Treasure Trove in the Scrap Heap

Anna's lesson had been excellent, explaining the ancient art of alchemy in a way that was profound yet easy to understand. The two-hour class ended in the blink of an eye, and as soon as time was up, Anna swept out of the classroom as briskly as she had arrived.

"Alchemy... this works very well with the Miracle Furnace."

Richard stroked his chin as he looked at the blackboard. Alchemy covered an enormous range of fields, the best known of which were Magic Potions and Magic Armor.

Magic Potions required recipes and extensive practice. Both were extremely costly in Magic Stones. Magic Armor, or magical items as apprentices commonly called them, was no different. Spell models and practice materials were not much cheaper than potion recipes and ingredients.

But none of that was a problem for Richard.

He could make up for extensive practice through his refining ability, and he could directly refine potion recipes and spell models as well.

Moreover, according to Anna, alchemy might burn through money, but it could also make money. Her Alchemy Shop in the Academy's Commercial District brought her nearly a hundred Magic Stones in profit every month.

And that was without her having the time to manage it properly.

"The Library should have books on alchemy. I'll go take a look later."

After leaving the classroom, Ellie still wanted to drag Richard to the Commercial District. Its bustle and prosperity seemed to have awakened the shopping instinct in her bloodline.

"No, I'm going to the Library."

Richard waved goodbye to Ellie. Watching his retreating back, Ellie stamped her foot in frustration.

When Richard returned to the Library, Fenna the Librarian did not appear this time.

Richard searched the Crystal Ball for books on alchemy when a batch of books with unknown titles suddenly caught his attention.

"Unknown? Interesting."

Richard found the area where the unknown books were shelved and discovered quite a few apprentices selecting books there.

"Senior, may I ask what these books with unknown titles are?" Richard asked an apprentice who looked relatively young.

"Oh, a new student?" The apprentice looked surprised. "These books are notes left behind by wizards who died during the Wizard War. They were all written in Cipher, and no one but the wizards themselves can understand them.

"The Dean placed these notes in the Library to see whether any apprentices might happen to decipher them."

As she spoke, she pointed at the apprentices around them.

"We're all here to try our luck."

"I see. Sorry to bother you."

Having received his answer, Richard's heart began to pound.

A bold idea suddenly occurred to him.

He picked up a notebook. The symbols inside were completely different from Wizard language. But Richard did not attempt to decipher it. Instead, he tried using the Miracle Furnace.

[Material: Unknown Wizard's Notes]

[Refinable Information: Physique Enhancement Potion Recipe]

[Refinement Cost: 25 Mental Power]

[Insufficient Mental Power]

"As expected, these Ciphers can be extracted too."

Richard suppressed the excitement in his heart. When he looked at this shelf, it was as if he were looking at a gold mine.

He returned the notebook to its original place and noted down its number. He did not yet have enough Mental Power to refine that notebook, so he could only set it aside for now.

But with so many notebooks here, Richard believed there had to be one he could refine right away.

[Material: Unknown Wizard's Notes]

[Refinable Information: One Hundred and Thirty-Two Failed Cases]

[Material: Unknown Wizard's Notes]

[Refinable Information: Three Hundred and Forty-Two Diaries]

[Material: Unknown Wizard's Notes]

[Refinable Information: Experiences of Mating with Thirty-Two Otherworldly Creatures]

As Richard continued probing with the Miracle Furnace, his expression gradually shifted from wild joy to a mixture of laughter and tears.

Why did this bunch of wizards write every damn thing in their notes?!

Richard angrily returned the notebook recording mating experiences to its original place, then wrote down its number.

Ahem. Don't get any ideas.

Richard was simply interested in the bodily structures of Otherworldly Creatures.

After searching through the shelves for half the day, Richard finally found a notebook he could refine.

[Material: Unknown Wizard's Notes]

[Refinable Portion: Bloodline Alchemy Formula]

[Refinement Cost: 15 Mental Power]

[Refine?]

"No."

Richard pressed the Crystal Ball against the book's number. A flash of white light appeared on the Crystal Ball, and a line of text emerged within it.

[Apprentice Richard has borrowed Book N7891. Borrowing period: three days. Upon expiration, please return to the Library to renew the loan. This book is a Free Book and may be copied.]

"Free Books can be copied, so books that cost Magic Stones definitely can't be copied." Richard stroked his chin. "I wonder what method the Academy uses to prevent Paid Books from leaking out. Could it be a Curse?"

But Richard did not dwell on it. He was a rule-abiding person.

Taking the notebook back to his dormitory, Richard chose to refine it. The familiar fainting spell struck again, and by the time Richard woke up, the sky had already darkened.

"Let's see what this book says about Bloodline Alchemy."

Richard absorbed the white light and learned the true nature of Bloodline Alchemy.

"It fuses the bloodlines of other creatures into one's own body, allowing one to gain abilities or power when necessary. And it isn't limited to just one creature. This Bloodline Alchemy can actually fuse together the bloodlines of multiple creatures, producing an effect where one plus one is greater than two."

As Richard looked at the notebook before him, he suddenly remembered Saban, whom he had killed.

Saban's condition had seemed somewhat similar to Bloodline Alchemy. Could the Legendary Knights from their legends all have been wizards who used Bloodline Alchemy?

Thinking of this, Richard hurriedly fetched Saban's Arm Guard. Comparing the Arm Guard's contents with the notebook's information, he found that the breathing rhythm recorded on the Arm Guard was extremely similar to the contents of the notebook. The notebook called this breathing rhythm a Breathing Method, a method used in the first stage of Bloodline Alchemy to stimulate one's bloodline.

Thinking of Saban exhaling and inhaling White Qi through his mouth and nose, Richard slapped his thigh.

"So that's how it is! The essence of Legendary Knights is Bloodline Alchemy. Those Legendary Knights said to possess boundless strength and all manner of special abilities are merely wizards, or even Wizard Apprentices, who used Bloodline Alchemy."

This discovery set Richard's heart surging. Unable to restrain himself, he grabbed the notebook and rushed straight to the Academy Library.

Introduction to Alchemy, Ancient Alchemy, <On the Advantages and Disadvantages of Bloodline Alchemy>... Richard pulled out book after book related to alchemy. At that moment, an idea was taking shape in his mind.

He wanted to build a complete Combat System centered around alchemy.

Wizards had ever-changing methods. If those methods were made tangible as cards, every card would have a corresponding counter. Richard's idea was to use alchemy as his core card and construct a deck of his own.

What he was doing now was determining whether alchemy could bear such a great responsibility.

As he opened book after book, Richard absorbed all kinds of information about alchemy. His understanding of alchemy grew increasingly comprehensive, and his determination to build a Combat System with alchemy became ever firmer.

Magic Armor, Magic Potions, Bloodline Alchemy, Magic Arrays... alchemy not only encompassed a vast range of things, but also possessed sufficient depth to serve as the core of a Combat System.

After reading through all the books he had borrowed, Richard let out a long breath.

The outline of a Combat System centered on alchemy and supplemented by various spells had begun to take shape in his mind. What he needed to do now was broaden his knowledge and fill out that outline.

Before that, however, he needed to accomplish one more thing.

He needed to find a mentor from whom he could learn alchemy.

Please keep reading. (.ω.)