Talent Source Material

"Blood Mercury really is miraculous!"

Roy was genuinely delighted when he saw it too.

Zabir Magic Gold mainly consisted of seven major lineages: gold, silver, lead, mercury, tin, iron, and copper.

Among them, the mercury lineage had a classic formula with liquefaction properties similar to those of quicksilver.

In the alchemical field of Genesis, it was often used for Alchemical Life such as Artificial Humans, serving as a liquid metal substitute for blood.

Its external properties were similar to quicksilver, which was why it was called "Blood Mercury."

The idea that had suddenly occurred to Roy was to use this "artificial blood" to wash and replace Renion's blood.

But in truth, this was not a proper detoxification method. It was Mage Body Modification!

This thing was extremely difficult to refine. If he had not obtained the Bronze-tier Talent Sulfur-Mercury Theory, it would have been completely impossible at his current level.

At the very least, one had to reach the Formal Wizard stage before one was qualified to begin studying it.

Conversely, this also showed that for those in the Apprentice Stage, it was an advanced substance that not just anyone could learn to create.

"I'll replace my own blood with it later too!"

As Roy thought this, Renion nodded to him. "Thank you so much, Roy."

Roy came back to himself and waved his hand. "You don't need to thank me. Just pay the fee later—200 magic stones will do. I should be the one thanking you for your patronage."

Renion's face paled. "Isn't that too expensive? Even an Antidote Potion doesn't cost 200!"

Roy said, "What Antidote Potion? What I injected into you was Blood Mercury!"

"What? Blood Mercury!"

Renion spoke in shock.

"This is Blood Mercury? You can actually refine it?"

The onlookers were all astonished as well.

"Blood Mercury can be infused with Witchcraft Energy, greatly increasing the mana capacity of the human body."

"It can also replace natural blood and possesses the function of puppetification modification."

"This... This really is quite expensive!"

Such a thing was not easy to obtain during the Apprentice Stage. No one had expected Roy to be able to refine it.

Renion quickly calculated the cost.

The production cost of each milliliter of Blood Mercury, together with the accompanying blood replacement service, was already around two magic stones.

But on the market, the price would at least double.

He had just used around 100 milliliters of Blood Mercury, yet Roy was charging him only 200 magic stones. It was completely the cost price!

He had no choice but to agree.

More than a day passed, and everyone successfully returned to the Witch Tower, finally breathing a long sigh of relief.

"Oren didn't catch up!"

"Looks like he really doesn't have the time to bother with us anymore."

However, they could not help worrying about what came next.

"We'll probably have to lie low for a while."

"There are plenty of apprentices in the tower, but he can investigate through various channels and find out that we were there."

The other party was an Elite Apprentice, possessing strength and status far above those of ordinary apprentices.

Everyone still felt somewhat uneasy at the thought of being targeted by someone like that.

Renion said, "Forget it, forget it. Let's not worry about all that unpleasantness for now...

Let's have something more cheerful!"

"Right, let's split the spoils!"

"Let's divide up the profits!"

Andov and Tigro chimed in as well.

This time, they had successfully slain the Merman Lord and avenged themselves, while also obtaining an abundant haul.

They could use it to wash away their bad luck.

Roy suggested, "I won't participate in dividing the other spoils this time. I'll just take this Lord-level Fish Pearl and that eye. How does that sound?"

Calculating it, their value should have been several times that of an ordinary warlock's Fish Pearl.

But Roy himself had also been the main force in killing the Merman Lord, so this was fair.

Everyone readily agreed.

Roy did not participate in dividing up the rest. He was even too lazy to preside over it, directly letting them discuss it among themselves.

His mind was currently filled with the inexplicably skyrocketing progress on his status panel.

"Why...

Why did killing that Merman Lord bring such a harvest?"

After returning to his room, Roy bathed and changed his clothes while continuing to ponder the matter.

In fact, he had already formed a vague conjecture on the way back.

"'Source Material'!"

Roy silently repeated the term, recalling the knowledge he had learned in the Witch Tower.

"In alchemy, a single, indivisible substance is usually called an original material. Taken a step further, it is called 'Source Material.'

It is a concept at the level of origins, as well as a fundamental element composing matter and spirit.

Therefore, the things that can nourish my soul and feed back into the higher levels, manifesting as spirit, knowledge, and memories, can be called Talent Source Material.

The special quality resembling a soul that forms after it aggregates is the essence of Alchemy Talent!"

The foremost principle of alchemy was Equivalent Exchange. This also meant that matter and energy could neither appear nor disappear out of thin air.

Even if it seemed to arise without cause on the surface...

At an invisible, deeper level, there was often a mysterious exchange beyond the understanding of ordinary people.

Moreover, this exchange was generally balanced.

After leaving the bathroom, Roy sat in a chair and watched the Cauliflower Snake he kept slowly crawl over. He picked it up and teased it playfully.

The Cauliflower Snake coiled around his arm and gazed at him with a dim, eerie look.

While gently stroking the Cauliflower Snake, Roy began feeding it. He guessed that the Merman Lord's soul possessed some unusual quality, and that after its death, its Source Material had been released and absorbed by him.

This was one reasonable explanation.

"However, it's also possible that this thing is responsible!"

He soon remembered something else. He hurriedly took out the eye he had dug from the Merman Lord's palm and placed it on the table.

He had given it a name: "Thunder Demon Eye."

"I may really have found a treasure this time. This definitely isn't something an apprentice or its corresponding magical creature should possess. It must have come from Chalk Country!

"The moment I obtained it, I felt a stinging sensation. That may have been caused by the Soul Origin merging into me!"

Roy examined the Demonized Organ again and discovered that the strange sensation between his brows had disappeared.

Yet he could still sense an extraordinary magical power from it.

However, he still had no idea what he should do to fully control this Demonized Organ.

Roy felt that even the Merman Lord had not been able to bring out its full power.

Otherwise, it would not have been so easy for him to kill it.

"Forget it. I'll deal with something else first!"

Roy put away the Thunder Demon Eye, placed the Cauliflower Snake on the clothes rack beside him, and entered the Alchemy Room, where he took out a large jar of quicksilver stored in the cabinet.

It looked like a bright-silver metal ingot, smooth and lustrous, with the surrounding environment clearly reflected on its surface.

"Refine Blood Mercury and undergo Mage Body Modification!"

A solemn expression appeared on Roy's face.

Unreasonably provoking Oren had given him a sense of danger.

But using Blood Mercury to undergo Mage Body Modification would grant immunity to most toxins transmitted through the blood.

Moreover, this came from the Bronze-tier Talent Sulfur-Mercury Theory and held tremendous value for him at his current stage.

Perhaps he could use it to become stronger quickly!