Star Forge Titan

"That depends on how heavy a burden he is carrying. Excuse me, but your burden doesn't look very heavy," the man said in a strange tone.

"Burden? It seems you misunderstood. Actually, I'm not a businessman." Alvin reached into his purse with slow movements so as not to cause misunderstanding.

While holding an Elrond gold pound, he quietly activated the power of 'Core·World Reshaping'.

Compared to rocks, it takes much more magic power to deform precious metals like gold. Fortunately, a mere gold coin is insignificant in terms of volume and mass.

So, when he took his hand out again, there was a seemingly ordinary gold ring on his slender index finger.

Its appearance is just a rough ring, but there is a line of text engraved in ancient Saka language on the surface.

“As within, so without; as above, so below.”

Moreover, under the man's gaze, the line of text actually changed on its own.

“Thus was the world created.”

Seeing this scene, the man stood up, took off his hat and saluted slightly.

"I'm really sorry. I didn't expect you to be an alchemist. After all, you are dressed so simply." The man looked at Ivan, who was dressed in civilian clothes, uneasily.

He is completely different from the alchemists in my memory who wished they had two more fingers to wear enchanted rings.

"It's not a good thing to attract too much attention when you go out." Alvin said indifferently, as if he was just resolving an insignificant misunderstanding.

But Afrediya, who had known him for some time, could see it clearly.

This guy has already started acting.

Chapter 13 A Bright Future

Most black market operators serve Hela, the Keeper of Secrets.

As long as you grasp this characteristic, you can easily find them in any city.

As an old player, Alvin certainly knew this. He came to the other party because he saw a Hela mark made of wheat bran in the open space in front of the stall selling pigeon feed.

On the other hand, Hermes is the god of commerce and the ancestor of alchemists.

According to ancient mythology, it was he who passed on this skill to the world using a blue stone tablet that recorded alchemical knowledge.

Before the rise of the nations triggered a new wave, any extraordinary existence was rare for ordinary people. As a profession that requires extensive use of various materials, alchemists actually interacted most frequently with ordinary people.

Elrond, where ritual magic is frequently performed, consumes more materials than other nations. Therefore, alchemists who can identify and process these materials naturally enjoy a higher social status.

Especially commercial cities like Flanders need professionals in this field to handle related work, not to mention that most alchemists are wealthy.

Therefore, when Alvin used his own talent to simulate the identity symbol of an alchemist, the black market personnel would naturally treat him with a more friendly attitude.

The middle-aged man called himself Michael, which was probably a fake name. He handed the stall to a poor street kid wearing patched clothes, and then took Ivan and Afrediya to the entrance of the local black market in Flanders.

"Where did you get the golden truth? Will you be recognized?" Afrediya asked quietly, half a step behind.

The ring that Alvin forged just now was based on the most common identity symbol of an alchemist - the Golden Ring of Truth.

Although the technology contained in this enchanted ring is simple and the spell attached to it is just the most basic zero-ring trick, the process of making it includes a complete alchemical process, so it is often the first magical equipment made by every alchemy apprentice after completing their training.

It is both a graduation assessment and a graduation commemoration, and it is also a symbol of the alchemist's identity.

"Don't worry, the alchemical secret language is more confidential than the various ancient languages ​​in the spell books. How can ordinary people know the alchemist's secrets?" Ivan chuckled and whispered in Afrediya's ear.

The latter blushed slightly and quickly pushed him away.

Ivan wasn't worried at all. For one thing, the other person was just an ordinary receptionist at the outermost edge of the black market, obviously unable to distinguish between magic equipment and natural spellcasting. For another, his chosen secondary profession in the game was exactly Alchemist.

Just like a good tank soldier is one who can repair tanks, the Engineer Knight is a profession that relies heavily on logistics and equipment. Therefore, the most complementary secondary profession is the Alchemist. The two can completely form a so-called "crutch" relationship in the skill system, that is, one party can make up for the shortcomings of the other to form a more complete and perfect skill system.

