Chapter 174: Alchemist

“Swish! Swish!”

Two pillars of light flashed, then two figures appeared.

Merlin and the black-robed old man had arrived at an unfamiliar place. There were also a few large statues here. These statues were covered with runes that gave off extremely mysterious and ancient vibes.

“We’re finally here. This is Floating City!”

The black-robed old man looked around and smiled as he said softly to Merlin.

Merlin pulled open the robe over his head to reveal his young-looking face. He checked out his surroundings and found that it appeared to be a booming city. However, there were not many people here. In addition, there were many mysterious runes and fluctuations of Elements around them.

“Let’s go. This is only the outer area of Floating City. The inner area is more vibrant.”

The old man smiled and promptly became a guide for Merlin. He walked at the front and guided Merlin into Floating City.

As the old man had said, Floating City was indeed bustling with people. Once they were in the city, a cacophony of noise immediately reached Merlin’s ears. People were everywhere within his sight. There were men, women, the elderly, and even children – people from all walks of life were roaming the street as they pleased.

Of course, they were not Normies; they were at the very least, Entrance-level Spell Casters and above.

Moreover, these Spell Casters were strange. Some had gruesome-looking poison insects on them that snarled and terrified others, and some even took the form of a monster that was more horrifying than Wizard Leo.

The Spell Casters came in all shapes and sizes. This trip had truly opened Merlin’s eyes.

With the old man’s guidance, Merlin explored the street. Suddenly, Merlin looked to the front and saw a brown-haired ugly Spell Caster and there was a naked man trailing behind him.

The man only wore a leather skirt by his waist and an iron mask on his head. Silver thorns were tied around his limbs that reflected the bright sunlight, thus appearing extremely horrifying.

This masked man even wore an iron chain around his neck and was pulled by the ugly Spell Caster in front of him, moving forward one step at a time.

Merlin frowned. He could see that the masked man was obviously a living human but he was treated like a monster.

The old man’s expression turned dark and told Merlin in a heavy voice, “Wizard Merlin, don’t get us into trouble. Those are alchemists, mad people. Don’t ever get in trouble with them.”

The old man quickly pulled Merlin and walked quicker to the front. Then, they waited until that ugly Spell Caster and the masked man had left.

Merlin gazed at the masked “monster” behind him and asked, “Wizard Hill, what do you mean by alchemists?”

The old man revealed a serious expression, then laughed grimly. “Hehe. Technically speaking, alchemists are Spell Casters as well but they are known to be cruel and bad-tempered. These alchemists are not Spell Casters of a high level. They may be Entrance-level or First-level Spell Casters but they don’t have much interest in constructing Spell Models. Instead, they prefer to study alchemy and to practice it on people.

“Did you see that masked ‘creature’ back there? That’s actually a Normie. He was caught by these alchemists and had his memory erased with a special potion, turning into a walking zombie ¹ that only obeys the alchemists. The alchemists tried all they could to test their alchemy on Normies that they’ve captured, enabling the Normies to possess power that’s more terrifying than that of a beast. The alchemists call such walking zombies as their ‘pet’. Hehe. The alchemist’s abilities mostly manifest in their ‘pet’. To attain greater strength, these alchemists are ruthless. They’re no longer true Spell Casters!”

The old man’s tone obviously showed disapproval of the alchemists. Indeed, Merlin was filled with disgust after hearing the actions of this group of ruthless Spell Casters.

The so-called “pet” of the alchemists were all Normies but they were cruelly turned into monsters. In fact, there was a name for such a “pet” in Merlin’s previous life – biological weapon!

However, in his previous life, the law had been perfected; it strictly prohibited the study of “biological weapon” because this matter was simply too terrifying and inhumane. Unfortunately, in this world, the mad alchemists were not held down by anything, hence they could test their alchemy result on Normies at will.

“Let’s go. We’ll get used to such matter the more we encounter it.”

The old man shook his head slightly. When he heard about the cruelty of alchemists back then, he was in disbelief. However, this was the truth. In the world of Spell Casters, cruelty and indifference were the main themes. Most Spell Casters regarded themselves a tower above the rest; they did not think much about Normies.

Merlin took a deep breath, trying to calm the boiling emotions in his heart. Then, he turned around and trailed behind the black-robed old man, heading forward.

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During his trip, Merlin noticed quite a few cruel alchemists. There were always some “monsters” trailing behind them. These “monsters” were the results of the alchemists’ study. Merlin even felt a strong sense of danger from some of these “monsters”.

