Mechanical Alchemist

Chapter 214: Some world background

Su'en had witnessed Mr. Mirror's capabilities and knew she possessed a bizarre displacement technique that rivaled spatial teleportation.

It was like the projection of light and shadow from a mirror; once reflected, she was there.

He didn't know the extent of her displacement range, but coming from Old Lingdun, it certainly wouldn't take long.

Su'en was almost certain Mr. Mirror had arrived.

He even suspected she had been there for a while, watching the fight from the sidelines.

But since it was just speculation, he felt uneasy.

What if she hadn't come?

The enemy's killing intent was palpable, forcing Su'en to fight with all his might...

But to bait the fish, someone had to be there to reel it in.

***

With Su'en's shout, Milo was frightened, thinking there must be reinforcements.

He wanted to kill Su'en quickly to complete his mission.

But the newcomer was more terrifying than he had anticipated.

Following that shout, the air around him suddenly became sticky, trapping him like he was in a quagmire, sinking deeper into despair.

This technique, capable of suppressing even a fifth-tier strength-based assassin, was terrifyingly high in rank.

What kind of professional could lurk in the depths of the earth?!

The thought flashed through his mind.

Without hesitation, Milo turned to flee.

But, how could he possibly escape?

Since Su'en had lured him to this deserted cavern, the goal was to ensure the battle went unnoticed.

Mr. Mirror could act without restraint.

Previously, Mr. Mirror couldn't act recklessly for fear of exposing herself.

Not because she feared the Black Tower finding out, but rather the Fallen Angel becoming aware.

Now that the threat of Pestoya had been thoroughly resolved, there were no more concerns.

As long as the kill was clean, there wouldn't be a problem.

Watching his enemy flee, Su'en also breathed a sigh of relief. His wounds were severe, flesh turned inside out, and in some places, white bone was visible it was quite horrific.

But as long as he wasn't dead on the spot, it wasn't a big issue.

He used the Warlock's seal, and the green Hexagram of the Life Alchemy technique lit up. He threw down dozens of curse crystals, and both the poison and wounds began to heal rapidly.

This "money-saving" emergency technique was something Su'en had mastered particularly well.

Since Mr. Mirror had personally intervened, there was no suspense in the subsequent battle.

After waiting a while and hearing the noise diminish, Su'en followed the trail.

He wasn't there to join the fight but to collect the corpse.

Sure enough, by the time he arrived, he saw that the assassin had already become a corpse. The wounds on the body were horrific, with shards like broken glass embedded everywhere, as if he had been torn apart.

When Su'en arrived, he saw Mr. Mirror in a cloak and greeted her, "Mr. Mirror."

Mr. Mirror glanced at him and nodded, "Hmm."

Before knowing Mr. Mirror's identity, Su'en always felt a sense of awe towards this top-tier professional who had lived for a thousand years.

But after hearing from Pestoya that her name was "Ophelia," and confirming her identity, the respect remained, but the mystique was gone.

After all, by seniority, he should call her... Sister!

If he wasn't mistaken, Mr. Mirror's real name was "Ophelia Fei Isaac." She was Sir Isaac's eldest daughter, Pestoya's biological sister!

Su'en remembered the first day he crossed over, in the cursed space of Storm Manor, he saw a family portrait in the study with that name on it.

Later, Pestoya invited him to the "Bloody Banquet." At that time, three important people to her were turned into dolls on the dining table. Besides Sir Isaac and Sereya, there was also a young lady it was her.

Su'en hadn't thought about it before, just didn't expect she had truly lived for a thousand years.

Since Su'en was taken as a disciple by Sereya, his seniority was suddenly elevated, making him a peer of Mr. Mirror.

Their relationship was also very close.

Shouting that way was probably like calling for a parent when he couldn't win a fight, nothing to be embarrassed about.

***

Mr. Mirror left the corpse, naturally waiting for Su'en to harvest the memory.

