Chapter 1 Four-Colored Elemental Heart

The [Four-Colored Elemental Heart] should be a well-known name for any puppet-type alchemist.

This treasure is said to be a product of the Goblin Civilization era, representing the pinnacle of puppet energy core technology.

Even now.

One of the three mainstream puppet energy core design systems on the market, the "Elemental Core," is based on this set of goblin technology.

The same is true of Soren's Puppet Master lineage!

His current Rune Puppets and Alchemical Gargoyles use various functional elemental hearts as their energy cores.

But in reality, these are all incomplete versions.

The Goblin Civilization disappeared countless years ago, and ancient alchemists only found some incomplete design drawings in some ancient books and documents. As a result, the current "Elemental Heart" usually only has a single element.

The puppets created with this kind of core usually only have one single ability. To design multiple abilities, the design difficulty and puppet volume will increase geometrically.

However, legend says that the original Goblin Civilization's [Four-Colored Elemental Heart] perfectly solved this problem. It is an energy core that simultaneously possesses the four elements of earth, wind, water, and fire.

Not only does it possess the four basic elements, but it can also efficiently convert between various elements, instantly converting to lightning, light, darkness, wood, gold... whatever energy the puppet needs.

Moreover, the most important thing is that it can "automatically store energy."

This kind of elemental core can automatically absorb the elemental power from the surroundings to charge itself when not in use. In other words, it is theoretically an "infinite energy core"!

This can be said to be a treasure that all puppet masters dream of.

That's also why Soren was so surprised when he heard this term.

He uses Alchemical Gargoyles to fight now, and they are indeed very strong.

But the consumption is also very exaggerated.

Every action requires a large consumption of energy crystals, which are all disposable. The more intense the battle, the more it consumes… it’s purely burning money.

To put it another way,

Soren's current method of supplying energy to puppets is like inserting "dry batteries."

But if he had that [Four-Colored Elemental Heart], it would be equivalent to the puppet having its own "nuclear power plant"!

Even his teacher, Seria, recorded countless attempts in her notes to restore this magical goblin technology.

.......

Soren pressed, "Are you saying... more than half a year ago, someone discovered a [Four-Colored Elemental Heart] from the Goblin Civilization era on 'Mistveil Hell Island'?"

"Yes."

The girl stall owner seemed to think everyone knew this news, and there was nothing to hide, saying, "The priests of the Agapannon Temple have also confirmed the news. That's why so many puppet masters have come from all over after hearing the news. But 'Hell Island' is very dangerous. Except for the one person who was lucky enough to survive, no one has been heard of coming out alive after going up. However, some ancient relics and shipwrecks have been found on the outskirts of the archipelago. Not only the Elemental Heart, but also many other ancient treasures, which has also attracted many foreign adventurers to take risks..."

"I see."

Soren's mind raced as he listened, and he quickly sorted out the cause and effect of the matter.

He asked again, "Who is that person who came out alive?"

The girl stall owner said, "Now it's the 'Lionheart' Barron Opattra, the King of the Arena in the Central Colosseum. At the time, he had won a hundred battles, so he went to participate in the 'Hero's Trial', wanting to kill a high-level deep-sea kraken alone. Then he strayed into that 'Mistveil Sea Area', and that's how he discovered that island full of treasures. Some people speculate that it should be the ruins of a lost ancient city. It's only recently that it's floated up from the seabed..."

Soren realized that it wasn't just one treasure, but that there were many treasures on that "Devil Island."

He had instinctively felt that it might be directed at him. After all, puppet masters are a niche profession, and suddenly such a tempting puppet treasure appears, which seemed too coincidental.

Now the doubts in his heart were almost completely dispelled.

This kind of sudden discovery of treasure is too normal on this sea, which has buried countless treasures.

Besides, the news had been circulating for half a year.

......

After all, they were at a flea market, and it wasn't good to chat with strangers.

Soren didn't continue to ask. He planned to go to the information merchant later and spend some money to buy more detailed information.

The girl stall owner didn't mean to continue talking either, and instead promoted her Rune Puppets, saying, "Sir, I think you should also be a puppet master. These [Rune Puppets] are perfect for you. I guarantee they are definitely the best choice among puppets of the same rank. And the price is very cheap."

