Inside the workshop
The sultry air that was inconsistent with the night rushed out from the crack of the door, ruffling Ximu's hair and hinting at the rough atmosphere of this place that was completely different from other places.
There is no ambush at the door?
Compared to Ximu's cautious reluctance to enter, Sorens seemed to be much more relaxed.
Judging from his expression, the high temperature and the sounds of labor should be the norm here, and this familiar feeling visibly relieved much of his tension.
"Most of the first floor is the forging area, so the temperature is always quite high," he explained. "There's really not much light at the door, but it gets a lot brighter as you go inside."
As he spoke, he took the initiative to walk inside, and finally acted like the host.
But Xi Mu grabbed him and warned him in a low voice: "This place may not be the place you are familiar with... In the entire academy, you are the only person we have met and can communicate with."
Don't get carried away, and don't rely on luck.
Recalling the battles in front of the teaching building and the workshop gate, the light in Sorens' eyes dimmed, and he seemed to have turned back into the timid boy who could only be pushed around.
Although Ximu was not wrong, it was not a good idea to let the companion who was leading the way lose his enthusiasm all of a sudden. Seeing the boy's lost face, Molina hurried out to ease the atmosphere.
"Ah, Ximu is worried about you too. You know what the academy is like now. What if you just walk in so carelessly and run into the arms of a strange creature? We won't be able to save you in time. Anyway, Ximu is strong, so you can let her lead the way and just stay at the back to show us the way. Don't worry, I will protect you if anything really happens. I am the only priest in the team, and my words count!"
Morina patted his shoulder and lightly hit her chest, looking very proud.
——If you ignore the look she gave Ximu that said, "Don't expose me, let me finish pretending to be X," it really does seem to be the case.
Feeling Morina's intention to comfort him, Sorens smiled secretly, retracted his steps, and obediently retreated to Ximu's side, and began to explain the general terrain of the workshop to them.
The entrance to the workshop is a simple foyer with a rectangular relief stone tablet standing at the door. The carving tells the story of the ancient fire god who bestowed fire, brought protection and skills to the world, which is also the reason why all kinds of craftsmen on the continent generally believe in the fire god.
There are passages on each side of the foyer, one leading to the craftsmen's cloakroom and tool preparation room, and the other leading to the reception room prepared for guests.
If you go around the stone tablet and continue forward, you will pass through a huge bottomless mine.
The mine was too steep and deep for miners to go down directly to work. It seemed that the mine wall was only accidentally drilled through during construction, and the scenery was considered nice, so they just left it there and built a suspended platform above the mine to serve as a chapel for worshiping the god of fire.
Several stone bridges radiate from the edge of the chapel's platform, covering several floors and in all directions, allowing craftsmen to move back and forth.
"That architect of yours was quite creative... Going back and forth in the mine, if he slips and falls, wouldn't that be the end of everything?"
"How could that be? There must be guardrails on both sides of the stone bridge." Sorens laughed. "And there's a protective magic around the mine that the dean personally cast. If someone falls in, it will automatically catch them. There's never been an accident."
Perhaps it was because the mine in the lobby existed only as a landscape feature that the brown-haired boy had no particular reaction when the previous discussion concluded that the mine entrance was elsewhere.
"Where is the gem processing area?"
Fortunately, Ximu did not lose the main thread and went straight to the point.
"It's in the southeast corner of the first floor. Judging from the map, the entrance to the mine should be in the innermost room."
Although he knew the location, Sorens had not entered every room, so he would have to go in to know the specific situation.
After roughly figuring out the route ahead, Ximu nodded and made some simple arrangements on the half-open door.
"This is……?"
Seeing Molina looking at the black emblem curiously, Ximu explained, "I added a little resistance here to prevent the door from closing."
Considering the thickness of the stone gate, even a typhoon might not be able to blow it away easily.
Morina quickly understood her concerns and asked quietly, "Are you afraid that after we go in, a monster will secretly close the door?"
"Just in case." Xi Mu nodded.
Even if the opponent was incredibly powerful and forcibly destroyed the magic blocking the door, she could sense it from afar and still be on guard in advance.
In the stuffy heat, the three of them passed through the door, which was only one person wide, one by one, and entered the workshop where the sound of knocking could be heard from time to time.
Compared to the elegant and graceful magic teaching building, the buildings and furnishings inside the workshop are mostly made of stone, and are not overly carved and processed. A wild and primitive beauty rushes straight into your face, which is completely different from the atmosphere of the academy outside.
The lighting in the hallway was dim, and with the faint light from the surrounding torches and lamps, the towering stone tablet suddenly appeared before them.
