Wizard Lord:I can Extract Anything

"Haha, as expected, the Miracle Furnace can handle tasks that don't involve synthesis, just purification," Richard exclaimed, slapping his thigh in excitement.

For a long time, Richard had only used the Miracle Furnace to extract information, never its material extraction function. Now, with the task of extracting red mercury, he had the opportunity to test this capability.

"Not yet."

Richard refrained from extracting immediately, remembering red mercury's explosive nature.

"Red mercury is highly volatile; it should be kept away from light, impact, and agitation post-extraction. I'll need to buy a tinted glass bottle."

Richard promptly headed to the commercial district to purchase a brown glass bottle.

Back in his room, he held the fist-sized sunstone and selected the extraction option.

In the next moment, Richard felt his magic power flow to a place beyond his perception.

The extraction consumed two-thirds of his magic power, equating one mental power to ten magic power.

As his magic power depleted, the sunstone in his hand shrank at a visible rate, transforming into a glob of red, liquid mercury with a golden sheen.

Suspended by magic, the red mercury floated in the air. Richard carefully guided it into the newly bought brown glass bottle.

Weighing it on a large scale, Richard found that one kilogram of sunstone had yielded fifty grams of red mercury.

"Was I ripped off?" Richard wondered, annoyed. But then he realized that thanks to the Miracle Furnace, he had achieved near-zero loss. Ordinary apprentices couldn't extract red mercury as efficiently.

So extracting fifty grams from one kilogram of sunstone made sense.

"Either way, the task is complete. Even if I don't apprentice under Jolord, earning a hundred magic stones is quite a profit."

After extracting the red mercury, Richard's life settled into a routine.

Central Black Tower, library, dormitory—the same three locations. Occasionally, he dined with Ellie or strolled through the commercial district, but that was the extent of his activities.

Richard didn't rush to submit the task.

Testing with the remaining sunstone, he found that extracting red mercury would take an ordinary apprentice at least a month, assuming no errors. Failures could double or triple that time.

The tallest tree catches the wind.

Especially when Richard's success relied on a cheat.

Under these circumstances, Richard had to conceal his true capabilities, scheduling the task submission for three months later.

Besides the task, Richard focused on acquiring materials for Bloodline Alchemy rather than exchanging for spell models to inscribe spell imprints.

Wizard apprentices had three essentials: linking to the sea of souls, forming a magic feedback loop, and inscribing spell imprints. Spell imprints allowed quick spellcasting, but as a low-level apprentice, Richard had few spells to choose from.

Bloodline Alchemy was different.

The recipe he extracted from the notes, called Black Warrior, had three stages doable during apprenticeship, requiring common bloodlines. The first stage only needed the bloodline of a low-level magical beast called the Black Iron Beast.

His battle with Saban showed how powerful a knight could become with magical aid. Bloodline Alchemy would enhance his physique.

Richard understood their current peace was temporary, a result of their recent enrollment and unfamiliar settings.

As time passed, conflict among their blood-stained peers was inevitable.

...

Three months later, in the apprentice self-test room.

[Mental Power: 16.2, Constitution: 10, Magic Power: 162, Rating: Novice Apprentice.]

Satisfied with the displayed data, Richard nodded.

Three months of dedicated meditation had pushed his mental power past sixteen points.

"An increase of one point every three months. At this rate, I'll meet the low-level apprentice standard in a year. And that's without upgrading my meditation technique. If I switch to an intermediate one, I could progress even faster!"

He also noted his physical improvement. According to academy records, a knight's squire had a constitution between ten and fifteen, with fifteen marking a full knight and over twenty a senior knight.

Remarkably, without any physical training, Richard's constitution had reached squire level.

An incredible feat.

Had Ellie not experienced a similar change, Richard might have suspected some legendary bloodline within himself.

Leaving the test room, Richard ventured to the commercial district's flea market.

Here, apprentices who couldn't afford shops set up stalls.

Richard browsed without a specific aim, drawn by the cheap prices and potential for a lucky find.

After some wandering, he spotted something he needed.

"Friend, how much for this claw?" Richard crouched by a stall, eyeing a claw with a few black scales.

Days of searching had finally led him to a seller of Black Iron Beast parts.

The vendor eyed Richard—new robe, youthful face—a new apprentice, ripe for gouging.

"Five hundred academy coins," the seller stated.

"Hmm? With such poor condition, you dare ask for five magic stones?" Richard exclaimed, pointing at the claw.

"This is worth at most two hundred academy coins, no more."

"Two hundred?" The vendor nearly jumped, intending to fleece a sucker, not become one. "Do you know how hard it is to kill a Black Iron Beast? At least four magic stones!"

"Four magic stones? Why not rob me?" Richard argued, loudly pointing out the claw's defects. "The claw's broken, half the metallic scales missing. Two hundred and fifty, that's my final offer."

"Three hundred and fifty! That's as low as I go."

"Three hundred! Any higher, and I'll look elsewhere!"

Richard feigned leaving, and the vendor, seeing his resolve, reluctantly agreed.

The claw had sat unsold for three days; if it rotted, he'd lose everything.

With the vendor's gritted acceptance, Richard grinned, tossed three magic stones, and strolled off with his prize.

Back at the dorm, Richard hummed a tune, clutching the Black Iron Beast's claw.

Despite its poor condition, it sufficed as alchemical material.

Richard had no intention of crafting a tool.

"With this claw, I can complete the first part of the Bloodline Alchemy from the notes."