Wizard, I Have Another World – Chapter 142

Chapter 142: Refining Runes

On the way back, Wizard Bern’s expression was complex as he sighed softly:

“The beast tide hasn’t completely receded, and there are still many dangers lurking near the market. Can’t we take a break?”

“What is it?” Karl turned his head to look:

“Does Wizard Bern also think the Andrew Family is behind this?”

“……No.” Wizard Bern gave an awkward smile:

“The four major families have formed an alliance and made oaths. They can’t attack each other, or they’ll suffer a backlash.”

“So it definitely wasn’t the Andrew Family.”

His words were somewhat insincere.

Karl smiled. The alliances between wizards did indeed have strong binding power, but the Andrew Family wouldn’t be foolish enough to act directly.

Using someone else’s hand could achieve the same goal.

“Let’s not talk about these vexing matters.” Waving his hand, Karl said:

“The Bordeaux Restaurant is reopening today. I heard they’ve prepared many exquisite dishes and have discounts. I’ll treat you to try them.”

“Oh!” Wizard Bern’s eyes lit up. He wasn’t very interested in other things, but he was particular about food and drink:

“Then I won’t be polite.”

“Haha…” Karl laughed:

“We’re neighbors. We’ll be bothering each other often in the future, so there’s no need to be so polite. Besides, I’ve just become a wizard, and there are many things I don’t understand. I’d like to ask Wizard Bern for guidance.”

“Easy, easy,” Wizard Bern said with a smile:

“Being able to communicate with Wizard Karl is also very beneficial for me, especially in terms of refining potions…”

“I’m also very interested in runes…”

“Wizard Karl wants to refine runes? That’s not easy. It will delay your cultivation. I only started trying to refine runes after my cultivation stopped improving.”

“Knowledge is never too much.”

“That’s true.”

Runes.

A technology that replicates wizardry onto specific materials, allowing wizard apprentices to activate first-circle spells.

For wizards, runes were dispensable.

Firstly.

The power of a first-circle spell activated by a rune was usually not as strong as a wizard casting it themselves, making it a losing proposition in combat.

Secondly.

They were too wasteful.

After all, even the cheapest rune cost twenty or thirty magic stones, which was equivalent to a month’s worth of hard work.

Very few wizards refined runes.

The reasons were nothing more than the following.

Troublesome!

Refining a rune took more than a month for the slow ones, and there was still the possibility of failure. Even the fast ones took seven or eight days.

It was a complex and tedious process.

Not profitable!

The materials for runes weren’t cheap, and with all the effort and time involved, the money they sold for wasn’t much.

Working for others or hunting magical creatures earned more magic stones, making it a losing proposition for wizards.

Delayed cultivation!

Although refining runes could increase control over wizardry, it didn’t benefit cultivation.

On the contrary, it wasted time and delayed cultivation.

Therefore, it was usually wizards who saw no future who would refine runes, either to protect their descendants or to sell.

There were many wizards in the market who could refine runes, but not many relied on it to make a living.

“Runes, potions, rune crafting, puppetry…”

“These techniques are all good. They are all worth a lifetime of study for a wizard, but they don’t increase cultivation.”

After a few bottles of wine, Wizard Bern also relaxed his restraint and said drunkenly:

“If you spend ten days or half a month refining a rune, even someone like me can earn some magic stones, but it wastes cultivation time. It’s not worth it for a wizard with real potential.”

“Karl…”

“You’re still young, and you’re a wizard from the Six Rings Tower. Your future achievements will definitely surpass mine, so don’t waste too much time on this. It will ruin your future.”

“Yes,” Karl nodded, his eyes thoughtful:

“Wizard Bern is right.”

After eating and drinking their fill, the two returned to the shop, smelling of alcohol, as the sky had completely darkened.

A few more days passed.

A message came from the tower.

The Baker Family announced their withdrawal from the management team of the Leipzig Market.

As compensation, they received several storefronts and a mine that originally belonged to the Capet Family.

Karl wasn’t surprised by this news. The people who were killed outside the market on the day of the ceremony were all core members of the Baker Family.

Their deaths were undoubtedly a heavy blow to the family.

Among the three major families, the Baker Family had the weakest foundation, with only four formal wizards, making it difficult to convince others.

Withdrawing now was a wise move.

He wondered what the other families would think of this action?

Putting away the message, Karl picked up a broken rune that was placed on the table, examining it closely.

He had obtained this from Wizard Bern. Because it was a defective product, it couldn’t be sold for much.

