This Lich Requests More Remuneration

Chapter 89 - 89 87 The Shitty Prophecy

?Chapter 89: Chapter 87: The Shitty Prophecy Chapter 89: Chapter 87: The Shitty Prophecy Having many deities can sometimes be a good thing for mortals.

With a variety to choose from, you’re not tormented by a single god. Believe in whoever you want, as long as you’re not fickle like a scoundrel. Generally, deities won’t mistreat their followers, except for some particularly twisted ones.

And precisely because there are so many deities, you don’t have to worry about the word of any one deity being final.

The deities have their rules too. For instance, the Lord of the Dawn knows that Withered Rose is trying to destroy Laine with all her might, but he can’t just smack her and scatter her ashes.

If the Lord of the Dawn did that, the God of the Liches, Vishalon, would immediately destroy the capital of the Laine Empire. Even though Vishalon is nowhere near the level of the Lord of the Dawn, tormenting mortals is easy for him.

What the deities fear the most is the call to “come on, let’s hurt each other.”

Especially the orderly and neutral gods, they won’t strike at mortals unless absolutely necessary. They set the rules, and if they violate them first, the chaotic and evil gods would wreak havoc without restraint, and mortals would suffer greater damage.

This is also why Amberser dared to bargain with his own teacher.

He’s taking advantage of you rule-abiding gods. If you dare, squash me, then let all the deities descend and reduce this prime material plane to ashes.

Of course, this is predicated on Amberser being sufficiently influential.

It’s not just the right to use Wishing Spell that he has; more importantly, it’s his understanding of the Wishing Ritual.

It can be said that if anyone on this continent could replicate the Wishing Ritual, it would definitely be Amberser.

If the orderly gods decided to kill him, his soul would immediately be protected by the chaotic and evil gods, and Amberser would probably become the Chosen of the chaotic and evil gods, starting to spread Wishing Machines in the mortal world, ideally one for every person in the Nine Great Kingdoms, to see what sort of chaos the mortals could conjure.

This is the chip that Amberser holds, and the reason he dares to negotiate with his teacher.

Perhaps the appearance of the God of Alchemy is also because the orderly gods know Amberser’s importance and are ready to play the sentiment card. That’s why they sent the God of Alchemy to approach him.

Once Amberser understood this, he didn’t hesitate to start bargaining.

“First, a Divine Artifact that can be used to cast the Wishing Spell an infinite number of times. Its value is beyond calculation, and I reckon you’ll also want me to keep mum about the technology, not sharing it with anyone. So, I want not only the right to use the Wishing Spell this time, but also your help in obtaining a divine power strong enough to subdue the Elven Gods. That’s not too much to ask, is it?”

The God of Alchemy looked at Amberser impassively and then said, “Do you even realize what you’re saying? If the Elven Gods heard this, I couldn’t protect you.”

“Oh, they aren’t eavesdropping, are they? Then how about I accept mass sterilization of the High Elves instead?”

The God of Alchemy put away the teapot and said to Amberser, “You might try wishing for that with the Wishing Spell and see if the Elven Gods don’t kill you.”

“Tsk, you orderly types have no sincerity.”

The God of Alchemy spoke sternly, “Don’t get too greedy. You know we are negotiating with you because we keep our word. But once you agree to us, you’ll be offending the chaotic and evil deities, and their malice toward you will still need us to bear. Don’t act like you’re aggrieved; you haven’t lost anything from the start, have you?”

“When I don’t gain things I should have, isn’t that a loss? Besides, I’m a Lich, backstabbing my own kind. Shouldn’t you compensate me more?”

“You’re not a follower of Vishalon! Do you think you’re special, that just because you’re a lich Vishalon will acknowledge you? And he’s staying neutral this time, don’t think about dragging him down with you,”
The reunion of the master and disciple after hundreds of years did not involve reminiscing but was filled with heated arguments.

Amberser was dissatisfied. He initially wanted to wish for ascension as a deity, preferably to arm-wrestle with the Lord of the Dawn. But the God of Alchemy told him bluntly to stop daydreaming, not even granting him that in a hundred tries with the Wishing Spell.

Amberser then lowered his demands, asking to at least become a deity, even a weaker one, but it was still impossible.

It wasn’t that the God of Alchemy was being difficult. The Wishing Spell is just a means for a deity to grant wishes. There’s no deity to help you ascendant to godhood – that cost is too great. It would be like giving away a piece of their divine power, akin to humans cutting off their own flesh.

If you want to become a god, work hard for it. Who knows? Perhaps one day the highest being will take notice and you’ll end up above the Lord of the Dawn.

The God of Alchemy offered a condition, giving him a new Legendary Grace to make up for his last-place standing at the Legendary Rank.

“Can I design a Legendary Grace of my own?” asked Amberser.

The God of Alchemy flatly refused, “It’s impossible. I can only give you another chance to ascend as a Legendary, and whatever power you get depends on you.”

“One is not enough; I want two,” Amberser bargained again.

“The opportunity to reselect is not given by me, but as your teacher, I can grant you a little extra,”
The God of Alchemy extended his right hand, and countless grains of gold sand coalesced in his palm, then were smelted into a uniquely patterned Gold Coin.

“Take this Gold Coin, it can replicate the Legendary Grace of any Legendary Alchemist, but you can only choose one Legendary Grace ability to copy. Once copied, you can’t change it,”
“Is there unlimited usage?” Amberser inquired.

