Douluo Continent: Gretchen at the start, empowered by the Star God.

Chapter 18 Making Pigments

Under the strange gazes of the hotel staff, Lang Lei returned to the hotel carrying large and small bags of ore.

As for why it wasn't placed in the system space or a storage soul tool...

The reason wasn't that complicated; Lang Lei was simply too excited and forgot.

After all, it feels really good to want to do something yourself.

As I placed the bags of ore on the floor of the room, the system beeped.

"Ding, host's intention detected, initiating the issuance of accompanying tasks."

Accompanying Mission: Pigment Making

Mission objective: Little Gretsch's original paints are gone. To cheer her up, the host needs to create paints of sufficient quality to make her happy.

Task Rewards: Soul Power Level +2, a random quality first-tier Martial Soul Earth Dragon Dust passive skill card, and one chance to upgrade crafted pigments.

"Hmm? The system has issued a task?" Lang Lei was quite pleased with this unexpected surprise; after all, who would complain about having too many rewards?

"Little Gretchen, do you want to rest for a while?" Lang Lei soaked all the ores in water and began to clean the mud and impurities from the surface of the ores with his soul power.

"I want to help," Gretchen said earnestly.

Lang Lei was speechless for a moment, then chuckled and ruffled little Greta's hair: "Alright then, let's try it together!"

"good!"

-

Making mineral pigments is not an easy task; there are quite a few steps involved:

First, there was the ore selection, a step that Lang Lei and Gresh had already done, using the highest quality ore, and even the yellow pigment was made directly from gold soul coins...

The second step, which is what Langley is currently doing, is soaking. The ore is soaked and rinsed in water for a period of time to remove dirt and impurities. This step helps to improve the purity and stability of the pigment.

Greta, unusually childlike, splashed water all over Lang Lei's face with her little hand and then giggled.

Upon seeing this, Lang Lei smiled and, incidentally, returned the favor in kind.

After a lively washing process, the third step was grinding. The ore was ground into a fine powder using a mortar and pestle, although Langley and Gretchen could choose to crush it directly with their soul power. However, this process still required patience and time to ensure the pigment's fineness and evenness.

Furthermore, Lang Lei actually bought quite a lot of paint...

This step was quick, since it was tantamount to cheating...

Then comes sieving, where fine powder is collected through a sieve to remove coarse particles, further improving the purity of the pigment.

This step can also be addressed using a martial soul. After all, Lang Lei's martial soul is Earth Dragon Dust. While precise control is unlikely, it can still be used for filtering.

Gretchen got a little bored at this step and could only watch Langley do the work.

Then the sieved ore powder is ground a second time, which also requires a mortar and pestle. Lang Lei had the foresight to buy one as well.

But there's only one...

After all, Lang Lei had never intended for Gretchen to take action.

However, this was not a problem. Lang Lei simply used Earth Dragon Dust's first soul skill to create one, which was very sturdy.

While grinding, this step also requires adding an appropriate amount of water to the mortar to grind the pigments to achieve the desired fineness.

This step may need to be repeated until the pigment reaches the desired concentration and texture.

Gretchen had a good understanding of this, so Langley obediently listened to Gretchen's opinion and added to it.

Next comes the settling process.

By utilizing the principle of gravity sedimentation, pigments are separated into coarse and fine layers, impurities are removed, and a thick paste of fine material is obtained.

This step was quick, for a simple reason: waiting was too boring, and they didn't have that much time, so Lang Lei used his soul power to speed up the process...

Next, the gelatin water that Lang Lei bought at the grocery store came in handy. Lang Lei made several large jars and poured the not-yet-fully-made paint into them. Then he added an appropriate amount of gelatin water to the paint, stirred it well, poured in boiling water, stirred it well again, and continued to cover and let it settle.

After stirring the last batch of paint, Lang Lei and Gretchen put the lid on together and smiled at each other.

Then, Lang Lei once again used his soul power to accelerate the process in an unreasonable manner...

Next comes the boiling and spreading of the pigment. Through boiling and settling, the pigment is further purified, moisture is removed, and a thick paste is obtained. The thick paste is then poured onto a piece of adhesive tape, spread evenly, and dried.

The drying step was also made simple by his extraordinary power. Under normal weather conditions, it usually takes 1-2 days to dry the pigment paste, but Lang Lei used his soul power to evaporate it directly, which only took a dozen minutes.

During the drying process, Lang Lei glanced at the serious-looking little Gretchen, and his playful side emerged. He smeared some paint on his hand and then applied it directly to her bouncy face. After doing so, he remarked that the paint felt quite nice.

Gretchen paused for a moment, then puffed out her cheeks and took a small piece of paint, about to smear it on Langley's face.

The two were playfully fighting in a very harmonious way, just like an older brother and a younger sister, and neither of them used any extraordinary power.

The mineral pigments were made while playing around.

To use it, simply mix the pigment paste and water in the appropriate ratio, and then it's ready to use.

Lang Lei and Gretchen clapped their hands in unison, then put their hands on their hips, and finally looked at each other and laughed.

Because the other person's face was covered in paint by another guy, it looked quite comical.

After washing the stains off his face, Lang Lei stored the pigment paste in his system space, leaving only a small piece of each color.

Lang Lei watched nervously as Gretchen mixed the paint paste with water and stirred it. Once the paint had solidified, Lang Lei spoke up, somewhat nervously.

"How is it?"

Gretchen's face lit up with a stunning smile as she rushed over and hugged Langley.

"Great job, Brother Lang Lei is amazing!"

Objectively speaking, the paints produced this time were at best decent, but not top-quality.

But in Gretchen's eyes, this was the best paint.

"No, we're the ones who are great." Langley smiled and patted Gretchen on the shoulder.

"Yes, we're great." Gretchen replied, putting her hands on her hips and making a proud expression.

Lang Lei was completely charmed...

At the same time, the system's task completion notification sounded.

[Accompanying Mission: Pigment production complete.]

[Rewards have been released; passive cards are being randomly drawn...]

[Random pigment effects are being generated...]

[Obtained: Earth Dragon Dust Passive Card (Purple) x1]

Ordinary mineral pigments have evolved into cherished memories for Gretchen and Langley.

Item: Gretchen and Langley's Beautiful Memories (Gold)

Introduction: The natural mineral pigments created by Gretchen and Langley together embody their shared memories, which seems to have caused some kind of magical transformation in the pigments.

Special effect:

1. Infinite; the pigments are inexhaustible.

2. Sublimation elevates the quality of the pigment to a level rarely seen in the world.

3. With the ability to change color at will, Gretchen or Langley can make the pigment change to their desired color, and this effect disappears after it falls onto the object being colored.

4. Permanent, the pigments never fade.

5. Heart to Heart: Langley and Gretchen, carrying this pigment, can communicate telepathically. It transcends the influence of time, space, fate, and cause and effect; no living being can eavesdrop.

To Lang Lei and Gretchen's astonishment, the paint in front of them changed, and the color...

If I had to describe it, it would be a multicolored black.

Lang Lei smiled, smeared some paint on his hand, and painted a line on the back of both his and Gretchen's hands.

This time, Greta didn't react much.

Because, as one of the manufacturers, she also knew about the changes that occurred in the pigments during the sublimation process.

"Beautiful memories..." Gretchen's ethereal voice echoed in Lang Lei's mind, "I really like them."

"Yes, I like it too."

(End of this chapter)