Chapter 1344
Dean Gandalf turned and left. Only then did Leon smile at the two people before him. Originally, he had planned to recruit a few alchemists to work alongside his own, with the goal of building a true Arcane Battleship—even if it was just the most basic model.
But he hadn’t expected that after arriving here, he would encounter two celebrities—both of whom held pivotal roles in the history of Arcane Battleship development.
Pinocchio the Redskin, one of the founding theorists of advanced alchemy; many core technologies used in Arcane Battleships were derived from his theories.
And Fantasi was even more of a madman. His most insane feat was building, single-handedly, a hundred-meter-long battleship that could unleash the power of a Sky Rank Arcane Battleship—a vessel whose strength rivaled the peak of Sky Rank experts. With it, he could sweep through an entire plane on his own.
Moreover, the first true Arcane Battleship was built by these two, more than two thousand years ago. Although that ship—nicknamed the Little Boy—was only as strong as a single Magus at best...
All of this was because these two were pure alchemists—the kind who would never use their craft for Purple Gold Coins. Now, with Astral Academy’s backing, they still struggled; after the Academy was destroyed in the disaster and rebuilt, resources and Purple Gold Coins were scarce, leaving nothing for these two to squander.
So the pair became oddballs among creators—paupers in the world of inventors. Pinocchio excelled at theoretical research, yet for the next thousand years he was the butt of jokes, especially after losing Astral Academy’s support. He became little more than a dreamer...
Fantasi, on the other hand, could easily earn a fortune in Purple Gold Coins whenever he felt like it. But he was impossibly picky—he would only use the finest materials, and once he got his hands on them, he’d start his own experiments. After his reputation soured, no one sought him out again...
The two of them fell on hard times together. It wasn’t until Astral Academy rose again that their lives improved, if only a little. By now, this was the period when people began to criticize them: vast resources spent, and nothing to show for it...
The Creators at Astral Academy, several vice deans, and even one of the three deans have grown dissatisfied with them. After all, Astral Academy isn’t a church charity—the resources those two have squandered amount to a small fortune…
This time, Gandalf probably brought him here with the intention of finally getting rid of Pinocchio and Fantasi…
But Astral Academy is known as the alchemical sanctuary. For top-tier Worldshapers like Pinocchio and Fantasi, whatever they choose to research must be supported. As long as they stay at Astral Academy, anything they invent carries the Academy’s prestige, and every achievement means Astral Academy gets a share…
No one can predict if alchemical research will yield anything valuable. It’s common to burn through countless resources only to end up with little of worth, or to start a project, exhaust manpower and materials, and ultimately achieve nothing. That’s just the way it is.
Countless alchemical breakthroughs—whether theoretical or technical—have cost endless resources and time. At least a third of all alchemical theories or discoveries were stumbled upon by accident after years of effort.
But inventors like Pinocchio and Fantasi are truly rare—eccentric, obsessed with cutting-edge theories, and utterly unconcerned with immediate returns. Pinocchio only cares about advancing theory, regardless of profit, while Fantasi will scam materials just to fuel his next experiment…
After the disaster at Astral Academy, the main reason these two survived wasn’t luck—it was their considerable power and status as top Worldshapers…
No one wants to provoke these two maniacs without enough hatred or confidence, so they’re just shunned…
Leon squinted at the two old eccentrics before him, deeply satisfied. With these two running Arcane Battleship research and production, he could finally relax—a theorist who turns ideas into reality and a deep-diver who pushes boundaries. No wonder, when they truly cooperate, their power is beyond imagination.
But for now, the key is figuring out how to recruit these two to the Gilded Rose…
"Kid, what are you staring at? Get lost! Don’t waste our time here!"
"Yeah, don’t think we’ll give you any respect just because you’re related to that old bastard Gandalf. You’ve got five seconds—if you’re not gone, don’t blame me for what happens next…"
Pinocchio’s chubby face twisted into a cold sneer, waves of magical energy rolling off him like a tide, surging toward Leon as if ready to shove him out the door.
Fantasi glared wide-eyed at Pinocchio, his own cold sneer showing clear dissatisfaction.
"Old man, you think you’re the only Sky Rank Level 5 around?"
With that, Fantasi unleashed his own aura—waves of magic coalescing into invisible hands, pushing at Leon’s body, eager to outdo Pinocchio and shove him out first.
Leon sighed inwardly. These two old bastards even compete over something like this. No wonder it took them nearly two thousand years together before they finally teamed up to develop the first Arcane Battleship…
Sky Rank Level 5—already that strong. With their mastery of alchemy, their ranks will only climb higher. No wonder these old maniacs have become as notorious as rats in the street, but still no one’s managed to kill them…
Leon stood his ground, unmoving. Both Pinocchio and Fantasi tried to push him out of the alchemy lab, glaring at each other like sworn enemies. But after more than ten seconds, they suddenly froze, turning to look at Leon, who was still smiling calmly in place—their combined pressure hadn’t budged him an inch.
Seeing their intimidation fail, Pinocchio and Fantasi scowled and ignored Leon. Using magical pressure was fine, but if they actually tried to throw him out, it’d be a slap in Gandalf’s face. After all these years at Astral Academy, with exclusive labs and endless resources, they’d produced nothing of value.