"First, crush the Green Leaf Grass, remove all the broken leaves, and extract the juice..."
Roger was performing the operation while looking at the opened Alchemy Notes.
He had originally thought this would be quite simple, but in practice, he found it fraught with difficulty.
The portions recorded above were described in vague terms, and without specific units of measurement at hand, he could only guess based on the illustrations in the book.
"I won't kill myself doing this, will I?"
Roger muttered to himself, looking at the boiling Potions in the pot.
The first step in alchemy was extraction, which took a lot of effort. He used up all the herbs he had gathered just to obtain some basic potion liquid.
While extracting, he boiled another batch of herbs in a pot, then simmered it over a low flame. In the end, he obtained half a pot of black viscous liquid.
This was an auxiliary item for practicing the Body Strengthening Technique; squeezing the juice from three types of herbs and boiling them led to a wonderful reaction, and then he sequentially added Green Leaf Grass, the pistils of Baili Flowers, and Withered Wood Roots.
What he ended up with was a paste-like salve that gave off an odd smell.
Spreading this stuff on one's body, when exercising, would promote muscle growth and quickly strengthen one's physique.
"Can I really eat this stuff?"
Looking at the light green liquid in the bowl, he hesitated but then drank it all in one gulp.
It was a bit bitter, a bit fishy, and had a strong earthy taste.
It seemed there was nothing else to it.
Roger was just thinking this when suddenly a burning sensation spread upward from his stomach, setting his entire esophagus ablaze as if flames were about to burst from his throat.
Unable to help himself, Roger opened his mouth but, strangely, he couldn't make a sound. The burning sensation continued to rise until it pierced through the top of his head!
"Ah..."
His brain felt as if it had been opened up. His focus became incredibly sharp, his perception increased manifold compared to before, as if his mind had gone from motorcycle to airplane engines.
"This feels amazing!"
He flipped open the Nivagard Body Strengthening Technique, and the originally complex and precise movements, as well as the breathing method not suited to human breathing habits, instantly came to mind.
Knowledge was sorted and absorbed.
In just a moment, Roger felt that he had fully mastered the essentials of the Body Strengthening Technique.
He couldn't wait to try it out.
Stripping off his clothes as fast as he could, Roger stood naked before the wooden bed and evenly spread the still-warm paste on his body. For the places on his back he couldn't reach, he used a piece of torn cloth dipped in the salve to rub it on.
He went through all the Body Strengthening Technique's movements in his mind and then his body began to twist rapidly.
Time ticked away second by second.
An hour later, Roger, in an excited state, suddenly stiffened his movements. The tearing of muscles, the friction of joints, and the flood-tide of fatigue suddenly came pouring out.
His head felt as if someone had scooped something out of it, and with a strong wave of nausea coming along with the stench of the dried potion on his body, he nearly vomited.
His stomach was empty, but before he could do anything, Roger collapsed to the floor like a lump of mud, his eyelids heavy as lead, feeling like he could pass out at any moment.
"Is this what they call non-toxic?"
Roger was shocked; he found it hard to imagine to what degree actual Alchemy Potions' effects and side-effects could be tyrannical.
He bit his lip hard, using the pain-induced clarity and the sheer force of his will to flop over onto the bed behind him.
After that movement, Roger felt as if his body was ripping apart.
"I haven't trained myself to death, have I?"
As the last thought flashed through his mind, darkness encroached, and he lost consciousness completely.
And at this moment, the sun had just set, and the entire island was in silence, with no one aware of what had transpired here.
Dusk fell, shrouding everything in darkness.
When Roger opened his eyes again, what he saw was a sliver of moonlight streaming in through the window.
"How long have I slept?"
Roger mumbled to himself, then tried to sit up by propping himself up on the bed frame, but as soon as he exerted any effort, he immediately noticed something different.
"My strength?"
Roger's face subtly changed.
He stood up abruptly, but because he used too much force, he staggered forward, clenching his fist tightly and feeling a strength surge through his arm that was far greater than before.
After estimating internally, Roger felt that his physique was now very close to that of a standard adult man.
"Just one training session and I've improved this much? If I train 10 or 8 more times, won't I become a superhero?"
But he quickly discarded the thought from his mind.
"Since it's the basic Body Strengthening Technique, there must be a limit, but the effect shouldn't be this domineering if it's a normal practice."
"It seems it must be the effect of the Concentration Potion."
Having adapted to the sudden increase in strength, Roger then noticed the ointment stuck to his skin - the dried medicine was uncomfortable against his body and had also stained the bedding quite a bit.
Having slept, he not only felt refreshed, but the nauseating feeling as if his brain had been hollowed out had vanished, and the fatigue in his body was swept away as well.
"This really is a wonderful thing."
The magic of the wooden bed impressed Roger greatly. He pulled off the soiled sheets, didn't bother dressing, and wrapped himself in the blanket as he walked out.
The nighttime island was not as hot as during the day; a cool breeze blew, making Roger feel a draft below and causing him to wrap the bedding tighter around himself as he walked towards a distant beach.
It was a full moon, and the brilliant moonlight bathed the island, making Roger feel as though even his walking speed had increased greatly after his power boost.
Before long, he arrived at the beach.
It was a low-lying area where, after the tide receded, a lake-like region formed in place.
With a wound still on his forehead, he leaned against the edge and slid into the ocean water. The chilly sea water washed over him, cleansing his body of dirt, and he felt so reluctant to get up that he leaned his upper body on a rock, indulging in a cold sea bath.
"If there were two or three female sorceresses by my side, tsk tsk, that would truly be living the Demon Hunter life," Roger couldn't help but sigh.
But just as he was about to get up and leave, a voice came from not far off.
"Such beautiful moonlight, we haven't relaxed like this in a long time."
It was that man!
Roger's heart tightened at once, and he was just about to speak when he suddenly realized the implication in the other's words.
"We?"
There were others here!
Roger's face paled, and at this point, he could no longer care for the wound on his forehead that hadn't yet healed. He took a deep breath and carefully submerged himself in the water.
Then, using the moonlight, he swam around the huge rock behind him and cautiously concealed himself.
Because of the terrain, the vast sea lay behind him; in this light, as soon as he surfaced, he would surely be noticed by the other party.
And at that moment, the tall man had also entered Roger's line of sight.
He was all alone.
But just as Roger was growing puzzled, the water stirred and a pale blue figure with webbed feet burst from the water, leaping onto the man's back.
In the moonlight, Roger saw clearly the other's head, which resembled that of a fish!