Chapter 50: Awareness
"You...you killed them all?", Helena asked, unsure what to think about this, "Why? We could have turned them into acolyte-rank slaves!"
Arthur laughed. Most would have been shocked to their core from the brutality of the scene. However, slaves were not as valuable as [Cursed Soul Flasks] in Arthur's opinion.
[Blood Totem - Medium-rank Magical Artefact
Effect: Casting spells through the blood totem create [Blood Marks]. Blood Marks can be consumed to instantly cast the spell [Blood Arrow], which deals 10 + [Magic Power * 2] points of damage]
[Blood Scepter - High-rank Magical Artefact
Effect: Increase Blood-type spell damage by 30%, and decrease mana consumption by 15%]
[Blood Earing - High-rank Magical Artefact
Effect: Every time a spell is cast, some of the mana is consumed and heal 5 HP to the caster]
[Orc Shaman Necklace - High-rank Enchanted Item
Effect: Every hour, you recover 5 Mana Points]
The battlefield had stopped abruptly with the fall of John Crimson, who had tried to put one last effort of resistance. Besides the seven acolytes, there were no living beings left. Well, Allan didn't count as a living being either so...
Arthur gave up on the magic crystals and beginner acolyte items for these four artefacts. No one dared to oppose his decision, since he was the one who had contributed the most to the killing of John Crimson, not to mention he had killed another Intermediate-rank acolyte before the fight.
"You...You have reached the intermediate rank realm, haven't you?", Lucile asked, "Don't worry, the others haven't noticed anything. The body refinement acolyte realm is strong enough for people to mistake your achievements for your extremely strong body, but I am a Maiden Ghost. I am more sensitive than people in terms of magic power. You are...You have been progressing very rapidly"
Arthur nodded: "Indeed...I must thank the Old Witch for that. She gave me a reactive elixir after all. This is a resource that doesn't come by easily. The Arcane Faction has had a monopoly on the recipes after all, and you could be sued for brewing them without their acknowledgement. Due to this monopoly, only the Arcane Faction and the Crimson Clan has formed intermediate rank acolyte. With the Crimson Clan almost annihilated, no one will issue a word if she begins selling reactive elixirs. She will make a fortune"
Lucile squinted: "How much do you know?"
Arthur smiled: "What are you talking about? I am just a mindless hunting dog...I don't know anything about the 'Grand Plan' she must have made over the past few decades. How much has she contributed to the fall of criminal factions, and the fall of the previous Black Widow Brotherhood death? I don't know anything. And more importantly, I don't know anything about how she orchestrated this great faction war. I had been wondering for quite some time what she would gain out of this chaos...It turns out that she did everything for the sake of selling reactive elixirs freely?"
Lucile frowned: "You don't...you don't understand. In times of war, supplies of reactive elixirs, potions and everything become extremely scarce. She has been waiting for this moment for years now. She has successfully brewed dozens of potions, each one worth hundreds of magic crystals if sold to a desperate elite beginner acolyte. The Crimson Clan is likely to purchase many of them too, if only to weaken the influence of the Arcane Faction and regrow their forces, even if they have to ruin themselves in the process"
Arthur made calculations in his head: 'Three thousand...No...Five thousand magic crystals perhaps?'
This was indeed an amount that would make magus look with interest, not to mention mere acolytes. Of course, there were plenty of other reasons for enticing this war: mainly souls for Lucile herself, as well as the revival of an organization she was the leader of.
With this grand scheme of hers, the Old Witch Diana Blackhope had successfully gotten ahold of power, wealth and status. In a matter of years, she was bound to reach the advanced acolyte realm with the resources she possessed. She might even fund her alchemical research and reach the [Intermediate] alchemy realm.
'This brutality, these risks...And the worst thing in this story is that I willingly accepted to be a hunting dog, a puppet for the sake of benefits', Arthur analysed.
Even the risks he had taken in the last fight were not logical. As an acolyte walking the path of magic, he wanted to learn, to study. In the end, it seemed like Evangeline was the one with the greatest potential. Not because she was meditating daily, or trained harsh. But because she was curious enough to learn, to demonstrate theorems and spend hours in the library in quest of knowledge.
Arthur merely cut down, worked out and farmed EXP by killing monsters and fellow acolytes.
Even the last fight could have been finished without bloodshed, had he learned a long-range spell. However, he had only thought of strengthening his melee dominance. This almost caused him to die.
This extremely dangerous yet rewarding raid held a lesson Arthur was not willing to ever forget. Even with magical artefacts, he was vulnerable. Survivability was more important than pure firepower.
He had forgotten about that. He had forgotten about the three years he had spent as a patrolling acolyte. He had suddenly grown stronger and after bathing in power, he had turned overconfident.
Today, overconfidence almost killed him.
[Your mind is expanding...]
[Your magic power is increasing slightly...]
[Your soul is growing slightly...]
[You have earned 300 EXP]
Arthur smiled. Perhaps it was time for him to retire, and pay back his debt to the Count Elderwood. There, he would have plenty of free time to reflect on his path, and turn to research more seriously. Interacting with knights will also provide him with ways to break through his physical limits, which had been slowing down his progress for quite some time now.
With two more usable magical artefact and a high-grade enchanted item, he was now properly overgeared. Even heirs from magus families didn't possess as many items as he did. With his current strength, the likeliness of him dying in this long-lasting mission was close to zero.
[You have acquired [Helena's Research Book]. It contains 1072 pages, 63 experiments and 24 insights. Would you like to absorb it? It will provide you with a deep understanding of Helena Fireborn's work. Cost is set at 2100 EXP]
Arthur shook his head.
He was planning on reading and understanding it by himself, through hard work. If he continued to rely on his ring ability, he would never become a true Magus.
Magi were researchers in their core.
"Knowledge is power", Magus Rutherford once said
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