Chapter 963 – Quelariel

Chapter 963 – Quelariel

Treacherous mountain passes and wide rivers that would normally take days to traverse were crossed by Zhizhi in just a few steps.

At first, Mo Lan had enjoyed this unique mode of travel with great interest, but as the speed increased, she relaxed and let her consciousness sink into her personal Magic Web space, recording every spell model she knew of the Gravewoods Singer one by one into the corresponding class area of her personal Magic Web space.

Normally, after taking on the Gravewoods Singer class, one would need to undergo arduous cultivation at the boundary between life and death, comprehending the vigor of the power of life and the stillness of the Death Force, constantly tempering one’s psychic power, and using the spell models in the Magic Web together with one’s own psychic power to command greater power of life and Death Force.

Mo Lan, however, skipped this entire process.

Her mana could be directly converted into the magical energy required by the Gravewoods Singer class. Combined with her psychic power, she was able to raise her class level while recording spells at the same time.

By the time they neared Quelariel, Mo Lan had already become a Tenth Rank Gravewoods Singer.

She didn’t possess the class inheritance for higher levels of this profession, so her level could only be capped here for now.

“Is that Quelariel?” Mo Lan gazed out above the sea of clouds.

Three magnificent concentric ring structures floated silently in the sky.

She had seen this city’s appearance in the memories of numerous mages, but none of those visions captured even a fraction of the awe she felt seeing it with her own eyes.

The outermost Silverglow Ring had the largest diameter. If one looked closely, one could make out numerous independent floating platforms and densely packed building clusters distributed along the ring.

Countless magical airships of various shapes flew in orderly fashion among them, docking and departing, loading and unloading cargo and travelers.

This was Quelariel’s gateway to the outside world, and the first stop for all visitors.

The middle layer, the Amethyst Ring, was somewhat smaller in scale, yet it concentrated a heart-stopping density of magical energy.

The entire ring was almost entirely forged from starlight crystal and mithril, its structure dense and heavy.

Upon it stood countless towering spires, massive archways, winding corridors, and walls inscribed with perpetual-motion runes, all forming together an incomparably complex, layer-upon-layer three-dimensional magic circle.

Torrents of magical energy visible to the naked eye, like tamed and brilliant aurora, erupted from specific magical nodes on the ring, flowing outward along predetermined paths toward the Silver Ring.

The innermost Astral Sanctum was a relatively compact, circular floating island.

At its center stood a colossal tree suffused with flowing starlight, its branches reaching into the heavens, its roots plunging deep into the floating city. Every flicker of its leaves drew countless streams of astral power.

The Astral Elves were born within the radiance of this ancient Starglow Tree.

Around the ancient tree, towering Elven palaces as grand as mountains and slender spires reaching into the clouds encircled the area.

The entire Astral Sanctum was the homeland of the Astral Elves.

With the ancient Starglow Tree as its core, a stable gravitational source had formed, continuously absorbing and converting the purest astral power, maintaining the magical balance of the entire floating city of Quelariel and the vast affiliated territories below.

Looking at this city, Mo Lan felt a reverence and admiration that came from standing before a brilliant civilization. It truly lived up to its reputation as the magical center of a Fifteenth Rank world.

No wonder every mage in the Seran world yearned so deeply for Quelariel.

There were several ways to reach the floating city from the ground.

The most common and cheapest was to take the regularly scheduled giant public magical airship—the Starsky Shuttle.

If one could afford the teleportation fee, one could also go to the Teleportation Hall and use a directional teleportation circle.

Some high-ranking mages certified by Quelariel could use the Rainbow Stairway for free.

Mo Lan chose the most conventional method, the Starsky Shuttle, which also offered the best opportunity to observe how the city operated.

The boarding platform was situated on a gentle hillside at the edge of Quelariel’s lower territories.

The passengers waiting there were a varied lot.

The most numerous were low-ranking mages.

Most of them wore mage robes of varying styles but ordinary material, either clutching thick books or carrying cases of magical materials.

Some had their brows tightly furrowed, murmuring incantations under their breath, while others stared blankly at the enormous city above the clouds, their faces a mixture of longing and apprehension.

A Dwarf merchant was polishing his extravagantly designed mechanical eye inlaid with gemstones, while the Beastman guard beside him stood with arms crossed, silently watching the surroundings with vigilance.

Lavishly dressed human nobles wore haughty expressions as they rested on soft carpets laid out by their servants.

Mo Lan even spotted a Solar Corona Elf.

