The most shameless alchemist in history

“But Dure, aren’t you going to need it in three days? If you don’t find a suitable magic weapon before then, won’t your journey to Rock City be very dangerous?” Lance said worriedly. Although he was very curious about magic weapons, he wasn’t in a hurry at all.

Because it wasn't the time for him to need it yet, but it was different for Dure. Dure was in a hurry to use it and had to get his hands on it as soon as possible.

"Nono signed me up for this, without giving me enough time to prepare beforehand. Let alone finding suitable magical weapons, it would be difficult to even find one." Dure shook his head. He knew this was not an easy task, but Nono just left him with a single sentence and then ignored him.

Dure and Lance were left at a loss, unable to find a breakthrough in solving the problem.

"Then what should we do? Are we just going to give up like this?" Lance was somewhat unwilling; this matter was particularly troublesome.

“Giving up on this kind of thing…” Dure shook his head, frowning as he tried to think of a solution.

"Hey, isn't that Du Lei? Du Lei, Du Lei." Just then, someone called out Du Lei's name from afar.

Lance, who was next to Dure, didn't react much because there were too many people around, and the noise was deafening, with shouts and hawking blending together. But Dure had excellent hearing and immediately picked up on the noise, pinpointing the location and turning his head to look.

"You are... Sherry?" Du Lei recognized the person who called him as Sherry, whom he knew, and was somewhat surprised.

"It really is you, Du Lei! I thought I was seeing things, but it really is you. Du Lei, how have you been lately? I haven't seen you in so long." The little girl, Sherry, squeezed through the crowd and ran over. She was very happy when she reached Du Lei, and her smile was especially cute.

"What an adorable little sister, Durei, do you know her?" Lance lowered his head and tried to pinch her cheek.

"Hello, my name is Sherry, I'm Du Lei's friend, Du Lei saved me before!" Sherry introduced herself, not shy at all.

“Oh, what a generous girl. My name is Lance, and I’m also a friend of Durei.” Lance grinned and introduced herself.

“Sherry is Dure’s friend, and Lance, you are also Dure’s friend, so Sherry and Lance will be friends from now on. Dure, how have you been these past month or so? I haven’t seen you since you were admitted to Maple Leaf Academy.” Sherry asked about Dure’s recent situation.

"That guy Dure is doing great, eating well and sleeping well, you can rest assured. Even if he weren't doing well, I, as his friend, would take good care of him, so Sherry, you can relax." Lance gave a thumbs up, it was hard to tell whether he was praising Dure or himself.

"Lance, you really are a reliable friend!" Sherry said with a smile.

"You two are singing in unison, don't you have any respect for my client's opinion?" Du Lei sighed, feeling ignored instead.

"No way, hehe, Dure, you're really something, you know so many cute girls." Lance put his arm around Dure's shoulder.

“Lance is such an interesting person. By the way, Dure, it’s been so long since we last met. You have to come to my house. I’ve learned how to make apple pie. I told you about it last time, right? I’m going to make it for you myself this time. And Lance, you can come too!” Sherry extended an invitation.

"Well... we have some things to attend to..." Du Lei's mind was full of thoughts about the magic-powered weaponry, so he decided to decline.

"Do you have apple pie? It sounds delicious. My stomach is growling. Let's go, let's go. It would be so wonderful to taste apple pie made by a lovely pear." Lance agreed without waiting for Dure's reply.

"I haven't said anything yet..." Du Lei said, sounding a little anxious.

"Hey, Dure, even the most important things should wait until we've filled our stomachs, right, little Sherry?" Lance rallied Sherry to persuade Dure.

"Of course, Du Lei, do you doubt my cooking skills? That would really upset Sherry." Sherry insisted on inviting him.

"Well... alright then, I'll have to bother you for lunch." Du Lei sighed as he saw Lance and Sherry both extending invitations, knowing he couldn't refuse the two of them.

"Hooray! We'll have apple pie for lunch!" Lance beamed as the three of them headed towards Sherry's house, led by her.

