Elvys woke from his memory, seeing a pair of beautiful eyes close at hand.
He struggled to sit up, and at first, glance saw Ina's slightly swollen lips, a few strands of scattered hair, and the suspicious red marks on her neck. A hint of disbelief flashed in Elvys's eyes, but his memory was blank. His voice trembled a bit, and he asked with some uncertainty, "Did I... do something too much just now?"
Ina answered straightforwardly: "Yes, but I got back at you too." Elvys did want to bite her, but that didn't succeed, did it? And she forced Elvys to take the potion. Although she meant well to save him, it was indeed an offense. It was even now.
Elvys obviously only heard the first half, his eyes wandered, and his ears turned slightly red.
A subtle romantic atmosphere slowly spread.
Ina picked up a random topic to prevent the situation from becoming more awkward: "So, how are you feeling now? Asland has been here. He told me some things about you."
The blood on Elvys's face slowly faded, he could feel that he was on the verge of collapse, everything was too late. "You know everything? Did Asland tell you," When Elvys said this, it seemed like something was stuck in his throat, "I hope, if I don't wake up next time, you can be the one to end it all?"
Ina's complexion visibly worsened, her voice was cold, "You are sane now because I fed you a tranquilizing potion, the effect of which won't last long. You might turn into a raging monster the next second, so if you really want me to kill you, while you are still conscious now, I want your answer, have you made up your mind?"
A deadly magic light sphere formed in Ina's palm. "I only give you two choices, now, or never."
Elvys closed his eyes, "I'm sorry."
"Don't you have anything you want to say to me? If you don't say it today, there might not be a chance." Ina stared into his eyes.
"That would only trouble you, Miss Ina."
The implication of Ina's words was clear to both of them.
"I just want to hear."
When did Elvys fall in love with Ina? Perhaps it was when she arranged a pile of gold coins into a tower and then pushed it down, her eyes smiling; perhaps it was on the beach of Neranka in the sea breeze, next to a set of footprints was the constant plum blossom print; or maybe when she stuffed a bottle of red wine into his arms, insisting on a cat to pour her wine, her capricious and playful manner.
He thought he would never say these words if he had the luck to express his feelings, Elvys would rather it be on the frigid tundra under the sky full of fireworks, or Neranka where the sunset dyed the waves gold, or some solemn ceremony, not now when he was covered in blood, and his life was in shambles. Converted against his will, he struggles daily to suppress his bloodlust.
"Those words, under the fireworks of that winter festival, I whispered many times. Miss Ina, I love you."
Ina leaned in to give him a kiss, "I heard it."
Elvys froze in place due to the soft touch on his lips. He looked back in surprise and saw Ina's glowing hand fade away in an instant, and she was smiling like a sly fox, "I'm going to renege. We will find a way to lift the curse together, and I won't let you go so easily."
"I'm going to tell Asland, the sickly and beautiful duke was taken by the evil black dragon. The black dragon wants to imprison him in a splendid castle, and even the wealth of the entire empire can't buy him back."
Elvys, who received an unexpected response, was staring at Ina, and his jubilant mood couldn't show more clearly: He was far from being indifferent enough to give up life, and he was also greedy and wanted to live longer.
Elvys smiled slightly and said softly, "Maybe he chose to go with the black dragon voluntarily."
He would never look back.
βββ
Professor Derick looked at the two potions placed in front of him, one was a faint red color, and it smelled a bit bloody. The other had a bitter taste, it was a semi-transparent blue-purple liquid.
"I have a patient here whose condition is quite special. These two potions have a good effect on his condition, but I don't understand the formula of these two potions, can you help me take a look?" Ina pushed the potions toward Professor Derick.
Professor Derick took out some special test papers. He carefully drew some potion with a straw and dripped it on it, did many experiments, and judged it based on the effects Ina described: "This is the Life Potion and the Spirit Concentration Potion. Their detailed formulas are recorded in the 'Moro Potion Compendium'."
Just as Ina was showing a hint of a smile, she heard Professor Derick say, "Miss Ina, do you want to re-refine these two potions?"
