Symphony for the Insect Princess

Two black-robed hermits sat on the top of a tall building with their eyes closed, as if they were old monks in meditation. In fact, their perception had completely spread out, covering the Atlas Tower in front of them.

For several days in a row, there was more than one hermit taking turns to monitor outside Oshimir's lair, not letting go of anyone entering or leaving the building. This was naturally Riversta's order.

Starlight flashed, and an old man about sixty years old appeared in front of the two.

"Thank you for your hard work, how is it?"

"Still nothing unusual, Master Xiuer."

“The number of people entering and leaving the Atlas Building every day is almost constant.”

"Hmm... I understand. You guys continue to guard, I will report to His Majesty."

“Yes, sir.”

As he walked away, Xiuer sighed quietly.

Riversta has been acting really abnormal lately, and Shuul, the sage's confidant, always sighs inwardly.

Out of personal grudge, he simply abandoned his duties as the gate manager and came to Okomi to stay day and night, and even brought a lot of other hermits with him. This situation should not have happened.

But...it's understandable.

Xiuer naturally knew what a difficult past Riversta had endured. He had already lost so many important people in his life, and now even his last bloodline had been completely severed. The blow he felt was unimaginable.

Until the truth comes out, Riversta will probably never give up unless the Great Sage directly orders him to return to his post.

"...Shur! Lord Shur!"

"what happened?"

"Look! It's the apprentice of the Sage of All Skills!"

"So what? His apprentices every day—"

"Bring people here!"

"what?"

Xiuer immediately looked down and saw two people wearing gas masks - the standard attire of Oshimir apprentices - leading five women into the Atlas Building through the main entrance.

If that were all, it wouldn't be that noteworthy.

but--

"The mana fluctuations in the building have weakened... Wait, Oshimir shut down the security system? Why?"

There could only be one reason why the wise man of all skills would suddenly do such a thing.

"VIP"

Receive those who are important enough to be seen by Oshimir and to be given privileges by him.

Chapter 145 The Sage of All Skills

"VIP"

Receive those who are important enough to be seen by Oshimir and given special privileges in Atlas.

Only then would Oshimir disable the security systems within Atlas that were too dangerous for outsiders, allowing guests to pass safely to his central workshop.

"Suddenly, I have to meet a 'distinguished guest'..."

"He finally made a big move! Report to His Majesty quickly——"

"No need, I've already seen it."

A cold and old voice sounded, and Riversta appeared beside them. He narrowed his eyes and stared down at the entrance to the first floor of the Atlas Building.

Two apprentices led five women into the building.

One of the girls, the one with silver-gray hair and the most outstanding appearance, was the girl that Riversta had met by chance not long ago and who for some reason had taken a deep interest in him.

"...You all, step up surveillance of the building over the next few days, especially keeping an eye on those 'distinguished guests'."

““Yes, sir!””

--------------

Led by two apprentices, we entered the Atlas Building.

Everyone, including me, looked around curiously, attracted by the overly large lobby.

While the exterior was impressive, the interior was far larger than it appeared, and I didn't sense any fluctuations in spatial magic; it was entirely a result of engineering. This interior was nothing like Maya's. There were doors that opened and closed automatically without any magic (automatic doors), stairs that moved up and down automatically (escalators), and many people who went to different floors entered metal doors in the wall (elevators) rather than through teleportation circles. There were also several small doorframes near the entrance (security gates), and the lighting wasn't magic crystal lamps, but glass balls with wires inside (electric lights).

"Just like a willful child..." I muttered to myself.

"Hmm? What did you say?" asked one of the apprentices.

"Nothing, you heard it wrong." I shook my head.

A wayward child—I can't think of anything else to use as a metaphor.

All of this wasn't magic, but science, entirely imported from another world—perhaps Earth or Masiaro. Science and magic aren't inherently superior or inferior; each has its strengths and weaknesses, but this dimension clearly has a tendency to abuse science. A quick glance reveals that in many cases, magical technology would be much easier, yet they insist on wasting manpower and resources on technology. It's like they're deliberately trying to emphasize to outsiders that they're not the same as those other idiot wizards. It's childish.

Alchemists are truly contradictory creatures, full of knowledge but prone to temper, devoted to studying the world but prone to nitpicking over trivial matters.

"Superstitious belief in science? That's really stupid."

As expected, Sedroang still had a look of disdain on his face.

"Wow... It feels like an amusement park! Gufufu, this style suits me very well~"

"As long as you are happy, Qimila."

Charlotte and Qiumila expressed their admiration very honestly.