After a pause, she was probably worried that this hard-won customer would leave, so she directly revealed the price, "If you need it, the [Grinning Doll] is 50,000 Lisos, and the [Wailing Doll] will be a little more expensive, only 8,000 Lisos more."

What this brunette girl said was indeed true. Rune Puppets are indeed the most effective among puppets of the same rank.

Soren glanced at them. The material cost of these puppets alone should exceed 30,000. Including labor and technical fees, this price was already very conscientious.

Under normal circumstances, puppet masters would not sell their combat puppets.

Unless they were very short of money.

Although they hadn't chatted much, Soren had a good impression of this girl and smiled, "How did you know I was a puppet master?"

The girl stall owner pointed to his fingers and said, "Your fingers are slender and long, and your flexor and extensor muscles are well-developed. I saw you buying some puppet materials at other stalls just now, so you shouldn't be a musician, but a puppet master."

As she said that, as if to explain that her observation without permission was very rude, she showed a cute smile and added, "After all, in this flea market, people in the same profession still care about each other's business."

She was well-mannered, and it seemed like her family was well-off before.

After all, puppet masters are not a profession that ordinary people can afford.

The girl's words did not make people feel disgusted. Soren looked at his palm and smiled, "You have good observation skills. I do know a little about puppetry."

He took out a small bag of gold coins and said, "I'll buy all four of these puppets."

The girl's face instantly lit up when she heard this, "Thank you!"

Soren didn't mind and asked as if casually, "May I ask, does your puppetry have a lineage?"

There was nothing wrong with mentioning the family's lineage, especially for professionals. A time-honored lineage system would make people think that their learning was orthodox and more worthy of respect.

Hearing this, the girl also said with a proud face, "Have you heard of Sir Isaac, the Alchemy Demigod from a thousand years ago?"

Soren nodded, "Of course."

The girl continued, "That demigod's wife is the founder of our 'Puppet Master' lineage. I inherited the 'Boyle Puppet Master' lineage."

Soren heard this, and an imperceptible look of strangeness flashed in his eyes. He asked, "Robert Boyle?"

"Yes! Have you heard of him?"

The girl's face was filled with undisguised surprise.

Puppet masters are a niche, and Puppet Masters are a niche within a niche. It is usually difficult for people to know about them.

She thought that no one would know even if she said it, but she didn't expect the person in front of her to actually know and say his name in one breath.

She also said rather proudly, "That's my ancestor of the Boyle family!"

Hearing this, Soren sighed slightly in his heart, not expecting that they were actually from the same lineage. He muttered to himself, "Mr. Robert is a respectable master in the field of puppetry."

His teacher, Seria, had accepted three disciples before her death, and Robert Boyle was one of them.

Counting generations, he was his senior brother.

This is his senior brother's descendant...

Soren also felt a little sentimental.

At this time, he saw the ring on the girl's hand, which was engraved with the Isaac family crest.

Soren found it very familiar and asked, "That... can you let me see the ring on your hand?"

Hearing this, the girl acted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, and quickly protected the ring, her face full of vigilance, "This is not for sale!"

She seemed to think that her knee-jerk reaction was a little rude to a strange customer, and explained, "This is just an ordinary ring. It's an heirloom of our family, and there's nothing special about it."

Soren naturally knew, because it had been identified as a [Damaged Alchemy Ring], with no special effect.

He said, "I was just curious and wanted to take a look. If it's inconvenient, then forget it."

The girl looked at Soren's friendly smile and thought there was no reason to refuse. She took off the ring from her slender finger and handed it over very carefully, "You can take a look if you want."

Soren took it and saw the words "Given to my disciple Robert Boyle" engraved on the inner wall.

He had read a large number of notes left by Seria during this period, and he was very familiar with this handwriting. It was indeed left by his teacher.

Soren looked at it and sighed in his heart.

This was really the ring that his teacher had left a thousand years ago. What fate.

He only glanced at it and handed the ring back, "Thank you. This is a very precious antique. Take good care of it."

The girl stall owner looked a little confused.