Merlin had never come across the knowledge of alchemists in the Dark Magic Region. This also showed that the Dark Magic Region was a rather orthodox spell casters’ organization. They practiced the ancient cultivation method of Spell Casters with potions, alchemy, and runology as side studies to aid Spell Casters in becoming a higher-level Spell Caster. It was definitely not the other way around to have runology or alchemy to be the main studies and neglect the construction of Spell Model.

However, Merlin also knew from the black-robed old man that the number of orthodox spell casters’ organizations had been decreasing in the overall Spell Casters world. Many spell casters’ organizations were starting to accept alchemists.

Walking behind the old man for a long time, Merlin could not help but ask, “Wizard Hill, where are we going?”

Merlin had truly learned a lot by coming to Floating City. At least he had never come across such a cruel yet still gradually expanding group of people like the alchemists. This represented a trend of changes in the entire Spell Caster world. These alchemists might only need a short time to turn a Normie into an offensive monster by using unique alchemy methods.

Although the doing was cruel, their actions were welcomed by many Spell Casters. Hence, more Spell Casters were considering to becoming alchemists.

However, Merlin’s true aim in Floating City was still getting some potion materials required to prepare Phantasmal Magic Potion and Blueberry Potion.

Thus, when Merlin saw that the black-robed old man was heading toward an unknown place, he would ask for clarification.

The old man paused and replied, “Wizard Merlin, we both need some potion materials. Just follow me. I’ll bring you to an old friend of mine. With his help, we can get the potion materials we want easily.”

Merlin nodded. After all, the black-robed old man had visited Floating City in the past; he would naturally be more familiar with the city.

Soon, the old man brought Merlin through a few streets and entered an alley. Then, they turned right and walked into a courtyard.

This courtyard had a nice ambience as it appeared serene and quiet. In the yard, there was an old man who was about the age of the black-robed old man. He silently lied on his chair in a laid-back manner, enjoying the afternoon sun.

However, as soon as the black-robed old man and Merlin stepped into the yard and before they could even approach the old man, a woman in a red shirt suddenly dashed out from the old man’s side.

This woman had a well-shaped body. With her detached expression, she seemed to be an extremely beautiful person. She wore a tight leather armor and her chest stood tall and proud, enhancing her charm.

The fingers of this woman in a red shirt were actually sharp spikes that had a cold gleam while her purple hair was also needle-like. Her small figure contained a strength stronger than any fierce beast. However, her eyes were not focused, and she appeared to be lifeless and detached.

This was obviously another Alchemy Creature!

The woman moved like the wind as she arrived in front of Merlin and the black-robed old man in the blink of an eye. She raised the gleaming spikes on her hands and showed an offensive stance.

“Burton!”

The black-robed old man yelled. Instantly, the laid-back old man on the chair shivered. Following that, the woman in a red shirt also halted her movement. Just like a puppet, she stared lifelessly at Merlin and the black-robed old man.

“Burton, I can’t believe you’ve become an alchemist!”

The black-robed old man strode toward Wizard Burton and shot a glance at the woman who was obviously an Alchemist Creature. His tone concealed a hint of anger as he said coldly.

Wizard Burton slowly opened his eyes. After sparing a glimpse at the black-robed old man and Merlin, he replied in an unconcerned tone, “It’s Hill, huh. It’s been so many years, but that temper of yours never changes. You really can’t learn to change. No wonder that you’re still suffering from the agony of your unstable Spell Models all your life. Meanwhile, I’ve obtained many resources thanks to my darling, ‘Spikes’ and finally became a First-level Spell Caster!”

Wizard Burton took a glance at the woman in a red shirt and announced proudly.

“Spikes? Hehe. That’s the name of your Alchemy Creature? Your soul has fallen. Betraying the tradition of ancient Spell Casters, you’re no longer a Spell Caster. You’re an alchemist who has gone on a wrong path!”

The black-robed old man seemed to be furious that he almost howled.

“Fallen?”

Wizard Burton’s eyes flashed, then stood up in a sudden movement. With a cold stare, he said to the black-robed old man, “Hill, you’re still as stubborn as before. As long as I can be stronger, I can use whatever method to do so. How strong can your so-called orthodox Spell Casters be? Hehe, ‘darling’, send my regards to my old friend!”

As soon as Wizard Burton finished his words, the initially quiet woman in a red shirt immediately advanced forward, moving as fast as the wind. The spikes on her hands shone a cold gleam as she aimed them at the black-robed old man.