Volume 2 Chapter 58: Favor

“This is Moonlight Grass and Golden Silkworm Dust… and these other two are the heart core and eyeball of some magical creature, right?” Adeline looked at the items Qin Lun handed over and quickly recognized two of them. As for the Gargoyle Core and Magic Eye, she only recognized their general type.

The laws of the Shattered Starry Sky did not allow Apostles to reveal the content of Otherworld Missions to the native Sapient Races. They were constantly monitored through the Apostle Soul Mark. This monitoring did not only affect the Apostle themselves; rather, it locked onto a range of space through the Soul Sigil. The higher the level of the Apostle, the larger this monitoring range.

Therefore, Apostles could not reveal Otherworld Mission content through speech, writing, or hints. Sapient Races also could not obtain Otherworld secrets through external eavesdropping or surveillance. This basically cut off the native races of the Shattered Starry Sky from learning about Other Worlds.

However, compared to the content of Otherworld Missions, the restrictions on Apostles’ equipment items, bloodline skills, and treasure crystals were not as strict. Although Apostles still could not explain these things, the Sapient Races in the Star Void could still learn about the uses and properties of these items through certain means.

This was mainly because the Shattered Starry Sky itself possessed many different civilizations. Much of the equipment, items, bloodlines, and skills that Apostles obtained from Other Worlds had similar versions that could be found in the Shattered Starry Sky.

The equipment and items used by Apostles were also very precious treasures for the Sapient Races in the Star Void. However, apart from the Spiritual Equipment produced by the Shattered Starry Sky itself, most of the high-quality treasures obtained by Apostles from Other Worlds had law restrictions. Except for Apostles, other Sapient Races could not use them.

This could be seen from the fact that Mafa treated a Blue Quality crossbow as a family heirloom.

In ancient times when the Shattered Starry Sky introduced Apostles, some Sapient Races planned to obtain the god-and-demon-level bloodlines of Apostles through marriage. However, the Law Bodies of Apostles seemed to be restricted by the Shattered Starry Sky in some way; they could not produce offspring with the native races, causing the plans of these Sapient Races to fail.

As for the skills of Apostles, some of them could indeed be taught to Sapient Races. Yet, a low-level skill that an Apostle could learn just by using one Skill Scroll took other Sapient Races several years or decades to master successfully.

Some High Apostles guessed this might be due to the different principles of body composition. After all, an Apostle’s body was a Law Body, and skills were also a kind of law, easily fused and absorbed by the body. The bodies of other Sapient Races were living flesh and blood; for the laws of skills, they could only fully master and use them through long periods of training and familiarity.

“Yes, that monster heart core and eyeball are equipment materials. If you help me make the Moonlight Grass and Golden Silkworm Dust into medicine, then I will give you these two equipment materials!” Qin Lun showed a harmless, charming smile.

Adeline’s expression turned a bit serious. She silently watched Qin Lun for a long time without speaking.

Only when the young man began to feel somewhat uncomfortable did the beautiful Elf speak softly, “The Moonlight Forest follows the principle of equivalent exchange. We charge a fee for helping Apostles make potions and equipment. Generally, for making low-grade potions and equipment, we take 30% of the materials; for medium quality items, we take 50% of the materials!”

“What about high-quality items then?” Qin Lun’s eyes flashed, and he immediately pressed.

“Our Alchemists and herbalists cannot decipher the principles and laws of high-grade Otherworld treasures. The failure rate for forcibly making high-quality items is very high; occasional successes are just luck. To make high-quality equipment, you must go to a specialized Apostle City. Only there are there professional Apostles who have trained in alchemy skills.”

Adeline brushed aside the hair near her ear and said casually, “Moonlight Grass and Golden Silkworm Dust can be synthesized into a healing ointment, but we lack other supplementary materials. The quality of the eyeball and heart core is not very high, and our Alchemists have limited skill. They will probably only be able to make them into consumable items. If you take them to an Apostle City, you should have a chance to make them into Blue Quality equipment…”

“No need. I’ll leave these things with you. The material fees can also come from this. It’s fine even if they all fail!” Qin Lun narrowed his eyes and said cheerfully, “I am very grateful for the help Moonlight Forest has given me during this time. Even if it’s just to let your herbalists practice with these materials, it should be acceptable.”

The Moonlight Forest implemented the principle of equivalent exchange for Apostles. By helping Qin Lun make potions, they also benefited. The materials they took were like getting a healing ointment for free. Don’t underestimate this one healing ointment; medicine that can heal wounds in just a few minutes during battle is already no less valuable than a small bottle of World Tree Dew.

However, Qin Lun being so agreeable instead made Adeline fall silent. Although she was not as experienced as her father Mafa in receiving Apostles, she still knew that Qin Lun’s current attitude was quite problematic.

An Apostle giving benefits to a Floating City was actually not a good thing for that Floating City. It indicated that this Apostle was repaying the Floating City for favors given earlier.

