by Zhuang Bifan
"Huh, what kind of potion is this, how come I haven't seen it before…?" Hoffman opened the bottle and took a whiff before a look of surprise could be seen on his face.
He was after all a Master Pharmacist. With the financial backing of the Glittergold Trade Union, he had gathered countless potion recipes, be it the common ones, or the ones used by the High Elves royalty. Hoffman dared say that he might even have more potion recipes than the Pharmacists Guild itself.
"This is called the Arcana Potion, and can be used to stimulate growth in mana, helping mages who have reached a bottleneck in their growth."
"Isn't that the Arcane Magic Potion?" Hoffman sounded doubting. As a Master Pharmacist himself, he knew that there was indeed a potion that could be used to stimulate mana growth. It was used by mage apprentices below level-5 who could not break through, becoming a true mage. Wasn't that called the Arcane Magic Potion? How come it's called the Arcana Potion now? Moreover, this Arcana Potion he held in his hand was blood-red, and didn't seem to be the Arcane Magic Potion, either…
"Yeah, it is like the Arcane Magic Potion, but there is a small difference. The Arcane Magic Potion is targeted at mage apprentices below level-5, but the Arcana Potion targets mages below level-10…"
"You're saying that this Arcana Potion can turn a mage into a Magic Shooter?" Hoffman's eyes grew as wide as saucers as his hands holding the bottle of Arcana Potion trembled. He could not believe his ears; a potion capable of turning a mage into a Magic Shooter? Was there something scarier that this?!
In the vast Breezy Plains, there were tons of mages at the peak of level-9 dreaming to surpass it and become a true Magic Shooter, but even they knew that most of them would not be able to accomplish that in their lives. It was much harder for one to go from a mage to a Magic Shooter—more so than transitioning from a mage apprentice to a mage. Out of 10 mage apprentices, perhaps one of them would become a mage, but even amongst 100 mages, perhaps not one of them would become a Magic Shooter. No matter how well-equipped or talented they were, they dared not say that they would be able to reach the realm of Magic Shooter.
But now…
This young President took out a potion bottle and told everyone that if they drank it, they could go from being a peak level-9 mage to a true Magic Shooter.
What would happen then? Hoffman did not even need to think to know that the mages of the Breezy Plains would go crazy over the potion. None of them would be able to resist it, and they would spare no cost to get their hands on the Arcana Potion.
"Well, Mr Hoffman, are you interested?"
"What?" Hoffman was lost in thoughts about the Arcana Potion, and could not comprehend the meaning behind the sentence, only suddenly coming back to his senses when Lin Li repeated himself. Good heavens, this young president was handing the rights to the Arcana Potion to him!
"Of course… Of course… Of course I'm interested!" Hoffman repeated himself thrice before finally getting his meaning across. He was too excited indeed, and had even forgotten the usual negotiating when it came to discussing deals. Truth be told, he was not planning on negotiating, either—this was a nearly miraculous potion, and no matter what kind of terms were offered, he was sure he could earn them back by selling it to the other mages.
"Very well." Lin Li nodded his head, and took out another dozen bottles of Arcana Potion, placing them on the table. "I don't have much time recently; hence, I've only got a dozen bottles. Why don't you sell these first? I'll let you decide how to go about doing it since you're the expert here. I only have one request: I want 70% of the earnings, and if possible, I hope the Glittergold Trade Union can provide me with some herbs…"
Lin Li paused here. "Don't worry, it's not some rare herbs. They're just hard to find in Doland, and I don't have time to visit other cities. If the Glittergold Trade Union has connections, I hope you can help me buy more. I'll pay you according to the market price."
"It's a deal, President Felic. Give me a list of the herbs you want later, and I'll have them sent to the Tower of Dusk within a week," Hoffman agreed without thinking, because he knew this was a once in a lifetime opportunity that he did not want to miss due to a moment's hesitation.
Lin Li busied himself after sending Hoffman off. The Arcana Potion was way more complicated than the Arcane Magic Potion, and even with his abilities, he could only make at most a few bottles a day. If he did not hurry and make more while he had time in the next several days, he would not have the time to do it once he really started becoming busy.
