Reason told Amberser that Alchemy City would never give him the real deal for five hundred gold coins, but he couldn't help wanting to see just how convincing the fake was.
The saleslady handed a small bottle of silvery solution to Amberser with a mysterious air.
It felt weighty in his hand; at least the weight seemed about right.
But upon closer examination, Amberser immediately showed a look of disappointment.
"This mercury is layered; no, this is entirely mercury, isn't it?"
Amberser wasn't specialized in alchemy, but he was an expert and knew exactly what this substance was.
A small amount of real Living Mercury Solution, then topped up with ordinary mercury. To the untrained eye, there was no difference, but experts could see the immiscible layers of the two.
Living Mercury could nearly dissolve all metals and conveniently precipitate them back out, but it wouldn't dissolve real mercury.
The quality of this five hundred gold coin fake was too poor.
The saleslady, a bit guiltily, said, "I knew you were an expert. Don't worry, this is just a sample. It's for those who know their stuff to see through so that we can continue the negotiation."
After saying this, the saleslady quickly switched the bottle for another one.
This bottle of Living Mercury did indeed amaze Amberser.
At least from the outside, there was no apparent flaw; to determine whether it was genuine or fake would probably require opening the bottle for testing.
"Two completely different levels of counterfeiting, both five hundred gold coins?" Amberser asked.
"Of course not, the previous bottle was five hundred, this one needs at least three thousand gold coins."
Amberser was about to suggest testing the product when an idea suddenly struck him, and he praised, "This isn't Living Mercury, this is Corpse Mercury Solution; no wonder it seems flawless at first glance. Quite clever."
The saleslady immediately looked shocked, then whispered urgently, "Don't talk so loudly, are you buying or not?"
The saleslady was panicking; she only intended to make a sales pitch for a commission. Who would have thought that this seemingly young alchemist would spot the principle behind the counterfeit goods at a glance? These were fakes crafted by the Alchemist Council themselves, supposedly undetectable.
And yet, this youngster figured out the trick in just one look, without even opening the bottle to check? How could this be possible? She must have encountered one of those old-timers who pretend to be naive for amusement, an old fox playing young—what was he, hundreds of years old?!
From the saleslady's expression, Amberser knew he had guessed correctly. The ruse, once revealed, was actually not complex.
Living Mercury was a failed product of Alchemy City; they had intended to create a new type of Slime, but instead produced a "vegetative" Mercury Slime.
It was alive, but without any consciousness, not even moving an inch, maintaining only the instinct to devour metals.
Had it not been for this metal-devouring instinct proving somewhat effective, it would likely have been discarded as waste.
But a "vegetative" Slime was still a living creature, and living things eventually die.
Dead Mercury Slime doesn't rot, looking identical to when it was alive, so much so that the alchemists of Alchemy City couldn't tell whether it was dead or alive. The only way to tell was to throw a piece of metal in.
A living Mercury Slime would still consume the metal, while a dead one would not have this ability.
Who knows which genius came up with mixing a little bit of living Mercury Slime with the corpse of a dead one, creating this half-dead state.
It retained the ability to devour metals but at a greatly reduced efficiency.
To an outsider, it would be difficult to understand whether the quality of the Living Mercury had decreased or if it had become "weakened" during transport; they might even think it could be nursed back to health.
As for that other fake of even lesser quality, probably someone down the line tried their hand and came up with an inferior product. Perhaps it was even the saleslady herself, trying to make some extra money on the side.
But realizing she couldn't fool an expert like Amberser, she produced the high-end counterfeit.
Alchemy City was aware that the genuine product was too expensive and wouldn't sell; unable to afford its upkeep, the Living Mercury would just keep dying off. It was a continuous loss, which led to the conception of such underhanded tactics.
Amberser felt that quite a few fools had already paid the full price for these high-end counterfeits.
It was a clever but extremely underhanded tactic.
No wonder Alchemy City had been the richest city on the continent for many years yet never appeared on any ethical rankings.
Amberser had originally intended to refuse.
Because he was going to do business with a friend from the Elegy Poetry Society.
He was in desperate need of money, but the money earned through deception would undoubtedly be lost just as quickly. The Headless Knight, who was a son-in-law of the Bone Dragon Family, would surely discover any poorly hidden private funds, without a doubt leading to discovery by his wife, and the old brother would definitely not cover for him.
Then, he would face the wrath of both a Legendary Bone Dragon and the Legendary Headless Knight.
After such a husband-and-wife doubles match, Amberser's counterfeit Life Casket would be hammered to bits, a sure loss-making deal.
However, just as he was about to return the bottle in his hand, Amberser thought of a question.
Did a dead Mercury Slime count as a corpse?
To Amberser, Alchemy was just a passing interest, but Necromancy was his true expertise.
He had thought about asking the Alchemist Council whether they had ever used Necromancy on dead Mercury Slimes, but he swallowed his words before they left his mouth.
This idea was just a sudden inspiration of his own; perhaps the Alchemist Council was in the dark about it, completely devoid of such an idea? Wouldn't he be enlightening them by speaking up?
If it turned out to be useful, he would be handing the Alchemist Council a chance for a comeback against the odds, and those capitalists definitely wouldn't pay him any royalties.
With that in mind, Amberser said to the salesgirl, "Three thousand Gold Coins is too expensive. Can it be cheaper?"
"The price is fixed, non-negotiable," she replied.
"Fixed prices are for real goods, yours are fakes!"
"Really can't make it cheaper."
"Then throw in two bottles of this substandard product."
...
After some haggling, Amberser spent three thousand Gold Coins, got one bottle of high-end fake and a bottle of low-end stuff, and even managed to grab two packs of Enchanted Seeds as a bonus.
It was evident that Living Mercury was indeed not selling well.
Originally, Amberser had planned to walk around a bit more, as surviving in a Lich's territory required plenty of preparation. But now, his mind was focused solely on the bottle of Living Mercury Solution; his instinct told him there was a huge business opportunity here.
Once out of Alchemy City, Amberser rushed back to his castle with the utmost speed, even turning into smoke to enter through the rooftop.
After dispelling his shapeshifting spell, Amberser reverted to his sinister and ferocious Lich form and headed straight to the laboratory with his two bottles of fakes.
Isabel was still diligently mixing Petrification Lizard Oil, and there were already quite a few finished products on the shelf. With Amberser's guidance, she had mastered the potion-making process. The girl with solid fundamentals had successfully concocted ten bottles of Petrification Lizard Oil, failing only once, which was an excellent achievement.
But as Amberser's gaze swept over the wasted materials, Isabel felt her heart leap to her throat.
Would the Lich become angry because she had wasted these materials? Would she be turned into an experiment for his Necromancy?
The Lich's skeletal face was inscrutable, always looking ferocious. As such a Lich approached Isabel without saying a word, she felt the pressure of survival hitting her full in the face, unable to resist the urge to seek help.
Where was that little boy who knew Alchemy, the one who was also undead?
Although he had only given her a few tips, he could still be considered her mentor.
Mentor, please come out and save your apprentice!