Chapter 13: Boots of Striding and Springing

  Several materials were being smelted by the true fire at the same time, and they all emitted a faint glow.

  What is meant by true fire tempering is not to melt all these things together, but to stimulate the magical energy inside the material, activate it and make it easier to blend with other materials. However, this process takes a long time and requires extremely strong control ability. If it's not good, the material will be melted and ruined, which is also a common occurrence.

  At first, when learning to refine equipment in the game, Ji Ran had made many such mistakes, resulting in a lot of material loss at the beginning. But now, with refining skills over level 100, smelting these low-level materials is as familiar as eating and drinking.

  But this was his first real attempt at refining equipment after crossing over, so he couldn't afford to slack off and remained fully focused on the materials in front of him, not daring to be careless in the slightest.

  Lais and the others sat far away, not daring to make a sound, holding their breath as they watched the commotion on Ji Ran's side. Originally, Lais had suggested that they all go out together to avoid suspicion, but Ji Ran told them it was fine, that this alchemy inheritance wasn't something that could be learned just by taking a look. The others were also very curious, wondering what it would really be like to refine magical tools, so they all stayed behind.

  Ji Ran naturally didn't mind them stealing his techniques, but refining equipment wasn't alchemy. Paying attention to the ratio of various materials and the refinement process would allow one to master it... Of course, alchemy wasn't that simple either, but refining equipment was far more complicated than alchemy.

  First, the materials must be refined to perfection, so that they are all in a state where they can merge at any time. Just this step alone is not something that can be learned by watching with one's eyes, after all, true fire is truly unique and unmatched in this world. Of course, alchemists can also use other methods to activate these materials, but the next step is no longer something that people in this world can understand.

  Next, Ji Ran prepared to inscribe an array on these materials.

  In "Xian Xia Xiang Yao", various magical artifacts rely on array techniques to activate their energy. Those pseudo-artifacts used for brushing familiarity don't need to be so troublesome, but the consequences are extremely poor effects and a very short lifespan. Magical artifacts that are truly refined using array techniques not only can be used for a long time, but their effects are often incredibly powerful.

  This kind of thing, naturally can't be learned casually in the game. The system will preset some formations for players to choose from. Of course, materials of different levels can hold different formations, and high-level formations engraved on low-level materials will cause the material to explode. The materials Ji Ran chose are all between level 25 to 30 in the game, so the chosen formations are also within this range.

  These arrays, in fact, have long been memorized. Each line is drawn in a specific place, and it can be drawn with eyes closed. In fact, the quality of the successfully refined artifact has a great relationship with whether the array is drawn regularly or not. It's not just a single array, but also the overlap arrangement of multiple arrays has a lot to do with it. Many players who focus on equipment refinement in the game have finally summarized a rule: the closer the pattern drawn by the array is to a beautiful geometric pattern, the better the final quality will be.

  This time can be considered as a trial, Ji Ran didn't plan to carve too many formations. Just two would do, and after overlapping and influencing each other, it was almost enough.

  His mind sank into the material in front of him, and the true fire flowed slowly inside the material with his gaze. In Ji Ran's eyes, a beautiful hexagon, interspersed with several circular patterns, gradually took shape. And among them, symbols representing various properties of the materials themselves were dotted, making the pattern more intricate, yet somehow having a strange symmetrical beauty.

  The pattern gradually took shape, and the consumption of spiritual energy within Ji Ran's body also intensified. Noticing this, Ji Ran secretly sighed, his current level was still too low... If he were to create a single-attribute magic treasure, it would be fine, but for a multi-attribute magic treasure, the consumption of spiritual energy increased exponentially, and his current spiritual energy seemed barely enough to refine this magic treasure, truly a bit insufficient...

  True energy is used to wield sword techniques, while spiritual power is used to refine magical treasures. Both feel somewhat insufficient on their own... If only they could complement each other... And yet, as two aspects of the same body, why do they not get along?

  Several materials are now emitting dazzling light, making it impossible to look directly at them. Lays and others have their mouths agape, their astonished expressions unable to be concealed. It turns out that alchemy is so magical? Refining a magic tool actually has such a big scene?

  I've never heard that alchemists would release so much light when creating magical equipment! And what's with the flowing, flame-like substance and those faint, mysterious lines... What are all these things?

  Alchemy, indeed a mysterious profession...

  No matter what others think, on Ji Ran's side, the refining process is about to reach its final step. The last step, of course, is to fuse all the materials together, fully shape them, and then trigger the array's effects, and that would be a great success.

  The skin of the Red-tailed Flame Wolf is the foundation, while the magic crystal of the Gale Long-toothed Mouse is the source of power. The scales of the Scale-armored Mountain Cat adorn it, and the tendons of the Silver Light Serpent connect these several things together...

  The light grew brighter and brighter, eventually enveloping Jian Ran entirely. At this point, the appearance of several materials, flowing flames, and even those faintly visible line symbols all disappeared from view. From Lais's perspective, Jian Ran had transformed into a ball of light, illuminating the interior of the cave brightly.

  At the same time, Ji Ran felt it. In the nearly formed magic treasure, there was a special, extremely pure energy flowing into his body. And that magic treasure seemed to be slowly merging with him along with that energy. For an instant, he felt as if he and the magic treasure were originally one entity...

  Although the feeling this time is much clearer than the first few times, it still disappeared in the end. However, Ji Ran now feels that if he can fully feel what this energy is, he will definitely be able to make a big change. And this opportunity lies in the refining of magic treasures and their use.

