This lich needs more money.

Chapter 580 The Devil's Daily Life

The headquarters of the Alchemy Association was located in the center of the most prosperous commercial street in the Dwarf Capital. Gustavo Flynn spent a lot of money to buy this piece of land. Although it was all reimbursed later, he went to the Goblin Bank in person to borrow money to get the first sum of money.

This legendary alchemist never imagined that one day he would end up in such a miserable state.

But everything is getting better.

Thanks to that lich, the half-dead alchemy was brought back to life in an incredible way through a series of packaging and promotions in the market.

The huge populations in the various countries all have a demand for alchemical products, and the Dwarf Kingdom is in urgent need of a new economic pillar, so the two sides hit it off. The kingdom gives the Alchemy Association a lot of preferential treatment, and the Alchemy Association returns a large amount of tax revenue to the kingdom after making money.

Everything is fine, except that the Alchemy Association's profits have recently begun to decline.

This is a headache, mainly due to market saturation.

The market that can be developed is almost there, and the sales of alchemy have begun to stabilize. The sales of some products have even fallen back, such as many high-end magic products. People buy these things and keep them at home as heirlooms, so naturally they cannot be purchased regularly like daily necessities.

Due to various reasons, the Alchemy Association’s recent financial report is not very good.

Overall, it is profitable, and a lot of it.

It's just that greed is human nature. If someone could make tens of millions a month, but only nine million next month, many people would not be able to accept it. There are discordant voices inside and outside the Alchemy Association because they feel that they have made less money recently.

But this is the law of the market, and Gustavo Fring can't create a bigger market.

"What a pity! If I could open up overseas markets, I wouldn't have to worry about market saturation for at least the next ten years."

Gustavo Flynn is still very envious of the overseas Dragon Island and the markets of various ethnic groups overseas. It's a pity that developing overseas is not such a simple matter and needs to be done step by step.

After taking a sip of tea, Gustavo Flynn picked up the document beside him. This was the recent promotion list of the Alchemy Association. Some alchemists wanted to be promoted to senior levels, which required personal review and confirmation by the president, Gustavo Flynn.

Although they were all familiar names, Gustavo Flynn still read them very carefully. Even though he was already the president, Gustavo Flynn still maintained the rigor that an alchemist should have.

After just looking through the list of senior alchemists, Gustavo Flynn frowned and asked the assistant beside him: "Where is Isabel's name?"

The young assistant said cautiously, "This person... has applied to withdraw from the Alchemy Association. The application form is in the attached form. According to the rules, withdrawal from the Alchemy Association does not require approval, so Isabel's name was deleted from the new list."

Gustavo Flynn's face suddenly became serious, and his cold look made the assistant's heart tremble. This president was really scary when he didn't speak. Just being stared at by those eyes could give people a heart attack.

"Are you refusing to be my student after all?"

Gustavo Flynn was really distressed this time. Isabel was not the most talented student he had ever seen, but she was the most focused student he had ever seen. Other alchemists regarded alchemy as a job that required hard work, but only Isabel regarded alchemy as her daily life.

She didn't need to force herself to study, because learning alchemy was her greatest interest. Isabel was improving herself all the time, as normal as drinking water and eating.

This child has no outstanding performance, and even his research direction is "improvement" which geniuses disdain, instead of taking the risk of "innovation".

And only Gustavo Fring could understand Isabel's choice.

Each improvement research on a formula means that Isabel is familiar with and understands all the principles of this formula. Therefore, the longer Isabel studies, the more formulas she will master, which will make her basic skills very solid and her knowledge broader than those alchemists who focus on a certain innovation.

As long as she is given enough time to accumulate, Isabel will eventually usher in a period of explosive growth in her life, just like herself in the past, able to come up with a large number of patents in a very short period of time, which may have an impact on the development of alchemy as a whole.

Because of Isabel's concentration, Gustavo Flin really wanted to take her as his student.

Unfortunately, I was still a step too slow.

Gustavo Flynn couldn't understand why so many people were devoted to the damned lich, who was obviously greedy? Not only Isabel, but also his other students, the Queen of the Dead, and even the Holy King of Ryan were willing to give their lives to him. Now even the people of Ryan began to be grateful to him.

"It's a good thing he's dead."

