Chapter 56: The Prodigious Alchemist 4

“Kent, go with Wright.”

The City Lord’s voice suddenly pulled Kent back from his thoughts.

He had been completely absorbed in observing the hall and had almost forgotten where he was.

Kent quickly followed Old Wright out of the City Lord’s residence.

He did not even look back at the City Lord’s expression.

To be honest, Kent did not particularly like that feeling.

Facing a man that beautiful for a long time required an extremely strong mentality.

Otherwise, it was simply too distracting.

---

The City Lord watched Kent’s hurried departure and could not help but smile bitterly.

Then he turned to the people beside him.

“Visit the other cities.”

“Find every book related to alchemy that you can.”

“Buy them all.”

“I want to learn alchemy.”

---

Kent followed Old Wright through the city.

Soon, they arrived in front of a stone house.

Kent carefully examined the surroundings.

Not far away was Dex’s house.

The Ancient Tree of War, Keta, was also nearby.

This was clearly the central area of Muan City.

However, the stone house in front of them was obviously unoccupied.

From a distance, Kent could see Hark’s three brothers waving at him.

Daphne was there as well.

The underground world had its own traditions.

Most martial techniques were passed down through families.

The dark elves were different.

Their strength came more from individual awakening and personal cultivation.

After all, their lifespans were extremely long.

Even someone with average talent could achieve impressive results as long as they worked hard enough over countless years.

---

“Kent, this place has been empty for several hundred years.”

Wright opened the door as he explained.

“It used to belong to a middle-level alchemist.”

“But that person went out for a trial one day and never returned.”

“Come inside and take a look.”

Kent stepped through the doorway.

The environment was actually quite good.

There was a small fountain in the courtyard.

Unfortunately, it had long since dried up.

Dead vines crawled along the walls.

A stone table and several stone chairs sat quietly in the yard.

Inside the house was a simple living room.

There were four empty rooms and a kitchen.

Everything had been built from massive stone blocks.

Then Kent noticed something.

Beside the living room was a staircase leading downward.

Everyone slowly followed it underground.

Kent activated a magic crystal lamp.

The darkness disappeared.

What appeared before him was an enormous underground hall.

Kent’s eyes widened.

This was not an ordinary room.

It was a complete alchemy laboratory.

In the center stood a huge alchemy workbench.

The entire structure was made from obsidian.

Not only was obsidian incredibly hard, but it also possessed excellent resistance against magical interference.

Around the room stood massive obsidian cabinets.

Their purpose was clearly to isolate the magical fluctuations between different materials stored inside.

There was also a row of enormous iron cages.

A large water pool.

Water continuously flowed from the pool, circulated through the system, and then disappeared through another channel.

There was even a forge used for metal refining.

Kent carefully inspected every corner.

Finally, he found the magical control center of the entire laboratory.

He took out several magic crystals and inserted them into the control mechanism.

Slowly...

The dusty laboratory began to awaken.

The magic formations activated.

The accumulated dust disappeared.

The entire hall gradually became clean and bright.

---

Kent stared at the countless crystal containers placed on the laboratory table.

Various rare magical materials were stored everywhere.

His heart nearly jumped with excitement.

Looking at the magical runes occasionally flashing across the stone walls, Kent could not help but sigh.

“This is a master-level alchemy laboratory...”

“If this existed on the surface, it would be absolutely priceless.”

He gently touched the crystal instruments one by one.

“These crystal containers...”

“And this...”

“This is probably the largest magic furnace I have ever seen.”

Kent looked at the enormous device in front of him.

The magic furnace he carried with him was only thirty centimeters tall.

But the one before him...

It was a full one meter in height.

The difference was enormous.

---

“How is it, Kent?”

Wright looked at Kent’s excited expression and could not help asking.

In truth, this laboratory had always been a troublesome matter.

Destroying it or removing the equipment felt wasteful.

But leaving it abandoned only took up valuable space.

Giving it to Kent was probably the best possible outcome.

---

Kent suddenly remembered something.

The fire lizards.

There were still dozens of them waiting outside.

He immediately turned serious.

“Grandpa Wright, we can start processing the fire lizards.”

“Put all the fire lizard skins into those pools and let them soak.”

“Pour the blood into this magic furnace.”

“As for the tendons, bile, magical cores, teeth, claws, and eyes...”

“Bring all of them to me.”

“I’ll handle the rest.”

Kent looked around the ancient alchemy laboratory.

For the first time since arriving in the Underdark, he felt truly fortunate.

Perhaps...

This underground world had more surprises waiting for him than he had imagined.

As expected, many hands truly did make light work.

In less than an hour, the thirty-six fire lizards had been completely processed into piles of different materials.

The fire lizard skins had been placed inside a large soaking pool.

The magic furnace had already been activated after Kent embedded two magical cores into it, and it was now automatically refining the blood.

The tendons had been coated with a mixture of blood and bile before being placed aside to dry.

The bone marrow had been collected inside crystal containers.

The claws and teeth had been stored separately.

Once they were completely dried, they would be used to create arrowheads.

