Chapter 11: Ring and Canvas
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Finally, the Leviathan Gorilla had given up all its dignity as a level-eight magical beast. Its cries were full of pleas for mercy; it hunched and bowed with hands folded in front, all but kneeling on the ground giving kowtows to Lin Li.
“This darned gorilla actually knows to surrender seeing that it can’t win the fight?” It was an eye-opener for Lin Li. No wonder Andoine had said they were merely a bunch of troublemakers, drawing circles on faces if they won and begging for mercy on the floor if they lost. Was this really a level-eight magical beast?
Lin Li was rendered powerless facing a rascal like this.
Lin Li was naturally unwilling to let it off this easily. But it’d be meaningless to kill it as well. Lin Li racked his brains over and over, and felt as if his head was about to explode. The anger that stemmed from his frustration was instinctively released on the gorilla, and this time the guy did it without the wind blade. He pulled out a cane and began lashing, cursing as he did it. “This one’s for the kidnapping and blackmailing! This one’s for smashing me with the coconut! This one’s for the queer laughter directed at me! Right… Where was I? Forget it, let’s start all over… This one’s for the kidnapping and blackmailing…
The incessant beatings raining down on the Leviathan Gorilla had it seeing stars. A mighty level-eight magical beast, when faced with the cane, did not even dare to shun it. Lin Li finally stopped the beating resentfully when his arms started to turn weak. The poor Leviathan Gorilla was beyond trampled, burying its head into the ground.
McGrenn and Ina watched, dumbfounded. They had formed some idea of Lin Li’s abilities along the way and knew he was a powerful mage, but they had never imagined him to be this powerful. The scene of the infinite wind blades attacking made them feel as if they were in a dream.
McGrenn was considered a veteran adventurer and had come across many mages in his adventures, but he had never seen a mage as perverted as Lin Li. Just the wind blade earlier on was definitely denser than the Leviathan Gorilla’s coconut barrage.
By the time Lin Li had the Leviathan Gorilla rolling on the floor from all the beatings, McGrenn and Ina had turned completely numb. From what they saw, this young mage was a total monster…
“Let’s see if you dare to be arrogant again.” It was only when Lin Li had been satisfied with the lashings that he cast away the cane in his hand. After taking a glance at his surroundings, he motioned at McGrenn and Ina for them to flee the scene.
But the action fell into the eyes of the Leviathan Gorilla, who thought he was going to come back with a different cane. After that fat beating it went through, the gorilla was scared out of its wits. No longer caring about feigning its death, it hastily bounced from the ground and sobbed while begging for forgiveness while pointing to a giant tree in the distance.
“What?”
“Wooo wooo!”
“Wooo? For what?” Lin Li kicked the Leviathan Gorilla in annoyance, his eyes following the direction its finger indicated. “Surely you didn’t have a pretty Leviathan Gorilla hiding there, now preparing to offer her to me?”
“Woooo…”
“Do you not know something else other than sobbing?”
“Woooo…”
“…”
Lin Li couldn’t stand this gorilla that only knew how to whine, so he followed its lead to the giant tree for a look.
A thick layer of leaves lay under the giant tree; unlike the rotten leaves in the dense forest, the leaves here were unusually dry and crisp. Some even carried a tinge of green—apparently, someone had just plucked them from the tree.
Not waiting for an instruction from Lin Li, the Leviathan Gorilla swept the fallen leaves aside and revealed a huge and deep hole in the tree.
“Woah!” Lin Li glanced into the tree hole and suddenly felt that the darned gorilla was indeed a genius. It had turned the tree hole into a treasure chest. What was in there included a weaponed armor covered in rust, glistening glass beads, a pile of colorful dyestuff, and even a canvas that was coated with mess.
After all the fuss, this rascal led him here, thinking it had some treasure to offer, but instead he was showed a pile of junk? Lin Li did not know if he should find it funny or feel angry.
He was about to turn and leave when he suddenly felt a faint spell of magic in that mess. This feeling was too familiar to Lin Li. Whether it was the Ring of Endless Storm in his hand, or the Robe of Wrath on his body, they were constantly transmitting a slight wave of magic inadvertently.
“There really is good stuff hidden here?” Lin Li was stunned. Something that could give off a faint spell of magic was definitely something that was not ordinary. Even the staff that old mage had given him was not qualified enough to do it.
Lin Li had no time to deal with the Leviathan Gorilla in his surprise. He bent over in a hurry and began choosing his pick in the tree hole.
His feeling was right. After tearing the colorful canvas away, Lin Li quickly found a ring among the pile of glass beads.
The color and luster of the ring looked rather dull. Though the materials used were unknown, its craftsmanship was delicate and sophisticated. Fine patterns swirled around a black diamond, like a myriad of stars surrounding the moon. The slight magical wave that he felt came from this black diamond.
Lin Li was instantly attracted to the diamond when he first laid eyes on the ring.
It was an almost instinctive intuition. Lin Li knew that this was definitely a powerful magical gear, at least comparable to the Robe of Wrath he was wearing.
“Alright… Since you’re so sincere, then I shall gladly take it…” Lin Li patted the Leviathan Gorilla’s head in a way that looked like he was teasing a child. He was in a fairly good mood, probably due to the acquisition of the ring, and the Leviathan Gorilla did not seem to look as repulsive as it had before.
“Kya kya kya!” The Leviathan Gorilla giggled, looking glad, though it was not known if it was because Lin Li had accepted the ring or because it could finally send the pestilence away.
Lin Li’s mood was lifted with the acquisition of the magical equipment by chance. He had no further interest in making things difficult for the Leviathan Gorilla, so with a kick on its butt, he said, “Scram!”
The Leviathan Gorilla seemed to have received an amnesty while being kicked, and dived into the depths of the forest with a puff.
Lin Li was about to leave after getting the ring when the colorful canvas caught his eyes.
Only then did Lin Li notice that, underneath the mess of dyes, there seemed to be something else.
Feeling somewhat puzzled, Lin Li picked up the canvas.
After a detailed examination of it, Lin Li realized there seemed to be some squiggly symbols on the canvas.
“The High Elves’ print!” Lin Li was taken aback. Andoine had hidden a significant number of spellbooks in that small log cabin of his. Some of were written in the High Elves’ print, but because Lin Li had just been exposed to magic and his foundation was not solid enough, Andoine had never allowed him to touch the stuff.
Lin Li could not understand the texts, but he knew at least that anything that had to do with the High Elves was definitely not something that was ordinary.
So, without any hesitation, he tucked the dirty canvas into his arms.
Cromwell was staring at the bonfire, dazed, when the three of them had returned to the cave.
“Ina!” The zealous mage was surprised seeing McGrenn and his daughter come back in one piece. The monster that had taken Ina was too powerful. It had the speed of lightning, sending him to the ground and snatching Ina away in the blink of an eye. Never had he expected the two of them to bring Ina back safely.
Thinking back to the terrifying monster, he was reminded of his earlier actions—he had fled in panic and left Ina to fend for herself.
For a moment, Cromwell felt his face burn as he stood rooted to the ground. It felt wrong to stand or sit; finally, Lin Li came to his rescue.
“It’s late, everyone should rest early.”