บท 45: The Second New Alchemical Creation: Part I
In just a few minutes, the towering and grotesque War Ancient Tree shrank rapidly before their eyes, reducing to a size of about 7 or 8 meters, now barely resembling a human figure. The dark elves around were all thrilled, while Ryan, however, was filled with frustration. It seemed that Keta had gained tremendous benefits from the illumination spell Ryan had cast, but Ryan knew he had to figure out exactly what had happened and then calculate how to demand compensation from Keta. Looking around, Ryan noticed a familiar scream – it was Deff, her face flushed with excitement. Walking over, Ryan approached and asked, "Deff, what's going on here? What's with Keta?"
"Keta has evolved," Deff said sweetly, her face lighting up as she recognized Ryan. "Keta used to be a War Ancient Tree, but now he's a Treant."
Still puzzled by the difference between a War Ancient Tree and a Treant, Ryan pressed on, "So, what's the difference between a War Ancient Tree and a Treant?"
"Of course there's a difference. Now Keta can transform into both a War Ancient Tree and a Treant. The Treant is not only much faster, but it also has wood magic. Keta's combat power has reached the pinnacle of level 9. Once Keta shrinks to around two meters tall, he will evolve into a domain and officially step into the Legendary realm," Deff explained eagerly, before rushing off with the other dark elves to see Keta.
"Dammit! I should've asked for compensation first," Ryan muttered in annoyance. If Keta was previously a stationary artillery piece, now he was a moving fortress—powerful and fast. With abilities like that, Keta would be unbeatable as long as he wasn't in deserts, seas, or extreme volcanic conditions. A level 9 Wood Mage could cast a forbidden spell called Nature's Wrath, which forces all life around to attack the enemy—everything from tiny insects to towering ancient trees. Moreover, the Wood-type healing forbidden spell, Life's Song, was comparable to the Holy Church's Mass Resurrection and was the only counter to the Light Church's Great Prophecy, which stripped life force. Wood magic, on the other hand, replenished it wherever plants grew.
Ryan also knew that Keta wasn't just a Wood-type mage but was incredibly rare in having dual attributes—Space and Wood. The Space element alone implied abilities like teleportation, and Keta could even create a pocket dimension within himself. Ryan felt that by casting a simple illumination spell, he had accidentally thrown away a treasure.
However, Ryan was aware that Wood magic training was slow. Wood mages had to cultivate both their magical and spiritual power, but more importantly, their mindset. If one's mindset wasn't calm and natural, they couldn't level up. In lower ranks, Wood magic was considered weak—only at higher levels could it perform powerful attacks and healing. But high-level Wood mages were rare, especially among humans, because humans lacked the natural and peaceful mindset that elves were known for.
Ryan realized that with so many dark elves and other elders gathered around Keta, it would be impossible to ask for compensation today. Frustrated, he decided to retreat to his alchemy workshop and try to decipher the mysterious script on the goblin's body.
Opening his experiment logs, Ryan looked at the strange material combinations used by the goblin mage for mixing potions—red-legged spider teeth, jumpy rat tails, the saliva of eight-armed lizards, and glowing grass. Though odd, these materials could be found deep underground. Ryan was curious about how the goblins had passed down such writing. Could there be some secret in the goblin's settlement, or perhaps even some great treasure or world-shattering secret hidden in the Underdark?
Sighing, Ryan shook his head, pushing the distracting thoughts aside. "Let's focus on the present," he muttered. He returned to studying the goblin script, trying to understand it and figure out a way to adapt it. Using it recklessly could bring divine punishment, and Ryan wasn't sure he'd survive a second time.
He carefully sketched a series of symbols on a piece of animal hide with a special dye. These were meant to focus fire magic, but the symbols made no sense. They looked like a series of random squiggles, almost like a meaningless script.
Frustrated, Ryan put the hide down and decided to get back to his alchemy work. He activated the magic furnace and began crafting his second alchemical creation. He was now carefully polishing a piece of transparent crystal, while the furnace contained a beautiful, rare metal—purple gold. This metal was extraordinarily valuable, with just one gram equaling the price of a kilogram of gold in the surface world. The small crystal Ryan held could fetch ten times the value in gold. The crystal had excellent hardness, durability, and magical conduction properties.
The polishing process was slow. Using a small waterwheel to turn a tiny grinding wheel, Ryan worked on the crystal as though he were a simple craftsman. Occasionally, he would pause to inspect the crystal, which was slowly taking shape. After some time, he noticed that the furnace's temperature was still too low, so he added some fire-type magic crystal dust. The purple gold began to melt slowly. Fortunately, fire-type magic beasts were common in the Underdark, and low-level fire magic cores weren't too expensive. Ryan had accumulated a good amount after dealing with the goblins. They loved these things, so he continued his work without hesitation.
