Corpse Stitcher

"So this was the Excellent Gold Quality potion Baron Morin brewed according to the formula found in the wreckage—the Corpse Stitcher?"

Rein looked at the green First Tier Gene Potion floating in space, his brows knitting together as he wondered, And what the hell is this 'Battle Doctor' Extraordinary Sequence?

Clearly, the potion's description went far beyond the limits of his meager knowledge.

In the Extraordinary systems he knew, surgeons should awaken support-oriented healer sequences. Branches such as Witch Doctors and voodoo priests also leaned toward caster sequences.

Yet the description said this Corpse Stitcher was a potion for enhancing the physical body?

And there was even a new term: the "Battle Doctor" Extraordinary Sequence.

Physical enhancement, close-quarters combat like a fighter—was that really the role of a surgeon?

But when Rein clearly saw the description of this Gene Potion, his gaze immediately froze.

Data offered the most direct comparison.

Corpse Stitcher (Excellent Gold)

Strength +(220–285)%; Toughness +(113–145)%; Neural Response +115W; Five Senses Enhancement +3N; Cell Activity +300%; Other Miscellaneous Attributes +(21–24)%

"How could there be such an enormous increase? And this is only a First Tier Gene Potion?"

Rein trembled with excitement.

The potency of this potion might not be obvious on its own, but a comparison made the difference immediately clear.

In the Weasel Bandit Group's warehouse, the best Black Iron Gene Potion newcomers could exchange for with points had the following attributes:

Divine Thief (Black Iron)

Agility +32; Strength +(110–130)%; Perception +1N; Night Vision +1K; Neural Response +70W; Other Miscellaneous Attributes +(36–41)%

(Note: W, N, and K are all indescribable units of measurement from another world. "Miscellaneous attributes" refer to useless attribute gains not needed by that potion sequence. For example, intelligence and elemental affinity gained from a strength-type Gene Potion. The lower the miscellaneous attribute value, the higher the potion's purity and effectiveness.)

Both were First Tier Gene Lock potions, yet the difference in enhancement they granted Extraordinary beings was like heaven and earth.

This meant that—

If Rein currently had a maximum arm strength of 100 kilograms, then after consuming the Corpse Stitcher potion and advancing, his strength would rapidly rise to at least 320 kilograms.

If his body had enough talent for strength growth, he could even approach the potion's theoretical limit: 385 kilograms!

But if he consumed Divine Thief instead, his strength would only become 210 to 230 kilograms, far less.

The same person, with the same talent, opening the same First Tier Gene Lock—simply by consuming potions of different qualities, there could immediately be nearly a twofold difference in strength!

What was more, after breaking through by consuming a Gene Potion, its effects would continue fermenting for a long time, and those attributes still had a stepped growth potential of (100–650%)!

The gap in combat power would snowball and grow ever wider!

"No wonder a Gold Potion Recipe could be traded for an imperial baron's title. So potions of different qualities differ this greatly in effectiveness!"

Rein had previously had no real concept of potion quality. Only now did he realize how vast the quality gap between Gene Potions could be.

The potions ordinary civilian Extraordinary beings encountered were generally Black Iron Quality. Even major factions treated the one or two Silver Potion Recipes they possessed as family heirlooms.

As for Gold Potion Recipes, they were exclusive "strategic resources" controlled only by imperial royal families and the great high-ranking nobles.

"No wonder this world's noble classes have already become so entrenched. This potion gap alone makes it incredibly difficult for civilian Extraordinary beings to rise."

Rein looked at the green potion in his hand, his body trembling slightly with excitement.

Leader Quinn had only obtained strength far surpassing others of the same tier because he had happened upon a Silver Potion while advancing into a Third Tier Demon Hunter.

If Rein consumed this "Excellent Gold Quality" potion himself, then based on physical attributes alone, he would immediately be able to contend with some veteran Awakened.

Once the potion's effects were fully absorbed, he would even possess the absolute strength to crush Extraordinary beings of the same tier!

This Excellent Gold Quality potion alone had made the adventure worthwhile!

"According to Morin's notes, that Airship Wreckage might contain other high-tier potion recipes, perhaps even the inheritance of an advanced potion master?"

The gleam in Rein's eyes grew brighter and brighter.

Clearly, this "Battle Doctor" sequence had no inheritance in either empire. That meant its subsequent advancement recipes could only be found in that Airship Wreckage.

After recognizing the potential of the Corpse Stitcher potion, Rein immediately realized that the true treasure among Baron Morin's Relics was not the trivial profit before him, but that Airship Wreckage!

