After President Abarro's eternal rest, Nine Stars Commerce officially entered the Bob era.
And the time had come for him and Richard to fulfill their agreement.
In Bob's office, or rather the president's office, Bob sat behind the desk, holding a cigar, smiling broadly as he looked at Richard.
"Don't worry, my dear Richard, all sales channels of Nine Stars Commerce will feature your ink.
And I won't charge you any channel fees.
As long as I am president, any products from your guild will enjoy this treatment."
To Bob's left, Richard sat on the sofa, playing with a patterned metallic polyhedron.
Beside him, a massive steel giant stood motionless like a sculpture.
Richard straightened up and smiled at Bob, saying, "Great, my brother Bob, you are a man of your word. But I have one more thing I need your help with."
"What is it?"
Richard took out a parchment from his pocket and handed it to Bob.
Bob opened it and looked up in surprise:
"So many Alchemy Materials! Just at a glance, to gather these materials, my dear brother, you'll need to spend at least a hundred thousand Magic Essence.
Did you get the wrong list?"
Richard sighed slightly, "No matter how much Magic Essence I have, it still needs to be spent! Our academy is about to engage in an Academy War, and if we're not well-prepared, it won't matter how much Magic Essence we have if we end up dead."
Upon hearing "Academy War," Bob immediately understood why Richard was willing to spend so much.
Bob said solemnly, "Take care of yourself, my brother. I will do my best to gather these items for you as soon as possible. If you don't have enough money, you don't need to rush to pay."
Bob's words warmed Richard's heart, and he smiled, saying, "Rest assured, I definitely have enough money on my side."
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Richard took his leave.
Bob had just become president, and there were many business matters he needed to familiarize himself with.
Richard couldn't help with those things.
He sent Makar back to the Secret Realm and took the Express Airship back to the Tower of Truth.
Upon returning to the Tower of Truth, Richard hung a "Experiment in Progress" sign on the door of the Wizard Tower and dove into the laboratory.
...
"Incredible, simply incredible."
Looking at the Starr Wraith Power Furnace on the experiment table, Richard couldn't help but exclaim.
The shock this power furnace brought to Richard was immense.
The Starr Wraith Power Furnace could produce the energy equivalent to one standard Magic Stone per minute, a function that sounded quite ordinary.
But what if this function was nearly eternal?
According to Ulysses, in his experience, the Starr Wraith Power Furnace had never malfunctioned during self-operation, except when damaged by external forces.
In the civilization of the gods, this type of power furnace could almost be used as a perpetual motion machine.
Moreover, its shell was crafted with great care by the Ghost Artisans, as the Starr Wraith Power Furnace would only malfunction under external interference.
The power furnace in Richard's hands could withstand nearly ten thousand levels of elemental attacks and five thousand levels of physical attacks, according to Ulysses' tests.
And according to Ulysses, this shell was considered average.
If it were a master's work, the defensive capabilities of this shell could increase several times.
After testing the data, Richard took off his gloves and touched the Starr Wraith Power Furnace with his bare hands.
In the next moment, the Miracle Furnace provided information.
[Material: Small Starr Wraith Power Furnace]
[Refinable Information: Design Blueprint of Starr Wraith Power Furnace]
[Refinement Cost: 230 Mental Power]
[Refinable Skill: Ghost Artisan Forging Technique (Incomplete)]
[Refinement Cost: 130 Mental Power]
[Refinable Rule: Warping Rule]
[Refinement Cost: 20 Soul Power]
"Indeed, there are rules mixed in here."
Looking at the information provided by the Miracle Furnace, Richard was not surprised.
According to Ulysses, the Starr Wraith Power Furnace had only been produced by the Twisted Master for many years. Moreover, in all these years since its appearance, there hadn't even been any imitations on the market.
This was enough to indicate that the technology required to create the power furnace was extremely difficult, and the materials were very rare, making it impossible for ordinary people or even some World Masters to replicate.
The inclusion of special rules was clearly a reasonable guess.
The Twisted Great World was one of the few worlds within the civilization of the gods that lacked divine beings.
They had a cooperative relationship with the civilization of the gods.
Those ancient Ghost Artisans were as old as the heavens, and some had even witnessed the previous civilizations of world clusters.
It was indeed not a wise decision to make enemies of them.
According to their agreement with the civilization of the gods, no divine being could enter the Twisted Great World in any form, including their true body or avatars.
Since divine beings could not enter the Twisted Great World, they could not understand the Warping Rule, making imitation impossible.
However, this was not particularly bad news for Richard.
Wizards' thirst for knowledge is as essential as a person's need for air.
No matter what kind of knowledge it is, wizards accept it all.
Moreover, wizards are best at learning from others' abilities and then modifying them according to their own power systems.
He could adapt the technology of the pioneers, let alone a power furnace that hadn't been updated for who knows how many years? "Since I can't refine it for now, I might as well install it in the armor."
Keeping this thing in his hands would be of no use; it would be better to directly integrate it into the individual armor to enhance combat power.
Richard opened the Mystic Realm Rift, and on the other side of the rift, Makar was wrapped in a leather skirt, wielding a Chainsaw Sword, constantly battling imaginary enemies in his mind.
