CHAPTER 87: CHAPTER 79: ASSOCIATED MINERALS, STRATEGIC RESOURCES!

Lin Ke accompanied Ove to the small dimension where the mine was located.

"Have you thought about how to name it?" Ove pointed to the wide open space ahead.

It was a world shrouded in mist, with small mounds within the mist, where black iron ore was exposed.

This flat land and open-air ore veins surrounded by mist seemed like isolated islands in the ocean.

"Naming? How about calling it ’Research Laboratory’?" Lin Ke casually came up with a name.

"Research Laboratory?" Ove glanced at him: "I’ve heard that there are more scholars who have named their dimensions this way than Mushroom People back in the day."

Mushroom People, a creature similar to Murlocs, also disappeared in Nathan’s history.

If Murlocs were famously stupid, then Mushroom People were famed as masters of reproduction.

Ove often used Murlocs and Mushroom People to describe and ridicule others, a habit seemingly passed down from his teacher.

"Emmm... forget it, what’s in a name." Lin Ke scratched his head.

This small dimension, as per Ove’s judgment, has no growth potential, so Lin Ke only planned to set up a small chemistry lab here, the name doesn’t really matter.

A laboratory the size of a city shouldn’t be considered small.

But whatever, the name isn’t important.

A humble studio, a humble studio.

"Are you planning to set up a furnace here? That thing isn’t cheap, but I heard the Insomnia Emperor has plenty, do you need me to buy one for you?" Ove looked at the flat ground ahead, seemingly measuring how big a furnace could be placed there.

"A furnace..." Lin Ke’s eyes flashed with thought.

Nathan has furnaces, but they are mostly only for military manufacturing.

Because exploring dimensions can yield unlimited resources, and battles require the support of equipment.

A furnace, essential for smelting iron.

But...

"About how much would it cost?" Lin Ke couldn’t help but ask.

He was currently bearing his father’s debt.

"Probably under one hundred thousand gold coins?" Ove seemed unsure, he had never bought a furnace, after all, he doesn’t go wage wars in other dimensions.

"One hundred thousand?!" Lin Ke exclaimed, how could a big pot cost one hundred thousand?!

"Hmm, maybe seventy or eighty thousand." Ove looked uncertain when he saw Lin Ke’s reaction.

"...Seventy or eighty thousand..." Lin Ke could only feel exhausted, shouldn’t a furnace cost just a few thousand gold coins?

"What about thirty or forty thousand?" Ove tentatively looked at Lin Ke.

Lin Ke rolled his eyes at his teacher: "Teacher, you aren’t just making this up, are you?"

Ove coughed twice: "Ahem, I’ve never bought one... but I remember hearing the Insomnia Emperor say it should definitely be more than ten thousand gold coins."

More than ten thousand gold coins...

Lin Ke fell silent.

Maybe he should just build a blast furnace himself instead of buying a boiler, even though it would be convenient, it’s too expensive.

But... building a blast furnace is exhausting! Designing it from scratch and then crafting it...

Ove and he aren’t professional blacksmiths, after all, forging is difficult.

"Forget it, if we can’t manage, we’ll just extract the ore and leave it here until we have money to buy a boiler."

Still bearing so much debt, there’s no spare money for it.

"Hmm, that’s also doable." Ove nodded slightly, and then suddenly his eyes lit up: "Oh, I just remembered, there’s a Level 15 Lava Mage in the Materialist School, he’s quite accomplished in playing with fire."

Level 15!

As expected, "in conversation with scholars, none tread ignorant paths."

Teacher Ove knows such impressive people.

But Lin Ke scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed: "Teacher, are you close with that practitioner?"

It felt...

With Ove’s personality...

"Not close." Ove shook his head: "I’ve just seen him."

Alright then.

Lin Ke didn’t want to chat with his teacher anymore.

He walked forward, and Ove casually followed along.

Lin Ke arrived at the open-air iron ore vein, suddenly showing a look of surprise.

"Huh? This doesn’t seem to be iron ore... no, it should not only be iron ore?" Lin Ke looked at the light yellow crystal stone ahead, his eyes filled with increasing astonishment.

"What’s wrong, Little Lin Ke, is there a problem?" Ove stepped up to inquire.

"This looks like another type of ore..." Lin Ke was also uncertain.

Is this an associated mineral with the iron ore?

At that moment, Little Lucky on Lin Ke’s shoulder opened its eyes, curiously examining the light yellow mineral in front of him.

"Eat... eat..." A thought transmission came from Lin Ke’s mind.

"You want to eat this ore?" Lin Ke looked at Little Lucky on his shoulder.

He and Little Lucky had a servant-master contract connection, allowing them to communicate in their minds.

"Yes, I want to eat..." Little Lucky replied.

Lin Ke looked up at Ove: "Teacher, Little Lucky wants to eat this mineral."

Ove pondered: "Some powerful Magical Beasts indeed consume high-energy substances as food, which includes but is not limited to meat, minerals, and plants."

Lin Ke was a bit surprised, but with Ove’s approval, Lin Ke finally felt assured enough to put Little Lucky down onto that associated mineral with the iron ore.

As soon as Little Lucky landed, it widened its eyes, spread its featherless wings, and let out a resounding cry: "Scree!!"

In an instant, the associated mineral beneath its feet started to emit a faint, pale red glow.

"Wow..."

A series of fine particles began to slowly decompose from the associated mineral, and were all absorbed into Little Lucky’s mouth, like sipping water.

A few minutes later, Little Lucky’s belly showed no signs of swelling, but it did let out a satisfied burp, with a few sparks spilling from its mouth.

"It seems its talents are related to fire." Ove noted: "I wonder if it possesses the bloodline of a Phoenix."

"Phoenix bloodline?" Lin Ke was curious: "Is it powerful?"

Phoenix, called Phoenix here, based on Lin Ke’s prior understanding, seemed to be similar to a Phoenix.

"Yes." Ove nodded: "However, the Phoenixes I’ve seen don’t have Little Lucky’s level of talent."

Little Lucky’s birth had absorbed an entire legendary amount of magic power, and it even had rule shackles.

Only some old and powerful races are targeted by rule shackles.

"Chirp chirp." Little Lucky seemed to understand Ove’s words, chirped twice proudly, then hopped and jumped back to Lin Ke’s foot, then climbed back onto Lin Ke’s shoulder, standing there with its eyes closed to rest.

"Look at you, all smug." Lin Ke looked at Little Lucky with eyes full of doting, just like Fulon watching him.

"But teacher, I now know what this associated mineral is." Lin Ke pointed to the light yellow mineral in front of him.

Just now, Little Lucky had absorbed a bunch of particles, belched a few wisps of flame, so this is...

"Sulfur ore! Teacher, this is sulfur, one of the key components for making gunpowder." Lin Ke was confident in his tone.

Although he didn’t know how Granny Hisai got all the materials for gunpowder, with sulfur ore, Lin Ke can do a lot!

"Is this the material for Hisai’s ’Bursting Fire’?" Ove had heard Lin Ke talk about it before.

And Granny Hisai is currently in a thatched house in Ove’s private dimension, studying and documenting chemistry.

"Yes." Lin Ke’s heart was filled with joy.

Lady Heshan gave him iron ore, who would have thought it had associated minerals!

With enough explosive power, even Azaenn Castle might get leveled!