Sorcery Potion

Whether Old Weaver's herbs had worked or the Healing Orb's magic had done the trick, Jia Ruo's back had completely healed a week later, without even leaving a scar.

That night, Jia Ruo went to his bedroom early and took out the little wooden box.

Staring at the clear Blue Potion inside the Glass Bottle, Jia Ruo reached out, pulled out the stopper, and brought it to his nose for a sniff.

It had no smell. He had no idea what it would taste like, either.

Jia Ruo tipped his head back. Gulp, gulp, gulp—the bottle held roughly three or four hundred milliliters of Sorcery Potion, and he drank it all in one go.

He smacked his lips, feeling as if what he had swallowed wasn't liquid at all, but a surge of energy.

After entering his stomach, that energy began spreading through his limbs and body.

Before long, Jia Ruo felt the changes brought by the Sorcery Potion.

Once the energy had completely permeated Jia Ruo's body, his grasp of the magic elements advanced another step.

He could sense the magic elements in the world around him more clearly. Before, although he could feel their presence, they had been a chaotic blur.

Now, he could easily distinguish the kinds of magic elements filling the space around him: emerald-green Life Element (strictly speaking, Plant Magic belonged to it, too), translucent blue Water Element, purple Lightning Element, red Fire Element, pale cyan Wind Element, dark yellow Earth Element, as well as black Dark Element and bright white Light Element.

They were like the air—unseen and untouchable, yet undeniably real.

The Sorcery Potion was like a special pair of glasses that let Jia Ruo see them.

No wonder the power core of the Azure Carved Golem was called the Crown of Insight. "Insight" really was the perfect word for it.

Jia Ruo floated into the air and entered a meditative state.

This time, he reconsidered the way he practiced the Way of No-Mind: after magic elements of different attributes completed one grand circuit through his body, only transparent, attribute-less energy remained.

That was where the Mana in his body came from.

Suddenly, as he neared the end of absorbing the Sorcery Potion, Jia Ruo sensed [Inspiration: Time Twister] in his mind tremble faintly.

Then, beside it, a blue-purple phantom flashed into view and disappeared.

But Jia Ruo had seen it clearly.

There was no mistaking it. He had seen it many times before: a blue-purple orb of light floating inside a diamond-shaped ring of shattered stone.

It seemed that the World Runes of Runeterra were the same "runes" the summoners had used in the game. And this blue-purple one had to be "Sorcery."

That meant the Azure Carved Golem really did have countless ties to the World Runes.

As for why the Azure Carved Golem had attacked only him at the time, that made sense now, too.

But he had to keep this secret safe. In fact, he couldn't let Neeko touch his Shuoma again—not ever.

Whew~

Jia Ruo let out a long breath. This fantastical world had revealed another small corner of itself to him.

"Jia Ruo, it's time to choose our next mission."

In Jia Ruo's Cabin Seventy-Nine, Lyle sat on the sofa with his arms crossed.

"It's already the end of the month. If we don't choose one soon, the Hall of Tranquility will assign us a monthly mission directly."

He took the teacup Neeko brought him and continued, looking at Jia Ruo across from him.

Jia Ruo was holding the Wanted Criminal Roster updated by the Hall of Tranquility that month and flipping through it.

His injuries from the Azure Carved Golem had healed long ago, but the new experience the Sorcery Potion had brought him had kept him busy testing which kind of magic element suited him best. He had kept putting this off until Lyle came by today.

"Lyle, old buddy, I'd like to hear your advice."

He handed the roster to Lyle.

"Although we worked together once, that was just an unexpected incident that didn't involve any supernatural beings. This time... How about this one?"

After speaking, Lyle read out the mission he had chosen:

"Fayton, perpetrator of the Warren Town serial murders three months ago. He commands Fire Element magic, but disguised himself as an ordinary laborer in Warren Town and secretly murdered seven women. The victims were sexually assaulted before death, and the skin on their backs was cut away. When the Hall of Tranquility's investigators tracked Fayton down, he used Fire Magic to drive them back and escape. He has yet to be arrested. The current bounty is three thousand eight hundred gold. His portrait is below..."

Lyle turned the roster around so Jia Ruo could see the portrait.

It was of an ordinary-looking middle-aged man with no distinctive features.

"It shouldn't be a problem. But how do we find him?"

Jia Ruo studied the portrait and asked, rubbing his chin.

"According to the latest report, a town in the north has seen similar murders. The victims were also young women, and the skin on their backs had been peeled off. The details of Fayton's original crimes never got out, so this shouldn't be a copycat. It must be Fayton himself."

Jia Ruo clenched his teeth, feeling uneasy about his newly healed back.

"Fayton's got some nerve, carrying on with the murders. He's the one, then. Tomorrow, we'll go ask Master Percy to approve the mission."

"No problem. You and Neeko will be the main force, and I'll handle scouting and support as before."

Neeko, who had been listening with her chin in her hand, nodded in agreement.

Lyle closed the roster and stood up.

"Then it's settled. Pack your things. Tomorrow, once we've asked Master Percy to approve the mission, we'll head straight out."

After seeing Lyle off, Jia Ruo returned to his room.

A year ago, he had been an ordinary person. Now he was a sheriff in Ionia, about to face these ruthless criminals.

After a moment of reflection, Jia Ruo slowly floated into the air and began meditating.