Chapter 58: Alyss
Chapter 58: Alyss
She, like Sindra, had skin as fair as snow and delicate features. However, her right half of the face was peculiar. The right eyeball was almost entirely white, with faint, fine azure scales scattered around the eye socket. Moreover, a sharp fang extended downward from the right corner of her mouth.
Hua Mi immediately recalled the unique nature of elves. They were a monogender species capable of reproducing with any humanoid species, and their offspring were always elves. Sometimes, though, they exhibited certain traits of the other parent.
The elf before her seemed to have more pronounced features of a mixed heritage. Hua Mi wondered about the other species involved.
"Are you ready?" Hua Mi replied calmly, "Actually, I have a bit more than required."
It was now apparent that the elf before her was the elusive Alyss.
Not an enemy.
She controlled three swarms of bees, guiding them to retreat behind her.
"I'm glad you could complete this task," the stone golem took a few steps forward, extending its right hand to present her before Hua Mi.
Now their eyes were at the same level. Looking closely at her, Hua Mi noticed a faint outline of an iris in her right eye, but it seemed lifeless, probably unable to see much.
She reached out her hand to Hua Mi.
Hua Mi hesitated, "Are we starting now?"
It was getting dark, and with only one eye in good condition, could she see clearly in the dim light? Hua Mi didn't want any construction accidents.
Alyss raised an eyebrow, displaying a disdainful expression, "Worried that I'll take the item and not do the job? Fine, let me inspect the goods first to avoid wasting time."
Hua Mi wasn't concerned about her running away with the item. With the proud nature of elves, she probably wouldn't stoop to such actions. Nevertheless, since she brought it up...
Hua Mi delved into his storage ring, retrieving the half-horn.
Alyss's left eye contracted as she took the horn from him, delicately brushing her finger over it. After a moment, she looked up, a rare expression of admiration in her lone eye, "To kill a unicorn, you must indeed be no ordinary alchemist."
Here it comes again.
"What alchemist?" Hua Mi corrected, "I'm a beekeeper and part-time merchant."
"Beekeeper... a branch of alchemy?" Alyss questioned.
"...In a way. I specialize in beekeeping and honey production," Hua Mi gave up resisting, steering the conversation back, "Is this half-horn enough? By the way, would the effect be better if I use a bit more?"
"What effect?"
"Of course, it's for spatial expansion magic."
"When did I say the horn powder is for casting spatial expansion magic?"
"..."
Hua Mi recalled; he didn't mention the purpose of the horn powder. It was his assumption.
"15 grams of horn powder were my proposed reward. If you failed, I was prepared to retrieve it myself," Alyss paused before changing the topic, "Let's not discuss that for now. How did you handle the unicorn's body? Is the heart intact? Did you preserve the blood? If you're interested, I can offer you a generous price."
"..."
Poor unicorn. Everyone coveted its body.
If it weren't for its strength, it would likely have been hunted to extinction.
"When did I say the unicorn died?"
"Not dead? Then the horn..."
"Alchemists have their ways," Hua Mi interrupted, taking the horn back, "And the unchanging rule of alchemy is equivalent exchange."
If she wanted the horn, she had to provide something equally satisfying.
Alyss pondered for a moment, "150 grams," she said, "Give me 150 grams of horn powder, and I'll spend three days constructing a greenhouse representing my highest standards. The internal expandable area can rival the entire Black Forest, and I'll provide the building materials."
"Deal!" Hua Mi readily agreed.
His main goal was the greenhouse. If she promised to build the best greenhouse within her capabilities and provide the materials, what more was there to discuss?
"Go check the site," Alyss said, descending from the stone golem's palm.
Hua Mi led her to the reserved area, the stone golem following behind.
Alyss glanced at the seven pseudo-flower spirits gathered at the wooden house entrance, calmly remarking, "You are the most unique human I've ever seen."
"Maybe it's just because you've seen too few humans, making it easy to develop biases," Hua Mi recalled Sindra's comment about the architect having some grievances against humans.
Alyss seemed to smile faintly, "It seems Sindra told you that I dislike humans but didn't explain why."
Hua Mi wasn't interested in her grievances with humans worldwide, chuckling, "Speaking of Sindra, how is she? Is she okay?"
"It might take some time for her to regain her freedom."
"Why..."
"Mission failure naturally comes with consequences."
Hua Mi felt a bit guilty. However, thinking of his red elf friend, the guilt was offset. If given another chance, he would make the same choice.
"By the way, that potion called honey is excellent. Even the Chief Alchemist of the Royal Court couldn't replicate it. You are undoubtedly a genius in alchemy. In fact, I can understand why you've chosen to seclude yourself here."
"..."
She probably meant to express mutual understanding.
But she was wrong.
I'm really not an alchemist.
"Is this place enough?" Alyss asked.
"More than enough."
Alyss flipped her right hand, and from her sleeve slid out what seemed like a ruler. Holding it and moving it across the ground while chanting, a bright white mark appeared on the ground. As she moved, it extended forward, forming a standard rectangular area.
In the moment the area closed, four lines simultaneously emitted semi-transparent white walls upwards, becoming completely transparent at a height of over ten meters.
A three-dimensional space with no ceiling was outlined.
The seven little ones were impressed by this skill, showering her with admiration.
Amidst the applause, Xiao Huang's voice sounded discordant, "Is your title 'Micro' because you're shorter than normal elves?"
"..."
Hua Mi had long noticed that this yellow little creature was a chat master, always hitting right where it hurt, commonly known as being sarcastic. He wondered if it was intentional or accidental.
The words were clearly presumptuous.
Xiao Zi hurriedly apologized together with Hua Mi.
But Alyss seemed indifferent, calmly saying, "It's a fact. There's probably no elf shorter than me in the world. But the buildings I construct allow me to overlook the entire royal court."
"That's truly remarkable!" Xiao Lu immediately went into praise mode.
How tall must those buildings be? Hua Mi wondered.
Given the chance, he definitely wanted to visit the Emerald City.
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