novelonline Chapter 3933 The Furnace of Life (Seeking Votes)
Chapter 3933 The Furnace of Life (Seeking Votes)
Chapter 3933 The Furnace of Life (Seeking Votes)
The "Lord of the Hearthfire" mentioned by the halfling Lady Bredvy was clearly a typical racial deity, much like the Old God Shad knew who loved red wine. Although Shad had never heard of him, given the decline of the halflings in the Sixth Age, the "Lord of the Hearthfire" must have already passed away in the Fifth Age.
The three witches' origins were all acceptable, and Shad nodded.
"Now, ladies, may I invite you into your shelter?"
An elderly witch takes charge:
"Yes, but sir, we remain wary of you, so please do not do anything suspicious."
The shelter, constructed from various metals, resembled a tent, requiring Shad to crouch low to enter. The three witches huddled together to make room for Shad; they were indeed still wary of him, but after the "fake human" incident a few months prior, Shad understood their concerns.
"Does anyone want to verify this?"
The completely transparent bubble enveloped the shelter from the inside, thus not only isolating the small shelter from the dark red light from the outside, but also keeping the air inside quite fresh. Shad guessed that in addition to the bubble barrier, someone must have used a scene-based power similar to the [Traveler's Camp].
He extended his right hand, and the pink sapphire dragon lady closest to him reached out and grasped his wrist, then carefully examined her own palm:
"Indeed, the witch's curse was not triggered. This reminds me of the strange rumors circulating among the students of the academy in recent years."
She whispered, and Xia De asked curiously:
"The rumors about the strange man, is that right?"
The witch nodded gently. She had milky-white skin and long pink hair tied into a large braid that hung down her back. However, because she still harbored a slight wariness, Miss Gina Rosa decided to observe a little longer. If it really was that person, then she would be extremely lucky this time—after all, they had just discussed this topic a few days ago (Bonus Chapter 7).
Shad also introduced himself, revealing his real name as "Shad Hamilton," but only referring to himself as a detective and travel writer who also enjoys keeping cats.
"However, I did not receive any suspicious letters or see any strange sentences. I just opened a door at home and ended up here."
He then asked the three witches about the factory and the "life that was about to be born," and the witches' expressions were quite unpleasant.
"This strange place looks like a factory, but the concepts of time and space are completely confused here. The entire factory is almost infinitely large, and we have tried to explore its boundaries, but we have never succeeded."
This place is called the 'Bloodstained Factory,' a name that immediately rings in the ears of everyone who enters. Based on our exploration, the factory is manufacturing those extremely horrific flesh-and-blood creatures we encountered before. Only a small portion are humanoid; the majority are indescribable in appearance.
It was the same old witch explaining the situation to Shad. The halfling and the gem dragon witch clearly trusted her, and the latter two were also secretly observing him.
“I understand. I saw a mutated flesh monster in the factory outside. There were mummies tied to operating tables everywhere, being repeatedly drained of their blood and bones.”
Shad said, and then the pink dragon witch explained in a low voice:
"Mr. Hamilton, what you are seeing is actually the blood collection workshop, which is a fairly common area in a factory. In addition, the bone forging workshop, blood bank cellar, and decomposition distillation room are also very likely to appear."
Because of the extreme chaos of the space, each time a door is opened, it leads to a different area.
Shad nodded, and the halfling witch joined the conversation:
"So once we decide to go out, the three of us set off together and don't stop until we find a low-risk area like this. We call this kind of area we are in the 'operating room'. Usually, once we get rid of the things that tied us to that stone bed at the beginning, we can stay here with peace of mind."
Xia De then realized that this mission did not have the fixed safe zones of the past; like the "Eternal Night City," this mission required continuous advancement.
The old witch reminded Shad again:
"Most of the factory is filled with blood mist. Although this blood mist will subtly erode our bodies, it will also keep us feeling full at all times. Therefore, we do not need to eat here. In fact, in areas where the blood mist is denser, even our spirit can recover quickly."
This was also a situation that Shad had never encountered before, but this "convenience" certainly came at a price.
"If you are exposed to too much blood mist in the tainted blood factory, your body will slowly grow granulation tissue. At this stage, you must immediately enter a low-risk room to recuperate, otherwise this change will permanently affect your body and even your soul."
As the Pink Gem Dragon Witch spoke, she extended her left hand, which had been hidden in her sleeve, to Shad, revealing a very obvious scar on the back of her left hand.
