Chapter 24 Magic Equipment: Pale Mask (Please Follow)

Richard took the crystal ball, and after probing it with his spiritual power, he discovered a design diagram inside.

This was a magic equipment design diagram named "Pale Mask."

Jolod, looking at the notes in his hand, spoke in an indifferent tone, "Make this thing, and then hand it over to me.

I'll give you three months.

If you can't make it in three months, it would mean that your talent isn't as good as I thought."

After speaking, Jolod glanced at Richard.

"Do you understand?"

Richard nodded, "I understand, Master Jolod."

"Then go back. I still have experiments to conduct."

Jolod waved his hand, and Richard and Anna left without making a sound.

Once outside, Richard patted his chest.

"So that's a wizard? When he looked at me, I felt like he saw right through me."

Anna rolled her eyes at him,

"It's not that scary. The mentor saw you as a low-level apprentice, even the life radiation was restrained. Go back and properly make the magic equipment; the mask isn't hard to craft. I'll await your news in three months."

With that, Anna strode ahead and directly leaped over the stair banister, falling freely.

"Whew, having Levitation Skill is impressive. But why do I feel like something's missing?"

Richard stroked his chin, then suddenly went to the edge of the banister to shout at Anna.

"Senior sister, you haven't given me the money yet!"

...

Once he found Anna and settled his debt with magic stones, due to the high purity of his red mercury and the possibility of them being fellow apprentices in the future, Anna gave him an additional ten magic stones and hoped that after Richard finished crafting the magic equipment, he could refine another batch of red mercury for her.

To this, Richard could only express his willingness to collaborate in the future.

Seeing his pocket filled with a full one hundred and ten magic stones, Richard couldn't help but sigh, Anna was truly wealthy.

She gave away over a hundred magic stones without even blinking.

"I'm rich now; time to pay back Ali's money first," Richard counted the magic stones in his pouch. He had been so absorbed in the library recently that he spent every last magic stone he had, and even the money he used to buy bloodline alchemy materials was borrowed from Ali.

"After changing the money, I'll take a stroll through the commercial district to gather the materials for crafting the magic equipment, and get started as soon as possible!" Richard pumped his fist, full of determination.

Returning to his dormitory, Richard knocked on the door of the next room.

Knock knock knock.

"Who is it?"

"It's me."

Click.

Ali, wearing a thin nightgown, sleepily opened the door, her eyes half-closed.

"Richard, what is it?" As Ali rubbed her eyes, her slight movements caused her nightgown to reveal quite a bit.

"It's nothing, I've just come to return the magic stones."

Richard averted his gaze, handing a bag of magic stones to Ali.

"Five magic stones, please check."

Ali casually tossed the bag behind her, not even bothering to look.

"What for? You wouldn't cheat me. Come in and sit, I recently bought a can of Green's red tea from the commercial district."

"No need to sit, I just found a mentor, and he's assigned me a task."

Richard mumbled a few words and turned to leave.

"Did you run into that woman named Anna?"

"Huh?" Richard turned around, "How do you know?"

"The scent, she had this smell on her in class that day," Ali said nonchalantly.

Richard sniffed himself and indeed detected a faint aroma very similar to that of red mercury.

"Amazing, you could even smell that."

Richard gave a thumbs up, then waved his hand and briskly walked away.

Ali watched Richard's retreating figure and slammed the door shut with a bang.

Standing behind the door, her cheeks were flushed with annoyance.

"He doesn't even come in! Is his heart made of stone?"

The somewhat irritated Ali stamped her feet fiercely before languidly lying down on the bed and picking up the "Wizard World Almanac" she had borrowed from the library.

"Ah, knowledge, knowledge, you are the real enchantress. How many people have you bewitched, toiling their entire lives away just for a glimpse of the tip of your iceberg.

Compared to you, such an adversary, how could I ever win?"

Arriving at the commercial district, Richard began searching for suitable materials according to the design diagram.

"Inferior Wind Pattern Stone, sticky mushrooms, Black Mercury, Poison Rhododendron Ink, ten-year-old Demonized Wood..."

After wandering around the commercial district for a long time, Richard finally gathered most of the materials needed to make the Pale Mask, spending a total of 3,500 Academy Coins, equivalent to thirty-five Magic Stones.

"There's still one missing, the skull of a Black Striped Water Python."

Richard looked at the last item on the materials list; he had visited over a dozen shops and hadn't found it.

"We don't have the skull of a Black Striped Water Python here," said the clerk, shaking his head.

Richard sighed upon hearing this. This was the last alchemy shop in the commercial district.

"Where should I obtain this item, then?" Richard asked, smiling as he slipped ten Academy Coins into the clerk's hand. Once the clerk made sure no one was watching, his smile became much more genuine.

"Black Striped Water Pythons have a habitat in the Black Stone Mountain Range. If you're in a hurry, you could go there and hunt one yourself. This Magic Beast isn't hard to kill for a low-level Apprentice. Also, if you really intend to go there, you might want to check at the Academy's Task Hall to see if there are tasks for patrolling the Black Stone Mountain Range. Academy tasks allow you to ride the Academy's airship for free, which could save you an airship ticket."

"The Black Stone Mountain Range, huh? Thanks for the tip."

Richard pondered for a moment and decided to follow the clerk's suggestion to check the Task Hall.

The Task Hall was bustling with people. After searching through the list of tasks for a while, Richard found one in the Academy tasks that involved scouting the conditions of White Crystals Deer in the Black Stone Mountain Range.

Richard approached the counter to take on the task.

"I'm sorry, but due to the danger of the task, low-level and beginner Apprentices need to form a team of two or more to accept it," said the Wizard Apprentice behind the counter, looking into the Crystal Ball.

"Do I need to form a team? That could be troublesome," Richard frowned.

Since coming to the Academy, Richard's life could even be described as reclusive. Besides frequenting the library and dormitory, he hardly had any social interactions except with Ali.

Richard massaged his temples with a slight headache.

"Should I ask Ali to team up?"

As he was pondering, suddenly a voice came from behind him.

"Hey, friend. Are you looking to form a team?"

Richard turned around to see a plump man in a Wizard Robe looking at him. The chubby man seemed honest and sincere.

"Friend, want to team up? I'm Loken, looking for someone to join me heading to the Black Stone Mountain Range."

Richard turned to look at the clerk; he had just inquired about taking on the task, and now someone was asking to team up.

This was too much of a coincidence.

The clerk gave Richard a glance: "For low-level Apprentices, forming a temporary team in the hall is very common, nothing to make a fuss about."

"Sorry, I already have a teammate."

Richard gave Loken an apologetic smile and turned to leave.

Teaming up with a stranger for a mission in the wild seemed too dangerous to Richard.

Returning to the dormitory, Richard once again knocked on Ali's door.

"Richard, what is it this time?" Ali opened the door with a subtle expression.

Has this blockhead finally come to his senses?

"Uh..." Richard hesitated for a moment before speaking to Ali, "I saw a task in the Task Hall that requires a team. Are you free lately?"

"Oh, oh, oh, oh!" Ali cheered inwardly but kept a calm expression.

"I'm free. How's the reward divided?"

"Three hundred Academy Coins, split evenly," Richard answered.

His main task was to hunt the Black Striped Water Python. To him now, the reward from the Academy task seemed trivial.

"Okay, I agree. Let me change my clothes."