Chapter 167 Stalactite Caves
I was somewhat worried about Annie's safety if she ventured too far into the dark cave, but the prospect of following her into an unfamiliar place also made me instinctively more alert, prompting me to take action to stop her.
Just in case, I had Hikari tap the shadow at her feet. After a few moments, I saw An, who had barely woken up from her sleep, yawning as she poked her head out from between the bushes.
She hadn't even fully opened her eyes yet; what enviable quality of sleep!
After explaining the current situation to her and pointing in the direction where Shenxue and the others had stopped, I watched An disappear into the swaying shadows and flee into the distance. After a few breaths, I let Hikari follow and slowly stepped into the cave.
The good news is that it's not the kind of dark, damp, musty, smoky, or miasma-filled, stagnant environment you'd expect.
Although the entrance to the cave was extremely narrow and dark when we first entered, it was just the right size to allow an adult male to crouch down and pass through with a little room. In addition, the surroundings were illuminated by condensed fireballs that only emitted warm light and did not emit a single spark. After carefully avoiding a few bumps and knocks, we did not encounter much trouble on our subsequent journey.
I wonder if Miyuki and the others who followed later will also have such a smooth experience.
Although I had thought of leaving them something for illumination, the gaps in my pocket were not something I could easily open in my current state, so in the end I could only try to drop a condensed fireball every now and then to indicate the way.
Hopefully, these magical artifacts can last a little longer.
After passing through the last narrow gap, Hikari and I couldn't help but look up, then peer into the depths, and exclaimed in unison.
Before venturing deeper into the cave, we all assumed that the faint light at the end of the narrow passage—or more accurately, the cracks formed by natural fissures—was from a large number of artificially placed luminous objects, or perhaps from outside light that had simply been brought in through the stone wall above us. We never expected it to be this thing.
The overall color is white but leans towards grayish-yellow, with subtle, misty patterns, resembling an upside-down, hanging bamboo shoot. It exhibits a relative growth pattern, a slightly cool and damp feel to the touch, and a subtle sheen when exposed to light...
If I am not mistaken, this is undoubtedly a stalactite that is rarely found even in some mountain caves.
"It looks like a relatively growing, snow-white forest."
Hikari offered her comments earnestly, reaching out to hold the hem of her sweater to prevent it from touching the nearby stalagmite.
She paced back and forth among them with some concern, asking me, "Mr. Yumi, do you recognize this? What is it? Is there anything I need to be aware of?"
Even though stalactites are a rare sight, I've heard that a few have been found in some hidden restricted areas. I thought she might have seen them when she was out with Yao and the others.
My mind raced, and I hopped onto Hikari's shoulder and squatted down. I pointed forward with one paw and began to explain methodically: "These are stalactites, special substances formed after a very long chemical reaction. You can think of them as a relatively fragile stone, the kind that can be easily broken with a little force... but you don't need to be so careful."
I watched with amusement as Hikari suddenly tiptoed and walked slowly across the ground not covered by stalactites. I couldn't help but chuckle: "The environment you see in front of you is basically covered by stalactites. The ground is very slippery. You should indeed be careful, but you shouldn't just pay attention to the environment. You should also pay attention to the safety of your footing."
"The shapes of these stalactites are not entirely the same. The most common types are stalagmites, columns, and curtains. Columns are formed by the fusion of stalagmites over a long period of time. These are the pairs of opposite stalagmites you see in front of you. You will rarely see these kinds of columns in caves that are less old."
“Occasionally, alchemists would offer high prices for stalagmites. As far as I know, they seem to be looking for the stalagmite’s interior, the kind of chalcedony that is like paste or milk.”
"Huh?" Hikari tilted her head slightly. "Is chalcedony rare? Is it valuable?"
"It's not that rare, but rather that very few people would bother to collect it."
I scratched the back of my itchy ear: "Moreover, the growth time of this thing is very likely longer than the existing recorded history, but the magical power it contains is surprisingly little, and once it's broken, it's gone. The next time you want to obtain it, you either have to go to a different place, or you can only wait until the next era when it grows back to the specified length."
The silly boy's hand, which he had stretched out halfway, froze, and he awkwardly withdrew it.
"Mr. Yumi...don't you need it?"
I tilted my head in confusion: "No, I'm not the kind of alchemist who's fanatically obsessed with studying alchemy. The value of this stuff to me is closer to 'Ah, I actually managed to collect this rare stone marrow,' and then I just fix it in its original state, make it into a specimen, and put it on the materials shelf in the workshop as a collection."
"And you see, I rarely even go to the workshop my mentor gave me, unless it's absolutely necessary."
Basically, if it weren't for the fact that I had to complete my chosen graduation project and needed to use the workshop's experimental equipment to make auxiliary tools and media, I probably wouldn't have even stepped into the workshop for the previous two weeks.
I'm not particularly interested in alchemy. My attitude towards it is at most that I've learned the necessary knowledge to reduce travel time. Troublesome things can be solved by making a special trip to the store. That's why, when I discovered that Rhodes was selling perfume made from a formula I casually mentioned, I didn't choose to make it myself but instead tried to ask him for royalties.
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