Soren didn't explain much. At this time, he took out a book and said, "These are some puppet blueprints that I found before."

After hesitating for a moment, he pointed to the puppet materials on the stall, "If possible, um... I plan to exchange them for these materials."

"Blueprints?"

The girl's expression was slightly dazed. Puppet blueprints were very valuable.

She felt that this transaction was obviously unfair.

Could there be something wrong with the blueprints?

It shouldn't be... how could such a generous customer covet these materials?

The girl didn't bother to look at them and agreed, "Okay!"

Soren smiled and nodded, put away the materials, and left the stall.

He didn't stay in the trading market for long and gradually disappeared into the crowd.

Watching the person disappear, this girl named Kama realized something. She looked at the book in her hand, lost in thought.

Just then, a voice that couldn't wait floated in her mind: "Sister, take a look quickly. What kind of puppet design drawings are they!"

Kama looked at the basket next to her. There was no one there, only a pile of semi-finished puppets.

Her beautiful eyebrows furrowed, and she muttered in a low voice, "Abelke, I told you not to use mental communication indiscriminately. Have you forgotten that our family was looted by pirates? I suspect that the Tilmido family is behind it. If you were still alive and they found out, it wouldn't be good. If you don't listen, I won't take you out to set up a stall next time."

The voice sounded again in her mind, "I know, Sister. Look at the blueprints quickly!"

Kama didn't say much and opened the book left by the strange customer just now.

If he only exchanged them for those materials, she thought they shouldn't be valuable basic puppet design drawings.

But unexpectedly, when she opened it, her eyes were frozen in place.

Looking at the dense rune records, as the inheritor of the "Puppet Master", how could she not understand that these were the original design drawings of the "Rune Puppet"!

How could it be possible...

Hadn't they been lost?

How could there be such detailed design drawings.

"This..."

Kama was struck by lightning, and her mind instantly went blank.

After being stunned for a moment, she suddenly realized what she had seen, and suddenly turned her head to look into the crowd, wanting to find something.

Unfortunately, she could no longer see the figure of that customer.

......

Soren strolled on the street.

Earlier, he had naturally discovered that there were soul fluctuations in the pile of semi-finished products that the girl stall owner was carrying.

A puppet with a soul?

That was very interesting.

As expected of the lineage of his teacher, it seemed that they had created some very interesting puppets.

Soren didn't intend to find out.

After all, his current situation was not very good, and he might have a fierce battle at any time.

Since the lineage of "Robert Boyle" had been passed down for a thousand years, then let it continue to be passed down.

Sending some basic Rune Puppet design drawings could also be considered taking care of a fellow disciple.

Soren thought, and then went to several information merchants in the city.

After inquiring from many sources about the news of the puppet treasure, the [Four-Colored Elemental Heart], they almost all confirmed that the rumors were true.

It was indeed discovered in a new archipelago named "Devil Island", and there were many treasures on the island.

As for the danger, it was said that there were many powerful sea beasts in that sea area, especially near that "Devil Island". It was said that there were sirens, harpies, sea ghosts... and all kinds of strange sea monsters in the sea. There were also various huge and ferocious magical beasts, octopuses with tentacles hundreds of meters long, gorillas the size of small mountains, deep-sea crocodiles, lantern fish, huge flying monsters...

It was normal for there to be monsters in the sea.

But when Soren heard someone say that they had seen a giant octopus monster hundreds of meters long, he was quite excited.

After all, mechanical octopuses need to use biological nervous systems and some body tissues as materials. He needed a large enough living body as a sample to make a larger mechanical octopus.

The most important thing was that the direction of that "Devil Island" was also similar to the direction to the void ruins.

Anyway, he was going there.

If possible, he wanted to get that [Four-Colored Elemental Heart].

That would improve Soren's combat power as much as having several finished gargoyles. If he could also get the original design drawings from the Goblin Civilization era, that would really be priceless, and it could even rewrite the future development of puppet energy cores in the current era.

It would be a lie to say that he wasn't tempted.

The information obtained from the information merchants was very mixed. Soren analyzed it and had a rough impression.

In short, there were many unknown dangers in that sea area.

