Dole had indeed had people ask him for some before—many people, in fact—but he had ignored them outright.
A bunch of inexplicable people were utterly unimportant to him. He had only two priorities now. First, to build a spatial research laboratory—the previous one had already been scrapped. Second, to reach level nine as soon as possible.
Other than those two matters, he had no need to consider anything else. What use was the friendship of a few level eights?
It would be more practical to get himself a few hundred more tons of meteorite.
So Dole merely smiled without saying a word.
Magic Old Man sighed and did not press further. Usbur, however, grew somewhat interested. "That avatar of yours is?"
Dole sent a few words over, and Usbur understood. But he immediately shook his head afterward. This was not a field he excelled in.
Every wizard had fields they were skilled in and fields they were not. Silicon-Based Avatars fell within the domain of biological wizards; ordinary people could not handle them unless they were willing to devote a great deal of time to studying them.
Magic Old Man did not ask further, instead changing the subject. "How is your laboratory coming along? I heard before that you built one?"
Dole shook his head. "The previous one has already been scrapped. This one still lacks a great quantity of high-strength metals capable of withstanding spatial distortion, or similar crystals."
A strange gleam appeared in Magic Old Man's eyes. "I heard you have a deal going with the Northern Kingdom?"
Dole smiled faintly. "Negotiations are underway. The odds of success probably aren't high."
Magic Old Man nodded and pointed at the magic array in the plaza. "This was built with the strength of the entire nation. Take it slowly. If