Star Forge Titan

"Yes, I'm very familiar with her. If you two want autographs, that's totally fine." As he spoke, little Albert made an exaggerated gesture of rubbing his fingers, which was a very direct hint.

"Hehe, let's talk about it after the game is over." Alvin smiled noncommittally.

"If that person is really that strong, the odds of today's bet don't seem to agree." Looking at the display board hanging high in the distance with lighting magic attached, Khayang suddenly said with a strange smile:

Strangely enough, today's odds weren't particularly one-sided. Neither side had high odds, and the difference between them wasn't too great, which meant the bookmaker believed the two were equally matched. But to the Salt Witch, these average odds meant the challenger had a real chance of winning.

"Humph, those guys thought Sister Diana would lose just because the blonde car was better. But the outcome of a magic car race isn't determined solely by vehicle performance!"

When talking about the game, little Albert seemed to be very knowledgeable and was not even as afraid as before of Khayang, a guy who didn't look like a good guy.

"Which gambling house around here is the largest and has the best reputation?" After taking a look at the number on the display board, Alvin asked directly.

"Want to play a hand? Then I recommend the gambling game run by old Trevor. He's an old-fashioned man here who respects the rules. I hardly ever hear anything bad said about him." Little Albert replied immediately.

Under his guidance, Ivan and Khayon came to a large metal barrel that was stuffed with wood and set on fire.

"All-in, witch." The black-haired boy threw out a bag of gold ecu without even looking.

The heavy purse fell on the board with a heavy thud, which made the middle-aged man watching the scene look surprised.

"All in?" The old man, whose hair was already thinning, couldn't help but confirm again:

"All in," Ivan said nonchalantly, nodding. At that moment, his attention was drawn to the familiar figure on the court.

Diana Marilyn, this strange name composed of two names, was very familiar to him in his previous life.

To be precise, this is a very familiar name for every player who chooses the magic career sequence in Lind's camp.

Witch Diana, the white knight on the battlefield, the first giant driver, the person who created this fifth-level sequence, has the nickname of Valkyrie, and is also the future Princess Lind.

This character is extremely popular among players because of his manly and straightforward style of doing things and absolutely beautiful appearance.

Just ask yourself, who doesn’t like someone who can chat with you like a buddy but also has the appearance of a beautiful woman?

Even Alvin changed the paint scheme of his own vehicle, the Giant God Soldier, to silver because of the other party's title of White Knight.

The race started quickly, and two cars, one blue and one silver, started almost at the same time.

Compared with modern cars, the shapes of all Lind's magic cars at this time can be called strange, and the outlines do not conform to the principles of aerodynamics. Of course, only Alvin knows this for the time being.

But the unusual, aerodynamically unsuitable shape didn't detract from the excitement of the race. Even before becoming a Transcendent, Diana Marilyn, nicknamed the "Witch of Salt," still displayed astonishing driving skills.

The woman was like an extremely rational machine, keeping the car on the best route on the track with almost zero error, and always keeping a tight control on the competitors behind her.

Although this method can interfere with the vehicles behind, it will also seriously affect one's own ranking in large-scale competitions where multiple cars compete at the same time.

But it doesn't matter in a one-on-one bullfighting duel. Diana's full blocking means that although the latter has an advantage in vehicle performance, he is unable to fully utilize the full qualities of his vehicle and can only be angrily blocked in second place.

As expected, the referee finally shouted out that Diana was the winner.

The two magic cars slowly slowed down until they stopped at the edge of the field, one in front of the other.

"Damn it!" Catherine took off her helmet and shook her golden curly hair that was curled into a drill bit. Behind her followed the Viscount, who was staggering and shaking, feeling as if his body was hollowed out.

"Ugh!" On the other side, the mage apprentice who stumbled off the magic car fell to the ground and vomited.

"Are you okay?" Although there was still no expression on her face, the short-haired heroic woman who jumped out of the car revealed some concern in her words.

"I'm sorry, big sister... Ugh!... I really... vomit... I can't take it anymore!" Tears streamed down the face of the mage apprentice. He was just an apprentice who had just completed the basic courses and should not have come to participate in this kind of competition.

In fact, if Diana had not been accommodating in every aspect during the driving process, this first-level apprentice would have been crushed into waste by the magic engine long ago.

The magic engine that Diana had reassembled with discarded parts was a makeshift one, but its instantaneous power was comparable to the best high-power magic engine on the market.

"I quit!" The mage apprentice, who had finally stopped vomiting, didn't even want the prize money for the competition, and rushed into the night shouting.

Behind her, Diana, with her pretty short hair, held her forehead with a helpless expression.

"Ah, another one driven mad by a witch."

"Yes, otherwise why would you call her a witch?"

There were voices of sympathy from the crowd around, but the words from other underground racers were tinged with sarcasm and gloating.

