"Mercury solution?"
Amber Xiu tapped his head. He had heard of this alchemical potion—it seemed to be a recent failure concocted by the Alchemist's Guild, a byproduct of their new Slime Cultivation Program.
For years, the Alchemist's Council had struggled to produce new inventions, which had left the haughty alchemists in a state of frustration. After all, to them, no mage, necromancer, or god could rival the power of the vials in their hands.
They were obsessed with the grand illusion that alchemy could create anything. Centuries ago, they even dreamt of using alchemy to create a true deity. But they had forgotten that the god of alchemy existed in reality.
This god of alchemy could not tolerate such blasphemous actions, and thus, the arrogant alchemists were struck with an unforgettable failure.
The plan to create a deity was completely thwarted, and the god of alchemy punished all alchemists. From that day forward, no alchemist could receive inspiration from the god's power.
For two hundred years, no new potion formulas were discovered in the great city of Alchemy, Alchemia. That is, until seventy years ago, when the current Speaker of the Alchemist's Council finally broke the divine seal and created a new formula, sparing Alchemia from certain ruin.
This Speaker was a legendary figure—he broke the curse of the gods, saved the city, and revised the rules of Alchemia. No longer were alchemists restricted by race or nationality, and affordable potions were provided as welfare. This brought a surge of talent into the city, and within decades, Alchemia was revitalized.
Amber Xiu had only come to the Alchemy City in recent decades. It was the city's open-mindedness that had allowed him to transform into a Lich here.
But as the legendary figure aged and retreated from the scene, the alchemists once again began their reckless pursuits. They became obsessed with creating new, nonexistent species, one of which was the metallic slime.
Without the involvement of the brilliant Speaker, their experiments continued to fail. The metal slimes they created were merely piles of slime corpses, so they had to settle for a mercury solution instead, which could only melt and decompose metals.
In addition, other ridiculous experiments to create new species failed one after another, draining the city's resources and causing severe financial strain. As the economy faltered, the high elves of the Silver Moon Court took advantage, hiking the prices of potion ingredients, worsening Alchemia's financial crisis.
The result was the collapse of many potion-related industries. Even beings like Amber Xiu, the undead, were affected—investments failed, and they plunged into a fiscal disaster.
"Damn high elves!"
Amber Xiu cursed again, then replied in the Necromantic Codex.
[Diga Ultraman: You want to use this for an experiment? I heard this potion is a failure—the mercury-infused slimes have lost all vitality.]
[Headless Knight's Crown: I know, but the solution still retains the slime's ability to consume anything. I have a special situation that requires the mercury solution to process some metal waste.]
[Diga Ultraman: Private savings?]
[Headless Knight's Crown: What private savings? By the Goddess of the Undead, do not fabricate rumors!]
[Withered Rose: Looks like it's really private savings. What's a Lich like you getting married for? And to a Bone Dragon, no less.]
[Headless Knight's Crown: You don't understand the beauty of marriage. Enough talk. Diga, can you get it or not? I'll pay the delivery fee.]
[Diga Ultraman: I can give it a try, but it'll probably be expensive. Recently, the Alchemist's Council has been doing everything they can to cut costs and improve efficiency, so even these failed products have been inflated in price. Looks like they want to recoup their losses.]
[Headless Knight's Crown: 20,000 gold per bottle. I'll pay half upfront.]
An image gradually appeared on the yellowed pages of the Codex, depicting a rare magical material, "Dragonbone Vine."
It was said that only a legendary Bone Dragon, after slumbering for a century, might grow these vines. It was a crucial extraction agent used in many high-level potions.
As the image became clearer, the Dragonbone Vine materialized, turning into a tangible object. One of the unique functions of the Necromantic Codex allowed small objects to be summoned directly.
The Headless Knight was indeed a man of his word. No wonder he married a Bone Dragon—seems like the dowry wasn't small. With the high elves continuously inflating potion prices, this Dragonbone Vine was worth at least 12,000 gold. This upfront deposit was more than enough; it seemed the Headless Knight had a sizable private stash.
"Damn high elves. I'll tear down your Silver Moon Court sooner or later!"
Amber Xiu cursed, then replied to the Headless Knight: "I'll place the order now. It will definitely arrive within five days."
Closing the Necromantic Codex, Amber Xiu quickly gathered his magical energy and conjured a magical raven.
Such a simple spell was no challenge for a legendary spellcaster.
This raven had but one ability: to deliver a letter with procurement details to Alchemia, and in a few days, a caravan would bring the mercury solution to Amber Xiu's castle.
This was the life of a mage—convenient.
After finishing the letter, Amber Xiu rummaged through a cupboard, pulling out various bone materials for his next experiment.
"Humph, so they discriminate against the undead. I'll show them—my thesis is flawless."
Amber Xiu waved his hand, and the previously orderly skeletons were disassembled by an invisible force, breaking into pieces.
These bones hovered around him as Amber Xiu sank into deep thought.
The clumsiness of skeletons was due to the complexity of human bone structure, and the immense damage death inflicted on the soul.
Every necromancer had to go through this beginner phase. The undead they created had weak souls, leading to clumsy movement. It was like controlling a mecha without proper practice—years of training were needed to master the movements of each joint.
Thus, most wild undead needed considerable time to train their control, which Amber Xiu considered a waste. The soul was like a computer, with limited computational power. Wasting resources on balancing the body led to clumsy movement.
"Why must a skeleton be humanoid? Why can't it have four wheels? That would be much simpler."
The bipedal structure was inherently inefficient. It was only because of intelligent life that two legs evolved to allow for tool use, but walking on two feet was a difficult task. Even a child requires over a year to walk unsteadily, and even then, it takes four or five years to run without falling.
But if you're already undead, why worry about having two legs or eight?
If the original form was stable enough, there would be no need to worry about falling, and the saved balancing power could be used for other movements. If those movements were reduced to simple repetitive tasks, the soul's operation would be even simpler.
Amber Xiu opened several scrolls, each showcasing his designs for new types of skeletons. These designs had previously been published in "Legendary Curses," discussed and studied by many necromancers.
Now, however, Amber Xiu would have to stick to his original designs for creating the new skeletons.
His castle was already home to many household skeletons, but to impress his necromancer peers, Amber Xiu needed to create a more cost-effective skeleton warrior with greater combat power.
"Traditional skeleton warriors can only fight with cold weapons..."
Amber Xiu began to carefully break the bones into pieces, assembling them like a puzzle. He then retrieved a glass jar and took out a semi-transparent orb of light.
This was a fabricated soul—used not only to create souls from nothing but also to modify them. This soul's computing power was too weak to control an entire skeleton, but controlling a few joints was a breeze with some modification...
Amber Xiu was busy when suddenly, a scream echoed from outside the castle. Amber Xiu immediately set down the bones, and the fire in his eye sockets flared, narrowing like a pupil.
His magical trap had been triggered—someone was invading his castle through unnatural means.
End of Chapter