Chapter 79

"Take one bottle once a day, for three days as one course of treatment."

Chapter 90 Syndra: She swallowed it all...

Syndra's tragic childhood destined her to never easily trust anyone.

She was disliked by her family from a very young age. Her older brother bullied her, her mother scolded her, and her father stood by and watched coldly. She always had to do more housework than other children her age, but she did not receive the care that other children her age deserved.

She was like the family's punching bag; even food that had been left out for too long and gone bad would be blamed on her, and she would be scolded for no reason. Not to mention when she would often be engrossed in observing small insects—whenever this happened, her mother's scolding would follow her like a shadow.

She bore the brunt of everyone's negativity.

When she first unleashed her negative energy, the entire Ionia was shocked.

Spirit Willow was drained of her life force. She was forced to go to Fae'lor Island to receive "training" from a reclusive priest.

That writing exercise was read as a weakening betrayal.

Years of arduous study resulted in her teacher's betrayal, and she unleashed her negative emotions for the second time.

Then, she was imprisoned in the Dreaming Pool by the Spirit of Ionia.

The confinement lasted for decades.

She never understood why others could freely vent their negative energy on her, while she couldn't release any negative energy at all.

Why is it that others can vent their negative energy without facing any punishment, while she is subjected to everyone's accusations, curses, hatred, and even suppression by the Spirit of Ionia every time she releases negative energy?

Her young mind couldn't understand these things.

She was less than twenty years old when she was sealed by the Spirit of Ionia. She hadn't read many books or known much about the world—more than 70% of her short memories were about scolding, housework, Meditation, and solitary confinement.

During the decades she was sealed by the Spirit of Ionia, neither her body nor her mind underwent any growth.

She was as innocent as a blank sheet of paper.

Her understanding of the world was still at the level of when she was ten years old.

At the same time, she was wary of everyone in the world—she had no friends and had never received genuine care from anyone. The pain and betrayal of the past had taken root deep in her heart, making her unable to trust anyone easily.

Therefore, she naturally wouldn't trust Chen Ce —the stranger who had woken her up and claimed to help her—without reason.

She was equally wary and suspicious of the strange liquid Chen Ce handed her.

"What is this...?"

Syndra stared at the strange liquid in the other person's hand, hesitating to reach out and take it.

"This is called Corrupting Potion," Chen Ce explained quite frankly. "It helps you restore your magic and vitality—of course, your current 'vitality' is fine; you're only drinking it to restore your magic."

Syndra paused for a moment, her beautiful wisteria-colored eyes filled with distrust.

Seeing this, Chen Ce guessed her worries and immediately opened the bottle and took a big gulp.

After drinking half a bottle of the Corrupting Potion, he felt completely refreshed.

"See? It's not poisonous."

Syndra remained silent.

After observing it carefully for a while, she asked in a suspicious tone, "Why are you giving me something so precious?"

"Is it precious? Not at all, I can make a whole bottle of it every day."

"... Then why did you help me?"

"For no reason."

"I need a reason."

"Well... because I want to help you. I simply want to help you, that's all."

"..."

This answer didn't reassure Syndra; instead, it made her even more suspicious that something was amiss... After all, no one is kind to someone for no reason, right?

What is he after...?

His own power... does he want me to kill for him...?

An Ionia released what all Ionia feared most...

This isn't right... something's not right...

What exactly is he after...?

Syndra found it increasingly strange.

She didn't even notice when her gaze inadvertently drifted to her own perfect body.

Finally, she had no choice but to continue asking, "What about the other two? I mean... the two Vastaya?"

"You mean Ahri and Lillia?" Chen Ce said, pointing to the wall of the room. "They're resting in the next room—they're quite afraid of you, so I told them to wait somewhere else for now."

"They should be afraid of me." Syndra puffed out her chest proudly again, but a hint of...sadness? or something similar flickered in her eyes. "You should be too."

"Should it be like that? Why?" Chen Ce shrugged.

"Because my magic is inexhaustible!" Syndra nearly jumped out of bed, but her weak yet defiant appearance only made her look like a pitiful kitten trying to intimidate an enemy by bristling. "Even if... even if I'm a little weak right now, it's only temporary!"

"Oh... but what does that have to do with me being afraid of you?"

"Don't you understand yet? Once my magic is restored, you'll be as weak as a sugar worm in my presence!"

"Yes, you're right. I understand the gap between us, but..." Chen Ce scratched his head, then looked puzzled.

"My lack of fear of you has absolutely nothing to do with how strong your magic is."

"... Huh?" Syndra was taken aback by this question.

After a moment, she asked again in a hesitant and confused tone, "Aren't you afraid that once I regain my magic, you'll be the first person I kill...?"

"I'm not afraid." Chen Ce shook his head, then asked in return, "Why should I be afraid?"

"Because... because I really can kill you easily."

"But you wouldn't do that, would you?"

