Chapter 99: The Alchemy Workshop

"Alchemist!"

Hussein watched his granddaughter run off and let out a cold snort.

Those who pioneer professions know full well how difficult it is—he of all people understood this from personal experience. It had taken him ten years to deduce the [War Mage] profession, and he'd nearly sunk the entire foundation of his legion into it, only just managing to get it into shape. The last purge of evil contamination had nearly destroyed the whole thing. As for what that boy Boen was scheming, did Hussein not know perfectly well? Playing the old trick of borrowing a hen to lay eggs—he was slick about it, sure. But did he think Hussein's favors came so cheaply? Hmph!

Hussein shot a glance at the count standing nearby, inwardly cursing that this whole family was absolutely rotten through and through.

...

The newly built edifice of the Lehman Chamber of Commerce had been completely transformed. Against the surrounding low brick-and-stone walls, the entire domed exterior was now clad in enormous deep-red ceramic tiles, its windows fitted with nearly transparent crystal glass, and even the ground was paved with ink-striped marble.

After days of round-the-clock work, the exterior decoration was essentially complete, and the Alchemy Workshop had finally become, just as Boen had envisioned, the landmark building of Sevinton.

The location had already been prominent before; now it wasn't just prominent—it was luminous.

Luminous in the literal sense of the word!

The entire Alchemy Workshop gleamed and glittered under the sunlight.

Ordinary commoners still lived in wooden cabins; the slightly better-off wealthy families had houses of blue stone, at most daubed with mud.

Against the stark contrast of the surroundings, the Lehman Chamber of Commerce's Alchemy Workshop was the very epitome of extravagance, like the abode of a deity. Some commoners even knelt in prayer toward the workshop's direction, offering supplications to the Lord of Radiance.

Gazing at the thoroughly modern architecture, Boen nodded with satisfaction. Though the deep-red walls did look a bit tacky, there was no helping it—alchemy produced exactly that color; otherwise, it would be white and black...

The four Lehman apprentices had just finished learning the alchemical technique of rune engraving, and there was no doubt they should strike while the iron was hot. So aside from their study of magical theory, Boen assigned them an additional homework task: hands-on alchemical practice.

But letting them train directly on real materials? Boen definitely couldn't afford that. Fortunately, he happened to know of a plot of clay soil.

Originally he'd wanted to produce some porcelain, but that was still too difficult for them, so he had to settle for the next best thing—which resulted in the ceramic tiles. But since they'd been made anyway, Boen set limits on their thickness and size, then had them stuck directly onto the walls to avoid waste!

Using the alchemy table to synthesize directly, there wasn't even a need for kiln-firing. It was somewhat labor-intensive, but at least it didn't pollute the environment.

What's more, the large crowd at the Chamber of Commerce had nothing better to do. Constantly ordered around by Boen, they'd picked up a bit of everything by now—they'd even built the Alchemy Workshop themselves. Sticking a few tiles on the wall was child's play.

This wasn't Lisper's first time seeing the Lehman Chamber of Commerce's new headquarters, but she was still taken aback by the sight before her. Fortunately, having been shocked by Boen so often lately, she was nearly immune and didn't let a surprised expression slip.

Seeing the "same kind" older sister again, Blake and Lilith were overjoyed.

After all, the two little ones were still young. Though they'd grown taller now, that was merely a side effect of their bloodline awakening—their actual age and mental maturity were nowhere near grown.

The fact that they'd managed to keep up with Boen's pace of study through this period was already quite impressive. As a reward, Boen gave them half a day off!

Habolwick, watching from the side, was nearly moved to tears. He suddenly felt a pang of nostalgia for his old days in the outer black market. Boen suddenly turned his head and glanced at the ranger, startling Habolwick into immediately lowering his head and focusing back on the alchemical blueprint in his hands.

It was an alchemical formula for glass composition—he had to produce transparent crystal ten centimeters thick, and by evening he'd need to present the finished product to Boen for inspection. Habolwick was on the verge of losing his mind.

Life is too hard...

"Lehman, have everyone in the main hall leave first."

Boen gave the order.

"Understood!"

Lehman began clearing the place.

Soon, Boen was the only one left in the main hall.

A faint luminescence suffused Boen's body as he easily lifted the 'Mana Storage Device' weighing three or four hundred jin.

As the core of the entire Arcane Garden, the 'Mana Storage Device' was placed at the very center of the Alchemy Workshop.

With a series of clicks from the mechanism, the device locked into its base.

Boen pressed his single hand upon it, and the familiar mechanical voice echoed in his mind.

"Beep! External connection device detected. Connect?"

"Connect. Display interface and initiate projection."

As his own mana linked with the storage device, Boen instantly felt as though the entire Alchemy Workshop was under his control—a sensation akin to a domain.

A simple operation interface appeared in his field of vision.

The 'Mana Storage Device' itself was modeled after the elemental pool of a mage tower, and the tower master naturally possessed all authority within the tower.

Though its functions weren't as comprehensive as a true mage tower's, if an emergency arose, Boen could temporarily borrow the mana stored in the 'Mana Storage Device'—though the consequence would be the device going completely kaput on the spot!

As Boen operated, the enormous magic circle beneath his feet pulsed with a pale blue light. Even without meditating, he could clearly sense the surrounding mana elements rapidly converging toward the device before him.

The commotion at the Lehman Chamber of Commerce had long since drawn the attention of nearby onlookers—many of whom were spies and informants from various factions. In no time at all, reports on the Lehman Chamber of Commerce's activities were placed on the desks of every major power.

---

Boen paid no heed to the outside world's reactions, instructing the chip to record the data.

As mana slowly gathered, Boen took out several vials of holy water and poured them into the 'Mana Storage Device.'

Amanata, the Lord of Radiance, represented the sun, and the divine power contained in His holy water helped magical plants grow.

As Boen slowly infused his mana, the space shifted. A vast torrent of data cascaded before his eyes, and the 'Space Expansion Spell Formula' etched into the surrounding walls emitted a faint white glow.

For a moment, Boen felt as though he had grown much smaller.

"S-succeeded?!"

Boen was overjoyed. Following the chip's scan, the space—originally nearly five thousand square meters—had expanded to over twenty thousand.

Boen glanced at the gauge; there was just a sliver of mana left. He quickly injected a bit more. The initial expansion consumed a massive amount of mana, but maintaining the space afterward didn't require nearly as much.

Whew!

Boen let out a slight sigh of relief, though a trace of lingering fear remained. Such large-scale magic arrays were extremely difficult to control without high-tier strength. If not for his exceptional spatial talent, he might have botched it completely today!

Had it been the old mechanical chip, that massive flood of data from just now would have burned it out on the spot!

But because of the changes in the 'Space Expansion Spell Formula,' the bio-chip had recorded an enormous amount of spatial data, and the fifth-circle arcane spell Boen had been anticipating for so long was finally deduced!

Boen suppressed the restless excitement churning in his heart. Though his mana hadn't been consumed much, his mental energy had been drained tremendously. This kind of space expansion spell formula wasn't something someone of his current rank should be able to touch at all.

Such spell formulas were considered profound, advanced knowledge even among high-tier practitioners.

Whether it was advancing to a level-10 Arcanist or casting the new arcane spell, he had to do it at his peak condition—and then truly attune himself to the Weave!

...

(This is the key plot from here on—I need to think carefully about how to write it. The protagonist is about to step onto the front stage!)