Wizards begin by accessing the Inspiration panel.

Chapter 210 Flame Flower

"By the way, what was the highest bid just now?" Hawkins asked casually.

The crowd exchanged bewildered glances, and finally, all eyes turned to Alhan.

At this moment, a slightly embarrassed Alehan wiped the fine beads of sweat from his forehead and said, "Minister, since you're here, the auction should naturally be restarted. I believe everyone can understand that."

Hawkins, as the vice president and head of the alchemy department, was Allehan's superior. Allehan always addressed Hawkins as "Minister," which was a way of expressing a sense of intimacy.

Those present were mostly friends of Dessol, and naturally, they wouldn't want to embarrass Dessol's friend, Allehan, at this moment. They all nodded in agreement.

"Yes, Lord Hawkins, now that you're here, the auction must be restarted."

"Yes, we've only just started the auction."

"."

Richard couldn't help but chuckle to himself. It seemed that the wizards weren't incapable of flattery; rather, they simply had almost no one worth flattering.

Hawkins chuckled and shook his head, saying, "The auction rules can't be broken, Allehan. Just tell me, how much did you bid?"

Seeing this, Allehan had no choice but to state his previous offer.

Hawkins was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, seemingly not expecting the price to be higher than he had anticipated.

Just as Alehan was about to say something more.

"I'll offer 150,000 magic stones, plus one... well, since it's a secret-level blueprint, I apologize, everyone. This blueprint belongs to one of the Grey Dwarf Brotherhood's confidential blueprints, so please allow me not to reveal its specific contents or name."

Hawkins glanced around and noticed that there were still two or three non-Grey Dwarf Brotherhood members present, so he said somewhat apologetically.

"Of course, Lord Hawkins, we understand perfectly." The wizards bowed slightly, looking a little nervous.

"Levy, here are the blueprints. Take a look. I believe you'll be pleasantly surprised." Hawkins pulled out a parchment scroll that looked relatively new, bound with a thin black thread of unknown material.

"Lord Hawkins, you're too kind," Richard said humbly, and amidst the envious gazes of the crowd, he accepted the parchment scroll, quickly opened it, and began to examine it closely.

All that came into view was a line of gray dwarven text: "Dual Energy Core Channel Design Blueprints." After reading just a few lines, Richard understood the purpose of the blueprints.

Wow! Hawkins really went all out this time. He's not here to rob us with his second-level archmage strength.

It seems highly likely that it was because of his previous deal with Hawkins that Hawkins knew he was interested in puppetry, so he specifically chose this blueprint.

Moreover, I have never seen this blueprint in the contribution point exchange list before. Judging from the pristine condition of this parchment, it seems to have been written on recently. Could it be that this is a newly developed blueprint?

It seems that the Grey Dwarves have a truly profound foundation in puppetry. As time goes by, instead of dying out like some ancient wizarding traditions, many new ideas and inventions have sprung up like mushrooms after rain.

After a moment's thought, Richard made his decision:

"I am very satisfied with the exchange offered by Lord Hawkins. Um, as Dessol initially stated, as the shareholder, I have the final say. Therefore, I have decided to choose Lord Hawkins as the counterparty for the Beer Merchants' equity transaction."

"At the same time, I would like to thank everyone for their participation!" Richard stood up and bowed slightly to the crowd.

"Congratulations, Lord Hawkins, congratulations, Master Levy."

"Congratulations, Lord Hawkins."

"."

This result was actually expected by everyone. If a second-level archmage couldn't win the bid against a group of first-level wizards, it would become a laughing stock.

Moreover, everyone present knew that Hawkins, Allahn, Dessall, and Levi were all members of the Grey Dwarf Brotherhood.

After acquiring a 30% stake in the new beer brand, Hawkins and Richard had a private chat for a few minutes.

Although everyone present was very curious, no one dared to eavesdrop on the private conversation of a second-level archmage, and in fact, even if they wanted to, it would be impossible to do so.

The difference in strength is obvious.

Soon after, Hawkins hurriedly left, and the salon began to come to an end.

However, as everyone began to leave, Richard called out to Fana, "Ms. Fana, please wait."

Fana, who was initially quite disappointed at failing to acquire the shares, was taken aback when Richard called her name and immediately turned around with a puzzled look on her face.

"Master Li Wei, are you calling me?"

Richard smiled and nodded.

"Ms. Fana, please come with me."

Richard instructed Fingart to stand guard at the door and prevent anyone else from entering, then led Fana to the study in his villa.

Inside the study, besides the usual mahogany desk and matching mahogany armchair, there were several soft, deerskin-like sofas, plus a small coffee table.

Richard gestured slightly, indicating, "Ms. Fana, please have a seat."

