Wizard: I Can Refine Everything

Richard ultimately did not accept the Wizard Family's offer of "seed lending," for apart from the act being somewhat disgusting, ensuring his personal body information was not leaked was also an important reason.

Although Richard currently had no enemies, if his business were to develop, conflicts with other businesses would inevitably arise.

Between Wizards, business conflicts were by no means limited to commercial tactics alone.

Physically annihilating a business opponent was also a method of resolving conflict.

After the banquet ended, Richard and Jolod parted ways.

Richard gave Jolod all the various materials needed to build the Magic Support Vehicle, as well as the specifications for each material to purchase.

Buying these materials himself would have cost Richard 500 Magic Essences, but giving the task to Jolod would definitely be cheaper. Even if it wasn't cheaper, the quality was sure to be impeccable.

Back at the Wizard Tower, Richard resumed his work on the spiritual power amplifying device.

This time, with no other distractions, Richard took a month to remake all the remaining parts. He assembled these parts along with the Rune Base Plate, turning them into a device resembling a cultivation chamber.

This was the spiritual power amplifying device Richard had been constructing for so long.

Once integrated with Spiritual Message Compression Technology, this device would become a communications signal tower with the Nightmare World.

After filling the device with Magic Stones, Richard immediately lay down inside it and initiated the device.

His spiritual power, channeling through the Rune Base Plate, entered the machine and then surged, amplified through hundreds and thousands of Rune Arrays. Outside the device, a wave of heat burst forth, instantaneously raising the temperature of the entire laboratory by several degrees.

Even after Richard's reworking, the immense Magic Power consumption caused by the vast Rune Array remained staggeringly large.

Through the device's amplification, Richard's spiritual power reached an astonishing peak. If spiritual power was likened to a continuously fluctuating curve, then at this moment, the curve had reached its zenith.

If it increased any further, Richard's soul would be unable to control such intense spiritual power.

In this state, Richard's Spiritual Perception became extremely detailed, so much so that it was as if he had put on a microscope, allowing him to see even the shape of a speck of dust on the ground. The influx of excessively intricate information overwhelmed Richard's brain, almost causing it to crash instantaneously.

"No, I need to shut down the machine."

In a nearly unconscious state with his brain about to crash, Richard instinctively turned off the machine. His spiritual power then returned to his soul, and Richard sat stunned in the chamber for nearly five minutes before his eyes gradually regained clarity.

"That was truly thrilling," Richard exhaled, rubbing his forehead and remarking.

Opening the hatch, Richard immediately felt the temperature in the laboratory had risen significantly. The heat-dissipation components he had prepared for the device were now faintly red.

"The loss is still too great," Richard said somewhat helplessly, "I don't know how something like the Floating City is even made. I create such a small thing and the Magic Power loss is huge; the Floating City's technology is practically otherworldly."

However, the thought of the existence of the Pioneers made him consider that the Floating City might indeed be otherworldly technology.

Once the machine had cooled down completely, Richard entered the device again. Unlike the first time, this time Richard amplified not just his spiritual power, but also a compressed Spiritual Message.

The Spiritual Message, strengthened layer by layer through the Rune Arrays, gradually transformed into a sharp arrow.

Under Richard's control, this arrow was shot out, following the connection between soul and Soul Seed, piercing the thick but ultimately insufficient dimensional barrier to enter the Nightmare World.

At the same time, a sound emanated from the coffin behind the Black Coffin Sword Saint.

Bang!

"Shit, I forgot I was in a coffin."

...

Coffin Carrier, also known as a little Nightmare by an unknown origin.

When he first entered the Lawless Land, many nightmare creatures only referred to him as "Bones" or "Coffin Carrier." But as Bones slew one nightmare creature after another with his incredibly hard Great Sword – those that coveted him and the coffin on his back – the entire Lawless Land changed how they addressed him.

They honored him as the Sword Saint and, because he always carried a black coffin on his back, people began to call him the Black Coffin Sword Saint.

Rumors had it that sealed within the Sword Saint's coffin was a terrifying nightmare creature.

Some said it was the Sword Saint's enemy; he carried the coffin to monitor his foe at all times. Others believed that the coffin sealed the Sword Saint's master, the dreadful Nightmare creature that had given him his name and the Great Sword.

But decades had passed, and the Coffin Carrier had grown from a little Nightmare into a Big Nightmare, and the black coffin on his back had never been opened.

Today, Bones practiced his swordsmanship in the yard as usual, with the coffin on his back.

His swordsmanship was not merely swinging the Great Sword; the Power of Nightmare within him also changed with the movements of the blade. It was less swordsmanship and more a unique form of magic.

As the Power of Nightmare fluctuated, a black and red Rune suddenly appeared on the Great Sword.

And Bones' Great Sword became incomparably sharp.

This Rune was not any Rune known by Wizards; it was immensely complex, and the power flowing within it was not Magic Power but pure Power of Nightmare.

A single strike unleashed a razor-sharp sword wind that silently sliced through the courtyard wall.

Bones then sheathed his sword, ready to visit the tavern to see if there was any business.

As a no-man's-land, great figures from various territories hired outlaws from the Lawless Land to carry out certain inconvenient tasks.

This was also one of the reasons why outlaws could exist and continue to grow stronger.

