#774 - Price (asking for monthly ticket recommendation)

“Good question.” Nicolas nodded in approval. “As the only person left in this world who has had direct contact with Herpo, I naturally possess the means to identify him.”

With that, magic surged from Nicolas, followed by a dangerous wave radiating from him, capable of directly influencing and interfering with the nerves of surrounding creatures, causing an involuntary sense of panic.

“You should recognize this magic, right?” Nicolas, constantly emitting magic, smiled as he looked at Anduin.

“It’s a Fear Charm.”

Anduin recognized the magic Nicolas was using at a glance, and he himself knew this Fear Charm, having even used it extensively in the previous Despair Town instance.

“It seems you’re familiar with it, which is good.” Nicolas contentedly withdrew his magic. “Since you know this magic, you should also be aware that it originated from Herpo.”

Anduin nodded. This was no secret to wizards familiar with history and Charms. Herpo invented a large number of Dark Magic spells, and the Fear Charm could be said to be his signature technique.

“Based on the experience we gathered back then, a large area where Herpo is active is shrouded in a high concentration of Fear Charms. Even Muggles can detect the abnormality in such places.”

“Over the centuries, we have heard many rumors of people stumbling into terrifying, mysterious spaces.”

“But when we followed the rumors, we still couldn’t catch Herpo’s tail. However, we occasionally sensed traces of his presence. Unfortunately, this information was always too delayed, causing us to easily miss him.”

“Therefore, any area with a Fear Charm could be a hiding place for Herpo, making it much simpler to search with this in mind.”

Following that, Nicolas took out a piece of parchment from his person and handed it to Anduin. “This is a special rune I developed specifically for detecting Fear Charms.”

“Any alchemical item inscribed with this rune can quickly identify the presence of Fear Charms in the vicinity and issue a warning.”

“With it, combined with your Magic Net, and the vast number of alchemical devices connected to the Magic Net…” Nicolas said, glancing meaningfully at Anduin.

Anduin, at this moment, stared speechlessly at the diagram in his hand.

For some reason, he suddenly felt like he had been tricked. This old fellow Nicolas was too well-prepared, even having the diagrams ready in advance.

Anduin originally thought he was here to question them, but now he realized he had walked right into a carefully designed trap. →

Anduin naturally understood what Nicolas meant. He wanted him to install a backdoor in his alchemical devices specifically for monitoring Fear Charms.

Once an anomaly was detected, he would notify Nicolas, who would then gather people to deal with Herpo.

However, the actual operation was not as simple as it seemed.

First, the Magic Net was not yet fully deployed. Covering such a large area would take several years at the fastest.

Furthermore, installing a backdoor in the communicators, while not too difficult for him, was not a small undertaking.

He could tell from the diagram just how complex this rune was, which would greatly increase the material costs, production costs, and production cycle of the communicators.

The advantage of the Magic Net was that, once expanded, it could seamlessly connect various regions like the internet, with almost no national boundaries.

This was much more unified and efficient than establishing alchemical workshops in the various Ministries of Magic. Nicolas must have considered this when he set his sights on his Magic Net.

Looking at it this way, the Magic Net might be his only option at the moment.

After figuring this out, Anduin suddenly put on a stern face. “Then, what price is Mr. Flamel willing to pay for this?”

He wasn’t willing to work for Nicolas for free. Despite how heinous Herpo was and how righteous his actions were, the one truly putting in the effort was him, Anduin!

He wouldn’t work without some benefits!

Seeing Anduin’s businesslike attitude, Nicolas couldn’t help but smile wryly. No wonder this guy could build such a large business; he really wouldn’t act without seeing the reward first.

“Rest assured, I won’t let you help for nothing. As for the reward…” Nicolas glanced at the wooden box on the table that had not yet been put away. “How about paying with the Philosopher’s Stone?”