After careful consideration, he wanted to meet the only person who had landed on "Devil Island" and survived—"Lionheart" Barron Opattra.

At the same time, Soren became very interested in the concept of the "Hero's Trial".

In Roman, there was a special inheritance system. After gladiators won a hundred consecutive battles in the arena (this was a virtual number, meaning there were no opponents), they could choose the "Hero's Trial".

They needed to sail out to sea alone and then kill a powerful enough sea monster.

When they returned with the head of the sea beast to sacrifice, they could obtain the blessing of the "God of War Tyr" and obtain some special inheritance.

Usually, those who are qualified to participate in the "Hero's Trial" are around the sixth rank.

After returning, they receive blessings, and the probability of breaking through to the seventh rank is very high.

......

Soren walked on the street.

The streets of Moros were very wide and beautifully planned.

A street running from north to south that could accommodate eight carriages side by side passed through the city, dividing it into two halves.

Standing on the main street, you could see the huge fountain square in the center of the city at a glance.

A huge stone statue nearly a hundred meters high stood in the center of the square.

The statue depicted a one-armed warrior, holding a long sword, domineering and majestic.

This was the [Statue of the God of War Tyr], the Roman's god of faith.

The statue was not wearing clothes, and the muscle lines were knotted and beautiful, which also reflected the Roman's original worship of strength and the body.

The mortality rate of Roman gladiators was extremely high, but the vast majority were voluntary.

The reason why they liked to fight was because they were not afraid of death from birth, but were afraid of dying in mediocrity.

Natural death and death from illness were called "firewood death", ending life as ordinary as dry firewood.

This was not the ideal end for Romans. They preferred to die on the battlefield.

Because in Roman legends, brave warriors would go to heaven after death. Valkyries would give them the kiss of death and then be taken to Valhalla. In that heavenly palace, they would enjoy all the good things in the world.

(ps. Valkyries are all very beautiful women, with beautiful white arms, plump breasts, and flowing golden hair. They wear golden helmets, wear scarlet tight-fitting battle robes, hold shining spears and shields, and ride pure white horses...)

In simple terms, they would go to heaven to enjoy happiness, with wine, meat, and fairy companionship, enjoying the ultimate pleasure in the world.

......

Soren walked all the way through the central square, and everywhere he could see strong Roman men praying to the statue.

He found out that the "Lionheart" Barron Opattra was currently in the largest brothel in the city.

This kind of strong man was very popular with women. Being able to sleep with him was the dream of all Roman women. Even those noble women hoped to give birth to excellent offspring with him.

In Roman legends, the descendants of heroes were more likely to become heroes.

Soren understood that it was a bit like... a stud.

Only good seeds can produce good foals.

But just after passing through the central square, suddenly, he stopped.

Soren looked at a painter wearing local Roman clothes by the pool, who was making money by painting for passersby.

Soren looked at the painter with messy hair. Although his appearance was very unfamiliar, his soul fire was very familiar.

He recognized him at a glance. This guy was Vincent F. van Gogh, one of the "Ten Legendary Bounty Hunters"!

A dignified legendary bounty hunter was actually selling paintings here?

"This guy didn't succeed in the assassination before, and now he's chasing after me again?"

Soren thought to himself.

......

The painter was painting on a linen canvas. Just as Soren looked at him, the guy seemed to have noticed something and turned his head to look over.

Soren looked at the smile on the corner of his mouth and knew that he had recognized him.

Looking at the other party's expression, it seemed like he wanted to chat for a while.

Soren wasn't in a hurry to leave.

After waiting for a few minutes, the noble woman who bought the self-portrait left.

Soren walked over.

Van Gogh, a dignified top ten legendary bounty hunter, didn't put on any airs of a master and took the initiative to greet him, "Hey, long time no see."

Although Soren felt that he wasn't familiar with this guy, he didn't feel any malice, so he politely replied, "Mr. Van Gogh, long time no see."

Van Gogh didn't seem to care about those false names. He changed a canvas and started to paint a new painting. While painting, he said, "I have to say, the Romans really understand art. The architecture here is really beautiful... Speaking of which, I used to be a mural restorer here for ten years."

Soren was slightly surprised.

