NOVEL NEXT Chapter 164: Silver II
[USER HAS ACHIEVED A NEW ALCHEMIST RANK: SILVER II]
[1 SIGIL SLOT IS UNLOCK]
[MAXIMUM PSYCHOSIS +25]
[SALT EXTRACT HAS BEEN ADDED]
[EXTRACT STORAGE REACHES 200]
[USER: Siderius 'Snow' Satterblade]
[ ATTRIBUTES ]
|Strength: 4|
|Agility: 4|
|Perception: 7|
|Stamina: 7|
|Endurance: 6|
[WITCH HUNTER RANK: OCULUS EXTIMA I (COMPLETED)]
[ALCHEMIST RANK: SILVER II]
[SIGILS SLOT: 2/3]
[SIGIL: <VERTIGO>; <PARAVE>; <EMPTY>]
[MERCURY EXTRACT: 0/200]
[SALT EXTRACT: 0/200]
[PSYCHOSIS LEVEL: 0/150]
[TOXICITY LEVEL: 0/100]
With the strength of his soul elevated, the same went for the System. A new sigil slot was unlocked, which meant he could add another combat seal.
The salt extract finally appeared. Now Siderius could store salt inside the system similar to mercury. However, it could only store normal salt, not yellow salt.
Siderius let out a long breath and stood up. He finally reached the second minor rank for Silver. It only took a few months.
The Aether Sphere was dissolved completely to push him to the second Silver rank.
"You two really take your time in there." Siderius looked over to the sleeping Jude and Caterina. It had been quite a few hours already.
Siderius stretched for a bit then sat back down, waiting for the return of the pair.
They woke up around half an hour later.
Jude opened his eyes first. He was filled with rage. Next was Caterina. She woke up with a grim expression.
"Despicable rats!" Jude spat.
Siderius raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.
Caterina turned to him. "Have you ever heard about any secret organization?"
"Secret organization? It can't be related to the guild I just made up." Siderius thought.
"No," he said, "Why the question?"
"In Jeffrey's memory, there is a secret organization called the Ever Night. They were the one behind Jeffrey.
He was recruited by them and taught by them. His skill from spells and magic was all learned from them."
Jude suddenly cut in. "Jeffrey's mission was to turn me into their puppet. That is the reason for the delusional seed."
"Can you see the people behind him?" Siderius said.
Jude shook his head. "No. They always covered their face or communicated with him via long-range spells. This idiot doesn't even know where they are. That damn guild always contacted him first to set up the meeting place."
Jude kicked Jeffrey in the face, causing him to roll on the ground. But the butler didn't wake up. He was still in a deep coma.
"All those years I put my trust in you. I treat you as a brother. And this is what you gave me?"
Jude drew his sword.
"Wait!" Siderius said. "Don't kill him. I have uses for him."
"I can't let this fucker live, white witch!" Jude shouted.
Siderius smiled gently. "Nor did I say he will live. I will simply turn him into pure magic and consume him.
There will be no traces left of him in this world. Better than disposing a corpse, isn't it?"
Jude breathed heavily. His rage slowly calmed down and he sheathed his sword.
"You're right. You were the one who discovered the truth and caught him anyway. You can do whatever you want with him.
Just promise me that this rat must die."
"He will die. All his flesh will turn into dust and sand."
"Good."
Siderius then asked for Jude and Caterina to leave so he could 'consume' Jeffrey. The two didn't show any disagreement and left the prison cell.
The vengeful hunter drew a barrier seal just in case. Then he also took a puff of the Red Candy to go inside Jeffrey's memory. He wanted to see for himself what had happened in case Jude and Caterina missed something.
Through Jeffrey's memory, Siderius was able to see how the Ever Night operated. How they contacted Jeffrey every time they wanted to meet him. The way of speaking and behaviors of Jeffrey's handler.
"Interesting. Jeffrey was less of a member and more like a mercenary for the Ever Night. He didn't know much about the guild and only gained reward from doing jobs for them.
Well, your usefulness has run dried, Jeffrey of Scalize. For the Ever Night. And for me."
