No Choice but to Sell

The God of Alchemy was right; after hearing the truth, Anbaixiu was indeed furious. Losing what should have belonged to him for absolutely nothing was a loss so agonizing that his soul trembled and his bones rattled with furious clicks. Had he not known the truth, he could have gone on blaming the God of Alchemy for being completely unreliable. But now that everything had been laid bare, the fault rested entirely on his own shoulders. Damned fate! Anbaixiu even began to suspect that the moment he transmigrated, the Goddess of Fate had marked him, weaving several centuries of wandering and hardship just to deliver this final, fatal blow: *You were supposed to become a god, you know, but you let it slip through your own fingers.* It truly was a fatal blow, inflicting a financial agony so severe he wished he were dead. Still, being a lich, he suppressed these negative emotions swiftly. Anbaixiu temporarily set aside this unpleasant past and began pondering how he could recoup his losses. A single bad deal didn't mean ruin, so long as he could make it back later. Anbaixiu asked, "If I swallowed all four of these divine portfolios in one gulp, could I become a greater deity?" "What are you dreaming about? Swallowing more won't do you any good. The number of portfolios has little to do with the strength of divine power. Do the drow elves worship you? Do you understand them? How much research have you done on corruption? As for spiders, how many have you ever raised? That leaves only darkness, which has a slight connection to you, but that portfolio isn't much to speak of either. Shar is the true Goddess of Darkness; Lolth the Spider Queen's darkness portfolio is pitifully weak. "So even if you swallowed all four portfolios at once, you'd only end up as a lesser deity inferior even to me, waiting around to get slaughtered." Plundering another's divine portfolio required an adaptation period that could take years or even centuries. During that transition, one couldn't channel the corresponding power at all, and the deities who hated Anbaixiu to the marrow of their bones would never grant him the chance to adapt. "Then it seems I have no choice but to sell them. Of these four portfolios, one must go to the Rose of Decay, and another to the dragons. Which two should I keep?" The God of Alchemy advised, "Among these four portfolios, the most valuable to you are the drow elves and corruption. The spider portfolio is quite strong as well, but its influence on you would be too drastic. It could easily mutate you into an undead spider, severely warping your original personality. As for darkness, frankly speaking, it's a trap. With Shar around, any darkness portfolio will be suppressed by her." When portfolios were of the same domain, a stronger deity could effortlessly crush or even devour a weaker one. Lolth the Spider Queen's darkness portfolio was merely icing on the cake; her true power did not stem from it, so she remained unaffected. Yet if Anbaixiu absorbed it, Shar could suppress him to death, leaving him utterly defenseless before her. Anbaixiu pondered for a moment, then said, "The drow race—this portfolio should be the most important, right? A faith deity's power grows astonishingly fast. With enough believers, one could ascend to a greater deity in a single day." The God of Alchemy nodded. "Theoretically, yes. But how much time would it take you to unite the drow elves and have them supply you with divine power?" Anbaixiu could continue impersonating Lolth the Spider Queen to deceive the drow and intercept their divine power. The problem was that the drow were currently being beaten like stray dogs. How much divine power could they provide him in the short term? It certainly wouldn't be enough to protect him. "Sigh, then the question is: who should I sell these portfolios to?" Anbaixiu sighed. "To deities, of course. Shar is actually the best trading partner," the God of Alchemy said. "She doesn't want to pay a single copper." If Shar had offered even a shred of benefit, Anbaixiu wouldn't have been opposed to striking a deal. Instead, the goddess was stingy to the extreme, trying to swindle all four portfolios with nothing more than a rubbish blessing. That made negotiations completely impossible. The God of Alchemy thought for a moment before suggesting, "Then sell them to other gods. Quite a few deities hold grudges against Lolth the Spider Queen, and they can't wait to see her made a laughingstock." Anbaixiu suddenly realized something. Weren't the Elven Gods the prime candidates? Lolth the Spider Queen was the ex-wife of Corellon, the chief elven deity. Their divorce had ended in utter hostility, turning love into bitter bloodshed. Corellon had banished Lolth and punished her mercilessly. Yet it was also because of this that the drow elves had split from the rest of the elven race. If he sold the drow elf portfolio to the Elven Gods, they would undoubtedly offer a handsome price. The Elven Gods were renowned for their generosity and wealth. One only had to look at Catherine to see it—that girl was showered with countless blessings and several artifacts. Anbaixiu wasn't greedy. Even if he only received a