For the next few days, Lin Li cooped himself in the pharmaceutical lab. Besides receiving his daily "teaching" from Apophis, he spent all his time working on the Arcana Potion. The potion was critical to the Guild of Magic: besides bringing them great wealth, it would also attract troops of mages to join them. By then, it would be the mages begging the Tower of Dusk to accept them instead.
Besides that, Lin Li sent Norfeller to Doland to pass a message onto Kaman.
Of course Kaman would listen to what the God of Fortune had to say. The next morning, Kaman had sent over a few dozen miners to start working on a spot less than a kilometer from the Tower of Dusk. This was a spot that Kaman originally had his eye on, but he had been too late—when he'd brought his men over, Lin Li had already bought the title deed. They even got into a scuffle over it, which almost cost Kaman his life.
Now that so much time had passed, Kaman no longer thought of revenge. Actually, if anyone wanted to take revenge on Lin Li now, he'd probably be the first to jump at the person. Seriously? I've lived for so long and only met one God of Fortune. If you kill him, who else is going to give me wealth?
When he thought of this, Kaman could not help but congratulate himself for his luck. Ever since he'd got to know this young mage, his business became better each day. Now, every Adventurer in Doland City knew that if they wanted to buy the best magical equipment, they should go to Kaman's weapon shop. The earnings from his weapon shop in the past two months had even surpassed those of his mining business!
Ever since he got a taste of the benefits, Kaman became more diligent in his work, and when Lin Li asked him to send people to mine refined iron from mineral veins nearby, Kaman sent over 40 miners when a dozen would have been enough. Even then, he came from Doland to inspect the mining personally from time to time.
That evening, Lin Li had just finished a bottle of Arcana Potion before a knock sounded on his door.
"Damn it, these two old fellows really have nothing better to do. Why do they keep coming to mess around in my pharmaceutical lab? Tsk, I'll put laxatives in their food soon…" Only Apophis and Gerian would knock at this time. They seemed possessed, acting like curious kids at their old age and always coming to watch Lin Li in the pharmaceutical lab, annoying him to no end…
Lin Li set down a beaker while cursing angrily before swinging open the door to the pharmaceutical lab, only to realize that it was not the two old fellows knocking on the door, but Gavin and Kaman.
"How come you're here?"
"Mr Kaman said he had something urgent he needed to talk to you about…" Gavin glanced at Kaman who stood next to him. Frankly speaking, he did not think much about this corrupted businessman who re-sold quarry stones. He had lived in Doland for so many years, after all, so how could he not know what kind of person Kaman was? But President Felic seemed to think highly of this man; hence, Gavin did not say more, but instead decided to find an opportunity to tell President Felic that Kaman was not a good man and to caution him against being cheated by him…
"Alright, you can go, Gavin. I'll talk to Mr Kaman." Lin Li knew that Kaman would not come find him if there was nothing important. He was unlike the two crazy old men, and would never dare do this.
"Noted."
After sending Gavin off, Lin Li brought Kaman to the meeting room.
"What's the matter?"
"You see, Mage Felic…" Kaman gulped; he looked nervous. "My men have been mining for the past few days, and I've been there a fe
w times… Things have been going well, but when I went there earlier, I heard they ran into some problems…"
"What problems?"
"After digging six meters deep, they couldn't dig any deeper, as though something was in their way. I heard them say it was a mineral vein, but much harder than refined iron. They've already gone through a few dozen shovels…"
"Let them rest for a while, then. The refined iron they got is enough to last some time anyway…" Lin Li did not think much of it, as refined iron mineral veins usually came with other mineral veins as well—they were usually magical metals. Truth be told, this was why Lin Li wanted to mine for refined iron as he actually wanted the magical metals that came along with it. Otherwise, it was too little refined iron for him to personally get Kaman to send miners to work on it.
