Warlock Apprentice

Angel: ”Besides the method I just mentioned, are there any other options?”

Antonio: ”There are, sir. You could issue a task and let others protect Breeze Demonic Material Shop. That would offer a certain degree of safety for the shop. However, this method has its own problems.”

Without Antonio elaborating, Angel could already discern the issues with this approach. Issuing tasks would inevitably require corresponding rewards. While the rewards could be borne by Breeze Demonic Material Shop, who could say how many times the task would need to be issued or how long it would last?

Furthermore, the Profound Alchemy Association has deeply infiltrated Sky Mechanical City, even extending its reach to Ashiliya. It’s entirely possible that the task taker could be someone from the Profound Alchemy Association, leading to trouble with insiders exploiting the situation.

”Are there other methods beyond that?” Angel couldn’t help but ask again.

Antonio: ”There are certainly other methods, but naturally, the cost will rise. In my opinion, the method you suggested is still the simplest and most stable.”

In other words, after going in circles, Angel still faced the dilemma of either delegating or handling the matter himself.

Seeing Angel’s hesitation, Antonio suddenly smiled: ”Sir, there’s really no need to agonize over this. This matter doesn’t bring any harm to you. You don’t even need to sign a contract like Vannerson does; your status as a member of the Research and Development Institute alone is enough to clear all obstacles.”

”You’d only be lending Breeze Demonic Material Shop a reputation—the notion that ’its backing might involve an R&D Institute member.’ Outsiders wouldn’t even know who the member is.” Antonio paused. ”Moreover, once Breeze Demonic Material Shop is brought into the fold, if you have works in the future, you can release them through the shop, saving yourself plenty of trouble.”

Antonio’s words were agreeable to Angel. Indeed, this matter did him no harm, though it didn’t hold much benefit either.

Additionally, Angel wasn’t thoroughly familiar with Breeze Demonic Material Shop’s details. Viking was a good man, but he was merely acting as the temporary shopkeeper; when Flandy returned, Viking would step aside. At that time, whether Flandy was good or problematic, it would be challenging for Angel to judge—by then, Angel would likely have already left Sky Mechanical City.

Angel voiced his concerns to Antonio, who merely smiled after hearing them: ”Whether good or bad, what does it matter? In this bilateral relationship, sir, you have the power to terminate it at any time and withdraw, while they do not.”

After pondering this, Angel realized Antonio had a point. When one holds an absolute position in a relationship, external factors become significantly less important.

With that thought, Angel’s mind subtly tilted toward a decision.

Once he gained a clear understanding of the matter, Angel prepared to bid Antonio farewell. But at that moment, Antonio suddenly said, ”Speaking of which, I have something else to discuss with you.”

Antonio spoke slowly under Angel’s questioning gaze: ”This concerns the rewards related to the New Star Competition.”

The top ten contestants of the New Star Competition each had an opportunity for a customized alchemy creation. Those ranked fourth to tenth would receive their creations from alchemists at Ashiliya Academy, while the top three would have theirs crafted by members of the R&D Institute.

What Antonio wanted to discuss was tied to this matter.

”Since this reward has already been publicly announced, it naturally needs to be addressed. The rewards for those ranked fourth to tenth are already being crafted by Ashiliya’s alchemists, but the custom creations for the top three have stalled.”

The reason for the stall was because no R&D Institute member was willing to take on the task.

Many R&D Institute members hail from various organizations and seldom stay long in Sky Mechanical City. Currently, besides Angel, only five members remain in the city—

They are: ”The Mediocre” Muse, ”Water Pattern Witch” Falina, ”Magic Potion” Midora, ”Mushroom Witch” Regina, and ”Moon Silver” Guxilo.

Among these five, Muse outright refused, citing he had no time. Falina was in seclusion, and both Midora and Regina specialized in Potionology. According to the Infinite Battle Tower’s official investigation, the top three contestants largely preferred weapons, armor, or specialized tools for their custom creations.

”The third-ranked contestant, nicknamed ’Stream Unyielding,’ initially requested a potion. However, what she wanted was a potion that would permanently free her from the need to sleep. After deliberation between the Magic Potion Master and Mushroom Witch, they deemed it unachievable, as her excessive sleep was tied to her innate talent—post-birth potions could hardly resolve such a condition. Ultimately, she shifted her request toward weapons and armor instead.”

Angel already understood Antonio’s intentions—it was a veiled attempt to have him take on the task.

Angel mulled it over: ”If I recall correctly, Master Guxilo specializes in Metallography, doesn’t he?” Moreover, Guxilo belonged to the blending school of Metallography, considered the most orthodox stream within the field. Why not approach him?

Antonio hesitated for a moment before replying: ”My original plan was to consult Moon Silver Master first before discussing with Mr. Pat.”

In other words, Antonio was targeting both Angel and Guxilo, but having reached out to Angel first due to the Breeze Demonic Material Shop issue, he decided to capitalize on the opportunity.

”Mr. Pat, since you purchased the ’forehead eye of the White-cheeked Domain Demon,’ you likely have no points left, correct? This alchemy customization task comes with a points reward—20 points per customization. If you’re short on points, why not give it a shot?”

Faced with Antonio’s suggestion, Angel was inclined to decline. However, Antonio had just dealt with the gossip stirred up by Qi Li on Angel’s behalf, and had also lent assistance regarding Breeze Demonic Material Shop moments ago.

Even though Antonio’s role was to serve R&D Institute members, continuously taking favors without reciprocation left Angel a bit uneasy.

After some thought, Angel said, ”All right, send me the customization preferences for the top three contestants first. Then, after you’ve contacted Master Guxilo, let me know his response—only then can I decide what to do.”

When Angel finished speaking, Antonio visibly relaxed.

Though Angel didn’t explicitly agree, his underlying intentions had essentially accepted Antonio’s proposal.

”Understood. I’ll relay their customization preferences and personal information to you as soon as possible. Lastly, I wish you a good evening.”

With those words, the pale blue glowing spirit slowly faded away.

Angel exhaled deeply. No reward comes without effort—everything has a price. For some time now, he’d been enjoying the privileges of his R&D Institute membership; it was only right to contribute in return.

Since the customization preferences for the top three contestants hadn’t been delivered yet, and there was no news from Master Guxilo, Angel decided to shelve the matter temporarily and focus on crafting the platform to carry ”Destiny’s Boiling Tune.”

However, before proceeding with the crafting, Angel would need to deepen his understanding of Destiny’s Boiling Tune.

Though he knew the Magical Energy Array and was familiar with its Magic Patterns, actually combining them into a cohesive array would require significant effort.