Just like that, hours go by as Omar busied himself with the serum with Connor tailing and watching him from the side while also in his thoughts.
Upon reaching a certain temperature, the concoction inside a medium-sized cauldron as big as a stove began to condense into a fiery red liquid. The concoction was akin to a ruby having been liquefied.
Omar then takes a 500mL boiling flask from a cupboard and hovers it above the cauldron.
The red liquid is gradually compressed into a ball which he promptly lets fall into the boiling flask, filling it. A metal cap is placed in the opening to keep the contents from spilling out.
He wipes the sweat from his face and smiles triumphantly.
"HAHA! I've finally concocted it, The Omnibus Serum. With this Rank 5 Serum, all ailments can be cured. Plus, a few extra benefits added as well."
Shocked, Connor goes to grab it from Omar but forcefully stops himself after realizing what he'd be doing.
*Never take an item from Secondary Job Players and NPCs*
That's a rule ingrained in every Player's head as it could most likely spell disaster for them if they didn't.
His actions didn't go unnoticed by Omar. He specifically said the name of the serum to rouse his attention.
This made Omar chuckle a bit. A strange light shines from his eyes which are illuminated from the still ablazed fire formation.
"Here, take it. This would not have been made possible without your help."
During his time in the future, Connor had overheard an Elder of his guild speak on the existence of such a potion.
The Elder said that it was an incomparably precious item. Going as far as saying that it is as valuable as 2 Legendary items.
One must know that your life is more precious than anything while inside the game. That goes without saying, it was especially so to those important figures of various Powers.
A simple death could set back those of a higher Rank by days. A simple level would…
Just thinking about that made Connor's head hurt out of frustration. He'd suffered a loss of several levels back when he was caught between a Guild Clash.
Anyways, the Omnibus Serum was a life-saving item for almost anything aside from Soul Annihilation that Powers certainly needed to have.
Not only did the Omnibus Serum remove all negative status effects such as curses, corrosion, fatigue, and many more, but it also healed the ingestee to full health and offered a Basic Stats buff that lasted for 8 hours.
This was a serum that was sold very few times due to how difficult the ingredients needed were to get.
Nevertheless, when it appeared, every Power went crazy to acquire the serum.
Oftentimes, guilds would battle it out to see who could get just one bottle of the batch.
Even Rank 6 Players benefited from this serum. However, its efficacy decreased by 30% due to the big difference in Ranks.
This did not deter any Power from acquiring it at all. A 30% efficacy decrease is better than staying cursed by any Player, Creature, or NPC in the server.
"As I promised you a reward for helping me, I must ask you to deliver the elixir to the princess yourself this time. Creating that had taken quite a toll on my body. I need time to recuperate.
This letter here is my one-time use of the Emperor's Favor Order. With this, you can ask the current Emperor for anything within his power to give as long as it doesn't harm the Empire," Omar says to Connor as he hands him a token with a Japanese symbol on it and the Omnibus Serum.
Connor, not being polite, grabs the serum and letter with no hesitation.
As soon as he takes them, two system notifications appear before his eyes:
[SYSTEM QUEST: SPECIAL QUEST, PRINCESS'S HEALTH, PART 1 IS COMPLETE.
Rewards: Emperor's Favor Order.]
The following notification read:
[NEW QUEST DETAILS- Deliver the token along with the elixir received from the Royal Physician, Omar, to the emperor at the capital of the Bankai Star Empire.
Time limit: 5 days.
Penalty: Permanent -100,000 Reputation points with the Star Emperor, Bankai Star Empire -1,000,000 reputation points, "Flower Destroyer" Title, and Fugitive Status.]
"Thank you, Physician Arkov. This item is one Heavenly Treasure. Allowing me to inspect it shows the trust and respect you have put into me. You could have sealed it but you did not. Thank you!! Is there anything that I could do for you?
Your Mana Core is damaged. How can I help you repair it," Connor then replies to Omar, thankful for allowing him to see the full details of the serum.
"Young Warrior, how did you know I have a damaged Mana Core? HOW DID YOU GET PAST MY CONCEALMENT METHOD?"
At this point, Omar is quite taken aback and enraged at having his concealment seen through.
As well as the fact that his weakness was also exposed to an unknown warrior. This was a very bad predicament he was currently in.
One must be at the Rank 5 standard to obtain even 20% of information about him.
Right now, Omar has a feeling that Connor isn't at the Rank 5 standard. To be exact, his combat stance is indeed high but his strength can't be hidden from true experts with eyes.
Yet, this young warrior was able to see through him without any trouble. And also know of his core problem?
That's something he hasn't even told his granddaughter yet.
With a speed Connor could not react to, Omar hurriedly throws an inscription device that sticks to Connor's chest.
[System Notification: A Rank 4 Mana Inhibitor has been detected. Your ability to absorb and control the ambient mana has been restricted.
The system detects that you possess the knowledge of a Rank 4 Grandmaster Arrayist, would you like to break the inscription?
Break Inscription: Yes/No?]
Almost instantaneously, the inscription device covers his entire body. The external mana Connor's body passively absorbed could not be utilized whatsoever.
The same went for his Luminous Night skill which had the mana immediately sucked from him.
The Connor standing before Omar is bare, without anything blocking his view; just the same as their first encounter.
Omar immediately tries to use his Inspection skills on Connor but fails to do so. It's as though Connor isn't even there, the same result as last time.
"Before I offend you any further, who are you? A Heavens Fall spy scum?" Omar asks as he interrogates Connor while giving him a fierce inquisitive gaze. That last question was filled with extreme hate.
Connor ignores him for a moment. He takes this time to scrutinize the hundreds of magic formations encircling himself unfazed.
As he was previously a Rank 4 Guardian Sovereign, progressing to that Rank required more than just the basic knowledge of handling and manipulating magic arrays which one would then merge to create a nexus for their bodies.
Magic Arrays are essentially computer codes that allow a being to then manipulate and command mana to do whatever they wish to be performed.
Most don't even realize it, but their skills utilize magic circuits Rank 2 and below.
99.99% of the Player base can't even see mana. Let alone beginning to comprehend its higher functioning, they're all just monkeys in a jungle, completely unaware of a higher civilization next to them.
Even in all his time in the future, Magic Arrays hadn't been fully explained. Players had not done enough research on Arrays.
Players often related the nexuses needed to advance and evolve their mana to Tetris; all of which was prepared for them by whatever Rank Scroll they'd acquired.
They simply put what fit and that was all. Some Players had gotten stronger evolutions while others' evolutions were weak. Well, those were mostly top Powers who received stronger evolutions.
No one had particularly understood exactly what the circuits were and Connor was going to figure it out eventually in time.
'With time, with time,' Connor says to himself.
Not wanting to waste any more time, he immediately clicks "yes" on the system prompt.
The next sequence of events baffled Omar as he watched each circuit shatter into thousands of tiny light particles.
Though not his trump card, this was still a great method of stalling any being Rank 4 and below.
Not only would their Concentration need to be up-to-standard, but their knowledge and control of the type of Arrays he set also needed to be on par with his.
With those conditions fulfilled, it would still take a considerable amount of time to break them all.
Regardless of how he twists it, Omar can't unsee Connor turning his 200+ years' worth of experience into nothing but light particles.
Who the f*ck is this guy?