Volume 10 Bugs Chapter 63: Pursuit, Scattered Chapters
In fact, this newly completed "Rock Guardian Essence" has no practical value at all:
It is only available to adventurers above level 30. When an adventurer reaches level 30, his accessories slot is often filled with items with much higher attribute bonuses, such as the "Tiger Pendant" that increases attack power by 75 points and attack speed by 3%, or the "Real Black Pearl" that increases magic power by 150 points and magic damage by 55 points, or the "Power Ring" that increases defense power by 35 points and health by 92 points. These items are not difficult to obtain. The attribute bonus of increasing defense power by 15 points and blocking probability by 3% is not attractive to an already experienced adventurer, not to mention the 1% evasion probability as a price.
However, for the alchemy I studied, its appearance had a leap-forward significance: it marked that my alchemy skills had since jumped out of the narrow limitations of the purely material world and taken the first step in exploring the mysterious and ethereal world of magic. From then on, a whole new academic world opened up to me, allowing me to re-observe and understand this wonderful world from a broader perspective - for a young person with a strong thirst for knowledge, lofty ideals, and a willingness to devote his youthful enthusiasm to exploring the origin of the world, this was such an exciting progress.
More importantly, this beautiful stone made of raw materials worth less than one gold coin could be sold at a grocery store for three gold coins. For a poor man who only had a handful of copper coins left in his pocket and couldn't even afford to repair his torn clothes, this was such an exciting way to make money...
The rest was easy. I used the only three gold coins I had and a handful of change to buy a few more "small pieces of gray earth and stone essence dust" and a few pieces of obsidian from the guild auctioneer, then excitedly ran back to my own laboratory upstairs. A moment later, a green light flashed, and I ran downstairs with a few freshly baked "Rock Guardian Essence" and threw them to the grocery store owner. Then I could use more money to buy more essence dust and obsidian, create more magic crystals, and sell more gold coins...
I know you must find the above text boring, but... hey, believe me, this whole process is much more interesting than you think - especially when the grocery store owner puts a stack of gold coins in your hands, and those lovely golden metal pieces rub against each other and make a crisp "rustling" sound, you will feel that it is all worthwhile.
I didn't want to get rich overnight in this way. You know, I have always been a restrained and introspective person. I didn't want my greed for money to change these good qualities of mine. In fact, if I could earn three or five million gold coins in this way, I would be very satisfied.
However, even this small, legitimate, and non-greedy wish is difficult to satisfy in the face of cruel reality:
On the one hand, after more than a dozen transactions, I had already cleared out the lowest-priced dust and stone essences in the auction market, and the remaining ones were priced far beyond my expectations; on the other hand, for the grocery store owner, when the quantity of a certain commodity he purchases exceeds a certain level, his asking price will become lower and lower until it becomes unprofitable. After I sold the 972nd homemade magic crystal, I found that with the lowest price of the remaining raw materials in the auction market and the purchase price of the grocery store, I could only earn one-sixth of a copper coin from selling a magic crystal (evening primrose and ghost star petals are sold in bundles, so when they are used one by one, their unit price is far less than a copper coin) - this is lower than the profit of squatting at the city gate to kill chickens and pluck chicken feathers to sell for money.
Even so, when I decided to give up this business, I already had more than 2,000 gold coins - not only was this enough to cover the cost of repairing my equipment, but it also allowed me to purchase a few more practical experimental equipment for my alchemy laboratory.
Putting aside the bleak commercial prospects of the "Guardian Essence of Rock", the success of the fusion experiment opened a door to a . Magical elements and ordinary substances can be artificially fused with each other. This new discovery made me very excited, and it also deeply stimulated my thirst for knowledge and curiosity. The desire to explore the mysteries of the world made me rush to Campnavia City to seek help from my respected alchemy teacher Mr. Edgwell...
…
Mr. Edgwell's laboratory is always a dangerous place, and every visitor who comes here has to risk his life. You know, I have been to many demon caves and beast forests, and I have faced many dangerous situations. Even so, this shabby two-story building is one of the most dangerous places I have ever been to. In fact, just before I finally mustered up the courage to climb up his shabby building, a powerful explosion just happened to end. Thick black smoke rose into the sky, pouring out from the ceiling that had been blown up for who knows how many years, and I couldn't help but feel a chill on my back.
