867 The City in the Sky (2/2)

”That's basically everything. Douglas, Fernando, prepare yourselves. We'll go to Allyn tomorrow.” Arnold nodded his head.

...

The sky seemed to have been burnt up by a fire, and the earth was red but dim. Arnold, Douglas, and Fernando had transformed into fat rats that were common on this plain, running among plants and rocks.

This was a plain northwest of Rentato. It was surrounded by mountains, with a lot of villages scattered on it. It did not look like a place where the stealthy sorcerers would hide at all.

”When the City in the Sky collapsed, it caused a huge hole at the foot of the mountain and an earthquake that buried itself. Therefore, it's actually below the ground at the edge of the plain.” Arnold introduced the location of Allyn to Douglas.

Douglas, who was currently a chubby gray-haired mouse, said through the telepathic bond, ”It must've been badly ruined, hasn't it?”

”Yes. The central alchemical lives are all gone. There is no intact building in it right now…” Fernando spoke instead of Arnold. He was now a red-eyed delicate mouse.

The three rats went deep into the ground along with the real mouse nests. Surpassing many obstacles, they reached the underground channel that the Union of Sorcerers established earlier.

Thereafter, they turned back into human beings and walked down the road that was made of giant stones. There were no commonly-seen murals and patterns on the wall but only uneven rocks.

As he walked, Douglas came to a sudden stop and looked ahead in fascination. He saw something magnificent that was squeezed by mud and rocks.

It was very enormous and made up an upside-down mountain, with a pointy bottom and a flat top. Many symbols were embedded in it in the most astounding way.

However, the magic towers above its surface had all collapsed. Even the best preserved ones had only three to four floors left. Also, deep cracks could be found on the main body, almost penetrating through it.

”Is this the City in the Sky…” His eyes full of passion, Douglas remarked in mixed feelings.

Arnold allowed him to watch for a while and said, ”I'll talk to the leaders of the other magic organizations first and try to reach a common understanding before the meeting. You can go around and make acquaintance with the sorcerers of other groups.”

At this moment, the members of the other magic organizations had come, which kept the sorcerers of the Union and their families who lived in this base rather busy. Of course, the sorcerers in the senior rank and above were all hiding around and entered the place with simulated images in case it was the Union's trap. It was already their habit to be cautious.

”Alright.” Douglas nodded his head and flew to the City in the Sky that had fallen to the bottom of the ground with Fernando.

After he landed on it, Douglas realized that the sorcerers of the Union had already established and repaired some of the uncomplicated buildings. Also, since plenty of sorcerers from other organizations had come, a market had spontaneously formed at the central square, where everybody exchanged their magic models, knowledge, materials, resources, potions, and recipes.

”Hello, gentlemen, would you like the modified Malzman that I invented recently? It can stimulate the soul effectively and increase the speed of the spiritual power's recovery.” Because Douglas and Fernando were standing at the edge of the market, a plain-looking young sorcerer stood up and promoted his alchemical product with a smile.

Malzman was a legendary sorcerer who invented a potion that could help with the growth of spiritual power.

Hearing that, Douglas turned around curiously and stared at the bubbling blue drug. ”How much can it increase?”

”It varies between 1% and 5% for different people. I'd tried hundreds of different ratios before I finally came up with this improved recipe by accident,” the young sorcerer said proudly.

Nodding his head, Douglas asked cautiously, ”Then why is your modification able to improve the effect? What's the mechanism behind it?”

The young sorcerer's expression immediately darkened. ”Only real customers are welcome here!”