Su'en didn't hesitate and went straight over to devour the grey mist.

"You have obtained 'Milo Jars' memory fragments*7'"

"You have gained a piece of information: 'I didn't expect the new policy to fail... Killing this Fick, for the survival of the Rega Land family, the clan council won't hold us accountable...'"

"You have comprehended a vast amount of assassination knowledge."

"You have acquired 'Aerial Kick Technique', and understood the movement skill [Levitating Chain Kicks]"

"You have mastered a large amount of '1~5 tier Alchemy knowledge'"

"You have grasped an incomplete fifth-tier wind element principle, mastering the elemental condensation technique [Secret Art: Wind Element Slash]"

"You have gained a large amount of assassin combat experience, combat experience +411"

"Spiritual power +4.6"

Any professional capable of advancing to the fifth tier is a person of extraordinary talent.

This guy's soul fragments certainly didn't disappoint.

As expected, he harvested many assassin abilities, but those assassin skills required physical attributes to support them. Although Su'en could use them, the power was far from that of a professional assassin, somewhat superfluous.

However, the assassin skills were secondary; the most important gain was those high-tier incomplete wind element principles!

"Wind Element Slash?"

Su'en digested the memory and immediately understood the potency of this alchemy technique.

This wasn't a skill just anyone could learn; it was a subtle understanding of elemental manipulation.

Similar to the Step of Emptiness, it couldn't be learned by study alone; it required a lot of time to "comprehend."

It was a skill that professionals below the third tier could not possess.

If [Diamond Body] was about adding layers of gold element barriers to the body, then [Wind Element Slash] was like adding a "sharp" temporary enchantment to the body, or a weapon.

The assassin could easily cut through Su'en's threads because of the dagger's sharpness, but more importantly, because of this elemental "cutting" attribute.

This was a very useful and powerful high-tier technique.

Perfect for cutting through tough defenses, ideal for slicing and breaking through!

"If I conduct it through the threads to the puppet, the puppet's physical damage capability would be greatly enhanced..."

Su'en had already thought of the practical combat application of this technique combined with his puppets.

Relying solely on the sharpness of a blade was becoming insufficient in high-tier professional battles.

Any enemy with a few protective techniques would make it difficult to break through their defenses.

But the defense-breaking effect of the same-tier [Wind Element Slash] was at least several times higher than that of [Sharpness Runes]!

Combined, they perfectly compensated for the puppets' lack of breaking power.

Gaining knowledge was one part, by stripping the "Assassin Commander" of the Rega Land family,

Su'en finally understood the identity of the original owner.

***

After stripping some memory fragments before, and now stripping some more, he had roughly pieced together the map of the surface world.

The surface world had two major empires, one was the island nation "Royal Dynasty of Luyin," and the other was the "Mafa Mechanical Empire" on the eastern mainland.

The two empires faced each other across the sea, separated by the Luyin Strait.

Besides these, there were various small kingdoms, duchies, and independent territories.

But most were affiliated with the two major empires.

Beyond these, the northern frigid lands had vast ice fields known as the "Barbaric Lands," with arctic trolls, orcs, giants, and barbarians active.

That region was synonymous with chaos, primitiveness, and savagery.

"The King of the Northern Sea," Oleg, and his group of Viking pirates came from the northern ice fields.

Of course, this was just what the two empires and their nearby known territories were aware of, and Su'en's stripped memories were limited to the areas where humans were active.

This world had too many unknowns.

To the south of Mafa, there was the "Demonic Beast Mountain Range," an endless mountainous area. There lived various demonic beasts, and legends spoke of centaurs, mountain dwarves, and half-elves... these ancient intelligent races.

Further, to the west of the Royal Dynasty of Luyin, in the vast ocean, no one knew where the end of the sea was. It was a paradise for oceanic races and various sea monsters. Ancient adventurers' logs and traveling bards' songs told of islands where dragons dwelled, islands with beautiful serpent women, and islands with sealed evil gods... and so on.

