From Alchemy Apprentice to All-Powerful God King

"What's there to be afraid of! How do you want to gamble?"

Looking at the smile on Matthew's face, Luca felt that Matthew was looking down on him, which immediately aroused his competitive spirit.

As the youngest ability user in the Hunter's Guild, the most powerful newly promoted alchemist in the Alchemy Workshop, the future guild mage, and the record holder for stone cutting in the gambling stone market.

To be looked down upon by an alchemy apprentice!

That's not quite right. He should be a newly minted alchemist who got his start through luck.

Matthew tossed the starstone in his hand, looking very serious: "It's my first time playing, so you set the rules, I don't really know how."

Luca listened to what he said and had only one feeling.

That's so damn pretentious!

"One person takes on ten, and the competition is based on the stone-cutting rate. Whoever cuts out the most demonic insects wins, regardless of whether they live or die."

"Can."

"Whoever loses must call you 'Big Brother' whenever they meet in the guild from now on, and maintain a respectful attitude."

"no problem."

After Luca finalized the bet, he asked the stone servant to act as a judge and record the details for the two of them.

Of course, he also had his own ulterior motives.

Although he lost first place in the alchemist assessment, he secretly felt a surge of satisfaction at the thought of Matthew calling him "big brother" in front of everyone.

So what if they figured out a new formula? So what if they were number one? They're still his underlings!

"But I don't have any gold coins, so I can't afford ten magic stones."

Luca didn't realize what was happening until Matthew spoke again.

The other party was an apprentice under Flynn; how could an orphan possibly have so many gold coins?

One starstone costs four gold coins, ten starsstones would cost forty gold coins, and two people would cost twenty gold coins, which would be eighty gold coins...

Even he couldn't possibly produce so many gold coins at once.

"You...this..."

At the critical moment, the stone servant spoke up to help.

"Young Master Luca, you can put it on the tab first, and we can offset it if you get a Demon Worm later."

In Val, everyone knew that Luca was the nephew of the Alchemist Bishop, so naturally no one would offend him for the sake of gold coins.

But Matthew saw through the other person's little scheme.

If they find a magical insect, they can return it to the jade gambling site without losing money; but if they don't find one, then it's a real debt.

"Okay! Put it in the account first."

Upon hearing this, Luca immediately agreed.

He didn't believe that someone without magic could beat him at gambling on stones.

After all, to obtain a magical insect, one must judge its magical power and the quality of the magical stone. Generally, it is easy for an ability user without several years of experience to make a mistake.

Eighty gold coins to buy back the face I lost—it was worth it!

Soon, the two placed their chosen star stones on the table.

"Once the order is placed, you two can begin cutting the stone."

As Shi Pu placed the bet, the onlookers who had been watching the commotion gathered around.

"I'll go first!"

Luca took the lead, picking up the first starstone in front of him and channeling his magic with practiced ease, clearly a regular here.

Soon, the outer shell of the starstone was peeled off layer by layer, forming a stone flower.

"It looks nice, but there are no demonic insects."

Someone spoke a blunt truth, and Luca turned to look at the crowd, a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth, his eyebrows twitching involuntarily.

However, since no one could be found to speak, they could only continue cutting the stone.

This time, he no longer focused on technique, but instead used a simple and brutal approach, directly cutting off parts without any signs of demonic insects, without any fear of severing any demonic insects that might be inside.

As the second stone was cut, sounds of surprise and regret rose from the surrounding crowd.

Indeed, something was found inside the star-shaped stone, but it wasn't a demonic insect.

It was an insect egg that had not yet hatched.

"It was stillborn, what a pity."

"Yes, but that's still amazing. As expected of Luca."

Hearing the praise around him, Luca's face gradually showed a smug look.

Although there were no demonic insects, the insect eggs were found, which at least provided a safety net, allowing me to go all out.

However, as the stone-cutting continued, his expression grew increasingly grim.

The third piece... is empty.

The fourth piece... is empty.

The fifth piece... is still empty.

......

Even after the last piece of starstone was unearthed, no trace of the demonic insect was found.

"Not a single one."

Luca could hardly believe it; this was the worst stone gambling he had ever done.

He then comforted himself, thinking that there was still one insect egg left. As long as Matthew, like him, couldn't hatch a single demonic insect, he would still win.

Looking at the starstone the other person had chosen, I felt more and more at ease.

They were all magic stones with scarce magic power and very ordinary appearance; it was obvious that they were picked randomly.

"Your turn. What? You're scared to compete?"

Seeing that Matthew was still standing there unmoved, making no move to cut the stone, Luca subconsciously thought that the other party was afraid.

"I have no magic power, I can't solve it."

As soon as Matthew opened his mouth, it elicited laughter from those around him.

A person without even magic power is actually gambling on stones with a person with superpowers.

However, some kind-hearted ability users stepped forward to help. Matthew recognized him; he was an ability user from the guild.

With the impartial witness and confirmation of the stone servant, the ability user began to cut the stone.

The first stone was very clean inside, without any demonic insects.

Everyone nodded; this was normal.

"Young man, this isn't my fault."

The kind-hearted person with the ability spoke up to explain.

Matthew expressed his understanding and indicated that he could continue, and that he would bear the consequences of any loss.

The second one... is empty.

The third piece is still empty.

Seeing this, Luca didn't dare to even breathe; he was the most nervous person in the entire stadium.

If the opponent releases the demonic insects, even if they die, then I've only brought trouble upon myself.

Just when the fourth block was halfway solved.

A crisp cracking sound rang out in the jade gambling market; it was the sound of the magical insect's protective shell being shattered by magic.

"No!"

Along with the sound came Luca's heart-wrenching screams.

The demonic insect was found inside the starstone that Matthew had chosen!

Luca snatched the magic stone, his face filled with disbelief.

"How is this possible...? Its appearance is extremely poor, its magic power is sparse, yet there's an exploding bug inside?"

Logically speaking, it's impossible for such a magic stone to yield a magic insect, but Matthew is the man who knows the secrets of the gambling stone market.

Adding to his reputation as a ruthless businessman, he specifically chooses these low-quality magic stones that nobody else would pick.

To win, he also added a fake magic stone to the remaining few, one that was artificially stuffed with a demonic insect.

However, there is no longer any need to continue operating it.

"You lost, Luca. Just return the remaining magic stones; it'll save you some money."

Matthew's opening remarks were a critical hit.

"As expected of a newbie, they're lucky to have gotten such a magic stone."

Already feeling dejected, Luca lay sprawled on the stone platform when he overheard someone making sarcastic remarks, nearly fainting from exhaustion.

Fortunately, he was quite composed and quickly recovered.

"Matthew, you were just lucky this time, it was just a dead demonic insect. Want to try again?"

However, after taking the exploding bug, Matthew left the jade gambling site without looking back.

He left behind a single sentence, leaving Luca alone with mixed feelings.

"Thank you so much for today, you're such a kind person! I'll definitely do it again next time!"