In today's world, compared to alchemists who need a sophisticated laboratory environment to make equipment and can only perform simple repairs in the wild, he feels that more resources should be invested in the cheating talent "Core·Reshape the World". After all, the latter can turn mud and stone into equipment by rubbing them on the spot.

In this way, this talent and the profession of Engineering Knight seem to be particularly complementary. If developed properly, the two can even form a fusion structure that "intertwines with each other".

They had been walking for about a quarter of an hour, passing through a series of winding streets and alleys, and the three finally stopped in front of a stone wall.

"Guard, I am the gatekeeper, and you are the messenger of Hermes, the bearer of the golden ring," Michael whispered to the stone wall.

"Thunder." A solemn voice came from behind the stone wall.

"Lightning." Michael rolled his eyes helplessly and said the corresponding code word.

Then, the stone wall suddenly swung inward like a revolving door, revealing a spacious road wide enough for two carriages to pass through.

Four guards wearing studded leather armor and holding long swords, short spears and other weapons stood behind the entrance. They glanced at Ivan and Afrediya with scrutiny, lingering on the latter for a moment. One of them couldn't help but want to whistle, but was glared at by the leader.

As professionals, they shouldn't be like this, but...

"Welcome to Night Street, respected alchemist. You will definitely find the products you need here." The guard leading the team bowed slightly, which was a respect for the alchemist and the wealth that the alchemist symbolized.

"Yeah." Alvin nodded and threw out a gold pound.

The captain of the guard caught the shining gold coin, and the surrounding team members all looked at him with envy. Although they often received tips from passers-by, such an amount as one gold pound was not common. You have to know that the average urban middle-class income was only about 2 to 4 pounds a week.

Seeing this scene, Michael's eyes lit up and he became more convinced of the identity of the alchemist. Only those respectable gentlemen who were not short of money would be so generous.

"...If I remember correctly, that's one-tenth of your property, right?" After walking a distance, Afrediya, who knew the truth, couldn't help but pull Ivan's sleeve and asked in a low voice.

"Yeah, but even if I use up all my fortune, I still can't afford the materials on the list." Alvin shrugged and patted his dry purse nonchalantly, making a sound of poverty.

"Then why are you still spending money like this?" Afrediya looked at Ivan with some confusion.

"You can't fish without bait." Alvin said a little mysteriously.

Crossing the passage, they came to another crowded and bustling street.

This place looks no different from a market, but most of the people coming and going hide their faces, and carrying weapons is common here, or rather, those who do not carry weapons are a minority.

"Sir, please keep an eye on your wallet. There are some dirty thieves here. We can't stop them from appearing even though we clean up every day." Michael took the initiative to remind.

"Yeah, I understand." Alvin nodded, but he disagreed in his heart.

Those thieves who roam the streets are not blind. Even if the middle-aged man who calls himself Michael is just a peripheral member of the black market management, they will never mess with him or his guests.

When the other party said this, it was probably more to emphasize his own role and show goodwill to him.

Soon, the three of them arrived at a small building that housed the black market's management. The building was a mixed brick and wood structure, with walls made of durable, burned red bricks, reinforced with a wooden frame, and a roof covered in neatly laid stone tiles.

When you walk into the small building, you will see that the first floor hall is decorated like a tavern, with many armed men wearing leather armor and carrying various weapons sitting inside.

There were even a few lower-level demons who had clearly undergone a combat-type transformation ritual. The two, who had fused with the ogre's regenerative glands and were now over three meters tall and three times the width of a normal human, were particularly eye-catching. They munched on the bone-in stew without spitting out even a single bone, clearly possessing bite force and digestive abilities unimaginable to ordinary humans.

Most of these people were resting and chatting. When they saw outsiders coming in, they just glanced at them and paid no more attention.

