"You, you, you... what did you say!"
Richard could feel his voice trembling. This was not just a fragment of a precursor's instrument; it was a genuine piece of individual combat armor equipped by the precursors for their servant army.
In the hands of other Wizards, this could even serve as a legacy, studied by generations of Wizards. But in Richard's hands, he could extract all the technology from it using the Miracle Furnace.
Although he might not fully understand all the technologies, having unspendable gold sitting at home as decoration was still a joy.
But now... it was all gone!
Richard took a deep breath and began to inquire about the circumstances from World Mushroom. Upon learning that the armor would self-destruct as soon as it was thrown in, Richard was momentarily stunned and let out a deep sigh.
It seemed that precursor items were not so easy to capture.
Even though he had nearly destroyed the various structures within the armor using Alchemy, it could still withstand self-destruction.
Calming himself, Richard began to check the individual combat armor with a heavy heart.
Although World Mushroom had absorbed a significant portion of the self-destruction, the remaining power still turned the armor's operator into a mixture of flesh and bone, and caused further damage to the already chaotic internal structure that Richard had created.
Using Dragon Alchemy, Richard disassembled the armor, separating the components that could trigger the Miracle Furnace from the scrap parts.
During the disassembly, the mixture of Fire Lizard's flesh and bone flowed out from the cracks in the armor, making Richard lament the loss of a good specimen.
The Fire Lizard was a species destined for extinction, and a specimen of a third-level Fire Lizard would be impossible to find in the future.
The fungal tendrils absorbed the flesh and bone mixture as nutrients; World Mushroom was always welcoming to nutrients.
The assembly of the armor took Richard a month. During the process, he unexpectedly discovered that the damage he had inflicted on the armor's structure to capture the Sacred Guard had actually reduced the power of the self-destruction.
Some components of the armor remained undamaged and even retained their complete structure.
This result delighted Richard.
After completing the disassembly, Richard successfully extracted a pile of metal scraps. Aside from their excellent material, the Tree-pattern Diagrams on them were completely destroyed.
But even as scrap, Richard planned to use these materials to create something like an alchemical golem shell.
The scraps from the precursor civilization were treasures for Richard.
Aside from the scraps, what remained were components related to precursor technology.
There were two components in the armor that still had refining functions: one was the arc chainsaw sword disassembled from the left arm of the armor.
[Material: Arc Chainsaw Sword]
[Refinable Information: Chainsaw Sword Design Diagram]
[Refining Cost: 70 Mental Power]
This item had impressive armor-piercing capabilities against both physical and energy defenses. Even the Third Circle Wizard Magic Barrier could not withstand its continuous attacks.
However, the cost was that this item consumed an enormous amount of energy.
Richard attempted to activate the chainsaw sword with magic power, only to find that all the magic power of a second-circle Wizard could only sustain its use for thirty seconds.
Such energy consumption was truly alarming.
In addition to the chainsaw sword, there was another usable component: the shield generator. Its original position seemed to be next to the power furnace, but due to Richard's destruction, this shield generator was blocked by many twisted components, leaving some of its functions still operational.
[Material: Damaged Shield Generator]
[Refinable Information: Shield Generator Design Diagram (Moderately Damaged)]
[Refining Cost: 200 Mental Power]
Moreover, it was a significant energy consumer; Richard could only afford to activate it for two seconds by overextending his magic power.
Aside from these two components, Richard also found a piece of armor plate on the outer layer of the armor that was clearly a repair made by later generations.
On this armor plate, Richard discovered the manufacturing technology for the armor plate material.
[Material: Unknown Armor Plate]
[Refinable Information: Special Steel Manufacturing]
[Refining Cost: 50 Mental Power]
[Refinable Information: Dragon Alchemy Tree-pattern Diagram]
[Refining Cost: 20 Mental Power]
[Refinable Technique: Dragon Alchemy (Incomplete)]
[Refining Cost: 20 Mental Power]
Looking at the benefits this armor brought him, Richard's pain over its destruction was suppressed.
Although he did not obtain the power furnace and central control chip he wanted, the information from these components was still quite good. Judging by the refining cost of the shield generator, if he were to truly obtain a power furnace, he might not even be able to afford the refining cost.
Richard entrusted the shield generator to World Mushroom for safekeeping and then began to refine the information he could extract.
Richard picked up the arc chainsaw sword and silently chanted the refining incantation.
In the next moment, the familiar feeling of a heavy hammer striking his head from his days as a Wizard apprentice returned. As his mental power flowed away, Richard received a very detailed design diagram.
This design diagram involved many aspects, such as the manufacturing process of materials, various data standards, and the construction of the Tree-pattern Diagram on the materials, among other important information.
With this information, given enough materials, Richard could use Dragon Alchemy to assemble a chainsaw sword.
After meditating for a while, Richard began refining again.
This time, it was the manufacturing of special steel.
"Refine."
This time, the weight of the hammer felt much lighter, and Richard even had the energy to continue refining the Dragon Alchemy technique and the Dragon Alchemy Tree-pattern Diagram.
