Chapter 242 - Arrival (2/2)
”Hmm…” Although Argentum knew what he was going to do with Blob, he still put up the facade of contemplation. It was only after a few seconds of this facade did he answer with a light chuckle, ”I have a better idea than that.”
”System, keep Blob inside,” he soon said in a serious yet playful tone, which elicited Blob to tilt his head in slight confusion.
Whoosh!
Not long after, a wave of white energy soon enveloped Blob before he disappeared from Argentum's field of vision. In response to that, Argentum took in a few deep breaths before asking in his mind, ”Hey, Blob! Can you hear me?”
”Eh? Where did you take me, Argentum?” Soon after, Blob's voice resounded in his mind, making Argentum lightly chuckle. He then responded to Blob's query, saying, ”You're inside a special space wherein only I can take you out of it.”
Just as Blob was about to ask why Argentum would do that, Argentum continued, ”The reason why I did this is that I've decided to have you keep me company while I'm traversing the Azure Shores. I can't let myself be weaker than my companion, now can I?”
Blob went silent after hearing that, before letting out a loud cackle that resounded in Argentum's mind. He then said, ”Alright, then. Whenever you want to talk to me, I'll always be here. This place ain't half bad, to be honest.”
After that, Argentum's companion went fully silent, allowing Argentum to take in the surroundings of the area he was going to enter. Letting out a long sigh a few seconds later, Argentum then said to himself, ”Time to enter the Azure Shores!”
Step! Step!
”Damn that's cold!” Argentum had just taken a few steps inside the Azure Shores, but his body was instantly pervaded by an aura of frost, giving Argentum the feeling that he was inside a large block of ice. Fortunately, unlike the aura of intense heat that the Inferno Plains radiated, which damaged Argentum from time to time, this aura of frost was just a slight nuisance to Argentum. It only took a few minutes or so for Argentum to become acclimated to the frigid winds blowing throughout the Azure Shores.
After that, he commanded the system to open up a map, zooming into the Azure Shores afterward. He then zoomed in and zoomed out of the map a few times to assess where he currently was. Finding out his exact position about a couple of minutes later, he then marked a path that led to the place he told Eleanor before he left the Inferno Plains, the Grand Blue Inheritance.
Remembering what he had done in the Inferno Plains before entering the Flame Spirit Inheritance, Argentum could not help but let out a small chuckle. He then activated [Zephyr Burst Alpha], a stronger movement boosting spell he had obtained from [Intermediate Tempest Magic++], and [Zephyr Ascendance+], but at the Artisan level of mastery.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Thanks to his new and improved movement boosting spells, he was able to traverse the Azure Shores at far greater speeds than when he was in the Inferno Plains. He presumed that with these spells activated, he could move faster than Blob. Then again, he did not know whether that was true or not. Blob was only at Level 1. He still had tons of room for improvement.
”Fortunately, I can focus on heading towards the Grand Blue Inheritance this time, instead of taking a small detour to obtain a resistance skill to the Water element,” Argentum muttered to himself as he continued to traverse the area's terrain. Surprisingly, with his current speeds, he had arrived in front of the Grand Blue Inheritance within an hour. As to why, unlike the Flame Spirit Inheritance, which was located near the center of the Inferno Plains, the Grand Blue Inheritance was located in an area not far from the center of the Azure Shores, but not far from the boundary of the area as well.
After arriving in front of the Grand Blue Inheritance, the first thing Argentum did was to take a good look at the place, cross-referencing it with the memories Aurus had of the place. He then let out a soft snigger as he said, ”Just like the Flame Spirit Inheritance, the Grand Blue Inheritance maintained the same appearance. It still looks as imposing as ever.”
Unlike the Flame Spirit Inheritance, which was housed within a charred abandoned building, the Grand Blue Inheritance was housed within an exquisite castle made out of ice. The spires adorning the top of the castle radiated rays of various colors as the sun's rays hit them, giving the castle a majestic and ethereal feel.
Taking in a deep breath, he then recalled the code phrase Eleanor whispered to him before he left the Inferno Plains. To be honest, Argentum did not know why Eleanor told him that it was a code word if it was actually a string of words in reality. He decided to think that it was just done to mystify the importance of it. After recalling it, he then pondered over Aurus's memories regarding the Grand Blue Inheritance.
”Now that I think about it, with the code phrase given by Eleanor, the layout of the trials might change,” Argentum said to himself in contemplation. He then shrugged his shoulders before saying, ”Ah well. Still a good reference nonetheless.”
Step. Step. Step.
As he continued to mutter to himself in contemplation regarding the Grand Blue Inheritance, he gradually made his way towards the gates of the ice castle. After doing so, he then placed both of his hands on the gate, feeling a strong chill pervade his body in an instant.
Rather than resisting this chilly feeling, Argentum decided to circulate the energy inside his body in a way that mimicked the chilly aura. A few seconds later, a layer of frost soon enveloped his body, which then shattered into pieces like broken glass a few seconds later.
Whoosh!
Accompanying the sound of shattering glass, Argentum's body had instantly disappeared from the gates of the ice castle, heading towards the start of the Grand Blue Inheritance.