“Blue Silver Ore? Pass.”

“Orcichalk Ores? Pass.”

Ikasa and Feng Yan visited most of the spots shining with different colored energies. They dug out the ores and depending on their use or worth, they decided which ores to take and which ores to leave behind.

“Red Lode Ore? Pass.”

Ikasa scratched another ore from his list of ores to keep. Feng Yan interrupted and expressed his desire to keep that ore.

“Hey, I want those Red Lode ores!”

“Why?”

Ikasa asked with an annoyed tone. The old man had already asked him to keep three different ores and all for frivolous reasons.

“Don’t you think we can make red eyes from those magnets and sell them as ‘Red Eye’ merchandise for my admirers?”

The young man took a deep and heavy breath, suppressing his anger. This was another one of those frivolous reasons.

‘Absolutes know where this Old Man learned about merchandising or the fact that he even had fans.’

Ikasa thought before rejecting the old man with one word.

“NO.”

Feng Yan’s face fell but neither could Ikasa see it nor did he care. Because if the old man saw something that caught his eyes, he would once again be begging to include it in his list.

They had reached the last spot where dense grayish blue energy was concentrated. This place was on the Central Peak, the tallest of the mountains.

As he had done numerous times before, Ikasa looked for cracks in the cliffs and checked where the energy was concentrated. Then, he took out the axe and dug at the cracks, trying to see what ore was hiding underneath.

However, his attempts were futile this time. The axe passed through the rock as if the surface was an illusion!

“Hmm?”

Ikasa looked at the ax and the cliff with surprise. He attempted once again, but the expected impact never came. He carefully tried to touch the cliff. His hands passed through without encountering any resistance.

“Old man, can you see anything different here?”

Ikasa called Feng Yan who was mining at a spot nearby. He came over, responding to Ikasa’s call.

“The energy signature is same as over there…?”

Feng Yan asked, confused why Ikasa called for him.

“Try striking the cliff with your pickaxe.”

The old man looked at Ikasa with bewilderment but did as he asked.

Thunk! The pickax hit nearly the same spot where Ikasa touched, but the response was very different from what Ikasa received.

“Is there a problem?”

Feng Yan asked, looking at Ikasa. Even Ikasa was taken aback by the different response. He did not immediately answer but requested Feng Yan to hit the cliff wall again.

“Are you thinking of making me do all the digging, you brat?”

Feng Yan grumbled but picked at the wall as requested. Nothing changed. He still heard the sound of metal hitting rock.

“Weird.”

Ikasa commented and tried to hit the wall with his ax. The ax as usual passed through the cliff without resistance. He turned to Feng Yan to show what he meant.

“See this…”

Suddenly, a gust of wind pushed Ikasa with force. He lost his balance and was propelled towards the wall.

“Aah!”

Startled by the sudden push, Ikasa activated his Rock Solid armor in an instant and braced for impact but it never came!

His entire body passed through the wall and the last words he heard were Feng Yan’s loud voice shouting his name.

——

“Aah!”

Feng Yan watched with amusement as a strong wind pushed Ikasa into the cliff. He thought Ikasa would just slam into the wall, face first and be alright.

He even had a taunt ready, to ridicule him for being blown away by the wind. However, a blue light shimmered and Ikasa was sucked into the Cliff!

The old man’s smile was quickly wiped off his face.

“Ikasa!”

Feng Yan tried to grab the young man’s back or leg and pull him outside, but his efforts failed. He could only watch helplessly as Ikasa disappeared into the cliff.

The unfortunate mishap shocked him. He tried to strike the wall again and again but he could not find the reason for Ikasa’s disappearance. A few hours had already passed and he had no food supplies.

Feng Yan was also worried for Xin Ruo and the kids. He looked at the wall one last time with reluctance and turned to leave, deciding to come back here with Xin Ruo and kids.

Just as he turned, he heard the wind whisper in his ears. Astonishingly, he understood what it said. A single word was delivered to his mind.

“Wait.”

———

“Aah!”

In a dark corridor, a crumpled figure of the young man was deposited on the smooth floor made of rocks. This figure was none other than Ikasa.

Ikasa slowly sat up, rubbing his bruised elbows. He blinked his eyes a few times to adjust to the low light of his surroundings.

‘Where am I?’

He thought as he scanned the corridor for any clues of his location. The passageway was entirely dark except for a small blue light shining through a half open door to his left.

In the light, he could vaguely see the cobwebs formed on the ceilings and dirt accumulated on the floor. There were electric lamps on the ceiling but they had turned black long time ago.

Ikasa stood up and looked at both the ends of the corridor. One side was shrouded in darkness, while on the other side he saw a half open door and light coming from it.

With quiet steps, Ikasa walked towards the half open door. He armed himself with the axe in one hand and the Serrated Sun Disc in another.

Ikasa reached the door and peeked inside while maintaining some distance. He couldn’t see anything other than a few tables and a beast-kin parchment lying on the ground.

“Anyone here?”

Ikasa asked, raising his ax. He did not receive any response, nor did he hear any movements. He kicked the door open and charged into the room.

The wooden door was heavier than it seemed as his kick did not push the door open completely. It made a krrr sound as its unoiled hinges grinded against each other.

Luckily for Ikasa, there was no one inside the room. He breathed a sigh of relief and searched for the source of light. He noticed a hologram projection shining on one of the tables in the corner.

“There.”

Ikasa whispered to himself to reduce the spooky vibes he was getting from this place. But when he saw the projection, his voice was filled with shock!

“Cloud Printer V2!”

On the holographic screen, he saw a picture of a Printer, the same as the one he had!

Ikasa immediately swiped at the screen. A 3D model of the printer appeared before him. He immediately took out his Printer and compared it to the one in the picture.

It was almost the same except one chipset was missing in Ikasa’s version.

Ikasa tapped at the missing part. Information about the part popped up. The part looked like a frame that covered the upper edges of the printer. He read the description.

“Cloud frame module. Type – Antenna. With this module, the printer can access the techniques stored in higher strata of the Cloud.”

The description was clear and yet confusing.

“Is there a cloud server from where my printer accesses techniques?”

Ikasa murmured to himself. Still, his eyes shined as he saw a possibility to upgrade the Printer! All of a sudden, he heard a voice answer his question.

“Yes.”

“Who is there?”

Ikasa yelled as he raised his axe and swiftly turned around, ready to attack. Behind him, he saw a beautiful lady in a flowing blue gown, the same color as the screen. She seemed ethereal, yet, real; translucent yet solid.

Her facial features were somewhat similar to Xin Ruo’s. The emerald green eyes pierced through his soul. Her silvery blue hair fell to her chest.

She was a perfect combination of seductive and sophisticated beauty. With her one smile, she could cause the downfall of nations and empires.

While Ikasa watched the lady with vigilance, she approached his Printer. Ikasa blocked her way with his ax, but she simply passed through it.

His eyes widened at the sight.

“Ghost? Or a Spirit?”

Ikasa muttered, as he quickly tried to keep the Printer back in his Storage Space. She covered the Printer in a bubble of water and foiled Ikasa’s attempts. Astonishingly, the water did not even touch the Printer!

“Neither…”

The Lady replied to Ikasa’s mutterings. She found the USB cable of the Printer and connected it to a socket that was hidden in the device projecting the holographic screen.

A hidden compartment opened in the desk with rattling noise. The lady took out a box from the compartment and turned to look at Ikasa. She met his eyes and extended her hand, offering him the simple rectangular box, as large as the Printer.

Then in a relaxed voice, she introduced herself to the vigilant Ikasa.

“I am the Absolute of Water.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep