This Lich Requests More Remuneration
Chapter 298 - 276 Amberser’s New Research

Chapter 298: Chapter 276 Amberser’s New Research

Amberser returned to his underground alchemy factory from the Silvermoon Tribunal.

Although the deal wasn’t a success, it wasn’t a complete waste of time either, as Amberser had sold the secrets he knew about Arthur Laine to Hake Stone, making a small fortune of several million gold coins.

Out of consideration for the face of the Elegy Poetry Society, it was necessary to offer a discount to one’s own people, but if it had been someone else, it wouldn’t have been priced at anything less than several hundred million.

Knowing the truth about the Dragon Blood Curse, the Dwarf Vampire wailed for minutes on end, excited like a boisterous child. Then Hake Stone decisively sent Amberser away, saying that for the next few years he would be in seclusion to write a book, a history that would be remembered for ages.

With such a noble dream, Amberser was pleased for him and declared he wanted a fifty percent cut of the royalties, and his name had to be included as a co-author.

Hake Stone tried to argue using the Desert People’s disregard for copyright, but Amberser decisively pulled out another card.

"If you don’t give me royalties and credit, I’ll tell this secret to other historians, and I believe they will be more than happy to give me these things."

Hake Stone surrendered decisively. Compared to the dream of making history, mere royalties and credit were trivial—it was nothing more than hush money for the Lich.

Only then did Amberser satisfiedly return to his alchemy factory.

He checked on the work and found everything was going smoothly.

The Withered Rose had started to deliver the first batch of Fungus Folk Spore Powder, and the sunscreen production had begun. Since it was a very simple alchemical product, it was directly produced in one go, without the need for secondary processing.

Now that there were already over a thousand bottles of sunscreen, Amberser instructed Harvey to deliver them to the surface distributors, getting ready to launch it into the market.

Harvey asked curiously, "Master, how much are we charging for this?"

The current market price for sunscreen was around ten gold coins a bottle, which was extremely expensive, affordable only to the nobility. You had to apply it every day, and a bottle would last at most half a month; an average family couldn’t afford it.

But that was because Fungus Folk Spore Powder was very rare, which kept the cost from falling.

Amberser, however, wanted to break into the low-end market and make it affordable for more people, so he directly set the price at five silver coins.

One gold coin was equivalent to a hundred silver coins, so Amberser’s pricing turned sunscreen from a luxury item into a commoner’s product. Five silver coins weren’t exactly cheap, but it was akin to the occasional splurging for a good meal for commoners, most of whom could afford it.

Furthermore, Amberser planned to release a large-sized bottle, enough for a month’s use, making it even more economical.

"Five silver coins a bottle. If you praise the God of Alchemy while buying, you can even get a 20% discount."

"So cheap? I’m afraid some might think our product is subpar."

Harvey was no naive boy; he’d lived through the streets and was quite savvy about such matters.

They were not only launching a new product but also competing against the original sunscreen, and the opponents would resort to any means to deal with their new competitor.

A cheaper price would surely lead to claims that it was made with inferior materials, which caused various side effects. Then, finding a few impostors to pretend to be victims, they’d say they had problems after using the sunscreen, tarnishing Amberser’s product reputation.

These were common "business warfare" tactics. If someone were even more ruthless, they might even send thugs to smash the shops.

However, since Amberser’s distributors were locals, this was not too much of a concern.

So, the real issue was how to ensure their sunscreen wouldn’t be smeared by the competition.

Amberser smiled, "I’ve prepared for this. Go to Alchemy City—oh, I mean, now it should be called the City of Gold—and find my other student. Her name is Isabel, the rising star among alchemists. Bring her to the desert to make our sunscreen on site, and that will solve most of the issues. For the rest, I’ll have the Chairman of the Alchemist Council vouch for our product, certifying it’s even higher-end than our competitors’."

After hearing the plan, Harvey knew Amberser had everything under control, and his worries dissipated.

If a Legendary Rank Diviner Mage said it was settled, then it certainly was.

Harvey was about to leave, but then Amberser called him back, adding, "Wait, I’ve thought of a way to quickly establish our brand. Send a block of ice to each distributor, coated with our sunscreen, and have them display it openly in the sun at their storefront."

"Ah, is our sunscreen so effective? Can it stop ice from melting?"

Amberser replied, "How could that be possible? I’m telling you to tamper with it so the ice doesn’t melt."

Harvey: ...

This master was unreasonable in his use of people. A Diviner Mage, and yet he expected Harvey to know such magic.

"I’m entrusting the task to you, don’t rely on me to do everything. Use your brain for once. If you keep rolling the Dice of Destiny all the time, your IQ will deteriorate."

Amberser’s words weren’t completely unjustified, as Diviner Mages did tend to have this issue.

When one relies too heavily on the throws of the Dice of Destiny, they become lazy in thought and gradually turn into someone who just goes with the flow—a good-for-nothing.

