Wizard: I Can Refine Everything

Chapter 276: Chapter 60 I’m Just a Native Employee of Richard Jolod’s Commerce

The repair of the ship was not a difficult task for Richard.

He didn’t even have to do the work himself; by pulling two Fire Lizard Alchemy Masters from the Secret Realm, the job was done.

“My lord, it’s been repaired,” Calion and another female Fire Lizard Alchemy Master named Sulina reported to Richard respectfully.

Sulina was a Fire Lizard Alchemy Master Richard had taken under his wing in the last twenty years, and she had also been involved in the construction of the ocean-going vessel.

“Very well, you’ve both worked hard.”

Richard nodded, opened the Secret Realm Rift, and let the two return to the Secret Realm. Meanwhile, the ship’s captain and the first mate stared agape at the scene.

They were not shocked by the treachery of Calion and Sulina; after all, the captain had done the same himself, so there was no reason other Fire Lizards wouldn’t do the same.

“What is this thing? How can it… store living creatures?”

Richard glanced at him: “This is a Secret Realm Fragment; I mentioned it in the contract. If all goes well, many of you will also enter it.”

“Secret Realm Fragment?”

Details from the contract flashed in the captain’s mind—he indeed remembered mention of this thing, though at the time, he had been attracted to other terms and hadn’t paid much attention to it.

“Set sail,” Richard commanded.

Upon hearing this, the captain nodded slightly and immediately signaled to the crew to start the ship.

The power of this ocean-going vessel came from four Alchemy Engines installed at the stern of the hold, which were not purely Fire Lizard creations; their structure incorporated many aspects of the Wizard’s Alchemy Weapons.

The “fuel” for the Alchemy Engines was Fire Element Gems, a feature that coincided with the power sources of many Alchemy Machines used by Wizards. However, the Fire Lizards’ technology was more primitive, their utilization of Elements was rougher, and their demand for fuel was higher.

But any technology starts with the primitive, and based on these prototypes, it wasn’t impossible for the Fire Lizards to develop new branches of Alchemy.

Driven by the engines, the shuttle-like ship began sailing across the sea surface.

More precisely, it was flying close to the sea surface.

Behind the ship, several jets spewed blue flames four or five meters long. With this force, the contact between the ship and the Molten Sea was minimal, and the speed was extremely fast.

Richard, looking around the ship, had to admit that the Fire Lizards’ fusion of Wizard Alchemy and Giant Dragon Alchemy was indeed a creative move.

And since Wizard Alchemy was derived from Giant Dragon Alchemy, the two shared some cunningly similar techniques in certain areas.

This reminded Richard of the bottle of Alchemy ink that Talgar had made.

“Why didn’t I think of it before? Wizard Alchemy is developed from Giant Dragon Alchemy, and there must be commonalities between the two in certain areas. That time, Talgar must have used the techniques of Giant Dragon Alchemy to activate the Wizard Alchemy Array, which is probably why the Alchemy ink mutated.”

Having realized this, Richard took out a metal plate from his pocket, drew an extremely simple Alchemy Array on it, and then tried to activate it using the method of Giant Dragon Alchemy.

One second, two seconds…

Soon, ten minutes had passed, and the Alchemy Array hadn’t budged.

During this time, Richard had tried all the Giant Dragon Alchemy techniques he knew, but the array would not activate.

Richard put away the metal plate and pondered for a moment:

“Perhaps the issue lies in the Bloodline.”

The body and the Soul are connected in a way that creates the Rebound Effect.

But the function of this connection isn’t limited to that alone.

While researching Spiritual Information Compression, Richard learned a lot about soul studies; the connection between soul and body is much closer than imagined, as studied by the Soul School.

In joint research with the Shape-shifting School, it showed that the energy environment in most worlds of the Star Realm is fundamentally the same, meaning the Element in most worlds is undifferentiated.

Both Wizards and natives are able to use these Energies without any hindrances.

However, once living beings absorb these Energies, they transform it into different types, each with distinct properties.

The Magic Power of Wizards and the Energy within Fire Lizards are not the same.

This research, once concluded, was widely disseminated to dispel the fears of Wizards embarking on expeditions to Otherworlds. After all, the notion that Wizards might be unable to use local energies when they set out to conquer a world is a terrifying prospect.

According to this research, the Soul School concluded after studying several native species:

The body, or rather the Bloodline, affects the Soul. And the Soul, in turn, further influences the Energy properties within the living organism.

This conclusion also explained why many Wizards experienced significant personality changes after integrating the Bloodlines of other creatures.

Jotting down this thought, Richard continued to wander around the hold.

The collision of different cultures had the potential to spark numerous inspirations for him.

…

A month later.

At the port of the New World, one by one, the ocean-going ships returned to the New World, all except Oceanic Vessel Number Thirteen.

In the port office, Azuhan looked grimly at the captains before him.

“You say Oceanic Vessel Thirteen was blown off course by a Fire Element Storm, and it’s unlikely to return.”

Azuhan’s voice was calm, but each captain could hear the barely contained rage simmering beneath, like a volcano on the verge of eruption.

The materials needed for the ocean-going ships were unobtainable at present, and most of the craftsmen who had built them perished in the Old World.

