This Lich is a Better Landlord Chapter 86

Regardless of gender or race, the first time is always the most unforgettable.

Ambrose had crossed over to this world many years ago. He had many teachers—those who taught him magic, those who taught him lockpicking, those who taught him commerce, and even those who taught him how to enjoy life... but all those teachers were gone now.

Immortality remained an unattainable dream for the vast majority of mortals. If becoming a spellcaster was one in ten thousand, then becoming a Legend was one in ten million. And becoming a Legend was merely the threshold of longevity; there were still countless accidents that could claim a Legendary powerhouse's life.

The blind, one-armed old man before him was the first teacher Ambrose had met after crossing over.

At that time, Ambrose was a newcomer, completely ignorant of this world. As a transmigrator, he didn't even have a system, which resulted in him fainting from hunger within three days of his arrival.

When he woke up, he had been picked up by this blind, one-armed old man.

What followed was a lackluster eighteen years of apprenticeship.

The old man didn't talk much. His eyes and one arm had been blown off in an alchemy experiment. He had found Ambrose on the verge of starvation and, out of pity, brought him home. Ambrose originally thought he had met a hidden master and took care of the old man diligently, studying day and night.

The result was disappointing. Ambrose didn't learn much from this teacher, barely grasping the introductory knowledge of alchemy. At that time, Ambrose knew even less about alchemy than Isabel did.

And this old man didn't have any hidden treasures, secret inheritances, or some incredibly badass secret identity.

There was nothing. The old man was just an ordinary elderly person crippled by alchemy, who picked up a young man who knew nothing during the final days of his life. It was partly to have a student, and partly to secure some pension insurance.

The old man had a bad temper and a sharp tongue, often arguing with Ambrose. However, he was earnest in teaching his apprentice. Ambrose was grateful to him for saving his life, so he took care of the old man for over a decade until he breathed his last. It was from that day on that Ambrose officially became an adventurer. Then came centuries of wandering life, until he recently transformed into a Lich.

He originally thought this was just an unforgettable memory. He never expected to see this teacher here.

"So you weren't a crappy alchemist. You pretended for eighteen years! You let me support you for eighteen years..." Ambrose's tone gradually became agitated, eventually turning into a loud roar. "Are you sick in the head?! You old bastard, before you faked your death, you destroyed all the materials I had painstakingly saved up, forcing me to dig your grave with my bare hands!"

Ambrose was truly furious. He hadn't felt that those eighteen years of hardship were inherently bad; he just considered it bad luck and a life struggle. Thinking that his teacher was also a disabled person, Ambrose didn't hold much resentment. But seeing this guy standing alive and well in front of him, acting like a hidden boss, made those eighteen years of suffering seem like a joke.

It was only because he had reincarnated as a Lich that he could suppress his emotions. Otherwise, he would definitely be throwing a triple Magic Missile at this old geezer right now.

The crippled old man changed his appearance again, reverting to the form of the young alchemist Coin. He said to Ambrose, "Don't be angry. I didn't fake my death; I really died back then. It's just that no one expected that after I died, I would ascend to become a god."

"I don't believe a word you say!" Ambrose originally wanted to ignore this suddenly appearing teacher, but he realized he seemed to have heard something extraordinary.

"Wait, you said you ascended to become a god?" Ambrose asked in confusion.

"That is correct. I am the God of Alchemy, Arkham Solomon."

"You told me your name was Old Peter back then," Ambrose sneered.

The young deity smiled and said, "After becoming a god, that name was too ordinary. I changed it later, using a name from the little stories you told me. My student, are you interested in becoming my Chosen?"

Ambrose didn't want to deal with this bastard anymore. He turned to the Guild Master, who had turned into a one-eyed tentacle monster, and said, "I want to make a wish."

Whether this God of Alchemy was real or fake, Ambrose decided to secure the benefits first.

However, the Guild Master seemed not to hear Ambrose's words. His remaining single eye stared fixedly at the God of Alchemy as he questioned, "If you are the God of Alchemy, why have you never favored us for so many years?"

The God of Alchemy wore a strange expression. "You don't worship me, and you even want to create a new god to replace me, yet you ask why I don't favor you? I am merely a senior who has walked further on the path of alchemy than you. I have been very polite to a group of juniors who lack even basic respect."

The Guild Master immediately retorted, "But you cursed us, making it so alchemists could never create new recipes again!"

The God of Alchemy switched to a serious expression and explained to the Guild Master, "I don't have that kind of ability. This is Oghma's punishment for you. The Lord of Knowledge believed that the alchemists of that time had engaged in behavior that severely crossed the line. If not stopped, it would cause irreversible consequences. He discussed it with me to temporarily ban your creativity. Of course, I agreed, because I also felt you had touched the bottom line.

"Gary Watts, you can't be unaware of what the City of Alchemy was doing back then? Those experiments exceeded the limits of morality; even the devils of hell would feel ashamed. I only regret that I shouldn't have left you a chance to break the curse, which led to today's situation."

Oghma, the Lord of Knowledge, The Namer of All Things, a powerful deity of the True Neutral alignment. It was said that he could decide whether a new idea appeared in this world. Blocking the creativity of alchemists was not difficult for him.

Ambrose felt it was absurd upon hearing this. To make a True Neutral deity send down divine punishment—what kind of heinous acts did these alchemists commit?

The pupil of the Guild Master's single eye constricted, as if he had received a great shock.

"You even created seven towers to humiliate us!"

"Whether it is humiliation or a reminder depends entirely on how you think about it."

