NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 27: Breakthrough
These two little things, especially seeing Elaine being intimate with other men, actually had an impact on Eldrin, but he didn't know it at the time.
The next morning, the entire bay was still asleep. As winter deepened, Eternal Night approached, and it was still early for the sun to rise, but this did not affect the brightness outside at all. The ground, hills, vegetation, and inland rivers were all covered with ice. Everything was frozen solid, refracting and reflecting the blue and white light. Only the sea surface in the harbor was still rippling.
Eldrin, who had no intention of falling asleep, stood in front of the large French window more than ten meters high, silently looking down at the cold and solemn magnificence of Floating Ice Bay. After exhaling a long breath of pent-up air, he suddenly felt that his vision had broadened a lot, and his heart was also relaxed, almost able to accommodate the entire Floating Ice Bay. In front of the grand space, the darkness of the past few seasons left only a faint trace. Although it may accompany Eldrin for a long, long time, and even every time he thinks of it for the rest of his life, it will be a little painful, but every memory, every pain, is a treasure after he walks out of it.
Eldrin began to open his eyes and observe the world around him. The first thing that came into his sight was the various people in Deepblue . The people he interacted with the most were still the magicians who taught him, but in Eldrin's eyes, they were no longer alchemical machines that could only pour out profound knowledge, but had become living humans, elves, dwarves, and even dark elves.
The magicians also have their own joys, sorrows, anger, and interests. They look at everyone differently and treat others differently. Every gesture , every eyebrow , every glance, even the same words, with different speeds and tones, all reflect different conclusions in Eldrin's real world. As he gets to know the magicians more and more, and observes them more carefully, the number of samples in his memory for comparison is increasing. Eldrin suddenly finds that many of the words and expressions of the teachers actually have something hidden behind them. And these hidden things are gradually being uncovered by him.
Magisters are in different fields, so the relationships are different. Some fields are very similar, while others are unrelated. Magisters in similar fields often have bad relationships, and there are even naked trampling on each other, such as Popovich and Riley. Magisters in unrelated fields have much more harmonious relationships, and many are good friends. After observing this, Eldrin pondered and realized that the key word connecting these phenomena is competition, and behind the competition is the interests represented by gold coins.
After opening his eyes, Eldrin learned many things. For example, now he finally understood why there were suddenly so many geometry, mathematics, painting and magic circle courses, and he also heard about his future identity as the 'Saint Forgemaster'.
"So, the teacher wants to train me to be an Artificer..." Eldrin thought silently. Although he was a boy who grew up in the mountains, after more than a year in Deepblue , Eldrin's vision and mind are no longer the boy who knew nothing. However, although Artificers have a high status, they are as light as water in Eldrin's mind. Under Irene's subtle influence for ten years, Eldrin didn't know that he actually had a big heart that was not surprised by praise or criticism.
But no matter what, now that he knows the teacher's expectations of him, Eldrin will not let her down. Children in the mountains are stubborn and have clear likes and dislikes. Eldrin is very smart, and the many hardships and twists and turns have made him much more mature than his peers. Now he knows his special status in Deepblue , and he knows how many people will go crazy for the teacher's joy he gets every month. And many people with ulterior motives, although their eyes are full of jealousy, desire and plunder every time they look at Eldrin, they still keep a certain distance from him, and dare not use conspiracy against him at will. Papin's incident was just an accident, and it was just a few aristocratic children who didn't know the depths of the world and made a mistake.
In addition, Eldrin has discovered that no matter where he goes, there will always be one or two people following him from a distance. Whether it is Eldrin's own feelings or the thorny eyes of the crowd that range from ill intentions to fear and retreat, he can know that this is not surveillance, but protection. In this way, whenever he thinks of the teacher's carefree personality and love of money, Eldrin always feels a faint warmth in his heart.
This was the only warmth that Eldrin received during this winter.