Deep in the sea lay endless treasures covered by the dust of history, sunken ships filled with gold and silver, treasures from ancient wars, and pirate kings' loot...

Or perhaps in some cave on land, there might be hidden treasures left by ancient civilizations...

The rich historical heritage added a thick layer of the unknown and mystery to this world.

Like a thick tome, flipping through one page reveals another even more fascinating page beneath.

Page by page, one might eventually reach the splendid era of the gods' creation.

***

The Su'en's body original owner's Rega Land family had a rather special status.

It was a territory that existed under the Royal Dynasty of Luyin, yet different from other territories.

Strictly speaking, they were exiled royalty, the former royal family of the Mafa Empire.

Over a hundred years ago, when a mythological dwarven relic was discovered, a technological revolution erupted. Steam machinery and various mechanical technologies sprouted like bamboo after rain.

A portion of alchemists began to be obsessed with researching various machines.

The new school of "Mechanical Alchemists" was born.

They delved into mechanical alchemy, inventing various mechanical equipment. The power of machinery gradually influenced life, and mechanical alchemists used their knowledge to create mech battleships, steam airships, mechanical gear, and various powerful firearms. Even untrained commoners could have the combat power of professionals with mechanical gear...

But technological revolutions usually mean conflict with some ancient orders.

Machines replaced manpower, abolished slavery, and gave rights to the common people...

The mechanical revolution made the nobles feel their rights were threatened.

The reason nobles were noble was fundamentally because they had the superiority of enslaving their own kind.

Initially, those powerful mechanical alchemists founded the "Mechanical Sect."

As time went on, this organization's influence among the common people grew.

The nobles felt a sense of crisis that the order was about to collapse.

So, the Mafa Emperor at the time, "Rega Land the Eleventh," began to suppress the Mechanical Sect, trying to nip mechanical alchemy in the bud.

Then... the ending was tragic.

The mechanical alchemists overthrew the decaying old Mafa Empire, establishing the new Mafa Mechanical Empire.

And as the royal family, the "Rega Land family" began their exile.

Eventually, with the support of their old rival, the Royal Dynasty of Luyin, they took a southern island as their territory, until now.

And now, the two major empires of the surface world, and the structure of Old Lingdun, were also roughly the same, divided into two factions of alchemists.

The old school and the new school.

***

"Always thinking of restoring the country, it's such a cliche...."

Su'en digested the memory and finally understood why the original owner was being hunted.

Because they were royalty a hundred years ago, the Rega Land family still took pride in this and even regarded themselves as an ancient family with a status equivalent to the royal families of the two major empires.

Always thinking of restoring the country, they contacted various forces...

And because the Mafa Mechanical Empire was growing stronger, the Royal Dynasty of Luyin also had some internal divisions.

They faced the same situation as the old Mafa Empire; the mechanical revolution would shake the rulers' power and change the existing social order.

The key was the defeat in war.

This war that had lasted a hundred years, from the beginning with the Royal Dynasty of Luyin's one-sided advantage, to a stalemate in the middle, and now gradually weakening...

Among peers, the old school alchemists indeed had an absolute advantage in combat power.

Especially in the circle of top-tier professionals, mechanical warriors would fall further behind.

But training a third-tier professional takes many years and requires one in a million talent and countless resources;

To make a third-tier equivalent combat mech, mass production probably only takes a day.

One can predict the future decline of the Royal Dynasty of Luyin.

So, a part of the empire also wanted to reform.

Then came various party struggles.

The current family head, the original owner's father, Kelson Rega Land, was a staunch royalist. After all, they were once royalty and naturally wanted to maintain the existing noble order.

About a year ago, the revolution succeeded, the new party came to power, and Emperor Bonaparte IX of Luyin was forced to abdicate, dying of depression not long after.

Kelson happened to be in the capital and was implicated, detained, awaiting trial.

