Chapter 667: Chapter 476: Recent Intelligence Summary and the World Heading for Doomsday

"Master, please don’t be angry."

Lillian walked over and gently shook his arm.

"My brother didn’t mean any harm."

"Hmph!"

Master Wendel turned his head away.

Mage Delin looked at his old friend’s state, shook his head, and a helpless smile touched his lips.

He walked over to Wendel, sat down, and poured himself a glass of wine.

"Wendel."

He began to speak slowly.

"Do you really think refusing him was a wise choice?"

"What else?"

Master Wendel retorted irritably.

"Was I supposed to actually agree to stay in this godforsaken place and be his ’Magic Consultant’? If word got out, would we two old geezers have any reputation left?"

"Reputation?"

A meaningful smile played on Mage Delin’s lips.

"At our age, are we still chasing something as empty and illusory as reputation?"

He raised his glass, swirling it gently. The amber liquid sloshed within.

"What we pursue is the truth of the world, the origin of Magic, and that illusory door to a higher plane."

His gaze once again drifted out the window.

"And that workshop is a key."

"A key... that could possibly open that door for us."

Master Wendel fell silent.

Of course, he knew Delin was right.

Phillips’s research notes, especially the concepts of the "Furnace of All Things" and "Alchemy Life," were completely beyond their current understanding.

If they could thoroughly study those things, their Power and their understanding of the world would take a qualitative leap.

It might not even be impossible to cross the chasm to the legendary Tier Seven, the "World Destruction Level."

But...

"But that’s no reason for us to bow our heads to a junior!"

Master Wendel was still being stubborn.

"At worst, we can trade him for it! I refuse to believe that the combined collections of us two old geezers can’t be exchanged for the right to read a few of his blasted notes!"

"Trade?"

Mage Delin laughed.

"Do you think he needs anything we have?"

"Those lost Alchemy Manuscripts..."

Mage Delin paused and pointed out the window.

"The greatest treasure trove is right there. Compared to that, what we have in our hands is nothing but scraps from the table."

Master Wendel’s expression grew even uglier.

"Then... then what do you suggest we do?"

he growled, flustered and exasperated.

"You really expect me to go back and beg that stinking brat?!"

"Of course not."

Mage Delin shook his head.

He set down his glass, looked at his old friend, and said, enunciating each word.

"What young Raylo proposed was a ’cooperation.’"

"He hires us as Magic Consultants, and in return, we gain access to the workshop and permission to study all of its materials."

"This is a transaction."

"A transaction that, on the surface, seems to be to our disadvantage, but in reality, we are the ones getting the better end of the deal."

Mage Delin analyzed.

"Think about it. What does being the Magic Consultant for a territory mean for us?"

"We don’t need to bow and scrape like those Court Mages, always watching what others think."

"We don’t have to handle any complicated political affairs or attend any boring banquets."

"Beyond that, we have absolute freedom."

"And what do we get in return? The entirety of Phillips’s Mobile Workshop, with unlimited research access!"

"Wendel, my old friend."

Mage Delin clapped him on the shoulder.

"To trade a few trivial things, things we can do effortlessly, for a chance to glimpse the truths of a higher plane."

"This deal—isn’t it worth it?"

"All we’re giving up is a bit of that insignificant thing you call the pride of a Legendary Mage!"

Master Wendel was completely stunned.

He stared blankly at Delin with his mouth agape, his mind a chaotic mess.

’It seems... now that Delin’s put it that way... this deal sounds... pretty damn good, doesn’t it?’

"But... but..."

He still couldn’t quite wrap his head around it. "Working for a mere Count, that’s..."

"Who said we’d be his subordinates?"

Mage Delin cut him off.

"We are ’partners’ with that cunning boy. We are his equals."

"Besides..."

A crafty glint flashed in Mage Delin’s eyes.

"Aren’t you curious?"

"Just how many more secrets is this young man hiding?"

"That living Cloud Sea Giant Whale, Phillips’s Mobile Workshop, and that strange Potion that allows an ordinary knight to command Giant Dragon Power..."

"Every time he shows up, he brings us a huge ’surprise’."

"If we stay here, by his side, perhaps we’ll discover even more interesting things, far beyond our imagination."

’He’s right. That kid, Raylo, is like an enigma. A walking mystery, full of the unknown and hidden treasures.’

At that moment, Master Wendel’s resolve wavered.

He glanced at Delin, then at Lillian and Avril, who were watching him with looks of eager anticipation.

Finally, he slapped his thigh hard!

"Let’s do it!"

he said through gritted teeth, as if he had made up his mind.

"But!"

His tone shifted, and that arrogant expression returned to his face.

"We can’t let that brat off so easily! We’re not going to be the ones to go back to him!"

"He has to come and invite us again!"

"And next time, *we* will be the ones setting the terms!"

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