Gustavo Flynn comforted himself, suppressed his inner annoyance for the time being, and continued to check the information.

The list of senior alchemists did not change much, and the absence of Isabel would not make any obvious changes. However, when Gustavo Flynn opened the list at the back, he immediately found something wrong.

"How can it be so many? The number of primary and intermediate alchemists has increased so much?!"

The assistant could only explain, "I have checked again and again, and the data is correct. The pass rate for this assessment is much higher than before. Not only that, the number of alchemy apprentices who signed up for the exam is much higher than before."

Gustavo Flynn paused for a moment, then said, "Show me the test."

The assistant quickly handed over the test papers for this period. The alchemy test contained a lot of content, and the test papers for the elementary and intermediate exams added up to dozens of pages.

Gustavo Fring read very quickly. He didn't need to think at all to get the correct answers to the questions, but these questions were extremely difficult for most alchemists.

“The questions are fine, but the pass rate is abnormal!”

Gustavo Flynn knew the situation in the Alchemy Guild very well. How could he not know how capable those apprentices were? It was impossible for so many qualified alchemists to emerge suddenly, unless it was a group fraud.

"Go check those qualified candidates. Don't alert too many people. Use Veritaserum to confirm whether they have bought the answers."

This was the only possibility Gustavo Fring could think of.

If it is really discovered that someone in the association is buying and selling answers, they must be severely punished, otherwise this group of people will only become more and more excessive.

But Gustavo Flynn found that the assistant showed a hesitant expression after hearing this.

"What's wrong? Do you know who sold the test questions?"

The assistant shook his head and said, "Mr. President, I haven't heard of any fraud, but I heard another more outrageous rumor. I don't know if I should tell you."

"Outrageous rumors? Tell me about them?"

The young assistant in front of him was an alchemist that Gustavo Flynn was quite optimistic about. He was talented and meticulous, and he was preparing to train him. Such a person would not fool him with some messy rumors. If he said it was outrageous, he would like to hear what it was.

"Sir, this rumor comes from a story in the supplement of 'Legendary Spells', called 'Aladdin and the Magic Mirror'..." The assistant simply told Gustavo Flynn the content of the story.

The plot is very simple, but the author wrote it very well. Not only is the plot ups and downs, but the whole story revolves around four characters: the protagonist Aladdin, the protagonist's teacher, the devil in the magic mirror, and the teacher's daughter. It is the most clichéd story, the boy gets enlightenment, defeats the villain and then gets the beauty, but the plot is very reasonable and the characters are also very full.

Even a brief description made Gustavo Fring very interested and he wanted to read the original text of the story.

But when Gustavo Flin finished listening, his expression became strange. He asked his assistant, "Do you mean that the omniscient demon in this magic mirror really exists?"

"That's the rumor, but I haven't verified it. I just thought it was a story before, but now it seems that it may be related to the situation of this exam. After all, the questions for each exam are set separately, and then they are handled by special confidentiality personnel. Each process is handled by different people. It is very difficult to get a full set of test questions. It takes so much effort, but what benefits can those apprentices give in exchange?"

The cost of cheating is too high, and alchemy apprentices are notoriously poor, so they simply cannot afford the cost of cheating.

Gustavo Flynn looked at the sky outside. The sun had already set. He told his assistant, "I know about this. Bring me the supplement of Legendary Curse and then go back to work. Don't let anyone disturb me tonight."

The assistant quickly left with the documents, and Gustavo Flin was the only one left in the huge office.

The president of the Alchemy Association picked up the magic mirror on the table and muttered to himself: "The omniscient devil from hell... damn lich, is this a trick you played in hell?!"

A chill came from his back and instantly flowed through Gustavo Flynn's body.

The lich was clearly dead. It was said that even his soul was shattered. There was no way he could be resurrected, and there was no possibility of him going to hell.

Gustavo Flynn had a bad feeling. This chilling conspiracy was too much like the lich's method. Although his specific plan was still unclear, he could always pit his opponents to death, and even the gods could not escape.

What if my guess was correct, and the lich did not completely perish, but fell into hell and became a devil? Then my previous little action would probably have completely angered him.

Gustavo Fring gnashed his teeth, this lingering bastard!
Regardless of whether it was true or not, he had to confirm it himself. If the lich was indeed not dead, then all previous plans would have to be overturned and started over again. He just hoped that it was not too late.

