Chapter 126: Elementary Alchemy

Chapter 126: Introductory Alchemy

Upon returning to the Mage Tower, Levi sought the technique to purify mithril.

After much deliberation, only two paths truly suited his needs—alchemy and pharmaceutics.

The domains of both overlapped, yet each remained distinct.

Clearly, the purification of materials fell directly within that shared territory.

Both introductory alchemy and introductory pharmaceutics were available for purchase within the tower.

However, they required the status of an official mage to buy.

Conveniently, Levi had revealed his true strength not long ago, ascending to the rank of an official mage.

Otherwise, he would have been left hesitating between spending an exorbitant sum or exposing his power.

"Good grief, introductory alchemy is this expensive?"

Levi stared open-mouthed at the price listed on the ledger.

Introductory Alchemy Purchase Price: Three Hundred Contribution Points. (Requirement: Official Mage)

"Is it truly worth it?"

Levi pondered. Was it worthwhile to learn an entire school of alchemy at such a massive cost just for that remaining ten percent of mithril?

"It is!"

The road ahead was long, and there would be countless occasions where alchemy would prove useful.

Furthermore, once he achieved mastery in the craft, it would serve as an excellent tool for generating wealth.

This was merely an initial investment; he would recoup the cost sooner or later.

On the other hand, the value of that ten percent of mithril was likely no less than three hundred gold coins.

Currently, the price of 999-purity mithril stood at 7.5 gold coins per gram.

If the purified mithril he obtained exceeded four hundred grams, it meant he would actually turn a profit by learning alchemy.

If he could further refine his alchemical skills and elevate the mithril to 9999-purity,

The price of the mithril would skyrocket to 15.6 gold coins per gram.

Its value would instantly double.

Levi left the Mage Tower, intending to first sell off the easily disposable magic cores to raise funds.

He needed to scrape together three hundred contribution points first.

Levi kept the Ant King's third-tier magic core for himself, selling the remaining nine cores entirely to the Cornucopia Chamber of Commerce.

"Greetings, Mage Levi. How may I assist you today?"

"I have a few magic cores to sell. Take a look and tell me what they are worth."

"Right this way, please."

The shopkeeper led Levi upstairs and into a private VIP chamber.

Levi had visited this place a few times before, though those previous visits were solely to purchase elemental crystals.

He produced two second-tier magic cores and seven first-tier magic cores, placing them upon the table.

The shopkeeper picked up a core to examine it, drawing an object resembling a magnifying glass from his pocket to inspect the stone.

Before long, he had thoroughly examined every single core.

The shopkeeper pocketed his magnifying glass and sorted the nine magic cores into three separate piles.

"The density of magic element within these first-tier magic cores is below fifty percent, so their value is somewhat low."

He spoke while pointing to the pile on the far left.

"The buying price is four gold coins each. What do you think?"

Levi nodded. "Fair enough."

The shopkeeper then pointed to the three cores in the middle and said, "These possess a higher concentration of magic element. Seven gold coins each."

Finally, he looked toward the two second-tier magic cores on the far right.

"The elemental content within these two second-tier cores is exceptionally high, practically flawless."

"I am willing to offer forty-five gold coins each for them."

Levi nodded. "Settle the account, then."

The shopkeeper stepped out briefly, returning with a small pouch of coins which he presented to Levi with both hands.

"A total of one hundred and twenty-seven gold coins. Please verify the amount."

Levi walked out with the coin pouch, transferring the gold into his spatial ring the moment he stepped through the door.

He pondered as he walked along the street.

"It seems the value of the Rock Demon Beast's magic core truly is astonishing."

"A second-tier core nearly brimming with magic element is only worth forty to fifty gold coins, yet a Rock Demon Beast's core easily fetches over a hundred gold coins regardless of its elemental volume." Levi also understood that selling the Rock Demon Beast core to Tanya for one hundred and eighty gold coins last time had indeed been an inflated price.

The value of a third-tier core was only about that much.

Returning to the Mage Tower, he exchanged his gold to refill his contribution points.

He purchased Introductory Alchemy.

In return, he received an exceedingly thick tome.

Detailed Exposition of Introductory Alchemy

Levi returned to his quarters and flipped through the volume, discovering that the entire book was divided into two sections.

Introductory alchemy techniques and the catalog of alchemical reference materials.

The reference catalog occupied a fifth of the book's thickness, spanning nearly a hundred densely packed pages.

Some of the alchemical references listed could be borrowed directly from the library.

The books listed within these hundred pages of catalog represented knowledge passed down by alchemists over thousands of years.

Various alchemical formulas, theories, principles...

Learning introductory alchemy was merely the beginning; understanding how to apply it required far deeper study.

Mastering alchemy from beginning to end was far too complex and would take much too long.

Levi turned directly to the section concerning the purification of material essences in introductory alchemy.

"Pyrometallurgy, extraction, phase transition, filtration."

"The four methods of purification in introductory alchemy correspond to materials of different attributes, each requiring a distinct approach."

"For the vast majority of metals, pyrometallurgy is the simplest."

"Pyrometallurgy is divided into two types: internal pyrometallurgy and external pyrometallurgy."

"Internal pyrometallurgy requires one to personally gather fire elements to create a smelting furnace in order to melt materials. Its characteristics are complex operation, extreme difficulty, high purification efficiency, and precise control, though it is limited by one's own tier and cannot purify high-grade materials."

"External Flame Alchemy involves finding suitable external heat sources to create smelting furnaces for refining substances. Its features include relatively simple operation, low control precision, moderate purification effects, the ability to purify large quantities of material, no restriction based on one's own cultivation level, and even beginner alchemists can refine high-grade materials."

"The Internal Flame Alchemy demands less—it suits me better," Li Wei mused.

Following the instructions in the book, he began constructing his smelting furnace.

The smelting furnace used in Internal Flame Alchemy was primarily composed of magical elements and spiritual energy, its size determined entirely by the alchemist himself.

The intensity of the flame depended solely upon one’s own power.

[Basic Alchemy (Tier 0)] 1/10000

Proficiency grew slowly.

After more than two hours of effort, Li Wei finally succeeded in forming his first elemental smelting furnace.

He stared blankly at the ball of fire-elemental energy gathered in his palm.

"This... is the elemental smelting furnace? What's the difference between this and a fireball spell?"

With a thought, he conjured a fireball in his left hand.

Li Wei carefully sensed the distinction between the two.

The fire element within the fireball spell was far more turbulent—wild, explosive, brimming with destructive force.

Though they appeared identical from the outside, internally the fireball was chaotic, intolerant of any foreign object—one touch and it would detonate.

The elemental smelting furnace, while also spherical in appearance, was hollow inside, filled with stable fire elements that continuously emitted heat, warming and melting substances from within outward.

Limited by Li Wei’s current strength, the temperature of the elemental smelting furnace remained low.

It fell far short of the requirements needed to purify mithril through flame-based alchemy.

There were two ways to increase the furnace’s maximum temperature.

One: enhance personal cultivation.

Two: improve alchemical mastery.

Neither could be achieved overnight.

So Li Wei chose a third path.

He would evolve the fireball spell—transforming the fireball into an elemental smelting furnace.

A charged fireball undoubtedly possessed sufficient heat.

It could burn through the ant-king’s shell and reduce it to ashes—melting mithril ore would be effortless.

If only he could reshape the charged fireball into a true elemental smelting furnace, the problem would be solved instantly.

No need to start over from scratch mastering Basic Alchemy—precious time saved.

(End of Chapter)