  "Success!" Suddenly, Ji Ran let out a low growl and clapped his hands together, causing all the light to instantly disappear, compressed between his palms. As he quickly rotated his hands, the light ball flashed continuously, finally extinguishing with a "brush" sound, and what was in his hand appeared before everyone's eyes.

  Those were boots, exceptionally beautiful boots. The fiery red leather surface had mysterious patterns on it, and the boot mouth was still embroidered with neat tassels. On both sides of the boots, two pieces of lynx scales were inlaid, and at the front of the boots, half a crystal clear crystal was exposed outside. After being trimmed into shape, the patterns formed some wonderful patterns, which looked even more elegant.

  Of course, the patterns and arrays on these boots have nothing to do with anything, they are purely decorative. Not to mention anything else, just looking at its appearance, this boot is enough to sell for a good price among those noble ladies.

  Flying Dash Boots: High-quality. Medium to low defense, increases movement speed, increases jump height, increases hang time, reduces stamina consumption when moving.

  Water Walking: After activation, you can move quickly on water surfaces without falling into the water.

  Leapfrog: Greatly increases jump ability and movement speed, duration depends on injected energy.

  Power Kick: A powerful kick that can be charged, dealing more damage to enemies the longer it is charged.

  Using skills consumes both personal energy and crystal energy. After crystal energy is depleted, it needs to be replenished before it can be used again.

  This is what a real treasure should be! The increased attributes are numerous and practical, and the effects of the three skills are extremely useful. It can be said that every adventurer would not refuse to have such a pair of boots... Movement speed and jump height, these are things that anyone can use.

  Who would complain about being too fast or jumping too high? Moreover, there is also the attribute of reducing physical consumption when moving, which can completely make oneself walk faster and farther! The effect after activation is more suitable for short-term bursts in battle. A person who has greatly enhanced movement speed and jump ability will absolutely make his opponent's head ache to death. Walking on water is a sharp tool for escaping or chasing, others swim while you run, who can compare with you?

  And that powerful kick... is a good start. But at certain moments, it may also play a wonderful role.

  How should I put it... This thing is undoubtedly a good thing, but the activation condition is energy, not true qi or magical power. Is this also a change brought about by the art of refining instruments after crossing over?

  Forget it, no need to think about that. The fact that I've crossed over is already strange enough, so whatever changes happen aren't surprising either. Ji Ran weakly smiled at the crowd: "It's a success, these boots, don't they look okay?"

  In fact, Lays and they were now stunned.

  So fast, a real magical artifact was born? This is not scientific... Those low-level alchemists in the city, each and every one of them are so proud that their eyes can grow to the top of their heads, it takes them several days, or even more than half a month to make a single magical artifact! And here, in less than two hours, a magical artifact has appeared?

  Moreover, this is not the kind of ornament that can be easily made, such as a necklace, but armor! The production of armor is generally not completed by alchemists alone, but rather by specialized blacksmiths, tanners, and tailors who produce blank armor, which is then imbued with magical power by the alchemist. This is great, it's all done in one go!

  And look at these boots, they're stunningly beautiful! Of course, the works of alchemists have always been beautiful, but these boots are excessively so. Even if taken to a high-ranking noble's place, even without any magical properties, it would still be a rare masterpiece!

  Who would have thought that Ji Ran had such talent?

  A group of people gathered around, staring at the boots in amazement. It was clear to everyone that these boots were meant for women. Of course, men could wear them too if they wanted to, but not all men had the courage to wear such things... At least Lais didn't, and neither did Ban. As for Beck... it was hard to say.

  Ji Ran once again explained the properties of this pair of boots to everyone, and each time he said one, it increased the surprise of the crowd by another notch. A pair of boots, with so many properties?

  Of course, these properties are actually the most basic properties and can't be considered too high-end or elegant, but they are very practical. With so many practical properties combined together, even if each one's effect is not that great, it can still be considered a masterpiece among low-level magic armor!

  The materials used for these boots are not of high grade, at most they're just third-rate. I suppose people who want to wear these boots won't have abilities that exceed this level by much... If their abilities are too high, then the attributes of these boots wouldn't be that important to them either. But for profession levels around two or three, all of these attributes are almost entirely useful, not a single one is wasted!

  For this point, Lays and the others were lavish with their praise. Even the alchemists in the city might have accidentally created strange magical properties, making a piece of magical equipment become a joke. But what Ji Ran had refined was all solid goods! Was this guy lucky? Or did he really have outstanding skills? Lays and the others were guessing in their hearts.

  Only Ji Ran himself knew that this was absolutely the result of his own superb skills. As for the selection of materials, it goes without saying that they were all based on speed, except for the skin of the Red-tailed Fire Wolf. But the main function of the Red-tailed Fire Wolf's skin was defense and integrating other materials together, its own properties were not very important.

  Apart from these materials, the choice of formation is also crucial. Ji Ran combined two formations to bring out the properties of various materials themselves, and then merged them to create the final attribute of this pair of flying boots. It sounds simple, but it's actually the essence of Ji Ran's hundred-level equipment forging experience!

  If this pair of boots still can't satisfy everyone, then Ji Ran really doesn't know what the development of alchemy in this world has become...

  Talk is cheap, so in the end everyone decided to let Eileen try on the boots. Eileen didn't decline either, and after turning around and changing into the boots with her back to everyone, she ran and jumped a few times in the spacious cave, closed her eyes and savored it for a moment, then suddenly opened her eyes and looked at Ji Ran: "I like these boots."