With Aimon clearing the way, Richard's subsequent journey went smoothly.
Soon, the aircraft arrived at the Wizard District in the center of Paradise City.
As the name suggests, the Wizard District is the area where Wizards live, contrasting sharply with the vast Mortal District, which is like the red dot at the center of a target.
The Wizards living in this area are a small portion of employees from Nine Stars Commerce, while the vast majority are visiting Wizards.
These Wizards often come to Paradise City for specific materials or specimens and do not stay long.
Thus, the population mobility in the Wizard District is extremely high.
But this is not necessarily a bad thing.
The high mobility brings with it almost infinite possibilities.
Nine Stars Commerce often takes advantage of trading opportunities to acquire the skills and contact information of these Wizards.
This brings us to the most important service of Nine Stars Commerce—Wizard Mutual Assistance.
If a Wizard encounters difficulties, they can come to Nine Stars Commerce, spend some Magic Essence, and inquire if there are any Wizards known to Nine Stars Commerce who can solve their problem.
If there are, Nine Stars Commerce will charge a commission from the seeker and connect the two Wizards.
Just like when Richard was collecting knowledge about Alchemy Machines in Crimson Sun World.
This business is a top priority for Nine Stars Commerce; what Wizards lack the most is the exchange of information. Having such a platform, even if the fees are somewhat high, is a tremendous benefit for Wizards.
Countless Wizards have been trapped by problems for a lifetime simply because they couldn't find someone who could help.
Given the importance of this business, the head of its department is naturally not an outsider.
Before Old Chairman ran out of steam, he personally led this department, and now that he is about to pass away, the current acting minister of this department is Old Chairman's student—Rosser.
In fact, when Old Chairman was in charge, Rosser was already working in this department as the deputy minister.
Before Bob appeared, almost every Wizard believed that Rosser would be the successor to Nine Stars Commerce.
Bob's survival until now is also thanks to Rosser; before Old Chairman determined the heir, almost no one specifically plotted against Bob.
Because everyone was too busy dealing with Rosser.
Otherwise, Bob, with his shallow foundation, would have likely turned to dust.
...
The most eye-catching feature of the Wizard District is a white hexagonal tower located at its center.
The exquisite reliefs combined with the geometrically pleasing shape make one feel at ease just by looking at it.
"Is this the headquarters of Nine Stars Commerce?" Richard asked, gazing at the white tower.
Bob shook his head: "Of course not. Our headquarters are the four shorter towers surrounding this one. This tower is our auction house and a place to sell some rare Oddities.
The VIP accommodations are also inside this tower."
The auction mentioned in Bob's information was not just a figment of his imagination; Nine Stars Commerce would indeed hold a grand auction three days later.
The highlight of the auction would be the mutated Fire Lizard flesh that Richard sold to Bob in Crimson Sun World.
The aircraft landed on a large terrace at the top of the white tower, and Richard stepped out, entering the tower.
The floor where the aircraft landed was a hall, and upon entering, several Puppet Servants, which showed almost no mechanical traces, approached Richard.
The mechanical attendants handed Richard a black metal badge, which was exquisitely crafted and even had some enchantments on it.
Bob explained, "This is our guild's VIP badge, mainly used for identity recognition and to access certain VIP areas.
The black badge is the highest level; with this badge, there is no place in this entire tower that you cannot go. Any staff member will do their utmost to meet your requests."
Richard nodded, "So where will I be staying these days?"
Bob smiled mysteriously, "You'll find out once you activate the badge."
Richard felt a spark of curiosity and immediately used his mental power to probe the badge.
The creator had left instructions for use within the badge, and Richard followed the instructions to inject some Magic Power.
Immediately, a special frequency of Magic Power waves emanated from the badge, and faint white light began to glow beneath Richard's feet.
"A teleportation array?"
Richard glanced at the carpet laid on the hall's floor; he had thought it was for aesthetics, but it turned out to have the effect of concealing a Magic Array.
Soon, the scenery around Richard became blurry, and when it cleared up again, he found himself in a lavishly decorated room.
Ancient and exquisite murals, delicate tapestries, and splendid Magic Power lamps illuminated the entire room.
Approaching the window, he saw the sea of clouds flowing beneath him, offering a panoramic view of Paradise City.
"This view is quite nice."
As he stepped away from the window, Richard noticed a Crystal Ball on the table in the living room.
He picked it up and looked inside, his expression immediately turning strange.
"These Wizards really know how to have fun," Richard murmured.
The information in the Crystal Ball, aside from the layout of the tower, was filled with various entertainment options.
Some of these options, beyond the usual entertainment, included services that could only be described as indulgent.
What kind of Wizard would choose a Tentacle Monster Viscera Massage service?
And this High-Current Mental Cleansing service—why does it look so much like electric shock therapy?
Even the service prop is just a chair.
Looking at the services provided by Nine Stars Commerce, Richard felt that his understanding of Wizards was still too shallow.
These long-lived beings, with their rich imaginations, pursue stimulation and pleasure to an extreme.
Long periods of time can render any joy bland; once-delicious food can taste like cardboard, and once-enjoyed intimacy can become dull.
In this process, some Wizards choose to pursue truth through information, finding joy in the continuous exploration of the unknown.
The rest, however, begin to seek more extreme pleasures.