The wizardry replicated inside was a well-known fire-type first-circle spell—Chain Fireball.

What Karl was focusing on wasn’t the rune itself, but the rune material that was covered in cracks.

“Fire Jade!”

His face thoughtful, he shifted his form to the Divine Domain Fragment, and then from the Divine Domain Fragment to the Other World.

“Aya.”

Karl walked downstairs, thinking that the magic carpet wasn’t on him. He then spoke to the figure in the study:

“Help me call a ship. I need to go to Flame Island.”

“Yes.”

Aya put down her book and nodded in agreement.

…………

The sea breeze brushed against Aya’s face, lifting her hair. She narrowed her eyes, looking at the dark island in the distance.

Her youthful cheeks were gradually becoming more mature with time.

Her tender skin was also becoming rougher.

And reading,

seemed to be slowly changing her temperament.

Flame Island!

“Uncle.”

“Last year, the volcanic eruption on Flame Island changed the terrain here. Many of the former places no longer exist.”

Aya turned her head back to look:

“But there are people on the island. We can find a guide.”

“People?” Karl looked ahead:

“Who’s on the island?”

“Because of the volcanic eruption, many things were brought up from below, including flint that can ignite objects.” Aya explained:

“There are several merchant caravans in Rapid Flow City that specialize in buying and selling flint, as well as basalt and volcanic ash.”

The rock formed after the lava from the volcanic eruption cooled and solidified was called basalt.

The island’s surface was also covered with a thick layer of volcanic ash.

Volcanic ash was rich in nutrients. For the barren Rapid Flow City, it was a rare resource for cultivating grain.

“Is that so?”

Karl slowly nodded:

“The volcanic eruption destroyed everything, but it also brought new life. Creation is truly amazing…”

“A guide isn’t necessary. We’ll go up directly!”

The two didn’t choose to land on the island at a gentle slope, but rather near the volcano.

Aya was now a knight, agile and able to walk on steep mountains as if on flat ground.

The two leaped onto the island, walking and stopping. Karl would occasionally pick up something from the ground, examining it closely.

There were plant communities on the island, adapted to the harsh environment, struggling to survive among the stone peaks and soil.

Some dark red stones were scattered among them.

“This is flint?”

Karl picked one up, scrutinizing it.

“Yes.”

Aya nodded:

“Flint varies in quality. The one in Uncle’s hand is a high-quality one. It can easily produce sparks.”

“Hmm…”

“Arrows made with it can even ignite upon hitting a target, causing secondary damage.”

“Flint!” Karl nodded:

“The arrangement of elements inside is very interesting, somewhat similar to… Nature’s creations are truly amazing.”

Putting away the flint, the two continued onward.

Hmm?

As they approached a pile of rubble, Karl paused and raised his hand.

Minor Mage Hand!

His vast mental power turned into an invisible giant hand, pushing out like a mountain-shattering palm strike. The rubble was sent flying.

Revealing a gray-red stone underneath.

“Huh?”

Aya looked surprised:

“Such a large flint?”

“No!”

Coming closer, she touched the surface of the stone and gently shook her head.

“It’s not flint.”

“It’s indeed not flint. It should be called fire jade.” Karl crouched down, his eyes complex as he touched the stone:

“Too bad…”

“The quality is too poor!”

Fire jade was the most common material for refining fire-type amulets, often found near volcanoes, especially after volcanic eruptions.

The reason Karl had asked Wizard Bern about refining amulets was because he had thought of the resources here.

He was the only wizard in the Other World. He would be doing himself a disservice if he didn’t explore the resources here.

The fire jade in front of him was the size of a washbasin, with a rough surface, full of pits and cracks.

This kind of fire jade couldn’t be used to refine runes.

To inscribe a spell model, the inside of a rune had to be smooth and unobstructed.

Although the quality wasn’t good, it proved that fire jade existed here, which was good news.

“Let’s go!”

Karl retracted his gaze:

“Let’s continue to look around and find similar things.”

“Okay.”

Aya nodded and suggested:

“Should we search separately?”

“Alright.” Karl nodded in agreement.

By evening.

The two gathered together.

Karl’s hands were empty, but Aya’s backpack was full, a heavy bundle.

“Clatter…”

Opening the backpack, a pile of reddish stones scattered on the ground.

Karl crouched down and flipped through them, taking out three stones of different sizes, sweeping the others aside.

“These three are barely acceptable.”