pledge of protection from the Elven Gods once he ascended to godhood, that alone would make it entirely worthwhile. "Good, it's settled. I'll sell the drow portfolio to the elves. As for the spider portfolio, why not sell it to the dragons? They have rather wild tastes, so spiders ought to be right up their alley. As for the Rose of Decay, she isn't looking to ascend anyway; she plans to sell her portfolio to other deities in exchange for benefits, so I can just pick one for her at random." After long deliberation, Anbaixiu decided to keep the corruption portfolio for himself, gift the darkness portfolio to the Rose of Decay, hand the spider portfolio to the dragons, and sell the drow portfolio—the most potent of them all—to the elves. Now that everything was set, Anbaixiu wasted no time and attempted to use the Necrotic Codex to send the portfolio to the recipient, only to fail. The God of Alchemy chuckled. "What are you thinking? That's a divine portfolio! How could it be teleported so casually? Even if that book is an artifact, it can't manage that. Furthermore, you can't use teleportation arrays either; this thing would blow an array to pieces instantly." "What a hassle. Does that mean I have to deliver them in person?" Anbaixiu had no desire to go through such trouble. The Silvermoon High Court was manageable, as flying there wasn't excessively far. Overseas, however, was another matter entirely. Wouldn't that take months of flight? "It seems I can only have them come pick it up themselves." Anbaixiu relayed the matter through the Necrotic Codex. The Rose of Decay immediately replied that she would come to collect her portfolio as soon as possible, but she had to wrap up her current affairs first. Following the previous war suppressing the rebellion, vast swathes of Underdark territory had fallen into her hands, and she was currently occupied with stabilizing these domains, leaving her unable to step away. As for the dragon clan, Gareth was sent to collect it. After all, dragons could not easily set foot on the continent, so having this son-in-law escort the divine portfolio was the safest choice. Just as he was about to bid farewell to the God of Alchemy, the deity spoke up again. "I sense that some of my strength will return, and I will be able to grant alchemists a new blessing. Give me some time. Once I adapt to the expansion of my portfolio, I can bestow a new blessing upon you." "A new blessing?" "Indeed. It will likely relate to your research habits. I can't say for certain just yet, but it's bound to be something good." "Then I shall look forward to your blessing." Only then did Anbaixiu feel slightly cheered. At least he hadn't made a total loss. A new blessing, even one centered on alchemy, ought to be of great help. With everything settled, Anbaixiu first returned to Sweetdew City and spent several days stocking a thousand drones in the warehouse. This completely exhausted his reserve of spare parts, but it should supply enough stock to sell for quite some time. Having finished that chore, Anbaixiu returned to his underground laboratory and began upgrading his jet-propulsion flight apparatus. If he wanted to travel to the Silvermoon High Court to conduct business with the elves, he certainly couldn't just cast Fly and float over—who knew how many eons that would take? Besides, research into jet flight benefited the God of Alchemy anyway. Anbaixiu decided that sharpening the ax would not delay the woodcutting; he would first produce a stable jet engine before flying to the Silvermoon High Court. Perhaps he could even market the jet engine to the elves and broaden his commercial avenues. The principle of the jet engine was derived from the magitech cannon, utilizing compressed air discharged at high velocity. The primary cause of the previous explosion had been the slapdash quality of his materials, as he had intended to use them as scrap from the start. Manufacturing a stable jet engine now would require real capital. It demanded not only quality materials, but also redesigning the magic circles generating the wind pressure. Altering a single explosive burst into steady thrust required structural rework of the arrays. Once he threw himself into the work, Anbaixiu entered a state of ceaseless experimentation. Even Harvey rarely managed to see his teacher, catching only brief glimpses whenever he came to balance the accounts. After such tireless, round-the-clock research, Anbaixiu finally succeeded in constructing a new jet engine. Its volume had been reduced by more than half. The original engine had been larger than Anbaixiu himself, but now it was the size of a backpack, latching neatly onto the back of his mithral mecha. Even the Hell armor had been retrofitted by Anbaixiu. Its purpose was no longer to provide primary thrust, but to supply directional steering; the jets of hellfire allowed him to alter his flight trajectory freely in midair. Next came the practical test. Anbaixiu swapped into his mithral mecha body, donned the Hell armor, fastened the jetpack, and decisively engaged full power. Following a tremendous boom, Anbaixiu shot through the air at supersonic speed, hurtling toward the Silvermoon High Court.