Chapter 199: Chapter 194: An Unexpected Customer

"Victor? You’re here too?"

Allen was stunned for a moment, but then it clicked.

When they had parted ways at the Black Tower of the Forge, the heir of the Tieyan Clan had indeed said he was coming to the Molten Iron Mountain Range.

Allen just hadn’t expected him to actually show up.

And to think he’d been here for over a month without Allen noticing a thing.

Allen had been completely focused on building Freedom recently, so he really hadn’t had time to pay attention to other areas.

"It seems you’ve been so busy you didn’t even notice you had a new neighbor."

There was a hint of amusement in Victor’s voice. "Zone 19. It’s just south of you, across that volcanic cluster."

Allen quickly pulled up the holographic sand table, his eyes falling on the southern side of Zone 18.

Next to the area marked "Boiling Lava Lake" was a cluster of volcanoes.

’Looks like it’s a newly developed zone.’

"How long have you been watching?" Allen asked directly.

"Ever since your Flying Golem started dropping bombs."

Victor was surprisingly honest. "It was too big a commotion to ignore. My ’Celestial Eye Sentry’ detected the Magic Power fluctuations, so I decided to watch the show."

So casual.

The corner of Allen’s mouth twitched.

For his Reconnaissance Golem to be able to monitor him from across the volcanic cluster, its perception range had to be at least three hundred kilometers.

’A setup like that is definitely not something a newcomer who’s only been here a month could develop independently. Is this that damn family legacy again?’

"How much of your family fortune did you bring with you?"

"Not much. I’m here to train, not to throw money around."

Victor’s tone was light. "Five Level 3 Golems, over fifty Level 2 Golems, a hundred Level 1 logistics Golems, plus five million Magic Stones."

Allen fell silent for a moment.

’He revealed his assets so casually, it’s clear he doesn’t even care about these Golems. Even so, this is way better than what I started with. Back then, all I had that was even remotely presentable was the PX-0.’

’And he brought five million Magic Stones?’

’I’ve been here for three years, and my total liquid capital is just over six hundred thousand.’

’Is this the fucking difference between a Wizard Clan and someone from a common background?’

"How is Zone 19?" Allen couldn’t help but ask. "Have you established a foothold?"

"It’s going alright." Victor paused. "In the first week, I cleared out three small Magical Beast nests. The second week, I built the main workshop and two outposts. The third week, I secured a transport line to a mineral vein. Now, I have a stable daily output of ore worth two thousand Magic Stones."

A daily output of two thousand Magic Stones in just one month.

It had taken Allen two years to reach that level.

"Your family’s guardian Golem must have helped a lot."

"Of course." Victor didn’t deny it. "But my ’Molten Champions’ aren’t bad either. They’re Level 3 Golems I developed myself. Each one costs seventy thousand Magic Stones, and their individual combat power would absolutely crush your old Pacifistas."

’For seventy thousand Magic Stones, it’d be strange if they *didn’t* crush them,’ Allen thought, pursing his lips. ’Looks like I put a bit too much pressure on him back at the academy. Did he really have to over-engineer his graduation project this much?’

"That..." Victor changed the subject. "Your eighteen-meter-tall Humanoid Golem has a rather interesting design."

"Interesting?"

"The appearance is very unique. It’s a style I like." Victor’s tone was appraising. "But as for its combat effectiveness... well, that defensive shield is the only thing that’s really noteworthy."

Allen didn’t argue.

Victor was right.

The true value of the Freedom Gundam lay in its AT Field and its dual-purpose, wing-like Floating Cannons. The Titan’s Roar and the Ship-Slicing Blade weren’t anything new to other Golem Wizards.

"However..." Victor’s voice came again, this time with clear interest. "I am quite interested in that six-legged launch platform of yours."

Allen raised an eyebrow.

"The Inferno?"

"The one that completely forgoes defense and perception, and is only responsible for launching Magic Missiles," Victor said bluntly. "That design philosophy is rare. In the Wizarding World, everyone pursues all-purpose Golems. They wish a single Golem could fight, tank, and scout. This is the first time I’ve seen such an extremely specialized design."

"You saw the results," Allen said flatly.

"I did." Victor paused. "A four-hundred-and-eighty-round salvo, saturation bombardment... that level of fire density is even better than my family’s standard-issue long-range Golems."

"The key is its cost-effectiveness," Allen added.

"Exactly." A hint of excitement crept into Victor’s voice.

He paused.

"Are they for sale?"

Allen smiled.

’Here it comes.’

"Yes."

"How much?"

