Li Wen, the skeleton, stared at Karen, and Karen reciprocated the gaze at this unique skeleton. The two disparate species locked eyes in silence for three long minutes.
Karen was profoundly disappointed to find out that Li Wen was a smart skeleton with no skills to offer. At least Old Buck had a proficiency in machine repairing that could help him with magic machines.
Li Wen was a great magician in his lifetime. It's worth noting that the title of a great magician is awarded only to those who have made remarkable contributions in the field of magic. In the past 500 years, only 13 great magicians were born in the entire Blue Mountain City.
"Boss," while Karen was smiling wryly, Li Wen finished the second memory installation, emerged from the machine, and bowed down.
"Do you possess any unique abilities?" Karen inquired directly, hoping to glean some hidden attributes from the conversation.
"I am a doctoral student in chemical engineering, and I am proficient in chemical experiments and the chemical industry," Li Wen replied slowly. "For instance, seawater refining, petroleum refining, ethanol production, and hydrogen fission."
Karen thought that these skills might be related to alchemy, which was a way to become stronger. He asked cautiously, "Do you remember anything about alchemy, such as the formula for the doomsday potion, the creation of a flame-throwing staff, or the thirteen theories of Garland's magic defense?"
Karen stared at Li Wen, eagerly hoping to hear some positive news. Li Wen was a great magician in his lifetime and must have possessed the most powerful magic system in the world.
However, Li Wen did not sense Karen's eagerness and replied stiffly, "No."
Karen then asked, "What was the most impressive experiment you conducted?"
"Nuclear fission," replied Li Wen.
Karen was in disbelief. This must be a fake. Although summoning a skeleton would cause them to lose a large portion of their memory, it was impossible to forget all magical knowledge. It was unlikely that this was a fake archmage.
Karen gave up his hopes of having a Lich squad and settled for three Lichs who could perform magic. Having one out of six successful summons was unlucky. As he looked at the remaining seven corpses on the ground, he couldn't believe that his luck was this bad today.
"Normal Skeleton."
"Normal Skeleton."
"Normal Skeleton."
"Normal Skeleton."
"Boss, please stop," Buck couldn't take it anymore. Four ordinary skeletons appeared in a row. Even someone with Karen's temperament would have exploded in anger.
I apologize for the confusion. Here are the revised versions of the three paragraphs with improved grammar and added descriptive words, following your original text:
Karen took a few deep breaths, trying to keep himself calm. He needed to use the best mentality to complete a summon. With each breath he took, he could feel the tension in his body starting to ease, and his mind becoming more focused on the task at hand.
"Put your fingers lightly on the skull of the corpse, like a paintbrush gently sketching along the rotten flesh, injecting magic power bit by bit, gently and naturally, everything is so natural," the voice instructed. Karen followed the instructions carefully, placing his fingers on the skull of the corpse and infusing it with magical power. He could feel the magic flowing through him, as if his fingers were indeed a paintbrush, tracing the contours of the decaying flesh with a delicate touch.
"Yes, that's the feeling, it's wonderful, and there's another wonderful ending," the voice said. Karen waited with bated breath, anticipation building inside him. Suddenly, Buck's voice cut through the silence: "Ordinary skeleton." The anticlimactic discovery of an ordinary skeleton left Karen feeling disappointed, but he couldn't deny the satisfaction of having successfully completed the summoning ritual.
"Shit!" Karen exclaimed as he kicked the newly summoned skeleton to the ground. He was disappointed that the skeleton lacked any intelligence, rendering it useless as a victim on the battlefield. Karen's frustration grew, but Old Buck attempted to calm him down. "Boss, calm down, maybe today is just bad luck," he said.
Karen tried to suppress the anger in his belly, but it was difficult. He didn't care about the failed summoning attempt at the moment. Instead, he decided to take an unorthodox approach and summoned another skeleton, this time without following the normal way of thinking. Karen started the process and infused the magic power, completing the entire process in less than three seconds.
Suddenly, there was a loud boom, and the sound of bones crunching filled the air. Karen and Buck looked on in amazement as the new skeleton took shape before their eyes. Its bones were much larger and more robust than the previous skeleton, and it radiated an aura of power and intelligence. Karen couldn't believe it - his unorthodox method had actually worked!