After walking through the crowd and coming to the counter, Michael diligently helped Alvin complete the registration. Every newcomer entering the black market has to go through this process, but it will naturally be much faster with someone's help.

After completing the registration, Michael did not leave immediately. Instead, he politely said that a gentleman was recruiting alchemists recently, and if he didn't mind, he hoped that Alvin could wait here for a while.

"What is this for?" Afrediya asked nervously.

She had never been to such a place before, and she had the impression that only criminals would gather in the black market, so she was naturally worried. She even subconsciously pressed the gem bracelet on her wrist.

"It's okay, it's just a common identification job in the black market. Although they have their own appraisers, they still need to find professionals when they encounter magical equipment or alchemical creations." Alvin explained.

"Is there no alchemist stationed here?" Afrediya asked in confusion.

"Don't forget, the black market is illegal. No alchemist would want to get too involved with it."

"Therefore, there are almost no alchemists stationed in the black market for a long time. When they encounter transactions related to magic, they usually temporarily entrust the local alchemist association to verify it. If there is no local alchemist association, they can only record the relevant information and suspend the transaction until an alchemist passes by."

"To put it simply, it's a common temporary employment." After saying the above, Alvin snapped his fingers very skillfully and asked the barmaid to bring two glasses of fruit wine.

At a time when knowledge of boiling water for disinfection was not widespread and fuel that could be used on a large scale was not widely available, most stores offered various types of alcohol because alcohol was not easy to spoil.

After taking a sip, Afrediya frowned. She had never drunk such cheap stuff before.

But soon, the eldest princess chuckled and shook her head. The current environment was at least much better than that on the ice field, but in the hunter's cabin on the ice field, it was the time when she felt the most relaxed and unrestrained.

Gradually, Afrediya began to lose her focus.

When she came to her senses, she saw a fat man wearing a silk robe, with jewel rings on his hands and a golden monocle hanging on his nose walking towards her quickly.

"Oh, respected sir, and beautiful lady, it's an honor to meet you both. Please forgive old Jabba for being late. After all, running is too difficult for an old and fat guy like me." The fat businessman who called himself Jabba walked up to the two of them, took off the small round hat on his head with a smile, and casually performed a simple hat-off salute.

His narrowed eyes swept over the two of them stealthily and quickly, lingering for a moment on Ivan's hands and Afrediya's veil.

"You're welcome, Mr. Jabba. What can I do for you?" Ivan stood up and nodded.

"Of course it's the most common commission." Jabba sat down in the chair with difficulty.

"I wonder what the masters of the local Alchemist Association in Flanders are busy with this month? None of them have time to handle the appraisal work. What should we businessmen do?" The fat businessman looked distressed.

"But thank the goddess, thank goodness you passed by."

"I see." Alvin said noncommittally.

"I wonder which master you learned from? You have completed your apprenticeship and become a formal alchemist at such a young age." Jabba asked casually.

In fact, he was a little skeptical now, because the handsome black-haired boy in front of him was too young, and his hands did not have the light scars left on the alchemist's hands after long-term contact with magic potions.

After hearing the other party's words, Alvin realized that the person in front of him did not completely believe in his identity as an alchemist.

He was not angry. He just used the fruit wine to draw a magic circle on the table that others could not understand. It was mixed with a lot of mystical symbols and alchemical secrets, and then he gently placed the ceramic wine glass in the middle of the magic circle.

"I studied under Master Edward Elric of the Genoa Commercial Confederation thousands of miles away. After completing my apprenticeship a few months ago, I began to travel around the continent to gain more knowledge." Alvin spoke nonsense while secretly activating the talent of "Reshaping the World".

Then, a dark golden light appeared in the magic circle drawn by the fruit wine, and the clay wine glass turned into the shape of the merchant Jabba in front of him at a speed visible to the naked eye.

This "freshly baked" clay statue is extremely lifelike, almost perfectly replicating every detail of Jabba, even the shapes and patterns of the several gem rings on his fingers can be vaguely seen.

