"Bring him to me," Lilith ordered dismissively. Sonya quickly nodded before retreating out of the room. Stopping just outside the door, she sighed in relief, 'How did I escape that alive.' Sonya counted her blessings before she pushed off the door and started to look for Thane.
---
"Now, you try." Helga stepped aside to let Thane step up to the workbench. Taking the purple root, Thane first ground it into a fine powder before walking over to what he thought was an espresso press.
After packing down the power, Thane filled the rest of the container with hot water before grabbing the handle and pressing it down with all his strength. The metal groaned as a deep purple liquid was extruded from the press, filling the clear glass vial placed to collect the elixir.
Once the vial was half full, Thane stopped and attached the vial into a rudimentary Bunson burner. Helga explained that without his Alchemist Flame, all his potions would mostly be trash or poor quality.
Starting a fire under the glass bottle, and after a few seconds, purple vapors began to rise from the liquid before working their way through a long glass tube and condensing back into liquid.
When he felt the second vial was full enough, Thane picked up the potion and smiled when he got a notification.
[Notice: Start]
You have learned the skill: Alchemy Level 1-(+1% to the strength of brewed potions)
You have created: Weak Poison
Quality: Trash
Durability:5/5
Effects: Deals 2 Poison Damage every 10 seconds for 1 minute
You have gained: 5 XP for brewing Weak Poison
[Notice: End]
Shrugging, Thane quickly consumed the poison and blanched as the sour-tasting liquid burned down his throat.
"Must you do that every time?" Helga shook her head in disgust, "It's unnatural, and one day you're going to get yourself killed."
Thane dismissed Helga's concern with a wave of his hand, "As you said, my potions are weak. Even without my poison resistance, I won't even lose half my health."
"Still, I'll have none of that in my workshop. Going forward, you aren't allowed to consume any potions while I'm teaching you." Helga huffed, tapping the butt of her cane against the floor to emphasize her point.
Thane opened his mouth to protest when a knock came for the door, "Thane, I know you're in there. We need to talk." Sonya's voice came muffled through the thick door, though Thane could hear the irritation and urgency in her call.
Thane opened the door to catch Sonya's gaze burning a hole into him in two quick strides.
"What?" Sonya grabbed Thane's shirt with a surprising amount of force and pulled him into the hallway, "Because of the little stunt you pulled, Lilith wants to have a word with you."
"Can't this wait? I'm in the middle of a lesson." Sonya's eyes went wide with fury, "No. It. Can't." She said tightly, leaving no room for negotiation.
---
Thane stood in front of Lilith as she stared at him, "So what do you plan to do?" Thane blinked, "Excuse me?"
"Don't act innocent. You knew there was going to be some fallout for your little stunt at the auction. So I'll ask again. What do you plan to do?" Lilith's gaze didn't flicker, and her voice held an amused tone.
Thane was silent for a moment before he spoke, "Can I kill them all?" Immediately Lilith grinned, "That rather bold of you to propose. The Xu Clan is about one hundred strong, but they don't have any allies in the upper realms."
Lilith mused it over before she smiled viscously, "If you really are so confident, I'll offer you an ultimatum. I'll give you three months to kill off the entire Xu Clan of Heartwood city. If you fail, I will hand you over to the Xu Clan on a silver platter. Of course, this would be by vow, so you can't run out on me."
"Sure, why not? It should be a pretty fun time, but I want to add something to the deal." Lilith raised her eyebrow, "You're hardly in the position to negotiate, but I'll listen."
"If I succeed, you will let me and Annabelle leave the Yami without pursuing us."
"No," Lilith replied curtly, shutting Thane down. While he knew it was a long stretch, Thane had to try, "Then how about 40% of the Xu Clans wealth?"
"40% that is a lot going to a single person." Though she pointed out how ridiculous the amendment was, Lilith didn't sound opposed to the idea, "Fine. I don't see why not. I Lilith Kireina agree to uphold my end of the agreement with the Realms as my witness."
Thane repeated the vow, and a second later, the notification appeared telling him the Realms accepted the agreement.
Pushing the notification aside, Thane turned to Lilith, "I hope this counts as my job for the month?" Lilith smirked, "For the next three if you really do deliver on your promise."
Thane pulled up his armor's hood, "Well then, see you in three months. Oh, I'll be taking Annabelle as my plus one on this job. You can consider this her trial."
Before Lilith could respond, Thane was out the door. Once he was gone, Lilith chuckled, "I can see why you wanted to stick around him. He creates so much chaos. It's almost as if he aims to defeat boredom itself."
From the corner of the office, Sonya sighed, "It's fun until you're caught in the crosshairs. Do you really think he stands a chance? Isn't the patriarch of the Xu Clan a warrior grade mana cultivator?"
Lilith nodded, "I think we are underestimating our dear Thane. Did you know that earlier today, Annabelle reached the mortal grade?"
