Chapter 67: Chapter 65: Little Arms Dealer
Next was "loading the charge."
He walked over to another workbench, on which were laid out the various basic material packets he had purchased from the Alchemy House, and began to carefully mix them.
A small pinch of powder ground from a dry fungus called "Explosion Shroom" and so explosive crystals were the main explosive compounds. Their properties were similar to Earth’s TNT, but they required Magic Power to be triggered.
He mixed these powders together in precise proportions and carefully packed them into one of the shell casings.
Then, he picked up an Alchemy Engraving Pen inscribed with Runes. Concentrating his own Magic Power at its tip, he ticulously drew a basic "Activation" Rune on the inner surface of the other half of the shell.
This Rune was one of the thirty-six basic Runes he had learned from the "Basic Runes" course.
Here, it would play the role of a "detonator."
When Allen injected a trace of Magic Power into the grenade to activate this Rune, the resulting instantaneous surge of Magic Power would detonate the Explosion Shroom powder packed inside, causing a violent explosion.
He closed the two halves of the shell and used the Alchemy Machine to fuse them perfectly, leaving not even the slightest seam.
A fist-sized tal sphere was born—pitch-black and covered in a non-slip texture.
It was heavy, suffused with a deadly quality.
Allen picked up the freshly-made "Blast Type-I" Alchemy Grenade, and DSeek imdiately provided a cost analysis.
[Unit Cost: Iron Ingot 0.1 Magic Stones, Explosion Shroom Powder 0.5 Magic Stones, Other Materials 1 Magic Stone, Middle-tier Magic Stone Energy Loss approx. 0.1 Magic Stones. Total Material Cost: 1.7 Low-Level Magic Stones.]
[Market Comparison: ’Low-Level Alchemy Bomb,’ sold for 5 Magic Stones. Power assessed at 120% of ’Blast Type-I,’ with no shrapnel damage.]
An extrely high cost-performance ratio.
This was the power of combining knowledge and technology.
With the first successful attempt under his belt, the subsequent production beca an assembly line process.
He made twenty "Blast Type-I" fragntation grenades in one go.
Allen didn’t stop there; he also needed grenades for other scenarios.
This would require combining the thods and materials of Wizards.
He swapped the filler for a paste made from highly flammable Fire Salamander Oil and "Red Copper Powder," then replaced the core "Impact" Rune with a "Combustion" Rune.
And thus, the "Fla Type-I" incendiary grenades were born.
When they exploded, they didn’t produce much shrapnel, but instead sprayed a wide area with a viscous, hard-to-extinguish fla. They were exceptionally effective against swarms of monsters or those vulnerable to fire.
Next up were the Frost Bombs.
The core ingredient was a powder called Deep Blue Ice Crystal, which, when combined with a "Freeze" Rune, could instantly drain the surrounding heat upon detonation, creating a frosted area to slow enemy movent.
There were also lightning-damage grenades, which were the most expensive.
They were filled with powdered Thunderlight Stone. Upon detonation, they could release powerful electric arcs.
Although the shells of the Crystal Shell Burrowing Insects were hard, they weren’t insulators.
A strong electrical current could pass directly through their shells and paralyze their central nervous systems.
Besides grenades, Allen also drew on his past life’s knowledge of the Claymore Mine to create several simple Directional Mines.
It was a square iron box, its front packed with hundreds of steel balls and its back with a thick charge of Explosion Shroom. It could be triggered by an inconspicuous tripwire or a pressure plate.
Once triggered, the explosion would send the steel balls spraying out in a fan-shaped pattern, making it an excellent tool for defense and traps.
Ti flew by as he focused on his work.
Outside the dorm window, the sky changed from the pale white of morning to pitch-black as night descended.
The workbench in front of Allen now resembled a small armory.
Twenty "Blast Type-I" fragntation grenades.
Fifteen "Fla Type-I" incendiary grenades.
Fifteen "Frost Type-I" slowing grenades.
Fifteen "Lightning Type-I" paralysis grenades.
And five inconspicuous, square Steel Ball Scatter Mines.
All told, the materials had cost him less than two hundred Low-Level Magic Stones.
But this small investnt had given him enough firepower to arm a small squad of rcenaries.
Allen picked one up, weighing it in his hand.
Its weight, its feel—they gave him a sense of security far greater than his Magic Stone balance ever could.
If he were to buy Witchcraft Scrolls or Alchemy Bombs of equivalent power from an Alchemy Shop, it would have cost him at least six or seven hundred Magic Stones.
A price difference of nearly three tis—this was the exorbitant profit of possessing "knowledge" and the "ans of production."
This was also the charm of the school of alchemy.
As long as knowledge, technology, and resources—a holy trinity—were united, one could endlessly create power and wealth.
Apprentices from other schools could only risk their lives, earning ager rewards, only to spend them on these expensive one-ti-use consumables, trapping them in a vicious cycle.
But the school of alchemy, by controlling the ans of production, skipped this chain of exploitation entirely.
’It’s a pity I can’t use this grenade design to make money. It has no technological barrier to entry; anyone could learn how to make it just by looking.’
’Once soone disassembles one, my small workshop will be powerless against the low-price dumping from Advanced Apprentices who own proper workshops.’
’Looks like I can only use them myself in a limited capacity for now.’
Although the 3-second delay Rune-fuses on these homade grenades required so predictive skill, this was no problem at all for Allen, who had DSeek to help him calculate trajectories and lead tis.
He could even make the grenades detonate in mid-air for a perfect airburst effect.
Allen stood up and stretched his slightly stiff neck.
The Space Ring on his finger flashed with light.
The pile of dangerous goods on the desk—enough to blow the entire dormitory floor sky-high—vanished in an instant, now resting quietly inside the ring’s stable subspace.
’My fear of insufficient firepower has been temporarily alleviated.’
Allen glanced at the ti. It was 9:00 PM. ’I might as well make so potions now.’
Allen turned to the other side of the workbench.
There sat his newly purchased "Master’s Hand" Type Three Alchemy Distiller and a standard set of potion-making tools.
Compared to the Alchemy Machine, which easily cost over a thousand Magic Stones, this set of potion-making equipnt was much more affordable, having only set him back a total of one hundred and twenty Magic Stones.
Using the knowledge from the public apprentice courses he had taken, Allen and his first thread waved several arms.
He quickly brewed ten bottles of Healing Potion and five vials of poison.
Only after the last vial of poison was sealed in a special Crystal Tube did Allen take off his gloves and let out a long breath.
The several consecutive hours of high-intensity, delicate work had been a strain even on his mind, which had been tempered by long-term ditation.
On the workbench, ten bottles of primary Healing Potion and five vials of a poison nad "Slow Death" were lined up.
The bottles and vials glinted with different sheens under the light—one side representing life, the other, death.
He felt no moral burden for creating these potions and grenades.
In this world where strength reigned supre, the definitions of good and evil were far blurrier than on Earth.
Tools themselves were not good or evil; what mattered was the one who wielded them.
To him, these were all chips he could use to guarantee his survival in the Silent Forest.
He walked to the window and pushed it open.
The night wind poured in, scattering the acrid sll of explosives and potions that filled the room.
In the distance, a tall tower stood silhouetted against the night, the lights at its peak looking down upon the land like stars.
’Tomorrow, I’m headed to the perilous Silent Forest.’
Allen stroked the Space Ring on his finger.
’It’s filled with "surprises."’
’This is my welco gift for those underground insects... and my own cheat code for clearing the ga.’
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