The relief carvings were lifelike, spacious and majestic, vividly depicting the grandeur of mankind holding high the fire and ushering in a new era - it was a pity that none of the three of them were proficient in this art, otherwise, after seeing such exquisite craftsmanship, it would be impossible for them to continue forward without any regrets.
But unlike the meticulousness shown on the stone tablet, these craftsmen obviously did not pay much attention to other decorations and daily life.
Looking past the stone tablet, the passage was filled with dust, clearly untouched. The traces of burnt wax from the wall lamps were also very visible, even dripping onto the floor.
"Usually, volunteers like us help clean up these things..."
Not sure what he was feeling embarrassed about, Sorens scratched his head. "Now that the academy is closed, many students have temporarily left, so we don't have enough manpower..."
Ximu didn't care about the hygiene of the workshop. He didn't respond, but just looked at the chapel hanging above the mine in the center.
Unlike traditional chapels, under the sculpture of a blazing flame, there is no common pulpit and seats, only an empty ground.
"Don't the craftsmen here stand when they pray? They're so pious."
Morina asked the usual questions for newcomers.
"Ha ha."
At this time, Sorens could still laugh out loud. It seemed that he was really much more relaxed in this place than anywhere else.
"I haven't participated in the workshop's worship activities, so I can't comment on it, but I heard that because everyone is very busy, the workshop's main promotion is 'just come and worship,' and as long as you feel that your intention has been shown, you can just leave. Arranging fixed seats would actually hinder traffic..."
"That's quite interesting."
Although Morina herself was a priest with firm faith, she was also tolerant of such a casual and neglectful way of worshiping God, and even felt that these craftsmen were truly sentimental people.
"Shh...keep your voice down, something's coming."
Xi Mu, who had been inactive, suddenly raised a warning. The two people who were chatting quietly in the back immediately fell silent, each holding their staff tightly and looking around carefully.
A strange sound was getting closer.
The "auditory hallucination" phenomenon that is likely to occur every time they arrive at a new place came again. For a moment, the sound of banging, daily conversations, shouts, footsteps and the terrible sounds of roaring, shouting, and hammering of some creatures mixed together, accompanied by the appearance of that huge shape, which frightened them.
After all, Ximu and Molina had experienced similar baptisms before, so they were relatively stable;
As a sensitive magician, Sorens turned pale under the impact of the chaotic noise. He endured it for a long time and finally did not vomit on the spot.
Fortunately, the priestess reacted quickly. Before he could lose his mind and question her, a calming light covered him, leaving him no chance to fall into confusion.
"What...what is that?"
I don’t know whether what he muttered to himself was an “auditory hallucination” or something coming from not far away.
After hearing this, Molina gently held his wrist to comfort him, but her eyes followed Ximu's direction, staring closely at the thing that was moving out little by little from deep inside.
It was a spherical object.
It is round, but seems to be stuck with something in a haphazard manner. It wants to roll forward, but is pulled in other directions from time to time. It cannot follow a unified path, so it can only drag its huge body slowly and awkwardly.
"Knock, knock, it's still not level here..."
"This... unqualified... destroyed..."
"Go, go! Over there, my workbench is over there..."
"Are you blind? Is that what real art is? You fool, you pig!"
“Help, help…it hurts…help…”
As the distance got closer, the originally inaudible whispers gradually became clearer, and along with it, the true appearance of the huge sphere also became clearer.
It was indeed a ball.
A giant sphere formed by the compression of broken and pieced-together human limbs.
They looked like both men and women, with distorted faces, all talking to themselves, and all ready to show their skills in their respective positions.
——But they are inseparable.
The people who were squeezed together adjusted their directions to different places. No wonder it was so difficult to move forward.
This horrifying scene was truly shocking, but compared to the brown-haired boy who had been frightened out of his wits silently, Ximu was more concerned about the combat power of this thing.
Tsk... Non-human enemies are such a hassle.
Although it is unknown what kind of obsession twisted them together, even with the strength of ordinary humans, it is not easy to simply cut apart such a pile of human limbs.
Moreover, if these people were craftsmen in their lifetime, their flesh and body strength would have been very high. Now that they are forcibly tied together, if they can hurt each other, it would be difficult to end the battle in one or two moves.
Although it seems that its movements are not fast... after all, this is the first time he has encountered something of this form. It is not certain whether he will realize the unified speed increase after entering the combat state.
Want to try it?
Ximu quickly observed the surrounding terrain, and several feasible displacement routes flashed through his mind.
If the noise was too loud and attracted other monsters, they could just exit the door. They wouldn't be able to get out with their bodies...
Just as they were thinking about it, one of the heads on the sphere suddenly bent and looked towards them.
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