Chapter 5, Simple Revenge

Thus, this type of ring is currently in great demand, with prices reaching over 1,000 gold coins, making it even more expensive than a flame protection ring

Alice quickly released her clasped hands and moved them behind her back. Although she held back her tears and did not cry out loud, her tears still dampened a small area on her chest.

Number 3, his gaze turned to Leistrad, "Your hand burns uncleanly, have you practiced making the fire gel many times? Unfortunately, that was also a false rumor, I hope you haven't lost too much money. At least, practicing potion preparation still has some usefulness."

In the past, today, and in the future when you take on apprentices, it will always be this way. Before you understand, feel free to hate; that will become the best stepping stone for you to ascend to the hall of fame

His powerful mental strength allowed him to easily control the arcane forces, completing step after step. An hour later, a substance resembling slime was poured into a container. Because this potion looks like slime, it is usually sold in opaque ceramic bottles, with a retail price in the store reaching as high as 1,500 gold coins per bottle

Life Crisis: Your life is already under threat, what are you waiting for?! Identify the root cause and eliminate it!

Before them stood a middle-aged mage, adorned in a splendid robe and wearing a crown, gazing at them with an expressionless face. Including Lu Yuan, the three apprentices began to perspire, and the female apprentice, Alice, could be seen with her legs trembling slightly.

What is going on?! He shouted at the apprentice who was still squatting on the ground, holding his head.

Number 2, he looked at the girl named Alice, who immediately shrank her head into her chest, trembling in fear, tears beginning to well up in her eyes. "Are you still holding your hand in the posture of casting a spell? Put it down. That is false information! Learning magic is your own business; all I need is your talent in alchemy! I only test alchemy."

Indeed, Alice was already standing there, observing the transparent bottle and the blue liquid in her hand, an absorption potion, a type of potion that can absorb impact and lightning, with a difficulty coefficient of at most half that of the invincibility potion

François securely fixed the ring in the clamp on the workbench, thoroughly immersed the gemstone in the mixture, and then retrieved it, perfectly setting it into the ring's mount. François, the son of a noble family's jewelry maintenance servant, possesses profound skills in gemstone cutting, which makes the gemstone rings he produces more aligned with the demands and tastes of the nobility, resulting in a direct price increase of one-third, with a significant portion of the profits belonging to him personally.

Lu Yuan delivered the slime's mucus and cow hair to the mage apprentice, and the precisely measured amount earned him a reproachful glance. With no further reductions possible, the apprentice could only curse Lu Yuan while meticulously cutting the cow hair into tiny fragments and mixing it evenly with the slime's mucus. He then hurriedly carried the finished product to Master François's laboratory. Observing the creation of a magical item was indeed an extraordinary experience. He then hurriedly carried the finished product to Master François's laboratory. Observing the creation of a magical item was indeed an extraordinary experience

The three of you stand before me not because of your exceptional abilities. Rather, it is due to your respectable backgrounds that I might hesitate for a second or two when it comes to sending you to your demise. Recently, there have been suggestions for me to add an assistant for my potion experiments, and thus, you have been brought before me ahead of others because of your backgrounds

I know," the deep voice of the Grand Mage resonated. Lu Yuan saw that the two individuals both appeared to breathe a sigh of relief, and he knew he was in a similar state. The reasons were different; they were compelled by the imposing pressure of the Grand Mage, while Lu Yuan was concerned about the possibility of François's matter being exposed.

Lu Yuan turned around and saw a door marked with "1"

I know that you think I hate you, that I torment you for my own amusement. The great sorcerer walked slowly.

Many of you are injured, some have died, and everyone lives under the shadow of death every day, you hate me. He suddenly stopped and laughed twice, It's quite normal, because I was the same back then. I also stood on the brink of life and death every day until I became a formal mage. Those of us who survived reaped the sweet fruits. Those who failed paid the price.

It is just so. If it were not for Habasse Derlin coming in person, others would not even notice the scent of the evening primrose.

During his busy schedule, Lu Yuan silently reconnected with everyone he had interacted with on the day of the incident.

With a loud bang, the door of François's laboratory was blown off by the explosion, striking the apprentice who was still wandering in the corridor and cursing, leaving him with a bloodied head. He covered his head, staring in shock at the chaotic laboratory, completely at a loss for words. Although he had caused explosions before, they were nothing compared to this as a formal mage.

"Number 1," he looked at Lu Yuan, "I thought you were either dead or had run away, so I didn't give you any false information over there"

I did not curse him!" the apprentice screamed, crying out in fear that Master Habaser Derlin would crush him with a single grip

Lu Yuan bowed and stepped back, and as he walked away, it seemed he heard the sound of the girl named Alice crying loudly. This has nothing to do with me, he did not look back and walked straight out.

