Wizards begin by accessing the Inspiration panel.

Chapter 204 Deceiving the Heavens

"I'm afraid that won't work. The advanced control core is a top secret of the Grey Dwarf Empire, and the source of all the advanced control cores in our Brotherhood comes from the imperial family."

"According to the agreement, we cannot sell to non-Grey Dwarf races, and even internal circulation requires strict review and control. So, Li Wei, I'm very sorry, but I may not be able to agree to this."

Hawkins said with a sincere expression.

Richard nodded, indicating his understanding.

He himself had anticipated this.

When he found information about the advanced control core in the data room, he was initially very interested and even went to the front desk to check the contribution points and qualifications required for the exchange.

Sure enough, the requirements were exceptionally strict!

Besides the easiest-to-achieve 10,000 contribution points, you also need to have the Grey Dwarf Brotherhood's Adamantite-level treatment. In addition, there is a special note that it is only for internal trading within the Grey Dwarf race.

In other words, mixed-race individuals are not allowed, such as the offspring of gray dwarves and other races, let alone pure-blooded humans like Richard.

Since he already knew that the other party would most likely not agree, was Richard deliberately proposing to play a trick on them?

of course not.

This can be explained from the perspective of past life psychology. When the other party rejects your higher request the first time, they will be more likely to agree to your second, lower request.

Therefore, in the previous life, this was often used as a negotiation technique.

In other words, if Richard were to propose a slightly lower condition than before, Hawkins would be much more likely to accept it.

"Vice President Hawkins, I understand your difficulties. The method for creating the advanced control core is not in the hands of the Grey Dwarf Brotherhood, but in the hands of the Grey Dwarf Empire royal family."

"Furthermore, the Imperial Royal Family believes that the Advanced Control Core is crucial to the safety of the Grey Dwarves' Empire and therefore limits its circulation to a small area, which I can understand," Richard said sincerely.

Richard's words were delivered with perfect expression and tone.

Anyone who hears this can't help but sigh in admiration; the young man is sincere, genuine, and understanding.

Hawkins's goodwill towards the young human alchemist before him immediately increased, and he wore an expression of great satisfaction.

Reasonable people tend to have better interpersonal relationships, don't they?

After a moment's hesitation, Richard glanced at Hawkins' micro-expression and, feeling reassured, continued:

"If that's the case, could I exchange for a few blueprints related to puppetry? To be honest, I'm very interested in puppetry, especially the manufacturing principles of some advanced combat puppets, such as blueprints for arcane puppets, giant war golems, bloodbone puppets, and so on."

"As you know, these blueprints require a fine gold grade to exchange for, but I'm only a mithril grade," Richard said with a rather regretful expression.

"Haha, Levi, you've really given me a tough challenge!" Hawkins laughed heartily, clearly pleased with the conditions Levi had proposed, as they were significantly lower this time.

At the same time, Hawkins' brain also began to rapidly weigh the options.

Although the blueprints that "Li Wei" just mentioned were rare and powerful high-level combat puppet blueprints, and could only be exchanged for at the adamantite level, none of the above would be a problem if I agreed, since I, as the vice president, still have that kind of authority.

Although the Arcane Golem blueprints are top secret, the method for making the Arcane Core has been lost for thousands of years. If an advanced control core is used instead, the combat power will immediately drop from a second-tier golem to a top-tier first-tier golem.

If a mid-level control core is used instead, the combat power will be even worse, dropping directly to the level of a high-level first-tier puppet, and its strength will not be much different from some improved or equipped obsidian combat puppets.

Moreover, the various body parts of the Arcane Golem are extremely expensive to manufacture, with the total price even exceeding that of the Giant War Golem.

Therefore, to my recollection, it has been a long time since any puppeteer has exchanged for and crafted this advanced combat puppet.

After all, an arcane golem without an arcane core is merely a stripped-down version of an arcane golem, making it far less cost-effective.

So, as Li Wei just said, his purpose in exchanging them was simply to learn puppetry.

From this perspective, if Li Wei can sign a confidentiality agreement, it's not a big problem, and I can make the decision myself.

then

As for the giant war golem, it is completely impossible to drive it without an advanced control core, so Levi can only learn about its principles.

It doesn't seem like a big problem.

Finally, there's the Bloodbone Golem!

Huh? A Bloodbone Puppet? I don't seem to recognize the blueprints for this puppet!

Although I vaguely remember hearing this name a long time ago, I just can't recall it.

Hawkins frowned, unable to recall what this blood-bone puppet was at all.

"Ahem, Li Wei, please try the green tea first. I need to find out more about the situation, so please wait a moment." Hawkins smiled and gently tapped a delicate bell on the coffee table with his right hand.

A moment later, the old grey dwarf nobleman whom Richard had seen in the corridor entered and respectfully said, "Lord Hawkins, what are your orders?"

