Chapter 249: Invitation, an Invitation from the "Golden" Princess
2025-02-23 Author: Amnesty L
Chapter 249: Invitation, an Invitation from the "Golden" Princess
Under the effect of the charm, the hobgoblin sluggishly walked to the center of the magic ritual, where numerous, though not particularly precious, magic materials flickered faintly.
A faint fluctuation of mana entered Tang Zheng's perception.
*Swish!*
With a grasp of his hand, Tang Zheng retrieved the corpse of a manticore, over three meters tall and powerfully built, from his item box and tossed it to the ground. "According to the normal procedure, the monster's corpse needs to be placed within the magic formation as well."
*Pfft!*
With a flick of his wrist, his hand became a blade.
He easily sliced open the manticore's chest, pulled out a blood-drenched heart half the size of a basketball, and tossed it toward the magic ritual.
The hobgoblin raised its densely-haired arm, caught the heart, and droplets of blood trickled through its fingers.
"What happens if the corpse isn't included?"
Tang Zheng was curious, so he had only thrown the crucial heart to the hobgoblin.
The "Wild Transformation" ritual was a rite of power passed down by the Forest Gnomes. First, one had to consume a monster's heart, and then activate the ritual with the monster's corpse.
This would grant the ability to transform into that monster, but at the same time, the "Wild Transformation" skill would be permanently lost, preventing any other transformations. From then on, one could only change into that single monster.
Under Tang Zheng's control, the hobgoblin quickly ate the heart. Its face and chest were smeared with a large amount of blood, giving it a somewhat savage appearance.
"Activate the ritual."
Tang Zheng squatted down, placed his hand on the edge of the magic ritual, and injected his mana into it.
*Thump.*
A vibrant fluctuation of mana emanated from the ritual. A pull, invisible to the naked eye, centered on the hobgoblin, seemingly trying to absorb something.
"Ahhh!!"
The hobgoblin suddenly let out a miserable scream. Its once-thin body began to visibly shrivel, but its head started to change and expand at an astonishing speed, transforming into the head of a manticore.
However.
Just as its entire head finished transforming, the hobgoblin's body looked as if it had been sucked dry, becoming truly skin and bones.
*Bang!*
The next moment, the hobgoblin's body exploded into a blood mist. Severed limbs flew everywhere, and only half of its head crashed to the ground, rolling twice.
This scene left Tang Zheng stunned. He had no idea what had just happened. How did a precious experimental subject die just like that?
"Just one small change had such a huge impact," Tang Zheng's eye twitched.
Logically, the truly difficult part of this magic ritual should be hunting a powerful monster, not the ritual itself.
If Dogan Stone Lizard were still alive, he would probably see this and claim it was the curse of their Forest Gnomes.
But Tang Zheng didn't believe in that!
"Fifth Tier · Raise Dead."
Tang Zheng glanced at the other two hobgoblins cowering in a nearby cage, their faces filled with terror, as he expressionlessly activated the resurrection magic.
The corpse's remains were all there, albeit fragmented, but it could still be resurrected with low-tier resurrection magic.
The level of these three hobgoblins was not high, around fourteen or fifteen. Each could be resurrected three times.
That meant he had nine uses in total.
"I didn't react in time just now. If this happens again, I should use healing magic and a regeneration potion. That should keep it alive."
"That will give me more opportunities for research," Tang Zheng nodded to himself. His words reached the ears of the other two hobgoblins, causing them to tremble uncontrollably.
They looked at Tang Zheng as if he were a demon, letting out sharp, terrified howls.
Unfortunately.
In the depths of the dense forest within the Great Wetland, there was clearly no one to save them.
For the next few days, aside from a trip back to the Royal Capital to specifically arrange for the Green Leaf Witch and Enri to continue selling regeneration potions and purchasing alchemical materials as usual, Tang Zheng remained in the Great Wetland, engrossed in his research.
The "Wild Transformation" magic ritual, based on the current situation, offered no increase in power for Tang Zheng himself.
The reason he valued it so highly was because the ritual showed him a possible way to help the people of this Otherworld break through their level restrictions.
By transforming into a more powerful monster, besides a simple increase in power, would one also inherit the monster's level cap?
Especially with that ancient fire dragon's corpse.