The task lists in the room have all been burned. Based on the remnants, it is evident that Master François was planning to undertake some overambitious endeavors, which, predictably, ended in failure. That is how it is. Habasser Derlin glanced around the nearly derelict laboratory, cursed a few more times, and turned to leave. Not even a glance was spared for the shivering apprentice.

... ...

Unfortunately, it was evident that the mage was in a very bad mood today. After taking the mixture, he did not wait for the apprentice to state the request and forcefully shut the laboratory door! This gave the apprentice yet another person to curse.

If this potion were to be concocted by the original Lu Yuan, the success rate would not exceed 20%. Although the materials provided are sufficient for three attempts, in terms of time, he can afford to fail only once at most. However, Lu Yuan's "Alchemy" skill has now reached level 11, surpassing the standards of most formal mages below level 5! For this potion, he is 70% confident!

Perhaps the momentary anger experienced when consuming a potion is also part of what ignites the potion's effectiveness. Just as a piece of luminescent moss can cast a light spell, and consuming a spider is necessary to perform a spider walk spell, the mystery and complexity of magic—who can truly know it?

Tomorrow will mark a new beginning

The exquisite ring, with its perfectly cut ruby, was accentuated by the particularly disgusting specks of cow hair on top. François decided to cast his spell early, to burn away these filthy things and let the magical ring emit a brilliant red light. He calmed his breath, extended his hands at a right angle, and recited the incantation. A cone of crimson flame erupted from his fingertips, scorching the ruby ring. The ignited residue emitted a burnt smell. A cone of crimson flame erupted from his fingertips, scorching the ruby ring. The ignited residue emitted a burnt smell

After Habasse Derlin finished speaking, he neatly placed the potion aside and busied himself with his own tasks

Indeed, the target was quickly identified as a second-level mage. It was quite simple; no one here cared about the life or death of a magic apprentice. Most mages and apprentices completely ignored Lu Yuan, who was moving about with injuries, showing no concern whatsoever. Only one person looked back and forth three times

Of course, it tastes more like slime solution when consumed! Unfortunately, by that time, it was already impossible to return it, wasn't it

Invincible Potion! A potion that can significantly enhance a warrior's defense and magical immunity in an instant. Although its effective duration is a mere 30 seconds, during those 30 seconds, you can charge through like a mighty dragon

After François paid attention to Lu Yuan a few times, he completely ignored him. Not to mention that the things he did were unconfirmable, even if they were confirmed, what difference would it make? He feared the Level 7 Mage William Gaster, but he did not fear a mere apprentice like Lu Yuan. With his background as a guarantee, William would not dare to do anything to him. He only looked at Lu Yuan a few more times because he wanted to verify the explosive power of his potion.

Alright, can you be a bit more hateful?

Therefore, he certainly does not know that what the apprentice delivered was merely a mixture of cow hair fragments, the standard material for making fire-breathing rings, rather than the evening primrose solution he had sensed.

He smiled as the third perfect "Burning Hand" was accurately cast towards the final side of the ring

First, he sat in silence for five minutes, entering a shallow meditative state, clearing his mind and emptying his spirit. Then he stood up and began the process of material extraction using the refining technique in sequence. He speculated that the invincible potion might be the most difficult one, just as the sequence of false information released earlier reflected the underlying message, because he was the one with the least background knowledge.

In less than a minute, Master Habasser Derlin rushed over with a face full of anger

No, I do not hate you; I do not even know any one of you.

This person is the owner of the witchcraft grocery store, Lu Yuan's nominal mentor and fate controller among these magic apprentices, the level 15 archmage Habaser Derin

Now, enough with the nonsense! Go into the room behind you; there are questions inside. These are all problems I have solved before, maybe once, maybe twice, who cares? An apprentice who does not cheat is not a good apprentice! Is that not so? I will give you two hours; those who do not complete it can go down to the basement! I guarantee that before the remaining ones are all dead, the failures will have no hope of coming before me!

In the crafting of magical rings, a slight deviation can lead to a significant failure. The production of the Fire Ring, Flame Pearl Ring, and Fireball Spell Ring differs by merely one or two types of materials. Lu Yuan added a tiny amount of evening primrose powder, just the weight of a fingernail, to the slime, resulting in a formula for creating the Fireball Spell Ring. However, when the amount of evening primrose is insufficient, and the spell cast is not Fireball but rather Burning Hands, the consequences are known only to heaven.