After several hours of careful polishing, the two transparent lenses were finally completed. These were convex lenses that Ryan intended to use for creating a night-vision scope. One of the goblin mages had awakened a talent for Dark Magic—specifically, the Micro-Dark Vision, which allowed the mage to see in the dark. The goblins inscribed absorbing runes for magic on their bodies, and what kind of magic they could cast depended on the talent they awakened. Ryan decided to permanently bind this Dark Vision to the telescope, though it would cost the goblin mage some of his essence and mental energy. However, Ryan didn't care much for these goblins, seeing them more as tools than people.
To achieve this, he would need to imprint the Dark Vision using the mage's mental energy and his own spiritual power. This required an enchanting magic circle, which was already available in his alchemy workshop. Enchanting required a mid-tier alchemy workshop and at least a Level 5 Alchemist to inscribe the enchantment. It also needed precious materials like mithril and dragonbone powder. Initially, Ryan had planned to make a pair of sunglasses, but he quickly dismissed that idea since they were impractical, and the lenses would be too fragile. A monocular, on the other hand, would be much easier to preserve.
Whether the enchantment would work was uncertain since no records on this kind of magic existed in the continent. Most alchemists focused on creating powerful weapons and scrolls, not supportive items. Even though magical items were common, they were mostly focused on enhancing things like mental strength, not on practical tools like Ryan's intended night-vision telescope. This idea, unique and untested, was one of Ryan's experimental concepts, and he would have to wait for the results.
Carefully, Ryan placed the polished lenses into a metal barrel made of purple gold, a precious and expensive metal. The purple gold barrel had intricate engravings, which Ryan had designed for aesthetics. After his battle with the goblins, he had acquired many valuable materials—nearly a hundred thousand pounds of scrap iron, mithril, golden essence, magic silver, and a large number of magic cores. Once he had placed the lenses into the barrel, he placed the entire device into the magical furnace. As the purple gold began to glow red, Ryan nodded to the nearby goblin mage.
The goblin, excited as if on some sort of stimulant, immediately took a dagger and stabbed it into his chest, causing blue blood to spurt out. Strangely, the blood hovered at the tips of his fingers. With a wave of his hand, a black beam accompanied by the blue blood shot toward the red-hot telescope in the furnace. The blood quickly merged with the purple gold. Ryan hastily shut off the furnace, took out the telescope, and then sprinkled a layer of magic silver powder onto it. In a flash of light, the silver powder evenly spread across the surface, shimmering with a mix of silver and purple hues under the candlelight. The monocular was about 15 cm long, with a diameter of 3 cm at the back and 3.5 cm at the front. It weighed about half a pound, though the purple gold made it a bit heavy. The surface was engraved with a design of two warriors in combat, drawn in a miniature style, inspired by Ryan's heritage in Chinese folk art (as explained earlier in the text). Around them were trees, and birds flew in the sky. Although the lines were minimal, the figures seemed lively and vivid.
The goblin mage who had performed the enchantment was now celebrating with a feast, having been promised a supply of fine wine and meat for the next ten days. The other goblins envied him, as he had previously been a mere errand runner but had now become special due to his unique ability to see in the dark.
Once the purple gold cooled down, Ryan carefully examined the monocular. He detected a faint magical fluctuation, confirming the success of the enchantment. Though he didn't fully understand why this worked, he was pleased that it had.
Just as Ryan was preparing to step outside and test the monocular, a strange sound interrupted him.
"Goo-goo, goo-goo!"
Ryan sighed, realizing that his stomach was growling. He had developed a liking for the fruits from the breadfruit tree, which were not only delicious but also filling enough to stave off hunger for the day. He grabbed one of the fruits and, as he was munching on it, he walked out of the alchemy room, eager to test the monocular's night vision.
However, as soon as he opened the door, he was startled by a figure standing outside, almost dropping the monocular.
"Well done, little one, I'm here to thank you," said the figure outside—Keta, who looked like a tree but was definitely not one. Upon seeing Ryan, Keta raised his hand, and a green light shot toward him, clearly a type of wood magic.
"Stop, stop, stop!" Ryan quickly dodged, but the magic was already locked onto him, and the green light struck him. Ryan froze, hurriedly checking himself to make sure no part of him was missing. Sighing with relief, he realized nothing was amiss. However, he was now furious. "You Keta, after taking advantage of me, you still try to scare me? This isn't over!" Ryan stormed toward Keta, ready to confront him and demand an explanation.
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