His offspring were either exiled or imprisoned, and the original owner was one of the unlucky ones.

The Rega Land family is now flourishing, with even more members than a hundred years ago.

Those with this surname in the "Aon Territory" probably number in the tens of thousands.

With the main family weakened, the branch families grew stronger.

Thinking the family head was doomed, the branches of the Rega Land family began to act up, vying for power.

To eliminate future troubles, they planned to kill off all the main family's offspring.

Hence, the original owner was exiled and had a bounty on his head.

But unexpectedly, a few months later, the plot twisted.

The Empress returned with a strong hand, suppressing various factions with an iron fist, and the revolution failed, restoring the Bonaparte dynasty.

And now, the original owner's father was about to return to the territory...

It seems the branches had no intention of letting the original family head return alive.

***

As a transmigrator, Su'en had no interest in family infighting.

He didn't plan to become a "royal descendant."

But seeing the situation, the other party planned to eradicate them.

However, it wasn't a big problem; the surface world was endlessly vast, and avoiding the Rega Land family was easy enough.

A myriad of thoughts flashed through his mind, but only moments passed in reality.

Mr. Mirror quietly watched Su'en digest the soul fragments.

Clearly, she had also realized that Su'en had guessed her identity.

Although her face was unclear, she seemed a bit... resigned.

Su'en looked at the big shot who had come to save him and sincerely thanked her, "Thank you, Mr. Mirror."

Mr. Mirror shook her head, seemingly unconcerned, "Not bad."

Su'en knew she was referring to the previous battle.

Being able to rescue him so timely meant she had arrived early and had been watching.

Her purpose was self-evident; naturally, she wanted him to face a fifth-tier enemy himself and feel that pressure.

Su'en also felt he had handled it quite well; after all, being able to hold on for so long against a fifth-tier as a second-tier was enough to make anyone proud.

But unexpectedly, after a pause, Mr. Mirror said something profound, "Without experiencing death, you can never understand the laws of death, nor can you comprehend some things on the 'spirit' and 'will' level... Without nurturing spirit and will, it's like a person without bones, no matter how skilled, the achievement is limited. That's something no one can explain clearly, not even a [Death Harvester] can harvest it, you can only comprehend it yourself."

Hearing this, Su'en knew Mr. Mirror was guiding him towards some high-level cultivation secrets.

After a brief thought, those words seemed to imprint on his heart, and he immediately had an epiphany.

He said seriously, "I've learned a lot, Mr. Mirror."

Hearing this, Mr. Mirror shook her head slightly and took the initiative to say, "You should have guessed my identity. When there are no outsiders, you can call me... Sister."

It was already a peer relationship, and calling her "Mr." was naturally inappropriate.

Especially since she was his mother's disciple.

Su'en listened and nodded, "Alright, Sister."

Mr. Mirror didn't intend to stay long and added, "We need some external information. Emmerich is handling those people on the city wall, so you don't need to worry about that."

She paused, looked at Su'en, and added, "And... be careful yourself."

Su'en nodded.

With another look, the cloaked figure of Mr. Mirror had already dissipated before his eyes.

***

Su'en looked at the corpse on the ground, silently storing it in his spatial storage.

He didn't linger and immediately left the battlefield.

Although Mr. Mirror's words were cryptic, the message was clear: A person's mindset can change in a comfortable environment, without them realizing it.

He also immediately understood.

It's instinct.

Su'en was awakened by that sentence.

When he first crossed over, survival was a problem, and he had to remain vigilant at all times.

Now, having met all these powerful allies, subconsciously, there was a sense of reliance on "comfort" in his heart.

If he were alone, or if he was sure Mr. Mirror might not help, he would never have entered the city with doubts.

Because he was certain Mr. Mirror would help.

That's why he thought of taking the opportunity to hunt and harvest a fifth-tier professional...

Indeed, he was a bit reckless.

This Sister, though seemingly indifferent, was quite attentive.