Professor Derick slowly shook his head: "I don't have much impression of the Life Potion, but as a powerful mental potion, the Spirit Concentration Potion can speed up the meditation process of mages and save a lot of time, it is the potion that every mage dreams of, but it can no longer be made."
Ina frowned slightly: "Why is that? Is it because there is no raw material, or the requirements for the maker are very high?"
"It's because one of the materials, the Blue Luminous Flower, has disappeared from the continent. Or to say, this plant only appeared for a few years, it might be a variant of other plants, and now it has degenerated back. The records about this material are very rare. If it weren't for the fact that I have read every book about potions in the Academy's library, I would hardly notice this ephemeral plant."
The Spirit Concentration Potion was one of the must-have potions for players, and Ina felt like she had caught a bit of information: "The time you mentioned, it should be about 300 years ago, during the period when the professionals on the continent were very active, right?"
Professor Derick nodded affirmatively: "Exactly! That was truly a period that one can only yearn for through books, it's a pity I wasn't born in that era of flourishing plants and particularly active undead creatures."
"No wonder Ina finds the name 'Blue Luminous Flower' familiar, it's clearly one of the plants that can be found everywhere in the player's novice village!"
And the Spirit Concentration Potion is a kind of potion that saves mages from the process of meditation and speeds up the mastery of magic. After all, everyone prefers to level up and fight monsters. Not many people have the patience for meditation. It's a cheat given to players by the planners!
Since the disappearance of the players, everything related to the players has also receded like a tide. Perhaps the Life Potion is the same. In that case, all the potions in Ina's bag might be rare treasures that can no longer be produced on the continent of Moro.
However, she still plans to use Life Potion and Spirit Concentration Potion to help stabilize Elvys's condition. She doesn't know how long these potions in her bag can delay time, or whether it's enough for them to find a way to break the curse.
Ina checked her bag, there was quite a lot of Life Potion, after all, red bottles are definitely the most stockpiled medicine for all players. But when she entered the game, she had been at the full level for a long time, so there wasn't much Spirit Concentration Potion. If she uses it sparingly, it might last for one or two years at a slow rate, and at a fast rate, it might not even last for five or six months.
They still need to find a way to break the curse of the Duke of Night Tomb as soon as possible.
Ina thanked Professor Derick and packed up the two potions and left his laboratory.
Elvys was still in the dining room. He looked at the red potion that Ina handed in front of him, and asked in confusion, "What is this?"
"This may increase your power. You don't want to drink blood, right? This should be effective in resisting the curse. Moreover, this is a potion, not blood, it won't feed the curse."
Without any doubts, Elvys obediently drank it. He calmed down and felt it, "It seems to be a little helpful." It really was just a little, but he didn't say it. Seeing Ina running around for him and trying to find a way, Elvys also gave up his original negative thoughts. He still wanted to spend more time with Ina, even if the power added by this potion was as small as that, just a little bit was good enough.
Hearing that the potion was effective, Ina immediately took out a big bucket - a super-large bottle of Life Potion, it was a godlike existence among the players.
She looked at Elvys, whose forehead was twitching slightly, and suggested, "How about I get you a cup?"
Elvys smiled helplessly: "Can I not drink it for now?"
Ina, who originally wanted to force him to drink the whole bucket, gave in: "You're being spoiled again."
Elvys looked at her blankly: "I'm not."
He had changed his clothes, but the buttons hadn't been done up yet, revealing a slender, white neck and delicate collarbones extending into his shirt. Recalling Elvys's moment of panic when she suddenly entered the room, Ina realized that she had interrupted his dressing process.
But this was her room in the dining room, she was not used to knocking. Moreover...
Ina took a small step forward, resting her hand on Elvys's shoulder. She leaned in too close, and Elvys, who was seated, subconsciously wrapped his arm around the girl's slender waist. The heat from his clothes came through a thin layer of fabric, almost causing him to pull his hand away. But he didn't. He should...um...get used to this.
Ina looked down at Elvys, whose ears were slightly red: "Shy kittens get eaten."