Meanwhile, in a mansion in Rock Castle, two people were sitting facing each other, drinking tea.

"Is this tea brought from the East? Tea and silk are both more expensive than gold." A middle-aged man took a sip of tea, the aroma of tea mingling with the rising steam. He was broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, with thick eyebrows, and sat very properly.

"This tea is called Silver Needle Cloud Mist, and it's considered a top-grade tea. Just this tiny bit is worth twenty gold coins. Only by using it to entertain a distinguished guest like you can its value be truly appreciated." Sitting opposite the middle-aged man was a young man who looked to be only in his early twenties.

He was tall and slender, sitting cross-legged, his fingers thin and pale as white paper. He picked up his teacup and spoke softly.

"Although the tea is good, I didn't come here to drink it. I heard that the capital of the Snow Kingdom, Frost City, has sent an envoy to negotiate with us. What do you think?" The middle-aged man went straight to the point. He was a rough man and never beat around the bush.

"So what do you think?" The young man didn't answer directly, but asked instead.

“My opinion? There’s no point in talking to those cowards. Just reject them. We absolutely cannot agree to peace talks. But your father has the opposite opinion. I’ve come here hoping you can persuade him.” The middleman stated his purpose directly.

"Persuade him? I'll try that, but I've heard that someone has recently bribed an assassination group to kill them on the road. Could it be you who did that? Because if the envoy is killed, there will be no peace talks."

The young man put down his teacup and spoke with a smile.

.

354 Ask him

Du Lei was not unfamiliar with Sherry's house, because when he first arrived at Maple Leaf Academy and had not yet passed the entrance test, he stayed at Sherry's house for one night. And, very unfortunately, some things happened that night. Du Lei has always had a good memory, so he naturally wouldn't forget it.

More than a month later, when Du Lei met Shirley again at her home, the taciturn man was still forging iron in his shop. Du Lei greeted him but ignored him, which made Du Lei feel a little embarrassed, but Shirley didn't seem to mind.

She was only interested in making her newly learned apple pie, and dragged Dure and Lance to the kitchen to help. The three of them worked enthusiastically for a long time, and finally the steaming apple pie was ready. The midday sun shone down, and the atmosphere was harmonious as they enjoyed the delicious apple pie in the warm spring sunshine.

"Sherry, you're so young, yet your cooking is so good. This is simply the best apple pie I've ever eaten in the world!" Lance praised it highly. He wasn't the kind of person who would be obliged to do something he didn't want to do; he was always straightforward and said whatever came to mind.

“Lance, you’re exaggerating. It’s not that delicious. Besides, you two helped out, Lance and Dure. By the way, what business are you two going to have away from the academy? I saw you coming out of Jason’s shop earlier.” Sherry asked Dure and Lance curiously.

“Jarison? Who’s Jarison?” Lance scratched his head; he didn’t know anyone with that name.

“Jarison is the owner of that magic weapon shop you went to. He’s a notorious swindler in the area. His stuff isn’t very good, but the prices are ridiculously high. He’s always ripping off the students at the academy. Dure, you guys better not fall for his tricks,” Sherry explained.

"Huh? A swindler? I thought that uncle was quite friendly, I would have thought he was a good person." Lance realized that Sherry was talking about an uncle with a long, horse-like face, and seemed to have forgotten that it was this so-called good person who had kicked him and Dure out.

"No, no, he has the worst reputation among the neighbors. In short, don't buy anything from him. Oh, if you're going to Jason's store, are you going to buy magical weapons?" Sherry gave her advice. Although she was still young, she knew quite a lot.

“Sherry, you’re really smart. That’s right, Dure and I went to buy magic-powered weapons, but they’re too expensive. We simply can’t afford them.” Lance hung his head, feeling troubled whenever he thought about the magic-powered weapons, even though it was Dure who needed them, not himself.

But Dure is his best friend, and his best friend's affairs are far more important than his own.

"Is that so? I remember my family used to have a magical weapon, but my father lost it. Otherwise, I could have stolen it and given it to you, Du Lei." Sherry said with some regret, as she also wanted to do her part for Du Lei.

