Chapter 490: Chapter 490: The Great Lucius Deal (Edited)
"I told you - wait, can you really do it?" Lucius was surprised by Tom's words. He didn't want just a simple defensive alchemical artifact but one that combined offense and defense.
It wasn't something any alchemist could create.
"I can do it. I'm willing to stake my honor as an alchemist on it," Tom responded seriously.
This statement might have sounded cheesy, but for a pure-blood aristocrat like Lucius, it was quite enticing. Unconsciously, he was already inclined to believe in the unknown alchemist in front of him.
"I can create a ring for you with the Protego, Stupefy, Petrificus Totalus, and Impedimenta enchantments. Additionally, on the front of the ring, I can engrave your family crest. As a wizard born into an ancient and noble pure-blood family, how could the ring not have your family emblem?"
Lucius had to admit he was tempted. Just like both wizard and Muggle aristocracies, pure-blood wizards liked to have their family crests engraved on rings and then passed down as family heirlooms. If he could choose, an alchemical item in the form of a ring would be most suitable for Lucius's expectations.
And this ring had four attached enchantments, an unparalleled value!
"I find it acceptable," Lucius said haughtily, thinking the design was rather good. Now it was time to discuss the price.
"One thousand Galleons. However, as you're a friend of Mr. Penney's, I can offer you a 20% discount, so it would be eight hundred Galleons," Tom replied straightforwardly, making an exorbitant offer.
Is he trying to rob me?! Lucius felt a surge of hot blood rushing to his head. This price was way too expensive. Eight hundred Galleons were enough for a family of nine to go on vacation to Egypt for two months. Spending so much money on a single ring, even if it came with four enchantments, was simply too costly.
With eight hundred Galleons, you could buy four front-row tickets to the Quidditch World Cup final! Even the Malfoy family didn't spend their money that way!
Wait a moment, when he thought about the match tickets, Lucius had a sudden idea.
"You've given a negotiable price, but since you've offered me a discount, as the head of the ancient Malfoy family, I cannot ignore your kindness... I've also decided to offer my generosity: four front-row tickets to the Quidditch World Cup final. The price for these four tickets is up to 800 Galleons, and they are even priceless in the current market as they can't be obtained through official means...".
Although Lucius was surprised by Tom's offer of eight hundred Galleons, he showed no emotion on his face. On the contrary, he decided to seize the opportunity to get something in return from the alchemist in front of him.
Those four front-row tickets were definitely worth eight hundred Galleons, and they could no longer be bought through official channels. You would probably need a thousand Galleons to purchase them from scalpers... But Lucius was a well-connected person and could get Quidditch tickets at very low prices from the Department of Magical Sports.
This was a privilege for ancient pure-blood families like his.
So, he would simply exchange the tickets for the debt. Whether Seven used them to watch the match or resold them was no longer Lucius's concern.
Tom frowned, not expecting something like this to happen. Someone wanting to trade tickets for money, and someone else working just to buy tickets? The two quickly reached an agreement and signed the contract.
"Come to pick up your order in three days," Tom said, though he could finish it quickly, he planned to make Lucius wait a bit.
"Very well," Lucius nodded satisfactorily. For him, waiting three days was not an issue at all; it even seemed quite satisfying.
"In three days, I'll come with the tickets. These tickets are nameless and specific, the person who buys them just needs to send a letter to the ticket agency to register their personal information on the tickets; it's very convenient." Here, convenience referred to how easily ticket scalpers could handle them.
There were many people in the Ministry of Magic who were hoping to take advantage of this opportunity to make some extra money. VIP seats and nearly half of the front-row seats were not sold at all; they were entirely absorbed internally by the event organization, with the Minister of Magic leading the game. For example, Lucius obtained two honor tickets by donating a sum of money to St. Mungo's Magical Hospital. These two seats were located in a luxury box on the upper floor, being the best seats in the stadium worldwide.