Fortunately, during his muddled days, Eldrin's studies were not affected at all, and he made rapid progress in the world of magic. Only when he thought of this, he felt a little relieved in his mature heart.
The winter was like winter, and before he knew it, spring had come again. After finishing his studies for the day, Eldrin dragged his tired body back to the residential area. When he passed the iron puppet standing alone in the corner, he suddenly remembered that it was his birthday again.
Except for the intact head, the iron puppet had been severely distorted and deformed, and it was almost impossible to recognize its original appearance. That was the result of Eldrin's repeated use of his bloodline power. The wall near it was also covered with large and small pits, which were the traces of the iron puppet's impact.
Eldrin walked over to the puppet and gently stroked the mottled dents on it. There were sharp edges and sharp cracks in the dents. The dents were not only from his fists, but also from his elbows, shoulders, knees, and even his head. There were old blood stains on more than one of the dents.
Feeling the dull pain from his fingertips and looking at the bloodstains, Eldrin finally realized that the winter he thought had passed in busyness and peace was actually not quiet at all. The pain was still there, but it was hidden so deeply that he almost thought he had forgotten it.
The head of the iron puppet was intact, and the smooth and round surface reflected Eldrin's slightly deformed face. The puppet was already tattered , with only a thin thread connecting the many parts of the material. Perhaps if it took another blow, it would break away from the main body. Eldrin smiled, reached out and patted the puppet's face, and strode towards the bedroom.
On the second day, there was a painting class. After listening to a whole class of art appreciation theory, more than a dozen students politely handed in their homework drawings one by one, and then left one after another . Eldrin was the last one to come up. For some reason, when the master saw Eldrin, who was still a teenager, he suddenly felt very uncomfortable and subconsciously avoided Eldrin's eyes. Whenever he thought of the "paintings" that Eldrin handed in, the master felt like there was a wet and cold creature attached to his body, and he couldn't get rid of it. He was so sad.
The master glanced over the assignment Eldrin was about to hand in, and he heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that it was just a small painting measuring 30 centimeters square.
This is a landscape painting of Floating Ice Bay in winter, showing the cold, solemnity and magnificence with Eldrin's usual brushstrokes. Compared with the dark and chaotic previous works, this painting finally returned to normal, although the power contained in the lines still made the master feel a little cold. When the master breathed a sigh of relief, he suddenly found that Eldrin was staring at him intently, and the pair of sapphire blue pupils were actually bottomless.
"Does this painting look more comfortable?" Eldrin's soft words instantly made the master break out in a cold sweat! He instinctively jumped up from his chair and almost tripped over the corner of his robe. But he didn't care about the embarrassment, pointed at Eldrin, and said: "You...you..."
In contrast, Eldrin was as calm as an iceberg, and the smile on his face was even more elegant and beautiful, looking like the temptation of the devil's whisper. However, no matter how tempting the devil's whisper was, the master knew the painful price to pay behind the temptation , which would be the eternal fall of the soul into the Abyss! Looking at Eldrin's rare smile, the master's back was covered with cold sweat, and what made him feel even more chilled was that, if he remembered correctly, Eldrin was only twelve years old!
The master wanted to ask Eldrin how he knew how he felt, but the words didn't come out. No matter how Eldrin knew , he knew it now. And after calming down a little, the master knew that Eldrin must have something else to say. This twelve-year-old boy made him feel completely unpredictable. And those paintings constantly reminded the master how crazy the boy in front of him was deep in his heart.
The master took a deep breath, straightened his clothes, put on the proper appearance of a mentor, sat down, and motioned Eldrin to sit down as well. Eldrin did not sit down, but like any ordinary apprentice asking for advice on lessons, he first bowed respectfully to the master, and then asked with well-trained etiquette and elegance: "Master, first of all, I would like to ask you to tell me what the world of Artificer is like."
The master was startled, shook his head and said, "I am not an Artificer, but just a useless mage of level 12. If you want to talk about knowledge related to Artificer, you should ask Phileas Archmage or Hulux Archmage who taught you . Their attainments in Runic Construct are much better than mine..."
