First Synthesis Test

First Trial of Synthesis

(Updating early because something came up.)

Within the Hell Fragment, on the Blood Moor, there were only three kinds of monsters: Zombies, Quill Rats, and Fallen. Although these monsters' strength had plummeted because of Hell's explosion, they still retained some of their former traits.

For example, a Zombie's defense surpassed that of cultivators of the same level, Quill Rats were balanced in offense and defense and possessed powerful ranged attacks, while Fallen were fast, agile, and so on.

As for the legendary Cave of Evil that was said to be on the Blood Moor, Diya had not gone inside. Time flowed within the Hell Fragment exactly as it did in the outside world. According to Diablo, only after all the Hell Fragments had been gathered and fused could Diya reformulate Hell's rules, and only then could he alter the progression of time.

In other words, from entering the Hell Fragment last night, to awakening Flavia, to entering the Blood Moor and killing some monsters, Diya had spent the entire night. That night had restored a full third of Diya's mental strength, and after leaving the world of the Hell Fragment, he no longer experienced the same mental exhaustion as last time.

Opening the door, Diya walked out of the room with a gentle smile hanging on his face. Nataya was already sitting beside the table in the hall, and on the table were some bread, milk, and vegetables.

"Sir, you're awake. Come eat," Nataya said. As soon as she saw Diya come out, she immediately hopped down from her chair and bounced over to his side, reaching out to tug at his robe sleeve. After spending this short period of time together, Nataya and Diya had grown much closer.

"Did you sleep well last night?" Diya sat down, picked up some bread, and started gnawing on it as he asked.

"It was so comfortable. I've never slept in such a nice place before," Nataya said. Her little face was somewhat rosy; the hollow-cheeked look and sallow color from the past two days had faded a little, and a satisfied smile hung on her face.

"Eat. After you're done, stay here for a while. I have something I need to think over," Diya said with a chuckle. Perhaps only such a pure child could make him feel somewhat at ease.

After finishing a pleasant breakfast, Diya returned to his room and locked the door.

"Diablo, let's discuss how we should search for the Hell Fragments. If we rely solely on Radish's sensing, the efficiency will always be low," Diya said in his mind as he sat down on the bed.

"Tell me what ideas you have," Diablo said lazily.

"I've already registered as a mercenary. Since mercenaries can accept missions, I can issue a mission at the Mercenary Guild and have more people help search. Wouldn't that be better?" Diya organized his words and stated it simply.

"The Mercenary Guild, huh? Let me take a look." As he spoke, Diablo read Diya's recent memories. "So that's how it is. Your method is feasible, and it's far more efficient than us blindly searching on our own. But do you have money? If the reward is too small, very few mercenaries will pay attention to this mission, and only some mercenaries with relatively low ranks and weak strength will notice it. The distribution of the Hell Fragments is uncertain. If possible, it would be best for the reward to attract the attention of all mercenaries. Only then can it draw more mercenaries into contributing to our great cause." Diablo analyzed it bit by bit, peeling silk from cocoons.

"That is a problem. Right now, I only have five gold coins and some silver coins on me. Even if I used them as the reward, I could only issue a mission of about three stars. It would be very hard to draw the mercenaries' attention," Diya said, rubbing his chin with his fingers.

"So before issuing the mission, we must first earn a large amount of money. Money can make the mill push ghosts; when the time comes, are you still afraid there won't be mercenaries working for us?" Diablo said with certainty.

"I know that. The problem now is how exactly we're supposed to make money, and how we can earn a large sum of gold coins in a short time. Otherwise, if it drags on too long, we'll be at too much of a disadvantage," Diya said, continuing to rub his chin. "You also know my mercenary rank is only one star right now, and my own strength is only at the level of a Peak Soldier Rank Swordsman. At most, I can barely match the combat power of a Low Guardian Rank Swordsman. There's no way I can accept those high-level missions."

"It's very simple to make big money quickly. Just become bandits and specialize in robbing people. In a short time, you'll definitely make quite a bit of money. If you become terrorists and specialize in kidnapping and extorting nobles, then getting gold coins would be even easier," Diablo said smugly.

"That suggestion of yours is simply rotten to the core. If we did that, maybe tomorrow we'd be stripped naked and hung on the city gate for people to admire," Diya said, smacking his forehead, his head aching badly. This Diablo really was an expert when it came to causing destruction.

"Then what do you say we should do?" Diablo muttered.

"Forget it. Let Radish come out and see if he has any ideas," Diya said, somewhat headache-ridden. He could only hope the rational Radish could provide some useful suggestions.

"There are several ways to make money. First, you can use the Horadric Cube to synthesize low-grade items into high-grade items, then sell them to obtain a large amount of gold coins. Second, Polo has a great deal of knowledge brought over from Earth, which you can make use of," a cool voice sounded in Diya's mind.

"Give me an example," Diya said, unable to help praising inwardly. As expected of the sullenly showy Radish; he had pointed out the crux at once. Diya had actually forgotten about the Horadric Cube. However, he was also very curious about the second method Radish had proposed.

"Shampoo. The shampoo you previously used was an extremely inferior kind of shampoo, yet it is an everyday product on the Brahma Continent. You can follow the detailed steps recorded by Polo to formulate high-quality shampoo and target the noble market, thereby obtaining a large amount of gold coins. Perfume. Judging from the manufacturing process of the shampoo, the Brahma Continent's perfume-making techniques must also be very low. You can produce better perfume and occupy the noble market in the same way."

"Then how feasible is it to do both at once?" Diya asked.

"Not recommended. Using the Horadric Cube to synthesize items requires an extremely vast amount of mental strength. Once the supply of mental strength is insufficient, the synthesis will fail. As for the second method, after producing shampoo and perfume, you must first make the nobles accept them and create a product effect. For that, you need a spokesperson with sufficient fame, and it will also require spending quite a few gold coins," Radish said, his words equivalent to pouring a bucket of cold water over Diya while he was in high spirits.

"I say, just how vast is the mental strength consumed by synthesizing items? Could it be that even my current mental strength isn't enough?" Diya was extremely satisfied with his current mental strength.

"It depends on the volume and quality grade of the item being synthesized. As for the specifics, you need to try it yourself," Radish said, then fell silent.

"All right," Diya sighed. He took out three Flick Swords. These Flick Swords had all come from Mousse's hands, had been made using the same materials, and had been forged in the same way. Therefore, these Flick Swords were all at the upper tier of White Rank, and their volume was not large.

With a flip of his palm, the Horadric Cube appeared. Diya released his mental strength and sent the three Flick Swords into the cube, then poured his mental strength inside. The transparent crystal beneath the grid suddenly emitted a faint golden glow, continuing until the pale golden light filled the entire crystal.

Within the cube's grid, starting from the four squares on the left, a pale golden light bloomed like sunlight radiating outward and rapidly spread toward the right. When it swept over the three Flick Swords, the light emitted from the squares containing the Flick Swords was much more intense than that of the other squares. In the four squares on the right, the pale golden glow sank into silence like the sun setting beyond the western mountains.