He took out one of them and handed it to Aya:

“Tell the people on the island that I’m buying this kind of fire…fire jade for one hundred God’s Grace Coins.”

“If the size is large and the quality is good, the price can be increased.”

“Yes.” Aya took the fire jade and nodded in agreement:

“But Uncle, these things are all near the top of the mountain. Ordinary people probably won’t encounter them.”

“It’s okay,” Karl waved his hand:

“There’s no rush.”

Indeed, there was no rush.

The quality of the fire jade found so far was very average and couldn’t be used to refine first-order runes. But it could be used to practice with zero-circle spells. For Karl, even with the absolute rationality of the Divine Domain Fragment, the success rate of refining first-order runes was still close to zero. He still needed to accumulate experience.

Just like with the Great God’s Grace Coins.

For him, fire jade was a long-term business.

Such an active volcano was enough for two major families to divide in the Magic Forest, but now he was the only one using it.

Even if he was just piling up materials, he could still create a master rune refiner.

When he returned to his residence, Karl went to his room and took out a few pieces of fire jade from his storage pendant.

His gaze paused on one of the pieces, and a smile appeared on his face.

“The evil gods are also gods. The pirates on Flame Island were affected by the evil god’s consciousness and mutated. The island itself was also contaminated.”

“It’s hard to say whether this contamination is good or bad, but it changed the quality of some of the fire jade.”

He picked up the piece of fire jade.

“This piece of fire jade should be of the highest quality. It could be sold for a lot of magic stones.”

“Other World!”

“There are too many treasures waiting to be discovered.”

“In the past, my strength was insufficient. Now that I’ve become a wizard, and in an Other World where there are almost no second-order beings, I don’t have to be so cautious. It’s time to explore the treasures hidden in the mysterious seas.”

Based on his cautious exploration over the years, there shouldn’t be any second-order beings in the Other World, except for a few dukes.

The Abyssal Giant Squid possessed a third-order bloodline, but it only had the strength of a peak first-order.

It seemed that,

there was an invisible restriction preventing the existence of second-order beings.

***

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“The formation of minerals is a complex and slow process, often requiring millions or even hundreds of millions of years.”

“Time is a great creator!”

“However, the existence of the Astral Plane is equally amazing. It can cause ordinary materials to undergo marvelous changes and can even accelerate the formation of minerals…”

Tuesday.

Wizard June’s mineralogy class.

As a wizard from the Six Rings Tower, her foundational knowledge was far beyond that of others.

From the formation and classification of minerals to the influence and changes caused by the Astral Plane, as well as the practical applications of various minerals.

She could explain everything clearly in just a few classes.

Her classes were always the first choice for many wizard apprentices.

“Wizard June.”

Karl raised his hand from below the stage and asked:

“Is there a certain pattern to the distribution of mineral veins?”

“Yes.”

June was a kind-looking old woman. She nodded upon hearing this and smiled:

“Mineral vein exploration is a sub-branch of this major. Wizard Karl is interested in this aspect?”

“Because of the beast tide, several mountains in the Magic Forest collapsed, and I heard that the mineral veins below have been exposed,” Karl explained:

“So I was curious to ask.”

“To understand the formation of mineral veins, you need to understand the environment of this area hundreds of millions of years ago.” Wizard June nodded:

“If this area was a forest hundreds of millions of years ago, then various mineral deposits might appear…”

“And how do you know what an area looked like hundreds of millions of years ago?”

“That involves the knowledge of archaeology…”

Karl nodded while taking notes.

Wizard knowledge was as vast as the stars. He was just a beginner, with too many unknowns and mysteries.

After class.

“Karl.”

Wizard June packed up her teaching materials and handed him a slip of paper:

“If you’re interested in minerals, you can read these books. These are the basic books of the tower. You only need a few magic stones to copy them from Daniel.”

“Thank you.” Karl’s eyes lit up as he took the slip of paper:

“I’m very grateful.”

“You’re welcome,” Wizard June chuckled:

“I also hope that someone can follow the same path as me. It will be easier to communicate in the future.”

“By the way, I heard that a Swirling Spirit Butterfly appeared on the outskirts?”

“I heard about it too,” Karl nodded:

“The Swirling Spirit Butterfly is a necessary ingredient for refining the Knowledge Potion, and the Knowledge Potion can help wizards break through their realms.”

“The Andrew Family has already sent people to capture it.”

“The Andrew…” Wizard June frowned slightly.

“What is it?” Karl asked:

“Does Wizard June also want it?”