Harvey thought he didn’t roll the dice that often. But since his master had spoken to this extent, Harvey could only resign himself to the task.

How could he prevent ice from melting?

As Harvey walked, he fell into deep thought.

After dispatching the students to work, Amberser began his own tasks.

The Alchemy Factory did not require Amberser’s concern; everything was proceeding in an orderly manner.

Amberser was now busy with the mass propagation of the Mercury Avatars. Withered Rose, stimulated by Amberser, grew increasingly excited about the assault on Laine, urging Amberser to prepare an army of Mercury Avatars for her. A huge amount of ore was being transported over without regard to cost.

Having taken the money, Amberser had no choice but to work. He designated an area within the Underground City specifically for receiving ore and cultivating Mercury Avatars.

Cultivating them was actually quite simple; Mercury Avatars consumed metal and didn’t even need to excrete, so all he had to do was to place the Mercury Avatar amongst the ore, and it would automatically divide and reproduce.

Once the area was set up, all that was left was to come by periodically to observe.

After finishing this task, Amberser returned to his laboratory and started a new experiment.

This time, however, what lay before him were not various creatures’ skeletons but a pile of mechanical parts of different models and functions. There were also a few pieces of weaponry and equipment, all of which were materials needed for today’s work.

Amberser assembled them quickly and a drone the size of his palm appeared before his eyes. He then took a Divine Artifact made by the God of Alchemy and transformed the drone into an undead quality, before inserting a Pseudo-Soul into it.

The propellers of the drone began to spin rapidly, and it took off flying.

"Forward, backward, left, right, ascend, descend..." Amberser continually gave commands to the drone, which accomplished every task given by Amberser impressively.

After completing this, Amberser set the drone aside and then took out a dagger, similarly transforming it into the undead attribute.

He then created a new Pseudo-Soul and inserted it into the dagger.

Shortly after, the dagger also levitated and danced up and down as commanded by Amberser, proving to be extremely agile.

This is what is commonly referred to as a Skybound Weapon. In many ancient castles, after the master’s death, sometimes the soul would attach to their favorite weapons or armor, becoming an alternative form of undead.

Weapons that are possessed are generally capable of hovering in mid-air and attacking on their own. These are called Skybound Weapons, while armor that is possessed is commonly referred to as Hollow Armor or Animated Armor.

The principle is the same after all; undead souls control these metal equipments using Dark Magic Power.

However, such cases are exceedingly rare, for it is very difficult for metal to become possessed, and only particularly powerful undead are capable of it.

But, with the Legendary Grace of attribute transformation, Amberser found making these Skybound Weapons quite simple.

"A Pseudo-Soul imprinted with a Flight Spell really can turn a dagger into a flying sword. Its speed is satisfactory, and its nimbleness surpasses that of the drone, but it lacks precision and hovers with difficulty..."

Amberser kept testing, then created many different forms of "undead" for detailed comparison and analysis.

Mechanical types of undead possess the trait of precise control and have a relatively low Soul cost, but their agility is limited by their mechanical bodies, and their movements are stiff and predictable, making it easy to anticipate their actions.

As for Skybound Weapons and Hollow Armor—being purely undead creations—they each appear very lively, with the flight paths of long swords and daggers completely uninfluenced by their forms.

If a drone, possessed by an undead, were to battle a Skybound Dagger, the drone would certainly lose.

But creating these souls costs significantly more, at least as much as manufacturing mechanical ones, especially for Hollow Armor. To enable it to move as freely as a human, the Soul cost is even higher, practically equivalent to that of creating a High-order Undead.

Each has its own advantages and disadvantages, and Amberser needed to make continuous adjustments to find the battlefield where they could best perform.

"Drones can be sold to Adventurers; they even form teams with Necromancers, so undead drones could help them scout and track. They should be willing to buy them if the price is right. As for these Skybound Weapons and Hollow Armor, they can be disguised as antiques to sell to collectors."

Skybound Weapons and Hollow Armor are only possessed by the undead over a long period of time, so they definitely all count as antiques; Amberser’s counterfeiting technique was flawless, leaving no room for dispute by anyone who came by.

"These products, all come with a 20% discount in praise of the God of Alchemy; in this way, teacher, your power should recover quite rapidly."

The reason Amberser was so busy was all in preparation for the upcoming chaos.

The division of Laine was imminent, and a world war was bound to unfold. Once Magic Dragons and Laine reached a conclusion in their battle, the Deities would break their contract of non-intervention, bound to significantly impact the mortal realm on a large scale.

Amberser had to prepare early.

These new types of undead troops were not just products but also future war machines for him.

These small, flying objects, carrying a bottle of explosive Alchemical Potion and dropping it on the enemy’s head... hehe, let those enemies experience what modern warfare is like.