Nyoi-Bo Studio

  Nyoi-Bo Studio

  It was no longer the same Titan continent Lu Zhiyu last visited. Goblins, dwarves, trolls, and fairies had gradually become a part of the Wizard Alliance. Nevertheless, the City of Leaves was a foreign trade city built by fairies, and most fairies still lived in the Forest of Fairies.

  The City of Leaves was a unique city. The Forest of Fairies was a forest growing not on gentle hills, but a plateau. Dangerous cliffs surrounded the forest as if the forest was growing on a pillar. From below, it seemed like a forest in the sky. The City of Leaves was built on the cliffs below the forest.

  Vines spiraled down the cliffs. Trees thrived on the cliffs. Houses and buildings were built along the cliff at an angle. A huge Ancient Tree of Fairies was embedded in the cliff, piercing through the cliff, and growing up over the top of the cliff.

  Beside the cliff and the Ancient Tree of Fairies, roads and fences were built. One could walk and climb up to the Forest of Fairies above. Even roofs had fences on them, as they were also a part of the trail. At night, alchemy gas lamps were lit, turning the cliff and the City of Leaves into a starry tree.

  The landscape was the creation of nature. When Lu Zhiyu first constructed the astral world, he only set up the model of standard worlds. However, everything internal was created by the force of nature. He had not noticed that such a beautiful view had been created here.

  “Ee-yah-yah! Ee-yah-yah!”


  “Hah-hah-yah-yah!”


  Tiny fairies flew along the cliff covered vine, chattering in their language. At the bottom of the cliff, many taverns, shops, and fairy bistros were built to host humans, goblins, and other races. Local products like fruit wines were sold inside. Docks for aircraft and train stations were built here as well, as foreign races were not allowed to enter the Forest of Fairies.

  Choo-choo!

  Clackety-clack, Clackety-clack!

  Lu Zhiyu stayed in a small cabin at the bottom of the cliff. If one opened the window, an endless grassland with beautiful flowers would come into view. A single railway track extended toward the horizon over the field. Steam trains arrived here every morning. The flowery grasslands with steam trains arriving from far away painted a mesmerizing picture.

  Lu Zhiyu wanted to build a special floating space tower here. If the wizard civilization continued to develop at the same pace, it would be almost impossible for them to build a true floating space tower, nevermind a level eight floating space city. And without a floating space tower, the wizard civilization could never step out beyond the bitwall and explore the astral world.

  Mythical wizards without floating space towers did not possess the power to leave the world and explore the astral world. Moreover, it would take a long time for them to build the level eight floating space city and rival the true gods of Maria’s World (true gods with divine kingdoms were level-eight mythical beings, side gods were level-seven).

  Several elements were necessary to build a floating-space tower. A level-seven alchemy floating space tower life blueprint, a levitation ring, and a mana pool. The most difficult to acquire was the levitation ring.

  Lu Zhiyu had decided to build a floating space tower as a gift for Catherine to celebrate her becoming a mythical wizard. However, building the tower himself would not be as meaningful as teaching the wizards how to build it. And since Catharine was not gifted in alchemy at all, Lu Zhiyu had to find someone else to build the floating space tower.

  The floating space tower would also push forward the development of the wizard civilization. Without it, the wizard civilization would stay trapped inside the Starsoul World, while Maria’s World started to explore the astral world and the divine system reached out to the astral world. Maria’s World had perfected the magic crystal system, and the species within started to challenge the bitwall.

  Another steam train arrived from far away. This time, there was a green-skinned goblin in wizard robes walked onboard.

  Cook Bay stepped off the train and followed the wavy trail, looking at the rows of houses built on the bottom of the cliff. Holding on to the fences while he walked, he had finally found the address on the letter. It was a white house with a red roof, red chimney, and beautiful stained-glass windows, embedded into a slope on the cliff.

  “Knock-knock! Knock-knock!”


  Cook Bay did not hear anything coming from inside the house but realized the door was unlocked. He pushed the door and looked inside. His jaw dropped as the door opened. He did not see the inside of a small cabin as he had expected, but a crystal-clear watery swirl. If not observing carefully, one might not notice the transparent swirl of dimensional folds.

  Through the swirl, he could see rolling hills where many grand palaces had been built.

  “Wumpth!”


  Cook Bay shut the door immediately. He was still in a state of shock. He opened the door again, and the view was completely different now, as he again saw the wizard tower outside!

  “Golly! How is that possible?” he exclaimed.

  Cook Bay stepped into the cabin and went through the swirl. His body decomposed into the tiniest ashes and reassembled on the other side of the swirl. The next thing he knew, he was standing on the street of the City of Wizards.

  Familiar streets, familiar alchemy shops, and familiar steam railway buses. Cook Bay had spent more than a month traveling across the sea and had made quite a few stops along the way before he finally arrived at the City of Leaves on the Titan continent. And now, just one step took him all the way back.

  The green-skinned goblin tripped over the threshold and fell back through the door. Immediately, he was in a simply styled room with a fireplace, benches, closets, and a kitchen.

  “Welcome! Mr. Cook Bay, we meet again!” A familiar black-haired man sat on a cane chair near the window, holding a cup of tea, looking at Cook Bay as if he was a joke. It seemed this little set-up was designed to make him flustered. Well, that was really poor taste.

  However, Cook Bay was not a bit provoked. This was because he had seen something amazing. He saw a portal! Gosh, what a miracle! He never imagined such portals truly existed. He had only read in a few ancient books that portals had existed. In the legends, ancient wizards traveled through giant portals from one world to another and kept their mouths shut about the details.

