Chapter 412: Extraction (Patreon)

Chapter 412: Extraction

With the ritual completed, the many Third Circle Wizards collectively breathed a sigh of relief.

Though the difficulty of this Ritual Magic wasn’t particularly high, its cost was truly staggering. Even though Richard had promised not to hold any of the Wizards accountable for mistakes, if such an expensive Spell went wrong on your watch, even the wealthiest Wizard would feel resentment.

None of the Wizards present had any grudges or grievances against Richard—on the contrary, they were eager to stay on good terms with him. No one wanted to provoke him needlessly.

Fortunately, the ritual proceeded smoothly.

Richard gave a slight bow to the Wizards. "Thank you all for your assistance this time. If any of you ever need my help in the future, don’t hesitate to ask."

Though the Wizards present all responded with polite assurances, none took his words seriously.

With the ritual complete, Richard was in high spirits. After settling the Magic Essence payments for the Wizards, he took them to Galon Wizard Academy for a lavish meal in the dining hall.

Once the meal ended and everyone went their separate ways, only Jolod remained with Richard as they returned to the Polar North City.

On the way back, Jolod remarked with lingering satisfaction, "Grand Wizard Galon is truly extravagant. The food in that dining hall surpasses even specialized Wizard restaurants."

Richard chuckled. "Naturally. Most Wizards at Galon Wizard Academy follow the path of physical evolution. For physical evolution, training accounts for seventy percent, while diet makes up the other thirty. Poor-quality food would only hinder progress.

For that dining hall alone, Grand Wizard Galon designated an entire world as farmland and established a trade guild to handle ingredient procurement.

No ordinary Wizard restaurant could match those conditions."

"True enough," Jolod nodded slightly. "Speaking of trade guilds, our collaboration with the Fist of Truth Trade Guild has already begun.

Projection theaters are being rolled out in cities governed by White Wizards, and the results so far have been quite promising.

That Third Circle Wizard named John—though he looks like a clumsy bear—has remarkably sharp methods. His promotional strategies have been exceptionally effective."

Richard was slightly surprised. "They’ve already started expanding? That’s impressively fast."

Jolod glanced at his student and said dryly, "This was a deal you negotiated. Of course it’s moving quickly."

Richard paused, then couldn’t help but laugh. "What kind of reasoning is that? Just because I negotiated the deal, it gets priority?"

"Obviously," Jolod replied flatly. "You’re the guild’s chairman. Deals you bring in naturally take precedence.

Besides… this plan is extraordinary. Honestly, I never imagined we could earn money from apprentices this way."

Jolod still remembered the moment when the Wizard named John walked into his office, handed him that meticulously detailed business proposal, and explained that it was a concrete realization of Richard’s ideas. The emotion that surged in his chest was, once again, astonishment.

This student of his had brought him too many surprises.

Having Richard as his student wasn’t Richard’s good fortune—it was his.

He had a clear premonition that Richard would leave a profound mark on the history of Wizard civilization.

And as for him, this mediocre Alchemist Wizard, he might just leave the faintest trace in the annals of history—as Richard’s teacher.

Richard replied with visible excitement, "Haha, precisely because no one else has thought of it, that's how we can make money, teacher.

And I have a feeling Wizard Apprentices will become increasingly common in the future. This projection theater will turn into a goldmine just like the Magic Support Vehicles!"

Seeing Richard's animated expression, Jolod couldn't help but smile faintly.

He walked over to Richard and patted him on the shoulder.

"I trust your judgment."

...

After seeing Jolod off, Richard returned to the Wizard Tower and immediately entered the Nightmare World.

The Nightmare World remained as tranquil as ever. Over twenty years had passed, yet this territory showed no signs of change.

Before the emergence of the northernmost city, the desolate lands of the Far North had a population too sparse to sustain even a single Nightmare Knight, let alone a Nightmare Lord.

Even displaced Nightmare Lords, drawing from experience, avoided approaching the Far North in search of new Nightmare Territories.

This left Richard's prosperous Nightmare Territory devoid of any enemies.

In the darkened room, beside a pitch-black coffin stood a black knight.

The knight's body was covered in runes, which bound him like chains, preventing any leakage of Nightmare Power from his form.

Suddenly, a dark door materialized out of thin air.

Sensing its presence, the black knight abruptly opened his eyes. Recognizing the visitor, he knelt on one knee and said with evident delight, "Boss, you're back."

Richard gave a slight nod. "Yes. Things went unexpectedly smoothly this time, so it didn't take long.

Has anything happened in the territory while I was away?"

"Nothing. Everything has been as usual."

Transferring his soul into his Nightmare form, Richard and Bone made their way to the Nightmare Power storage.

Over the years of Richard's absence, the Nightmare Power he had previously consumed had not only been replenished but had also grown by over ten million units.

"How did we end up with so much extra?" Richard asked, surprised.

Bone replied, "The territory's construction is nearly complete, so the Nightmare Power naturally became surplus."

Richard paused for a moment before realizing what Bone meant by "territory construction."

For a Nightmare creature ascending to become a Nightmare Lord, the Nightmare Territory serves as the foundation for their throne. Its importance cannot be overstated.

Before their ascension, Nightmare creatures must construct Nightmare conduits within their territory, creating a near-perfect energy cycle with the Nightmare Power.