The effect of the Tree-pattern Diagram was quite simple; it was similar to a Wizard's defensive enchantment.
However, when combined with the powerful metal produced by Dragon Alchemy, it would significantly enhance the armor plate's resistance.
A fireball of five thousand energy levels from a fire Wizard left no trace on the armor plate. While this was not solely due to the armor plate, it could still account for sixty percent of the effect.
After the Tree-pattern Diagram came the Dragon Alchemy technique. The Alchemy skills of the unknown repairman from countless years ago were nothing short of miraculous; even his incomplete skills left Richard in awe.
With the integration of his skills, Richard's Dragon Alchemy technique instantly reached a new height. In terms of proficiency and mastery of techniques, Richard's Dragon Alchemy even surpassed Wizard Alchemy.
As the Dragon Alchemy technique was refined, Richard lay on the ground, quietly gazing at the sky of the Secret Realm.
In his mind, the information extracted from the armor components swirled continuously, with the knowledge of the precursors colliding with that of the Wizards.
A wave of satisfaction surged in his heart.
Soon, Richard stood up and approached the pile of scrap.
The materials of this scrap were all excellent, but the Tree-pattern Diagrams on them were ruined. Now that Richard had obtained the Tree-pattern Diagram, it was just right to practice with these scraps.
Richard picked up a piece of scrap, and the power of Alchemy wrapped around his spirit as he entered it.
Under Richard's skilled technique, the scrap began to rapidly deform, and golden patterns started to spread and grow across its surface.
Before long, the scrap transformed into a neatly shaped armor plate. The intricate Tree-pattern Diagram appeared dense and intricate, shining with a golden glow under the light. Anyone unfamiliar with these patterns would likely think they were some kind of extremely luxurious decorative designs.
After tossing the armor plate aside, Richard sat down on the ground.
The engraving of the Tree-pattern Diagram consumed more mental power than Richard had anticipated; a palm-sized armor plate nearly drained all of his remaining mental power. Moreover, unlike Dragon Alchemy, once the Tree-pattern Diagram began, it could not be stopped, which was somewhat similar to certain processes in Wizard crafting of Magic Equipment.
After meditating for a while to recover some mental power, Richard picked up the armor plate. Using his magical hand, he levitated the armor plate in the air and casually summoned two Hearts of Annihilation to throw at it.
Buzz! The spherical black hole created by the Hearts of Annihilation instantly engulfed the armor plate.
When the black hole disappeared, the armor plate fell to the ground. Richard approached to check the situation and found that the armor plate was completely undamaged, but when he reached out to touch it, he discovered it was radiating a terrifying heat.
He then conducted several tests, examining the armor plate's performance against blunt impacts, shockwaves, and low-temperature environments.
With the enhancement of the Tree-pattern Diagram, the armor plate exhibited astonishing resistance to elemental attacks; a two-thousand energy-level Heart of Annihilation had no effect on the armor plate. However, when faced with blunt impacts, the armor plate's performance was less than satisfactory.
The armor plate did not possess energy-absorbing capabilities, and its material was not particularly hard; blunt damage exceeding one thousand energy levels could cause the armor plate to deform, thereby affecting the effectiveness of the Tree-pattern Diagram.
Richard speculated that in the original armor, these plates must have had other similar "enchantment" methods. Those methods could reduce the impact force on the armor plate.
Of course, it was also possible that the Tree-pattern Diagram on the original armor was not the same as the one Richard had obtained.
After all, Richard had acquired the Tree-pattern Diagram from a plate repaired by later generations. Given the current craftsmanship of the Fire Lizard, it was likely that their technology had been continuously degrading over the long years.
Using a lesser Tree-pattern Diagram for repairs was quite normal.
After all, these Fire Lizards had long since lost the ability to activate shields.
After testing the armor plate, Richard engaged in deep meditation to fully restore his mental power.
Then he left the Secret Realm, heading towards the area controlled by the Wizards from the sea of magma.
...
"Master, Barashar is becoming increasingly suspicious of me."
In the basement of the Linksa Eye office, Toin stood humbly before a Wizard who was much shorter than himself.
The Wizard's body was emitting chaotic magical fluctuations, which was nearly impossible for a Third Circle Wizard—unless he was severely injured.
Theodore looked at the despicable Fire Lizard before him and said irritably, "I understand. Go apply for a transfer order; we need to leave this cursed place."
Upon hearing this, Toin was about to leave when suddenly, Theodore called him back.
"What happened to your head?"
On Toin's forehead, there was a small, newly formed scale.
Toin paused, turning around with a fearful expression, "Reporting to Master, I bumped into something while working."
"Does a second-level Fire Lizard's scale come off that easily?"
"I bumped into a curved knife; we were playing dress-up, and Billy was dressed as a palace guard."
"...Fine, you can go now."
After exiting the basement, Toin touched the new scale on his forehead.
Under that scale, there had once been a nail that could temporarily block the control of the soul seed.
"Finally, I can leave this place."
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