"Huh? Stealing... doesn't seem like a good idea..." Du Lei, who was drinking water at the time, almost spat it out.

“What’s wrong with that? My father won’t do anything to me anyway,” Sherry replied confidently.

"Speaking of which, Sherry, is your father the fierce-looking uncle we just met? He always seemed to have such a menacing look in his eyes, like he was about to kill someone. He and you two are nothing alike." Lance recalled Sherry's father's appearance; he was a fierce-looking middle-aged man, and he remembered him vividly.

"If I were like that guy who only knows how to forge iron all day, I'd never be able to get married," Sherry said, her words filled with resentment.

"Sherry, you're really joking. Alright, we've bothered you enough, it's time to head back." Du Lei smiled. Now that he'd eaten the apple pie, he was still thinking about the magic-powered weaponry, which he'd have to work on that for the rest of the afternoon.

"I didn't mean to bother you. Du Lei, you live so close to my house, you shouldn't always stay in the academy, it's so boring. You should come and play with Shirley more often. By the way, Du Lei, you must still be busy with the magic weaponry, right?" Shirley was very smart and knew exactly what Du Lei was planning to do next.

“Since you’ve said so, Sherry, we’ll definitely come and bother you often in the future, hehe. But Dure is going on a long trip to Rock City in three days, so he needs magical weapons and is currently worried about it.” Lance answered the question for Dure.

"Although we don't know where our family's magical weapons have gone, let's ask Father. He definitely knows more about magical weapons than you do." Sherry still wanted to help Dure and Lance as much as possible, especially Dure.

Back in Maple City, if Du Lei hadn't rushed out in time to save her, she probably would have perished under the trampling of horses' hooves.

"This... I'm afraid it's a bit inappropriate?" Du Lei knew that the man who only knew how to forge iron didn't have a good impression of him. He could tell from the way the man looked at him. Asking him for advice like this would only result in being turned away.

"Huh? Is this really going to work?" Lance's reaction was completely opposite to Dure's. Firstly, he had little interaction with the blacksmith and didn't know him well. Secondly, he was a lively and outgoing person, and he would try his best to help Dure in any way he could.

“Of course we can. Although Father is terrible in other aspects, he knows a lot about magic weapons. And he will never refuse any request I make. Come with me, let’s go ask Father.” Sherry immediately jumped off the stool.

Whether Dure was willing or not, they rushed towards the blacksmith's workshop with the help of Sherry and Lance.

Meanwhile, in the snow-covered palace of Frost City, someone stood on the city wall gazing towards the south. This was a young woman wearing a long silver-white dress, her skin as translucent as snow, her hair also silver-white, and her figure slender and graceful.

She stood there, seemingly the most beautiful sight in this icy, snowy world. Even though it was early spring, and outside the palace, hundreds of flowers were in full bloom, but none of them could outshine her. She wore a crown on her head.

"Winry should have arrived in Maple City by now, right? The journey to Rock City was extremely dangerous. When everyone else was afraid to go on the mission, you were the only one who stepped forward to share my burdens. May the goddess bless you, my most loyal subject, and... my sister."

She prayed quietly, praying that the country would remain peaceful and untouched by war, and that her sister would return safely.

.

355 It's better to rely on yourself

Just as Dure had predicted, when Sherry took him to the blacksmith who had deliberately closed the door to work and ignored him, he was met with a cold shoulder. The blacksmith remained focused on his work and didn't want to pay any attention to Dure, which made the scene quite awkward.

“Father! Don’t forget that Dure saved my life once. If it weren’t for him, you wouldn’t have a lovely daughter like me. So you must help Dure!” Sherry was very dissatisfied with her father’s cold reaction and made a solemn declaration to him.

“Well… Dure, maybe we should leave. This uncle seems really angry…” Lance had come along full of confidence, but after the blacksmith’s cold water was poured on him, he started to have second thoughts.

