Chapter Forty-Five: Technological Civilization and Secrets of the Elves

This time, as they entered the shop, they were greeted by a young clerk who looked just past twenty. With a slight bow, he welcomed them warmly, “Welcome! Are you here for power mechs?”

“Yes, we’ll have a look around first,” Letian replied, leading the other two inside.

“All right. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me!” the clerk responded enthusiastically.

As soon as Nangong Yuchen and Le Han entered, they headed straight for the display counter, their eyes shining as they gazed at the array of weapons—each unique, dazzling in its variety.

The weapons on the shelves were of many kinds: greatswords, longswords, spears, gauntlets, sabers, shields, axes, hammers, pikes, staves… nearly every type of melee weapon imaginable could be found here.

But that was not all. On another side of the shop, defensive gear was also on display—armor, bracers, knee guards, and more.

“Iron Colossus Greatsword! — S￥: 350,000!”

The sword was three meters long and about two feet wide, its blade etched with distinct patterns and numerous energy grooves that shimmered with a faint yellow glow.

Note: Can be upgraded and modified. The greatsword contains an earth-element skill, “Earthsplitter Slash!”

Earthsplitter Slash: Each use consumes a large amount of stamina. Power: A single strike can cleave open a massive chasm over five meters long!

“Soulfire Divine Spear! — S￥: 320,000!”

The spear was two meters long, as thick as two thumbs, its entire shaft wreathed in flames, with patterns along the surface glowing a subtle red.

Note: Can be upgraded and modified. The spear contains a fire-element skill, “Blazing Rupture!”

Blazing Rupture: Each use consumes a small amount of stamina. Power: Launches a five-meter-long flaming spear projection from the tip, piercing and incinerating everything within that range!

“Heart of Armor! — S￥: 380,000!”

This was a blue chestplate, curiously soft rather than rigid, almost like a thick garment.

Note: Can be upgraded and modified. The armor contains a water-element skill, “Shield of Weakwater!”

Shield of Weakwater: Each use consumes a small amount of stamina, generating a shimmering water-light barrier around the wearer, capable of blocking a full-strength strike from an opponent of the same tier.

…

Nangong Yuchen and Le Han looked over all the equipment with delight, discovering that anything marked with an “S” after its name could be upgraded and modified. Moreover, whether weapon or armor, each piece came with its own mech skill!

This shattered their previous understanding—it turned out that power and speed-type mech gear were not just ordinary weapons as they had assumed. Who would have thought they’d come with skills attached?

And they even had elemental attributes!

Only after seeing these did the two begin to appreciate the true strength of power-type equipment.

“But it’s strange, don’t you think?” Le Han whispered to Nangong Yuchen, remembering his father’s warning and refraining from raising his voice. “All the mech equipment here only has earth, fire, and water skills. Why are there no wind or lightning or anything else?”

“And look at the patterns on these weapons—the engravings on the longsword are regular, all about the size of a thumbnail, except for a few with grooves. The same goes for the armor and knee guards; they’re all covered with thumbnail-sized patterns. Do these patterns mean something?”

“Yeah,” Nangong Yuchen nodded, having noticed both points as well. Curious, he turned to the young clerk and asked, “Excuse me, why do these mech skills only have earth, fire, and water attributes, but not wind or lightning?”

“Huh?” The young clerk was clearly startled—he hadn’t expected customers not to know this.

Just then, Le Han voiced another question, “Also, all these thumbnail-sized patterns on the mech equipment—don’t tell me you’re just cobbling them together from mech scraps?”

The clerk was dumbfounded. Before he could respond, Letian couldn’t hold back any longer. He smacked Le Han on the head and roared, “Shut your mouth!”

“Dad, why’d you hit me?” Le Han clutched his head, protesting, “It really is strange!”

“Strange? These are the most basic facts! Shut up already!” Letian, embarrassed under the clerk’s odd gaze, had not expected these two to be so clueless about the basics of mechs. Fortunately, there were no other customers in the shop at the moment, or he would have died of shame.

“Haha… Boss, no need to be angry. The young masters’ questions are a bit… unusual,” the clerk said, quickly trying to smooth over the awkwardness. “But I’ll explain, and they’ll understand.”

Turning to the curious but embarrassed Nangong Yuchen and Le Han, he began, “I’ll answer the question about the patterns first.

