Chapter 109: [Plant Blood Mana Potion — Modified Formula.]
My magical power continuously circulated throughout my entire body, nullifying the remnants of the mental enchantment he had tried to impose.
The codes engraved into my body burned faintly.
I breathed slowly.
My right arm remained raised.
The concealed launcher attached beneath the arm of the armor kept the Explosive Fire Crystal perfectly aligned.
It would only take a single click.
That entire shop would vanish in an explosion.
My gaze remained cold.
— Hahaha...
— Very good!
— That’s it! — the old man laughed wildly as he spun around on his own feet.
— Death is wonderful!
— It’s already coming!
— It’s coming!
He had completely lost his mind.
There was no logic whatsoever in his movements.
No strategy.
No objective.
He was simply a mage whose mind had been destroyed by years of experiments and exposure to magical radiation.
I had absolutely no interest in wasting resources fighting someone like that.
Even if I won...
What would I gain?
It was then that another voice echoed through the cave.
— That’s enough, Tru.
I recognized it immediately.
It was the little guardian I had encountered at the entrance of the canyon.
The old man spun around violently.
— RALATA!!
His expression became completely twisted once again.
His fingers clenched.
He began an incantation.
The Biochip immediately detected the formation of the magical pattern.
[Detecting spell construction.]
Blue lines appeared before my eyes.
Runes.
Mana nodes.
Energy flow.
Everything was being dismantled and reconstructed in real time.
[Pattern identified: Ice Arrow.]
[Ambient temperature: 19.7°C.]
[Temperature at the tip of the spell: -31°C... -58°C... -96°C.]
[Atmospheric crystallization initiated.]
The moisture in the air froze instantly.
A massive blue arrow began taking shape before the old man’s hands.
The ground turned white.
The shelves trembled.
Even the reagent bottles began to freeze.
My entire body remained motionless.
Then I heard Ralata again.
Her voice now carried a clear tone of irritation.
— Damn it...
— Mr. Tru has snapped again.
— Could one of you give me a hand?
Almost immediately...
Two different voices answered.
I couldn’t identify where they came from.
I only heard two extremely short syllables.
They were not complete incantations.
They were... compressed incantations.
My eyes narrowed.
Third-level acolytes...
At Arcangrove Tower, I had read about that.
Third-level acolytes were already capable of reducing long incantations to just a few syllables.
It wasn’t instant magic.
But it was dangerously close.
The next instant...
The ground exploded.
Dozens of green vines emerged from the rocks like living serpents.
They wrapped around the dwarf’s arms.
Then his legs.
Then his torso.
The plants tightened with such force that the Ice Arrow wavered.
Even restrained...
Tru roared.
The mana continued increasing.
He was still trying to complete the spell.
Then...
A red arrow shot through the air.
It struck the very core of the Ice Arrow.
POOF!
A shockwave spread white vapor throughout the entire shop.
The two spells collided.
The blue energy disappeared.
The red energy as well.
Neither one prevailed.
They simply canceled each other out.
A Positive Energy Arrow.
My heart raced.
The precision was unbelievable.
Hitting the exact core of another spell in motion—even with a Biochip—was truly incredible.
That required a level of magical understanding far beyond my own.
While I analyzed everything...
The old man began trembling.
His entire body went into spasms.
He brought both hands to his head.
The screams stopped.
He breathed heavily.
A few seconds later...
He opened his eyes.
Confusion.
Exhaustion.
Clarity.
— What...?
He blinked a few times.
— What are you all doing? Release me immediately!
I watched in silence.
Another transformation occurred.
The crazed expression disappeared.
His face became calm.
At the same time...
Something unexpected happened.
His scalp began producing hair.
First a few centimeters.
Then dozens.
Within moments, enormous black strands continued growing until they extended past his ankles.
I stared at it.
Curious.
The Biochip initiated an analysis.
[Phenomenon observed: Accelerated hair growth.]
[Speed: 8.4 centimeters per second.]
[Hypothesis: Neuromagical curse associated with psychological state.]
Ralata laughed from outside.
— Look at that.
— His hair has grown.
— He’s back to normal.
The vines disappeared immediately.
Another voice spoke.
— Tru... you’ve frightened another customer.
— You’ve broken this market’s rules again.
— If he doesn’t accept your apology, we’ll have to expel you from here.
The old man lowered his head completely.
His posture was now humble.
Nothing remained of the lunatic from a few minutes earlier.
He slowly walked toward me.
Then he gave a deep bow.
— Sir...
— I sincerely apologize.
— My mind... sometimes simply disappears.
— I thought I had finally learned to control these episodes.
He closed his eyes.
— Unfortunately...
— They’re getting worse.
A brief silence followed.
I even felt a trace of pity.
For a few moments.
But only for a few moments.
The reality was simple.
Regardless of the cause...
He had almost killed me.
I kept my expression neutral.
— Then wake up my servant.
— After that, gather the ingredients I requested.
He nodded quickly.
— Of course.
He approached Tinod, who was still unconscious.
He lifted one of his eyelids.
Examined his eyes.
Then smiled.
— Just a fainting spell.
— The enchantment didn’t penetrate deeply into his mind.
He took out a small vial containing a pink liquid.
