Undead Mage: I Have a Skeleton Clone-Chapter 546 - 387: Ember Refining, The Era of Myth’s Gambling Stone Workshop!

Fang Zhou rubbed his somewhat flabby lower back and sighed inwardly.

Lately, Instructor Su Xinyan had been extremely jealous, paying close attention to his whereabouts. She neither wanted to be seen in public accompanying him on his shopping trips, nor did she like the idea of anyone else going with him.

Considering Instructor Su Xinyan’s feelings and wanting to maintain a harmonious relationship between husband and wife—oh, no—between mentor and student, Fang Zhou reluctantly made a sacrifice.

Wobbling through the bustling crowd, Fang Zhou finally arrived at the Black Iron Tier trading area. Here, stalls and tents were densely packed. The crowd ebbed and flowed, with people either hurrying past or stopping for a closer look.

The air was filled with the rising and falling cries of sellers trying to capture the attention of passersby.

"Come on, have a look! A top-grade Black Curtain Magic Staff, white, common-quality! It has an exceptional amplifying effect on dark-element skills. A great item at a low price, only 300 contribution points!"

"Barbarian Bull Strength Potion! Just drink it, and your Strength attribute will skyrocket for a short time! Don’t miss out on this amazing offer!"

"Top-grade Ember Ore! Can be used to forge Black Iron-tier mage hats. This is premium raw material for forging equipment for Negative Energy Professionals! Just look at this purity! A blacksmith can use it with just a little refinement. Only 100 contribution points per pound, what a bargain..."

The last voice particularly caught Fang Zhou’s attention. He involuntarily slowed his pace, his gaze drawn to a stall filled with various ores.

At this stall, pieces of Ember Ore were meticulously displayed. Each one shimmered with a unique black and red luster. Their surfaces were smooth and delicate, occasionally showing a few tiny cracks. These ores were not just eye-catching for their splendid appearance but also for their powerful negative energy conductivity, which could significantly boost the performance of equipment for Negative Energy Professionals.

Fang Zhou gently touched the mage hat on his head.

During this time, he had learned much of the basic knowledge of the Blacksmith sub-profession from Instructor Huang Qiuyue. If it weren’t for his limited Soul Power, he might have already tried becoming a part-time blacksmith.

Instructor Huang Qiuyue had once given him suggestions for equipment enhancement. She pointed out that the seven pieces of his New Star Set, being the finest among standard-issue Magic Professional equipment, had already reached their enhancement limit. If he wanted to improve upon his gear further, he would need to find mineral resources that suited the requirements of his Undead Mage profession. He could then smelt them into his New Star Equipment.

Of course, a piece of New Star Equipment reforged in this way would have far better individual attributes than the original standard-issue item. But this process came at a cost. Not only would it require spending a large number of contribution points on raw materials, but it would also inevitably destroy the original array resonance structure of the New Star Set. This would cause the newly reforged equipment to lose its set-bonus effect.

In other words, if Fang Zhou wanted to avoid breaking his New Star Set bonus, he could reforge a maximum of three pieces of equipment this way.

According to Instructor Huang Qiuyue’s recommendation, this Ember Ore was the best material to use for reforging the New Star Mage Hat. Doing so would alter its attributes to be more aligned with his Negative Energy affinity as an Undead Mage. To redirect his New Star Mage Hat’s neutral energy affinity toward Negative Energy, he would need at least 100 grams of Ember Ore essence.

Considering the quality of this pile of Ember Ore, extracting 100 grams of ore essence would require about one and a half pounds, costing 150 contribution points.

This price is quite worthwhile.

Fang Zhou quickly did the math. With several thousand contribution points in reserve, spending 150 on one and a half pounds of Ember Ore was effortless. The only pity was that his 70% discount privilege was unusable in this free-trade area. But this was inevitable, as rare resources like Ember Ore were not always available in the Sea City Military Academy’s resource pool.

At this moment, the ore stall owner saw Fang Zhou’s keen interest and enthusiastically began his sales pitch. "These pieces of Ember Ore were mined from the Fierce Beast Mountain Range; their quality is excellent. If you use them to reforge equipment, it will definitely enhance its attributes."

Fang Zhou nodded and presented his personal terminal to the stall owner. The stall owner confirmed the details and nodded back.

Fang Zhou then transferred 150 contribution points from his personal terminal and collected all of the stall owner’s Ember Ore, which amounted to just under two pounds.

He was filled with joy, having found what he wanted so soon after arriving in the trading area. He put the precious Ember Ore into his Space Storage Capsule and continued to venture deeper into the temporary shop zone with anticipation.

If the markers on the map are correct, the ancient Marvels acquired by those senior students from exploring the ruins of other civilizations are supposed to be housed in the innermost large tent. Whether or not I can acquire enough Soul Crystals this time, success or failure hinges on this. I can’t let a major opportunity slip away for minor gains. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

As he walked deeper, the surroundings grew more vibrant. The small stalls gradually thinned out, replaced by more and more large tents. These tents varied in shape and color.

Some were regular square structures, while others had unique cylindrical designs.

Some had sturdy gateposts at their entrances, while others were adorned with bright red lanterns. Some tents were brightly lit, while others appeared dark and mysterious.