"I... I can!"

"But before you fainted, you clearly said you didn't want to kill me, and you even told me to run away quickly."

"..."

Syndra suddenly turned her head to the other side.

"You're not inherently bad," Chen Ce chuckled. "Or rather... you've never really done anything bad. I know those accidents weren't your intention; you were just forced to create some chaos."

Syndra fell silent again.

Chen Ce continued, "But it won't happen again."

"What do you mean..." Syndra still didn't turn her head back.

"I will help you—I cannot help you control your power, but I can help you prevent your power from being used against innocent people."

"... I do not understand."

"It means that whenever you're about to lose control, I can take you to a secluded place, and then return you to your original location once you regain control of your power—it will only take a moment, and your out-of-control power will never affect anyone else."

"Where?"

"The Death Realm"

"Um?"

Syndra had never heard of this term before, and was momentarily puzzled.

Chen Ce wasn't in a hurry to explain things to her now—there would always be another opportunity in the future.

And quite a few.

"In short, I hope you can believe me, Miss Syndra." He handed the potion to the woman in black stockings again. "I will prove my sincerity with time."

The slightly ambiguous remark made Syndra feel embarrassed—no one had ever said such a thing to her in all these years.

Even ordinary communication is a luxury for her.

Everyone feared her.

After a long internal struggle, she hesitantly reached out a hand, wanting to take the strange potion but also hesitant.

Then, her small hand was grabbed by another large hand.

"Here, hold on tight." Chen Ce personally placed the medicine bottle into the other person's hand.

Syndra felt the warmth from her fingertips, and for a moment her body stiffened—this was... the first time...

This is the first time I've had such physical contact with someone of the opposite sex...

"Drink up, don't be shy." Chen Ce himself didn't feel there was anything wrong with it. "Although Ahri might sing 'Listen to Me, Thank You' to me all night if she sees the empty bottle later... but it doesn't matter, drink up."

Syndra's flawless face flushed slightly, her mind going completely blank.

Actually, she was still a little hesitant to drink it—she still didn't completely trust Chen Ce, and naturally, she was worried that drinking this strange potion might have some harmful effects... But right now, she really couldn't think straight.

With her mind blank, she stiffly put the bottle opening into her mouth at Chen Ce's urging, and then gently held it in her mouth.

She even couldn't help stick out her tongue because the bottle opening was a bit too big.

The thick liquid flowed down her pink tongue, into her mouth, and then down her throat.

The thick liquid had a strong, slightly fishy smell, and Syndra couldn't help but close her eyes tightly, trying to suppress the urge to vomit.

Glug... Glug...

The liquid flowed down his throat, its movement quite noticeable.

In one go, he finished it all.

"Ha... Ah ha..."

After drinking the entire potion in one gulp, Syndra couldn't help but gasp for breath—her nimble pink tongue darted out slightly, licking the rim of the bottle as if trying to breathe in as much fresh air as possible, or perhaps not wanting to waste a single drop.

"Cough... I swallowed it all... cough cough..."

Perhaps because she drank too quickly and choked a bit, she couldn't help but cough a few times, then gently wiped her mouth with her slender, fair fingers.

Unfortunately, a drop or two of the medicine still slid down her slightly flushed cheek, leaving a strange mark on the white and black corset covering her chest.

"..." Chen Ce was momentarily stunned.

As expected of foot-stamping socks... no, I mean, Dark Sovereign...

Even drinking a Corrupting Potion can taste a slightly bitter flavor...

Not simple, really not simple...

"Here you go...!" Syndra handed the empty bottle back to the other person, a slight smile playing on her lips—a look of great pride.

Like a little girl who has just finished drinking her Chinese medicine and is waiting for praise.

Chen Ce saw through her act but said nothing, only smiling as he accepted the empty bottle. "Miss Syndra is really amazing. Why couldn't Ahri drink the whole bottle of Corrupting Potion in one go?"

Of course, Ahri said "cannot," not "cannot do."

"Just drinking some potion... I can do that easily!" Syndra instinctively crossed her arms, striking a cool and powerful pose. "My energy is inexhaustible!"

"Ah, right, right..." Chen Ce suddenly remembered a very interesting meme.

[Mid Laner (Syndra): My energy is endless! [Sunglasses][Cool]]

[Jungler: So I won't give you this blue buff?]

[Mid Laner (Syndra): [Takes off sunglasses][Crying]]

The two sat there for a while longer.

Then Chen Ce felt it was about time for him to leave— Syndra was still unfamiliar with everything around her, and the best way to give her a sense of security was to let her be alone for a while.

"I should be going now. You can rest here for a while, you can even sleep."

After saying that, he got up and walked towards the door.

But just then, Syndra uttered a reluctant—or rather, somewhat uneasy—voice. "I... don't know where I am..."

"It's safe here. I'm in the next room," Chen Ce reassured him.