This cycle ensures that during their ascension, the massive influx of Nightmare Power doesn't overwhelm and destroy them. It also preserves a significant portion of their Nightmare Power should the ascension fail.

"The conduit construction is already finished? That was fast."

Bone's tone turned slightly exasperated. "Boss, this speed was actually quite slow. Since you never pushed those lazy slackers, they kept slacking off.

After I executed a few, their efficiency improved immediately."

Richard chuckled awkwardly. He had never been particularly diligent about matters in the Nightmare World.

"Well, as long as it's done."

With Richard's return, Bone no longer needed to oversee the territory. After briefing Richard on its status, he returned to his own city.

Meanwhile, Richard began refining the Nightmare Power in the storage.

Refining the Nightmare rule required five hundred units of soul power, so Richard now needed to prepare soul essence equivalent to at least five hundred units of spiritual energy.

To put it in perspective, that meant twenty million strands of Nightmare Power.

The warehouse had more than enough Nightmare Power—in fact, it was quite abundant.

"Having a territory is truly wonderful," Richard mused with some emotion. "Refining tens of millions of strands of Nightmare Power is as easy as snapping my fingers. From now on, whenever I encounter rules, I won’t have to worry about spiritual energy anymore."

Refining soul essence was a tedious task, involving constant restoration of spiritual energy. Even Richard felt mentally fatigued by it.

After spending nearly two months, Richard finally refined enough soul essence for his needs.

Stepping out of the warehouse, he let out a long sigh and began using the spell imprint engraved on his soul to communicate with the dimensional space bubble within the Dimensional Gap.

As his spiritual energy surged into the spell imprint, Richard felt his soul enter a peculiar, almost mystical state.

Suddenly, he could see things normally hidden from view—such as the Dimensional Gap concealed behind the world’s veil.

Yet this state was different from when he had witnessed the battle between Grand Wizard Galon and the World Tree.

It seemed the world’s veil wasn’t just a single layer—each layer concealed something different.

Once he perceived the Dimensional Gap, the rest became straightforward.

Richard summoned the space bubble from the Dimensional Gap, stuffed the soul essence into it, and then pushed the bubble back into the gap.

The moment he finished, his vision abruptly darkened.

Though these steps seemed simple, each one consumed an enormous amount of spiritual energy. Even with Richard’s spiritual energy at the peak of a Third Circle Wizard’s capacity, performing just this single storage action drained nearly all of it.

"Whew, this thing isn’t something to be used casually," he muttered.

After fully recovering his spiritual energy, Richard assigned some territorial construction tasks to his stewards before returning to the Wizard World.

Back in the Wizard World, he repeated the process, summoning the dimensional space bubble from the Dimensional Gap.

Then, the soul essence he had refined in the Nightmare World manifested in the material plane.

"Heh, success."

Barely clinging to consciousness, Richard stored the soul essence into a specially prepared enchanted container.

If soul essence wasn’t kept in a specialized vessel, it would evaporate entirely in no time.

Once the soul essence was secured, Richard’s vision blacked out completely, and he collapsed to the ground, not waking until seven days later.

Upon regaining consciousness, he took a moment to gather his bearings before immediately opening a Mystic Realm Rift.

The preparations were complete—now it was time for the main event.

Inside the Secret Realm, the Holy Tree Sprite, responding to Richard’s summons, promptly opened the path to the Fuel Ring.

Though the World Mushroom had fallen into slumber, its body continued to function normally. The blockade around the Fuel Ring remained as tight as ever, with layers upon layers of mycelium absorbing every trace of radiation emitted by the ring.

Accompanied by Ulysses, Richard descended swiftly until they reached the Fuel Ring’s location.

Dozens of first-tier Holy Tree Sprites, led by three second-tier ones, harnessed the World Mushroom’s energy to erect a thick energy barrier, shielding Richard from the harmful radiation.

Richard tilted his head and spoke to the black raven perched on his shoulder, "Ulysses, protect my body later. This refinement will take some time."

"Caw, don't worry. I guarantee your flesh won't be ruined," Ulysses replied solemnly.

Seeing this, Richard cast aside his hesitation. Holding the box containing soul essence in one hand, he reached through the energy barrier with the other and touched the Fuel Ring.

[Raw Material: Fuel Ring]

[Refinable Rule: Radiation Rule (Tier 1)]

[Refinement Cost: 500 Soul Power]

[Proceed with Refinement?]

"Yes!"

In the next instant, Richard's soul began to weaken as his soul power gradually flowed into the Miracle Furnace within his spirit.

Simultaneously, Richard opened the box of soul essence and began absorbing its contents.

An immense quantity of soul essence immediately started nourishing Richard's soul.

Under this massive infusion of soul essence, Richard—now a Third Circle Wizard—felt an unfamiliar drowsiness that even his willpower couldn't resist. He soon fell into a deep slumber.

After he fell asleep, Ulysses immediately summoned Holy Tree Sprites to restore Richard's body.

Despite Ulysses' protection, Richard's arm had turned to ashes the moment he touched the Fuel Ring.

A month later, the Fuel Ring suddenly vanished from the cavern.

Witnessing this, Ulysses knew the refinement had begun.

It wouldn't be long before Richard took his first step on the path to becoming a Great Wizard.