He made Tinod drink it.
A few seconds later...
My knight slowly opened his eyes.
Confused.
But completely conscious.
I breathed a sigh of relief.
Tru disappeared among the shelves.
He returned carrying a large dark wooden box.
He placed it before me.
— All the requested ingredients.
— As compensation...
— You’ll only pay half the price.
I looked at him for a few seconds.
At least he still has some dignity.
I handed over the magic crystals.
I carefully stored the box away.
Before leaving...
The old man spoke again.
— Sir...
— If you ever come back...
— Wait until my hair grows past my ankles.
He smiled bitterly.
— Only during that phase do I remain sane.
— On the other days...
— It’s better to keep your distance.
I nodded discreetly.
There was nothing more to say.
I left the shop.
Tinod walked beside me.
Throughout the entire journey back through the canyon, I remained silent.
The excitement I had felt upon arriving had completely disappeared.
That market was hiding extremely dangerous people.
Some of them insane.
I thought once again about the two third-level acolytes.
They had never even shown themselves.
They resolved the entire situation without revealing their faces.
Without wasting a single movement.
Without destroying the surroundings.
The difference between them...
And the complacent acolytes of Distant Wind City...
Was enormous.
It was like comparing a flock of sheep to a pack of wolves.
As I walked through the mountains, I realized something important.
True practitioners of magic rarely remained close to human civilization.
They sought isolation.
The city where I lived was merely a refuge for retired or complacent acolytes.
The truly dangerous ones remained hidden in places like that.
I smiled faintly.
Instead of intimidating me...
It only strengthened my determination.
My experiment was practically complete.
As soon as I successfully prepared the Plant Blood Mana Potion...
My mana reserve would finally take a tremendous leap.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Then my eyes settled on the test tube resting in the metal stand.
Its contents were bubbling.
A dark red foam continuously climbed the glass wall before disappearing a few centimeters below the rim.
Bubbles formed...
Burst...
And immediately gave rise to new bubbles.
It was an extremely delicate balance.
I carefully held the test tube between my fingers.
Not even my hands trembled.
I began to shake it.
It was not a random movement.
After thousands of simulations, the Biochip had determined the exact sequence of movements that kept the reaction at its optimal point.
Three rotations to the left.
A pause.
Two vertical motions.
Half a turn.
Another pause.
I repeated that almost hypnotic rhythm.
I continued.
The bubbles became smaller.
More numerous.
More organized.
Then the Biochip spoke.
[The reaction has become extremely stable.]
[Estimated time until the critical threshold is exceeded: 03 minutes 24 seconds.]
Immediately, a timer appeared in the lower corner of my field of vision.
03:24
03:23
03:22...
I completely stopped thinking about anything else.
My breathing slowed.
My heartbeat became steadier.
All of my senses focused solely on that small glass tube.
When only fifteen seconds remained...
My left hand was already carefully holding several small red crystals.
They pulsed faintly.
Each one had been refined days earlier.
Catalytic components.
They could not be added even one second too early...
Nor one second too late.
03...
02...
01...
At that exact moment, I murmured the incantation.
— Blood of the plants...
— Blood of the forest...
— Blood of violence...
I immediately dropped the crystals into the tube.
WENG!
The entire glass tube began to vibrate.
The vibration became so intense that even the metal stand started trembling.
Then it happened.
Tiny bluish bolts escaped through the opening at the top.
They did not disappear.
They began to revolve around the tube.
Each luminous spark slowly condensed...
Until it transformed into a small blood-red sphere.
They were beautiful.
Perfectly spherical.
Each one possessed a thin layer of blue electricity surrounding its surface.
They slowly floated around me.
They revolved.
Like tiny planets.
But there was something far more dangerous.
They...
Sang.
It wasn’t exactly a song.
Nor were they words.
It was a whisper.
Soft.
Seductive.
A voice that seemed to pass directly through my consciousness.
"Come..."
"Relax..."
"Surrender..."
My heart raced.
For an instant...
I felt an overwhelming urge to abandon everything.
Forget experiments.
Forget magic.
Forget knowledge.
Diving into that crimson ocean seemed like the only correct decision in the universe.
Even at only one percent of its potency... it was terrifying.
I gritted my teeth.
My mana erupted around my body.
A white film enveloped my skin.
The voices immediately grew fainter.
I continued resisting.
The Biochip continuously monitored my brainwaves.
[Mental analysis.]
[Hypnotic influence detected.]
[Emotional contamination: 17%.]
[Cognitive response preserved.]
[Recommendation: maintain constant mana circulation.]
Then I uttered only one word.
A single syllable.
Instantly...
Dozens of needles made of white light appeared around me.
Each one pierced exactly one red sphere.
PIFF
PIFF
PIFF
The small spheres began to dissolve.
They transformed back into liquid droplets.
They slowly returned to the test tube.
The bubbles disappeared.
The crystals dissolved.
All of that energy began to converge.
A few seconds later...
Only a half-filled test tube remained.
A red liquid.
Thick.
Brilliant.
It almost resembled freshly collected blood.
I gave it a gentle shake.
No reaction.
Perfect.
[Plant Blood Mana Potion — Modified Formula.]
[Status: Manufacture complete.]
....
1760 Words