Sulfur-Mercury Theory

A true life-or-death battle can be decided in an instant.

Kinoe's forceful charge after resisting the lightning successfully dealt a heavy blow to the opponent.

He gritted his teeth, his iron sword slashing out afterimages, and chopped down a few more times.

The mutated demonic beast bled profusely.

Finally, unable to hold on any longer, it fell to the ground with a thud and died.

Renion and the others were helping to deal with other enemies nearby. Seeing this, they were filled with excitement and their morale soared.

The demonic beasts, however, lost their will to fight and began to discard their armor and weapons.

Many of the mermen were originally timid, low-level creatures who only fought fiercely when their leaders were strong, following along to win easy victories.

When the Merman Lord was powerful, they were fierce and brutal, difficult to deal with.

But once their Lord Sorcerer was killed, they had no courage left to fight.

Some mermen even abandoned their bone spears, throwing them aside and fleeing towards the river bend behind them.

Others, in their panic, ran in all directions, even attempting to climb the slope.

With their short legs, they got stuck one foot deep and one foot shallow, unable to run fast.

Moments later, they were caught up and killed one by one with a sword.

"We won!"

The victors were filled with genuine joy, their faces beaming with excitement.

They had once been routed by this group of monsters, losing several teammates, a memory that was undeniably painful.

But now, they had finally avenged themselves!

"Don't celebrate too early, everyone. Let's tidy up quickly and then leave."

Kinoe leaned on his long sword, catching his breath for a moment. After regaining his senses, he reminded them.

There were still many other apprentices and mermen around. No matter which side they encountered, there was a possibility of combat, and they could fall back into a dangerous situation.

Everyone agreed and nimbly set about disemboweling the fish to extract their pearls and cleaning up the battlefield.

Just like with the Merman Sorcerers they had killed before, these spoils of war could be exchanged for many things, turning into wealth that would support their growth.

"This thing..."

"I've been eyeing it for a long time!"

Kinoe also turned his attention back to the Merman Lord's corpse and immediately dug out the strange eyeball that had grown in the palm of its hand.

Without a doubt, this thing was a treasure, and it was highly likely to be a treasure from the Chalk Country.

He didn't know what it was specifically.

But based on its previous performance, it was some kind of Demonized Organ capable of casting spells.

Kinoe retained the basic knowledge he had learned during his time as a Beginner Apprentice in his mind.

Therefore, he also knew that many demonic beasts absorbed various Energy Particles during their growth process, gradually accumulating Witchcraft Energy within their bodies.

These supernatural powers could form some Demonized Organs, creating innate spellcasting abilities like those of a Sorcerer.

Of course, the models involved were simple power-gathering strikes, or shaping spells of ice, fire, and lightning.

The main focus was on brute force and directness.

Suddenly, Kinoe shivered.

He vaguely felt a stinging pain reappear between his eyebrows.

It seemed as if something was rapidly condensing in the air, making his scalp tingle.

"Can this thing still be activated?"

Kinoe tensed his body, as if facing a great enemy.

However, the expected lightning did not appear. Instead, a semi-transparent, illusory panel suddenly appeared in his field of vision.

Then, the progress bar suddenly advanced by a large chunk.

[Acquiring Alchemy Talent (35% → 100%)]

"What's going on?"

Unexpectedly gaining so much, Kinoe couldn't help but feel a mixture of surprise and joy.

This was because his previous acquisition of Alchemy Talent had always been passive and slow.

It had taken him a full year to acquire his second Black Iron Rank Talent, [Alchemy Machine].

After that, the progress rate had clearly slowed down even further.

He had thought it would take at least another year or so to get his third Black Iron Rank Talent...

He never expected to achieve it all at once!

And then, the content displayed on the panel made him even more delighted.

A translucent, illusory panel appeared in his vision, glowing with an unusual light as text materialized.

[Sulfur-Mercury Theory (Bronze-grade)]

[Grants knowledge of using sulfur and mercury to create Zabir Magic Gold. When performing related operations, the corresponding ability level increases by 1.]

[Alchemy Talent Acquisition in Progress (0% → 83%)]

A Bronze-grade talent!

Not Black Iron rank?

Moreover, the acquisition progress for the next talent had surged to 83%!

Threads of knowledge flowed into his mind like a clear spring.

Roy's eyes instantly became much clearer.

Soon, he focused his attention on the knowledge that had just flowed into his mind as if self-taught.

The sense of effortless understanding was intoxicating.

Sulfur-Mercury Theory was an important foundational theory in ancient Alchemy.

The ancients believed that the essence of base metals was a pathological phenomenon caused by an imbalance of the four roots (fire, earth, air, water) and sulfur-mercury. Therefore, by simply balancing their proportions, they could be "cured" and become "healthy" noble metals.

All metals in the world were composed of sulfur and mercury in different proportions.

These two substances, one dry and smoky, the other moist and steamy, condensed into matter, which was the process by which the earth formed various metal ores.

Through a specific secret recipe, combined with the incantations and rituals of Alchemy Witchcraft...

And the most crucial step, injecting Witchcraft Energy.

It could cause transmutation!

This enchanted metal, refined using sulfur and mercury as raw materials, was known as Zabir Magic Gold in the Wizarding World.

These items ranged from low to high grades, with varying properties. They constituted a specific category of metal and were widely used in the early stages of the Wizarding World's development.

The Bronze-grade talent, [Sulfur-Mercury Theory], granted the related knowledge and abilities.

"So that's how it is..."

Roy instantly felt a sense of sudden enlightenment.

This wasn't a superficial impression like watching a teaching video; it was as if the knowledge had integrated into his brain like an instinct, directly imparted.

The scope was now limited, no longer to apprentice-level alchemy operations, but to the domain of Zabir Magic Gold.

He continued reading and discovered that the phrase "when performing related operations, the corresponding ability level increases by 1" was even more remarkable.

The "ability level" here referred to the alchemy skill level corresponding to one's Wizard rank.

For example, Apprentice-level Alchemy +1 would become Level 1 Alchemy, and Level 1 Alchemy +1 would become Level 2 Alchemy.

And so on.

Like the self-taught knowledge he had acquired before, it was directly attached to him as an instinct.

This was not restricted by other innate conditions; any corresponding ability within the "Zabir Magic Gold" domain could receive a boost!

As an Advanced Apprentice, Roy's various knowledge and abilities had only reached the apprentice level so far.

However, after obtaining this Bronze-grade talent, his abilities related to the "Zabir Magic Gold" domain instantly soared to a level comparable to that of a Level 1 Wizard!