“Also, as long as you’re willing to assist, all the knowledge I’ve collected here will be open to you. At the same time, I will use my influence to help you advance the process of deploying the Magic Net. After all, the more the Magic Net is deployed, the greater the chance of finding Herpo.”

“You’re willing to part with the Philosopher’s Stone? It’s crucial to your life!”

To be honest, Anduin didn’t expect Nicolas to be so generous. He even wondered if the other party had ever engaged in business negotiations.

Who starts by going all-in right away? For a moment, Anduin couldn’t find a reason to refuse.

“Hehe…” Nicolas was very open when discussing matters of life and death. “For an old man who has lived for hundreds of years, death is not as scary as you might imagine. In comparison, loneliness and depression are more painful.”

“I have been running away for too long. If I can personally kill this enemy in my lifetime, it would be more gratifying than eternal life.”

“Of course, before completely handing the Philosopher’s Stone over to you, I will prepare enough Elixir of Life for myself and Perenelle.”

“I understand.” Nicolas’s enlightenment moved Anduin. “Alright, I’m willing to accept your proposal. Starting next week, the newly launched communicators will be equipped with runes to detect Fear Charms. As long as I discover relevant clues in the background, I will notify you immediately.”

Upon hearing this, Nicolas didn’t immediately show joy but instead confirmed again, “This process may take several years, a dozen years, or even never yield results. This means that the time and resources you invest may be endless. Have you considered this?”

“The reward you’re offering is worth my investment. If you’re worried that I’ll go back on my word, we can make an Unbreakable Vow for this.” Anduin’s expression was calm.

In fact, he had agreed after a period of calculation and consideration. In terms of cost alone, it wouldn’t directly lead to losses, only less profit. This was thanks to his efficient industrial system. Other alchemical companies couldn’t handle such a large job.

“Very well, we’ll make the vow later.” Facing this serious matter, Nicolas wouldn’t be so naive as to believe Anduin’s verbal assurance. The Unbreakable Vow was the foundation of trust.

Afterward, the two finalized the details. Anduin would leave with Dumbledore later and return here alone the next day to sign the contract, at which point Perenelle would act as their witness.

As for the Philosopher’s Stone, it would have to be returned to Nicolas for half a year first so that he could store enough Elixir of Life. Anduin had actually offered that even if the Philosopher’s Stone was with him, he could supply the Elixir of Life for the two of them.

But Nicolas politely declined. Anduin could see that the old man genuinely wanted to end his life.

Perhaps the other party had already arranged his death date. At that time, whether Anduin could find Herpo or not, he would resolutely head toward the end.

As for Nicolas’s collection of materials and knowledge, Anduin could come and read them at will. Nicolas also stated that he would impart all his skills.

After finalizing the agreement, Anduin returned to his original state and chatted with the Flamels about various things with Dumbledore.

Although Dumbledore guessed what had happened between Anduin and Nicolas, he didn’t inquire further out of politeness. He simply left after having dinner with the Flamels.

Subsequently, in the following days, Anduin traveled back and forth between the French manor, the Flamel’s home, and the British headquarters.

On the one hand, he had to stop the production lines of existing communicators, video recorders, and other props and switch to new manufacturing diagrams. This workload was not small, and Anduin barely managed to complete it after staying up for three consecutive nights.

On the other hand, Anduin was also very interested in the knowledge collected by Nicolas, so despite his busy schedule, he couldn’t wait to squeeze out some time every day to study.

As for the French valley manor, Anduin basically used it as a transit station. Every time he showed up, it was just a flash. He didn’t even have time to care about what those little brats were doing.

After resolving the production line issue, Anduin focused his main energy on the Flamel’s home, absorbing magical knowledge as if he had returned to his student days.

It must be said that Nicolas Flamel was indeed the greatest alchemist of the time. He collected a large number of rare magical materials, including not only alchemy but also history, encyclopedia, magical runes, spells, potions, and so on.

