"Now, you have all witnessed the resistance the buffed dummy displayed. A normal E-ranker naturally has this kind of resistance, even if they are not a fire magician. So, for the finale, let's call OUR BRAVE MR. XANDER to demonstrate how to burn an E-ranker without awakening," Perrin said, staring furiously at Xander.
Xander remained motionless, pondering how a simple situation had escalated to such a serious point. He contemplated the contents of the letter.
"Will it be okay if I do what the letter says? Will it really work? What if it doesn't? Do I have any other choice? It seems Lord Perrin won't allow me to leave," Xander thought.
"Sir Perrin, forgive me for speaking out of turn, but it appears that Brother Xander cannot prove himself. On his behalf, I ask for forgiveness. We have been coworkers for years, and while he has brought shame upon the entire police department, it would be unbearable for him to face public humiliation, being dragged naked. He might as well die here instead of enduring such shame," Gram sarcastically remarked, seemingly supporting Xander.
Xander knew that all of this was orchestrated by Gram. As Gram was close to the Baroness, he should be the one who brought Sir Perrin, who worked directly under the Baroness, to set a trap for Xander. The Chief Head Officer was a strict person who favored hardworking individuals like Xander. Gram knew that Xander would easily be forgiven by the Chief Head Officer, and a suspension would be a minor punishment. Hence, he instigated Lord Perrin to personally take on this case, fully aware of Perrin's madness. Xander couldn't remain still any longer; it was now a do-or-die situation for him.
"Brother Gram, there is no need to worry so much about me," Xander said, capturing everyone's attention. "Chief, if you allow me, I can explain my side to everyone present here," Xander said, looking at the Chief Head Officer. The Chief Officer was pleased with Xander's confident demeanor and nodded with a smile. Meanwhile, Perrin's anger rose to new heights when Xander sought permission only from the Chief and not from him. Although they were of the same rank in their respective departments, Xander blatantly ignored Perrin's presence in front of the entire crowd, even though Perrin was the one handling the case. This taste of bitterness left Perrin seething. Xander's actions weren't completely wrong; as a member of the police department, he didn't need permission from the Knight Captain.
Xander stepped forward, ignoring Perrin's burning stare. Without much explanation, he reached into his bag and took out two items that resembled water balloons.
"These are what I call ignition balloons, with which I killed the criminal," Xander said, stunning everyone.
"Balloons? What are those?
Are they squishy balls?
Are they made of animal organs?
They look ordinary; how could they kill a person?
What's inside them?"
People started asking questions. The Chief Head Officer intervened and calmed the curious crowd, instructing Xander to continue.
Xander approached the second dummy, which remained intact with E-ranker buffs. When he was at a considerable distance from the dummy, he threw the ignition balloon at it. SPLASH The balloon made contact with the dummy, spreading its contents. One second... two seconds... three seconds... nothing happened.
"Brother Xander, what is this? We thought you would show us a weapon, not this toy," Gram said, intending to insult Xander. Xander, too, was in a serious dilemma. He didn't know what to do. He had followed the instructions, but why hadn't it worked out? he wondered.
"Fire... there... fire!" someone shouted.
Immediately, everyone's attention turned to the dummy. A small fire had started to burn on the dummy, and within seconds, many more small fires started in various parts of the dummy and quickly spread. To everyone's surprise, the entire hay dummy was soon engulfed in flames, illuminating the stage. Only then did Xander let out a relieved breath, while Perrin and Gram stood there with their mouths wide open. In just five minutes, the fire extinguished, leaving only a little bit of hay here and there. The effect seemed to be more powerful than the fire created by a E-rank magician.
"As you all can see, it's with the help of this balloon that I was able to kill the culprit. Moreover, if you don't believe me, anyone can go to the southern borders of Aswalt. That is where I had a fight with the culprit yesterday. You will see scorched marks on the land over there," Xander added, following Bowen's instructions in the letter.
"Wow, great! Look at the effect!"
"Brother Xander, we are proud of you."
"Xander, tell us what is that."
"It seems even we can do it."
"Wouldn't it be nice if this is mass-produced? Even the unawakened can kill E-rankers."
"Hey, watch your mouth. The production of this must not be so simple."
People started discussing the startling effect of the balloon.
"Xander, can you please explain about what you call the Ignition Balloon? What kind of magic artifact is it?" asked the chief.
"It's not a magic artifact; it's only alchemy," he said, embarrassed.
"Alchemy? Xander, who is the alchemist that created this wonderful method?" asked the chief.
"Well, I cannot reveal his name. He doesn't want to either. He was my friend during childhood days. He has helped me by teaching the production of this item for my own safety."
"Ha! You know the production method?" asked Perrin and the chief together.
"Yes, it contains three ingredients. One is alcohol, the liquid substance. Next is red orc's bone powder, and the third ingredient is an ignition ingredient."