Mr. Weasley wasn't far behind either, as he had previously helped the head of the Department of Magical Sports, Ludo Bagman, solve some complicated problems, so he also got tickets for the luxury box on the upper floor.
This is the wizarding community. Whether good or evil, pure-blood families always have privileges that common wizards don't.
After Lucius left, Tom hurriedly made his way to his workshop. There was no time to waste; he needed to hurry and make the ring that Lucius had ordered.
The workshop was completely dark, and to turn on the light, a magical coin needed to be inserted into the gas meter.
Tom expressionlessly took out a penny and then his wand. He pointed the wand at the coin, and it transformed into the appearance of a Knut.
Hmm, although a Knut wasn't worth much, Tom didn't want to be cheated by Mr. Penney. So, he had his own way of dealing with the situation.
He was a wizard, and wizards could use Transfiguration! Wizarding world coins were minted by the goblins of Gringotts, infused with magic to make it difficult for common wizards to counterfeit. This copper coin transformed by Tom was like that; any wizard who touched it would realize that something wasn't right.
But could a gas meter be that smart?
Tom tossed the transformed copper coin into the gas meter.
Ding!
The coin fell through the exit hole and clinked onto the floor.
Well, this gas meter was indeed intelligent; it managed to detect that Tom was using a counterfeit coin. But Tom had another trick up his sleeve.
He took out a legitimate Knut and tied a string to it, then he threw it directly into the gas meter.
This time, the gas meter worked correctly.
Ah-ha! Tom pushed the Knut and pulled it out of the gas meter, managing to get fifteen minutes of gas for free.
Tom rushed to the desk and took out the Menes Stone slab. It was a treasure he had acquired previously from Pharaoh Menes, an alchemical relic.
He took out a small bottle filled with blood and dropped it onto the stone slab. The blood drops quickly seeped into the stone, and the onyx on top of the slab slowly rotated. Finally, the blood acquired through the growth allowed the three gems to rotate.
This meant that Tom could perform a three-star alchemical creation.
Chapter 491: Chapter 491: Entrepreneur (Edited)
A three-star alchemical artifact, neither too high nor too low. The item Lucius requested was not a highly challenging alchemical creation; Tom could make it with a bit of time and effort even without the help of the Menes Stone. According to Tom's estimation, the quality of this ring should be between three and four stars, which perfectly matched the Menes Stone's limit this time.
If Tom intentionally made the low-quality item he created have defects, this three-star alchemical item could have the effect of a four-star item. Considering Lucius's position, Tom naturally wanted to have an ace up his sleeve in this treasure. It was like arms sales to foreign countries; they always cripple their main weapons before selling them, known as the limited version.
Tom wanted to create a limited version of the ring he made for Lucius. It's not that he intentionally wanted to deceive Lucius; it's mainly because Lucius was too untrustworthy. The day Voldemort returned, this ring would become a force for Voldemort's side. Tom Riddle would naturally take the opportunity to play some tricks.
He already had a specific idea in mind.
He went straight to the materials cabinet and purchased a piece of magical silver, which he placed on the Emerald Table.
Once the magical silver came into contact with the Emerald Table, it gradually transformed into a five-faced ring, four of which had spell inscriptions, while the top face was engraved with the Malfoy family emblem.
[Malfoy Family Ring (Three stars): A ring with the Malfoy family emblem, capable of casting the Protego, Desmaius, Petrificus Totalus, and Impedimenta spells. After each casting, the spell must be recharged]
[Excessive recharges or daily use will wear out the magical inscriptions on the ring's surface, affecting the quality of the spells, and in severe cases, rendering the spells ineffective]
Perfect! Tom was very satisfied with this ring.
The spells embedded in the ring were like bullets in a gun's chamber, each shot requiring a fresh charge, and the ring itself had a lifespan like a gun's barrel. This made Tom quite satisfied: if in the future, the Malfoy family changed their ways and stopped associating with Voldemort, he could help them repair and maintain the ring. But if they didn't, then they could prepare for the ring to become a decoration.