As the skeleton stood up straight, the rotting flesh and blood clung tightly to its surface, resembling a leather coat. Karen and Old Buck looked on in amazement as the skeleton transformed into a Lich, radiating an aura of power and intelligence. "The Lich! The Lich!" they cried out in unison, still stunned by what they had just witnessed. Karen finally achieved what he had been striving for, as Buck finally had a kindred.
"Quick, send it to the robot," Karen said with urgency. They both knew that they needed to act quickly before the Lich's powers dissipated. They sent it to the robot, and its details were recorded in the system:
Name: Jenny
Form: Lesser Lich
Status: Vice President of Culinary Society
Rate Dependency: Blue Mountain City
Occupation: Chef
Death rattle: Flame Cooking
Karen and Buck exchanged excited looks - they had stumbled upon a rare and valuable find. With Jenny in their possession, they could unlock new possibilities and push the boundaries of what was possible with their magic. The possibilities were endless, and they couldn't wait to see what the future held.
Karen was puzzled as to why he had summoned a chef from the corpse of a great magician. He couldn't believe that it wasn't a joke. Even if his memory loss was severe, it was impossible to forget all of the most important things. Karen couldn't help but think that it was a problem with his abilities that had caused him to summon such an unlikely candidate.
He shook his head in frustration. The Lich Squad was now useless, and he couldn't wait to start another war. "Put away the last corpse, and call it when I'm lucky," Karen said with a sigh. The continuous failures had left him feeling exhausted and drained.
Karen knew that he needed to regroup and figure out a new strategy. He couldn't afford to let his failures defeat him. Instead, he needed to use them as a lesson and find a way to improve his abilities. With a renewed sense of determination, Karen decided to keep practicing and honing his skills until he could summon the perfect creature for his purposes.
Karen needed to calm down. He knew that he needed time to chase away his bad mood and clear his mind. In his mind, he believed that he needed to summon at least 6 to 8 Lichs to create a strong and formidable squad that would stand out in the Great Wasteland. However, only two of the most useless ones had been summoned so far.
As he sat there, feeling frustrated and overwhelmed, a fox's head poked in from the door. It had an inch of white hair in the middle of its head and a smile on its pointed nose. When there was no sound, it tiptoed in, leaned on the carriage, and asked, "Well, this town is not bad."
Karen snorted coldly, still in a bad mood. "Churchill, this is just a small town," he replied bluntly.
"Hey, who's offending our mayor?" Churchill exclaimed, reaching into his backpack to produce a bottle of cocoa, which he placed on the table. "You owe me a bottle," he added with a grin.
Karen let out a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. "Churchill, let's not beat around the bush. I have the Arcane Staff, but it seems like a waste to use it on this small town," he said, with a hint of disappointment in his voice.
"Karen, you underestimate the value of small towns in the wasteland. Every one of them is a hub of trade and commerce, and even the largest has a population of only a thousand. I came to Gold Shining Town specifically for you, as it's a real gem among small towns, and has great potential," Churchill explained with a smile.
Karen's face lit up a little, and he couldn't help but feel a glimmer of hope. "Really? Tell me more," he said, intrigued.
Karen's ears were calloused by the businessman's self-proclaimed rhetoric, "Okay, okay, Churchill, don't brag about me, either change the town for me, or subsidize me with 1000 pence, there are two choices, Otherwise, don't ask for anything."
Hearing Karen's threat, Churchill's expression darkened instantly, "Karen, I made this deal because you kept your word. One piece of information plus one small town can be exchanged for three arcane staffs. This is what we agreed upon. I put integrity first." With a cold snort, "If you want money, it's easy, you just go to Lanshan City and surrender yourself."
Karen's face turned cold at Churchill's words. He knew Churchill had him in a bind; he had no choice but to complete the deal. He took a deep breath and calmed himself down, "Fine, I'll take the town. But it better be worth it."
Churchill smiled, knowing he had the upper hand, "Trust me, Karen. You won't be disappointed."
Karen nodded, but inside he was seething. He couldn't wait to get his hands on the arcane staffs and leave this small town behind. But for now, he had to make the best of it.
