Dongfang Ping 3

The Spectral Tiger came to a halt amid its master's internal struggle, pacing in circles. Elufiel touched the ruby stud on her pointed ear and let out a deep breath.

Bloodthistle could ease magic addiction, but it was itself addictive. Blood Elf addicts who consumed Bloodthistle were despised by their own kind. Elufiel had seen Bloodthistle before, but never in such vast quantities.

She had a bad feeling about this.

Odovish blinked to the elf's side. He keenly sensed her agitation. It was like when he had first met her, when her magic addiction had flared up. Then his gaze fell on the Felweed—

A medicinal herb rarely seen outside, it contained abundant magical power and was usually used as an additive in enchanting potions. Even a small amount could keep a potion active for a long time. However, untreated Felweed had severe side effects. It could rapidly increase one's magic power for a short time, but prolonged use would weaken the consumer, who could only feel that abundance of magic again by taking more. Over time, it would leave the user with consequences much like drug addiction.

Odovish understood at once. The Felweed had probably triggered the elf's magic addiction.

He approached the Spectral Tiger. The ferocious beast bared its fangs at him, yet the mage did not retreat a single step. He stared steadily into the tiger's two pinprick-like eyes. Amid its low growls, he reached out and touched its smooth, utterly un-cute chin, its sharp fangs mere inches from his hand.

The Spectral Tiger rumbled twice in its throat, but ultimately did not attack. Odovish smoothly climbed onto its back, sitting behind the elf and wrapping one arm around her trembling body.

"You, go away." Elufiel hunched over, the short sentence seeming to squeeze through clenched teeth. Though her body was in an extreme state of excitement, she still knew clearly that she had to leave this place as soon as possible.

"Shh, be quiet." Odovish soothed the elf in a coaxing tone. They were so close that Elufiel could practically feel the mage's breath against her ear.

The mage patted the Spectral Tiger beneath him with his free hand, urging it into a run.

His hands passed beneath the elf's arms, and a shard of ice crystal formed at his fingertips. Without blinking, Odovish sliced open his wrist with the sharp sliver of ice. Blood rushed forth, and beyond its bloody scent, Elufiel sensed the pure fragrance of Arcane energy.

One arm remained around the elf's waist while he brought the other hand to her lips. His blood contained more abundant magic than any enchanted product or plant—pure and entirely free of side effects.

Elufiel did not immediately suck at those enticing trails of blood. She hesitated, even struggling to cast a healing spell. Odovish withdrew his hand and avoided the dimly glowing spell. He said into the elf's ear, "Drink it quickly. You're wasting my blood."

Only then did Elufiel open her mouth and take the mage's wrist between her lips. A rich, slightly rusty taste flooded her taste buds, followed by incomparably abundant magic. The sensation was exquisite, almost like overwhelming pleasure.

Odovish felt the Arcane elf gradually relax. Her soft tongue licked over his wound. Though it brought traces of pain, an unusual tingling numbness occupied even more of the mage's senses.

The wound on his wrist was not deep. Naturally, Odovish knew exactly how deeply he had cut himself. After it stopped bleeding, the elf still lingered reluctantly over his wrist. He drew his arm from her hands, lowered his head, and found her gaze unfocused, her cheeks flushed, and her lips stained a vivid red from drinking blood.

"Eluer?" Odovish called.

The elf's ears twitched, but she gave no other response. The Felweed along both sides of the path was gradually thinning out, while pink irises lay scattered sparsely among the grass. Their destination was close.

The sound of trickling water drifted over from afar. The clouds seemed to have parted, and bright moonlight poured down from the night sky. The elf in the mage's arms had her eyes closed and seemed to have fallen deeply asleep.

Odovish pulled the reins and guided the Spectral Tiger toward the sound of water. Once he confirmed that the elf was truly asleep, he let out a faint sigh of relief, then found himself both amused and helpless.

He had seen people get drunk from alcohol, but he had never heard of anyone getting drunk from replenishing too much magic.

"Roar—" The Spectral Tiger let out a bellow. At some point, a bear-like creature had appeared before it. It rose onto its hind legs. Rather than fur, its body was covered in hard armor plates. Its lantern-like eyes glowed yellow, two vertical slits utterly motionless, as though they were merely decorations.

Odovish recognized it. It was an Earth Bear Golem, forged by its master from thousands of the toughest plates from Scalehide backs. Without a doubt, it was an alchemical creation. In this era of Arcane decline, it could almost be called a rare masterpiece.

"Is this your new pet?" The speaker hid within the Earth Bear Golem's shadow. He had not intended to reveal himself, but he had changed his mind.

That fully transparent tiger had captured all his attention, even more than the "person" Odovish held in his arms.

Dongfang Ping 3

"Is this your new pet?" the person concealed in the shadows asked.

"No." Odovish glanced at the elf in his arms, drunk on magic. "It's hers."

The Earth Bear Golem shifted aside, revealing the person behind it. He looked extremely thin, his entire body shrouded in a dull gray cloak. The face he showed was ghastly pale beneath the moonlight. Even the naturally fair skin of northerners could not compare to his complexion; in that regard, he was almost a match for Elufiel.

Fendli, an alchemist. Since Pandor, Alchemy City, had fallen, his people had hidden among ordinary folk. As long as they put away their wondrous alchemical creations, they were no different from ordinary people. Even the Holy See's magical detection crystals could not pick them out from a crowd. No one knew the surname of this clan. They were humanity's finest craftsmen, skilled in engineering and gemstone work. During the Golden Age, their alchemical creations had been eagerly sought after. At the same time, their clan had served the northern dukes for generations.