  “Gosh golly, it’s a miracle! Mr. Randhir, it’s a portal, isn’t it? That’s right, it’s a portal!” Cook Bay said.

  He now believed that coming here was the best choice he ever made in his life. He did not just see a portal, but also the possibility of actually building a floating space tower. If Mr. Randhir could build a portal, he could definitely build a floating space tower, since portals were so much harder to build.

  If he could make such an alchemy item, he would be idolized by all goblins! No, he would be the god of all goblins!

  “Technically, it’s a one-time portal. Look behind you!” said Lu Zhiyu. Lu Zhiyu had played a mean trick on Cook Bay, but he also genuinely wished for the idea of teleportation technology to be spread across the land. If someone could actually perfect the technology of portals, that would be a great surprise to Lu Zhiyu.

  Cook Bay turned his head around. He saw that the door was distorted in the swirl, and then the swirl vanished.

  Cook Bay put down his travel case and started talking to Lu Zhiyu with great excitement. Even though neither Cook’s skills in teleportation, nor his ideas and designs for the floating space tower were good enough, Lu Zhiyu could tell that Cook Bay was highly gifted in the field. Goblins had great talent in alchemy, just as Lu Zhiyu had designed them.

  “Let’s talk about building a floating space tower then! I have looked over your design. Not much concern about the level-seven alchemy life floating space tower blueprint. You could design and make one utilizing a wizard tower. The mana pool should also not be a problem. Even though it’s not possible at the moment, it will not be a problem for much longer as the magic crystal system progresses. So, the only problem is the levitation ring!” Lu Zhiyu said.

  Lu Zhiyu spoke nonstop. Cook Bay was trying to take as many notes as possible in his notebook like a student. His eyes suddenly lit up.

  “I would like to build a floating space tower tailored to the powers and gifts of the fairies. Or more specifically, tailored to the fairies in the forest. A floating space tower based on illusionary techniques, plants, and life. Therefore, you need to first truly understand the powers of the fairies, and then make a design. That’s why I invited you to come here. Only here could you learn about the powers of the fairies, the Ancient Tree of Fairies, and characteristics of fairies. You need to go deep into the Forest of Fairies. With the existing relationship between goblins and fairies, and your identity as a level-four alchemy warlock, it shouldn’t be a problem for you to enter the forest. I also understand that you know a Great Fairy from the Forest of Fairies. I need you to research the powers of fairies and the structure of the Ancient Tree of Fairies to design the floating space tower. When I have approved your draft design, I will teach you how to make a levitation ring. That will be your reward for designing the floating space tower! What do you think?” Lu Zhiyu asked.

  Cook Bay stood up immediately. Even his pitch rose as he trembled with excitement, his giant green head shook continuously, almost frighteningly. He said, “Definitely! Sir, please teach me! I will design and build the floating space tower just for you!”


  It was a gift, a blessing. The levitation ring was the hardest part of building a floating space tower. Such a creation was far beyond the imagination of goblins. No, even wizards.

  Lu Zhiyu shook his head and said, “No, no, no. Not for me, for Catherine!”


  Cook Bay was even more thrilled and said, “Catherine? The owner of the high tower, Lady Catherine? Oh! Great gold, Great Titan and Great Lady Catherine! It was my dream to work for her!”


  After two months, Cook Bay handed his design concepts and a stack of drafts to Lu Zhiyu. Lu Zhiyu had a look. It was a floating space tower utilizing plants and alchemy, with a dreamy, beautiful style just like the fairy buildings. Nevertheless, looking good would not be enough. Lu Zhiyu turned to the back of the page and saw that Cook had included the design concept of the life template of the Ancient Tree of Fairies into the floating space tower.

  The prospect of such a floating space tower meant a great deal for the fairies in the forest. Lu Zhiyu thought about this and said to Cook Bay, “Why don’t we transform an Ancient Tree of Fairies into a floating space tower?”


  Cook Bay froze and asked, “Transform an Ancient Tree of Fairies into a floating space tower? Is that even possible?”


  Lu Zhiyu nodded and said, “Give it a try. With the help of Catherine, it shouldn’t be a problem. The Ancient Tree of Fairies is the accompanying tree of the fairies in the forest. Here’s the fabrication drawing of the levitation ring, and the seed of the Ancient Tree of Fairies. I am quite satisfied with your design. You can return to the high tower and discuss details of building the floating space tower with Catherine. Tell her that this is my gift for her level-up. I hope she will like it.”


  Lu Zhiyu put a folded drawing and a supernaturally glowing green seed into Cook Bay’s hands and opened the door. On the other side of the door was not the flowery grassland outside, but the City of Leaves, a dense forest.

  Cook Bay opened the door again after Lu Zhiyu closed it behind him, but the scene had changed back to the flowery field. No matter how Cook Bay fiddled with the door and tried to find out the secret behind it, he realized that it was now just a normal door.

  “Mr. Randhir must be joking. How could this design fit onto such a small paper? It must be incomplete!” Cook Bay complained.

  Cook Bay unfolded the paper several times. The book-sized paper unfolded into the size of a table, with a drawing of an intricate three-dimensional silver ring on it. But there were only two words, “Levitation Ring”, written on it and nothing about the fabrication method.

  “Ah!” Cook Bay was again shocked. The goblin’s green head was about to explode.

  Just when he was getting frustrated and started complaining that Mr. Randhir had played a terrible joke on him, Cook Bay noticed that in the corner it said, “Fabrication method located on the library on level two!”


  Cook Bay rushed to level two and opened the door to the library. Stacks of books fell over, covering the floor. The titles were, “Theory on Fabrication of Levitation Ring I, II, III……”


  Cook Bay, again, felt that the world was crumbling around him.