Setting the Crystal Ball down, Richard intended to look at the auction brochure Bob had given him to see what good items would be up for bid.
But a message from his soul made him put down the auction brochure.
"Oh great Creator God, your people have completed a great work; the Sacred Armor has been finished."
Richard was taken aback, then quickly realized what the fluffball was referring to.
"The Fire Lizard armor is actually done!"
Richard marveled inwardly, thinking that the efficiency of work for the sake of ideals is indeed different.
Over the past thirty years, the Fire Lizard craftsmen in the Secret Realm, with Richard's support, had initiated the "Mechanist" project to create Sacred Armor for the Fire Lizard.
The process of this project was not exactly smooth sailing; it was fraught with difficulties.
Although Neural Control Technology has indeed been passed down on New World Island, this technology is essentially a form of biological modification, completely different from the Alchemy used by Fire Lizard craftsmen.
The Fire Lizard had to transform this technology into alchemical techniques.
In addition to Neural Control Technology, the design of the armor was also a topic of heated debate.
Each of these Fire Lizard Alchemy Masters wanted to include their proudest works, but their skills were far from sufficient to balance these designs.
This led to the initial version of the armor being excessively bulky, which Richard promptly rejected, demanding a redesign.
Later, these Fire Lizard craftsmen optimized several versions, but none were satisfactory. Eventually, Richard had to go to New World Island to bring Makar into the Secret Realm, allowing this practical expert to explain to the Fire Lizard craftsmen what essential functions and auxiliary functions meant.
With Makar's help, the design finally took shape.
However, after finalizing the design, these Fire Lizard craftsmen encountered technical issues.
Many things looked simple on paper, but once put into practice, there were always various problems.
Fortunately, the number of Fire Lizards was sufficient, and their skills were strong enough; through brainstorming, these technical issues were tackled one after another.
When Richard last entered the Secret Realm, these Fire Lizard craftsmen told him that only one final problem remained unsolved.
Now, just a month later, he was surprised that this problem had been resolved so quickly.
Richard opened the Mystic Realm Rift and stepped inside.
As soon as he entered the Secret Realm, Richard saw a majestic steel giant standing not far from him.
Makar, as a third-level Fire Lizard, stood three meters tall, and after donning this armor, he towered even higher.
His already strong body, wrapped in the armor, resembled a wall of sighs.
Makar held a Golden Chainsaw Sword in his right hand, the serrated blade measuring a full meter long, seemingly capable of shredding any defense.
In his left hand, a thick metal shield was enough to make any rational being abandon the thought of attacking.
Upon seeing Richard enter the Secret Realm, Makar immediately moved toward him. With the help of the Anti-Gravity Enchantment, Makar, weighing several tons, walked on the soft ground without leaving a footprint.
Yes, this armor utilized not only Dragon Alchemy; some functions that were difficult to achieve with Dragon Alchemy were replaced by Richard using Wizard Alchemy.
"My lord."
Makar knelt on one knee.
The Fire Lizard craftsmen quickly gathered around Richard, their faces a mix of exhaustion and excitement.
To complete this armor as soon as possible, they had been working almost day and night.
Kallion approached Richard, his voice filled with excitement: "My lord, we did it."
Richard nodded, giving a slight acknowledgment to the weary Fire Lizard craftsmen.
"Everyone, thank you for your hard work these days. To reward your labor, all employees of the alchemy workshop will have a three-month vacation."
Upon hearing Richard's reward, several Fire Lizard Alchemy Masters felt indifferent, but the Fire Lizard workers in the workshop were overjoyed.
"Thank you, my lord!"
"You are truly the embodiment of kindness, my lord!"
"My lord, I really don't need a break..."
Before he could finish, he was pinned to the ground and given a good beating by a group of Fire Lizards.
Richard paid no mind to the Fire Lizard workers' antics; the reason he halted production in the alchemy workshop was simple: the alchemical parts produced by these Fire Lizards were already sufficient for Richard's use for a while.
Continuing would only take up space in the warehouse without any other use.
"Can someone give me an introduction to the armor's data?" Richard asked a nearby Fire Lizard Alchemy Master.
Sulina squeezed next to Richard, holding a piece of paper: "My lord, this is our testing data sheet."
Richard took the data sheet and, upon glancing at it, gasped in surprise.
Since this armor was a prototype, many aspects did not consider production costs, leading to its performance being exceptionally high.
The armor's protective capabilities were extremely strong; spells below four thousand energy levels would not cause structural damage to the armor itself, and the large shield in his hand could even withstand elemental attacks of six thousand energy levels.
In terms of attack, with the armor's enhancement, Makar's ordinary punch could deal two thousand energy levels of blunt damage. The Chainsaw Sword combined anti-magic and cutting damage.
The only drawback of the entire armor was the lack of ranged damage and overly simplistic attack methods.
But that was Richard's problem; he would handle the choice of offensive weapons.
Aside from the attack and defense, the armor had no issues with agility.
Once donned, Makar's speed was even faster than when he was completely naked.
Moreover, the armor also had the function of concealing its aura; once fully armed, ordinary mental probes would be ineffective.
It can be said that as a protective armor, this set had no flaws except for its high cost.
Richard folded the data sheet and put it in his pocket, then asked Sulina:
"What is this armor called?" Sulina looked up at Richard, her eyes seemingly sparkling.
"My lord, it is called 'Mechanist.'"
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