"Yup. It's enchanted with a frost effect. It can freeze an unprepared enemy while doing damage," Angor explained.
"You're an apprentice alchemist?!" Nausica looked at Angor in shock. "Do you know how much a supernatural weapon like this costs in the market?"
"I don't know. Maybe some magic crystals?" Angor tried to estimate.
Nausica shook her head. "Last time I went to the underground market, I saw a machete with the same frost effect. He asked for 130 magic crystals, and he sold it almost immediately after it was put on the market."
"Your weapon … looks like a masterpiece. With the frost effect, I think it's worth at least 150 magic crystals!"
Angor was also shocked.
150 magic crystals?! The materials he used to refine this weapon were less than one magic crystal.
It was no wonder that people who had a skill were so rich. This was simply a huge profit!
Nausica saw Angor's blank expression and shook her head. "I'm so jealous. Looks like you won't have to worry about merit points soon …"
Angor scratched his head. He did not know what to say.
Nausica looked at Angor's childish behavior and slowly calmed down. "Perhaps, alchemy is really simple," he thought to himself, trying to deceive himself. Maybe Angor's talent is suitable for alchemy. Maybe … "
"This is too precious. Are you sure you want to give it to me?"
"Of course."
"Then I'll take it." Nausica loved the weapon as well. Both its appearance and its power were enough to enchant her. She fiddled with the weapon for a while and asked, "You haven't told me its name yet."
"It's called Bear Claw." Angor explained the weapon's properties and how to use it. "You can name it yourself. It's a gift for you. Oh, right. Look at the inside of the finger holes. "
Nausica looked at the largest of the three holes. Her name was engraved on the inside of the hole in the common language.
"My name is on it. I guess I have to take it." Nausica paused. "Let's call it Single Butterfly."
Nausica chose the word "butterfly" instead of "flower". She seemed to be implying something.
She spun the blade in her hand like a fan and drew a blurry circle in the air.
Next, she tossed the spinning blade into the air and placed her hand on the blade's path.
"Nausica, you …" Angor did not know what Nausica was doing. With the sharpness of the Single Butterfly Knife, if the blade touched the hand, wouldn't the arm be cut in half?
Nausica didn't answer. Instead, she stared at the blade with a serious look.
The blade was tossed high into the air and slowly fell down. Angor frowned when the blade was about to cut Nausica's hand.
Sneak —
The blade didn't stop spinning. Instead, it kept falling and stabbed into the table with a clank.
He quickly checked Nausica's hand and saw a thin line of blood on her wrist.
Angor's pupils shrank. Did she get cut?
Nausica pulled her hand back and wiped the blood with her index finger. She licked her finger. "I didn't use any mana on the blade, but it still left a frost mark. Looks like I underestimated it. This weapon is worth at least 200 magic crystals. "
"Are you alright, Nausica?" Angor sighed in relief when he saw Nausica's wrist moving freely.
"I'm fine. Just a small cut from the frost aura."
"Why did you do that?" Angor didn't understand.
Nausica gave him a bright smile and picked up the Single Butterfly Knife on the table. She inserted her thumb, index finger, and middle finger into the knife. For some reason, Angor felt that Nausica and the Single Butterfly Knife were somehow connected. It was as if every person and every object had a magnetic field. The magnetic fields between people and objects would slowly become similar after spending time together. Nausica and the Single Butterfly Knife used to have separate magnetic fields. But now, they seemed to have become one.
It was as if the Single Butterfly Knife had been with Nausica for decades.
"It's a ritual." Nausica smiled. "A swordsman uses this ritual to choose a weapon. If your hand is cut off, it means the weapon does not accept you. If you lose your hand, it means the weapon accepts you and chooses you as its lifelong companion."
"Looks like the ritual was a success." Angor wanted to ask more questions about "why" and "whether it was worth it." But he decided against it. Values and personal pursuits were different. There was no need to force others to follow them.
"Yes, it was a success." Nausica put the Single Butterfly Knife back into her pocket. "It suits me perfectly. Thanks!"
Angor shook his head. "You can come to me if anything happens to the Single Butterfly Knife. I'll fix it for free since it's the first work of a master alchemist.
"I'll cherish it and try not to let it meet you so soon." Nausica paused a little. "Do you have any ideas about alchemy now?"
Angor shook his head. "Nope. Alchemy isn't easy. It takes a lot of time and effort. It takes a lot of stamina and spirit."