He wore a fitted, neat set of pale-gold traveling leather armor, draped with a linen cloak embroidered with a simple solar disc pattern. His brilliant long hair, flowing like molten gold, was tied back with a simple leather cord. His healthy wheat-colored skin glowed with a faint luster, making him particularly eye-catching in the crowd.

Mo Lan curiously observed this Solar Corona Elf who, aside from pointed ears and a tall build, bore no resemblance to herself whatsoever. She privately marveled at how wondrous the Elf race was.

To think that mere differences in cultural philosophy and magical affinity could give rise to such vastly different branches.

Little did she know that every other passenger on the entire platform—including the Solar Corona Elf Tobias—was also sneaking glances at her.

A young, high-ranking nature Elf, an enormous ape of unknown species that appeared to be a high-ranking spatial-type magical beast, a high-ranking plant-type magical beast of unknown species, and a high-ranking skeleton that clearly possessed self-awareness—such a combination was one-of-a-kind even in all of Quelariel. And of course, they also looked like a group nobody would want to provoke.

The surprise in Tobias’s eyes deepened. Those old-fashioned nature Elves who hid in forests would actually show up here—and with an undead creature, no less?

She clearly looked like a girl who had only just come of age, yet she was absurdly powerful.

Even with detection magic, Tobias couldn’t determine what level she actually was. He could only confirm that she was considerably higher-ranked than himself.

Curiosity won out over his stereotypical impression of nature Elves as stubborn traditionalists, and he couldn’t help but walk over to strike up a conversation with Mo Lan.

Mo Lan looked down at the Solar Corona Elf’s golden crown of hair and felt it was somewhat impolite. “Zhizhi! Shrink down a bit.”

Zhizhi scanned the entire boarding platform, her gaze pausing for a moment on the tallest bear Beastman present, then rapidly compressed and shrank her form until she was only a head taller than the bear Beastman.

Sentai was equally in sync, transferring Mo Lan and Clack from her shoulder down to Zhizhi’s chest.

Mo Lan leaped down from the vine chair. Rather than immediately responding to Tobias’s greeting, she first performed a gesture.

She placed her right palm inward, gently pressing it against her left chest over her heart. Her left hand hung naturally at her side, slightly open, palm facing upward.

At the same time, she inclined her head in an extremely elegant and ancient arc—forward, then slightly to the left—before finally raising it, her emerald eyes gazing clearly at Tobias.

“Hello, I’m Moira. As you can see, I’ve just arrived in Quelariel.”

Tobias almost instinctively straightened his spine. His right hand reflexively formed a fist and was placed over his own heart in the same position. His left hand mirrored Mo Lan’s gesture, dropping to his side as he performed a return salute that expressed sufficient respect. Because what Mo Lan had performed was not the common chest-touching salute of the nature Elves, nor the nod greeting typical of Solar Corona Elves, but the universal meeting salute of the high Elves!

This was a form of etiquette used only by those Elves who had explicitly sworn to pursue the atavistic return to their bloodline, with the intent of reforging the glory of the high Elves.

And he happened to be one of them.

With the recognition of a fellow traveler, Tobias solemnly introduced himself. “Hello, I’m Tobias. Are you also pursuing… the glory of the high Elves?”

Mo Lan nodded.

Her inherited memories told her that the various branches of Elves were not particularly close to one another. But those who pursued the glory of the high Elves would be regarded as kin by Elves of every branch.

The recognition in Tobias’s eyes said it all.

“You’ve already integrated the Deep Shadow Elf inheritance?” Tobias sensed a trace of Death Force mingled within the dense forces of nature and power of life emanating from Mo Lan, and he looked at her with some astonishment.

Only the Deep Shadow Elf inheritance involved magic related to the Death Force.

At his age, he hadn’t even fully mastered the Solar Corona Elf inheritance!

Mo Lan shook her head. “I haven’t integrated any other Elf inheritances. I simply took on the Gravewoods Singer as a secondary class.”

“Oh, so that’s it!” Tobias secretly breathed a sigh of relief, then said excitedly:

“Would you like to join our Old Seekers Association? Every Elf in all of Quelariel who pursues the glory of the high Elves has gathered there to exchange the beliefs and philosophies of their respective branches.”

Mo Lan’s eyes lit up. “There’s a place like that? How do I join?”

“Ahem, I’ll just take you there myself later!” Having finally found a nature Elf willing to join the association, Tobias was terrified she might slip away if he wasn’t careful.

As they spoke, a streamlined silver-blue airship glided silently up to the platform, its gangway lowering automatically.

Mo Lan and Tobias boarded together with the flow of passengers, buying tickets along the way.

The interior was spacious and bright, with comfortable seats fitted with observation windows that could be adjusted to enjoy the scenery along the route.