"This is true!" Jabba's eyes widened and his jaw almost dropped.

Upon seeing this scene, the fat businessman was shocked and quickly stood up and bowed respectfully to perform a formal audience ceremony, which is generally the etiquette used by people of lower status to those of higher status.

The fat merchant behaved so humbly at this moment because he was not a serf with little knowledge who had rarely left the fields all his life.

As a mid-level manager in the Flanders black market, Jabba was responsible for dealing with magical materials, equipment, and various alchemical creations. This wasn't his first experience with alchemists, and he'd even dealt with con artists disguised as alchemists.

But using fruit wine as the material to draw magic circles, alchemy can reshape objects at will outside the laboratory.

Goddess, he had never seen such alchemy!

When they first met, Jabba looked at the other person with his glasses, which were actually alchemical creations. He was sure that the man did not have any magical equipment that emitted magical light, which meant that this alchemy was entirely dependent on the strength of the black-haired boy in front of him.

Although he had never heard of the name of Master Edward Elric, Jabba was certain that he must be a top master who had a deep understanding of alchemy and might even create a new school!

Only a good teacher can teach an excellent apprentice. If Master Edward Elric was not good enough, how could he teach such a young and skilled student?

Jabba happily invited Ivan to the second floor to conduct the appraisal work. As for the remuneration, it would naturally be paid at a first-class level. Anything less than one thousand gold pounds would be an insult to the other party.

He took the two of them into a laboratory filled with various equipment, materials, and alchemical devices needed for identification. Then, Jabba bowed respectfully and left the room. He knew that alchemists never allowed outsiders to watch them work.

It wasn't until the heavy oak door was completely closed that Afrediya couldn't help but look at Ivan with a strange look.

"What's wrong?" Alvin asked as he looked through the miscellaneous items on the table.

"I've never heard of an alchemist named Edward Elric." The red-haired girl said in a strange tone.

"That's normal, because the origin of Master Edward Elric is a, um, knight novel." Alvin smiled brightly, and it was completely impossible to tell that he had been telling lies just now.

"A knight novel, that's also okay..." Afrediya looked at the black-haired boy speechlessly.

"By the way, make a list of the materials we need. Remember to add some commonly used alchemy materials to confuse people. Then I will let them use the materials to offset part of their payment." Alvin quickly changed the subject.

"Wait, how are you going to identify these equipment? Although I've been exposed to alchemy, I'm not sure how far I can go. I can't just keep relying on the name of Master Edward Elric, can I?" Afrediya asked worriedly.

"Don't worry, I have my own way." Looking at the few words that popped up on the system panel, Alvin said confidently.

What kind of equipment in the game had he not used? Even without system prompts, he could guess it based on his own vision. Moreover, even if it was unidentified equipment, the system would give a certain amount of real information.

In addition to his talent 'Core·Reshaping the World', because he needs to understand the essence of existence before transforming and reshaping it, this talent has its own analytical ability, but it is currently limited to various substances related to the earth realm.

Relying on this information, Alvin was able to distinguish the materials and equipment at a speed that was beyond the reach of ordinary alchemists.

But when he touched a seemingly ordinary ruby, the black-haired boy's movements stopped without any symptoms.

Ivan's eyes were fixed on the system interface that only he could see, which also displayed the special feedback of "Core·Reshaping the World" on this ruby.

Name: Small Elemental Crystallization Fire

Quality: Complete

Introduction: The earth crystal infected by the power of elements contains lively magical power.

As you can see from the introduction, this is a gem material formed when the power of the elemental plane penetrates into the material world.

There was nothing unusual about gemstones themselves. While intact gemstones were much better than the lowest-grade broken or slightly better-quality cracked ones, they were still considered common items in alchemy. Only the rarer, higher-grade, exceptional and flawless gemstones could be considered treasures.

Especially the flawless gems, which are basically collectible-level rare materials, and some of them are enough to exchange for a city.