Star Forge Titan

On his way in, he had spotted at least twenty deeply hidden, dangerous traps at a glance. Fortunately, he possessed a pair of "golden eyes" blessed by the great god Odin, which could see through illusions and detect traces of magic.

An ordinary person, no, even an ordinary transcendent, wouldn't necessarily be able to detect the numerous traps surrounding the workshop. Not to mention that besides ordinary and magical traps, there were also some "high-risk" traps constructed using necromancy.

Unlike Elrond, where the outside environment is extremely harsh, necromancy is classified as a "forbidden" technology in the Central Empire of Lind.

However, in response to Ivan's question, the necromancer who was feeding his pet immediately smiled brightly and cheerfully, as if he had heard something happy.

"you guess?"

Chapter 132 Before the Celebration

"Ah, it seems that everything is fine."

Ivan pressed his temples and couldn't help showing a speechless expression on his face.

He thought to himself that this guy was indeed the same person as the skilled traitor in his memory who was so bad that his bones were black and who was particularly good at jumping back and forth.

Even though his personal experience has changed greatly, the black-robed wizard named Kayon Paulus still has a powerful talent far beyond that of ordinary people when it comes to digging holes and trapping people.

If I'm not mistaken, those clustered traps are likely more dangerous than individual ones. This is because, aside from their inherent lethality and sheer number, they also have a hidden chain reaction. In other words, if someone triggers one, it will trigger all the surrounding traps, causing a chain reaction.

Is this something that humans can do?

It’s you, Kayang!

As if he saw something in the other person's eyes, Ka Yang spread his hands with a very innocent look.

"Ah, I just had nothing to do. Considering the safety of the downtown area is not very good, I just took advantage of my free time to make some small rat-catching and burglar-proof gadgets."

This is what a young wizard who graduated from an Elrond undead faction and received a full set of necromancy training said.

A mouse-catching and anti-theft 'gadget' made of magical traps that use negative energy explosions and flame eruptions?

Ivan's eyes twitched, but he didn't say anything more.

He didn't object to Kayon's move. Putting aside the dire environment of the lower city, he considered that Tang and his gang would gradually master the underground rules of the entire area. This problem would soon cease to be a problem.

Apart from those insignificant thieves, what really worries Alvin are the other extraordinary organizations and institutions in Linde.

Having experienced the original plot, he certainly understood that in order to compete for the right to speak in the next stage of the magical engineering revolution, even the originally noble mages and scholars would do some less positive things, or at least test his sudden and powerful competitor to obtain information.

Not to mention some organizations that are not very clean to begin with, using any means necessary is just a common practice for them.

Of course, compared to "using any means necessary", as a former game player, Alvin still has some confidence. Besides, there is a genius in this field around him, right?

Out of caution, he still asked.

"What if the intruder is a rogue who's good at breaking traps?"

"..." Hearing his question, Khayang rolled his eyes and did not explain much, but just whistled softly.

Immediately, a rather unremarkable rat skeleton emerged from the still-uncleared weeds of the courtyard. Only the skeleton remained, its skull engraved with an intricate multi-pointed star array. Under the control of necromancy, it still moved freely as if it were alive.

In essence, this rat skeleton is still a low-level skeleton soldier summoned by necromancy, but because its body volume is much smaller than that of a human skeleton, and Khayon deliberately infused only the minimum amount of negative energy into it, this "skeleton soldier" hardly emits much undead aura that can be sensed by priests and other clergy.

If it lay motionless on the ground, it would most likely be mistaken for an ordinary mouse skeleton.

"It looks like this thing should be enough to be used as a sentry," Alvin guessed casually.

"Sentinel?" Khayon curled the corners of his mouth, then revealed a smile that looked harmless, but contained a lot of malice deep inside.

Then, more than three digits of rat skeletons emerged from various places like garbage dumps, burrows, and bushes. They lay quietly on the ground, like a white, tattered carpet, covering half of the courtyard.

"In a poor place like the Lower City, even the rats are not that big." Khayang sighed. Under his feet was a circle of open space without any rat skeletons.

Alvin looked carefully at the sea of ​​rat skeletons, focusing on the multi-pointed star array above their heads. That was the essence of necromancy, just like a circuit board to modern intelligent machinery, it contained most of the 'spell language' that affected magical effects.

Soon, the black-haired boy's expression turned ugly.

“…Corpse explosion?”

"Oh? Your Highness, do you also research necromancy?" Khayon asked with a chuckle:

"No." Ivan glared at him and gave a direct negative answer.

Someone who had faced the "Skeleton Frenzy" said from personal experience that even if one did not know necromancy, if an undead puppet engraved with the same magic circle hugged them and exploded dozens or hundreds of times, as long as they were not completely killed, they would surely be deeply impressed by the same magic circle.

