Digesting and Being Digested

"How much do you want?" Triss had already anticipated Black Cat's answer. Not only was it a seller's market, but the information itself was priceless.

"5000 pounds." Black Cat stated a number that Mr. Fool wouldn't even dare to imagine nowadays without hesitation. Triss's brow furrowed—

"Is that about the bounty for a Sequence Six Pirate?"

Although she didn't know the Joyful Sorceress's potion formula yet (Sno had told her the name), Triss, as a wandering assassin, often played roles in "Black Flag" scenarios, so she immediately drew a parallel to pirate bounties.

Of course, there was another reason for this comparison: the bounty on pirates was usually equivalent to the price of the potion for that sequence. In other words, if a Sequence Six pirate cost five thousand pounds, then the main ingredients for a Sequence Six potion would be roughly the same price.

(Of course, pirates' bounties increase due to their evil deeds, and potion ingredients also have markups, but it wouldn't be far off.)

"That's right. I've actually given you a discount because this knowledge is enough for you to reach godhood—if you can get that far." Black Cat paced in front of the mirror, seemingly waiting for Triss's reply. Triss didn't hesitate and said directly:

"No problem, put it on my tab. I'll do you a favor worth three thousand seven hundred pounds later. Give me the answer first."

"When did you get the impression that I offer credit?" Black Cat put on a slightly annoying expression, its amber eyes seeming to pierce through the mirror and directly into Triss's heart.

Triss's excellent emotional control allowed her to suppress her feelings, take a deep breath, and then say:

"Then how much can I know for 1300 pounds?"

"For example, if your question is what money can be used for, the answer for 100 pounds is to buy food. For 500 pounds, it's to buy a house and rent it out. For 1000 pounds, I'll tell you about investment and financial management and recommend suitable projects. For 5000 pounds, I'll even tell you how to exploit loopholes in banks and get rich quick."

Black Cat's tone was extremely alluring. Triss thought for a moment, gaining a general idea, and then said:

"Then I'll purchase the 1000-pound portion first."

"No problem." Black Cat nodded and said with a smile, " 'Not mastering, but digesting; not excavating, but acting.' Have you heard this before?"

"Of course! Don't tell me that's worth a thousand pounds!"

Triss's comedic timing was rather stiff, but Sno used her words to answer:

"No, that's the 100-pound part. And for 500 pounds, it's that you are just acting... Oh, come to think of it, I seem to have given you 500 pounds for free..."

"I hope you can say it quickly so I can help you find that Isabella person sooner!" Triss gritted her teeth and uttered a few words. Black Cat immediately flicked its tail, looking as if it were scared of her.

"Alright, do you know that Extraordinary Characteristics precipitate from dead Extraordinarys?"

"I know." Triss answered without hesitation.

"That makes things easier. Simply put, every bit of potion actually retains the mental imprint of its previous owner. Of course, this previous owner isn't the previous Extraordinary. This digestion isn't just about digesting the potion, but those details are beyond the scope of what you've paid for, so we'll skip them for now."

As Black Cat spoke, Triss's pupils visibly dilated, indicating her astonishment. However, she didn't seem to have any questions, so Black Cat continued:

"I believe you can also feel that shell encasing the potion's power, right? That is the resistance from the residual mental imprint in the potion towards you. In other words, the process of acting is actually disguising your own mental imprint to resemble the owner of this Extraordinary Characteristic, thereby passing through the barrier of the mental imprint and gradually stealing its extraordinary power. When all the power within the barrier is stolen, the potion's power is completely digested.

Why is it said to remember 'you are just acting'? Because if you forget this and truly make your own mind identical to that imprint, then the imprint will merge into your spirit. In that case, are you you, or the previous owner? This is what I call being digested by the potion. Oh, right, based on this principle, there's also a technique to resurrect on others using Extraordinary Characteristics, but that's the 5000 gold pound content..."

"..." The conversation, which lasted only a few minutes, deepened Triss's understanding of potions. While she had some knowledge of mental imprints, combining them with the Acting Method suddenly made it terrifying.

So, every time she digested a potion, she was actually risking the previous owner resurrecting within her?

Thinking of this, Triss suddenly understood why Extraordinarys who consumed potions without digesting them faced the risk of madness or loss of control. It wasn't madness or loss of control, but merely the original owner awakening within them, without successfully resurrecting.

If she thought about it that way, then the original owner could only be the aloof True God, right?

However, at this moment, Triss suddenly recalled a more terrifying question: Black Cat had previously said that she was the Sorceress Cult's most successful creation, and that she was most like the True God pointed to by the Assassin Sequence, thus being cultivated as a vessel for the True God's descent.

Considering the information obtained this time, this so-called similarity probably referred to her mental structure being naturally susceptible to being "digested" by potions, right?

No wonder the members of the Sorceress Cult hadn't told her the true focus of the Acting Method. The fundamental reason was to make her lose herself in the acting, and then slowly assimilate into the mental imprint of the Primal Sorceress. So this was the meaning of the vessel for Divine Descent?

Triss suddenly felt she understood everything, and even vaguely grasped what Black Cat's 5000 pounds might refer to. It was likely how to create a viable vessel for resurrection through potions, right? So, the so-called true digestion meant leaving one's own mental imprint within the potion's power? And the so-called potion owner was the True God?

Of course, while she thought about it, Triss still didn't know the specifics of how to do it, but she had to admit that the price offered was indeed more than worth it.

After taking some time to digest the information Black Cat had given her, Triss looked into the mirror again, only to see her own beautiful face, adjusted and with a hint of world-weariness. As for the cat, it had long since severed the connection.

"Damn it, I still have three hundred pounds I didn't ask about!"

Regarding the potion acting, this is a personal interpretation, not a copy of the original work, but an analysis and summary by the author based on information from the original work. There is some secondary creation, so it's not pure filler. Readers who haven't read the original work, please don't misunderstand the author as just padding the content