“We’ve already bothered you for so long today, and we have things to do this afternoon, so we’ll…” Dure offered to leave, trying to ease the awkward situation. After all, he and Lance hadn’t expected to get anything useful from here, so they weren’t particularly disappointed.

"Young man, it's better to rely on yourself than on others." The blacksmith, who had remained silent all along, finally uttered these words in the face of his beloved daughter's angry gaze.

"Seek help from yourself?" Du Lei, who was about to leave, stopped in his tracks. He frowned, not quite understanding what the blacksmith meant by that.

“There are three steps to completing the magic-powered armor, you should know that, right?” Now that the blacksmith had started talking, he continued.

“Yes, I know. The first step is to find good embryos and materials, the second step is to forge the embryos, and the third step is to inject magical energy for refining.” Du Lei nodded. He had known these basics for a month.

"The first step can be obtained through multiple means, such as purchasing from merchants or mercenaries, or collecting it yourself. The second step requires a blacksmith to complete it, who will forge the raw material into a rough shape. The third step, which is also the most crucial step, requires an alchemist to complete it."

The blacksmith continued talking, swinging his hammer and hammering away at the same time. The workshop was very hot, and sparks flew everywhere.

“Father, I asked you to help Dure find the magical weapons, not to listen to this!” Sherry said, somewhat dissatisfied with her father.

"Since you saved Sherry, I can help you forge a prototype. As for the materials, I can also introduce you to a place where you can find them yourself. As for the final step of refining, aren't you an alchemist yourself?" the blacksmith retorted.

"An alchemist? Du Lei is an alchemist?" Lian Xueli was surprised and looked at Du Lei next to her with doubt.

"Huh? Dure, when did you become an alchemist?" Not only Sherry, but even Lance was startled.

"I've only just started, and I haven't even gotten my hands on the alchemist's badge yet." Dure shook his head. He hadn't told Lance about this before. He looked at the blacksmith with confusion. This unremarkable man had seen right through him.

"But that's enough for you to try crafting your own magical weapon. No matter the quality, a magical weapon you craft yourself will always be the most suitable for you," the blacksmith said calmly, pausing to wipe the sweat from his brow.

“But I’ve never refined it before, and I have no idea how to do it.” Du Lei frowned; this was a big problem.

"How you forge it is your own business. If you want to become an alchemist, forging magical weapons is one of the basic skills." The blacksmith sneered.

“Father, can’t you tell Dure more details? He has no experience.” Sherry continued to plead for Dure.

"This is his own cultivation. Have you decided to do it yourself?" the blacksmith replied indifferently.

“Durey, look at this…” Lance, who was standing next to him, also couldn’t understand at all. He stared blankly at Durey and asked for his opinion.

"I've made up my mind, but I only have three days. I don't know if I'll make it in time." Du Lei nodded heavily. Given that there was no better way to obtain magical weapons, forging them himself was the right choice.

"Whether you make it in time or not is your own business. Go to the shop at the end of this street, take this thing, and say that I recommended it. Go there and choose the raw materials for forging magical weapons. Bring them to me before sunset, and I'll forge a prototype for you tomorrow." The blacksmith tossed something over.

Du Lei caught it casually, examined it carefully, and recognized it as an ordinary little piece of iron.

"It can be made in a day? So fast?" Although Lance was a novice, he knew that making magic weapons was very time-consuming, especially the forging of the blank. The toughness of the magic weapon was a big consideration, and it usually took several days or even longer.

“A day is long enough for me!” The blacksmith glared at Lance, clearly annoyed by the latter’s questioning.

"What a terrifying look... I'm so sorry, but I'm sure you can forge it well!" Lance was a little intimidated and immediately shrank back.

"I understand. Shall I go to that store now?" Du Lei touched the metal plate in his palm, feeling a burning sensation.

"Go now, but let me warn you, the shop owner is a very eccentric person. If you like him, he might sell you a good piece of raw material at a very low price, but if he doesn't like you, he won't listen to you no matter how high the price you offer," the blacksmith added.

"Understood, I'll go pay the visit now. I'll take my leave now." Du Lei nodded, thanked him, and left immediately.