...Okay, I admit, maybe it didn't end so "coincidentally" - I stood downstairs of his building for a long time, waiting until the expected explosion was over and carefully confirmed that the house would not collapse in a short time, and then I went upstairs trembling with fear.
When I got to the second floor, Mr. Edgware, with his dishevelled hair and burnt face, looked at me kindly. He opened his mouth and blew out a puff of black smoke, showing his bright teeth. He said to me with his unforgettable signature smile and unchanging kind tone:
"Don't worry, it's just a little accident..."
No matter what time it is, no matter how violent the explosion was, no matter how close his life was to death, our respected Mr. Edgware was always so calm. This kind of calmness and composure from the heart can only be achieved by a master with true mental focus and strong soul. How can I not be full of respect for this great scholar in front of me.
Of course, if he could wipe off the large piece of black mud on the tip of his nose caused by the explosion, clean the eye boogers in the corners of his eyes, and put on a coat without so many patches and with the buttons not buttoned incorrectly, he might look more like a master.
I think that among all the people I know, there are two so-called "Frankensteins" who are between great men and madmen and are difficult to evaluate. One of them is the pharmacist Wagner, and the other is the alchemist master Mr. Edgwell in front of me. One of them is a poison madman who wants to turn the whole world into an endless death, and the other is a bomb madman who seems to cause a violent explosion no matter what he puts together; one completely confuses the concept of life and death, trying to exchange eternal death for a deformed eternal life, while the other seems to have no concept of life or death at all, and casually throws his life into those endless explosions. It is difficult to tell which of the two people is more like a pure madman - if we only consider the attitude towards his own life, I think it seems that the latter seems to be crazier.
In order to ensure that I could leave here safely before the next explosion, I rushed to Mr. Edgwell without delay and said hurriedly:
"Sir, I found a tool that can fuse ordinary substances with magical elements to create substances with magical properties. However, I only have a simple formula. I hope to learn more about the magic fusion technology and formula from you. I hope you can help me."
"Magic fusion..." Mr. Edgwell lowered his head, patted his forehead which was showing obvious signs of failure, and muttered in a low voice while walking back. He didn't think for a long time, but for a man who knew that he was sitting next to a large time bomb, I felt that he had been thinking for ten years. In fact, during the whole waiting process, my eyes were always nervously locked on the small bottle of pink preparation that was being heated by the heating furnace on the laboratory table. I promise that if it makes any strange noises or other strange phenomena, I will jump out of the window behind me without hesitation! What? Are you asking me if I am not afraid of breaking my legs? Oh, Supreme God, don't you realize how fortunate it is to have a leg intact to break when you leave this two-story building full of explosion dangers?
"Oh, I remember..." Thank God, our beloved alchemy master finally remembered the clue of the magic fusion technique before I jumped off the building.
"...I remember I collected an ancient alchemy notebook, which records the principles and information of magic fusion technology in detail. I believe it will be helpful to you. I think I should have put it in the study. Let's go look for it..."
As he spoke, Mr. Edgwell led me downstairs. At this time, the bottle of potion, which was unknown, had been placed on the heating furnace and kept heating. The pink liquid in the test tube had begun to boil hysterically, as if trying to break through the fragile wall of the test tube and bursts of very thick gray smoke were emitting. The most terrifying thing was that from beginning to end, Mr. Edgwell did not even look at his half-finished experiment, and walked slowly downstairs without looking back.
Looking at the bottle of unknown liquid that was bubbling and making a slight whistling sound, I suddenly felt a chill all over my body. I immediately took two steps at a time and rushed downstairs before Mr. Edgwell went downstairs - most importantly, before the huge energy contained in the bottle of potion completely exploded.
Have I ever told you how incredible the layout of Mr. Edgware's house is? I have never seen a house that looks so much like a garbage dump - to be more precise, I have never seen a garbage dump that looks so much like a house - broken furniture, broken utensils, scattered books, flowing oil stains... The ground is full of things that are qualified to be called "garbage" piled up five or six inches high, almost reaching your calves. I really can't imagine how Mr. Edgware turned this place into such a wasteland - I think even if a hundred people worked continuously for a hundred years, they might not be able to make this place more chaotic than it is now, but Mr. Edgware actually did it alone - such a miracle is even more amazing than the most profound and difficult alchemical experiment.