Reis Tred's mouth twitched, caught between a smile and the urge to say something. In the end, he merely contorted his face into a strange shape, saying nothing at all

After regaining his spirit through another session of quiet meditation, he pushed the door open and walked out

And the owner and protector of all this stands before them

Task completed, + 300 experience

The top level is the residence and laboratory of Habaser Derlin, while the first floor mainly consists of shops open to the public. Formal mages like William, even if they are part-time, will have a room on the first or second floor. Meanwhile, hundreds of apprentices work in the reinforced basement, engaging in various tasks that are either repetitive or hazardous. They refer to this place as the "Hive" because it is divided into dozens of identical rooms, and to minimize losses, each room is equipped only with the essential items.

François pulled the wrench, causing the ring to rotate 120 degrees. He once again cast "Burning Hand" on the ring. The ring emitted a crimson glow, a sign that it had been heated to its limit. Satisfied, François pulled the wrench again, turning the ring to its final face. Unbeknownst to him, the ruby was enveloped in a strange red light.

Isn't this more likely to provoke hatred? Lu Yuan thought in surprise

Lu Yuan and two other apprentices, Alice and Leis Tuid, stood silently and calmly.

François completely put Lu Yuan out of his mind and began to focus on his own affairs

At noon, Lu Yuan hurriedly arrived at the alchemy factory of the witchcraft grocery store after receiving the summons from Habasser Derlin, and was subsequently led into an area he had never entered before, coming face to face with the Grand Master Habasser Derlin

What François intends to create is such a ring, embedding a forged band with rubies, applying a mixture of cow hair and adhesive, and continuously casting "Burning Hands" three times on the ring to successfully enchant it. He is currently a level 2 mage, with three first-level spell slots available each day, which is just enough to create one such ring. Lu Yuan continued to sift through the documents and finally discovered the material requirements for a certain apprentice to make the cow hair adhesive. Lu Yuan gently clapped his hands; it seems that revenge will not take long.

Lu Yuan selected all the materials requested by François, along with those he had just noted down in the laboratory. A gentle smile appeared on Lu Yuan's face as he thought of François crafting the "Flame Ring." This is a ring that allows the wearer to cast the "Burning Hands" spell three times a day, each time projecting a cone of fire in front of them. The area is not large and the damage is minimal, making it suitable for dealing with creatures like goblins. However, the recent trend among the nobles of Baldur's Gate to play games as fire dragons has significantly increased the sales of this ring. During storytelling sessions in salons, the ring is held in front of the mouth to simulate a fire dragon breathing a cone of flame, eliciting delicate and affected gasps from the noblewomen. What a captivating scene it is.

The so-called topic is a table laid out with a dozen materials such as moonlight grass, flame grass, Dayuan chrysanthemum, fluorite, and crushed coal cores. As for what potion needs to be made, can you guess? There are no instructions, no hints, not even a scrap of paper on the table. Lu Yuan quickly arranges and combines these materials in his mind.

"Get lost!" The voice of the Grand Mage shook the entire second floor. Habaser Derlin no longer paid attention to the terrified apprentice and walked straight into the laboratory filled with debris and strange smoke. Damn curses, there are a hundred apprentices cursing me every day. He muttered, glancing around, picked up the container that had once held a mixture of cow hair and slime that had fallen at the door, sniffed it, and cursed loudly a few more times, not even knowing who he was cursing.

He must complete it in the fastest and best way possible to ensure that the assistant position will not be replaced. Of course, he will absolutely not resort to separation extraction, chemical synthesis, and other methods that do not belong to this world. What he is striving for now is merely a position as an assistant, which is not worth risking his life for

In summary, this matter has passed just like that

Sitting behind the desk, Master Habaser Delin gently waved his hand. Lu Yuan felt the porcelain bottle rise in his hand and then released it. The porcelain bottle flew over and landed on the master's desk. He opened it, took a look, and then dripped out a drop to taste it carefully.

Certainly, the most common consequence is an explosion. When it involves the fire element and rubies, it results in a violent explosion

You may leave now, come to the third floor tomorrow

This place, known as the General Store, is one of the foremost magic item shops in Baldur's Gate and the entire Sword Coast. Its exterior resembles a massive yurt with a glass dome, covering an area of over 1,000 square meters. Inside, space-folding magic has been applied, expanding its interior space by more than ten times. The entire building, including the basement, is divided into four floors with hundreds of rooms.

Background is also a part of strength, and Lu Yuan, with his social experience, certainly understands this, so there is nothing to complain about