Chapter 2368: Whetstone and Copper Whistle

Chapter 2368: Chapter 2368: Whetstone and Copper Whistle

Dorothy paid no attention to Shard who was speaking in a language no one could understand, and picked up the grey "square stone":

"It’s solid. Let me see what this is... Could it be this? Shard, your friend is really generous.

Although it’s a one-time relic, it’s a genuine Sage-Level relic. ’Gray Mountain Dwarf’s Whetstone’, it’s said that only eight have appeared so far, and this should be the ninth one ever discovered."

Miss Galina, who was inspecting the bronze whistle, also looked over:

"It’s that relic? I remember its trait is to sharpen items with ’piercing’ ability, like knives, swords, spears, and spikes, granting them extremely powerful force. For ordinary items and alchemical items, this enhancement is permanent, and could even potentially upgrade them to relic status."

Humans can’t artificially create any items with Whisper Elements, and clearly, this is done not by humans but by relics creating relic derivatives.

"As for relics, it temporarily bestows power beyond themselves. Although this item is Sage-Level, it can significantly enhance even Angel-Level relics. Moreover, different inscriptions on whetstones represent additional enhancement effects. Dorothy, check what’s written on the back of this whetstone?"

So Dorothy turned the stone over and signaled for Shard to look:

"I don’t recognize the ancient language on it, Shard, you translate."

"Let me see... Cast Holy Cross, Dragon Slayer’s Blade?"

The Duchess continued to explain:

"Based on the traits summarized from the previous eight whetstones, the first half indicates what type of item this whetstone enhances effectively, while the second half is the special enhancement effect. Your translation is definitely correct, so in Dorothy’s hand, this whetstone can maximally enhance weapons related to ’cross’ and impart special effects against ’dragons’."

Equally familiar with the relic’s properties, Dorothy concluded:

"Didn’t you just find a cross sword? It’s that Angel-Level ’Angel’s Right Arm’. Is this relic specifically prepared for that sword? Simply rub it three times, even if ’Angel’s Right Arm’ isn’t Angel-Level (Level 1) but Keeper of Secrets Level (Level 3), its power for a short time could far exceed your ’Night Watchman’."

"Hmm... I feel this whetstone might not necessarily be prepared for ’Angel’s Right Arm’."

Even if ’Angel’s Right Arm’ is strong, it’s unlikely to have significant effects on deities. After all, no matter how powerful a Sage-Level whetstone is, it can’t make a sword have an ’Unclassified Level’ rating.

However, when Shard took the heavy stone from Dorothy’s hand, he had some guesses about its purpose.

The stone was very cold, with words engraved on the back, while the front was used for sharpening. If thrown into a pile of ordinary bricks, its innate antiquity would easily make it recognizable.

The font engraved on the back included not only the suspected Ancient Dwarf Language ’Cast Holy Cross, Dragon Slayer’s Blade’ describing the relic’s traits but beneath this line, there was another smaller one:

"Gray Mountain Dwarf Blacksmith offers quality and affordable products, bulk purchases have discounts."

Shard translated this line for Galina and Dorothy, and they both laughed.

’Ruby’ refers to the Philosopher’s Stone, ’stone’ is the whetstone, but the final blood-red bronze whistle wasn’t a relic, it had no Whisper Element at all.

This is an alchemical item, the Duchess checked it briefly and understood what it was:

"This thing is inexpensive and very common, used extensively for long-distance communication during ancient wars. When you blow it somewhere, the corresponding stone will emit a sharp sound. It’s also used in modern communications but since it’s cheap, its range doesn’t span the entire Old Continent... roughly matching the north-south distance of Tobesk."

"Shard, are you using this whistle to summon Coldwater Port’s mermen?"

Dorothy asked with a smile, the ocean scent on the box and Shard’s return from Coldwater Port both indicated the possible origin of these items. Though she was just guessing, she was quite accurate.

"Yes, these indeed come from Coldwater Port.

I’ve told you, the Ocean Gods and that deity who devours dragons had disagreements over the migration of dragon species, even sparking a Divine War in the ancient Moon Bay Region."

Considering the sealed flesh and divinity of the Nameless Dragon Shard found, and the eventual migration of dragons overseas, it seems the Ocean Gods won.

"The conflict between Ocean Gods and that deity started here, so this time I thought those cultists could also help at Moon Bay."

