Chapter 14: The Wretched Genius

Feuerbach? It seemed like a surname. Komer’s attention sharpened, and suddenly he seemed to recall something. “Mr. Feuerbach, I wonder if you have any special connection with that most famous arsonist in history from over a hundred years ago?”

Marcelan Feuerbach, the most notorious arsonist in the Land of Azure, was imprisoned in the infamous and strict prison—Pax Hell—for raping multiple noble women. By chance, he obtained materials for fire magic and created a super-powered fire magic artifact—the Dragonflame Wind Column. Exactly how he obtained and crafted this terrifying fire magic artifact is unknown. Yet it was this man who used the Dragonflame Wind Column to set Pax Hell ablaze, destroying even the nearby famous Castle Shanggrila. As a result, the Duke of Marlinton, who was said to care only for beauty and not for power, vomited blood three times and died.

“Heh, I didn’t expect even Lord Komer to know about the great achievements of my ancestors. Marcelan was my great-grandfather. I’m honored to accept your invitation,” said the man, displaying noble manners that appeared grotesque on his goat-like face.

A descendant of a lustful demon and a mad arsonist? Komer didn’t know what purpose Karmanee had in introducing this so-called alchemist to him. Could this man truly be a genius in some regard?

“Oh, Mr. Feuerbach, I didn’t expect you to have changed careers by your generation. The identity of an alchemist seems more suitable for you,” Komer said insincerely. “It seems Mr. Karmanee has brought me a truly remarkable friend.”

Karmanee seemed to sense the underlying tone in Komer’s words and quickly added, “Lord Komer, Mr. Feuerbach is the greatest alchemist I’ve ever met. He has extensive experience and unique insights into the smelting and purification of demon metals. I believe if he can serve you, it will be of great help to you.”

With an arrogantly raised head, like a peacock proudly showing off its feathers, Feuerbach’s image became even more ugly and detestable in Komer’s eyes. After studying him for a long time, Komer slowly said, “Since Mr. Karmanee speaks so highly of Mr. Feuerbach, I wonder if Mr. Feuerbach can satisfy my curiosity and tell me about his experiences before coming to our Caucasus.”

Karmanni seemed to detect a strange tone in Komer’s words as well, growing anxious inwardly. Feuerbach was indeed a genius, but his vile character was hard to conceal. Karmanni was also well aware that this man had inherited the traits of his great-grandfather—obsessed with women. He had repeatedly caused trouble in his previous employers. This man liked women but lacked the skills to win them over. Judging from his appearance, it was indeed difficult for him to gain women’s favor. To get what he wanted, he either had to use force or resort to despicable methods like drugs and poisons.

“Oh, Lord Komer, I’ve had a very rich life experience—one that could take three days and three nights to tell. If you’re truly interested, perhaps we can find some free time to drink together and have a proper conversation,” said the goat-headed man with a smug smile, which only made Komer despise him even more.

“Is that so? I wonder where Mr. Feuerbach used to work?” Komer asked casually.

“Hehe, I’ve been to many places. I’ve stayed briefly in several countries of the Northern Alliance, but I didn’t like their atmosphere—it was too serious and rigid, oppressive. I’ve also been to the Nibcha region in the west, but the lords there were too stingy; it was hard to get along with them. As for the city-states in the south, I’ve been there too, but they lacked opportunities for me to showcase my talents. I really liked those places—the women there were enthusiastic, lively, and generous, truly memorable. It’s just a pity…”

“What’s a pity?” Komer asked, surprised.

“Hehe, it’s a pity I’m short on money and can’t sustain myself there,” Feuerbach said without any pretense.

Komer developed a slight fondness for this man—at least he wasn’t pretentious and was quite honest. But having the descendant of a super-sexual pervert and arsonist stay in his territory could bring about all sorts of trouble. However, judging from Karmanni’s eager expression, this man seemed to have some skills after all. The mining scale of the Izmel mines would expand further, and the extraction of demon metal ores would soon be put on the agenda. And this task indeed required someone skilled in that field.