If the owner of this room hadn't led the way, I bet I would never have found his "study room". Standing at the "door" of this study room that had long lost its door panels, I felt that the only difference was that there was less garbage in this small room than in the big room outside .
"I remember I put the notebook in the drawer of my desk, young man, help me find my desk." Mr. Edgware walked into the room, his eyes searching around the room.
"Your desk..." I looked at the wood chips scattered all over the floor and replied with a wry smile, "...it seems to be all over the floor."
“Then forget it…” Obviously, the plan to find the notes in the desk drawer was a completely impossible task. The old alchemist waved his hand and said, “I think I can look for it again…”
Mr. Edgwell's search was very effective. He soon found two pages of folded paper under half of the table leg - I guess he used it to pad the table leg - then found a ball of greasy paper from a broken plate with countless cracks - on the bright side, this sloppy guy finally knew to wipe the tableware after eating - and finally took out a handful of scraps of paper from a smelly sock with two holes in the toe - well, I admit that I had no idea what these scraps of paper were used for, and the bad smell of these scraps of paper that had been yellowed by some suspicious liquid made me completely uninterested in guessing their use.
Unfortunately, when Mr. Edgwell handed the scraps to me, the task prompt actually asked me to piece them together again. Although this side puzzle task is very simple and can also increase my soul power by 500 points, I would rather pinch my nose with one hand and point my finger at the sun and swear that I will never expect to complete this task a second time...
Finally, we found more than 20 pages of alchemy notebooks from the messy garbage in the room. I flipped through them roughly. They mainly recorded some basic principles and technical means of magic fusion technology, which is undoubtedly very suitable for a beginner like me. But I feel a little regretful: this is still not a complete magic notebook. There are still many incomplete parts, especially some manufacturing formulas of primary and intermediate magic items have been lost, which are the most important contents of this notebook for me at present.
"Maybe it was those naughty kids in the city..." Looking at the incomplete notes, Mr. Edgwell did not show any annoyance or regret. He explained to me with a loving smile, "...You know, those little guys are always energetic. They always like to sneak in here, complete a little adventure, and then take away one or two novel souvenirs. Go ask in the city, young man, maybe you can find some scattered scrolls from them."
After he finished speaking, my magic notebook changed again, and a new task called "Scattered Chapters" appeared in the notebook. It required me to visit the children in Campnavia City and find fifteen chapters of alchemy notes scattered in the city from them. After completing the task, I can get more than 1,300 soul power as a reward, and at the same time get the alchemy formulas recorded in these notes.
Holding the half of the magic notebook that Mr. Edgwell had dug out from his garbage dump with great difficulty, I set out on the arduous road of searching for scientific truth with high morale. My respected alchemy mentor did not see me off. In fact, after he told me where the other notes were, he went upstairs without even a polite word and plunged back into his colorful and dangerous alchemy experiments without even having time to hear me say "thank you".
This is my teacher. In his life, only two things are important: truth and students who are willing to pursue truth like me. He is brave enough to explore and pursue truth, even at the risk of his own life. His haggard and busy figure is deeply reflected in his simple laboratory. The only thing that can take him away from the laboratory table is the students' requests for advice. He spared no effort to spend his precious time on stupid and clumsy students like me, repeatedly brushing away the dust that blocked my vision and showing me a path to the mysteries of the world, and he was not even willing to accept our gratitude.
Truth and students, research and education, these are probably the two main themes throughout Mr. Edgware's life. He is a pure scholar, a person who is completely indifferent to fame and fortune and devotes his life to his lifelong beliefs and pursuits. Although he is a little eccentric, he has enough reasons to win the respect and love of everyone.
Walking out of the weed-covered courtyard, I quietly closed the broken iron gate at the entrance, and then turned back with admiration and looked at the dilapidated two-story building behind me affectionately. Yes, it is a dilapidated building, but it is also a temple of light, a temple of the lifelong pursuit and dream of a wise soul. Under the setting sun, the gorgeous glow enveloped this simple little house, adding a layer of solemnity to it, which made people stand in awe...
"Boom..." A dazzling flash of fire passed by, and thick black smoke spewed out from the roof, rushing up to the sky in a panic.
…Okay, I admit, this house may not look as stately as I make it sound…
Not at all!