The Mechanist Type I Individual Armor undoubtedly greatly enhanced his strength, but this boost in power also gave him a sense of security.
So when he took off the armor, an immediate sense of insecurity arose within him.
This feeling made Makar both anxious and ashamed.
To overcome this feeling, Makar decided to begin training.
This training naturally included the practice of combat skills.
Watching Makar train with such focus, Richard did not disturb him but quietly went to the workshop area, handing the Starr Wraith Power Furnace to several Fire Lizard Alchemy Masters.
"This thing is a power device; it can output the energy of one Magic Stone per minute and has extremely strong defensive capabilities.
Find a place on the armor to install it, and then add some energy storage devices."
Looking at the power furnace that continuously emitted energy, the Fire Lizard Alchemy Masters were quite curious.
Kallion tapped the power furnace and casually asked, "My lord, how strong can this thing's defensive capabilities be? If it exceeds four thousand, I'll just leave it exposed."
"…It can indeed be done; this thing's defensive capabilities are stronger than the armor itself."
The Fire Lizard Alchemy Masters were momentarily stunned, then their eyes lit up as they looked at the power furnace in Kallion's hands.
"My lord, can we study this thing?" one of the Fire Lizard Alchemy Masters asked.
Richard glanced at him, "If it could be studied, do you think I wouldn't study it? Don't think too much; hurry up and install it.
In a couple of days, I'll take you to the Crimson Sun World. After the vacation, there's a big job waiting for you."
"My lord, what big job?" Kallion asked.
Richard replied casually, "I've already ordered materials for three sets of armor. By the time you finish your vacation, those materials should have arrived.
So enjoy your vacation while you can.
Akala has already hatched Fire Lizard eggs in recent years; you might just have a romantic encounter when you go back this time."
Upon hearing this, cheers erupted in the workshop area.
Dragons are inherently lustful, and as a race with Dragon Blood, the Fire Lizard's desires have only intensified with the awakening of their bloodline.
After spending so many years in the Secret Realm, these aging Fire Lizard Alchemy Masters were fine, but the younger, more vigorous Fire Lizards were feeling quite pent up.
Watching the cheering Fire Lizards, Richard stroked his chin and thought, "It seems the Secret Realm needs a batch of female Fire Lizards."
...
Two months later, the first batch of materials Richard ordered arrived.
The Fire Lizard craftsmen, back from vacation, immediately threw themselves into production.
To forge the necessary parts for the armor more quickly, the entire Fire Lizard alchemy workshop was reconstructed.
In the massive furnace, molten gold flowed like lava, and huge mechanical hammers roared day and night.
To accelerate the work pace of these Fire Lizard craftsmen and ignite their production enthusiasm, Richard provided them with everything they needed.
From fine honey wine to Flame Behemoth Roasted Meat, Richard even ordered a batch of invigorating cigars from Nine Stars Commerce.
These cigars were well-received among the Fire Lizards, and some even intuitively added a magical plant native to the Crimson Sun World into the cigars to enhance their flavor.
Richard also promised that once this forging was completed, they would have a year off! With the dual stimulation of material and spirit, the workshop's efficiency saw a tremendous boost.
In just half a year, the first Mechanist individual armor was forged.
At Richard's request, this armor was coated with an alchemical paint. The entire armor transformed from its original golden hue to a pitch-black color like the night.
Richard's modification left all the Fire Lizard craftsmen somewhat puzzled.
What was wrong with the golden armor? It was supposed to be golden to be flashy and imposing!
After the first set of armor was forged, the speed of forging the second set increased significantly.
This time, the Fire Lizard craftsmen completed the armor in just five months.
The time for forging the third set was even shortened to three months.
As the Fire Lizard craftsmen became more familiar with the forging process, they became increasingly adept at creating the armor parts.
Richard could already imagine the scene of mass production of armor once the structure was simplified.
...
"How do you three feel?"
In the Secret Realm, three Fire Lizards brought over from New World Island were adapting to the armor.
Beside them, Makar was explaining the various functions of the armor.
"I never thought I would one day wear Sacred Armor," one Fire Lizard said excitedly.
All three of them were Silverhorn Nobles, and they naturally knew what Sacred Armor was. The selection for the Sacred Guard was extremely strict, and once selected, unless the Sacred Guard died, no new selection would be made.
So most of these Silverhorn Nobles could only watch the Sacred Guard dominate the battlefield.
Although Richard's armor was a knockoff of Sacred Armor, it was enough to satisfy their inner fantasies.
Which Silverhorn Noble hadn't fantasized about becoming a Sacred Guard?
"It feels great, my lord," one Fire Lizard said as he moved his body, "This armor hasn't affected my agility much, and it has even enhanced my strength.
Wearing this armor, I feel like I could take on five of my previous self without armor."
"I feel the same!" the last Fire Lizard chimed in, "This feeling is amazing.
My lord, what enemies will I be facing next?"
Richard looked
at the four Fire Lizards before him with satisfaction, smiling as he said, "Don't worry, you will definitely be satisfied with this enemy."
"Uh?"
The three new Fire Lizards were momentarily taken aback, while only Makar revealed a mysterious smile.
"The enemy you will face this time is your old rival—
The Black Wizard."
(End of Chapter)