Chapter 54: The Prodigious Alchemist 2

“Are you really an alchemist?”

The old dwarf spoke again.

But this time, even his voice was trembling slightly.

“Only a beginner... I’m only a beginner alchemist.”

Kent felt his scalp go numb.

The atmosphere around him was giving him immense pressure.

Still, he swallowed nervously and answered somewhat awkwardly.

“Then tell me...”

The old dwarf’s expression changed.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

“How long would it take to make one piece of armor from fire lizard leather? The armor you mentioned.”

Kent immediately relaxed a little.

So that was what they were interested in.

They had not come here because of him personally—they wanted the fire lizard leather armor.

At least now he knew what they wanted.

“Seven days.”

Kent spoke more smoothly.

“The main process is soaking the fire lizard leather in its own blood for seven days.

“After that, engraving the magic array takes about half a day, and the actual crafting requires another half day.

“So one piece would take roughly eight days.

“However, if we prepare a large amount of fire lizard leather and soak them all at once, then after those seven days, we could produce one piece of armor every day.”

The old dwarf’s eyes brightened.

“Then go and capture ten fire lizards first.”

He looked around at the others.

“Whoever brings them back first gets their armor made first.”

“Boom! Boom! Boom!”

Before Kent could react, the entire area erupted into chaos.

The surrounding dwarves rushed toward the direction where the fire lizards lived.

Battle aura flashed everywhere.

Most of it was fire-element aura.

There was also earth-element aura.

And even one dwarf whose aura carried the sharpness of metal.

Kent stood there completely confused.

*It’s just fire lizard leather armor...*

*Why are they so excited?*

*Are they trying to please this old man, or is there something else going on?*

The old dwarf noticed Kent’s puzzled expression and smiled.

“Little one, do you know what our underground world lacks the most?”

“Alchemists.”

His voice became serious.

“Among the things you mentioned, fire lizard leather armor is something that exists in ancient records.

“But down here, the situation is much more complicated than on the surface.

“Wherever there are volcanoes, the land within hundreds of miles around them is unbearably hot.

“But there are also places where the cold is so severe that people can freeze to death.”

The old dwarf looked at the weapons and armor around him.

“You’ve seen our equipment.

“Our weapons and armor do not have magic arrays engraved on them.

“It’s not because we don’t want them.

“It’s because no one knows how to make them.”

He sighed.

“Dex told me about your background.

“There are several enchanters on the second level of the Underdark, but those people only know a few simple enchantment techniques.

“They don’t understand true magical arrays.”

The old dwarf looked directly at Kent.

“If we had armor like the one you described, our blacksmiths would no longer have to fear the fire poison when working near volcanoes.

“Dwarves like us could live several decades longer.”

---

“Grandfather! We’re back!”

A loud shout suddenly echoed.

Kent immediately recognized Dex’s voice.

He turned around.

Then his eyes widened.

Dex had returned carrying three fire lizards.

But the strange thing was that all three creatures were hanging limply.

For a moment, Kent thought they were dead.

Only after hearing Dex’s explanation did he realize they were merely unconscious.

Fortunately, dwarves had short arms.

Otherwise, judging by Dex’s enthusiasm, he probably would have carried even more back.

Dex held one fire lizard in each hand.

Another one was carried over his shoulder.

It was obvious that he had already reached his limit.

From a distance, there was no way anyone could tell that those creatures were being carried by a dwarf.

Especially since dwarves did not exactly walk normally while carrying heavy things.

They almost looked like they were hopping forward.

---

“First, we need something large enough to soak the fire lizard leather.”

Kent quickly explained.

“And we can’t kill them all at once.

“I need to refine their blood properly, and I’ll also need help from others.

“I’m only one mage... I can’t handle everything alone.”

The old dwarf waved his hand.

“Fine. Let’s return to the city first.”

With that command, everyone began carrying the fire lizards back.

The funniest part was that every dwarf had captured exactly three.

Kent looked around.

There were probably more than fifty fire lizards in total.

He still could not understand why everyone was acting so excited.

---

“What’s wrong with these people? Fire lizard meat tastes terrible, yet they captured so many.”

“Exactly, exactly. That’s dwarves for you. They’ll eat almost anything.”

“Don’t pretend you’re any better. You gnomes are omnivores too.”

“Shut up, you filthy goblin! Keep mumbling in front of me and I’ll beat you senseless!”

“Try it!”

“Come on, then!”

...

As Kent and the group walked through the streets of Muan City, voices rose from every direction.

Everyone was discussing the strange scene.

Fire lizards were not exactly popular prey.

Their meat tasted awful, and they lived in large groups.

Unless food was desperately scarce, ordinary people would never bother hunting them.

And now...

A group of dwarves had captured dozens of them and marched openly through the city.

To the residents of Muan City, the sight was simply unbelievable.

“Wait here. I’ll report this to the City Lord first.”

The old dwarf looked toward the enormous building ahead.

“After all, we are citizens of Muan City, aren’t we?”

