Chapter 196: Job Change and Altar Construction

Well, Shao Ke blessed the female mage Roman as she requested, then asked, "Are you really willing to give up the ability to cast most spells and become an alchemist?" After pouring Mage Roman a cup of wine, he continued, "This rank advancement might be dangerous. Could you wait a bit longer?"

Hearing Shao Ke's words, the female mage just smiled softly and said, "I don't mind losing the ability to cast most spells, and don't forget, I still know ancient command spells!" At this point, she gently took Shao Ke's arm. "Don't worry about me. Few people would harm an alchemist, especially in the army—truly no one would dare harm me." Knowing the male mage Shao Ke was concerned about her, she explained in detail why there was no danger in her decision, concluding, "Advancing to other mage classes might be risky, but the alchemist profession isn't dangerous, since it comes at the cost of losing most spellcasting abilities."

Seeing the firm determination on Mage Roman's face, Shao Ke knew her decision made back at Bloody Fortress would soon become reality, which left him with mixed feelings. Fortunately, the female mage understood his temperament and repeatedly reassured him. In the end, Shao Ke sincerely blessed her once more, which pleased the female mage greatly.

A mage's class change was a momentous occasion in the army, especially when transitioning to the much-needed alchemist role. Not only did fellow mages bless Mage Roman, but many high-rank warriors and knights also came to offer their blessings. Even the stern-faced Legion Commander personally came to bless Female Mage Roman.

"Mage Roman, I believe the next time I see you, I'll be able to call you Alchemist Roman," the Legion Commander said, gently kissing her flawless, smooth forehead before blessing her again. Receiving the Legion Commander's blessing was a great joy for Mage Roman.

Mage Roman's class change was sudden, so the Legion Commander had to mobilize many high-rank warriors to prepare for it. High-rank mages also temporarily set aside their work to prepare the necessary items and materials for the advancement using the magic materials provided by the Legion Commander.

Cartloads of precious magic materials were brought in, making Shao Ke—who had thought he possessed quite a lot—feel somewhat discouraged. He hadn't expected even the most basic alchemist advancement to require so many valuable materials.

Sky-Blue Gold, a metal that maximally conducts mana and spiritual power, was melted by high-rank mages using special arcane fire and kept in special vessels at a constant temperature to maintain its activity.

High-rank pseudo-dragon blood was poured into a huge pool as if it were free, with physicians and mages continuously adding precious medicines and a measured amount of gem powder.

Magic characters were crafted by high-rank mages using blue gold, crystal powder, mithril, and even small amounts of molten copper powder, then intricately engraved with various strange magic scripts.

Based on intelligence, high-rank warriors quickly retrieved hard, massive stones from a distant mountain. Each stone weighed as much as a ton from Shao Ke's previous life, yet these six- and seven-rank warriors carried them back alone. Craftsmen then polished them to make them smoother.

Precious stones like obsidian, black jade, and fine-grained stone were commandeered from merchants by the Legion Commander—this time with sufficient payment. These valuable stones would be embedded in key positions to increase the success rate of the advancement.

A stone platform three meters high and twelve meters in diameter was constructed within a few days. Under the guidance of high-rank mages, low-rank mages like Shao Ke used mithril and other magic materials to outline complex magic arrays on and around the platform in a specific order. Fortunately, the array consisted of thousands of small arrays that could be pieced together, allowing Shao Ke and the others to successfully complete the outline. Of course, outlining such an array was a significant drain even for fourth-rank and fifth-tier mages.

It took a full half-month for the mages to complete the array's outline. Under the direction of a seventh-tier mage, Shao Ke and the others placed high-rank magic cores or superior crystals into specific parts of the array in sequence. Finally, after the seventh-tier mage chanted a series of obscure incantations, the entire array on the platform lit up. Golden light flowed along the outlines they had drawn, beginning to slowly operate.

Eventually, the golden light slowly gathered at the center of the platform, forming a golden sphere floating above it. Tiny golden fragments continuously burst from the sphere, merging into the circular stone platform.

