NOVEL NEXT Chapter 192: Payment
On the next day, Van continued his research. With the help of his Ocularis Lens, he soon tried a micro-refinement process, using a small fragment of the Spiritual Kiss Flower combined with boiled Ashroot and Molten Bark Dust…
Thankfully, he had eight Spiritual Kiss Flowers and only five of them were needed in the real concoction. Because of that, he had some extra time for experimentation to study the behavior or the properties of the flower, so he could gather more information on how to approach the concoction process.
As for the other ingredients, all these ingredients were, of course, obtained through various means with the connections he made over the past few months.
Van then let the substance settle, then applied a strand of his Aura to observe its interaction.
Boom—!
The reaction sparked for a second before vanishing harmlessly.
Van coughed out smoke but grinned. His hypothesis was right. The ingredients reacted positively, albeit violently.
He would need Aura stabilization medium—something like a Soul Dew Drop or Gentle Lotus Pulp—to temper the concoction.
But that meant returning to Julia with another request…
"I'm getting closer… I just need to be patient." Van muttered to himself.
***
Julia crossed her arms, tapping her foot as she read the latest request sheet.
"What kind of servant needs 'Volatile Essence Interactions in Spiritual Alchemy'? Do you even know what this is?"
Van bowed. "I'd like to understand the aura binding properties of unstable mixtures, Miss Julia. It might help in mixing your future spell reagents more efficiently."
She narrowed her eyes. "Is that flattery?"
"Yes, but also true…" Van replied without missing a beat.
She smirked and shook her head before she walked away to borrow it. Well, it wasn't surprising that Van knew about the other books in the library since the Authors would normally promote or recommend their other books on the first or last page of their books.
It took two hours, but she returned with the book—and a warning.
"Don't get caught doing anything stupid with these texts, Van. If they suspect anything unusual, even I can't help you." Julia said. Still, since she knew that the bindings were still active, she didn't really doubt Van's intentions so far.
Van smiled gratefully. "Understood, Miss Julia. You have my thanks."
***
On the next day, Van had narrowed his supplementary ingredient list to five potential sources and had managed to create two stable intermediate extracts.
He hid the rest of the valuable material in the servant dorm walls.
The Strong Heart Pill had changed his internal flow, and he could now feel his Aura Flow with higher clarity.
Van knew the risk of Option 3, the Condensation of the Spiral Core, with the help of the Aura Advancement Pill. It could go wrong in so many ways. The failure might rupture his meridians… or worse, cause partial detachment of his Aura Core from his nervous system.
But the rewards…
If successful, his Aura would not only grow denser but also more stable, and most importantly, resilient to pressure during future breakthroughs.
"I hope it's really that effective…" Van muttered. His breakthrough from the Zero Level to the First Level of Aura may not have been so dangerous, but it will be very different starting from the second up to the highest level after all.
Anyway, this was what he needed to move forward.
And so, as time passed, Van was getting more and more confident with the creation of the Aura Advancement Pill.
"Just a little more… Then I'll have everything I need."
***
The Rukh Tower was always filled with activity. One of the reasons why was because it controlled a huge region where they collected various resources.
Furthermore, they seemed to be preparing for a huge battle since various representatives were visiting the Tower to get various Magic Items that only the Rukh Tower, owned by Archmage Farrell, could create.
As a matter of fact, Rogar's master was from a different Tower and had the same business in the Tower.
Of course, at this point, the servants still had the same activities since their masters had become busier creating new spells and to learn new methods to advance.
The servants continued sweeping the marble halls, polishing practice weapons, restocking potion shelves, washing laundry near the well, or delivering supplies to the lesser vaults, dormitories, and meditation chambers.
It was in these daily rituals that Theresa carried out her quiet routines.
Unlike most slaves who seemed to be tired of such repeated duties, Theresa seemed to be using this time on her own mind training as well.
After her mission in the Whistle Forest with her Master Harvey, she really wanted to become stronger…
She knew how lacking she was and wanted to train more.
Although her frame was lean, her hands were calloused not from manual labor, but from the grip of a training sword.
She had been Harvey's attendant for almost two years, tasked with guarding his scrolls, polishing his robes, and, most of all, protecting his fragile ego.
But ever since witnessing Van's duel with Rogar in the servant arena a week ago, something had shifted within her.
She had been there, helping one of the servants who had been defeated by Rogar near the edge of the ring, when Van stood toe to toe with a Gray Aura User and emerged victorious—not by sheer power, but through precise movements, calculation, and control.
"I hope I can be like that…" She muttered to herself.
That image of Van defeating a second-level Aura User burned in her memory.
Since then, she had doubled down on her training.
In the hours before dawn and after duty, she practiced footwork and sword drills alone behind the outer laundry shed where no other slaves train.
She even began sensing the faint stirrings of her Aura more clearly, and now… she was on the verge of reaching the First Level.
In recent days, she had bumped into Van multiple times—in the Dining Hall, in the Archive Drop Room, at the Furnace Courtyard, and once while drawing water at the Old Alchemist's Fountain, a disused corner of the garden where only the slaves ventured to cool their blisters cause of training.
But something about Van had changed.
He wasn't going to the Arena anymore.
Instead, he always looked preoccupied.
He smelled some odd herbs, talked to himself quietly, and smelled faintly of smoke and minerals. Sometimes his hands were stained with ash or smelled faintly of spiritual residue.
"Did he stop being Julia's guard…?" Theresa wondered. "Is he becoming her personal alchemist now?"
She wasn't jealous, but… curious. And perhaps a little concerned.
After all, Van had incredible talent in swordsmanship and hand-to-hand combat. If he really became an alchemist, then it would be such a pity!
'That Julia is an idiot… Did she not recognize his skills in combat? Or maybe she doesn't want Van to be that strong?' Theresa couldn't help but feel sad for Van, who was now neglecting her training because of his studies in Alchemy.
"Haa~ It's not like I can help him… I just hope that Julia will soon realize that Van will be more useful in combat than Alchemy." Theresa thought to herself.
***
That evening, Theresa was just finishing her sword cleaning duties outside Harvey's room when Van approached her…
"Hmm?" Theresa was curious as she didn't expect Van to actually come here. It was quite far from Julia's quarters after all.
Anyway, Van looked tired, his sleeves slightly scorched and a faint pink scar was visible across his wrist—likely from another alchemy mishap.
"Theresa…" Van greeted, glancing around before lowering his voice. "Do you have a moment?"
Theresa blushed for a moment as various thoughts came to her mind. Then, she swiftly looked at the surroundings and confirmed that there were no other people.
Then, she calmed her mind and looked at Van curiously. "Ahem… If this is about cleaning duties, I'm not your girl."
Van gave a half-smile. "Not that. I need something only you might help me acquire."
She looked at him silently.
"I just heard from the other servants that Harvey recently redeemed Moonvine Silk and a vial of Dew Resin—ingredients not common in student use."
Theresa blinked in surprise. "How do you—?"
"I overheard…" Van said, waving the question away. Of course, it was all because of his Ocularis lens.
"Anyway, I need just a piece of each of them. They're not crucial, but they'll stabilize my next alchemy trial. I can't get them through Julia… they're outside her clearance."
Theresa crossed her arms. "So, you want me to ask Harvey for them? Or steal them?"
"Ask," Van said quickly. "If that's possible. Maybe claim you're experimenting with Aura coating on your sword. Moonvine Silk is often used in wrapping weapon hilts, and Dew Resin has blade-hardening properties. If that's not possible, please ask him for a price. I only have a hundred gold coins with me though…"
She narrowed her eyes. "That's… a little bold."