As long as he found the wreckage, perhaps he could obtain Second Tier, Third Tier, Fourth Tier, Gold Grade, or even higher-quality Gene Potions.

With such powerful attribute enhancements, just imagining the Battle Doctor Extraordinary Sequence advancing to higher tiers was exhilarating!

Great strength could work miracles. A brawling surgeon might not be a ridiculously powerful sequence after all!

"This time, I've really struck it rich."

Rein's eyes shone brightly.

After suffering for a whole year, the protagonist's halo had finally descended upon him!

For the first time, he saw hope of becoming a top-tier powerhouse, and his interest in the treasures left within that Airship Wreckage grew even greater!

The route map leading to the wreckage was now in his hands. As long as he could solve the problem of the poisonous mist, he could claim that treasure!

Although Corpse Stitcher provided no agility enhancement and was not particularly suited to the thief path.

For Rein, however, advancing into a thief-type sequence was not his first priority.

This "Battle Doctor" sounded far more tempting no matter how he looked at it.

To avoid letting that old man Piscis notice anything unusual, Rein did not immediately consume the Gene Potion and advance into the Transcendent realm.

But after setting the potion down and taking stock of the other items, he discovered something else among the spoils—a thing Baron Morin had solemnly stored inside a mithril iron box.

When he opened it, he found a yellowed sheet of paper.

By touch, it felt somewhat like parchment, or perhaps the hide of some beast.

An ancient and mysterious aura washed over him. It was clearly old, like something excavated from the ruins of an ancient civilization.

"For Baron Morin to preserve it so carefully, it definitely isn't ordinary."

At a glance, Rein was drawn to the strange writing, which resembled the cuneiform script from his past life. His brows immediately furrowed. "It looks like some kind of ancient writing."

At that moment, the Mind Core also sounded a notification.

Ding! Unknown text/pattern detected. System automatically scanning and recording.

The Mind Core automatically recorded data. Rein had long grown accustomed to such notifications and did not pay it much attention.

He picked up the parchment and found more notes inside the silver box, recording the parchment's origins and information about the ancient script.

Sure enough, Baron Morin's habit of "keeping a diary" had truly saved Rein quite a bit of trouble.

"Over the past few years, I have studied the treasures recovered from the wreckage and discovered that, aside from using Nimor Common Tongue, the people in that wreckage also used this ancient script to record certain high-level secrets."

"I found this ancient scroll in a shattered safe within the wreckage, along with the Gene Potion that saved my life. Judging from its appearance, it was probably something extremely important to the owner of Mechanical City."

"I speculate that it is very likely a Gene Origin Power Cultivation Method of extremely high rank. Furthermore, it is a Cultivation Method exclusive to Battle Doctors."

"Since arriving in the Oma Empire, I have never given up trying to translate these words. Using my status as an imperial baron, I consulted many ancient texts in the noble library of Blazing Steel Fortress. I discovered that this script had once appeared in an ancient ruin. Scholars called it the ancient writing of the Monkell Civilization, a branch of Ancient Demon Language."

"Unfortunately, there is too little information, and translation progress has been extremely slow."

"..."

Rein looked at the notes Morin had left behind, then at the parchment. His expression became slightly strange.

A branch of Ancient Demon Language?

This parchment seemed to involve secrets of certain ancient demon gods...

Unfortunately, it could not be deciphered.

The civilization of this mist-shrouded world had a history spanning countless years, and ancient civilizations buried in the dust were too numerous to count.

According to incomplete official statistics from the Oma Empire, more than five hundred kinds of ancient writing alone had been excavated from various ruins.

Aside from a few ancient civilizations that had left behind relatively complete written legacies, the surviving scripts of most civilizations with broken lineages were exceedingly scarce.

They were called writing, but they were more like mysterious symbols that could not be deciphered.

And this Monkel Script was one of those undeciphered ancient languages.

Neither empire had decoded this script, and Baron Morin did not dare expose the item to those scholars. Thus, he could only slowly decipher it himself, which was why progress had been so slow.

Deciphering the ancient writing of a civilization with a broken lineage required not only collecting scattered ruin records from all over the world, but also cross-referencing enormous amounts of textual materials and possessing an exceptionally keen ability to interpret writing.

Even for scholars awakened with encyclopedic knowledge, such an arduous undertaking would likely consume a lifetime, or require the accumulated effort of several generations before a translation could possibly be completed.

For ordinary people, it was an impossible task!

But—

For Rein, who possessed the Mind Core, this work was as easy as breathing!