“…(Take notes, take notes)”

Aisia said nothing, but looked around and wrote non-stop in a notebook. As a professional alchemist, she must have a lot to learn.

"Please go this way."

The second apprentice led us to an inconspicuous side door. If I remember correctly, this door would lead directly out of the building.

——No.

The apprentice pulled down the wrench on the door and when he opened it, he saw a completely different scene.

"...Was this room there just now?"

"And the decoration style is completely different..."

Behind the door that should have led to the outside of the building was a classical-style reception room, which looked like the popular Maya style of hundreds of years ago, and was completely different from the technological lobby outside.

"Is this here?"

"No, even if the security system is turned off to welcome the distinguished guest, the way to the teacher's central workshop is still very roundabout. Please follow closely, or you may die."

This doesn't sound like a joke at all.

"It's as exciting as exploring a maze..."

Qiumila was still relaxed, as if she really regarded this as an amusement park. Sedroon seemed to have little interest from beginning to end. Charlotte just expressed her curiosity. Aisia was still looking around, not wanting to miss any details.

One of the apprentices pressed a button on the carved table, and the entire reception room immediately underwent earth-shaking changes: the seemingly tightly fitted floor suddenly fell apart like a puzzle, the walls were crackled open, the ceiling lowered and transformed into a staircase, and the sculptures and famous paintings placed along the wall were all hidden inside the wall.

In just a few seconds, the reception room was transformed into an industrial-style stairwell.

Facing the dumbfounded people, the two apprentices seemed very proud and walked up the stairs.

--------------

Sometimes I passed by a flipped wall, sometimes the entire room slid like a cable car, and sometimes I passed through a series of teleportation circles. What I thought was a maintenance passage turned out to be a room, what I thought was a utility room actually merged into a corridor, what I thought was a door leading inward actually led to the outer wall... I had long lost the distinction between east, west, south, and north, and even up, down, left, and right were gradually becoming confused.

In the Atlas Building, the application of technology and magic is perfect. Rooms, corridors, secret passages, and stairs can be transformed into each other, and the places they lead to can be adjusted at any time according to needs. Although it is quite convenient from some perspectives, it is also complicated to the point of being annoying.

To renovate the interior of a building like this is simply to show off one's technology to visitors.

"Hasn't it arrived yet? How fucking annoying..." Saidron said impatiently.

"It's right in front."

Now we are walking in a huge space that looks like an underground cave. A long suspended metal road leads to a door at the end. The dim space lacks lighting, and there seem to be many metal objects hanging around, but they are not clear.

Finally reached the end.

We didn't walk very far, but it felt like an extremely long journey.

“The teacher has been waiting for a long time.”

The two apprentices opened the door for us and then waited outside, apparently wanting us to go in by ourselves.

Walk through the door.

Total darkness.

A crackling sound came from the darkness.

Then the lights came on—

"Ah, you're here."

——A masked man in a white coat is drilling his ears with an electric drill.

Bang! (Door closes)

""""...""""

"What's wrong, everyone? The door just opened and closed again." asked one of the apprentices.

"Maybe we opened it the wrong way..."

"There's a masked man inside who's committing suicide with a drill."

"Mask...?" "Drill...?"

The two apprentices looked at each other and then immediately reacted.

"Oh, that's the teacher."

"He's cleaning his ears."

""""...""""

Open the door again——

"Why, why didn't you come in just now?"

——The masked man was hitting his crotch with a hammer.

Bang! (Close the door again)

""""...""""

"What's wrong, everyone?"

"I'm afraid the way I opened it is not right..."

"There's a masked man inside, castrating himself with a hammer."

"Hammer...?" "Castration...?"

The duo of apprentices looked at each other again, then immediately reacted.

"Come to think of it, did the teacher say last time that there was something wrong with his artificial testicles?"

"Maybe they're planning to tear it down and replace it with a new one."

""""...""""

Open the door again——

"I know I might be being impolite, but what's the point of etiquette? Come on in!"

—The masked figure muttered impatiently as he stuffed a ball-like object that was a combination of bionics, mechanics, magic, and engineering into his crotch.

"This is fucking sexual harassment!!!"

Unable to bear it any longer, Sedroon roared, and a big sword immediately appeared in his hand. He slashed at the masked monster without waiting for others to stop him!

when! ! ! !

Got caught.

"Varied--"

A mechanical hand extended from the masked figure's flank, forming a tweezer-like structure. Using only two thin pieces of metal, it grasped her greatsword! An extremely dense stream of magical energy erupted from the tweezers without warning, shocking Sedraon away. The greatsword fell into Oshimir's hands!