"This is."
“After cutting granulation tissue, a mark will be left on the body surface. This usually takes a long time to heal, but apart from being somewhat unsightly and the wounded area being more prone to granulation tissue growth in subsequent operations, there are no other effects.”
Miss Gina Rosa looked at her hands with her pinkish-purple eyes:
"Healing techniques, even divine arts, are ineffective against this type of injury. Old Lady Gustav tried them, but they were completely ineffective. You see~"
As she spoke, she spat out another pink bubble. The bubble touched the back of her left hand, and the scar on the back of her hand healed immediately, but the scar quickly reappeared.
"May I make contact?"
Shad inquired, and after receiving permission, he placed his fingers on the back of the Dragon Witch's hand. The latter blushed slightly, still wondering if this person with the correct name was the one Principal Feliananna, Administrator Oranold, Head Maid Fiona, and Senior Wilder had mentioned.
Xia De frowned slightly, considered for a moment, and then asked:
"May I try to treat you?"
The halfling witch and the old witch were still somewhat distrustful of Shad, but the dragon witch readily agreed:
"Yes, but we can't use forces that cause too much fluctuation in the elements, otherwise the bubble I release to envelop this area will burst."
Shad nodded. Instead of releasing the Moonfire, he flicked his finger, and a card flew out of the deck in his pocket. Shad held the card up to the witch's pale hand, and dirt fell down.
"It's just ordinary soil."
As Xia De explained, he supported her left hand with his right hand, while gently rubbing the back of her hand with his left.
"Miracle - Active Soil".
This action looks like a lewd man acting like a hooligan, but the witches don't think he would have the leisure to do such a boring thing in a place like this.
After a moment, Shad removed his hand:
"It should be fine, take a look."
The Pink Gem Dragon Witch shook the dried dirt off the back of her hand, then saw that there were no more scars on her fair skin. She touched her skin to confirm that the scars had truly disappeared.
After consuming the "degraded firstborn flesh" and the "pseudo-human mother fluid," Shad used mud to create flesh to fill the organism's deficiencies. This flesh possessed greater adaptability and superior compatibility. Therefore, he didn't perform any treatment at all; he simply created entirely new flesh to smooth out the scars.
"Is this a method of creating flesh and blood?"
The seemingly knowledgeable old witch Melody Gustave asked, and Shad admitted:
"Yes, the essence is to reshape flesh and blood with clay. I once used it to reshape the limbs of a girl who was missing limbs. The biggest trouble in performing this magic is actually testing my clay shaping ability."
Ms. Gustav and the rather young-looking halfling, Miss Bradvi, also examined the Dragon Witch's hand and confirmed that the wound they had tried everything to heal had actually been completely restored.
"Are there any other wounds that need my help to heal? Now that we're comrades, I'm willing to provide treatment for everyone."
The witches all had similar granulation wounds, but fortunately, none of the granulation tissues were in embarrassing locations. The backs of their hands, wrists, backs of their heads, necks, etc. Shad had plenty of soil stored in his cards, so there was no need to worry about it being used up.
While he was receiving treatment, the three witches continued to explain the current situation.
Shad had just learned that the factory's area was almost infinite, and that the space was constantly changing. Although there were small, "low-risk" rooms similar to the current area, one certainly couldn't stay in the same area indefinitely in order to get out.
Repeatedly opening and closing doors in an attempt to find a suitable room before setting off again is futile. Except for some very special areas, most of the doors here, once opened, can only be closed from the other side, forcing people who come here to move forward.
“We have found a clue to leave, which is not difficult. Whenever we fall into a dream here, we hear the continuous crying of children.”
The halfling witch's lips twitched; clearly, hearing that kind of sound while sleeping wasn't a pleasant experience.
"The crying sound is the guide. After waking up, follow the direction of the crying sound to open the door, and you will soon find the special 'Life Furnace' room. After putting flesh and blood materials into it according to the furnace's needs, we can enter a very safe rest room and stay there for a long time. During this time, the space inside the factory will even become relatively stable."
We've already completed one 'Forge of Life' room, and we sense there are three more similar rooms. Perhaps after completing all the 'Forge of Life' forgings, the factory's final destination will be just ahead.
Shad was currently healing the old witch who came from the Church of Creation.
"What is ultimately forged in the furnace room?"