In this industry, winning means stepping on your peers. So, no matter what Diana's personality is, as long as she keeps winning, it will be difficult for her to be popular.

“Quite an innovative design.”

Suddenly, a male voice with a Genoese accent sounded next to the crudely designed magic car, which was almost made up of discarded parts.

The young viscount, following closely behind Duchess Catherine, immediately displayed a wary expression. Genoese men had a very... subtle reputation in various countries.

Those passionate and wealthy guys carry the aura of a natural playboy wherever they go, attracting the attention of all women while becoming the public enemy of all men.

"Don't touch my car!" Diana frowned and said unhappily when she saw the man putting his hand on the magic engine she assembled with her own hands.

The next moment, everyone looked shocked.

In just a moment, the high-power magic engine emitted a sharp whistle like a soprano. It was a powerful roar that could only be emitted when high-quality magic power was instantly pushed to the maximum power.

Only a top-notch extraordinary person who is truly familiar with magical engineering and possesses top-notch magic reserves and equally top-notch magic control levels can do this.

In full view of everyone, the visitor turned around and revealed a smiling and handsome face. It was Ivan who was pretending to speak with a pure Genoese accent.

Seeing that face, the Viscount and most of the men twitched their lips at the same time, but Alvin didn't pay any attention to those people's expressions and actions.

He walked straight up to Diana and looked at the tall woman who was only slightly shorter than him in disguise.

"Do you need a new collaborator? Miss Witch Diana."

Chapter 26: Alchemist

Most of the young people who come to participate in underground racing come from wealthy backgrounds. They come here to enjoy the double excitement brought by speed and high gambling.

At the same time, their wealthy living environment also makes them knowledgeable about luxury goods.

Although the black-haired young man who suddenly appeared was dressed like an ordinary person, he showed something that could not be ignored in the details. The seemingly ordinary long black coat alone was not simple.

Ordinary people may not be able to recognize it, but people who are familiar with various high-end fabrics can see some clues. The surface of the thick yet convenient fabric has almost no fluff patterns. The material used is obviously a rare woolen fabric produced in the northern magic country of Elrond. It is a special fabric made of the fluff shed by musk oxen when the seasons change, rather than common cashmere. It is extremely light in texture but has strong warmth retention ability.

Even Ivan himself didn't know that it was a change. He just thought that Afrediya just found a coat of ordinary people's style.

What attracted the most attention was the golden ring on the young man's right hand, which was pressed against the surface of the engine.

Considering the special nature of the 'Elrond Diplomat Ring', Alvin had already rotated it inward and worn it on his left hand. When opened from the outside, it was just a simple silver ring on his ring finger.

However, on his right hand there was an extra "freshly baked (meaning hand-rubbed on the spot)" gold ring.

It was a strikingly exquisite ring, crafted entirely from pure gold. Layers of scales appeared on the ring's golden surface, shaped like an Ouroboros with its head and tail intertwined.

In the firelight, the intricate scale patterns formed an inscription in ancient Saka: 'As within, so without; as above, so below.'

As the light angle changes, this line of inscription automatically changes into another line of inscription with a completely different meaning - 'Thus was the world created.'

"The highest-level Golden Ring of Truth of the Molten Gold School." Someone exclaimed softly.

The most common identity symbol of an alchemist is the Golden Ring of Truth. It is the first work of an apprentice when he graduates. Although it usually needs to be transformed by enchantment, the inscriptions on it are usually transformed.

However, the best alchemists from the Genoese Confederation were able to create inscriptions that could transform themselves even without disordered enchantments, through the secret alchemical process of killing base metals and regenerating them into precious metals. This was considered a graduation project that only the best apprentices could produce.

As for how Alvin knew this secret alchemy technique, it was of course after he completed a series of part-time tasks as a free tool for NPCs in the dungeon and became a member of the most common alchemist faction in Genoa - the Melting School. He then learned it from the black-hearted alchemist who exploited apprentices as free labor.

On the second day after completing the task, he kicked the latter into a large alchemy cauldron and merged with his favorite Huang Jinrong.

By the way, this is also the last step in the job change guide, which is deliberately marked in bold black italics.

Getting back to the point, although magical engineering is a new discipline that has only developed in the past hundred years, many of its researchers are alchemists.

Therefore, they are also the group of people who understand the characteristics of the magic engine the most. Such beings are naturally more familiar with the methods of controlling and adjusting the magic engine than other extraordinary people.

Logically speaking, every magic car driver hopes to have an excellent alchemist as his co-pilot.

But faced with Ivan's invitation, Diana Marilyn, known as the Salt Witch, flatly refused.

"no need."

A young woman with pretty short hair took off the headband that held her bangs in place to prevent them from interfering with her driving, shook her hair in a very unladylike manner, and then said in a very distant and unfamiliar tone:

Then, without looking back, she got into the crudely designed, incomplete silver magic car that looked like a fish skeleton.