In Qin Lun’s words, Adeline also heard a strong hint. This young man, who always wore a smile on his face, was hinting that she could take these materials without giving him anything in return.

These medicinal materials and the two equipment materials were even more valuable than the three items Mafa had given the young man. In other words, Qin Lun was using this method to repay the favor from Moonlight Forest and Mafa’s investment.

Adeline wrinkled her delicate little nose and gave Qin Lun a dissatisfied glance. She really did not want to get involved in such matters. However, as Mafa’s daughter, it was only natural for Qin Lun to return the favor to her; she had to make the choice herself.

Taking the materials meant Qin Lun’s bond with the Moonlit Elves would be completely cut off; neither would owe the other anything. It was also possible to keep a portion of the materials as the crafting fee, which conformed to the equivalent exchange principle of Moonlight Forest.

Of course, Adeline had another choice: to increase investment in Qin Lun further, having the Moria family make the ointment and equipment for free. However, Qin Lun’s anticipation for an Apostle City was very obvious; Moonlight Forest probably could no longer retain this Formal Apostle, so this choice was not wise.

“The Moonlight Forest has been out from the Elf continent for a long time and has consumed many resources. We might lack the supplementary materials for making the healing ointment. Could you provide me with some? I will describe the shape and name of these materials to you in detail.” Adeline said with a calm expression.

“Of course!” Qin Lun raised an eyebrow and said meaningfully. Following the Elf beauty’s descriptions, he purchased over twenty types of supplementary materials for making the healing ointment from the material list in the exchange menu. He handed these over to her along with the Moonlight Grass and Golden Silkworm Dust.

“Tomorrow at dawn, Moonlight Forest will return through the Starry Sky Gate. The sight of a large Starry Sky Gate opening is very magnificent. If you are interested, you can wake up early to watch it!” Adeline called out to Qin Lun’s receding back.

Qin Lun did not turn around. He just raised his hand and waved, heading towards the lake-bottom tunnel. The forest was left with only Adeline, who stood there lost in thought.

“Adeline!” Not long after Qin Lun left, a deep, drawn-out voice suddenly reached Adeline’s ears.

“Huh? Lord Fernand? How are you awake? I remember you just entered your long slumber last month!” The Elf beauty turned her head in surprise, looking at the aged face that had suddenly appeared on the trunk of the giant tree.

“That Apostle just now was very dangerous…” The Treant’s pale face, full of cracks and wrinkles, shifted slightly as it slowly spoke.

“How did you… was it the test just now?” Adeline quickly understood, her expression changing.

“Mmm, after that Apostle was anesthetized by the hallucinogenic gas, I sensed a disturbing aura on him… that aura was very dark and evil… You must be careful!” Having warned the Elf beauty, the Treant closed its eyes again.

“A terrifying aura strong enough to wake a Treant from its long slumber… Father, you really found an interesting Apostle!” Adeline cupped her chin in her hands, her eyes sparkling as she gazed into the distance towards the Moonlight Lake.

The next day, Qin Lun woke up very early and headed out of the town with Didi. By the shore of Moonlight Lake, they met the others. Little Lian, Lin Feng, Disciple Hansen and the others were waiting for boat transport. Like Qin Lun, they wanted to go to the small island in the center of Moonlight Lake to watch the opening of the Starry Sky Gate.

“Demon King Qin Lun!” Little Lian waved happily at Qin Lun.

“Boss Qin Lun, you came too!” Lin Feng’s face was still piled with an ingratiating smile.

However, Qin Lun could see that this young master from a noble family was somewhat different from half a month ago; there was more confidence and composure in his eyes.

“Your little sidekick seems to have been working very hard during this time, training desperately and learning Elf combat skills at the academy.” Disciple Hansen had somehow sidled up to Qin Lun’s side and said teasingly in a low voice, his eyes full of mockery as he looked at Lin Feng.

“Everyone has the right to survive. He is not my sidekick!” Qin Lun turned to look at Hansen, then his pupils immediately contracted, and he said inexplicably, “It seems you were very lucky!”

“Oh, you mean this?” Hansen was slightly taken aback, then pointed at his own shoulder, grinning. His eyes flickered as he said, “Didn’t you already have one long ago? Among the four of us, you were the first to have it, right?”

Compared to half a month ago, a Black-Winged Angel “tattoo” had appeared on Hansen’s exposed shoulder. But Qin Lun knew this was not a tattoo; it was an Apostle Soul Mark. Moreover, the fact that it could form a clear pattern of a Black-Winged Angel indicated that Hansen had also obtained special equipment similar to the Death Notice.

“Who are the other two?” Qin Lun smiled noncommittally.

“Haha, I can tell you. The other two are Shepherd Hill and Clown Grant!” Hansen curled his lip towards a corner of the crowd and said disdainfully, “Among the five of us, only Firecracker Rand lagged behind. That coward who relies on bombs to kill people really can’t make it, after all.”

As the two spoke, a small black dot appeared on the lake surface, slowly drifting over from the distance…