“Of course, I do.” Wizard June nodded:

“I’ve been stuck in the middle stage of wizardry for decades, and I can’t advance to the late stage. I don’t have much lifespan left.”

“Ah!”

She sighed and walked out:

“Swirling Spirit Butterfly, I hope it’s not a centennial one.”

Ordinary Swirling Spirit Butterflies could be used to refine Knowledge Potions, while centennial Swirling Spirit Butterflies could be used to refine True Knowledge Potions.

The True Knowledge Potion could help wizards in the late stage to break through to the second circle. At that time, countless people would go crazy.

Second-circle wizards,

in the Magic Forest, could support a family for a hundred years!

When he returned to the potion shop, Lance was still not there.

“Senior Karl.”

Saxon stopped what he was doing:

“The potion maker, Hem, couldn’t overcome his illness. He passed away at home yesterday. I’ve already contacted a new potion supplier.”

“Okay.” Karl nodded:

“Remember to represent the potion shop and send condolences to Hem at the funeral. You’ve done a great job during this time…”

Most of the potion shop’s procurement, beast pill refining, and sales reconciliation were done by Saxon.

He had to admit.

He was very responsible, which saved Karl a lot of trouble. He didn’t have to watch over the shop every day.

“Saxon.”

After thinking for a moment, Karl took out a broken magic crystal and placed it on the table:

“As you can see, this is a broken magic crystal, but broken doesn’t mean it’s useless.”

“This magic crystal contains a star-type first-circle spell called Exploding Crystal. If it were intact, it would be worth over a thousand magic stones. Now that it’s broken, I plan to sell it for one hundred magic stones.”

“Do you have any ideas?”

Saxon’s eyes lit up.

A broken magic crystal would affect the user’s ability to comprehend the knowledge inside, but there was a small chance of inheriting it completely.

How much one could inherit depended entirely on luck.

One hundred magic stones wasn’t expensive. He could buy it and resell it, or he could have a wizard who was proficient in star-type wizardry repair it.

In short,

it was a great deal.

“I want it!”

Gritting his teeth, Saxon nodded firmly:

“But I don’t have that many magic stones right now. Senior Karl, could you give me a day to collect them?”

He didn’t even have one hundred magic stones?

A hint of disappointment flashed in Karl’s eyes.

But he also knew that Saxon’s situation was normal for a wizard apprentice. It was people like him, who had once possessed over a thousand magic stones, who were the outliers.

“Alright!”

Putting away the magic crystal, Karl nodded:

“Come to the backyard tomorrow at this time.”

“Yes.”

Saxon looked excited.

…………

In the following days, everything seemed to be on the right track.

With the Baker Family’s withdrawal, the remaining two major families and the Andrew Family seemed to have reached some kind of tacit agreement. There were no more incidents that caused speculation.

Although the beast tide had ended, many magical creatures and legendary creatures were still lingering on the outskirts of the market, and they needed to be cleared one by one.

During this process, it was inevitable that some wizard apprentices would be killed or injured, but some also benefited from the disaster and advanced to become wizards.

On the other side.

Karl found some information about volcanic mineral veins and had Aya pass it on to the merchants in Rapid Flow City, and he also increased the price of fire jade.

More people flocked to Flame Island to ‘hunt for treasure’, which led to the continuous discovery of fire jade that met the requirements.

And Karl,

also began to try refining runes.

A few months later.

“Bang!”

Accompanied by a muffled sound, the piece of fire jade in Karl’s hand shattered on the spot, becoming a complete waste.

“Failure!”

“Record!”

He raised his eyebrows. The hovering quill pen and magic paper moved towards him on their own.

“It’s best to complete the spell circuit in one go. If not, only three nodes can be paused.”

“The quality of the fire jade will affect the success rate…”

“Before refining, you must check whether there are cracks inside the fire jade and whether they are on the path of the spell circuit.”

“Continue!”

Karl sat cross-legged on the futon. Beside him, there was a pile of various red jade and low-level runes that he had refined.

There were even two first-order runes!

These two first-order runes were refined by chance. They couldn’t be considered his skill yet.

“The first-circle spell Chain Fireball is composed of three zero-circle spells. I’ve mastered two of them. Plus, I’ve successfully refined hundreds of low-level fireball runes, and with the absolute rationality of the Divine Domain Fragment, I still can’t refine a first-order rune…”

“Indeed, I don’t have any talent in this area!”

Honestly speaking.