“Mr. Feuerbach, I don’t want to go into too much detail. Karmanni invited you on my behalf—surely you know why. I need a reliable alchemist to assist with the mining work in my territory. Well, the main goal is to smelt and purify demon metals. I think you understand what I mean?” Komer stared at him. “But you also know that the people in the Caucasus region are fierce and there are many races, which can easily lead to intensified conflicts. I hope the person I hire will be disciplined and not cause me unnecessary trouble. Otherwise, there might be things even I won’t be able to resolve.”

“Hehe, Lord Komer, please rest assured. I’m someone who strictly follows rules and regulations. My purpose for coming to the Caucasus is simple: to make money. As long as you can satisfy me in this regard, everything will be fine.” The goat-headed man’s expression remained calm, and his behavior at this moment surprised Komer quite a bit. This guy wasn’t as despicable as he had imagined.

Nodding firmly, Komer casually took out two pieces of ore from a leather bag beside him and tossed them to the other man. “Tell me, what’s in these two stones?”

The goat-headed man’s expression turned serious as soon as he received the ores. He knew this was a necessary condition for earning a satisfactory income. If he couldn’t give a satisfactory answer, his long journey would likely end without a good outcome. It wouldn’t be easy for him, who had a poor reputation, to find a decent place to live. If it weren’t for this lord’s urgent need for help, Karmanni probably wouldn’t have risked recommending him here.

These were two ores that didn’t seem particularly special. Without any hesitation, the goat-headed man sat down carelessly. His long robe flared open, and he suddenly pulled out a huge storage bag from his waist. He reached inside with his claw-like hand, fumbled around for a while, and then took out a long, sharp, hollow cone. He began to carefully drill it into the first ore. Soon, the cone penetrated to the center of the ore. The goat-headed man carefully removed some ore powder from the hollow part and placed it in a metal container, seemingly completing his first task.

Some strange bottles were also brought out, and the liquids inside were poured into the container one by one. Each time he poured, he would observe carefully and then take out a scroll of parchment to make notes. Finally, he took out a small liquid burner and placed the metal container on it.

With a gentle twist of his goat-headed fingers, a faint green flame ignited in the furnace. Komer was intrigued—this was the Infinite Dark Flame, with a hint of purple-black in its dark green hue. It seemed difficult to achieve this merely through elemental magic. Could this guy also have a dark background?

Komer observed quietly. It appeared this guy had some real skills. Just this seemingly professional technique alone showed he wasn’t an ordinary person pretending to be skilled. He could easily unleash the Infinite Dark Flame himself, but being able to control the size of the flame at will required some expertise in fire magic.

The faint green flame gradually turned crimson. Komer nodded inwardly—this was the Flaming Sun Power, the most intense form of fire. Only by releasing pure fire elements could such a color be achieved. Komer couldn’t tell what changes had taken place to the mineral powder in the metal container, but since the guy was taking careful notes, Komer guessed there must be some gains.

The crimson flame gradually turned silver-white and transparent, with the flame height increasing as well. Komer stroked his chin thoughtfully. Brilliant. Without mentioning anything else, just these few fire magic tricks performed in front of him were enough to let him pass the first test. This was the Infinite Light Flame—a high-level fire magic formed by combining pure light magic with a small amount of fire elements. Even ordinary light mages found it hard to perfect this. Whether this guy was deliberately showing off in front of him or not, this alone was sufficient.

The flame eventually dimmed and went out. The goat-headed man watched the changes in the substance inside the metal container, made a few additional notes, and then raised his head proudly, saying, “Lord Komer, the conditions and time here are very limited. I could only conduct simple tests, but I’ve still achieved some results.”

“Oh? I’m very interested. Please, Mr. Feuerbach, introduce them to us,” Komer said, blinking.

“The main component of this ore is naturally iron, with a high iron content—so it can be considered quite high-quality iron ore. But I believe this isn’t what Lord Komer is interested in. This ore does indeed contain a considerable amount of magic metals. Note, I mean it contains a wide variety of them. I can preliminarily determine that it contains at least three different types of magic metals. As far as I know, this is quite rare on the Continent of Azure. On the Continent of Vastness, it might still be acceptable,” the goat-headed man spoke at length, his goat beard twitching nonstop.