Volume 2 Chapter 16: Gargoyle Core
Volume 2 Chapter 16: Gargoyle Core
“Father, you…” The tall and handsome blonde young man Bonnie called out hesitantly from behind.
“Doctor Stan, who can cure the epidemic disease, will eventually come into contact with all of this!” Baron Albert waved his hand towards Bonnie. “You come too, we might need your strength!”
Bonnie’s lips moved a couple of times, but in the end he did not try to persuade further and silently followed the two.
Baron Albert led Qin Lun and Bonnie to the main keep hall, pushed open a secret door at the back of the hall, revealing an underground passage.
Qin Lun’s eyes flickered. He moved his right hand behind his back, and Sin slipped from his sleeve into his palm. Before understanding the Baron’s intentions, necessary precautions were needed. The three walked along the passage for a while and arrived at a spacious basement.
The basement was square-shaped, with bright corridor lamps lit around. Some swords and chain maces hung on the walls, and in the center was a waist-high stone platform. The gargoyle Qin Lun saw last night was curled up, lying on it. To his surprise, this gargoyle had actually turned into real stone, unlike last night when it was a moving creature.
“Is this the little demon statue from the stone bridge?” Qin Lun frowned and asked.
“No, this is the real culprit that attacked your attendant! It is a magical creature, called a gargoyle!” The old Baron stared intently at Qin Lun, trying to see something on his face.
“Your Lordship, I must say, your joke is not funny. There is no magic in the world, let alone magical creatures!” Qin Lun said stiffly, his face expressionless.
“Hehe, Doctor Stan, you are the most skilled doctor I have ever met in medicine. But in life experience, please believe an old man like me, this world is not as simple as you imagine!” Seeing Qin Lun’s reaction, the old Baron smiled and shook his head.
“I heard that on the other side of the continent, someone has invented a huge jet-powered iron cart that can move on its own without horses or human force. Perhaps with the development of so-called science and technology, some ancient historical truths are moving further away from us. But now, some ancient noble families on the continent still guard certain historical secrets, and the Albert Family is one of them.”
“This… gargoyle is really a kind of magical creature? Not a beast, nor a stone statue?” Qin Lun asked in surprise, touching the gargoyle’s already hardened bat wings.
“If you still don’t believe, I will prove all this to you!” The old Baron nodded towards Bonnie who was standing quietly nearby.
Bonnie grinned at Qin Lun, turned and walked to the corner, taking down a fearsome-looking mace.
“Please step aside a bit, Doctor Stan!”
Qin Lun complied and stepped back a few steps. He saw Bonnie raise the mace high and smash it down hard onto the petrified gargoyle. Immediately, fragments of stone flew around the basement, and the gargoyle was slowly smashed into a pile of rubble.
“Doctor Stan, come look!” After Bonnie finished smashing, the old Baron stepped forward, fumbled in the rubble, found a small stone emitting red light, and handed it to Qin Lun.
Qin Lun’s heart stirred. He took the stone. This stone was shaped like a baby’s heart, red and translucent as if containing flowing magma inside. Holding it in his palm, it felt warm and very comfortable.
“Apostle 70053, you have made first contact with a Gargoyle Core. This item belongs to an Other World magical item, categorized as equipment material and elemental energy. It satisfies Article 320 of the Shattered Laws, unlocking the Law Item Exchange List!”
“Note: Apostles can view the Law Item Exchange List through the Soul Mark. Apostle 70053, your Soul Mark is connected to the special equipment ‘Death Notice’. You can directly query it in the ‘Death Notice’!”
Qin Lun raised an eyebrow. He still could not control the Death Notice freely. Now was not a good time to check the exchange list, so he temporarily put aside the content of this prompt.
“Is this the gargoyle’s heart?” Qin Lun looked curiously at the Baron and his son.
“This is called a Gargoyle Core. It is a magical item made by wizards, specifically used to drive gargoyles.” The Baron and Bonnie exchanged a smiling look, and Bonnie explained, “Doctor Stan, do you believe us now?”
“It’s really unbelievable. Such a small thing can make a heavy stone statue become a moving creature?” Qin Lun turned the Gargoyle Core over and over fondly, looked up and asked, “Can I keep it?”
“Of course. Your attendant hunted this gargoyle, so it naturally belongs to you!” The old Baron smiled and nodded. “Let’s go back upstairs. The basement is not a good place for conversation. I believe you must still have many questions!”
“Your Lordship, are you willing to tell me about those… historical truths from distant times?” Qin Lun’s eyes flashed as he asked cautiously.
“Doctor Stan, originally I should not tell you these things. The Albert Family has guarded this land for hundreds of years. But we are helpless against the epidemic disease currently happening in the Aodia Region. You are the only doctor who can solve this problem. We must have your assistance!” Baron Albert said with a smile.