"An Inferno launch platform is three thousand Magic Stones per unit," Allen quoted quickly. "The Red Lotus Type I Magic Missiles are two hundred fifty Magic Stones each. One Inferno comes standard with twelve rounds, so a full set is 6,000 Magic Stones."

’An Inferno with a full ammo load costs four thousand four hundred Magic Stones to make. Selling it at this price isn’t a rip-off, is it?’

"..."

Victor was silent for a few seconds.

"Is it that cheap? Less than ten thousand?"

"Uh... it’s a reasonable price. You have to buy more ammo when you run out."

Allen’s tone was calm. "I developed the Magic Missiles independently. They use a triple Rune stack—Flying Magic formula, explosive flame array, and Illusion Rune—with a forty-kilometer range, stealth penetration, and impact detonation. No one else on this plane has a design like it."

"Uh, I’m not saying it’s bad... I’m just saying it’s really cheap."

"It may be cheap, but it works."

’If I’d known he’d have this much to say, I would’ve sold it to him for ten thousand a unit. I’m still not ruthless enough.’

Allen paused. "This thing is one-of-a-kind in the Molten Iron Mountain Range. It’s absolutely effective."

Victor went silent again for a moment.

"I’ll take twenty units."

Allen froze.

’Twenty units?’

"Twenty Inferno units, with four hundred eighty Red Lotus Type I rounds to go with them." Victor’s voice was crisp. "I can pay right now."

Allen instantly did the math in his head.

’The actual cost of an Inferno was two thousand Magic Stones per unit, and a Red Lotus Type I round cost two hundred Magic Stones.’

’Twenty Infernos would cost forty thousand, and four hundred eighty Magic Missiles would cost ninety-six thousand.’

’Total cost: one hundred thirty-six thousand. Selling price: 180,000.’

’I can make forty-four thousand from this single order, and I can deliver in five days.’

"A total of 180,000," Allen said decisively. "But there’s one condition."

"Name it."

"Technological confidentiality." Allen’s voice turned cold. "You can buy them for your own use, but you can’t disassemble them for research, and you certainly can’t resell them to a third party. Otherwise..."

"Otherwise what?" Victor asked, intrigued.

"Otherwise, you can forget about ever buying from me again."

"...Alright." Victor laughed. "You don’t have to tell me. That’s standard practice among Alchemy Wizards. It’s a deal."

The communication link cut.

Allen stood there, looking at the newly appeared blue area on the holographic sand table.

This order was the first arms deal he had made since arriving in the Molten Iron Mountain Range.

And the client was his junior from the academy.

’Victor, you really are a great guy!’

’From now on, if anyone makes fun of the rich, I’ll be the first to disagree!’

And this was only the first order.

Since Victor had asked for twenty units, there would surely be a second order, and a third.

"Jarvis, start the production line," Allen ordered. "Prioritize Victor’s order. The products must be flawless. I want this big spender treated right."

[Acknowledged. Estimated delivery time: Five days.]

Allen turned and headed back to the workshop.

After a few steps, he suddenly stopped.

"Jarvis, do you have detailed information on Zone 19?"

[Insufficient data.]

"Dseek, pull up the sand table data my mentor showed me on my first day. Focus the analysis on Magical Beast distribution and resource density."

[Analyzing...]

A few seconds later, a report appeared before Allen.

[Zone 19. Based on topographical analysis, estimated total area is approximately 100,000 square kilometers.]

[Magical Beast Density: 2.3 times that of Zone 18.]

[Confirmed Mineral Veins: 1.8 times that of Zone 18.]

[Danger Level: High.]

Allen stared at the report, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Victor had established a foothold in just one month and was already producing two thousand Magic Stones’ worth of ore daily.

That kind of efficiency wasn’t something you could achieve just by throwing money at it.

"Looks like my junior is more capable than I thought."

Allen put away the report and flew forward.

There, the Alchemy Servants on the battlefield were cleaning up the Scorpion King’s corpse.

Meanwhile, fifty kilometers away in Zone 19.

Victor stood in his workshop, looking at the holographic projection of the eighteen-meter-tall Humanoid Golem.

"Interesting..."

He reached out and swiped a finger across the projection.

The image switched to a close-up of the "Inferno" launch platform.

"Extreme specialization, modular design, pursuing cost-effectiveness over individual unit performance..."

Victor muttered to himself.

"Allen, you still... walk the unconventional path."

He turned to look at the other side of the hall.

There, five six-meter-tall Heavy Armored Golems, crimson from top to bottom, stood silently.

The Molten Champions.

He had built each one with his own hands.

"But this time..."

A smile played on Victor’s lips.

"I won’t lose to you again."