However, he could not let miners mine for magical metal, or it would be disastrous if they damaged it…
"That's what I thought too…" Kaman nodded his head, but fear was still evident in his eyes. "I heard them say that the mineral vein is strange indeed. It feels like a furnace when they stand on it…"
"Wait…" Lin Li's expression changed when he heard that. "You're saying that the temperature is high around the mineral veins?"
"Very high. I haven't been there personally, but I could feel the heat standing outside the cave. It was as though something there is burning…"
"Let's go, bring me there!" Lin Li stood up suddenly, pushed open the door, and left the room without waiting for the confused Kaman.
Existing alongside refined iron mineral veins and incredibly hard, also scalding hot at the same time… what else could it be besides Lava adamantine? To think that he would find it in Doland when he could not find it in the Fire Plume Ridge, and at such an obscure place too…
Chapter 370 - Sky-breaker
The mineral veins were situated in a barren hill where the surrounding soil was so dry and hard that not even weeds could grow. Beneath the hill, there was a mine shaft about the height of a person, and Lin Li could feel the scalding heat coming from the opening even from far away.
From a distance, he could even see a glowing red light from the opening of the mine shaft, and there was a pile of messy discarded mining equipment next to it. Due to the extremely high heat, the miners have stopped working for a while, and most of them had already left, leaving the bold ones to stare inside the opening…
"The redhead is called Duncan, he's the leader of my miners. He has been in charge of most of the mining of the Rosen Union." As they walked, Kaman introduced Lin Li to the red-haired youth looking into the mine shaft. He looked to be in his twenties, and was extra eye-catching with his red hair. After the introduction, Kaman shouted from afar, "Hey Duncan, come over for a bit."
"How come you're here, Boss?" Duncan stopped moving when he heard Kaman's voice from afar before he brought the two miners beside him over. "Boss, it's really dangerous there now, you shouldn't go too close."
"I brought Mage Felic over to take a look…" Kaman said while looking over to the glowing mine shaft opening. "Say, Duncan, what's going on now? Can you continue mining? Why do I feel like the temperature has increased?"
"The temperature is indeed much higher now. I went to take a look, and it's hotter than a volcano crater at this point. If we go in, we'll be cooked in a matter of seconds. I'm afraid this mineral vein cannot be mined anymore, Boss…" The young miner shook his head helplessly.
"You went in?" Lin Li was a little shocked. While this red-haired teen looked strong, he did not look to be well-versed in martial arts, much less be at level-10 with Combat Energy. Given the temperature now, only a Warrior of at least level-10 could go in using their Combat Energy to protect themselves, or else they would be scalded.
Only now did Duncan realize that his boss had brought a mage along, and he could not help feeling curious. Why did his boss bring a mage now? Surely he didn't think that he could depend on a mage to mine the refined iron?
However, this was someone his boss had brought along, and even though Duncan found it strange, he answered honestly, "I went in three hours ago, when the temperature was much lower. I don't think it'll be easy to go in again…"
"Hm…" Lin Li nodded, and did not say more.
There was probably a Lava adamantine mineral vein hidden in this mine shaft after all, as this only happened with Lava adamantine mineral veins. When they were buried underground, they were just like any other mineral vein, but once they came into contact with the air, the fire magical element in them was released, and would start spreading faster and faster. If not mined, the fire magical element would be depleted in at most five days, and by then, the precious magical metal mineral vein would be just like any ordinary stone…
"Kaman, get someone to bring me there and have a look."
"Mage Felic, isn't that too dangerous?" Kaman jumped in shock. The mine shaft was already boiling hot, yet he still wanted to go in? What if something happened?
"Don't worry." Lin Li smiled. The Lava adamantine's temperature was scary only to an ordinary miner; it was nothing to him as an Archmage and a Master of mining. He had a whole bunch of methods to deal with the heat; even with just a Flame Shield he would be able to guarantee his safety in the mine shaft.
Of course, if he were to bring someone else along, it'd be a bit more complicated…
"Alright, then…" Kaman hesitated, but did not continue. This was the resourceful Mage Felic, after all, and any danger Kaman was concerned with was probably nothing to him. After thinking for a bit, Kaman called Duncan over. "Duncan, bring Mage Felic down to have a look."