Although the dragon race wasn't considered a type of monster, and it would likely fail, Tang Zheng couldn't help but want to experiment.
...
Upper Water Month, January 5th.
Tang Zheng returned to the Royal Capital. He had more or less figured out the process and hidden restrictions of the "Wild Transformation" magic ritual, so it could be put on hold for now.
Of the three hobgoblins, only one remained, and it had only one resurrection opportunity left.
He had returned to the Royal Capital suddenly.
It wasn't that he wanted to stop, but he was forced to return to handle matters.
He had arrived in the Royal Capital on Lower Earth Month, December 20th. He had now been here for half a month, which wasn't considered a long stay compared to his previous journeys.
Half of his time before had been spent on the road; now that he had mastered teleportation magic, his schedule was much more flexible.
Many plans change with the circumstances.
Without teleportation magic, Tang Zheng would never have put himself in the spotlight so quickly, implementing a plan to exchange "reputation" for "influence."
His current disguise was that of a "genius alchemist" and a "faith-based magic caster." This identity would naturally be used for a long time.
He might even have to use it until after the Great Tomb descended, so the sooner he established it, the better.
In the inn.
The Green Leaf Witch and Enri stood quietly at the door to Tang Zheng's room, waiting.
Enri cautiously glanced at the Green Leaf Witch before quickly looking away, wringing her pale fingers and remaining silent.
Enri didn't find it strange that her lord hadn't appeared much recently. As an alchemist, he enjoyed researching various potions.
During their journey to the Royal Capital, her lord would often stay alone in his tent for long periods. Enri was already used to it.
*Knock! Knock!*
The Green Leaf Witch suddenly raised her hand and knocked lightly on the door.
"Come in," a calm voice came from inside the room.
The Green Leaf Witch gently pushed the door open. Enri's innocent eyes widened as she quickly followed, a look of wonder on her face.
This scene had played out several times before.
Enri simply couldn't figure out how Miss Cui Ye judged when to knock and when to wait outside.
She had been observing carefully just now but had noticed nothing.
"Is it a magic ability?" Enri could only guess.
The Green Leaf Witch, of course, knew that Tang Zheng's true power was in mana-based magic, so mastering fifth-tier "Teleportation" was hardly surprising.
This was also the second identity Tang Zheng had deliberately hidden. This power wasn't without logic or untraceable clues—the Alchemist job was a mana-based class.
It was one of the openings Tang Zheng had intentionally revealed.
Of course, this power would most likely not be needed. "Angel Summoning" alone was enough to solve most problems.
It was a bit quiet.
Enri snapped back to her senses, only to find the Green Leaf Witch frowning at her.
Inside the room, her lord was sitting casually at the round table, stroking a ghoul dog while smiling at her.
"L-Lord, I was spacing out," Enri said, her face turning beet red as she spoke in a small, flustered voice.
"Haha, it's fine."
"You look rather cute when you're lost in thought," Tang Zheng chuckled lightly.
"The items," the Green Leaf Witch said coldly to Enri.
"Oh, r-right here."
Enri quickly pulled two high-quality parchment invitations from her clothes.
They were sealed with wax and bore special patterns resembling a noble's crest or design, looking quite formal. The only difference was the pattern on each.
"The person who fought Miss Cui Ye last time gave me these," Enri handed over the two exquisite parchment invitations.
"Blue Rose?"
Tang Zheng was a little surprised. He casually tore open the invitations to check the information inside. The two different styles of script both possessed a certain elegance.
It seemed both invitations were written by women. One of them even had a faint, unique fragrance.
"Decipher Magic!"
A faint magical light flashed in Tang Zheng's eyes, and the information on the invitations immediately became clear.
This is... an invitation from the "Golden" Princess?
Tang Zheng narrowed his eyes. Neither invitation had much text, but the content was more or less the same. One was from the Blue Rose captain, Lakyus Alvein Dale Aindra, apologizing for the incident with Tina.
The other was an invitation from the "Golden" Princess, which Lakyus had also mentioned. Furthermore, the invitation was not just for him, but for all of Free Will.
To be precise, it included Enri and the Green Leaf Witch.
"Sending the invitation via Blue Rose... I thought she would send Leinas."