Are top experts so simple? He had actually been a mural restorer, and he seemed to like that profession very much?

Soren didn't want to chat about art with anyone, so he directly asked, "Who are you working for?"

Van Gogh said in a relaxed tone, "I'm a bounty hunter... Of course, I work for money. Last time, I took a reward from the Royal Family of Luying, and I also repaid a favor that I had to repay, so I took action once. This time... it's hard to say."

Soren was also very curious about the fees of this legendary bounty hunter, and asked, "What price do I need to pay to hire you?"

If he could really hire him with money, this would be a major obstacle if they really fought.

Van Gogh smiled slightly and said, "It depends on my mood."

"..."

When Soren heard this, he knew that hiring him was impossible.

This kind of top expert probably wasn't trying to earn a reward, especially those who were involved in art. They had very strange ideas.

Soren casually asked, "Are you still here for Princess Frost Moon Skadi?"

Van Gogh didn't hide his purpose at all, "Yes. But she hasn't shown up, so it's not easy to kill her... However, I heard that there are many people who are paying attention to her, so maybe I don't need to take action."

Don't look at the fact that the North Sea is the territory of pirates, but whether it's Luying or the big nobles like Duke Raphael, they all have their own complete intelligence systems.

This guy was able to chase him here, so he must have a related source of information.

He had run into him twice, and Soren didn't think it was a coincidence. He always felt that this guy seemed to know him.

But if this guy didn't take the initiative to say it, he definitely couldn't find out even if he asked.

Thinking about it, he tentatively asked, "If possible, I can buy some information."

Van Gogh said, "Oh?"

Soren said, "I want to get a treasure from Princess Frost Moon's hand. It should be a gift that Oleg and Marfa exchanged."

"I really know about this. But I won't charge you any fees."

Van Gogh's brush stopped for a moment and said, "There's news that Princess Frost Moon Skadi should be secretly escorting a batch of goods back to Marfa in the next few days, at Pier 7. The ship hasn't been determined yet. It should be a pirate ship. The specific time of shipment is still to be determined. But there are already a lot of people watching this batch of goods."

Soren also felt that he had asked the right person.

This was information that he hadn't been able to find out from the information merchants before.

He asked, "Aren't you going?"

Van Gogh shook his head and said, "I'm not going. I'm only interested in people. Whoever wants to bother with that batch of goods can go ahead and bother with it."

After a pause, he said, "Moreover, someone intercepted a top-secret piece of information from Marfa's military intelligence department. After deciphering it, it said, 'The ocean currents and winds that we're waiting for are coming, so we must set sail as soon as possible.' I suspect that there must be something very precious in that batch of goods, but the real intention of that Princess Stika is to use it as bait to set sail and attract attention."

"..."

Hearing this, Soren's eyes narrowed slightly, and his thoughts raced.

What exactly did this guy mean by saying even this kind of top-secret information?

Others didn't know the meaning of that piece of information, but Soren knew it. He needed to wait for specific ocean currents and wind directions to go to the sea area where the space ruins were.

This information basically matched what this guy had guessed.

At this time, the painting under Van Gogh's brush had been completed.

"This is my new work, The Potato Eaters..."

He gestured for Soren to look at his canvas, with a radiant look, as if he was quite satisfied with his work.

It was a very strange painting.

There were several people with abstract faces in the painting, sitting around the dining table, holding knives and forks.

There was a plate of potatoes on the table, and they seemed to be discussing how to distribute the food.

A dim oil lamp illuminated a corner, and the overall color tone of the picture was dark.

It looked like there was a kind of repression that was not terrifying, but made people feel creepy.

Van Gogh's eyes were deep. Looking at his painting, he frowned as if there were also things he couldn't understand.

He pondered for a moment, as if he saw some kind of "hint" from the painting, and then muttered in an uncertain tone, "There's a huge monster hidden in the darkness?"

Divination ability?

Soren vaguely understood something.

So the focus of this painting wasn't the few people with cutlery, but the neglected background?

He felt that this guy's ability was really special. He could kill people with paintings and also predict the future...

But what did these vaguely defined words mean?

(Vague divination, try to avoid backlash as much as possible)