Endless Debt Chapter 730 - 212: The Author is Dead

"Throughout the lifetime of King Solomon, there were countless great creations, all of which were destroyed along with the Fall of the Holy City."

Duwa gently caressed the pitch-black Constant Metal, his words full of regret, and when the corner of his eye swept over Lebius and the others, he revealed undisguised malice. It was the Kagader Empire and the Rhine Alliance that combined forces to destroy the Holy City.

"Sulfur and fire destroyed the Holy City, but they couldn’t destroy everything. No matter how fiercely the fire burns, in the end, it will leave behind some warm ashes."

Duwa’s tone was deep; at this moment, he was very much like a true scholar, his eyes containing the sadness of past history and the pursuit of knowledge.

"The Order of Truth preserved some of King Solomon’s manuscripts, which recorded many of his great creations. For a long time, the work of the Order of Truth was to try to replicate King Solomon’s great creations based on the nature described in the manuscripts."

Bologue said, "This item... is Constant Metal one of them?"

Duwa nodded affirmatively, "According to the notes in King Solomon’s manuscript, he created a metal of ’Absolute Reality’, and later named this metal Constant Metal."

Seeing the blank expressions from the others, Duwa felt both anxious and annoyed; he very much wanted to immediately find a laboratory to start research on Constant Metal and primordial matter, rather than endlessly explaining to these idiots.

"Let us recall some basic knowledge."

Duwa sighed, "Ether is a peculiar energy that permeates the world. Condensers, by implanting an Alchemy Matrix within their soul, drive the Ether to achieve certain effects that can warp reality.

For example, fireworks, lightning, shaping steel, freezing others, and so on, all utilize Ether as energy to break the laws of physics. In other words, the essence of our power is the distortion of reality."

Duwa halted his explanation, looking troubled, attempting to explain the power of Constant Metal in terms others could understand, "’Absolute Reality’ power makes Constant Metal reject all attempts to distort and influence it, thereby maintaining its essence as absolutely real."

"Look, no matter how we try to influence it, it will reject all external interference and repulse all the affecting forces one by one."

As he spoke, Duwa somehow extracted a hammer and struck it hard against the Constant Metal, so suddenly that no one could react.

Sparks flew, metal rang, Duwa’s arm tingled from the impact, yet the Constant Metal remained unchanged; it was not warped by Ether, nor affected by physical attacks, maintaining its original absolutely real appearance.

"Damn it, can you control yourself?"

Bologue stepped in, having roughly understood the nature of Constant Metal, realizing that with Duwa’s mania for primordial substances, he might actually cut off Gold’s hand.

Bologue noticed a chain tightly binding Gold’s arm, "Wait a moment, given this, how did Gold manage to wear it on his hand?"

Duwa looked at Bologue as if he were a fool and retorted, "Do you really think a substance exists that is unaffected by external influences?"

"But you said, it is not influenced by the warping of reality."

"That only means it is not affected by reality warping to a certain degree," Duwa added, "Even King Solomon couldn’t create such a thing; it’s like the concept of an absolute rigid body in physics, something completely unaffected by reality warping does not exist. Even if it exists, it only exists in theory."

"As for how Gold managed to do it... it’s just a confrontation of force against force; Ether and Constant Metal repel each other like similar magnetic poles, but when your force surpasses the repelling force of Constant Metal, then you can warp it."

Listening to Duwa’s explanation of Constant Metal, Geoffrey didn’t understand, "Then what’s the point of making it?"

In Geoffrey’s view, he couldn’t think of how Constant Metal could be applied since it could only stabilize and be unaffected itself.

Geoffrey continued, "Or is it like the Deceitful Snake Scale Liquid, just an accidental and deformed product?"

Before Duwa could answer, Lebius offered his own conjecture.

"Weaponry and shackles."

Lebius keenly perceived the various environments in which Constant Metal could be applied, such as using the metal to make projectiles that could ignore the influence of Ether, penetrating many defenses easily as if protected by Ethereal Silence.

As for shackles, this application was already on display for them; according to Duwa, to interfere with Constant Metal’s properties, one would need at least the power of the Defender Tier, and such power is rare.

Duwa shook his head, unsatisfied with the answers from the others, his gaze then fell on Aimou, eagerly anticipating what kind of answer his fellow Alchemist would provide.

"Container."

Aimou, after contemplating for a moment, said, "A container meant to avoid Ether interference."

Bologue said, "Explain that."

Those present had only a superficial understanding of Alchemy; it was difficult for them to grasp the professional and complex thoughts of Alchemists.

"Take gas as an example; Ether and gas have many similarities. Gas fills every corner of the world, the pressure varies in different regions, and so does Ether. In some areas, Ether concentration is high, while in others it is low. Air oxidizes materials, and Ether similarly infiltrates substances and influences them; Condensers themselves are the best proof of this."