Chapter 36: Alchemy Relics

"With so much oil-soaked earth, the black oil contained within must surely exceed what remains in the alchemy engine."

Wagging his tail in delight, Garos picked up a chunk of oil-soaked earth, squeezed it, and forced the black oil out, letting it drip into his mouth.

However.

Unlike the imagined crisp and fiery sensation.

It was harsh and unpalatable; the taste, akin to eating excrement, made Garos frown.

—He had never eaten excrement, but he felt that eating it would be no better than this.

Unlike the black oil he ate last time, this contained many impurities; after swallowing, no thick energy surged forth immediately. Instead, it required digestion first, and the energy gained after digestion would likely be inferior to the black oil from before.

"Why is this?"

Garos felt somewhat puzzled.

After a moment of thought, he understood the general reason.

"The black oil in the alchemy engine has already been refined; it is not crude oil. What I am eating must be pure natural crude oil, unrefined, containing many impurities."

Crude oil can be eaten.

But its absorption efficiency is inferior to black oil, and its taste is indescribable.

Fortunately.

There is a solution.

Garos turned to look at Samantha and issued her a task: "Refine all the crude oil within this oil-soaked earth into black oil for me using your alchemy."

To win Garos's favor and be granted treasures.

Samantha had studied alchemy day and night and learned to refine black oil. Although her skill was merely average, she could certainly handle this simplest task: refining crude oil into black oil.

Hearing Garos's words.

Samantha stuck out her tongue to lick her lips and said, "Oh, my dear brother, I am willing to do anything for you. But, will this make you happy?"

She did not wish to work for free; she was asking for payment.

This was a reasonable request.

Samantha's current status was equivalent to Garos's follower, a subordinate dragon. In dragon society, such a follower differs from a retainer or a slave.

The subordinate dragon serves the main dragon.

The main dragon must regularly grant the subordinate dragon certain rewards.

Relying solely on empty words to keep them bound would not work. Red dragons are dull and rough, but when it comes to treasures, they become calculating and shrewd.

Garos had not yet completely shaken off his obsession with treasures; asking him to part with money made him feel a bit of heartache.

But Garos thought it over and, in the end, was quite generous, lining up several gold coins.

"Work well, and these are yours."

For a young dragon, these gold coins were sufficient. Samantha's eyes sparkled as she pounced forward, ready to take the coins.

"My dear brother, you are too good! I am willing to serve you, willing to do anything for you!"

She called out and said.

"Wait, my clever sister, do you desire even more?"

Garos's words seemed to possess some magic, causing Samantha to pause her movement.

"Of course!"

She declared with conviction.

Garos spoke slowly and deliberately: "In consideration of the blood relationship between us two, I offer you two choices."

"One: take these five gold coins directly, guard them carefully, yet still face the risk of losing them."

"Two: leave them with me. I will keep them for you. And by the Dragon God above, I guarantee that in one year I will give you six gold coins; in two years, eight gold coins, increasing every year."

Samantha immediately hesitated, unsure how to choose.

Garos pressed his advantage, guiding her gently: "Think about it: which is better, unchanging wealth or wealth that grows continuously? We dragons should focus on long-term interests."

After hesitating for a long time.

Samantha pondered back and forth but could not resist the temptation of treasures that grew every year, so she agreed.

"I will take them in one year. You must give them to me then; otherwise, I will not work for you."

Samantha said.

Her words were firm.

But when one year actually passed, that might not hold true.

Moreover, because he himself was a dragon and knew the weaknesses in dragon nature, Garos was quite experienced at deceiving dragons. Furthermore, if she performed well enough without being lazy or deceitful, giving her some rewards would be no problem.

Garos nodded, put the gold coins away again, and said solemnly:

"Of course. You know me; I am not a treacherous green dragon."

Thinking of her wealth that would grow, Samantha hopped about happily and went to work.

She used common iron ore found everywhere on the Caelum Wastes, melted it with her Flame Dragon Breath, slowly hammered it, engraved some runes upon it, and shaped it into the form of the most basic alchemy crucible.

She placed chunks of oil-soaked earth into the crucible.

Samantha chanted softly, her claws drawing and writing in the air, outlining runes with magical energy to strike into the mixture, then opened her mouth to exhale her Dragon Breath, beginning to refine the black oil using alchemy.

Shortly after.

Garos found himself with a supply of refined black oil.

It was stored in a somewhat crude iron canister; the dark liquid had a viscous texture.

After sniffing it lightly, Garos drank it all in one gulp.

Hoo!

As if a ball of flame ignited within his belly.

"Pure scent, plenty of kick! This is the black oil I want."

Sparks spurted from his nostrils; Garos's spirit and vigor instantly surged, the dark red patterns on his inner scales grew more vivid, and the faint iron-red hue at the very edge of his buffer scales seemed to brighten slightly.

Flapping his wings, Garos shot skyward and landed on a wasteland on the periphery where he often trained.

Whoosh!

Using the Silver Frost Ring, he exhaled cold air to freeze the rocks, making them as cold and hard as steel.

Full of fire, Garos could not wait; he charged forward with his head down, beginning his daily training.

Meanwhile.

Along a side branch of the Thousand Serpent's Trace, several people walked slowly.

A blonde warrior about two meters tall, clad in heavy armor and carrying a greatsword as heavy as a door; a pale, thin necromancer wrapped in an aura of negative energy; a hot-figured female rogue with a dagger and a crossbow at her waist; a beautiful female priest in white robes; and a young-looking spellcaster in a light blue robe.

Five in total, forming an adventurer party.

The warrior's armor and greatsword were both engraved with alchemical runes, possessing considerable texture, clearly high-quality equipment; the others' gear was more ordinary, though not common iron.

This group belonged to the 【Tomorrow】 Adventurer Guild.

They had heard rumors that a powerful alchemical construct remained in an abandoned mine in the Saier Wilderness, so they set out to explore, hoping to find the legendary powerful alchemical construct.

The rogue glanced at the intricate map in her hand and whispered, "Beyond here, there are no normal roads; we will officially enter the wilderness, the territory of many monsters and fierce beasts."

The necromancer grinned: "Opportunities always accompany risks; this is the only path."

On the planet Bernardo, necromancy, a profession that desecrates corpses and souls, while still facing some discrimination, was not directly branded as an evil existence like a rat crossing the street solely due to the profession; whether one is evil depends on the individual.

"It is said that many dragon-kind exist in this wilderness; let us hope we do not encounter them."

The priest spoke softly.

The spellcaster lowered his voice and said, "What if it is a young dragon? If we meet a young dragon, we will strike it rich; we can return directly without exploring the abandoned mine. With the sealing spells I command, I can easily drag a young dragon to the ground, making it impossible for it to escape even with wings."

A young dragon posed no threat to them.

What they feared were older dragons.

"Stop dreaming; where is such luck? Be careful, everyone, and follow me closely."

The blonde warrior spoke in a deep voice, his tall figure walking at the very front, giving his companions a profound sense of security.

They entered the wilderness, alert to every rustle of wind and movement around them, gradually venturing deeper.

If viewed from high above, carefully observing the trajectory of their advance, one could discover—they would pass through the Iron Fir Hills; if lucky, they could, as the spellcaster wished, encounter a young dragon.

(End of this chapter)