Chapter 3353: Chapter 3354: Vermilion Puff

Just as they were engrossed in their conversation, Laplace suddenly stopped talking and looked towards the distance.

A clearly reduced-size black-scaled Cave Dragon was watching them from not far away.

When Laplace’s gaze turned towards it, the black-scaled Cave Dragon immediately approached, and said respectfully, "Honored guests, we meet again."

The arrival... no, the approaching dragon was indeed their old familiar dragon, Khuntela.

Laplace nodded gently in response to the greeting.

Angel, curious, asked, "What are you doing here?"

Khuntela: "I was entrusted by Lord Aya to wait here for the two of you."

"Lord Aya already knows we’ve arrived?" Angel looked around curiously, wondering if the Mystic Book Dragon was nearby since it discovered their arrival.

Khuntela shook its head in response: "No, Lord Aya is still inside the station meeting with the Astrologer Granny. I have been waiting here for quite some time."

Angel nodded in understanding: "So, you must have discovered us when we arrived on this level?"

Khuntela nodded.

It indeed noticed them from the start.

The reason Khuntela didn’t immediately greet them was that it saw Laplace using barrier power right after leaving the leap floor staircase, and exchanging glances with Angel.

Khuntela instantly understood that they should be discussing matters privately.

The use of a barrier to conceal the conversation must mean it was of importance. In such a situation, Khuntela naturally felt it was inappropriate to interrupt.

It was only when Laplace looked its way, that it came forward.

Upon hearing Khuntela had been waiting for a long time, Angel felt a bit apologetic, and promptly said, "Then please, Mr. Khuntela, lead the way."

Khuntela was also worried they might visit other shops on this level first, so upon hearing Angel’s words, it quickly nodded: "Honored guests, please follow me."

Khuntela made a gentle leap and flew into the sky.

It fluttered its wings, crossing the corridor’s railings, and entered the hollow area of the Ring Fort.

Angel and Laplace had visited before and knew the entrance to the Hundred-Dragon Divine Kingdom station was in the hollow area, so they followed and flew over.

As the surrounding white mist enveloped their bodies, the familiar sensation of spatial traversal took them to another vast realm.

After regaining their stance, they found themselves on a familiar plain.

Distant are the layered mountains and lush forests, near the forest is a surging long river.

Above the mountains, there is the Cloud Cave, deep in the forest lies a verdant swamp, and at the river’s end is the Rock Palace. These are the three most important places in the Hundred-Dragon Divine Kingdom station.

Previously they visited the Rock Palace. However, this time, Khuntela led them to the mountain top, to a sky platform covered in gray mist—the Cloud Cave.

The Cloud Cave cannot be directly accessed; there is special mist that obscures spatial fluctuations, so one must fly over following a set route.

Khuntela continued leading the way and explained the current situation during the journey.

After the Mystic Book Dragon arrived at the Hundred-Dragon Divine Kingdom station, it immediately took Glaipnir to the Cloud Cave to meet Kukurus; they haven’t emerged since.

From Khuntela’s account, it was clear that even it did not know what the Mystic Book Dragon discussed in the Cloud Cave, or why it first sought Kukurus.

Khuntela was even puzzled; wasn’t it Jasmine who summoned the Mystic Book Dragon, so why did it instead go to see Kukurus?

Khuntela’s confusion was something Angel understood.

The Mystic Book Dragon went to see Kukurus mainly because Kukurus inherited the ability "Dragon-Eating Sunflower" from the Mist Isle Dragon Tomb.

A mystical Immortal Realm filled with Dragon Clan talent is surely more enticing to the Mystic Book Dragon than the Singer and the Feather Forest Clan.

Nonetheless, Angel kept silent knowing these matters; Khuntela would figure it out soon, no need to explain now.

After finishing discussing the Cloud Cave, Khuntela found itself suddenly at a loss for words.

Angel and Laplace remained silent as well, and the atmosphere gradually grew cold and awkward.

Most importantly, there was still a bit of distance to the Cloud Cave.

Khuntela finally realized the advantage of having Luigi; although Luigi often retorted against it, with Luigi there, conversations flowed continuously and the atmosphere remained lively. This time, Luigi didn’t follow, and it didn’t know where he had gone.

Khuntela sighed, realizing that with others it wouldn’t need to deliberately maintain the atmosphere, but trailing behind a genuine "big shot" on par with the Mystic Book Dragon, it couldn’t afford to neglect.