“Now it only depends on your own will. Are you willing to accept the guidance of the Albert Family and become a member of the Demon Hunter faction? If you are unwilling to see another dangerous world, then we will not tell you anything more, and please keep everything you know now a secret. As for the epidemic disease, we will try to repay you in the form of money.”
“Please give me some time to consider!” Qin Lun said hesitantly.
“As you wish!” Baron Albert and Bonnie exchanged a glance, smiled slightly and bowed.
After the three returned upstairs, the Old Butler Jason found Qin Lun.
“Doctor Stan, your attendant has woken up!”
Qin Lun’s eyes flashed. He immediately followed the Old Butler to Frank’s room. Baron Albert and Bonnie did not follow, knowing the master and servant probably had things to talk about.
“Why did you linger outside for so long? Do you know you lost a lot of blood? The situation just now was very dangerous!” After the Old Butler left, Qin Lun looked sternly at the Hunchbacked Servant.
“Young master, I just wanted to arrive later, to make you seem less suspicious!” Frank muttered sheepishly.
“You still shouldn’t joke with your own life. Don’t be so reckless in the future. If you die, where would I find another suitable attendant?” Qin Lun said sternly with a straight face.
“Understood, young master!” Frank grinned. “They don’t suspect us, do they?”
“Probably not.” Qin Lun smiled slightly. “You almost died. They wouldn’t guess you were hiding outside for so long, so naturally they wouldn’t think that we actually acted together.”
“By the way, young master, this is for you.” The Hunchbacked Servant took out a small cloth bundle from his chest and handed it to Qin Lun.
Qin Lun casually took it, opened the small cloth bundle, and saw inside was a somewhat old brass pocket watch.
“I used the money you gave me to redeem it back. The Stan family heirloom shouldn’t be lost outside so easily!” Frank grinned widely and laughed happily.
Qin Lun looked at the old pocket watch in his hand, his eyes flickering slightly. He remembered the scene when he first entered this world and saw the hunchbacked ugly man in the cemetery.
A ragged, gravely ill, yet desperately trying to give his dead master a decent funeral, ugly servant appeared in his mind again, slowly overlapping with the hunchbacked ugly man who fought the gargoyle fearlessly last night.
A strange feeling welled up in Qin Lun’s heart. The warm, pleasant smile on his face slowly faded, replaced momentarily by a cold, emotionless expression like that of a corpse. However, the Serial Killer’s truest inner emotion revealed itself for only an instant before being replaced again by a smile.
He stood up, put the pocket watch into his coat pocket, and patted the hunchbacked servant with a smile.
“Rest well and recover from your injury as soon as possible!”
After leaving Frank’s room, Qin Lun immediately returned to his own room, leaning back in his chair, closing his eyes in contemplation. First, he reviewed all his actions and words from last night until now. Finding no major flaws, he calmed his mind and summoned the Death Notice.
The Death Notice’s data originally only had three categories: Law Body Overview, Equipment Slots, and Storage Space. But now there was an additional category: “Exchange List”.
Qin Lun focused his attention and opened the Exchange List. He found that most entries here were grayed out, their contents invisible. Currently, only two major categories were lit up: one was Equipment Materials, and the other was Crystal Energy.
In the Equipment Materials category, only the Gargoyle Core appeared, with a purchase price of 500 Fragment Crystals noted behind it, and a selling price of 100 Fragment Crystals, a difference of five times directly.
The Crystal Energy category had two entries. One was the Gargoyle Core, with the same prices. The other entry was Soul Power Crystal, with a purchase price of 10 Fragment Crystals and a selling price of 2 Fragment Crystals.
Qin Lun’s heart stirred slightly. He focused his consciousness on the newly appeared name “Fragment Crystal”. The Death Notice immediately gave a detailed introduction of Fragment Crystals.
Fragment Crystals are semi-materialized forms of the basic World Law of the Shattered Starry Sky. These crystals exist between physical and virtual states and are the basic currency specifically provided by the Shattered Starry Sky for Apostles to use in transactions. Except for Apostles who possess a Soul Mark, other life forms in the Shattered Starry Sky and Other Worlds can neither see nor touch them.
Qin Lun pondered for a moment. The Exchange List definitely couldn’t have only this little. Perhaps he hadn’t met certain restrictions yet, which was why only this little was displayed.
At this time, in another room in the castle, several others were also thinking and discussing softly.
“Gargoyles? You’re sure these things have appeared again?”
“Yes. Although this gargoyle is crudely made, the basic principles are the same. It’s very likely…”
“The Millennium Contract has only passed one third of the time…”
“What should we do?”
“Gathering the descendants of Demon Hunters takes time. Besides, the situation isn’t clear enough now. First, send someone to scout the outskirts of Maiar.”
“Then… do you agree to let Doctor Stan join the faction?”
“That person? Take him along!”
“But he’s just an ordinary person?!”
“Hehe, take him. You will understand…”