In the middle of the Skeleton Frenzy, this usage gradually became the standard of Elrond's Undead Legion. Some people even complained that even the cheapest skeleton soldiers would self-destruct. Was the only thing on the minds of those necromancers' minds that only had explosions?

And if I remember correctly, the originator of this tactic was the guy in front of me with a harmless smile.

Good guy, since he didn't have any suitable materials at hand, he just made do with a large number of mouse skeletons.

Judging from the number of them Ivan had seen so far, even if the power of each individual rat skeleton soldier's self-destruction was extremely limited, if they swarmed close to the enemy and self-destructed en masse, it would be like wrapping the enemy in a 10,000-bang firecracker, literally destroying them if not killed.

"It seems that I was worrying too much." Ivan shook his head and continued:

"Since there's no problem with safety, then don't be so withdrawn. Let's go over there together."

"Oh, someone like me is not suitable for that kind of occasion, and I hate children the most." Ka Yang said unhappily with a sour face.

"Really? But I heard from Frey that someone donated a lot of his gray income to the orphanage after the war. Who is this someone?" Alvin asked casually.

"..." Ka Yang's expression froze, and then he raised his hand helplessly and pressed his forehead.

"Don't drag someone who doesn't like socializing to social events."

Looking at the black-robed wizard with a look of disgust on his face, Alvin patted his shoulder and said earnestly:

"Alright, alright, spend more time with humans, or you won't understand the difference between life and death."

"Are you kidding?" Ka Yang stared, feeling that the guy next to him was just talking casually.

Ivan smiled slightly.

"you guess?"

"I don't guess." Ka Yang snorted coldly, but did not refuse again.

"By the way, did I forget something?" Alvin touched his chin.

"By the way, where did Bryant's husky go?" He finally remembered a hired druid whom he had forgotten about.

"That guy said he was going to gather information and complete the druid's daily exercise, but I suspect he was actually slacking off." Khayon said maliciously.

"Druid's daily exercise? Oh, getting close to nature." Alvin showed an understanding expression.

As a druid, even if you don't live in the forest, you still need to get close to the natural environment regularly, otherwise your abilities will decline and your resonance with natural magic will weaken.

"In short, don't stay in the workshop like a otaku." Holding Khayon in his arms, someone who could wrestle with a dragon forcibly dragged him towards the door regardless of his struggle.

"What do you mean by otaku? Hey, I've already told you..."

Amidst the quarrel, the two left the inconspicuous little alchemy workshop in the suburbs on foot.

But under the quiet night sky, new visitors soon arrived.

"Oh? The defense is pretty tight."

Stuart, the vicious wanderer nicknamed Blood Ghost, sneered.

"But a few traps can't stop me!"

Chapter 133 After the Celebration

"Children, go wash your hands and get ready for dinner."

In Marilyn's orphanage, the chubby Sister Teresa knocked on the big stew pot with a big iron spoon and shouted with a smile to the children who were surrounding Kayon and begging him to perform another magic trick.

"What a surprise! I didn't expect this guy to be so popular with kids." A strange smile appeared on Ivan's face.

A few minutes ago, he brought Khayon, who looked very happy (not so happy), to the orphanage.

Diana, who had returned a long time ago, was helping Sister Theresa prepare dinner. Although it was a celebration, everyone in the orphanage was used to being frugal, so the whole party was still very simple, with only a few cheap, delicious, and generous dishes prepared for the children.

However, today, Dear Don had his men deliver a batch of supplies. Besides easy-to-eat staples like wheat flour and potatoes, they also included sugar and butter, which were rare in the downtown area. Therefore, in addition to the cheap, delicious, and plentiful dishes, Sister Theresa also prepared some unusual delicacies.

So much so that, smelling the fragrance wafting from the kitchen, the children, wearing patched but very clean old clothes, all started talking incessantly, their noses twitching, with an impatient look on their faces.

When Alvin and Kayon came over, butterbeer was being made in the kitchen. This drink, made with brown sugar, butter, light cream and ginger beer, has a very low alcohol content and a sweet taste like melted toffee, so even children can drink a large glass of it.

It is also because of this that when making butter beer, a sweet and greasy smell wafts out through the gap in the door that is not closed tightly.

Ah, that kid over there is drooling on the ground...

Ivan twitched his lips, suppressing the uncontrollable smile in his heart that a non-professional could not help but smile.

"I'll go to the kitchen to see if there's anything I can help with. You, uh, look after the child?" The black-haired boy looked at Ka Yang uncertainly.