"Master Richard, it seems you have something to discuss with me." Fana seemed to realize at this moment that Richard must have something to discuss with her.

Moreover, she vaguely guessed that Richard probably wanted the Fenrir potion she had. This was easy to guess, after all, he was a master potion maker.

but

The shares of the new beer have been auctioned off, and the Cleansing Potion has been improved. If the other party only has magic stones, she will not choose to sell the Fenrir Potion she has!

As a potion that can enhance the concentration of a formal wizard's mental power, it is extremely rare and is usually obtained through barter.

Originally, Fana wouldn't have planned to bring out the new beer if it weren't for the anticipated popularity.

Although Richard noticed that Fana's smile was gradually fading, he didn't think much of it and said with a smile:

"Ms. Fana, I would like to purchase the Fenrir potion you have. As for the price..."

But before Richard could finish speaking, Fana interrupted him, saying:

"Master Levi, although I greatly admire your expertise in pharmacology, please forgive me, I cannot agree to this deal." After saying this, Fana let out a deep sigh of relief.

My straightforwardness, though it might displease Master Li Wei, at least prevented the other party from continuing to ask for more.

Fana's resolute attitude immediately puzzled Richard. After thinking for a moment, he decided to raise his question:

"Ms. Efana, weren't you very keen on getting shares in the new beer brand just now? What, are you changing your mind now?"

"What! Master Li Wei, what did you just say? Shares? You still have shares to sell?" Richard's words immediately left Fana speechless, her eyes wide with disbelief.

"Otherwise what?" Richard said irritably.

Women are so fickle.

"No, no, I think you've misunderstood. Of course I'm willing, I thought..." Fana blushed and quickly waved her hand.

But he stopped halfway through, too embarrassed to continue.

Richard waved his hand and said, "Ten percent shares plus fifty thousand magic stones, is that alright?"

"Ah! Only one percent?" Fana's originally smiling and delicate face immediately fell down again.

"Yes, only 10%. What, you don't want to?" Richard looked at Fana's slightly furrowed brows and hesitant expression, and found it quite amusing.

"Okay! Deal." Fana thought for a moment and made up her mind.

After all, something is better than nothing. If I don't seize this opportunity, I probably won't have another chance.

Fana pulled out an old parchment scroll from her bosom. The scroll appeared to be quite old, slightly yellowed, with rounded corners, likely due to wear and tear from being handled many times.

Although parchment scrolls containing important medicine recipes are usually treated with special magic and potions, they will gradually lose their effectiveness over time.

"Here, this is the recipe for Fenrir potion." Fana handed over the parchment scroll.

Richard took it and opened it to read in front of Fana.

Inside, the text was written in Hebrew, not Akkadian, just as Richard had predicted; this parchment scroll was very old.

Richard glanced at it briefly and knew that there shouldn't be any problem with the recipe.

but

Richard pondered for a moment and asked, "Ms. Fana, although the Dream Spirit Flower and Silver Ginseng in this recipe are relatively rare, I have heard of them. However, I have never heard of the Shadow Grass and Flame Flower before."

Fana giggled, "Master Li Wei, Shadow Grass generally grows in dry and dark environments, and it is not uncommon in dark regions."

"However, the Flame Flower only grows in craters, near lava. Due to the fact that many volcanoes in the Darklands have entered a dormant period in the last hundred years, the Flame Flower has almost disappeared in the wild."

This immediately made Richard frown, but Fana seemed to see Richard's worry and continued:

"Currently, the only place I've heard of where the Flame Flower exists is the Scorched Earth Secret Realm."

"However, there are not many wizards who are capable of entering the Scorched Earth Secret Realm, and even fewer who encounter the Flame Flower and are willing to put it up for auction. Therefore, collecting them all depends on Master Levi's luck."

-

After the salon, Richard resumed his previous almost monotonous life, going to the Grey Dwarf Brotherhood headquarters in the morning to complete his daily production tasks before returning to the alchemy room on the second basement floor of his villa.

Of course, sometimes Richard needs to look up information, so he'll stay a little longer at the Grey Dwarf Brotherhood headquarters.

Richard also learned about the Flame Flower situation, which was basically consistent with what Fana had said: very few Flame Flowers were willing to be sold, and they were often sold at exorbitant prices.

Therefore, it seems virtually impossible to obtain cheap Flameflowers, unless...

Go to the Scorched Earth Secret Realm and gather it yourself!

However, Richard plans to put the matter of the Flame Flower aside for now.

Firstly, collecting other raw materials also takes time. Secondly, he has been focusing his main efforts on the blueprints Hawkins gave him these past two days.

The principles contained in the dual energy channel diagrams deeply impressed Richard.