"Did she find out about our battle with Blue Rose and make this a last-minute arrangement, or is she trying to flaunt her relationship with them?"
Tang Zheng pondered for a moment, unable to make an immediate judgment.
However, whether it was from Blue Rose, currently the most famous adventurer team, or from Lakyus, who held the status of a great noble, or from the even more famous "Golden" Princess, such an invitation was indeed hard to refuse.
Originally, Tang Zheng had thought the "Golden" Princess would send Leinas and had planned to refuse directly, using the opportunity to openly exchange information with Leinas.
At the very least, Tang Zheng hadn't planned to meet the "Golden" Princess so soon, but if Blue Rose was involved, that was another matter entirely.
He had been thinking of establishing some connection with Blue Rose before leaving the Royal Capital but couldn't find an entry point, especially since they had clashed not long ago.
This was an opportunity.
"Very well."
Tang Zheng's eyes flickered slightly.
"Lord, a short while ago, a noble's carriage delivered several sets of formal gowns," Enri spoke in a small voice, her eyes filled with curiosity.
"We are going to meet the princess tomorrow. Those gowns were prepared for that."
Tang Zheng looked up from the invitations, his gaze falling upon Enri and the Green Leaf Witch—who was also curious but feigning indifference—and spoke softly.
"M-Meet the princess!?"
Enri couldn't help but let out a gasp, as if she had heard something unbelievable.
Since coming to the Royal Capital, she had naturally heard many rumors about the "Golden" Princess. To Enri, it felt like their paths would never cross in this lifetime.
She never expected that, in the blink of an eye, she would actually be meeting the princess!
Enri felt like she was dreaming. Or rather, ever since she started following her lord, all her experiences had felt like a dream.
"Those formal gowns—if you want to wear them tomorrow, you should try them on in advance," Tang Zheng reminded them.
Although he didn't know much about the formal attire of nobles, he knew that such clothing was always complicated to wear. First-timers would definitely need time to figure it out.
And neither Enri nor the Green Leaf Witch would have had any contact with such things before this.
Tang Zheng waved his arm, signaling that the two could leave.
The Green Leaf Witch bowed respectfully and turned to exit the room, but Enri stood in place, looking conflicted.
"What is it? Is something the matter?" Tang Zheng asked.
"Um, Lord, there's a young girl who has been lingering outside the inn. She says she wants to see you."
Enri clutched at her pink dress and mustered her courage to speak.
Tang Zheng had already given instructions long ago that he would not see any outside visitors at the inn. Except for a brief reception for the Rock Squad before the festival, he had not received anyone else.
After all, far too many people wanted to see Tang Zheng.
The profits generated by the "Regeneration Potion" alone were enough to entice most nobles, not to mention the numerous alchemy workshops and potion workshops.
Tang Zheng was confident that his regeneration potions had been studied countless times by these workshops during this period.
Unfortunately for them.
His Regeneration Potions were produced through his level 10 Alchemist class, converted by his [Genius] trait, and a passive ability from his Magic Swordsman class.
No matter how much these people researched it, they would never get any results.
"What, do you find her pitiful?"
Tang Zheng knew that Enri had always been conscientiously following his instructions. The only thing that could make Enri speak up like this was if her compassion had been stirred.
Enri lowered her head.
Tang Zheng didn't speak further. Instead, he stood up, walked to the window, and looked down toward the inn entrance below.
The room he was staying in was in the best location in the entire inn, offering a clear view of the street and the entrance.
A young girl was indeed squatting at the entrance.
Hm?
She looked a little familiar.
Tang Zheng thought back for a moment and remembered who the girl was.
"This is the last time."
Tang Zheng turned back to Enri, then walked toward the door. It wasn't that he was cold-hearted, but he didn't want to waste time on such trivial matters.
"Thank you, Lord!" Enri clenched her small fist and pumped it, her face filled with a happy smile.
At the inn entrance.
The girl with brown hair and a few freckles on her face squatted by the corner of the wall, pulling her clothes tightly around herself.
During this time, she would rush here immediately after finishing her work at the Adventurer's Guild, hoping to wait for that lord to appear. So far, however, she had not seen him.
"You're waiting for me, right?" a calm voice suddenly asked, as a shadow fell over the brown-haired girl.
(end of chapter)