Khuntela thought diligently, wracking its brains for a topic, until its gaze drifted to Angel.

"Mr. Angel, do you like Crystal Shells?" Khuntela asked.

Crystal Shells? Angel initially didn’t understand what Khuntela meant until he noticed Khuntela was looking at his hand, prompting him to look down.

He realized he had been clutching a gift given to him earlier by the Crystal Eye Clan’s guard captain—a red oval crystal about the size of a baby’s palm.

"Is this a Crystal Shell?" Angel asked curiously.

Because he had been chatting with Laplace previously, Angel hadn’t thoroughly examined this crystal, only faintly sensing Flame Power.

Initially, he thought it was a Fire Elemental Gemstone, not expecting it to be a Crystal Shell?

Crystal Shells are unique to the Crystal Eye Clan, possessing magical power; in some ways, they are quite similar to the "Heart Fire" of the Yingji Clan, though Crystal Shells and Crystal Eye Clan are not as closely tied as that of the Yingji Clan and Heart Fire, with Crystal Shells resembling tools whereas Heart Fire is more akin to an "organ" of the Yingji Clan.

Angel had previously seen the exhibition catalog and was quite interested in the Crystal Shells of the Crystal Eye Clan, unexpectedly obtaining his first Crystal Shell this way.

Khuntela was taken aback: "You didn’t know this was a Crystal Shell?"

Angel nodded somewhat sheepishly: "It was given by the Crystal Eye Clan’s guard I encountered before."

Given? Is there such luck?

This thought crossed Khuntela’s mind, though it didn’t ponder further, assuming some soldier merely gave it as flattery.

Khuntela: "It is indeed a Crystal Shell, but within the Crystal Eye Clan’s ranking, it isn’t considered high."

Angel was not surprised, thinking what could one expect from a gift given by a guard captain?

"This crystal shell is called ’Vermilion Puff’, which has decent fire resistance and can withstand extremely high temperatures." Khuntela: "If a mirror space has volcanic magma and other terrains, Vermilion Puff can be used to create armor, allowing exploration deep into magma."

This "Vermilion Puff" crystal shell overall has a decent effect, but unfortunately, there are not many volcanic terrains in the Daylight Mirror Domain. It can only be used to ward off some fire attacks.

However, with fire attacks, the emphasis is not on the "Fire Element," but the "attack."

Once it involves attacks, issues like breaking defenses, breaking armor, sharpness, explosion, etc., will appear.

And Vermilion Puff can only withstand high temperatures; it’s hard to defend against these specialized attack effects. Thus, its utility becomes quite limited.

As a result, Vermilion Puff is at the bottom of the list in crystal shell rankings.

The reference price marked on the display booklet is: 1 Tor 80 crystalline.

"Tor" is the unit of measurement for crystal shells used by the Crystal Eye Clan. The actual size needs to be measured; visually, one Tor is estimated to be the size of an adult’s fist.

The Vermilion Puff in Angel’s hand is the size of a baby’s fist, estimated to be about 0.5 Tor, which totals to about 40 crystalline.

It’s not much but not a little; from the perspective of offering compensation, that Crystal Eye Clan Guard Captain did make an effort on the surface.

Angel toyed with the "Vermilion Puff", weaving spiritual power into it while playing.

As spiritual power was infused, the Vermilion Puff began to soften and collapse, as if turning into some kind of non-Newtonian fluid, slowly changing shape according to Angel’s heart thought.

Angel thought of "armor," and the Vermilion Puff turned into armor, albeit extremely miniature, suitable only for the Kulakuka Clan to wear.

Moreover, even turned into armor, a shift in Angel’s heart thought could make it change into other stuff, its "mimicry" ability comparable to playdough, without restricting any shape.

"This is the most peculiar aspect of crystal shells; as long as the energy is abundant, mimicry can be done at any time." Perhaps seeing Angel contact the crystal shell for the first time, Khuntela explained from the side.

Moreover, after mimicry, it can further shape.

For instance, the hard parts can become harder, the soft parts softer, the transparent parts clearer, and the smooth parts smoother. It equates to saying the crystal shell can not only simulate shiny surfaces and entities but also various gemstone appearances...

The convenience of mimicry is why the Crystal Eye Clan could overnight build palaces within various strongholds.

