"Oh?" Duke's deep gaze fell on Robert, tinged with a hint of inquiry. "Tell me, how do you plan to obtain it? That mining area must be heavily guarded and far from Azure Vault City."

Robert grinned, revealing a player's characteristic smile, with a touch of slyness: "Sir, for us Heaven-Gifted, acquiring information or items sometimes doesn't require us to do it ourselves, nor do we need to storm the place. We have our channels."

He didn't directly mention player forums or player trades, fearing these terms would be blocked by the system, causing Duke to not understand.

Robert continued to explain: "Although the Shadow Council has recruited quite a few Heaven-Gifted to work for them, most of these Heaven-Gifted are motivated by profit and power. As long as the price is right or they are offered something they desire more, such as better equipment, quest clues, or in-game currency, there will always be someone willing to casually bring out a souvenir or straightforwardly sell the by-products of a completed task."

"Very good." Duke's voice was deep and carried a hint of approval, "Robert, your value is continuously being demonstrated. I need to see samples as soon as possible; both ores and smelted metals are needed. The quantity doesn't need to be large, but you must ensure it comes from the mining area you mentioned. The sooner, the better; this matter has a high priority."

Duke paused for a moment, his fingertips unconsciously tapping the table, making a slight thudding sound. "Additionally, regarding the specific location of that mining area, the guard forces, transport routes, and... why the Shadow Council values this type of metal so much? What is special about it? Dig out as much information as you can. Any detail could be critically important."

"Understood! Sir Duke!" Robert's spirit revitalized; this was evidently an important branch task, and the reward might be incredibly generous. "I'll get right on it! As soon as I have news, I'll report to you immediately!"

Robert bowed and quickly left Duke's room, filled with motivation.

As Duke watched Robert leave, this is the advantage of dealing with players— even without promising any benefits, they instinctively believe completing a task will earn them a reward and will strive to accomplish the task as best as possible.

Of course, he wouldn't be stingy either; if Robert did well with the tasks, nurturing him further would be a possibility.

"[Trading Zone] Around Azure Vault City - Heavily purchase Shadow Council's mysterious mining area ores/metal ingot samples! Also buying firsthand intelligence! Cash/in-game currency accepted!"

On the game forum, Robert has already posted a message, starting to purchase related intelligence and task items.

Having finally encountered Duke again, he naturally wanted to seize this opportunity and diligently complete the task.

Although Duke seemed to be temporarily staying in Azure Vault City and had opened a Magic Potion Shop, such NPCs might leave any time, so he needed to act quickly.

...

Three days later, Duke had a brass-colored metal in his hands; this metal was smelted in that mining area, known as Silver-Backed Metal.

It's about the size of a fist, with a coarse surface, carrying the remnants of quenching marks and minute pores from recent smelting. It's cool to the touch and heavy.

This metal appears brass-colored on the surface, but when cut open, it's silvery white inside, and after a period, it returns to a brass color.

Duke's fingertips gathered a trace of barely detectable magic power, lightly touching a corner of the metal ingot.

An extremely faint sound, like cold water dripping into hot oil, rang out.

The touched area instantly shed its dull brass hue, briefly revealing an extremely pure, lava-like dark golden sheen.

A far more intense energy pulse than previously sensed erupted suddenly, carrying a scorching, raging primitive force that seemed to want to tear everything apart, yet swiftly extinguished by an unseen giant hand, turning back to the lifeless brass color.

"It is indeed Magic Metal, and of excellent quality," Duke mused; it was a type of Magic Metal he had never seen before.

His Alchemy skills were limited; he still didn't know how to better utilize the properties of Silver-Backed Metal.

But Duke didn't need to dwell on these issues; he just needed to obtain enough Magic Metal and then absorb it.

Apart from this piece of Silver-Backed Metal, there were also several pieces of raw ore, evidently extracted from the same mining area.

Duke gathered these for sample research.

Besides these two items, Robert also brought a thick notebook, detailing the information he had gathered.

He went to great lengths to prepare this material, meticulously writing down every bit personally.

After obtaining intelligence from other players, he needed to sift through and organize it himself, and after tidying it up, he wrote it into the notebook.

Duke took the notebook and browsed through the information inside completely, finding records of the mining area's location and the distribution of the Shadow Council's defensive forces, in great detail.

It was evident these intelligence pieces were disseminated by players from within the mining area, or they wouldn't be this detailed.

This mining area is called Baiyan Mine, where the Shadow Council deployed many personnel, including two Magic Masters on guard.

The so-called Magic Masters are equivalent to second-level Wizards; their strength should not be underestimated.

Duke could not rely on his own strength to directly enter the mining area now, nor could he absorb ores there safely.

He contemplated for a moment and soon had some ideas.

Duke looked at Robert before him and said, "Very good, the task was completed excellently. I see your effort and dedication. I will teach you a truly powerful Breathing Technique, capable of enabling you to cultivate to a First-level Knight. This Breathing Technique is called the Light Divine Breathing Technique."

He contemplated for a moment but decided not to impart the Meditation Technique to Robert, mainly because players are unpredictable; a Breathing Technique alone wouldn't cause much impact.

The Light Divine Breathing Technique is an extremely special Breathing Technique, requiring very high talent from practitioners; it's extraordinarily difficult to cultivate if one's talent isn't high enough.

Thus, Duke wasn't afraid of it spreading, as it's inherently a technique that only a few people could cultivate.

Whether Robert could cultivate it or not depends on his fate; anyway, if the cultivation effect is poor, it has nothing to do with Duke.

"The Light Divine Breathing Technique! Sir Duke, are you part of the Light Sect?" Robert asked.

Duke shook his head: "I have no affiliation with the Light Sect, and this Breathing Technique is not the same as the one they possess; there's no connection between the two."

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