"Ok." Although Duncan still could not decipher who this young mage was, his boss had already given the word, and Duncan could not say anything more. He nodded his head before picking up his shovel as he prepared to head down to the mine shaft with the young mage.
"Duncan, hang on…" After taking a few steps forward, Kaman stopped him, and whispered quietly, "Protect Mage Felic carefully once you're there, nothing must happen to him, or else you and I will be in big trouble, you understand me?"
"Yes…" Duncan gave Kaman a look, and although he said nothing, he was filled with suspicion. Who was this Mage Felic, and why did he make his boss so nervous? Could he be a son of an important figure?
Kaman's miners were good indeed. They had only been mining for a couple of weeks, but they have already dug quite a bit. After Lin Li followed Duncan into the mine shaft, before them was a long slope where it shone bright red, and the temperature was scalding. Sparks were flying around the steep slope, and painted the dim mine shaft a fiery red like that of a volcano.
The roof of the cave seemed to be reinforced with wood, which made the structure of the mine shaft look unusually sturdy. After entering the mine shaft, Lin Li uttered a spell and covered himself with the light from a Flame Shield.
As the Flame Shield was released, Lin Li was immediately shielded from the scalding heat of the mine shaft; even the flying sparks seemed to feel the obstruction as they disappeared before landing on Lin Li's body. The strange scene shocked the red-haired miner. Was this the legendary art of magic?
"It's just magic to protect myself." Lin Li smiled, and uttered another spell without waiting for Duncan to come back to his senses. A blue light engulfed him—it was a level-15 magic, Frost Barrier. While it could not absorb any attack of magical elements like the Flame Shield, the powerful ice magical element could still prevent Duncan from being harmed by the heat.
The slope was not too steep, and the pair walked about 50 meters before they saw a burning ball of flame. At the core of it was a fiery-red boulder, which looked to be about a meter tall. Rays of red light seemed to be c.a.r.e.s.sing the stone…
"My God, what a huge piece…" Even Lin Li was shocked. This Lava adamantine was at least half a ton in weight, and from the red light pouring off it, it seemed to be of a very good quality. If it was used to forge weapons, it would be enough for at least 10 magical weapons, and each of them would
be a rare masterpiece…
"Duncan, go notify the other miners and have them gather here with their equipment in five minutes."
"Okay."
After watching Duncan leave, Lin Li took a deep breath and clutched the Aether Staff in his hand tightly. Then, he started chanting away, and a chilling cold started filling the mine shaft as he continued…
Duncan brought everyone over in less than five minutes. As the over 40 miners entered the mine shaft with their shovels, all of them looked like they had seen a ghost. They could not believe that the boiling hot mine shaft was suddenly filled with a bone-chilling cold; there were thick layers of ice everywhere around the mine shaft, as well as icicles hanging off the cave walls. The world seemed to have turned into a winter wonderland at that moment.
"Duncan, what's going on?" Kaman followed behind a group of miners, and his mouth still hung agape. The sight before him was so peculiar as though a bearded muscle-man had suddenly turned into a dainty beauty…
"Boss, I really don't know…" This was Duncan's third time replying. To be honest, he was more confused than Kaman. When he left the mine shaft, it was clearly boiling hot. How did it become like that so quickly?
Just like that, the group of confused people continued going forward following the slope. There was no raging fire at the end of the slope, nor any strange mineral vein covered in flames. There was only icy snow and a young mage holding onto a magic staff.
"Mage Felic, what… what's going on here?"
"Nothing much, I just sealed the place up with magic for a while. It should be fine now, but get them to mine quickly while I find a place to rest…" Lin Li was somewhat pale, and tiredness was evident in his voice. Well, he had just used five Thousand Miles of Ice in one go—even the most hardy of mages would feel it…
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." Lin Li shook his head, and carried on giving instructions. "Oh, right. Ask them to be careful when they mine, be sure not to damage the outer layer of ice. Once you're done, have them send it to me at the Tower of Dusk, and I'll see to the rest."