These palaces are all transformed from crystal shells; with a twist of thought, a magnificent palace is formed.

Of course, even convenient mimicry has its weaknesses.

The shape after mimicry, regardless of its hardness or material appearance, inherently retains the original traits of the crystal shell.

For instance, a palace made from Vermilion Puff crystal shell may look luxurious and its walls appear solid, but it’s just a showpiece. The Vermilion Puff palace can at most be fireproof but can’t defend against any other sort of attack, including... spying.

To guard against spying, one must choose the "Water Spring" crystal shell priced at 1 Tor 1200 crystalline, which naturally resists spiritual power, preventing spying of that nature.

To increase defensive capability, the "Rock Crystal Cluster" shell at 1 Tor 5000 crystalline is needed, which bestows the crystal shell with powerful defensive abilities.

If one desires to add a floating effect to a palace, the "Windborne Crystal" shell at 1 Tor 2900 crystalline is required...

Overall, the mimicry of a crystal shell can only inherit its initial traits; no matter how potent the mimicry, if the crystal shell itself is lacking, it’s still inept.

The "Vermilion Puff" in Angel’s hand belongs to an acknowledged crystal shell with an inadequate essence.

However, Angel thinks this "Vermilion Puff" is quite nice. Despite its weak essence, it’s very suitable for a mischievous Fire Element Elf.

Hmm... specifically Dangross.

Since Vermilion Puff can ward off flames, naturally, it can also isolate flames.

If Vermilion Puff were made into gloves for Dangross, even during playful antics, he wouldn’t need to worry about igniting a main street fire like the last time in Saint Sem City.

Most importantly, its size fits Dangross well.

"Dangross has been running around without clothes for so many years; it’s high time he had some apparel..." Angel was quite satisfied with the Vermilion Puff, planning to store it in his space for now, and later check the Holographic Tablet for some nice glove designs to tailor a new Earth-flavored outfit for Dangross.

Khuntela: "By the way, the crystal shells recorded in the display booklet by the Crystal Eye Clan are not exhaustive. If you’re interested in crystal shells, I can have Aor Shanzhuo help you purchase some."

Angel: "Aor Shanzhuo?"

Khuntela nodded: "Aor Shanzhuo is in charge of crystal shell procurement. At that time, you’ll just need to notify Aor Shanzhuo, and he can purchase some unique crystal shells for you."

"If you need it, I can give you the list of unique crystal shells."

Angel nodded: "Thank you for that."

Even if he weren’t planning to purchase other crystal shells, seeing what types are available would be nice.

Khuntela immediately began sorting the list of unique crystal shells in his mind.——If it were any other time, these tasks would be Aor Shanzhuo’s job, but now he persistently organized it, making it seem as though he had work to do, avoiding a silent and awkward atmosphere.

About a minute later, Khuntela organized a list, recording all the entries on a withered dragon scale.

This dragon scale was one of his shed scales, cleaned of all related pheromones, leaving only the function of record-keeping.

Moreover, it would be obliterated after a single use.

Angel accepted the dragon scale, sensing that it turned to ash upon his spiritual power probing. The information recorded on it flowed upstream into Angel’s Mind Space along with the spiritual power.

This information arranged itself neatly in Angel’s mind, constructing a list through the Mirage Transformation.

The list recorded over twenty kinds of unique crystal shells.

From top to bottom, it’s sorted by price.

Out of habit, Angel instinctively looked toward the bottom, where the most expensive crystal shell was.

"Pure Rock Crystal Cluster: Amber crystal shell, possessing immense defensive power, one Tor costs fifty thousand crystalline."

A familiar type of defensive crystal shell, familiar "Rock Crystal Cluster", but this time with a "Pure" prefix before it. The price for one Tor skyrocketed from the previously five thousand crystalline, a tenfold increase.

The most expensive is still a defensive type crystal shell; from this, it’s evident that the Crystal Eye Clan’s pursuit of defense far surpasses other effects.

However, Angel is quite curious about what immense defensive power a defensive crystal shell priced at fifty thousand crystalline per Tor would have?

Angel raised his head and voiced his doubts.

Khuntela thought for a moment and said: "The defensive effect of a Pure Rock Crystal Cluster is quite good; if I unleash my full power attack, it would take at least two hits to break through its defenses."

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