Karen leaned in to take a closer look at the map. The black spot Churchill was pointing at seemed to be located near a river and several mountains, with a smaller road leading towards it.
"What advantage?" Karen asked skeptically.
"The river nearby provides water and fish, the mountains provide timber, and the soil is fertile. With these resources, you can establish a self-sufficient town that can support itself and even trade with other towns," Churchill explained.
Karen nodded thoughtfully. The idea of a self-sufficient town with resources for trade seemed promising. "What about security?" he asked.
Churchill pointed to a small fortress icon on the map. "There's a small fort nearby that provides protection. It's not the strongest fort in the Great Wasteland, but it's enough to deter most raiders and bandits."
Karen considered the information for a moment before nodding. "Alright, I'll take Gold Town," he said decisively.
Churchill grinned. "Excellent choice, Karen. You won't regret it." He handed over the arcane wand and added, "And here's your payment, as promised."
This is a map of the Great Sahara Wilderness. The black line in the center is the Mississippi River that traverses the entire wasteland. The black spots are naturally the villages and towns that can be lived in the wasteland.
Most of them are located along the coast of Mississippi, but the town of Gold Shining is unique. There is only a single black spot in the vast expanse, and Karen really can't see anything special about it.
Churchill smiled mysteriously, and pointed his fingers along the left side of the map through the Golden Town to the right side, just connecting the Human Race Federation in the east and the Beast Race tribe in the west.
"This is?"
"Did you see that the shortest route from the human race to the orc race is the center point of Gold Shining Town. As long as you have the ability to develop this trade route, I guarantee that you will have a lot of money. Moreover, Gold Shining Town is the farthest from the Mississippi River. To the threat of the core forces of the wasteland, look here, the Aegean Sea, the mouth of the sea that penetrates into the wasteland is yours, from this coastline to Aijiaer Snow Mountain, this area is your territory, even though it is a town, UU Reading is bigger than three Blue Mountain cities, do you think I lied to you?"
Karen is naturally not a fool. The area is large enough, but it is all desert. There are many smart people in the world. If he can develop, it will be his turn.
It cannot be planted, cannot be raised, has no minerals, no magic crystals, and the most important thing is that there are no living things. There is no future for development in a place without the slightest vitality.
I unscrewed the bottle of cocoa and poured it down my throat with bubbles and saliva. I have to say that this thing is really strong, and it is a good medicine to relieve the heat in this hot desert.
"If only I could produce something like this."
"You can be satisfied if you can drink a bottle." Churchill smiled. "This was shipped from far away Venice. I only got a small box through looking for connections."
"Boss, you're drinking Coca-Cola, right?" Churchill hadn't stopped laughing when Li Wen, the skeleton beside Karen, spoke up.
"What Coca-Cola, Cocoa? Understand?" Churchill smiled contemptuously.
Karen became interested. Could it be that this transmigrated skeleton has other abilities, so he hurriedly sent over the remaining half bottle of cocoa, "Look at it?"
The skeleton lowered its head, looked at it for a long time, shook it a few times, and nodded after a few seconds of contemplation, "It's Coca-Cola. If you want, I can make it, but I need some materials."
"Don't believe him." Churchill said with a contemptuous smile, "If you are really worthy, you can wait to make a fortune. This thing is not only in the wasteland, but even the Holy Storm Empire is a sought-after item."
Karen looked at the cocoa, then at the skeleton, this thing is not simple, it is almost comparable to alchemy potion, "You really can?"
"It should be possible. I can try to make a bottle first. You can taste it, but it needs materials."
"What do you want?" Karen asked directly.
The skeleton thought for a moment before replying, "I need some sugar, some carbonated water, and a special plant called the cola nut. It's not easy to find in the wasteland, but it's not impossible."
Karen nodded thoughtfully, "I'll arrange for someone to find these things. If you can really make Coca-Cola, it will be a great asset for us."
The skeleton nodded and said, "I'll get to work on it right away." With that, it picked up the bottle of cocoa and walked away.
Churchill scoffed, "Karen, you're wasting your time on this nonsense. What we need is power, not some beverage."
Karen smiled, "Power comes in many forms, Churchill. And who knows, maybe this Coca-Cola could be the key to unlocking some hidden power.