There were many magical documents that had disappeared from the long river of history. Anduin had only heard of many of them or only collected a small part, including rare runes such as 'Soul Tracing'.

However, it was a pity that even at Nicolas’s place, there were not many new clues about the Deathly Hallows.

It seemed that after obtaining the Philosopher’s Stone, Nicolas had lost interest in the three Hallows that claimed to be able to make one the master of Death, so he had not specifically collected relevant information.

But what was most helpful and valuable to the current Anduin was the material formulas, especially the magical alloy formulas.

Yes, Anduin learned the manufacturing method of [Flamel Alloy].

Of course, it’s not to say that [Flamel Alloy] is so simple to make. It just has a relatively high threshold because the main raw material for manufacturing this rare alloy is the Philosopher’s Stone.

A derivative produced by using the Philosopher’s Stone must be used to synthesize the real Flamel Alloy, and other than the Philosopher’s Stone, the remaining auxiliary materials are not considered too expensive.

In other words, as long as you have the Philosopher’s Stone, this material, which is rarer than refined Mithril, can now be obtained almost at will.

However, Anduin was very curious as to why Nicolas didn’t produce more Flamel Alloy. This material, which had a very high threshold but low cost, had a comprehensive performance that could almost crush the remaining alloys on the market.

And the answer Nicolas gave was because he was afraid of trouble…

He himself didn’t have many demands on the material level, and letting too much Flamel Alloy flow into the market would also cause the already sensitive goblins to feel a sense of crisis, which would likely cause panic.

It would also be troublesome if he accidentally caused a goblin war, so he only released a small portion of Flamel Alloy every once in a while.

This could tell the world that he was still alive and that Flamel Alloy, a material that could compete with goblin alloys, still existed, and an appropriate amount could balance the relationship between goblins and wizards.

Because without Flamel Alloy, some extreme wizards might covet the alloy formulas in the hands of the goblins, thereby provoking war. The Potion War of that year was caused by this.

But if Flamel Alloy became more abundant, then goblins might also launch riots or wars because they were afraid that their magical alloys would be squeezed out of the market.

Don’t underestimate such a small piece of magical metal. It has a significant impact on the wizarding world’s structure. For this reason, Nicolas was afraid of causing trouble, so he dared not not release Flamel Alloy, nor could he supply too much.

Even after Anduin obtained the Flamel Alloy formula, Nicolas specifically told him not to let too much of this material flow out, lest it affect the market balance.

However, also because of this reason, the price of Flamel Alloy on the market was really ridiculously high. Anduin had a deep understanding of this, so it wasn’t a lie when Nicolas said he never lacked money. He could occasionally earn a fortune by buying one or two pieces of alloy.

Nicolas was even very puzzled as to why Anduin was so obsessed with making money.

Regarding this point, Anduin naturally didn’t explain too much to the other party. Was he trying to make money? He was spreading his influence, and to some extent, influence was equivalent to power!

In addition to Flamel Alloy, Anduin also gained a lot of other material formulas, including many that he had never even heard of.

For example, there was a material similar to rubber in the records, which had a strong impact resistance effect, but it was regarded as a defective product due to its excellent magic resistance effect.

But in Anduin’s eyes, this was the best armor material. The tactical suits processed with it could not only absorb shocks but also resist magical damage.

For this reason, Anduin returned to the laboratory non-stop after absorbing new knowledge from the Flamel’s home and fiddled with new props, living a very fulfilling life.

It wasn’t until Hogg and Xia Tiya specifically ran over to remind him that Anduin realized that more than a month had passed, and the school would start in half a month.

This discovery made Anduin laugh and cry. He was clearly here on vacation, but how did he become busier than before the summer vacation?

In addition, there were those mischievous children. He hadn’t even seen them much during this time. He didn’t know if these little devils were getting along well with Sirius.

And when he put down the affairs in his hands and returned to the manor to see everyone, he was shocked by what they had experienced during this time.