After learning everything, Siderius withdrew from Jeffrey's mind. He then began the process of turning the witch into pure Dark Aether.
Siderius didn't do a Dead Rite this time as Jeffrey wasn't dead. He could turn Jeffrey into Dark Aether while he was alive.
Jeffrey woke up in the middle of the process.
"What are you doing?" Jeffrey squirmed on the ground.
Siderius sat on top of him. The seal was drawn and everything was completed. The hunter held Jeffrey tightly, his right hand smacked into the seal on Jeffrey's chest.
"No! Stop! Arrghhhhhh!"
Jeffrey's scream spread far and wide in the prison. It leaked out to the garrison and the surrounding area. Everyone could hear his excruciating and haunting last minute.
Jude and Caterina stood outside the prison with satisfaction on their faces.
"Good riddance." Jude said.
"The white witch knows pain really well." Caterina bit her lips slightly.
Jude caught the glimpse of admiration in her voice. "What are you thinking about? Do you like him?!"
"Of course not, my love."
"Then why did you react like that, huh?!"
"Because I wanted to! What?! Do you have a problem with that? At least I didn't remarry!"
Jude's face was bright red. He was jealous but he knew he held no advantages in this argument.
"Fine. Fine. You win." Jude said.
The remaining few days in Scalize were rather peaceful for Siderius. His psychosis was zero so he didn't need to do any Psychosis Meditation. The only thing he could do was walking the Truth-Seeking Path.
Even then, he walked very slowly. Without an Aether Sphere, the Truth-Seeking Path could be grueling. Siderius still had some Light Aether from killing the Phantom and Dark Aether from Jeffrey.
But the amount was too small. If he made another Aether Sphere, it would quickly be consumed and hold not a lot of benefits for a Silver II Alchemist. So Siderius didn't make a new one. He saved it for when he had more.
The hunter also came to visit Tanya quite a few times to discuss with her about the herbs and plants. He wanted to make sure he brought with him all valuable plants.
Finn and George went into study mode and tried to better understand the process of making Dull Steel and Blazing Soul. They were dedicated to improving their craft.
Siderius gave them a lot of knowledge but he kept most of the important things.
They could make Dull Steel. But they didn't know how to make Iron Blood. They could only buy more from Siderius.
Finn and George also didn't know about how to replicate Soul Iron so they couldn't make another Blazing Soul on their own.
Siderius also settled the payment for the weapon with them. As 'Lord Watcher', he obviously could order them to do it for free. But that would lower his image and it wasn't fair.
Everything has a price. An alchemist must respect this always.
So he paid the two blacksmiths handsomely. Each received thirty silver coins. A very substantial amount that was worth way more than any sword in Finn's workshop.
The two blacksmiths denied the payment at first. For them, the knowledge they received was enough. But Siderius insisted so they accepted it.
That left Siderius with 6 Golds, 12 Silvers, and 50 Bronzes.
Siderius had brought a few things here and there so his coins also went down a little bit.
He filled the Salt Extract to the maximum.
[SALT +200]
[SALT EXTRACT: 200/200]
In the workshop.
"Do you know anything about Mercury?" Siderius described the liquid metal to George and Finn.
"I heard about it, Lord Watcher." Finn said. "It is a very toxic material. Most of the people get far away from it. But some idiots still come into contact with it from time to time."
George nodded. "Especially those scholars and artists that like the color they provided. They very often take the cinnabar and crush it to make the color, having no idea it will kill them slowly."
"Interesting." Siderius rubbed his chin.
The people of this world knew about Mercury and its most common ore, cinnabar. But had no idea about its true potential. For them, Mercury was either a color of paint or a toxin.
"Do you know where I can get this?"
"Yes, Lord Watcher. Usually people don't deal with cinnabar so you will have a hard time finding them for sale. But there is a valley of hot springs called Rose Springs.
It is located on the way to Mucktown and there are a lot of cinnabar in it."
"I see."
He needed more Mercury for Transformation Seals and his second mutations. He already had a good candidate for what it's going to be.
That damn panther that dared to attack Siderius in the woods. Its slit pupils would be a perfect second rank for Oculus Extima, the mutation of the eyes.