Tom purchased an elegant packaging box from the cabinet and placed the customized Malfoy family ring inside it, then left the workshop.
Undoubtedly, it was a good day. Shortly after Tom returned to the store, he heard the sound of the welcome bell.
"What the hell is going on today?" he muttered mentally, looking at the customer who entered. This time, the customer who entered was also familiar.
Leading the way was a burly and tall Dawlish, and by his side was a witch with one eye covered by an eyepatch. Dawlish had disguised himself a bit, wearing glasses and a hat to hide his distinctive short, stiff hair, but Tom recognized him immediately; his disguise ability was truly mediocre. How did he pass the Auror test?
"Welcome to Penney's Alchemy Workshop, how can I assist you?" Tom asked.
Dawlish shook his head. "We're just looking."
Both of them browsed the store randomly, occasionally picking up some minor products that Mr. Penney had left on the counter to examine them closely.
When Tom retreated behind the reception counter again, Dawlish immediately approached the woman and whispered, "Naya, have you found anything suspicious?"
The one-eyed witch was named Naya Cade. She was Dawlish's colleague in the Auror office. She lost an eye during a mission, and unlike Moody, she didn't wear a magical eye but chose to wear an eyepatch. However, she also made some modifications to her eyepatch, installing a Dark Magic detector.
If there was any nearby object related to Dark Magic, her eyepatch would heat up. The detection range of this eyepatch wasn't very large, only three meters, so she had to move around the shop.
Naya didn't find anything suspicious in Penney's Alchemy Workshop; this was a very regular shop.
Dawlish and Naya's visit today was a Ministry inspection, to see if these registered shops had been obedient and were not attempting to sell Dark Magic items again.
After inspecting all the shops, it seemed that all had returned to the right path. The two Aurors didn't find any anomalies.
Naya shook her head, indicating that she hadn't found any issues. "Don't let your guard down; I always feel like these cunning shop owners are hiding something. You know, my eyepatch has its flaws."
Dawlish shrugged. "That doesn't concern us much. Our task is just to take a look; the thorough search must be done by a team sent by the Ministry."
Dawlish also changed his attitude. After all, the Ministry of Magic only paid him a few Galleons a month. It wasn't worth fighting and playing a mind game with these shop owners for that paltry salary.
I'm giving up; I'm disheartened.
Naya watched her partner, who seemed imperturbable in the face of any adversity, and sighed internally. How could they fight against Dark Wizards with someone like him as a partner? But she couldn't confront her partner at the moment, so she pretended not to be interested in any items and headed for the door.
"One moment, please."
At that moment, a young voice came from behind them; it was the employee who was taking care of the shop.
"Didn't you find anything that interested you? I have some unlisted products here; I'm sure you'll like them."
Dawlish was about to decline, but Naya glared at him in anger.
It's okay to act uninterested, but once the fish has bitten the hook, do you want to keep acting uninterested? That's a lack of professional ethics.
She turned around and showed a business-like smile and said in a sweet voice, "Yes, bring them over so we can take a look."
She had previously investigated that the owner of this shop was a wizard in his fifties, not the inexperienced young man in front of her. This disparity in information could only mean that this young man was a new employee hired by Penney to look after the store.
Newcomers were much easier to handle than old foxes. Maybe she could get some results from him.
Tom didn't know that the witch considered him a newcomer. He just wanted to seize the opportunity to sell some products and make some extra money. Once he recognized Dawlish, he naturally understood the Aurors' purpose in coming here. But that was none of his business; the Aurors' Galleons would remain Galleons. If he could do business with the Aurors, why not?
"Our store specializes in alchemy; we can create custom alchemical items to meet our customers' needs..."
"So, can you make something... well... dangerous, like..." Naya interjected.
Tom: ...
"I'm sorry, but this is a legitimate business, and we don't engage in Dark Magic alchemy."
This hook is too straightforward! You can't even call it fishing; it's called spearfishing!
"However, we do usually make some interesting products during alchemy, and I'll show you." Tom pulled out a box and placed it on the counter.
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