"Frezz, get me a copy of the data on the Bloodbone Golem, and hurry up."

"Yes, sir Hawkins."

Richard immediately understood what was going on and couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

The fact that the second-level archmage before him, Lord Hawkins, the vice president of the Grey Dwarf Brotherhood, had forgotten what a Bloodbone Golem was shows how little importance the Bloodbone Golem's blueprints were placed on it within the Grey Dwarf Brotherhood.

From this perspective, the likelihood of the other party agreeing has greatly increased.

The two chatted idly for a while, and soon, an elderly gray dwarf nobleman named Fritz came in carrying a stack of ancient sheepskin scrolls.

Richard didn't have to wait long. Hawkins glanced at it briefly, seemingly checking the level of secrecy and exchange conditions, and quickly said:

"Li Wei, if you can sign a confidentiality agreement, in principle, I agree to exchange three top-secret blueprints for the Arcane Golem, the Giant War Golem, and the Bloodbone Golem for your Alchemy Combo Bomb recipe. In addition, I will also give you a copy of the Intermediate Puppetry skill."

This immediately delighted Richard.

"Vice President Hawkins, thank you so much for your generosity!" Richard said with a broad smile.

To be honest, he thought the other party would cut one or two more sets of drawings.

He had even prepared himself to add more chips, but he never expected Hawkins to give him such a surprise.

The other party even gave him an extra intermediate level of puppetry knowledge as a bonus. You should know that the exchange price of this item is 500 contribution points, which saves Richard almost two months' worth of work wages.

But Hawkins didn't think so at all.

He greatly admired the young man's sense of responsibility and consideration for the bigger picture.

He knew very well that the blueprints chosen by the other party were extremely difficult to produce. Even alchemy masters in the puppetry branch would need to put in years of hard work to master the crafting techniques for any one of them.

Furthermore, since Levi is not a Grey Dwarf, even if he mastered it, he wouldn't be able to purchase a high-level control core.

Therefore, these things can only be used for learning purposes!

As for the Bloodbone Golem blueprints? He had just quickly glanced at them. These blueprints had been kept in the Grey Dwarf Brotherhood's archives for nearly a thousand years, but almost no one had chosen to exchange for them in the last hundred years.

Even he, the vice president, was unaware that there was such a top-secret, yet unknown, puppet-making blueprint in the database.

The reason is that the puppeteers who had previously exchanged for these blood bone puppets had almost never successfully created them.

The last successful one seems to have been over a thousand years ago!

So it's a miracle that this thing didn't disappear into the annals of history and was actually preserved; it's even more remarkable that young people are still willing to look at it.

Thinking of this, Hawkins glanced at Richard with a slightly apologetic expression and said:

"Li Wei, I greatly admire your eagerness to learn. I think I understand why you were able to obtain the title of Alchemy Master at such a young age. However, Li Wei, I still hope you will carefully consider your choice."

"The advanced combat puppet blueprints you chose are not actually that practical, especially the Bloodbone Puppet blueprint. As far as I know, no puppeteer in the guild has been able to successfully create it."

Richard was taken aback. He had never expected Hawkins to be so frank, and to give him a chance to back out.

"Thank you for your concern, Vice President Hawkins, but learning about the unknown is delightful, isn't it? If possible, I will stick to my own choice." Richard's eyes revealed his longing and thirst for knowledge.

"Hahaha, Li Wei, I find myself liking you more and more!" Hawkins laughed heartily.

"Oh, right, Fritz, go and get my treasured 1962 Godot. I want to have a drink with Master Levi," Hawkins said, turning to the grey dwarf nobleman beside him.

"Yes, Lord Hawkins." The gray dwarf nobleman smiled as he watched the scene unfold, thinking to himself that it had been a long time since he had seen Lord Hawkins so happy.

Upon hearing Hawkins' words, Richard's eyes lit up. He hadn't expected that the second-level archmage in front of him would also enjoy collecting fine wines.

It's worth noting that the 1962 Godot was a rare find, with only two or three bottles in the collection of the drunkard Dessall. As the saying goes, "one is influenced by one's company," and Richard, having been influenced by Dessall for a long time, was quite knowledgeable about the famous wines of the Grey Dwarfs.

If their new rye beer could earn the praise of the powerful Lord Hawkins, wouldn't they be able to quickly penetrate the high-end market in Tug City? The sales...tsk tsk!

"Lord Hawkins, speaking of fine wine, I had an idea for Dessault a few days ago. Once we successfully brew it in a few days, I hope you will..."

One hour later.

Richard, his face flushed, held a crystal ball containing a copy of the Bloodbone Golem's blueprints. Behind him were four burly grey dwarf servants carrying a huge wooden crate as they walked back to his villa. He was in a very good mood.

He himself did not expect that it would be so easy to obtain the blueprints for the Blood Bone Puppet.