The building in front of them was surrounded by thick thorny vines.

The entrance gate was decorated with incredibly beautiful patterns, and several Ancient Trees of War stood around the courtyard.

Dark elf warriors holding bows stood on the branches, silently watching over the area.

Nearby, dwarf soldiers also stood guard.

When they saw Kent’s group approaching with dozens of fire lizards, everyone looked confused.

*What is going on?*

*Are the blacksmiths going on strike again?*

The old dwarf entered the building.

Not long afterward, he came back out.

“Kent, the City Lord wants to see you. He has some questions for you.”

Before Kent could react, the old dwarf grabbed his arm and led him inside.

---

Kent was surprised by the interior of the City Lord’s residence.

It was far more beautiful than he had expected.

There were flowing streams, carefully arranged bushes, and countless vines growing around the courtyard.

The entire place looked almost like a garden hidden beneath the earth.

Beautiful dark elves could be seen everywhere.

Everyone knew that elves were born from the World Tree, but after reaching adulthood, they could still reproduce naturally like other races.

From Kent’s perspective, however, the dark elves patrolling the residence were clearly female.

Their figures made that obvious.

According to the records Kent had read, the gender ratio among dark elves was extremely unbalanced.

Female dark elves greatly outnumbered males.

One thing was certain—the elven races were obsessed with beauty.

Even their equipment reflected this.

The armor worn by the patrol guards, their bows, and their slender one-handed swords were all decorated with exquisite patterns.

Some parts were even carved with delicate openwork designs.

However, Kent’s attention was not really focused on their beautiful equipment.

His eyes occasionally drifted elsewhere.

After all, the exposed pale legs of the female dark elves were far more eye-catching.

But soon Kent noticed something interesting.

The beautiful armor worn by the patrol guards was merely decorative.

There was not even the slightest trace of magical energy coming from it.

The real combat equipment was hidden underneath.

The leather armor beneath the outer layer occasionally emitted faint magical fluctuations.

Clearly, that was the true protective gear used in battle.

---

“Greetings, City Lord.”

Regardless of whether it was on the surface or underground, mages enjoyed a special status.

When meeting nobles, a mage only needed to bow respectfully.

Kent actually preferred this custom.

If one was merely a commoner, however, they would have to kneel.

Slaves were required to prostrate themselves completely.

And lower-ranked nobles only needed to kneel on one knee when facing nobles of higher rank.

So Kent simply followed the old dwarf’s example.

He placed one hand over his chest and bowed slightly.

“Greetings, City Lord.”

The moment Kent raised his head, a voice came from ahead.

“Take these blank scrolls and immediately create a magic scroll.”

Kent looked up.

Only then did he see the person sitting before him clearly.

The City Lord was a dark elf.

The first thing Kent noticed was the exceptionally beautiful face.

But the completely flat chest immediately told him one thing.

This was a male dark elf.

Kent knew that the City Lord was a Level-Nine expert.

Dark elves were especially troublesome opponents.

They were not only talented in magic but also skilled with bows and slender swords.

They possessed the advantage of long lifespans, allowing them to accumulate enormous experience over time.

Of course, that advantage came with a weakness.

Their reproductive ability was extremely low.

Only slightly better than dragons.

Kent did not immediately answer.

The City Lord’s commanding tone made him slightly uncomfortable.

However, with the old dwarf standing beside him and the powerful dark elf sitting above him, Kent decided that this was not the time to argue.

He would simply show what he was capable of.

A servant handed him a stack of blank magic scrolls.

Kent accepted them.

But instead of drawing immediately, he carefully examined them one by one.

He touched every surface.

He studied every detail.

And he did not move his hands to begin the inscription.

The City Lord frowned slightly.

“Is there something wrong?”

Kent finally spoke.

“Reporting to the City Lord, before creating a magic scroll, one must first understand the scroll itself.

“Every texture.

“Every pattern.

“Every subtle feature of the blank scroll must be remembered.”

Kent slowly raised one of the scrolls.

“This does not only increase the success rate of inscription.

“It can also increase the final power of the magic scroll by thirty percent.”

Kent’s explanation sounded serious.

But inside, he was actually being cautious.

He simply did not like the City Lord’s dismissive attitude.

More importantly, he understood the danger of revealing his full abilities.

His unique ability to use multiple elemental systems was something he needed to hide.

If he did not create a reasonable explanation now, it would become much harder to conceal his secrets in the future.

---

Kent continued examining the blank scrolls slowly.

These scrolls were truly valuable.

Through his perception, he could tell that the magical beast hide used to create them was no lower than the hide of a Level-Four magical beast.

Using such material to create a Level-One fire magic scroll was almost wasteful.

The finest part of a magical beast’s hide—the softest and most stable section—was usually used for making scrolls.

These ten blank scrolls alone had required materials from several magical beasts.

Kent carefully touched the surface of the scroll.

The more he examined them, the more certain he became.

The underground world might lack many things.

But when it came to rare materials...

It was clearly not poor at all.