Now, every ship destroyed means one less asset—these vessels are among the most precious treasures of the New World.

“My lord, that’s indeed the case. I saw with my own eyes as they steered away from the eye of the Fire Element Storm to avoid it,” one captain reported.

Azuhan’s gaze swept fiercely over the faces of the captains before finally saying:

“Alright, I understand. You can go back now; don’t forget to maintain the ships.”

The captains, looking relieved, nodded hastily and scurried out of the office.

As they left, Azuhan finally couldn’t hold his composure anymore.

He was so angry his neck bulged thicker than his skull.

He was never a good-tempered Fire Lizard, but in the past, with Harash watching over him, there was seldom a need for such temper.

But now that he had to take on the responsibility of the entire Fire Lizard heritage by himself, the overwhelming pressure was almost suffocating.

“He actually destroyed one!”

Azuhan was so furious he wanted to sweep everything off the table, but halfway through, he stopped himself.

Resources in the “New World” were extremely scarce, and many things were irreplaceable once destroyed.

He looked at the cups and documents on the table, things that in the past would have been considered trivial even if destroyed for fun.

But now, he treated these items with utmost caution and care.

Azhuan collapsed powerlessly into his chair, as images of Harash, Mai Han, and those Fire Lizards he regarded as elders kept flashing before his eyes.

In the past, Merrick’s shield never had to worry about resources, and the allocation of resources to him was even prioritized over the Fire Lizard army.

Back then, he had not realized how difficult resource management was.

Now, he wondered how his elders had managed to provide him with so many resources, even as the army kept losing ground.

“Father, I miss you,” Azuhan said faintly, with no strength in his voice.

Thump thump thump!

Thump thump thump!

Urgent knocking sounded at the office door.

“Come in.”

A Fire Lizard rushed in, his face alight with ecstatic joy.

“My lord! Number Thirteen has returned!”

Azhuan was stunned, then overwhelmed with joy.

Number Thirteen had actually come back!

He rushed out of the office like the wind, immediately arriving at the dockside.

On the distant Molten Sea, a long-distance ship was swiftly approaching the dock.

“It’s good that it’s back, good that it’s back.”

Azhuan watched the long-distance ship draw closer to the dock, feeling a pang in his heart and almost shedding tears.

There were only a few long-distance ships, and each one was precious to him. Now that Number Thirteen had returned, it was like his lost child had come home.

But soon, Azuhan sensed something was amiss.

According to several captains’ descriptions, the ship wasn’t supposed to make it back. These captains were veterans who had taken to the seas even during the exploration period and knew their ships intimately. It was unlikely for such a mistake to happen, especially not with several of them at once.

Moreover, the long-distance ship in front of him showed no signs of damage. Its structure was intact, and even the outer deck was unblemished.

This ship hardly seemed like one that had been through a Fire Element Storm.

But Azuhan didn’t think too much of it; after all, it was in the depths of the Molten Sea. What could possibly go wrong?

Surely there wasn’t a Flame Giant Beast lurking inside the long-distance ship, preparing to ambush him suddenly.

Soon, Number Thirteen docked. After it was securely anchored, the cargo doors were opened.

Azhuan smiled as he watched the opening doors, his mind already filled with the forthcoming praise and commendation.

In the midst of the terrifying Fire Element Storm, a great captain had fought valiantly to protect the last of the Fire Lizards’ wealth, managing to escape and return the ship unscathed.

What a tremendous feat!

Had this been in the past, and secrecy was not a concern, this feat would have been rehearsed at the theater that very morning and performed by the evening.

The captain would appear as the grand finale at Merrick’s Shield’s commendation ceremony.

And then… a cloaked Wizard stepped out.

Richard smiled at the island before him, and then at Azuhan on the dock, saying,

“So this is your New World; it looks quite nice.”

…

The Wizard’s appearance set off a bomb among the Fire Lizards on the shore. Warriors drew their scimitars, while the support staff quickly retreated.

Only Azuhan stared calmly at Richard.

Because at first glance, he realized one thing—the Fire Lizards were finished.

“Everyone, there’s no need to be nervous. I’ve come to discuss a potential collaboration with you all,”

Watching the Fire Lizards on the dock, Richard stepped off the ship with a smile, the captain and the first mate following closely behind.

“A collaboration, a Wizard discussing collaboration with the Fire Lizards?” Azuhan stared coldly at the Wizard in front of him as energy began to gather towards his heart.

He had no intention of discussing any sort of collaboration; he was merely buying time for his self-destruction.

Free men would never be slaves.

“Don’t get worked up, take a look at this. Your old subordinates have all signed it; I’ve offered you some pretty good terms.”

Richard’s tone was light, although his Energy Vision had already told him that the Fire Lizard in front of him intended to self-destruct. He was unafraid, with Ulysses for protection.

Richard handed the Soul Contract to the captain behind him, who then passed it on to Azuhan.

Azhuan looked coldly at the captain transferring the contract, his voice as cold as Ice,

“How does it feel to be a slave? Makar. Is life more important to you than honor and freedom?”

Makar bowed his head, calmly handing the contract to Azuhan.

“Lord Azuhan, I’m not a slave, merely a native employee of Richard Jolod’s Commerce.”