“Since it’s not your own power, every time you use this Gold Coin, it will come at a corresponding cost,”
“What cost?” asked Amberser.

“Gold, to wield a power of Legendary Grace that does not belong to you, you must pay in corresponding Gold. As for how much, that’s your choice to make,” said the God of Alchemy as he placed the coin before Amberser.

Amberser was well aware that this coin was a Divine Artifact, personally crafted by a Deity, capable of wielding power akin to miracles.

However, it could only replicate the Legendary Grace of an Alchemist, which was a rather narrow scope of application.

Even the guild leader’s Legendary Grace didn’t seem very impressive, and the Legendary Grace of someone like Diper who fixed electrical appliances was the most useless of the useless, even less so than Amberser’s own Pseudo-Soul.

But after giving it some thought, with this coin and the opportunity to ascend to Legendary status again, Amberser could control three kinds of Legendary Grace. Even the most useless abilities, when combined, must amount to a transformation through sheer volume, right?

Ultimately, Amberser would still acquire the right to use the Wishing Spell. However, after making his wish, Alchemy City would vanish into an alternate space, out of reach for mortals.

In other words, after Garey Woz had gone to great lengths to break the boundaries between mortals and Deities, he would only satisfy one of Amberser’s wishes before being sealed away forever.

Amberser spared a few seconds of sympathy for the pitiful guild leader before asking, “So after making a wish, you’ll throw away the entire city immediately? There’s no time to linger at all?”

“Correct, lingering for even a moment is dangerous. You said it yourself; not only are we watching this place, other Deities are getting restless. There’s not much time now. If you’re still going to refuse…” the God of Alchemy didn’t continue. The offer was already sincere, and if Amberser continued to be greedy, the gods behind the God of Alchemy would no longer be polite with him.

Even the most orderly and benevolent Deity cannot tolerate constant excessive demands.

Amberser understood that he couldn’t fleece the Deities any further, or he would become the lamb to the slaughter.

“Alright, let’s do it this way,” he said.

Amberser had no choice but to nod in agreement.

The God of Alchemy’s figure slowly faded away, but before departing, he warned Amberser, “Although we will fend off the wrath of other Deities for you, the followers of those Deities will cause you troubles, so be vigilant. Today you’ve offended quite a number of Deities.”

This statement made Amberser somewhat nervous, but he believed that fortune favored the bold, and the gains were worth the risks.

Once the God of Alchemy completely vanished, the effect of time being stopped also dissipated, and everything in Alchemy City returned to normal. No one noticed anything amiss, not even the parties fighting above, who remained unaware of the change.

Only the guild leader, who had ascended to the Divine Realm, showed a puzzled look in his large eyes, as if he sensed something was amiss.

Amberser did not reveal the harsh truth that awaited, instead telling him, “Alright, we’ve negotiated. Grant my wish.”

Garey Woz, not understanding the situation, saw that the God of Alchemy had disappeared and believed that Amberser had truly driven the Deity away using some special method.

“Though I detest the God of Alchemy, he wasn’t wrong; you’re too clever, always seeming to have the last laugh,” he said.

Amberser wasn’t smug; instead, he spoke with a sense of regret, “You have no idea what I’ve given up. He was my teacher, but I’ve fallen out with him.”

Garey Woz didn’t doubt the truth of Amberser’s words, having witnessed the heated argument between the master-apprentice in front of him, which hadn’t appeared staged at all. Perhaps Amberser truly had paid a price beyond the understanding of most to send the God of Alchemy away.

“State your wish, and I shall fulfill it using everything that Alchemy City has to offer,” Garey Woz offered.

Amberser made his wish very seriously, “I want you to create a special space, send all of Alchemy City’s valuables into it for safekeeping, and then hand over control of this space to me.”

Since the God of Alchemy would only be sealing Garey Woz, the other riches of Alchemy City were presumably of no use to him—it was the perfect opportunity to pocket everything. Amberser had considered getting even greedier, like making all the world’s gold his own, but such a demand would likely not be tolerated by any faction of Deities. Their followers needed to eat, after all. If Amberser hoarded all the gold, would they all go bankrupt?

In that case, a mix of good and bad factions would come after him, and Amberser would be doomed.

Only Alchemy City, which was destined to be sealed, remained unclaimed. Amberser thus settled for second best, taking everything valuable from the city with him.

No matter how impoverished Alchemy City was, it had once been the wealthiest city on the continent. Those precious magic potions, confidential recipes, and blueprints… He must be pocketing at least several billion this time. Without the possibility of wishing to become a deity, asking for direct wealth was the best option.

“According to my calculations, you will gain wealth valued at six million,” Garey Woz replied.

Wait, how much?! Six million?!

“Why only six million? How much kickback did you take?!” Amberser exclaimed in surprise.

“The activation of the Wishing Ritual requires a large amount of material as energy. After calculations, only six million in value can be spared,” he explained.

Amberser was about to change his wish to asking for a hundred billion gold coins, but suddenly, he remembered another Prophecy Shard—that he stood before a mountain of gold coins, which seemed to number at least a million.

At least…a million…
Damned prophecy, all planned out for me right here.

Six million gold coins was already the maximum he could claim. So he shouldn’t wish for it in cash.

“Stick to the original plan, seal the remaining valuables in a special space. But regarding this space, I have a small request,” he said.

With a real Wishing Ritual, there’d be no room for bargaining like this. But Garey Woz was now one of his own, and Amberser could test his limits bit by bit.