Over the past few days, Richard has consulted a lot of materials, which has given him a vague idea.

The dual-energy core channel design constructs a more complex conduction system than ordinary energy channels, allowing two superior magic stones to be placed simultaneously as the puppet's energy source.

Simply put, the dual-energy core channel design essentially integrates the energy of the two magic stones into a stronger energy source through a complex energy transmission process.

This made Richard seem to have vaguely grasped a path that might ignite the mixed black dragon blood in his hand, a path that would avoid the core of a third-tier fire creature.

After all, the core of a Tier 3 fire creature is something that Richard can hardly obtain at present.

But if the concept and innovative idea of ​​the dual-energy core channel design can be applied to the second-order flame essence, is it possible to utilize multiple flame essences to achieve the power of the third-order flame biological core?

Two Flame Essences?

Obviously not enough!

At this moment, Richard was making his first attempt in the alchemy room.

Of course, the material wasn't Flame Essence either. As a second-tier material, Flame Essence was extremely expensive, and Richard only had one on hand, so it was impossible for him to use it for such a luxurious experiment.

Richard is currently conducting an energy-gathering experiment with first-order flame crystals.

The 150,000 magic stones that Hawkins gave to Richard in the last transaction of buying shares in the Beer Merchant Guild were mostly used to buy fire crystals, and a small portion was used to continue buying monsters and accumulating energy points after killing them.

In the spacious alchemy room, Richard was bending down, drawing a huge energy channel on the ground. The intricate lines drawn with energy-conducting ink would make even a level three wizard apprentice dizzy instantly.

The principle behind this magic array is almost identical to the design concept of the dual-energy core channel: to gather energy from various points into the center of the magic array through energy channels.

This will achieve the goal of stronger energy and power.

[Host detected practicing an unknown magic array. Do/Do you want to consume energy to gain inspiration for practicing the unknown magic array?]

Richard didn't hesitate to drag the slider to the far right and select "Yes!"

He used up all the energy points he had gained from killing monsters over the past few days, leaving none behind.

With a dizzying sensation, Richard's soul arrived in the dream space, this time in a spacious alchemy hall. In the center of the hall, there was a blurry figure drawing an unknown magic circle.

"boom!"

A powerful explosion occurred within the alchemy hall in the dream.

The experiment has clearly failed!

"This is the 132nd failure, but the result is getting better each time!" Richard thought to himself.

Because it was a dream space, the explosions had no effect on Richard. On the contrary, they made Richard more experienced each time, and with the help of a wealth of inspiration, he continued to improve!

[Beep! Unknown spell array attempt successful. Please name it, host?]

"First-tier Crystal Aggregation Magic Array!"

After a dizzying spin, Richard's soul returned to his body.

Although he spent all his energy points again, he successfully created the magic array he wanted.

Richard's upturned lips revealed his inner joy.

The first-tier crystal aggregation magic array's main effect is to gather energy from multiple second-tier crystals to achieve the effect of a higher-tier crystal.

According to Richard's calculations, as long as six flame crystals are placed at all six points in the first-order crystal aggregation magic array, the energy reaction in the core area will be very close to the energy fluctuation of the second-order flame essence after the magic array is successfully activated.

Of course, it's not that Richard didn't want to add more witchcraft array points, but if he did, the energy intensity flowing through them would be too high, causing energy turbulence.

Even with a wealth of inspiration, Richard cannot solve this problem for the time being.

This may be related to Richard's insufficient knowledge in the relevant area; Richard still needs to continuously accumulate relevant knowledge.

Of course, if you force it with millions of energy points, it should be possible.

But clearly, this is not worthwhile.

Most importantly, Richard didn't have that many energy points.

However, at least one thing has been proven so far: Richard's approach is feasible.

In other words, as Richard continues to improve this first-order crystal aggregation magic array, he can gather the energy of dozens or even nearly a hundred first-order flame crystals together, thereby achieving the effect of a third-order flame heart.

At that time, it will surely be able to successfully ignite the mixed black dragon blood in Richard's hand!

"The Flame Flower has produced a large number of Flame Crystals. It seems I'll have to make a trip to the Scorched Earth Secret Realm," Richard mused to himself.

The number of Flame Crystals I need is too large. If I buy them all with Magic Stones, the amount of Magic Stones I need will be astronomical. If I want to buy them by accumulating the dividends from the new beer, it will probably take hundreds of years!

In addition, Flameflower, one of the main raw materials for Fenrir potion, is now only found in small quantities in the Scorched Earth Secret Realm, and is currently available but not for sale.

Therefore, from any perspective, it is necessary for me to take a trip to the Scorched Earth Secret Realm.

(End of this chapter)