However, Hawkins, the second-level Grand Wizard of the Grey Dwarves, was absolutely right: none of the puppeteers in the Grey Dwarf Brotherhood were able to successfully create a Bloodbone Golem.

What they didn't know was that the key was that this wasn't a puppetry blueprint in the traditional sense for grey dwarves. The bloodbone golem didn't actually have a control core; it relied on necromancy to imbue it with power.

If a puppeteer does not know necromancy or the Bone Demon Reincarnation Ritual, then he will never be able to successfully create a Blood Bone Puppet.

Unfortunately, this point is not explained in detail in the Bloodbone Golem manufacturing blueprints; it is only mentioned briefly.

Richard didn't know whether the designer of the blueprints deliberately concealed it or something else.

Therefore, many puppeteers painstakingly inscribed intricate magic arrays on complete skeletons, and drew energy channels on the spine and inside the ribs of the skeletons.

Even after the energy core was installed, they still couldn't control the Blood Bone Puppet!

In short, it's because they're going in the wrong direction; they're completely going in the opposite direction!

As soon as Richard entered the villa and dismissed the gray dwarf servants who were carrying the huge wooden crates, a smile spread across his face without any attempt to hide it.

At that moment, a fragrant breeze wafted over.

Just now, Stephania saw Richard's smiling face from afar, so she greeted him with a sweet smile and said, "Master, what is it that makes you so happy? I haven't seen you smile so happily in a long time."

Happy things should be shared. That way, the happiness is doubled!

So, after Richard explained the whole story, Stephanie laughed so hard she almost fell over.

She and Richard were once members of the Ignis School, one of the three major necromancer academies, so they had naturally heard of some long-lost necromancy, recipes, or arcane arts.

The Blood Bone Puppet is one of them.

She never expected that her master, Richard, could so easily achieve his goal right under the nose of a second-level archmage, and incidentally, he also gained the favor of Hawkins, the vice president of the Grey Dwarf Brotherhood.

The owner is becoming more and more mature.

It turned out that Richard and Hawkins had become more familiar with each other after a few drinks in Hawkins' office, and Hawkins even offered to ask Richard if there was anything else he could help with.

Richard casually remarked, "If it's convenient, it would be best if you could gift me a skeleton to use with the Blood Bone Puppet blueprints for research."

Unexpectedly, Hawkins was very accommodating and gifted Richard a rare ogre skeleton, and even had Fritz arrange for someone to send the skeleton back to Richard.

Richard glanced at her casually and noticed that Stephanie seemed to be getting prettier and prettier.

Female night elves, blessed with the bloodline of high-ranking spider women, already possess a significant advantage in appearance, making them highly alluring to human men.

Moreover, Stephanie's strength is currently close to the limit of a third-level wizard apprentice. If it weren't for the damage to her soul caused by two spirit reincarnations, she might have already entered the level of a formal wizard.

After all, the body of a high-level spider woman is already at the level of a formal wizard. As long as Stephana's mental strength meets the standard, there is no threshold for advancement.

Of course, the reason why Stephanie was able to improve so quickly was partly due to the ample supply of various mental power enhancement potions she had, and partly due to the extremely high concentration of Spider Woman bloodline in her body.

It seems that the higher the concentration of blood essence, the more beautiful one's appearance.

Judging solely from appearance, the original owner of Stephana's body, Fritty, was even better than Stephana's previous body, which belonged to the high-ranking spider woman Shadra!

Especially now, Stephena is looking at him with an expression of adoration!

Those large, beautiful eyes, sparkling with light, and those rosy lips, opening and closing, sent a slight shiver through Richard's heart.

Like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, creating ripples.

At that moment, he suddenly remembered something Stephania had once said: her new body seemed to have never been "used" before.

Just as the atmosphere between the two was turning somewhat pink.

"Knock knock knock!"

A knock came at the door.

The merman prophet Gorkan's voice came from outside the door: "Master, Gorkan reports to you."

This interruption made Stephanie quite unhappy; she had already pouted, but...

snort!!

Gorkan!

Richard was startled, realizing he had been lost in thought and hadn't even noticed Gorkan arriving at the room door.

This would be absolutely impossible under normal circumstances. Richard glanced at Stephena, then awkwardly touched his nose and said:

"Come in!"

Gorkan entered the room and bowed slightly, saying:

"Master! Miss Stephana!"

He knew that Miss Stephana, who always wore a hood or veil, was mysterious, but was the master's most trusted person.

Therefore, Gorkan did not avoid Stephena and said directly:

"Master, the investigation has yielded some results, but there's still no concrete evidence."

"Oh, please tell me more about it."

Richard raised an eyebrow, quite interested, and turned to sit down in a large, soft leather chair, intending to listen carefully to the findings of Gorkan's investigation.

Since the enemy had wiped out the entire Tokar Lake fishman tribe in Gorkan, Richard had raised their danger level to the point where they needed to be monitored at all times.

(End of this chapter)