Chapter 165 - Tooling
Alchemy did not belong to any of the three major arts, but it was still a popular choice for wizards.
Alchemy included many different fields. Alchemists in ancient times divided alchemy works into those that “improved one’s own body” and the ones that “improved other objects”. Today, there were only two simpler classifications: Apothecary and Tooling.
Apothecary, as the name suggested, majored in brewing potions. For example, the glass of Potion of Austere Night held by Angor was a product made by alchemists who mastered Apothecary. Here, “potion” did not only refer to drinkable liquid. There were also special branches, such as Leona’s Perfume Brewing, which was also considered Apothecary.
Tooling mainly referred to crafting alchemy items. Dave’s propeller flying machine, for example, was alchemy machinery created using the art of Tooling.
The principle of alchemy was “conversion”. The core of making potions or tools both followed this principle. This was why both Tooling and Apothecary wizards were called alchemists.
But still, Apothecary and Tooling had different working processes and asked for different materials. That was why Dave asked Angor which path he would follow so that he could prepare the correct materials.
“They both required great talent. You earn similar benefit out of them. But technically speaking, I personally believe that Tooling is harder,” said Dave when he saw Angor hesitating. He explained his own idea.
Besides, studying alchemy also required knowledge about Runecraft. Runes could be used to trigger the mystic energy hidden within supernatural materials. It could also be used to build perfect material combinations. Also, there were particular alchemy approaches that used runes as the core materials while ordinary materials acted as a supplement.
Angor felt a headache after reading the alchemy theories. He thought several alchemy spells were enough, but now he found that he had to study Runecraft too. This was also an extremely complicated subject. Anyone who learned it well could earn big money by selling magic scrolls.
Angor sighed in frustration. In order to make alchemy weapons in a short time, he had to start by learning something from the scientific technologies on Earth. Alchemy machines sounded pretty similar to science, but they were still essentially supernatural products who had completely different fundamentals than actual science.
Angor’s current plan was to apply wizardry alchemy methods to a blueprint of a weapon from Earth. He wanted to see if he could make something that would be effective against apprentices.