: "Actually, we don’t have to have all of Qi Li’s punishment wiped away. I heard that because Qi Li agreed to sort out Depot No. 1, Ashiliye Academy’s Task Hall directly canceled all sorting tasks related to Depot No. 1."

"If we have those tasks reopened, maybe more people will take them and go to Depot No. 1 to sort alongside Qi Li. That would at least ease her situation a bit."

Kanter came up with this idea, hoping Angel would help him contact Ashiliye Academy and get the ’sorting Depot No. 1’ tasks restored to the Task Hall list.

But after hearing him out, Angel only felt this was a rotten idea.

As an honorary professor of Ashiliye Academy, even though Angel had taught very few classes, he understood exactly what those Alchemists at the academy were like.

Even if the task weren’t canceled, very few people would accept it.

At its root, Kanter’s idea simply wouldn’t alleviate Qi Li’s predicament.

Angel: "I’ll talk with the vice dean of Ashiliye Academy, but that still won’t solve the fundamental problem."

Fundamental problem? Kanter froze for a moment. He had originally thought Angel wasn’t very willing to help, but from Angel’s tone, it wasn’t that he refused to help—he was actually thinking about how to solve the root of the issue?

Kanter had just been inwardly grumbling that Angel was becoming more and more like Sanders. But now it seemed he had wronged Angel.

Kanter stopped talking, quietly stayed off to the side, and didn’t disturb Angel’s train of thought.

Only after another three minutes did Angel finally raise his head and say to Kanter: "I’ll do my best to try and help Qi Li out of her predicament, but I still can’t give you a definite answer right now. I need to try it first to know whether it will work."

A glint of delight flashed in Kanter’s eyes: "You mean, you already have an idea?"

Angel did have a rough idea, but it might not be doable. He thought for a moment and decided to be direct: "With my influence, I may not be able to intervene in the Fragrance Studies circle."

So, Angel planned to... call in reinforcements.

"Fragrance Studies is a sub-category of Potionology. I know a Magic Potion Master. As the leader of the Reformist School in Potionology, he might be willing to speak up a few words."

Kanter had of course heard of the famed Magic Potion Midora. This Alchemy Master was indeed a highly respected figure in the Southern Domain; if he were to speak out, it would only benefit Qi Li and not harm her.

Thinking of this, Kanter repeatedly thanked Angel.

However, Angel was not as optimistic as Kanter. The Magic Potion Master did indeed wield great influence in the Alchemy Circle, but he hadn’t dabbled much in Fragrance Studies, so he might not be able to sway its audience.

Strictly speaking, there was actually someone in Angel’s mind who was more suitable than the Magic Potion Master to act as a mediator.

That person was the Bosia Witch from the Sand Dunes. She was the only one in the Research and Development Institute truly proficient in Fragrance Studies and held substantial authority in that circle. If she spoke out in support, there was a high chance Qi Li’s predicament could be resolved.

Yet when Angel was talking with Kanter, he didn’t mention the Bosia Witch, mainly because... he wasn’t familiar with her.

He had met the Bosia Witch a few times, and she bore him no ill will, but that was all; they’d never had any deep contact.

Angel planned to try contacting the Bosia Witch, but whether she’d be willing to help, that was something he couldn’t know.

He could only keep it in mind first and tell Kanter later after seeing how things played out.

Next, Angel and Kanter agreed that as soon as there was any progress on this side, they’d contact him through the Mother Tree Interlinker.

This matter could thus be considered temporarily wrapped up.

Kanter had originally wanted to chat with Angel about the Wilderness of Dreams and the Tidal World, but seeing that Angel seemed about ready to leave, he used the excuse that he needed to continue chatting with the Dark Fire Lotus, and took the initiative to say goodbye.

Very soon, Kanter went Offline right in front of Angel.

Angel didn’t go Offline. After leaving the Sea Folk Pavilion, he used coordinate positioning to pay the Tree Spirit a visit.

He wasn’t seeing the Tree Spirit for old times’ sake, but to ask the Tree Spirit to go to the ruins laboratory and meet with Regina.

Angel didn’t have much of a relationship with the Bosia Witch, but he definitely remembered that Regina and the Bosia Witch were quite close.

Back when he’d asked Regina to help study the Mushroom, Regina had been together with Bosia, and from the look of them, they weren’t studying any Alchemy secrets at all—just a private tea party between good friends.

If Regina opened her mouth, maybe Bosia would be willing to help?

After explaining the situation to the Tree Spirit, the Tree Spirit straightforwardly nodded: "My Avatar is still in that ruin of yours. I’ll go ask her right now."

Without another word, the Tree Spirit went Offline directly to look for Regina.

...

While waiting for the Tree Spirit, Angel took out his Interlinker and wandered around the tree groups.

He discovered that the most primitive tree group—the one you automatically join after obtaining an Interlinker—already had its number of members break three hundred.

But the more people there were, the more disputes there were in the group due to differing views.

For instance, right now, there was a bunch of White Gull Academy people arguing with the Spirit Tree Courtyard institute.

And the cause of the argument, as Angel skimmed through, turned out to be just the allocation of a few New City construction tasks...

Although these construction tasks themselves were quite ordinary, the problem was that the buildings to be constructed required some very High-level Demonic Materials, and both sides wanted to use this opportunity to come into contact with these materials and expand their practical experience with High-level Demonic Materials.

Because the total number of this batch of construction tasks was seven, one side could only take three and the other side four. Neither was convinced by the other; each wanted to take one more.

Thus, the quarrel broke out.

This was, without a doubt, a trivial matter, and Angel wasn’t going to intervene. But from this small thing you could see that clashes of ideology might become the first issue after the tree groups became widely used.

Previously, ideological clashes existed too, but because communication wasn’t that frequent and the channels for expressing viewpoints were limited, even if disputes arose, they wouldn’t have much impact.

Yet with the emergence of this kind of "borderless communication" in the tree groups, ideological conflict and opposition would inevitably grow more and more intense... Ideological collisions are good, but the fear is ideology being incited.

Although it couldn’t be seen right now, after the Tea Party there would definitely be similar situations.

Angel thought it over and decided to inform Ironclad Granny.

Ironclad Granny was already Online, and quickly responded to Angel, saying that she understood and would have Lianna keep an eye on it.

After chatting a bit with Ironclad Granny, Angel prepared to contact Jon and let the development team pay attention to it as well.

However, the moment he opened the dialogue window with Jon, Angel froze.

Because... Jon’s avatar had already been changed to a photo of him and Angel together.

This photo was taken by Jon back when they were testing the camera function.

The photo itself was fine, but Angel felt a strange touch of embarrassment.

In the end, Angel only exchanged a few cursory lines with Jon before closing the dialogue window...

Still, this didn’t really count as avoidance, because the Tree Spirit had just come Online.

As soon as the Tree Spirit came Online, he said: "I’ve told Regina about Qi Li’s situation, as well as your request. She replied that once she’s done with the experiments on cultivating the Mushroom’s next generation, she’ll help you contact Bosia."

Aside from that, Regina didn’t make any comments on Qi Li or on Angel’s ideas.

That was normal. In Regina’s eyes, this was just a trivial matter. As an outsider, there was no need for her to take it to heart.

Still, the moment Regina agreed to contact the Bosia Witch, it already counted as a good start.