I became a god through archaeology in the Wizarding World.

The street vendor area in Rat Lane is even more chaotic than the shop area.

There are no fixed stalls here; most of the vendors are people who come on a whim.

There were scavengers who had just returned from an adventure in the sewers, apprentices who had stolen their mentors' discarded experimental materials, and thieves who sold stolen goods.

Rhodes walked ahead, his steps seemingly casual, but in reality, every step he took was on the directional line where the "Species Atlas" vibrated most strongly.

Jack followed behind, clutching the short crossbow hidden in his sleeve tightly, his eyes shifting between light and shadow.

He began to wonder if he had gone mad, that he could believe that someone who didn't even dare to show his face had any insight.

"Hey, big guy."

Jack lowered his voice impatiently: "If you want to take me shopping, my time is charged by the minute."

Rod ignored him and stopped in front of a stall in a corner.

The stall owner was a young man wearing a tattered robe, with a sallow complexion and sunken eyes. He looked like a low-level apprentice who had been exposed to toxic reagents for a long time and was malnourished.

In front of him was a dirty oilcloth with several bottles of murky medicine, a few pieces of unknown minerals, and a pile of miscellaneous items that looked like some kind of animal bones.

Rod crouched down and asked in a hoarse voice, "How much are these?"

The apprentice was startled. Looking up at Rhodes's imposing figure, he shrank back and stammered, "Potion... potions cost two magic stones a bottle, and ore costs one magic stone..."

"I'm asking about this pile of bones."

Rod extended his gloved hand and pointed to a pile of grayish-black things that looked like burnt charcoal at the edge of the tarpaulin.

The apprentice paused for a moment, then a hint of disappointment flashed in his eyes.

"Those...those are scrap."

The apprentice stammered, "I took it from a rotting monster bird in the mass grave outside the city. I thought it was a magical beast material, but no matter how I tried to refine it, it didn't react with magic and it's incredibly hard. Even a shredder couldn't break it... If you want it, you can have it all for five silver coins."

Jack, standing behind, scoffed, "Ha! Is this your taste? A pile of rotten bones that even a shredder wouldn't want?"

Although Jack wasn't a scholar, he had been in the black market for so long that he had some basic ability to distinguish genuine from fake.

Biological materials that do not exhibit magical properties are considered trash by wizards.

Rhodes ignored Jack's taunts.

His fingertips, through his gloves, gently touched the largest piece of the pile of rotten bones.

It was a long, sharp bone, curved and matte black, that looked like a scimitar.

hum!

The mental encyclopedia suddenly flipped open, and a flash of golden light appeared on the pages.

[Weak biological material detected]

[Species Identification: Iron-beaked Raven (Mutant Atavistic)]

[Location: Coracoid bone (85% intact)]

[Status: Petrochemical dormancy, requires specific solvent for activation]

[Description: A First Era social predator that feeds on steel. Its beak is as hard as adamantite and possesses a unique neural transmission structure that allows it to sense impending danger.]

It really was it.

Rhodes was overjoyed, but he remained outwardly calm, even letting out a contemptuous snort.

"It's definitely garbage."

Rhodes picked up the beak bone as if he were playing with a piece of scrap metal: "It has no elemental affinity, its internal structure is completely blocked, and magic cannot flow at all."

The stall owner's apprentice blushed even more and lowered his head in shame.

"However..."

Rhodes changed the subject, gently rubbing his fingers at the base of the beak bone: "The hardness of this thing is quite interesting. If I'm not mistaken, this should be a companion skeleton of a species called the Black Iron Corpse Vulture."

"Black Iron Corpse Vulture?"

The stall owner and Jack were both taken aback; they had never heard of such a creature before.

"An extinct ancient creature, not very useful, it can neither cast spells nor make wands."

Rod began to spout nonsense with a straight face, weaving lies using his knowledge of anatomy from his previous life combined with the terminology of this world: "But its bone meal contains a special kind of inert calcium, which is an excellent substitute for making petrochemical stabilizers."

At this point, Rhodes turned to look at Jack, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes beneath his hood: "Grind this stuff into powder and add it to Stone Skin Potion, and I guarantee the chance of the bottle exploding will be reduced by 10%."

Jack was stunned, and asked incredulously, "Really?"

Stone Skin Potion is the most commonly used life-saving potion for junior apprentices, but it has a very high rate of bottle explosions due to the unstable raw materials.

Seeing Jack's expression, Rod knew that the other man was very interested.

Rhodes tossed the beak bone to Jack: "Is this eye worth that meditation manual?"

Jack caught the bone in a flustered manner; it felt heavy in his hand and indeed had a metallic texture.

He looked at Rhodes suspiciously: "Are you sure? If it doesn't work, I'll kill someone."

"You can ask a knowledgeable alchemy apprentice right now whether this thing is extremely heat-resistant and stable."

Rhodes calmly stood up: "Or, are you willing to miss this opportunity that could give you a monopoly on the low-grade potion market?"

Jack fell silent, weighing his options.

While a book like "Basic Mental Training Methods" is valuable, it is, after all, knowledge that can be replicated.

If these bones can truly solve the problem of potion stability, the resulting profits will be a continuous stream of magic stones.

The stall owner's apprentice was dumbfounded. He realized he might have sold his treasure as junk and was about to ask for a price increase.

Jack whirled around, glaring at him fiercely, toying with the crossbow in his hand. "Five silver coins, I'll take them all. You have a problem with that?"

"No...no objection!" The apprentice turned pale with fright and hurriedly packed up the pile of bones.

Jack tossed five silver coins to the apprentice, then turned and looked at Rhodes with a complicated expression.

"make a deal."

Jack pulled out the tattered parchment book and a yellowed picture book from his pocket and tossed them to Rhodes: "The book is yours, the bones are mine. Also, I'll give you a picture book of level 0 spells as a bonus. If you ever have that kind of eye again, feel free to come find me anytime. The price is negotiable."

Rod took the book and quickly stuffed it into his pocket.

"It's a pleasure working with you."

After saying that, Rhodes didn't linger at all, turning around and disappearing into the dark crowd.

Only after walking quite a distance and being certain that Jack hadn't sent anyone to follow him did Rod stop in an empty alley, lean against the wall, and let out a long sigh.

His back was soaked with cold sweat.

What I just said was nine parts false and one part true.

The bone is indeed incredibly hard and heat-resistant, but whether it can be used as a stabilizer, who knows?

Anyway, by the time Jack discovers that grinding this stuff into powder won't do any good, Rhodes will have already learned meditation techniques and might not even be at the academy anymore.

Moreover, Rhodes did not leave all the treasure to Jack.

He opened his palm.

Hidden inside that thick leather glove was a black bone fragment, no bigger than a fingernail.

During the examination just now, he secretly broke off a small piece of the coracoid bone from the base of the bone while using his body as cover.

To Jack, it was just a useless piece of broken bone.

But for Rhodes, who possessed the "Species Atlas," this fragment containing genetic information was enough.

"Iron-beaked Raven..."

Rhodes gripped the bone fragment in his hand, then pulled his cloak tighter and strode quickly toward the academy.