Eldrin interrupted the master and said, "No, I don't want to ask about Runic Construct's expertise, but I want to know what an Artificer does in the outside world, what duties they have, and how they live. Also, who are the famous Artificers now, their life experiences and deeds before and after they became famous, etc., these are what I want to know. Teacher Phileas and Teacher Hulux spend most of their time in Deepblue , unlike you who have traveled around the continent and have been a distinguished guest of the royal families of the three empires. You must know more about these things."
Eldrin's question once again startled the master. He didn't understand why Eldrin was asking about these things that were no different from anecdotes. But the master immediately thought of a possibility, which he found a little unbelievable. According to common sense, this was definitely not something a twelve-year-old child should consider. But out of caution, he still asked one more question: "Why do you want to know this?"
"Because I want to become an Artificer, I need to know what the Artificer world is like and how to make further progress in the Artificer world. By knowing the life stories of those great Artificers in history and reality, I can know what setbacks they have experienced and what experiences they have. At least, I don't want to make the mistakes they have made again." Eldrin replied. After a pause, he added, "The Artificer world in the eyes of an Artificer is different from what others see."
The master instantly broke out in a cold sweat again, as this was exactly the possibility he had just thought of.
At this point, he could no longer refuse, and from a purely emotional point of view, he was willing to pass on his knowledge to the child in front of him. These days, through the silent communication of those pictures, the master looked at Eldrin and always felt that he was a little different from other students.
He sorted out his thoughts and said slowly: "Okay! First of all, my opinion is that Artificer is not only the creator of miracles, but also the weaver of nightmares. It is because of them that the ultimate armed Arcane Knight appeared. One by one, the fortresses, checkpoints, and mountain passes that were regarded as never falling were crushed under the iron hoof of Arcane Knight. The appearance of Artificer changed the war and the pattern of the continent, and greatly accelerated Norland's expansion into the other dimension. If it weren't for them, the world might be different, and there wouldn't be so many lives lost..."
"That is to say, the Artificer is actually the creator of the War Legion." Eldrin interrupted the master's artistic exclamation and chanting and summarized it succinctly.
"You could say that, but…" The master was reluctant to see little Eldrin come to this conclusion, and still tried to struggle. But after careful consideration, he had to say, "Well, you are right. Just as the significance of the legendary profession is to pose a deadly threat to the royal family and nobles of a country, because no matter what profession, legendary figures can become the most dangerous assassins. And the reason why Artificers are respected is that they are the destroyers of countries. A legion of Arcane Knights, even if there is only a small team, is enough to defeat a large army of more than 10,000 people. Now, let's start with Master Lordendar, who is the first true Artificer on the continent…"
The master's comments were brief and vivid. In just a few words, the once powerful Artificers appeared before his eyes. These Artificers used their wisdom and genius to create a large number of Arcane Knights, and each Arcane Knight was deeply imprinted with the mark of the Artificer who created them. Each Artificer's creation is completely different. This is a world where personality and talent can be displayed at will. The most famous construction masters in history have all left behind masterpieces that shone brightly for future generations , such as Solomon's Phantom Demon Set, Lugardim 's Crimson Cavalier, and Saint Peter's Celestial Armament. There are also many Artificers who try to imitate and follow the masters' tracks, but these true masters are always imitated but never surpassed.
It took the master an entire hour to sketch out the outline of Artificer's history. If he were to describe it in detail, it would probably take more than ten days or half a month to complete.
After the master took a short break, Eldrin said, "Thank you, Master. My second request is that you introduce someone to me."
The master nodded and said, "I know a lot of people in Deepblue . I should say I have some connections with most of the special people. I wonder what kind of person you need me to introduce to you? A woman? Haha!"
Eldrin did not laugh at the master's joke. He lowered his head and was silent for a long time. Then he raised his head as if he had made up his mind and said, "I want to find someone who can teach me how to kill."