The God of Alchemy was quite dismissive of the Guild Master's questioning. He spoke in a lecturing tone, "Those seven towers represent the seven most common errors in alchemy, which are the basis of almost all experiments. Hasn't the rate of basic errors among your apprentices decreased significantly over these years?

"This is natural. Opening your eyes every day to see those seven towers, you naturally avoid those seven stupid mistakes during experiments. Yet, you treat it as humiliation.

"Insignificant beings, do not use your mortal minds to speculate on the thoughts of gods."

Ambrose felt a bit strange hearing this. Wasn't this the same line the Guild Master used to scold Dippel earlier? It had only been a short while, and the boomerang had already hit him in the head.

Seeing the Guild Master about to have a mental breakdown, Ambrose quickly said, "Ignore him! This guy has a toxic mouth! Arguing with him is meaningless. Hurry up and grant my wish!"

But before the Guild Master could respond, the God of Alchemy snapped his fingers, and it seemed as if the whole world went quiet.

It wasn't just silence; even the flow of air stopped. This was the effect of Time Stop, but it was no longer the scroll casting Ambrose had seen, but a spell cast personally by a deity.

In this instant, time in the entire City of Alchemy was halted, including the two sides fighting fiercely on the ground.

The whole city stood still; only Ambrose and the God of Alchemy could still move.

"Alright, now we have time to chat slowly." The God of Alchemy conjured a set of table and chairs from somewhere, even preparing tea. He waved to Ambrose, "My student, won't you really catch up with your teacher?"

Ambrose gritted his teeth, sat opposite the God of Alchemy, and said coldly, "Do I have another choice?"

The God of Alchemy poured Ambrose a cup of tea and said, "Don't be like this. You are the student I appreciate the most. The first time I saw you, I was attracted by your clear eyes, uncontaminated by magical knowledge."

Ambrose said mercilessly, "Come on, you were already blind when you met me! Also, isn't that sentence mocking me for being stupid?"

"Look, this is where you are smart. You immediately discovered my flaw."

After sighing with emotion, the God of Alchemy said with heartache, "But I must correct one point. You are absolutely not stupid, just too greedy. You want to learn everything, you want to know everything, and the result is that you master nothing. I never doubted you could reach the Legendary stage, but look at what you've done. What is the use of this Legend rank? If you had persisted in alchemy back then, maybe you would already be my Exarch by now."

Ambrose felt not a shred of emotion hearing this. Instead, he chuckled and said to the God of Alchemy, "You and I were so poor back then we couldn't even fill our stomachs. You misled me, making me think the only outcome of studying alchemy was begging for food! If I hadn't gone to learn magic, hadn't become a thief, we would have starved to death long ago!"

Ambrose felt something was wrong no matter how he thought about it. This old man didn't know much about alchemy back then, so how did he become the God of Alchemy? This messy old man definitely hid a lot of things. However, it seemed he wouldn't tell him, and Ambrose felt there was no need to dwell on it now.

"My teacher, get one thing straight. I have never been your believer, so don't apply that religious stuff to me. You taught me the basics of alchemy, and I supported you for over a decade. No matter how you calculate it, I'm the one who lost out! So, don't look so heartbroken, as if I owe you something. Now, let's get back to the main topic. What exactly do you want to do?"

After becoming a Lich, everything from his life as a living person should have vanished like smoke. It was better to focus on the benefits at hand. Ambrose just wanted to know the reason for the God of Alchemy's appearance here. Was he here to cause trouble or to steal the prize?

The God of Alchemy sighed and said, "Don't worry, I know you want the effect of the Wish spell. We haven't seen each other for so many years; your teacher won't treat you unfairly. This Wish spell is yours. The other gods have also agreed, you don't need to worry."

Ambrose immediately spotted the problem and pressed, "Other gods?"

The God of Alchemy took a sip of tea and explained, "That's right. Although Gareth Watts is insane, his wisdom has indeed reached the level of the gods. Turning himself into an artifact capable of casting Wish... the fact that he succeeded surprised all the gods. However, did you think the gods would just watch and do nothing?

"The Wish spell is inherently a chasm between mortals and gods. To be able to cast Wish without restrictions... that is essentially a divine spark that anyone who picks it up can use. How could the gods allow a divine spark to be left in the mortal world?"

Ambrose thought for a moment and agreed with the God of Alchemy's statement.

"The Nine Great Kingdoms will fight over this artifact, and no one will escape. Because no matter how bad the fighting gets, whoever grabs this artifact can end all troubles. If I were to obtain this artifact, I would also be targeted by Legends across the entire continent. They would swarm up and tear me apart."

The God of Alchemy nodded. "Correct. I knew you could figure it out. If these Legends unite, even a weaker deity could be killed by them. So I came today to seal this artifact. Otherwise, the entire continent will be destroyed by the flames of war. However, before sealing it, letting you have a chance to make a wish is no problem.

"How about it? Your teacher is treating you pretty well, right?"

Hearing this, Ambrose didn't show any happiness. Instead, he said with disappointment, "That's it? I've been busy for so long; the ownership of the Wish ritual was originally mine. You suddenly appear saying you want to take it back and only give me one chance to wish, and you claim it's for my own good? Teacher, you are still as good at calculating as ever."

The God of Alchemy's expression became slightly stiff. He said helplessly, "I knew it wouldn't be easy to settle. But, my dear student, are you mistaken about something? This is an arrangement decided by the gods. Do you have the confidence to defy the will of the gods?"

Ambrose smiled and said, "The gods? It's the result discussed by the Lawful gods, right? There is far more than one god who wants to see this world burn."