"The other Ascender?" Lilith nodded, "It seems as if she was able to learn Zhou Feng's Talisman Creation Technique. She has been practicing all day. The training hall might need some repairs when she's done."
"I guess I know why he wanted to buy that cultivation technique so badly," Sonya muttered under her breath.
---
Back in his room, Thane closed the door behind him and locked it. Taking out the second mana stone from his ring Thane held it in his hands, 'I wanted to take more time but here goes nothing.'
Closing his eyes, Thane started to search himself, combing through his mind and memories. He recalled when Annabelle had carried him through the forest as his blood slowly thickened to a jelly.
Then the second time, as his entire nervous system was shut down, shaking his head, Thane realized it wasn't enough. Reaching into his ring, Thane pulled out one of the poisons he had bought and consumed it without hesitation.
Thane gasped, and he collapsed to one knee as a burning pain began to flare up and down his body.
As the pain overwhelmed him, Thane fell onto the floor, his body seizing as foam bubbled from his mouth. The poison burned through his veins, turning them pitch black, Thane's skin paled, and in a few seconds, his shirt was soaked in sweat.
Thane grabbed the mana crystal that had rolled away when he collapsed with the last bit of his strength. When his fingers brushed against the cold crystal, the gem flashed like a star, and Thane gasped as energy started to flow through him.
Trying to stay conscious of the tsunami of feelings, Thane walked the line between heaven and hell as the poison wreaked havoc on his body while the mana worked tirelessly to restore it.
Focusing on the feeling of pain, Thane greedily sucked the mana through every single pore on his body. As the mana overwhelmed the poison, the two forces meld, changing Thane as his mana pathways exploded with power.
Coming to his senses, Thane wiped his mouth before coughing until a coppery tang covered his tongue. Spitting to the side, Thane sat still for a moment. His mind was trying to make sense of the otherworldly power flowing through his body.
Sitting up slowly, Thane leaned against his bed as he read the notifications that appeared in front of him.
[Notice: Start]
You have found: Lesser Basilisk Extract
Quality: Uncommon
Durability: 2/2
Ingredients: Basilisk Venom Sack, Gall of the Lision Tree, Wings from a Mooncloth Butterfly
Effects: Will cause severe paralysis and seizures
Congratulations! You have stepped onto the path of Mana Cultivation, allowing the essence of the realm to flow through the body. Mana is never to be underestimated as it can give. It can also take. You have been warned!
You have gained the Title: Mana Cultivator[Mortal Grade]-You are one of the gifted those closest to finding the truth of the Realms. +50 mana, 1 point of mana recovered every hour.
Congratulations! You have created the cultivation technique: Poison Tribulation[Mortal Grade]-(Using this technique will channel your mana, increasing your mana regeneration rate.)
Note: The title Poison Body II has evolved into Poison Soul I-(Not only has your body been purged in toxins but your soul as well. +55% resistance to Poison Damage. Your mana is now venomous and will deal Poison Damage to all those it comes in contact with, as well as take on qualities of the last poison you ingested. You can identify all poisons and their ingredients after consuming one dose. Increase the perks from this title by ingesting more toxins.)
[Notice: End]
When he finished reading the notification, Thane couldn't help but smile, 'Damn, the universe just wants me to be overpowered.' Regaining some strength in his arms, Thane stood up and started to take off his armor.
He was drenched in sweat, and his skin was slippery as if someone had soaked him in oil. In nothing but his undergarments, Thane made his way to the bathhouse.
The first time he had tried to take a bath was a painful memory, as Thane had struggled to use the appliances. Like most of the Realm, the bathhouse was of eastern origin.
People were expected to shower first before relaxing in the large communal bath. That, however, wasn't the hard part for Thane, as he had been to several in his line of work.
The tricky part was figuring out how to use the gemstone that replaced nozzles. Instead of using plumbing or electricity to run hot water, gemstones were inscribed with a technique to conjure it on command.
Now that he was used to it, Thane couldn't stop himself from wishing he had one back on Earth, of all the times he could have used a water bottle with an infinite supply.
Sitting down on a bench, Thane filled a wooden bucket with hot water before using a ladle and sponge to wash his body. After he scrubbed his body, clean Thane dumped the rest of the bucket onto his head.
Deciding to skip the bath, Thane went to collect his change of clothes when he caught his reflection in the mirror.
Moving closer, Thane stared into his own bright green eyes that seemed to glow. While he had always hated his blue eyes, this was even worse. 'How am I supposed to stay hidden with these beacons peering out of the darkness. Maybe if I can grow my hair out..'
Thane shook his head as he didn't have time to waste on spare thoughts. Thane stored his armor in his ring back in his room instead, opting to put on what passed for street clothes.
When he was ready to leave, Thane noticed that something had knocked over the box with the egg inside. Thinking that he had bumped into the table during his seizer earlier, Thane walked over, hoping the fall hadn't damaged the egg.
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