After finally waiting until the sun had completely set, Gustavo Fring took out the magic mirror and recited the spell in the story: "Mirror, mirror, tell me." A ball of flame bloomed in the center of the magic mirror, revealing a pretty pink face.

The graceful succubus appeared in the mirror and said to Gustavo Flynn in a charming voice: "Mortal, you have summoned the omniscient Paruriel."

Paruliel looked Gustavo Flynn up and down, as if she was going to swallow him up in the next second.

"So, what do you want to ask?" asked Paruliel.

"Paruliel?" Gustavo Flynn frowned. He seemed to have heard this name somewhere before. But it didn't matter. As long as it wasn't the lich, he wouldn't dress up as a woman given his personality.

However, it is also possible that he hired this succubus, and Gustavo Fring still needs to confirm it again.

"Tell me, are you working for the lich Ultraman Tiga? Did you leak the test questions to those alchemy apprentices?"

Parulil smiled and said, "Knowledge needs to be exchanged for knowledge. I have the answers to these two questions, but what can you exchange for them?"

Gustavo Flynn frowned and asked, "Is this knowledge?"

Parulil explained: "Our conversation today is also part of history, and history is a kind of knowledge, right?"

Although this could be considered sophistry, Gustavo Flynn also understood that the devil would not give benefits to mortals for no reason. If he wanted to get an answer from this succubus, it seemed that he really needed to pay something.

"So what do you want?" Gustavo Fring asked.

Parulil thought for a moment, then said, "You asked two questions, both of which are my personal secrets, so you can exchange them for two secrets. Think carefully, if I think these two secrets are not important enough, I will leave after listening to them."

Gustavo Fring frowned and said, "That's not fair!"

"How naive! You still expect fairness?" Parulil said proudly, "When making a deal, the one who reveals his bottom line first will lose. I can sense that you want to know the answer no matter what, but I am not that interested in your little secret. So, you are begging me, right?"

This familiar negotiation tactic... Gustavo Flynn was already 80% sure that this succubus was working for Amber. Could it be that the lich had really been resurrected in hell? Was the leak of the exam questions his revenge on himself?
But what secrets do I have to give up in exchange for this information? And who can guarantee that the information provided by the devil is the complete truth?

Gustavo Flynn simply said to Parulier, "Damn devil, I don't want your answer. Tell the lich that I will be waiting for him here. Regardless of the previous grudges, I am qualified to let him talk to me face to face."

But Paruliel glanced at Gustavo Flynn as if she hadn't heard him.

"So, if you give up this deal, then goodbye forever, mortal."

Gustavo Flynn was stunned for a moment by Paruliel's words, and then he found that the image in the magic mirror began to fade.

"and many more!"

Gustavo Flynn only had time to say two words before Paruliel completely disappeared into the magic mirror.

He could only recite the spell again, hoping to summon Paruriel.

But this succubus seemed to be very principled and never appeared again no matter how Gustavo Fring chanted the spell.

"Did I make a mistake?"

Gustavo Flin wanted to convince himself that the devil was playing hard to get and that she would definitely get the message, but even if there was only a slight chance of mistake, Gustavo Flin still felt uncomfortable.

Paruliel was right. No matter what the cost, Gustavo Flynn had to be 100% sure of the lich's life or death. This was the bottom line he could not give up, otherwise he would not be able to sleep from today on.

Unknowingly, the influence of the lich became so great that even the slightest rumor could make the president of the Alchemy Association so anxious that he could not remain calm.

After trying dozens of times to summon Paruriel without success, Gustavo Flynn had to call his assistant over and ask the young man to recite the spell.

"Mirror, mirror, tell me."

When the assistant nervously read out this sentence, Paruliel's figure appeared in the magic mirror again.

Parulil said to the assistant: "Oh, poor child, if you feel threatened, just blink. I can help you. I just need to charge a few insignificant soul fragments."

The assistant was so scared that he quickly held up his eyelids with his hands, fearing that he would accidentally blink and make a contract with the devil.

Gustavo Flynn didn't care about his assistant's safety and said quickly: "Don't worry about that, just ask me the question I asked just now!"

The assistant had no choice but to stare with a pair of red eyes and ask, "Excuse me, are you working for that Ultraman Master? What plans does he have against the Alchemy Association?"