"...Asking a necromancer to take care of the child is truly remarkable, Your Highness. This is a truly innovative idea." The necromancer, who habitually wore black robes, rolled his eyes and said sarcastically:

"Ha." Alvin slapped him into the group of children, then strode into the kitchen. He was not angry at all.

Behind him, he heard the children screaming, "The bad wizard in black robes is coming!", and Kayon said, "The bad wizard is going to perform magic, are there any bad kids who want to watch it?", followed by a series of "I want to watch it" shouts.

"What? Isn't this a good way to take care of children?" Alvin shrugged.

Entering the kitchen, he saw Diana standing over a large pot, seasoning the food. The short-haired girl had rolled up her sleeves, revealing her slender, fair arms. The steam rising from the pot brought a blush to her usually expressionless face.

"Ladies, how can I help you?" Ivan knocked on the door frame and asked with a smile:

"Just don't make things worse." Diana blushed and quickly glanced back at him, muttering softly:

"Great, here comes a spirited young man! Go to the warehouse and get a bag of flour. The one in the kitchen is almost gone." Sister Teresa ordered without hesitation.

In the kitchen, she was the generalissimo, able to lead Diana and several older children to prepare delicious dishes in an orderly manner. Not far away from her was old Patton, who was peeling potatoes.

Although he was sitting on a low bench, curled up in front of a pile of potatoes, this old man with a story in his heart smiled as happily as if a flower had bloomed on his face.

"I'll follow your orders." Alvin saluted with a smile, turned around and went to the warehouse.

When passing by the yard, he saw Khayon using the low-level spell 'Mage's Hand' to control two toys to fight each other, and from time to time he used zero-level tricks such as color-changing lighting to increase the holy light effect. As for the sound effects, they were naturally handled by low-level spells such as 'Illusion Sound'.

It seems that with this skill alone, this guy who is a necromancer but is very good at taking care of children will never starve to death anywhere.

Soon, dinner was ready. Sister Teresa banged on the pot and asked the children to sit down one by one, then began to distribute the food.

As for the prayer before the meal, oh, although it is only two sentences, I believe that the Almighty Heavenly Father should have received it.

Moreover, considering that he had neither come down to distribute the food nor helped with the cooking, the children were mainly grateful to Sister Theresa.

"To celebrate Diana's winning the right to participate in the Youth Magic Car Competition, let's toast!" Sister Theresa raised her glass of water and said loudly:

"Cheers!" The children cheered and raised various small cups filled with sweet hot butterbeer.

The celebration began with a sip of sweet butterbeer.

"It smells good." Khayon shrugged and muttered. Then, just as he picked up the spoon, the stack of 'big-mouthed pies (a kind of pie made with lard and minced meat)' on the plate in front of him was snatched away by a big hand and a bunch of small hands. Only a small half piece of pie was left, which broke apart and flew into his head with a 'pop' sound.

The former comes from a group of northern barbarians with outstanding physical qualities, while the latter is a group of agile little orphans.

The fierce competition for food began, and contestant Kayang was quickly defeated due to his huge disadvantages, including his bite strength. Even little Betty, who had previously served as a guide for the two, was better than him. Even his dessert was "snatched away by the tiger's mouth" and became a reward on someone else's plate.

Although it is called a dessert, it is actually just a small piece of bread filled with raisins.

But even so, faced with the small bread that only had a few more raisins than ordinary bread, the children still happily shouted words like "We have cake to eat today."

Considering that fruit vendors in downtown areas openly sell spotted or even rotten fruits and still attract large crowds of buyers, a few raisins are indeed a rare "luxury" for children.

After eating and drinking, Khayon performed a play for the children with toys as actors. The content was a story about a barbarian demon king from the north who was fooled by the brave and fearless little wizard with his wisdom and finally defeated.

The children in the orphanage were all laughing so hard that they fell down, while the prototype of a certain big devil from the north watched the whole thing with a sullen face.

then……

“Only dogs run!”

"Only dogs chase!"

On the way back, Khayon ran in front with his five fingers together and swung his hands quickly in the shape of a knife. Behind him was a northern barbarian who was running very fast even though he was holding the potato pie that Sister Theresa had stuffed for them as breakfast for tomorrow.

When they were almost in front of the workshop, Khayon suddenly frowned and stopped, but Ivan showed no surprise on his face.

"Wait, there's a smell of blood." The necromancer sniffed and whispered:

"Ah, I smell it too." Alvin nodded.

Then, they saw that the door of the workshop, which had been locked, had burst open, and a figure covered in blood was struggling to crawl out.

There was hardly a piece of intact flesh on his body, but he was not dead. Instead, he exuded a negative energy unique to necromancy.

Moreover, this aura is still growing stronger.