Pfft!!
Birmingham sprayed out his tea, soaking his beard.
Why don't you just rob me?
Logo shrugged. You're the one who wanted to show off. If you can't handle it, don't blame me.
"Ahem... I can't come up with 100 million Ta Pounds. How about one million?" Birmingham knocked off two zeros the moment he opened his mouth.
Logo shook his head and pointed at Melier beside him, revealing his real objective. "I don't need money. You can have the notes, but you have to make him a custom mecha!"
Birmingham understood, and he wasn't surprised. If Logo really wanted to sell the notes for a high price, the best place would have been an auction in Brian City, where plenty of major forces would be willing to pay a large sum of Ta Pounds for such advanced alchemical knowledge.
Posting an announcement like that at the Mecha Guild was generally a way to find someone.
"Tell me the specific requirements." Birmingham pushed up the glasses that had slipped down his nose, a confident smile spreading across his broad, rugged face once more.
Mecha are my specialty!
"A single-pilot mecha, focused on defense and restraining opponents. It doesn't need particularly strong offensive capabilities. The core engine must have a minimum output of 900 Dale, and the external armor must be strong enough to withstand a full-force attack from a Ninth-Rank Transcendent. It needs a semi-automatic intelligent operating system, preferably with a neural link device, and the enchantment rune array must be at least fine three-star quality..."
Logo rattled off a long list, and Birmingham's expression went through a series of changes.
Confidence, indifference, a frown, distress, a blank expression...
"Find someone else!" Birmingham stood up like an emotionless machine.
You might as well ask for the moon. With requirements like those, are you trying to make a legendary-quality mecha?
Logo sat motionless with his legs crossed, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
His original requirements hadn't been so outrageous, but he had happened to run into Birmingham, a mecha master. Wouldn't it be a waste of heaven's kindness if he didn't make the most of the opportunity?
"Don't worry, Master Birmingham. We'll provide the core resources for making the mecha ourselves."
As Logo spoke, he snapped his fingers. Melier stepped forward and placed the metal case in his hands on the lab table. After entering the password, he opened it. An earthy yellow radiance spread like ripples on water, and earth elements gathered from all directions, dancing joyfully like spirits.
"A Mountain Giant's heart?" Birmingham reached out and gently touched the heart, which held a vast amount of earth elements, growing increasingly excited.
Although he had made over a hundred three-star mecha, Birmingham had personally worked with high-end materials like a Mountain Giant's heart only around ten times.
Improving one's alchemical skills required not only learning new knowledge but also hands-on experimentation. Especially at his level, every opportunity to make a high-quality mecha was a rare experience.
But such opportunities were few and far between, one major reason being the difficulty of finding materials.
Birmingham wasn't particularly good at material synthesis. He was better at drawing out a material's inherent potential, acting more like a characteristic amplifier than creating new materials from scratch.
A lone wolf might be free, but without a force to support him, an individual was far inferior to a group when it came to gathering resources.
The alchemists trained by other forces might not have been as capable as Birmingham, but those forces were more willing to give rare materials to their own alchemists for practice.
"The Mountain Giant's heart can serve as the core material for the mecha's engine. I'm confident I can bring out this material's characteristics to the fullest, and its power output will definitely satisfy you. As for the armor, Tedra Alloy from the Gonis City-State is tough and sturdy, with sufficiently excellent energy conduction properties, making it suitable for the external armor. I also happen to have some Earth Dragon Beast leg bones left, so using them as the main material for the internal skeleton shouldn't be a problem..."
Birmingham was clearly interested now, talking nonstop about his plans for the mecha. Logo listened carefully. Although he possessed countless pieces of advanced alchemical knowledge, every alchemist was unique. Only by absorbing inspiration from other alchemists and drawing on their strengths could he go further.
In the end, after the two discussed it, Logo's notes were valued at 2.1 million Ta Pounds. Part of that would cover Birmingham's labor, and the remaining Ta Pounds would be used to buy various materials from the Mecha Guild.
Thanks to the standing of Birmingham, a mecha master, they also saved quite a few Ta Pounds.
Logo also took part in making the mecha.
At first, Birmingham was somewhat hesitant and only let Logo assist him, handling some simple materials.
But soon, the mecha master was astonished by Logo's extraordinary learning ability, insight, and solid grounding in mechanics.
In all his life, Birmingham had never seen such an outstanding alchemical genius.
This young man will be extraordinary someday! Birmingham thought. In the unseen, he seemed to see a bright star slowly rising in the field of alchemy.
Gradually won over, Birmingham allowed Logo to formally participate in making the mecha. Their ideas clashed, and they exchanged skills and knowledge, arguing heatedly every moment, yet the speed at which they solved problems seemed unaffected.
And so, as time passed, a simple, massive mecha slowly took shape from nothing, gradually revealing its formidable presence.
Crimson Alliance, Leite City, special training camp.
Two figures were locked in a fierce clash on the training ground.
Lancelot had already activated Body of Steel, transforming into a muscular black-and-gold powerhouse. His hammer-like fists were as swift as meteors and as fast as lightning, leaving a continuous trail of afterimages as they struck at Rosen.
Rosen deliberately suppressed his strength attribute below 20 points, but he held nothing back when it came to the combat skills and experience honed through countless battles. His fighting style was similar to Lancelot's, sweeping and forceful, like a mighty river surging into the sea, rushing forward without restraint!
Their fight was almost entirely a matter of fists striking flesh. The dull thuds of blows rang out without end, while the fierce wind stirred up by their rapid movements swirled around their half-naked bodies. Their hair whipped about, wild as demons.
Outside the field, the other training camp members watched in amazement.
Burke exclaimed, "That's my brother for you! Only two months in the special training camp, and he can already go head-to-head with Instructor Rosen. That's what a real man should be!"
Cole shot him a contemptuous glance and said sarcastically, "Seriously, I've always envied your skin. How did you manage to keep it so thick?"
Burke flew into a rage, and the two began their usual exchange of trash talk.
Rui shook their head helplessly and quietly moved away to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.
Not far to their right, Windsor wore a tight black outfit that showed off her shapely figure. Watching the fierce battle on the field, her beautiful eyes shone with excitement.
For a month, Lancelot had consistently kept Windsor firmly suppressed in sparring match after sparring match, fight after fight.
Whether it was firearms, hand-to-hand combat, or developing supernatural abilities, he left the proud woman behind in every area. Moreover, Lancelot never held back because of her gender, and Windsor was beaten badly every time.
Strangely enough, though the woman got beaten every time, she never tired of it. Even the way she looked at Lancelot had begun to change; she made almost no attempt to hide the admiration in her eyes.
More than once, Burke had muttered in private, "Is that woman a masochist? Getting beaten up makes her like him more?"