The airship ascended smoothly, passing through the cloud layer.

Through the observation windows, Quelariel’s triple rings drew nearer and nearer, their details growing ever more vivid and awe-inspiring.

Before long, the airship docked at a massive spaceport on the outer edge of the Silverglow Ring.

“We’ve arrived.” Tobias stood up, excitement glinting in his golden eyes. “Welcome to Quelariel, Moira! Let me take you to buy a bracelet first—you can’t do without one in Quelariel!”

“A bracelet?” Mo Lan had actually already learned about this city from the slavers’ memories, but she still displayed just the right amount of curiosity.

“Yes, an ‘Arcane General Knowledge Bracelet,’ or just ‘knowledge bracelet’ for short.”

Tobias walked toward the exit with the crowd, explaining enthusiastically as he went:

“Most of Quelariel’s basic magical infrastructure and public services are linked to bracelets bound to the Magical Web. Here, a knowledge bracelet can serve as your identification, wallet, map, class badge, communicator… Of course, it won’t work once you leave Quelariel.”

Tobias expertly led Mo Lan through the spacious and brightly lit main corridor of the spaceport to a nearby area called the Wayfinder’s Market.

He headed straight for a shop whose sign was formed by rotating gears and bubbling test tube illusions—an alchemy workshop.

“In Quelariel, the core manufacturing techniques and basic rune arrays for knowledge bracelets are publicly available, regulated by the city’s magical network. You can buy them at any licensed alchemy workshop or enchantment shop.”

Pushing open the door, they found a white-haired old Dwarf wearing thick crystal spectacles, hunched over a workbench, using a delicate pair of tweezers to adjust some complex component.

Hearing the door chime, he didn’t look up. “Welcome to the Steady State Workshop. Browse on your own. Custom services will have to wait until I finish soldering this balancing rune.”

Tobias was clearly accustomed to the temperament of Dwarf craftsmen. He walked up to the counter and said familiarly, “Master Gaiert, pardon the interruption. This is a new friend who needs a knowledge bracelet.”

The old Dwarf named Gaiert finally paused his work, raised his eyelids, and peered at Mo Lan through his thick lenses. “Ho, a nature Elf? Rare guest. A knowledge bracelet, is it?”

His attitude wasn’t exactly warm, but neither was it dismissive—purely the standard procedure of a craftsman dealing with a customer.

Without waiting for Mo Lan’s answer, he bent down and dragged out from under the counter, with some effort, a half-worn wooden chest with copper-plated corners. Its surface bore numerous scratches from tools and scattered droplets of solidified metal.

“Thump!” The wooden chest was somewhat roughly set on the counter, sending up a small cloud of dust.

He patted the lid. “Everything’s in here. Look for yourself! Tell me when you’ve picked one.”

Tobias was clearly used to this, and he shrugged at Mo Lan with a smile. “That’s Master Gaiert’s style—self-service. But the quality is absolutely reliable. He personally calibrates every one, and they’re excellent value!”

He stepped forward and helped Mo Lan lift the heavy lid.

The interior of the chest was divided into compartments of varying sizes, roughly sorted by material, color, style, and size. Each compartment held several neatly arranged knowledge bracelets in their inactive state.

“This one!” Mo Lan’s eye was immediately caught by a silver bracelet with vine patterns, inlaid with a Purple Gemstone.

Gaiert glanced at it and named a price. “Ten gold coins.”

After Mo Lan paid, Gaiert jerked his thumb toward Tobias. “Have him teach you how to use it.”

Tobias shrugged. “Just put it on and connect to the Magical Web. There’s a guided tutorial for first-time users. It’s easy to learn.”

After Mo Lan did as instructed, a new thing resembling a class imprint appeared in her personal Magical Web space. Within its domain, a spell model appeared—still extremely complex even in its simplified form—in an active state, projecting a clean operational interface.

There were even text guides on it.

Following the guides, she quickly figured out the functions of “Map Navigation,” “Information Search,” “Contact Book,” “Transaction Records,” “Identity Information,” and more.

It was practically a magical version of a smartphone!

“How is it? Pretty simple, right?” Tobias noticed Mo Lan’s gaze refocusing and knew she had finished the binding process.

Mo Lan nodded. “How was this made?”

She turned the bracelet over and over, eager to understand the principles behind it. Once she returned to Valen, she would create a card-based version of this magical bracelet.

“It was all developed by the Astral Elves,” Tobias said. “Apparently it’s some kind of ultra-high-level magic, powered directly by the Quelariel city magic circle. So the bracelet itself isn’t what matters—the Quelariel city magic circle is the key.”