Nausica nodded. "You're right. When I was studying Rune, someone told me that many alchemists would spend more than ten years or even longer to create something. Of course, that's for tiered alchemy products. As for apprentice alchemists, they should take a long time to create something, right? I heard there's an intermediate apprentice alchemist in the underground market called Prometheus. "
"Prometheus?"
Nausica nodded. "Yes, Master Prometheus. I heard he only creates one alchemy product every half a year."
Angor remained silent. "…" He really meant it when he said "long time". It took more than a day to create an alchemy product. But after hearing Nausica's words, he felt lucky that he did not tell her how long it took.
As far as alchemy was concerned, Angor's alchemy progress was mainly due to his ready-made blueprints and enchantments. Other alchemists would need a long time just to design blueprints and memorize runes. Making one alchemy product in half a year was already very efficient.
…
That night, Angor stayed at Cave Field for dinner. They had roast meat.
Sailum heard that Angor had made great progress in alchemy, so he kept asking Angor about alchemy. Angor did not mind answering all of his questions.
As they chatted and laughed, the heartwarming dinner ended with Sailum snoring.
"It's good to be young. I can sleep whenever I want." Nausica took a puff. "I don't even remember the last time I slept. I always meditate instead of rest."
Angor wanted to say "why work so hard?", but he did not say it in the end. It was still a matter of values.
After sending Sailum back, Angor was about to say goodbye to Nausica.
"I'll walk you back. We can go out for some fresh air," Nausica said.
They did not speak on the way back. When they were about to reach Angor's home, Nausica suddenly said, "Hookdick was taken away by his teacher. You don't have to worry about him for now. But he's been spreading a lot of rumors about you."
"I know. Sailum told me last time."
"Aren't you worried? He said that you're useless, you're a waste of resources, you have no talent, and you only know how to hide behind others. "
"Did anyone believe it?" Angor asked.
Nausica raised an eyebrow. "Almost no one believes it, as long as they know it's Mister Sunders behind you. Of course, there are also some fools. "
"Then it's settled. Rumors will always be blown away by the wind of reality." Angor suddenly remembered something Jon said. "Their doubts and comments about me are not enough to make up one ten-thousandth of me. But they can see everything clearly."
"You're right. The more you spread rumors, the more useless you'll be. They can see everything clearly." Nausica chuckled. "You're a thinker."
"Since you've thought it through, I won't say more. I hope to see you reach the top soon. Good night, young man. "
…
When he reached home, Angor checked the time. According to Butler Goode, the news of the purification garden's opening would spread in about one and a half months.
To avoid powerful opponents who would come after hearing the news, Angor had to find a way to reach the top within that time.
Time was running out.
Angor decided to use the next half a month to craft all the alchemy weapons he needed. He also needed to master the spell combination he chose.
Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
When the first day of the Month of Spring Sacrifice arrived, Angor put on his black bedsheet and walked out of his house.
Toby flapped his wings and landed on Angor's shoulder. He rubbed his head against Angor's face.
"I'm going to challenge the tower today. You don't have to go yet. Get used to the arena first," Angor said. He spent a lot of time practicing with Toby these days. After learning the sequence of gravity, Toby's attack power skyrocketed.
He thought he could easily defeat Toby with his alchemy weapon, but now he realized that Toby wasn't a match for him. However, Toby was much faster than he expected in a one-on-one fight. His alchemy weapon was a long-range weapon. If he couldn't aim at Toby's shadow, it would be useless no matter how powerful it was.
However, he also learned about his weaknesses during the fight with Toby. It was difficult for him to fight against someone who specialized in speed. Now that he knew his weakness, he had to find a way to solve it. He came up with several plans in the past few days, all of which could effectively prevent someone who specialized in speed from approaching him. Of course, the best method was to let Toby fight head-on.
In other words, Angor was planning to act like a rogue.
He would rely on external forces such as his alchemy weapon and Toby.
The cantrips he learned were all defensive and control types. He would drag his opponent to death no matter what.
The first level of the Sky Tower was still bustling with noise and excitement. Angor watched a few matches and gained a better understanding of the contestants' abilities.
They still looked weak, but at least they were more exciting than the "King of Beasts VS Monarch of Eternal Freeze". The mortals kept cheering for the contestants.
When it was about time, Angor went to the registration office.
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