On the wide streets of the Imperial Capital, the windrunner beast stagecoach traveled smoothly, with hardly a bump to be felt.
Its speed far exceeded that of an ordinary carriage, yet its massive body remained exceptionally nimble.
In about 15 minutes, the massive circular building bustling with noise — the central commercial district — appeared before Helos’s eyes once again.
After the stagecoach pulled into its designated stop, Agatha was practically the first to hop off, her face filled with an impatient expression.
“Hurry up, hurry up, Sisi! I know a few shops that just got a new shipment of rare ores! If we’re late, others might snatch them all up!”
She turned back to urge Helos, who was still leisurely stepping off the vehicle.
“I know, I know. What’s the rush?”
Helos replied testily as she stepped down with Gavi’s assistance.
Eleanor descended last, still maintaining her elegant posture. However, her gaze remained fixed on Agatha, especially after hearing her call Helos “Sisi.”
‘Hmm… Maybe I could call my sister that too?’
‘No, it is a huge mistake that I haven’t called her that in all these years.’
‘I definitely need to change how I address her! I can’t let an outsider beat me to it!’
Although Helos had visited the central commercial district with Christ and Eleanor just a few days ago, that trip had been mainly for purchasing daily necessities.
The itinerary had been rushed, and they had not spent much time browsing.
This time was different. Their goal had been clear from the start — alchemical materials and tools!
Agatha, in particular, felt as if she were back on her home turf.
As soon as they got off the stagecoach, she led Helos through familiar paths, diving straight into the alchemical workshops and narrow alleys filled with various strange scents.
“This shop has the best quality magic water! Although it’s a bit pricey, the mana is pure and stable, so experiments are less likely to explode!”
“And this one! They specialize in the bodily fluids and glands of various magical beasts! I bought the fire snake saliva for my research on liquid explosives here last time!”
“Let’s go, let’s go! The one up ahead is run by dwarven craftsmen! The crucibles they forge are exceptionally durable!”
Agatha was like a spinning top with infinite energy, dragging Helos through shop after shop. Her eyes sparkled, and she leaned in to closely study any material that caught her interest, occasionally haggling with the shopkeepers.
Helos was also quite interested. Although she wasn’t as fanatical as Agatha, seeing rare materials she had only read about in books sitting casually on shelves still made her heart race with excitement.
She carefully observed the textures of various ores, distinguished the scents of different potions, and even picked up several unique alchemical tools to examine their internal structures and principles.
Two young girls, both passionate about alchemy, quickly found common ground. They would argue endlessly over the purity of an ore or marvel together at an exquisitely designed alchemical device.
“Look at the design of this miniature magic pump! It’s brilliant! To think something so small could withstand such high pressure!”
“Hmm… Normally, this structure should have been crushed by the pressure long ago. Magic really is something wonderful.”
The two chattered away, completely forgetting Eleanor and Gavi behind them.
Eleanor followed listlessly. She had absolutely no interest in these jars, bottles, and odd-smelling rocks. Seeing her younger sister and the newly befriended girl talking so enthusiastically, she couldn’t help but sigh softly.
‘It seems Sisi is still more interested in these things…’
Her gaze fell upon Helos’s uniform, feeling that something was missing. Eleanor suddenly remembered the lilac dress that Maev and the others had given her earlier.
Although it was the standard academy attire, it still didn’t feel like enough for Helos.
‘I’ll just prepare a few more beautiful dresses for her later. A young girl shouldn’t be dealing with these hard, cold objects every day.’
Gavi continued to follow half a step behind Helos in silence. She carried a few moderately sized packages containing the basic alchemical materials Helos had just purchased.
She remained unresponsive to the bustling surroundings, vigilantly observing her environment as she fulfilled her duty as a guard.
Just as Helos and Agatha were lingering in front of a stall selling ancient Rune rubbings, Agatha seemed to remember something and asked casually, “By the way, Sisi, didn’t you say you were studying a recipe from that incomplete book? How is it going? Any progress?”
Hearing this, Helos put down the rubbings in her hand. Recalling her slow progress after racking her brains over that “heavenly book” for the past few days, she couldn’t help but feel a bit discouraged.
“Don’t even mention it.” She sighed, her tone somewhat helpless.
“The things in that book are too bizarre; I can’t understand many parts. But I did take an interest in a recipe for an ‘alchemy bomb.’ I thought it seemed interesting and wanted to try restoring it.”
Agatha’s eyes immediately lit up. “An alchemy bomb? I think I recall hearing about that! And the name sounds powerful! How is the output?”
“I’d say it’s pretty strong? If it works, it should…” Helos was a bit uncertain. “It uses a Magic Crystal as an energy source, detonating the mana inside instantly through a Magic Array.”
“Using a Magic Crystal for a bomb?!” Agatha let out a low cry, then quickly lowered her voice and said excitedly, “That’s a fantastic idea! It would be much more stable than the liquid explosives I’m researching! So? How far along are you in restoring it?”
“Still in the deduction phase.” Helos shook her head. “The ancient Runes are too strange — they’re nothing like the system I’m currently learning. And…”
She paused, a troubled expression appearing on her face.
“Even if the Runes are deduced, the design of the detonation device is a major problem. The relevant parts of the blueprint are almost completely missing.”
“I need a material with extremely high strength that can also precisely conduct mana to act as the key mechanism for triggering the internal Runes, but I haven’t been able to find a suitable substitute.”
She briefly described her predicament.
After listening, Agatha frowned and fell into deep thought. She tapped her chin lightly with her finger, her crimson eyes flickering with thought.
“High strength… precise energy conduction… and usable for a trigger mechanism…” she muttered to herself, as if quickly searching through her mental database.
After a moment, she suddenly clapped her hands as if she had just remembered something. “Ah! I remember now!”
An excited expression appeared on her face. “I know a place where you might find the material you need!”
“Really? Where?” Helos instantly perked up.
Agatha’s expression suddenly turned a bit strange. “Well… as for that place…”
She leaned into Helos’s ear and whispered mysteriously, “The location is a bit remote, and — how should I put it? — the shop is a little… I only heard about it from the upperclassmen.”
“Word is the shop is deep in one of the most inconspicuous alleys of the commercial district. The owner is a cranky old man, and the things he sells are all strange, miscellaneous items of unknown origin.”
“Many people say it’s a shop run by a ‘swindler’ or a ‘madman.'”
“However — ” A spark of excitement flashed in her eyes as she lowered her voice even further.
“There are also rumors that you can occasionally find ‘treasures’ from ruins there! Especially those special materials that don’t fit into conventional magic systems!”