Suddenly, Bones heard a muffled sound from the black coffin behind him, as if something had struck the coffin with force. Then he heard a complaint and the sound of the coffin opening.

"Has the Boss finally woken up!?"

Joy surged in Bones's heart, but it was quickly followed by confusion.

The boss had awakened, which meant his duty was over. His life henceforth might simply involve joining a domain, becoming a vassal to a Nightmare Knight.

But after decades of solitude, his bones were no longer what they once were.

He now preferred this unshackled life.

Through a continual stream of spiritual messages, Richard's body finally began to move in fits and starts.

And the first thing to appear before him was a Nightmare creature with an unusually distinguished aura.

Richard eyed the cloaked Nightmare creature in front of him and ventured a guess, "Bones?"

Bones nodded his head, then knelt on one knee.

"Boss, you've finally awakened. It's been seventy-four years since you were last injured."

Feeling the connection that came with the naming, Richard looked at Bones in front of him with some surprise.

This being of Nightmare had reached the standard of a second-level creature. Over these seventy-plus years, this little guy who could only cling to his coattails had grown into a formidable Nightmare being.

"Not bad at all, Bones. Where are we right now?"

"Boss, we are in the Lawless Land."

Richard thought for a moment; he remembered Ulysses mentioning the Lawless Land.

A place where a group of Nightmare creatures that weren't controlled by any Nightmare Lord gathered.

Richard looked around. He was in a yard, surrounded by vast stretches of wilderness.

"There are no other Nightmare creatures nearby?"

"Uh... I prefer a quieter environment, so I cleared out those annoying fellows around us."

"Hmm, not bad."

Richard nodded his head. He was quite satisfied with the surroundings and very satisfied with Bones.

"Bones, I'll cut to the chase. My awakening is only temporary. I can probably stay awake for about ten minutes each day. After ten minutes, I'll fall back into slumber."

Somehow, upon hearing Richard's words, Bones felt an inexplicable sense of relief.

Perhaps his life would remain unchanged.

Richard didn't pay attention to the mood of Bones and quickly said, "Tell me what you need now. I need you to grow as strong as possible while ensuring your safety."

After Richard returned to the Wizard World, he had sought out the Dreamwalker Club, but there was no so-called Dreamwalker Club at number 232 on the fifth residential floor of the Tower of Truth where he was located.

That's when Richard recalled that there were not just one, but a total of five Towers of Truth in the Wizard World.

The distance between each of these five Towers of Truth was incredibly vast, with various uninhabited areas in between. Even for a Three Rings Wizard to communicate across regions, it would take decades of travel.

And in the middle, they still had to pass through some inevitable uninhabited areas, which were very dangerous.

Moreover, the most terrifying thing was that there was no Transmission Array between the Towers of Truth.

There were rumors that during the Wizard wars, a deceased Sixth Circle Great Wizard from the Shape-shifting School had distorted the spatial structure of the Wizard World, causing unpredictable dangers in the transmission arrays within the world.

Although most of this distortion had been restored over the years, long-range Magic Array transportation was still difficult internally in the Wizard World. The only long-range transportation method available was the World Origin Transmission, which only the World Guardians of the Wizard World could use.

While there were other means of inter-regional transportation in the Wizard World, they were either too expensive or not open to the public. Therefore, Richard could only temporarily shelve the idea of going to other Towers of Truth in search of the Dreamwalker Club.

But he was not in a hurry, after all, the Soul origin stuff would only be useful when he was promoted. Normal meditation would suffice for now.

A wizard's combat power mainly came from knowledge, and the combat power gained from merely enhancing spiritual power was far less than that brought about by knowledge.

Hearing Richard say this, Bones thought for a moment and replied, "Boss, can you give me a piece of Armor? Armor of the same material as this sword.

"My ability has evolved since I became a Big Nightmare, and I can now devour other Armor to enhance my defensive capabilities."

Without saying much, Richard immediately began to gather the Power of Nightmare in his hand, and a few minutes later, a piece of Armor made of Pure Gold appeared in Richard's hand.

Richard tossed the Armor to Bones, "Do well, getting stronger is secondary, being alive... that's the ... most important ... thing."

Having said that, Richard's Nightmare Body fell to the ground. Richard's laboratory in the Wizard World had now become a furnace; as soon as he opened the hatch, he could feel a wave of heat assault him.

The equipment he had made was already overheating, triggering the safety measures Richard had set, causing the entire apparatus to shut down.

"Ah, I hope the little guy doesn't harbor any ill will. To become a second-level creature so quickly—the evolution of Nightmare creatures is truly fast."

...

In the Nightmare World, Bones looked at the fallen Richard, carefully picked him up, then dusted off any dirt on his body, and placed him back in the coffin.

Closing the coffin, Bones looked at the Pure Gold Armor in his hands, remembering Richard's last instructions.

"To stay alive?" Bones tightened his grip on the Armor, a twinge of guilt flashing through him.

For a brief moment, he had actually entertained the thought of betrayal.

The boss had given him a name, had given him a new life, yet he thought of betraying him just to keep his current life unchanged!

How shameful!

Bones hoisted the coffin onto his back again and stuffed the Pure Gold Armor into his body, heading towards the Lawless Inn.

The boss needed him to get stronger, so he must make the effort.