Instead, the other drivers came forward and surrounded Alvin.

"Excuse me, who are you?" someone asked in a familiar tone.

"Ivan Arian, an alchemist from Genoa." Ivan introduced himself in the Huma language with a rolled tongue and a distinct Genoese accent.

Considering that he had not used this name directly in social situations when he was in Elrond, his identity would not be exposed even if he used it directly now.

And letting people know this name is also what he wants to see now.

The more famous Alvin becomes as an alchemist, the better it will be for him to infiltrate the Linde Magic Research Institute later.

After all, an alchemist from the Genoese Confederation would never have anything to do with the young prince who had just taken office in Elrond far in the north.

"Oh, it's His Excellency Elian from Genoa. Welcome to Linde."

Amidst the chaotic noise, a slightly arrogant yet polite female voice suddenly rang out.

"Excuse me, but are you from the Molten Metal School?" Catherine, with her blonde hair and a diamond-like hairstyle, and the young viscount with a reluctant look on his face appeared beside Ivan.

As soon as they met, the latter looked at Ivan with a vigilant look like a watchdog. After all, Genoese men were really "notorious" in some aspects, so the Viscount had to be on guard.

The Duchess herself seemed very interested in Ivan.

At this time, she was wearing a carnival mask that concealed her features, but at such a close distance, several young men of distinguished backgrounds could still make out some traces of her features. They couldn't help but reveal their astonishment, but they were very tactful and didn't reveal the identity of this princess.

"Yes, my mentor is an alchemist of the Molten Metal School named Isaac Newton. His most famous achievement is the new technology in coinage." Seeing the strange and unique hairstyle, Alvin's heart moved, but he remained calm on the surface.

This is a lie, but not a complete lie.

Because, there was indeed an alchemist who invented a new currency minting technology decades ago.

But other than that, the alchemist didn't invent anything remarkable. He even sold this technology to a businessman at a very low price, while the businessman made a fortune by selling the technology to Lind.

The alchemist who invented the new coinage technology later became impoverished due to his lack of achievements and eventually died of drunkenness in a rural area. The people who used the coins minted by his invention did not even know his name.

Alvin also learned about this through a small task in the early days.

So, he simply used a name written in the textbook that was repeated by students with gritted teeth to impersonate someone else, and invented a name for himself that was slightly famous but not easy to be exposed as an alchemy instructor.

Incidentally, that person did become a consultant to the Mint when he was older, and he actually studied alchemy in the real world, even leaving behind a handwritten manuscript of over 650,000 words, calling alchemy a 'noble philosophy'.

"Oh, so the gentleman's name is Isaac?" Catherine raised the sandalwood folding fan she carried with her and held it in front of her bright red lips to hide her surprise.

"I'll remember you." The duchess with blonde hair nodded.

"If you're looking for a partner to drive the magic car with, I have an open seat."

Catherine slightly turned sideways and handed over a business card sprinkled with light gold foil with her right hand wearing a long white glove, while quietly looking at Ivan's upright posture and regular facial features.

Some inexplicable attraction made it difficult for her to look away. This made the Viscount, who had just been drained of his body by the magic engine, couldn't help but show a toothache expression.

"It's my pleasure, but please allow me some time to think about it." Although he said this, Alvin took a step back slightly after taking the business card to express his refusal.

Catherine simply smiled at this. She wasn't angry either. She looked deeply at the young man before turning away, feeling satisfied.

Because the competition was over, after leaving their business cards, both the racers and the crowd dispersed one after another.

Soon, only a few people were left at the scene.

"Sister Diana!" Little Albert, holding up the worn beret on his head, trotted over to the silver magic car that had not yet left.

"Betty? Why are you here?" Diana raised her brows slightly and said in surprise:

"Hush, I'm Albert now." Little Albert, or more accurately, little Betty quickly raised his index finger to make a 'hush' gesture.

"I am serving as a guide for these two gentlemen, two generous wizards," Betty said with a smile.

"Be careful." Diana sighed helplessly.

Then she frowned and looked at the dashboard in front of her with a headache.

If the speed wasn't too high, she could drive the magic car alone in an emergency. However, Diana's physical strength and energy were greatly depleted by the race. If she tried to adjust the magic engine while driving, she might just end up in a ditch.

"Do you need help?" Ivan's voice came from the side.

“…” Diana looked up at the smiling guy.

"Thank you for your help. I will pay you for this." The short-haired girl didn't want to owe anyone a favor, but the reality didn't allow her to refuse.

"Wait a moment, I want to talk to my companion." Ivan nodded and walked to Kayang who was waiting on the side.

"Are you sure you want to choose this person?" Khayon looked at him with suspicion.

"Yes." Ivan said frankly: