193. Master Nobel

Following the Queen's directions, Lily led Iver toward Isabel's bedchamber.

Before they arrived, they encountered Yulia, who was traveling with an elderly man.

"--elder brother!"

Before Iver could speak, Yulia noticed Iver first.

The girl's eyes lit up immediately, and she came running over.

She lightly threw herself onto Iver, her white hair fluttering like gauze. Yulia wrapped her arms around Iver's neck, kneeling with her legs together on Iver thighs. To Iver's surprise, he didn't feel that Yulia was heavy at all... she was still as light as ever, her body feeling hollow.

He hugged Yulia affectionately, his forehead touching Yulia, and said gently, "Yes... I'm back."

Meanwhile, David Barton "knight," was getting anxious, but he didn't dare touch Yulia. He could only whisper from the side, "Oh... Mr. Iver's leg..."

He was clearly subconsciously worried that Iver would be hurt by Yulia.

After all, generally speaking, who would use a wheelchair if their legs were perfectly healthy? Since someone is using a wheelchair, it's most likely because their legs are injured. And being pressed down like that is never good.

"It's fine."

Iver shook his head slightly at him, and only then did David recall... that Iver had indeed entered the recovery period. He had even seen Iver pacing around his house.

Yulia didn't look at David the entire time, nor did she respond to David calls. She just murmured softly, "I thought my brother would be angry that I didn't come home..."

She still remembers that her persona was that of an innocent girl who was unaware of Iver's accident and was kept in the dark by Isabel throughout.

Upon hearing Yulia say those words, Iver immediately understood what she meant.

So he went along with it ambiguously, saying, "It's okay. I feel more at ease when you're with Isabel."

Then, Iver paused slightly before continuing the conversation, but lowered his voice. "How is Isabel?"

"... Her Highness the Princess is not in good condition, Mr. Moriarty."

The one speaking now is an old man who just strolled over.

He had flaxen hair streaked with white, and wore a strange monocle that looked like a microscope or telescope hanging on his face. When the old man looked at Iver, it would automatically rotate and extend to focus.

The old man didn't look very tall, perhaps even shorter Lily. Iver didn't turn around to look at Lily; that would have been rather impolite.

At that moment, he was carrying a brown-red leather briefcase and wearing a knee-length white coat. He looked like a doctor carrying medicine. He and Yulia were among the few people here who weren't wearing black.

"You are..."

Iver looked at the other person and immediately recognized him from the iconic "Paul's Eye" equipment. "Master Nobel?"

"He can't be called a master."

The old man nodded slightly, clearly pleased. He spoke modestly, however.

He was clearly pleased with the respect that Iver showed him.

However, he certainly didn't know why Iver called him a master.

Generally speaking, there are two possibilities when someone is called a master. The most accurate description is that they are Fifth Level Transcendent who have their own works, writings, or inventions. They usually come from the Path of Beauty, the Path of Wisdom, and the Equilibrium Path, but it is also possible that there are extraordinary individuals from other paths who enjoy writing books to share their insights.

Another possibility is that people praise the other person's talent or achievements as "comparable to the masters mentioned above." Therefore, they would respectfully address the other person as a master.

Nobel was the latter.

He wasn't particularly strong as a superhuman, but he was a remarkably great alchemist. Throughout his life, he developed over a hundred types of explosives and dozens of pharmaceuticals. He now owns several companies and has also invested his technology in several others...

This is why, in the game's timeline, he didn't die, but was instead placed under house arrest by Star Antimony as an important talent. He was even directly transported back to Star Antimony, a place that values alchemy.

Because Nobel was originally a Stibnite Person.

He had only clashed with the Royal Alchemy Association in his youth. Now, the vice-president with whom he had that conflict was long dead... Therefore, under Xingti's warm invitation and respect, after a period of weak resistance, he gradually integrated into Xingti. When the level cap was raised to 70, he also reached the Fifth Level and became a true master.

Iver remembered him because he had good equipment. Before leaving Avalon, he gave the "Paul's Eye" he was wearing to his favorite student in Avalon. This student later went to Star Antimony to find his teacher, but happened to witness the infighting between the necromancer and the Demon Scholar and died on the way.

The undead wearing strange glasses is the quest trigger point. After defeating it and obtaining the glasses, you can acquire "Paul's Eye".

This belongs to the "Legacy Set," which is one of the few pieces of equipment that can increase the success rate of alchemy.

How many pieces of equipment are there? So few that even in the version before Iver's rebirth, these probability-boosting items still couldn't fill half of the character's inventory slots, and there were no superior alternatives.

If players have encountered Nobel in any side quest, they can investigate the glasses to obtain information: these are Nobel's glasses. Continuing along the path will eventually lead to the "Nobel's Legacy" set.

This three-piece set can increase the success rate of high-difficulty alchemy by 10% and the success rate of normal alchemy by 30%, and can also prevent explosions after high-difficulty alchemy fails.

With this set, you can activate a "radical experimental strategy" when making potions, which reduces the success rate but increases production and the possibility of mutations. You could say that without this set, there's no point in playing an alchemist.

Therefore, everyone who plays alchemy has to follow this questline. When you're trying to synthesize something using alchemy, you have to switch equipment, otherwise you'll have to spend several times more money to overcome the probability of failure.

Conversely, this can also be considered a free set. By simply following a long questline, you can eventually obtain the essential three-piece set, which has no superior alternatives.

At the time, Iver was unemployed and would take on some boosting jobs. People always need to make a living, right?

The questline and the Noble Red questline have the most orders—the common feature of these two quests is that they both have several consecutive stealth missions that are not easy.

Although it wasn't too difficult for Iver... after all, it's essentially about dodging blind spots and moving forward at a snail's pace or doing parkour. As long as you patiently analyze and plan your route, it's quite simple.

However, for players who lack experience in this type of game and don't like to play games with their brains, this kind of task can easily raise their blood pressure.

However, this is a good thing for Iver.

He earned at least tens of thousands just by helping people with this task. It can be said that he greatly helped Iver get through the period when he was most short of money.

This is why Iver's gaze toward Nobel was unconsciously filled with respect and gratitude.

—They are our providers!

The side effect was that whenever he saw Nobel, Nobel's portrait and funeral music would automatically appear in his mind...

"I've recently started learning alchemy from the Master Nobel!"

Yulia noticed Iver's attitude toward Nobel and said, half boasting and half seeking credit.

Nobel nodded, praising Yulia generously in front of his "parent": "Yulia's talent is quite remarkable... If she is determined to pursue the Equilibrium Path, and if Her Highness Isabel allows, I would also like to become her mentor. She certainly has the talent to reach the path of the 'master'."

The implication was that he believed Yulia had a chance of reaching the Fifth Level.

This can be considered Nobel's obsession.

He desperately wanted to reach the Fifth Level, but he was truly not good at the advancement ritual. After failing twice, he dared not try again—another failure might mean death. If the world level hadn't been raised later, making advancement to lower levels easier, he would never have dared to try a third time.

In other words, Nobel at this time had actually given up on becoming a true master.

That's why he was so happy when Iver called him "Master".

It's like an athlete who is always said to have a bright future is about to retire, but has never won a medal or championship throughout his entire career.

Because Nobel may seem indifferent, but he actually cared a great deal about it. The higher the status of someone, the happier he was when they called him "Master." Conversely, if someone addressed him as "Sir" instead of "Master," it might even annoy him.

This can also be considered a form of intelligence advantage. To tailor your approach to someone, you need to know what they like.

After all, Nobel did indeed possess genuine talent and knowledge.

His ability to craft the Legacy Set is proof enough—it wasn't ancient equipment he unearthed through archaeological digs, but rather something he forged himself. The ability to manually craft purple-grade equipment is certainly noteworthy.

I wonder if I could buy some equipment from Nobel...

Are you sure you want to pursue the Equilibrium Path?

Iver confirmed with Yulia.

If Yulia has already decided, then he'll have to help Yulia find some things.

He happened to know that the Noble Red possessed a fine Grimoire... The inheritance set wasn't in a rush. If Nobel truly valued Yulia, perhaps it wouldn't have needed to be passed on to Yulia as an "inheritance."

However, if he treats Yulia badly, then Yulia might be able to get the Legacy Set two versions earlier.

Yulia nodded slightly.

She said earnestly, "Under the guidance of my teacher, I have now touched the wall of the Second Level, and the rest of the preparations are also complete—I will hold my first advancement ceremony next week and advance to the Second Level."

Next week is the middle of the month, so there shouldn't be any major problems.

Iver nodded slightly, feeling somewhat relieved.

Seeing the somewhat worried expression on Iver, Nobel simply smiled and said, "Don't worry too much about Yulia, Mr. Moriarty. Her talent may exceed your imagination... I have already explained the Path Trait she should choose to Yulia."

That would be terrible.

Hearing this, Iver was somewhat surprised.

This world lacks online forums or platforms like Bilibili for finding guides and sharing information. Even the native inhabitants, upon seeing the names of the Path Trait, are unaware of their specific effects. To obtain information about Path Trait, one must try each trait individually within a complete lineage. Therefore, each complete table of Path Trait can be said to have been painstakingly compiled over hundreds of years.

This is highly confidential knowledge; it's essentially passed down through personal transmission.

They've only met a few days ago? But that only strengthened Iver's resolve.

Before Yulia advances, he will use the Shepherding Method to share the power of the Paradox Flame Butterfly with Yulia. This way, her advancement will be foolproof.

If you're lucky...

Maybe she can catch up with Iver and Isabel.

Chapter Two will have to wait a little longer, meow.