Inside the Sunfury Library!
"Thank you for your help last time, Chief Tiffany!" Karin bowed respectfully to the female elf before him.
"It was nothing!" the mage Tiffany said casually. "That fool Morningwind dared to do such a thing. It was clearly an affront to the Sunfury family's dignity! As a member of the family, I have a duty to uphold it!"
That was what she said, but Karin understood perfectly well! Tiffany had chosen to intervene when he was in danger precisely because he had already demonstrated his value to the family... Had he been just another ordinary First Ring mage in the family, a beating would have been just a beating. As long as no one died, few people would have cared.
"Wait a moment!" Tiffany seemed to remember something. She turned around and retrieved a long staff decorated with exquisite patterns. "Duen from the Morningwind family left this staff behind. It's no use to me, so you can take it if you need it!"
"A Third Ring mage's weapon?" Karin bent down and picked up the staff!
A feeling of affinity flowed through his hand, as though the staff were amplifying his power. It was far stronger than the one Oliver had lent him before! Karin immediately felt that any spell he cast now would be considerably more powerful than usual.
"Thank you for the gift, but..." Karin suddenly hesitated.
Tiffany seemed to see through his concerns. She said disdainfully, "Don't tell me you think those useless fools in the Morningwind family would still dare to retaliate against you?"
On second thought, Karin realized he was overthinking it. The Morningwind family was only a small family. After offending a colossus like the Sunfury family, they would be too busy hiding to even consider revenge... By that reckoning, his feud with the Morningwind family was settled!
"What books have you borrowed this time?" Tiffany turned her gaze to the stack of manuscripts Karin had brought over. After a glance, she said in surprise, "Alchemy?"
"Yes!" Karin nodded obediently.
"It seems your interests are rather broad, Mr. Karin!" Tiffany tossed the manuscripts aside and said sarcastically, "My advice remains the same. Don't overreach and try to learn everything you see... You should understand the simple principle of not biting off more than you can chew!"
"I understand, Chief Tiffany..." Karin answered obediently without arguing.
"Karin, you're very talented. Both Mentor Kane and I think highly of you! So you'd best not squander that talent!" With that, the blue-robed mage strode away!
"Perhaps!" Watching Tiffany's retreating figure, Karin waved a hand and murmured inwardly, But I'm sorry. I really do want to get to know this world properly!
He followed the stairs down to the second floor of the Sunfury Spire.
An Arcane Servant floated over. "Mr. Karin, I am Arcane Golem No. 76. Do you require my assistance?"
"Could you please help me reserve an apprentice mage's training room?" Karin asked calmly.
"Of course!" the Arcane Servant immediately replied in a hollow voice. "Do you have any additional requirements for the training room?"
"If possible, please equip it with some instruments and equipment for basic alchemy!"
"Certainly, Mr. Karin... Now, please follow me to Training Room One!" After falling motionless for a few seconds, seemingly transmitting some information, the Arcane Servant spoke again.
Following the Arcane Servant, Karin entered a small, dark room on the westernmost side...
The space inside was enormous, nothing like what he had imagined from outside. It was probably the result of spatial magic; the ceiling was transparent, and he could even see the starry sky clearly, which was likely another effect of spatial magic!
All sorts of magical instruments stood along one side of the training room, including a Blue Crystal Orb like the one Karin had seen at the mage Kirkland's place! On the other side were numerous bottles and jars. These were probably the alchemical equipment Karin had requested.
"Mr. Karin, do you have any other requests?" the Arcane Servant asked softly from behind him.
"No, that's all..."
"It was an honor to serve you. Arcane Golem No. 76 will now take its leave!"
Karin was suddenly the only one left in the empty training room!
"So this is the Sunfury family's strength? Even the lowest-level apprentice mage's training room has such luxurious equipment!" Karin chuckled in astonishment. His only regret was probably that, wary of the Eighth Ring mage Kane Sunfury on the top floor, he did not dare communicate with the All-Knowing Eye here!
He walked over to a table and chair in the middle of the training room and sat down, opening the manuscripts he had just borrowed from the fourth-floor library.
On top was a thick, untitled hardcover book with a black cover. The only image on its cover was a giant serpent biting its own tail to form a figure eight!
"The Ouroboros Ring?"
Karin slowly opened it.
"How should 'alchemy' be defined? This has been a difficult question since ancient times! Many believe that the technique of transforming base metals into precious metals is alchemy... Personally, I consider this view mistaken, because transforming base metals into precious metals is merely alchemy in the narrow sense. In the broader sense, alchemy should encompass the transformation of any substance in the world. By understanding, breaking down, and reconstructing matter, we make it more useful to us!"
"For an alchemical formula, practicality comes first. No matter how imaginative or creative a formula may be, it becomes meaningless once it loses its practical value..."
"For example, in the year 876 of the Lordaeron calendar, Samuel, a brown-robed mage of Dalaran, discovered a mysterious metal. Through a complex process of hammering and refining, one part of this metal, two parts essence of earth, and seven parts iron ingots could yield an equivalent quantity of gold... Samuel named this formula 'Turning Iron into Gold' and named the newly discovered mysterious metal 'arcanite'..."
"This discovery immediately shook the entire magical community. Samuel received the Kirin Tor Highest Contribution Award from the Council of Six, and the market price of gold even plummeted for a time! Yet within just two years, many other uses for arcanite were developed. Combined with its extreme scarcity, its price soon rose to thirty times that of gold, and the 'Turning Iron into Gold' formula completely lost its practical value. Naturally, the price of gold soon returned to normal as well!"
"Similar cases are almost too numerous to count, so this book will list only formulas with practical value for readers to study!"
Karin continued leafing through the book. What followed were numerous alchemical formulas.
"Lesser Protection Potion, Lion's Strength Potion, Blackmouth Oil..." Karin suddenly stopped.
"Page 86, black powder!"
A smile appeared at the corner of Karin's mouth as a very bold idea suddenly occurred to him.