“You see, all the mech equipment you see here—and all human mechs for that matter—aren’t made from steel or other metals. Their only material is 'crystal.' As the name suggests, crystal is energy condensed into solid form—a crystal!

“As for the dense patterns you see on the equipment, those aren’t engravings or carvings. Since all mechs are assembled from many crystals, those patterns are actually the seams where thumbnail-sized crystals are joined together to form the equipment.”

The clerk explained smoothly, finally looking at Le Han, “So, young master, do you understand now?”

“Crystal?” Hearing this, Nangong Yuchen suddenly recalled the scene in the abandoned building that night, when Mu Feng put away his shield—it had twisted, broken, and scattered into countless small blocks, all of which then flowed into the ring on his hand.

“So mechs are made of crystal, which is why they can be assembled and disassembled at will? But what exactly is that ring, able to store mechs?” While he pondered, Le Han spoke up.

“Oh... so it’s all condensed crystals!” he said, half-understanding, then patted Nangong Yuchen’s shoulder, puzzled. “Nangong, do you think they’re all right in the head? If mechs are made from crystal, why not just use one big piece? Why bother piecing together tiny bits? Isn’t that a hassle? And how sturdy could it be, anyway…”

“What?” The clerk was taken aback. Hassle? Not sturdy?

Nangong Yuchen and Letian, who had been woken by the commotion, were equally stunned by Le Han’s wild imagination.

It was several seconds before the clerk, face darkening, replied, “Young master, the relationship between crystal and mechs is far more complicated than you imagine. It’s not a matter of hassle or sturdiness, but rather the very essence of our civilization’s technological advancement! It’s the culmination of centuries of human research. Once you advance to the first tier and get hands-on with mechs, you’ll understand their true significance.”

“All right, all right, let’s leave it at that. Now answer Nangong’s question,” Le Han said, waving impatiently.

The clerk forced a smile, cleared his throat, and continued, though he couldn’t help but feel the urge to throw them out.

Seeing him resume his explanation, Nangong Yuchen focused and listened intently.

“Power-type mech skills only have earth, fire, and water attributes because of the history of mech development. In the past, human civilization was not as advanced as it is now, and mechs only used pure energy. At that time, humans fought the beast clans head-on, but as the war spread, humans were forced to retreat again and again—until one day, they discovered there was another race in the world: the Elves.”

At this point, the clerk’s expression grew wistful. “The elves were born kind and lived peacefully in the forests. But as the flames of war spread, even their tranquility was shattered, and they emerged into the world. Only then did people realize there was more to the world than just humans and beast clans—there were elves too!”

“When they emerged, the elves launched a devastating assault on the beast clans. They were incomparably powerful, the darlings of nature, the elemental ambassadors, wielding dominion over nature’s six elements: wind, fire, water, ice, earth, and lightning!”

…

Nangong Yuchen and Le Han listened, entranced. Elves? They had believed only humans and beast clans existed in the world.

Ten minutes later, the clerk finished his tale, and the two snapped out of their reverie. Le Han, impatient, scratched his head and eyed the clerk doubtfully, “Is everything you said true?”

“Of course!” The clerk’s face was full of confidence. He had only recently heard this from a second-tier customer himself.

“Oh…” Le Han let out a long “oh,” then chuckled, “Let’s say you’re right, but what’s the connection? Nangong and I asked why power-type mech skills only have those three elements, and you told us a story?”

Nangong Yuchen was also impatient—the clerk had talked for ages without answering the question.

“Ahem…” The clerk blushed at his own digression and hurried to clarify, “Humans learned of the six elements from the elves and began to study them. After years of research and the work of dozens of scientists, they finally managed to combine the elements with human mech energy, imbuing equipment with skills. Due to the nature of the elements, fire, water, and earth were classified as power elements—hence, power-type mechs only use these three. Wind, lightning, and ice belong to the speed class, so those elements are only found in speed-type mechs.”

“You could have just said that in the first place! You rambled for half an hour—my dad had to go sit outside!” Le Han finally got his answer.

Nangong Yuchen, though he said nothing aloud, was sorely tempted to smack the guy out of the shop. ‘You’re so good at spinning tales—why not write novels? Elves, really? Must be all those games you play…’