Parulil laughed, turned the magic mirror around, and said directly to Gustavo Flynn: "Making a deal with the devil, but using the people around you as the price, it's really a traditional method. But I'm not interested in this child's secret, and your secret, I'm sorry, I'm not interested now either."

"What exactly do you want?!" asked Gustavo Fring.

"Of course it's the soul, your restless soul that is willing to pay a price to pursue the truth, and the soul of this child who is frightened and panicked, but dares not resist for his own future. Reluctance, fear, and greed, what a complex taste, I like it very much. Now, you can choose to sacrifice your own soul, or this child's, and then I will tell you the answer to the question.

"Well, it shouldn't be difficult to choose, right?"

Parulier's words frightened the assistant, and he looked at Gustavo Flin in shock, hoping that he would flatly reject the suggestion. However, Gustavo Flin hesitated.

He was really tempted. After all, he was not the one dying. He could solve the problem he cared about most by just nodding his head. But after thinking about it, he realized that this assistant did a good job and it was a pity to sacrifice him like this. It was just a soul. There was no need to sacrifice the talents around him. Wouldn't it be better to exchange him for a few slaves?
Just after making the decision, Gustavo Flynn was about to refuse, but he heard his assistant say loudly: "No, I refuse! I won't sell my soul. Why should he decide? I will sell this old guy's soul too!"

Gustavo Flynn looked at the young assistant in shock. He never expected that this usually obedient and well-behaved child would say such a thing. He had already decided to use a slave as a replacement, but he couldn't even wait for a little while?
Parulil laughed and said, "Look, what an interesting child. You must have been very panicked just now. You didn't know whether the first word the old man said would be a rejection or an agreement, so you had to reject it before he opened his mouth, right?

"Oh, you can be humble for your future, and you throw away your future in order to survive. That's great, very decisive, right? But, unfortunately, you guessed wrong, the old guy wanted to refuse this deal. Look, you really should look in the mirror, the expression on your face is really wonderful now."

Gustavo Flynn frowned and looked at Paruliel. This devil could sense his thoughts. It was the same as before. She could accurately judge other people's emotions.

The young assistant was already flustered by Parulier's words. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to explain to Gustavo Flynn, but he seemed to know that it was useless for him to say anything now.

Finally, the young assistant gritted his teeth and said, "Since the decision has been made, I will make a deal with you and sell his soul!"

Anyway, I have already offended Gustavo Flynn, and the next step is definitely revenge. I am going to die anyway, so why not just give it a try! When Gustavo Flynn dies, I will have the final say in the process.

Gustavo Flynn laughed in anger and didn't bother to look at the young man any more. He thought he had found a good talent who could be trained as his confidant, but in the end he was just wrong.

Sure enough, students as smart and loyal as Isabel are rarer than legend.

The assistant didn't care about that. He had to complete the deal immediately, otherwise he would be dead. However, Parulil's answer made him despair.

"Oh, what a pity, poor child. We devils can only buy and sell things that mortals own."

The assistant was shocked and said, "What do you mean? How can he decide to sell my soul, but I can't make the decision?!"

Parulil explained: "You are not qualified to sell his soul, because he does not belong to you. Why do I only trade with this old guy? Because your future, your life, and even your life are in his hands. It's fine for parents to sell their young children, and for grown-up children to sell their elderly parents, but it's not the other way around.

“How do you sell something that doesn’t belong to you?”

The assistant collapsed to the ground in despair, trying to crawl away from the place.

At this time, Gustavo Flynn had already made up his mind. He nodded to Parulier and said, "Deal."

Paruliel's tail flew out from the magic mirror and instantly wrapped around the young assistant. No matter how he struggled, he couldn't break free.

Hellfire burst out from Parulil's tail, instantly burning the young man to ashes, leaving only a glittering soul coin.

"It's of good quality. I'll take this desperate soul away!" Paruliel played with the soul coin, and then said to Gustavo Flynn: "As for your question, I don't know any Ultraman Tiga. The devil who cooperated with me is called Arthas. I guess you haven't heard of this name.

"As for your plan to deal with the Alchemy Association? Isn't it obvious? I am just doing what a devil should do. Tempting mortals to fall and willingly offer their souls is our daily routine as a devil."

(End of this chapter)