If other wizards saw him wasting materials like this, they would probably vomit blood on the spot.

So much fire jade was enough to nurture a qualified first-order rune refiner. After all, others would be very careful with each refinement, waiting until their spirits were at their peak before taking action. They wouldn’t be able to refine one after another like him.

However, with his disregard for losses, his proficiency in rune refining was greatly increasing, especially when he was only refining one type of rune.

Half a month later.

Karl looked at the rune in front of him, a smile appearing on his face.

Success!

A barely acceptable rune, with a reddish color, and the spell circuit inside was seamless, with a concentrated fire aura.

Chain Fireball Rune!

Moreover,

it was a high-quality one!

However, this high quality wasn’t due to Karl’s refining skill, but rather the quality of the red jade.

“It’s almost equivalent to a mid-stage wizard’s spell, much stronger than when I cast it myself.”

“No… I didn’t construct the Chain Fireball in my Sea of Consciousness.”

“Hmm.”

“My current success rate in refining Chain Fireball is already 20%. Continuing further will only slow down my progress.”

“I have ten first-order runes in hand. That should be enough.”

He took one last look at his data panel.

Name: Karl

Constitution: 5.9

Mental Power: 6.6

Source Essence: 0.8

Level: Legendary Knight, First-Circle Wizard

Abyssal Bloodline Fusion Rate: 30%

The Source Essence came from the Frenzy Potions he had sold during this time, one for four Great God’s Grace Coins.

However, for the current Karl, the ratio of Source Essence to value was 4:1. Whether or not to exchange it didn’t matter much.

On the contrary, the bloodline fusion rate hadn’t increased. The refining of blood elixirs had to be put on the agenda.

He arrived at the Rapid Flow City Castle.

The Desecrated Knight, Yana, was still wiping her greatsword.

Her hair had changed again, becoming silvery white like silk, and her eyes had become dark and deep.

“Guardian.”

Seeing Karl come down from upstairs, Yana looked up:

“I feel a familiar aura approaching Rapid Flow City. Perhaps… the Holy Sanctuary can’t wait any longer.”

Her purpose in coming to Rapid Flow City was to protect Karl, but bringing him back to the Holy Sanctuary was her higher priority.

However,

she had doubts about the Holy Sanctuary’s orders and wasn’t confident in capturing Karl by force, so she had been delaying her actions.

After dragging things out, the Holy Sanctuary was clearly planning to take action themselves.

“I don’t plan to go to the Holy Sanctuary,” Karl shrugged:

“At least not now.”

“Then…” Yana lowered her head:

“The people coming this time will probably use force.”

“Is that so?” Karl didn’t take it seriously. If second-order beings didn’t come, he had nothing to fear. He asked casually:

“Who will you help?”

Yana was silent.

Then, she knelt on one knee facing Karl, resting her sword on the ground, and lowered her head:

“You are the will of the gods, not to be blasphemed.”

“Yana,” Karl sighed:

“You are a Desecrated Knight!”

“Forget it!”

He waved his hand:

“Aya has already arrived near Crocodile Island. Let’s go there too. As for the Holy Sanctuary… we’ll deal with it when we get back.”

With a wave of his sleeve, the magic carpet, which had been reforged by Enid, flew out on its own and landed in front of the two.

After the two stood on it, the magic carpet trembled gently and then shot into the sky with astonishing speed.

Standing on the one-meter-square carpet, Yana was flustered at first, but then she realized that although the carpet was flying very fast, she was not affected at all. A trace of surprise flashed in her eyes.

Was this also a divine method?

…………

About a hundred miles away from Rapid Flow City.

Several black figures were running wildly on the rugged mountain road. Their speed was comparable to that of galloping horses.

Even a Grand Knight would have their expression change upon seeing them.

Legendary!

And there were several legendary knights!

“Hmm?”

One of them suddenly stopped.

As he stopped, the other figures instantly paused, as if someone had pressed the pause button.

The sudden stop after rushing forward at high speed, the change was so abrupt, yet it didn’t affect their movements at all.

“Strange?”

Under the cloak, a pair of eagle eyes looked into the distance:

“Two auras of Desecrated Knights?”

“Besides Yana, who else is in Rapid Flow City?”

“Forget it!”

“The Desecrated Knights were just the first batch of test subjects. Although they were good, having reason meant they were difficult to completely control. The second-generation products are the truly perfect ones.”

With that, he looked at the ‘people’ beside him with a smile.

Please collect!!!