"Xander, what is the third ingredient?" asked the chief curiously.
"I'm sorry, I myself don't fully know what that ingredient is. It's a white powder that I don't know the identity of," Xander said, startling the chief and others.
"Xander, let me be frank. An item like this, with the ability to kill an E-ranker, will greatly help our police department," said the chief.
"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?" interrupted Perrin. "Isn't it more useful in the military? After all, we are the ones responsible for guarding the borders," said the knight captain.
"Then why are people from the police department deployed at the borders, not the knights?"
"OF COURSE, it's because knights need to train and keep themselves fit all the time. All of us are awakened and have to cultivate, rather than stand and watch out for the borders."
"So, Captain Perrin, are you implying that the police department doesn't need to train because not all of them are awakened? Or are you implying that our duty of providing security within the town is not as important as you keeping our enemies at bay?" The chief and Perrin started arguing, which was an unexpected turn of events for all the people gathered there.
"I can ask him," said Xander, catching their attention and stopping their argument. The chief and Perrin immediately brought Xander to a separate room, dispersing the crowd that had been singing high praises for Xander. When only Perrin, Xander, and the chief were left in the room, Xander continued.
"I don't think he will mind the use of his invention for the welfare of the people. But there is a little problem," Xander hesitated.
"What problem is that?" asked the chief.
"What problem can he have? We can take care of it," said Perrin.
"He will need compensation. Money, you see, he is really money-minded. You know how every alchemist is," Xander explained.
"MONEY? Can't he donate his invention for his motherland? Doesn't he have any patriotism?" asked Perrin.
Perrin wanted to obtain the item production formula for free, but Bowen had already been a step ahead when he gave instructions through Xander in the letter.
"Sir Perrin, sorry to disappoint you, but my alchemist friend does not live in this Yuria continent. So this is neither his motherland, nor does he need to be faithful to it. All he wants is money, not fame," Xander said, making Perrin shut his mouth.
"Haha, no problem, Xander. Ask him how many silvers he wants. I can personally talk to the Baron about this," the chief assured, unlike Perrin.
Xander hesitated, unable to utter the next words. "This... he already quoted the amount, guessing a situation like this might come... but..." Xander kept hesitating.
"Really, it seems like your alchemist friend already has the idea of selling his invention. State how much," said the chief. "Don't worry, you can be frank," he added.
"Umm... it's 10 golds," said Xander, making Perrin and the chief stand from their seats.
"Are you kidding? The total income of our town wouldn't equal to 6 golds in a year. And he needs 10 golds? Is this his demand or your own?" Perrin started shouting. This time, even the chief didn't voice support for Xander.
"I'm sorry, as you know, the living conditions in other continents are better than here, and they only deal in golds."
"Even so, it's a price that Aswalt can never afford," said the chief.
"There is another option," said Xander.
"Another option? What is that?"
"Buying the third ingredient from him instead of buying the production formula itself. I mean, we already know the other two ingredients, and I can also provide the ratio. So let's just buy the third ingredient from him," Xander suggested.
"Great!" said the chief. "But will he accept those terms?" he added.
"I will try my best, sir," assured Xander.
Despite his deep dislike for Xander, Perrin had no choice but to concede. Having a weapon like this would significantly enhance the military strength of the town. Furthermore, if Perrin could demonstrate remarkable results in times of war, he would receive generous rewards from the Baron. In that moment, Perrin completely forgot about his promise to resign from the position of knight captain and began envisioning how he could utilize such a weapon once it was mass-produced.
The composition of the ignition balloon was simple: alcohol, red orc bone powder, and the secret third ingredient, powdered leaves of Shura grass with sulfur. Shura grass was labelled as a weed that needed to be immediately uprooted wherever found due to its capability of catching forest fires when exposed to the sun's heat. During his visit to Elu Mountains with Martha, Bowen took many of these Shura grasses that seemed interesting to him. Later, when he researched creating the ignition balloon, he concocted it with great effort.
The theory behind it was simple: Red orcs have a natural affinity to recognize heat because their sensitive bones attract fire elemental mana even in minuscule amounts. When exposed to the atmosphere, the red orc powder attracts natural fire elemental mana, causing the Shura grass to ignite instantaneously. The sulfur acted as a catalyst, and alcohol spread the fire. As Bowen had been an intelligent researcher and scientist in his previous life, creating such potions using both science and this world's knowledge was child's play for him. He even wanted to delve deeper into this world's alchemy if he ever had the chance.
If he sold the production recipe, it could be dangerous if it fell into the wrong hands. Therefore, he decided to keep one of the ingredients a secret. By only selling the white powder, Bowen would make the entirety of Aswalt's police and guard force depend on him for a very long time. Just imagine what would happen when other countries also needed this ignition balloon. An alchemical weapon that could kill an E ranker is not uncommon, but what makes this special is that it can be used by even a child. Hehe... he could already imagine money flowing into his pockets.