Seeing that everything was proceeding well, the seventh-tier mage finally let out a long sigh of relief. After all, this was his first time handling such a task, and he feared any mishaps that could ruin their days of effort. Fortunately, everything went smoothly. The remaining task was to supply energy to this array.

Crystals and magic cores were placed carefully into different parts of the array by mages in sequence, as if they were free. This work continued for a long time, but since each placement required a five-magic-hour interval, the mages had enough time to rest.

Once the medicine brewed from pseudo-dragon blood was verified by mages and physicians, a warrior carefully scooped it with a mithril ladle and evenly sprinkled it over the stone platform. After the medicine merged with the platform, the golden light burst forth even more wildly, further accelerating the consumption of crystals and magic cores. However, the Legion Commander watching nearby didn't mind at all, as this was unavoidable. Moreover, the construction of this platform wasn't solely for the advancement of one alchemist; it represented a massive investment of resources.

The operation of the giant array continued for nearly a month. During this time, mages from all four camps gathered here. In their spare time, they released spiritual power or mana to merge with the platform. This not only allowed them to sense the array's operation, improving their understanding of spell structures and arrays, but also strengthened the platform through the infusion of vast amounts of spiritual power and mana.

The giant array finally stopped operating. Shao Ke looked at the stone disk before him—barely over a meter in diameter and half a meter tall—and was reminded of some farming tools from his previous life. Fortunately, the other mages didn't notice him, so his strange smile went unnoticed.

However, the sleazy officer shouted loudly, "I knew it! I said it from the first day it started shrinking—I knew it would end up this small!" He tried to touch the somewhat dim stone disk but was stopped by the Blizzard Warriors protecting him. With their sixth-rank strength, they could sense the immense magical fluctuations emanating from it.

Even now, preparation for the advancement continued. The few seventh-tier mages took out magic characters soaked in special materials, briefly dipped them in the still-molten Sky-Blue Gold, then chanted incantations to embed these magic characters.

With the efforts of the high-rank mages, the magic characters were embedded into the stone disk one by one using magical power. When one seventh-tier mage could no longer sustain the embedding, another quickly replaced him, allowing the former to take high-grade medicine for recovery.

Thus, under the quiet gaze of Shao Ke and the others, the seventh-tier mages took turns several times until all the characters were fully embedded into the stone disk.

Looking at the stone disk now embedded with the much-smaller magic characters, the seventh-tier mages sat down on the ground, unable to stand up. The consumption had been too great for them to sustain for long. Fortunately, they had companions to take turns, or the task would have certainly failed.

The meditation rest of the seventh-tier mages didn't affect the subsequent work, as the production process couldn't have long intervals at this stage.

Dozens of special metal solutions were mixed in proportion into the Sky-Blue Gold solution. Finally, a seventh-tier warrior held the vessel suspended above the stone disk. A sixth-tier mage quickly chanted an incantation, igniting a special arcane fire to maintain the temperature. Three other sixth-tier mages also began chanting special incantations. Under the nervous watch of the seventh-tier warrior, the solutions quickly formed a thin stream that fell, outlining a complex array across the entire stone platform.

Meanwhile, the few low-rank clerics quickly took out golden spellbooks and cast their unique spells. Seven or eight beams of golden light split into two parts: one merged into the three sixth-tier mages outlining the array, halving their consumption and enabling them to complete the drawing; the other part quickly merged into the lines as the metal outline took shape.

When the metal liquid in the vessel was gone, the array on the entire stone platform was complete. The low-rank clerics and the three sixth-tier mages, however, collapsed to the ground from excessive consumption and began meditating quickly to recover, as there was still more work to be done later.

Subsequently, Shao Ke and the other low-rank mages, along with the few high-rank mages waiting nearby, quickly infused their spiritual power or mana into the stone platform using special hand-seal methods to enhance its affinity for magic. Meanwhile, physicians prepared the already-concocted medicines and, with a warrior's help, evenly poured them over the stone platform.

With this preparation complete, the altar for Mage Roman's class change was ready. Although some remaining tasks were unfinished, they were not critical.