Actually, Shard was thinking of seeking help from those three evil gods. Just today at arrival in Coldwater Port, a strange figure approached him directly with prepared items. He couldn’t believe this was done by mortals; the three evil gods must have prepared in advance.

However, judging by these three items, the support from them wasn’t as significant as Shard imagined. If all three appeared directly, the matters at Moon Bay would be much easier... But Shard also worried whether they’d leave easily after the Moon Bay battle.

"If this whistle can summon a stinking army of mermen and cultists, Shard, does this mean you’re collaborating with the cult?"

Dorothy asked worriedly again, but Shard seemed indifferent to this:

"When the final day comes, even the power of sin is power."

As for Miss Galina, she didn’t mind Shard cooperating with cultists. After all, the reputation of the Witch Council before Shard appeared wasn’t particularly positive either. She merely joked:

"By collaborating with cultists, you won’t meet the requirements of The Chosen One. That’s very unjust."

"But what is justice?"

This prompted Miss Writer to think:

"If justice is only based on whether one’s friends are cultists, then justice is too cheap... Of course, people whose friends are cultists generally have problems... This theme seems quite interesting, along with the bedtime stories Shard shared with us a few days ago, about the blood-drinking Mrs. Jude, Marquis Mosen, and the Heart of Horse... I’ve got new ideas!"

Suddenly, she kissed Shard on the side of his face, her green eyes seeming to sparkle as the resourceful, blonde-haired, green-eyed girl had new ideas again.

"This situation is really serious this time."

The Duchess didn’t mind that kiss, she continued looking at the items on the table:

"Shard, I know what you’re worried about is the Godfall of that Evil God. Is it possible to prevent Godfall in advance?"

"The Church and we will certainly attempt that, but Galina, let’s think carefully, how many times have we succeeded in preventing Godfall since last year?"

The Red-Haired Witch answered without hesitation:

"Not even once, of course."

After speaking, she shook her head helplessly.

And this time, Shard still believed that the possibility of successfully preventing Godfall was not great, or even very small, because he already guessed the purpose of the Evil God’s Godfall.

The Nameless Firstborn of the Ancient God attempted to acquire power like his father by devouring flesh from the same source of Dragon Blood, and Shard knew this from the moment he received that drop of Divinity (Chapter 2151).

And the Chosen One of Brightness was clearly the existence closest in power to the "Dragon of Radiant Light" back when the Ancient God departed. While the arrival of a god requires people in the Material World to prepare, the key is still the god’s own will. This time, His will for Godfall was much stronger than the previous ones.

In short, Shard placed the three items back into the fishy-smelling suitcase, which he then sent into the Hidden Space in the basement, ready to take out when needed.

Among them, the Philosopher’s Stone had the curious trait of merging with another when two come into contact, but Shard didn’t intend to fuse this Philosopher’s Stone with the leftover one from before.

However, he took the opportunity to compare the amounts of the two Philosopher’s Stones by removing the previous one from the Cross and holding each one in his hands to weigh them, finding that the former was slightly heavier.

A very interesting characteristic of the Philosopher’s Stone is that it cannot be measured in volume or mass by any instruments, and can only be judged by the human body’s perception of approximate amount.

If weighed on a balance, each measurement result would be different; if using immersion in water method via a graduated cylinder to measure volume, it would turn out that the stone’s own volume fluctuates within a large range and doesn’t maintain a stable average.

This "uncertainty" trait has been recorded in the knowledge of Ancient Alchemists, and mentioned in the little Bronze Bell from the Black Mist Camp that recorded knowledge of the Philosopher’s Stone, hence Shard never described the Philosopher’s Stone he possessed using any unit.

The most reliable way to gauge the "quantity" of two Philosopher’s Stones, as Shard did, is just by testing a feel for their weight.

People believe this precious pinnacle of alchemy still contains undiscovered properties. Thus, while storing away the two Philosopher’s Stones, Shard pondered which Ancient Alchemist philosopher could first create such a precious material.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you earlier, last night there was an earthquake at Moon Bay."

This noon, before the Witch left to visit Queen Diana at Yordle Palace, she remembered to notify Shard of this, although compared to other matters in Moon Bay, an earthquake seems relatively minor.

Sending off Miss Galina, Shard then asked Dorothy:

"Even though Luviya and Priest Augustus aren’t in Tobesk, we still need to have the study meeting. How about we stay at home for a while, then leave at one in the afternoon? Last week’s exams just ended, I think the doctor’s side won’t have any major affairs either."