After everything was finally arranged, Kent was completely exhausted.

But the dwarves around him looked as if they had barely done anything.

As expected of warriors.

Their stamina was truly abnormal.

---

“Kent, do you need any more people here?”

Old Wright watched Kent carefully arranging the alchemy equipment.

At this point, the last bit of doubt in his heart had completely disappeared.

His face was filled with a satisfied smile.

Kent thought for a moment.

“Grandpa Wright, I need someone who knows how to cut and shape leather armor.”

“I also need two assistants.”

“They need to have enough strength because there will be a lot of physical work.”

“For now, those people should be enough.”

Kent naturally could not make leather armor himself.

And many parts of the process required manual labor.

There was no reason for him to do everything alone.

---

“But Kent, you need to hurry.”

Wright’s expression suddenly became serious.

“The Great Trial begins in one month.”

“At that time, every professional below Level Five will have to participate.”

“And the trial area is a completely unknown region.”

“Every year, some people die during the trial.”

Kent frowned.

“A month?”

He had not expected such a thing.

“Grandpa Wright, what exactly is this Great Trial?”

---

Wright sat down after hearing Kent’s confusion.

Then he slowly began explaining.

“The Great Trial exists to improve the survival abilities of the races living in the Underdark.”

“Dwarves.”

“Dark elves.”

“Gnomes.”

“Goblins.”

“Humans.”

“All low-level professionals must participate.”

“It serves several purposes.”

“First, it helps professionals grow stronger and break through their limits.”

“Second, it allows us to explore unknown areas.”

“So why wouldn’t we do it?”

Kent listened carefully.

Wright continued.

“Also, the way we evaluate strength underground is different from the surface.”

“We do not judge a person only by their professional level.”

“We judge their actual combat ability.”

“This creates some unusual situations.”

“For example, someone may only be a Level-Three warrior, but their true combat strength may already reach Level Four.”

“Warriors are especially likely to achieve this because they can fight magical beasts directly and overcome opponents above their level.”

“Mages are different.”

“In the dark underground environment, a mage’s combat ability is affected by many factors—the darkness, terrain, and surroundings.”

“But regardless of profession, once someone reaches Level Five, they no longer need to participate in the annual Great Trial.”

Kent nodded slowly.

That made sense.

Wright took another drink from his flask.

“Of course, people can still form teams.”

“But the requirements for teams are much higher.”

“For example, a Level-One warrior completing the trial alone only needs to obtain one Level-One magical beast core.”

“But if two people cooperate...”

“They need four magical beast cores.”

“So most people do not choose to form teams.”

“Usually, only apprentice warriors and apprentice archers form groups.”

“Those people have little experience fighting magical beasts and need support.”

Kent understood immediately.

The rules were harsh.

But they also forced everyone to grow.

---

“Of course, there are always people who try to cheat.”

Wright sighed.

“After all, this is the Underdark.”

“It is impossible to watch every single person all the time.”

“But the Great Trial has another purpose.”

“It helps reduce the number of magical beasts.”

“If magical beast populations grow too large, they will eventually run out of food.”

“And when that happens, they will attack our cities.”

“So even though people die every year during the Great Trial...”

“We still have to continue.”

---

“Wait.”

Kent suddenly looked at Wright.

“Do alchemists have to participate too?”

He could hardly believe it.

“Of course.”

Wright smiled.

“And the Great Trial does not restrict equipment.”

He took out his wine flask and drank deeply.

“If you can produce powerful equipment, then people will fight to have you on their side.”

His expression became meaningful.

“In the Underdark, a talented craftsman is just as valuable as a powerful warrior.”

Kent did not take this so-called Great Trial too seriously.

To him, it was simply another challenge.

Right now, there were far more important things to focus on.

Afterward, Kent went to Dex’s house for dinner.

Only then did he discover something unexpected.

Old Wright was actually Dex’s grandfather.

The relationships among the dwarves were far more complicated than Kent had imagined.

After finishing his meal, Kent returned to the place where he lived.

However, the moment he arrived, he stopped.

Two fully armed dark elf warriors were standing guard outside his door.

Kent blinked.

Then he felt slightly disappointed.

Both of them were handsome men.

For some reason, he had expected something else.

Before he could ask anything, he noticed another presence inside the courtyard.

The Ancient Tree of War, Keta, had actually moved into Kent’s yard.

He was standing beside the small fountain.

Because the magic array inside the fountain had been activated again, water continuously flowed upward, spraying into the air before falling back down in a gentle stream.

Kent had to admit—

Ancient Trees of War truly were special beings.

They could move almost anywhere freely.

And inside Muan City, they were not restricted by any rules.

No guards would stop them.

No one would question their actions.

However...

There was one small problem.

Keta’s massive tree trunk occupied nearly one-quarter of Kent’s entire courtyard.

The yard that had originally seemed spacious now suddenly felt rather cramped.

Kent looked at the enormous Ancient Tree of War standing beside his fountain.

For the first time, he realized something.

Having a powerful neighbor was not always convenient.

Especially when that neighbor was a giant tree.