Chapter 52: Chapter 52: The Flame Claw Potion and Two New Sacrificial Stone Formulas
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Spring, the second month of Year 58 in the Storm Kingdom.
A week and a half had passed since the confrontation with the Bulgars. During this time, Baron Frank had repeatedly sent emissaries to discreetly express his intent to pledge allegiance to Baron Peter's territory.
To solidify this, Frank had even relinquished command of his remaining troops to Su Nan, a clear gesture of submission.
In response, Su Nan dispatched his loyal steward, Warwick, to Frank's territory to establish control over the region. Warwick reported that, while he had not encountered any assassination attempts, he had faced resistance from a few unruly individuals—none of whom posed any real threat to his authority.
Su Nan wasn't particularly concerned. Given the diminished military potential of Frank's lands, no one could challenge the now formidable Warwick.
The steward was no longer the same man he had been six months ago.
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From the wooden cabinet in his castle tower, Su Nan retrieved a bottle of the latest Enhanced Mental Potion (+2, Special Edition) and downed it in one gulp.
A surge of mental power coursed through him almost instantly. The room dimmed, and sunlight in the air fragmented into particles, converging toward his body. A faint glow outlined his figure.
> [Your current Mental Power is 18. You have experienced a temporary increase of 1.5 Mental Power. The remaining blood essence of the one-star bloodline warlock can produce three more bottles of Enhanced Mental Potion (+2, Special Edition), potentially raising your Mental Power by another 1.5 or more.]
[Additionally, your Constitution has increased by 0.5, now reaching 1.5.]
Su Nan raised an eyebrow. This meant his Mental Power would likely exceed 19.5 within the week. With Mental Power of 20, he would officially become a First-Class Wizard Apprentice.
This advancement would unlock upgrades for all his potions and qualify him to embark on basic explorations of the Misty Realms of Secrets.
During the past week, Su Nan had analyzed the corpses of the cultists, uncovering the secret behind their brief surges in Mental Power.
The bloodline of a one-star warlock appeared capable of rapidly converting surrounding matter into energy, which was then absorbed into their bodies to enhance their Mental Power.
Su Nan temporarily termed this phenomenon Matter-Energy Conversion.
He wasn't sure if all warlocks in the Energy World possessed similar abilities. However, by extracting this special substance from the cultists' corpses and incorporating it into the existing Mental Potion (+2) formula, he had created the Special Edition Mental Potion.
When consumed, this potion absorbed photons from sunlight, infusing both soul and body with energy.
As a result, not only did his soul strengthen, but his physical constitution also improved, as evidenced by the 0.5 increase in his Constitution.
Su Nan mused, "I've found yet another way to enhance my Mental Power: capturing bloodline warlocks and extracting their blood essence."
"The methods I've been using to grow my power and magic... they're becoming more and more unorthodox."
"But what choice do I have? Without a proper meditation method or wizard inheritance, I'll use whatever works."
This realization led Su Nan to reconsider the cultists lurking near his territory. Perhaps it wasn't necessary to eliminate them immediately. Sometimes, patience yielded greater rewards.
Who knew what surprises that Blind Nun might bring him in the coming years?
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Three days ago, under the year's second Blood Moon, Su Nan had brewed six bottles of Superior Werewolf Potion. He had given one to a werewolf steward, transforming him into a Superior Werewolf Deacon.
While slightly weaker than a standard superior werewolf, the deacon possessed sensory abilities six times more acute.
This new werewolf deacon, whom Su Nan named Wolf Three, significantly enhanced his control over his territory. It was thanks to Wolf Three that Su Nan discovered the cultist groups hiding near his borders.
Currently, Wolf Three was disguised as an ordinary hunting dog, patrolling the edges of Peter's lands. With the werewolf's fourfold regenerative abilities, Su Nan wasn't worried about its survival.
Wolf Three's report came through their mental connection: two unusual presences had entered the territory.
"Two strange entities?" Su Nan frowned. "Could the cultists have leaked news about a wizard relic near my territory? Or perhaps they themselves stole the information from another group?"
According to Wolf Three, one figure seemed to be an elderly man, the other a girl no older than sixteen. However, even with Wolf Three's enhanced senses, their precise locations remained undetectable.
The pair wandered the borderlands, seemingly searching for something. Su Nan suspected their goal might also be the wizard relic.
He commanded Wolf Three, "Continue monitoring their movements and report any developments. At night, try to pinpoint their exact locations."
Under moonlight, the werewolf's sensory capabilities would double.
The relic was already Su Nan's target, and he would not allow others to interfere.
For over a week, he had directed the werewolves to conduct a grid search, though the relic remained elusive.
What puzzled him even more was the presence of a Four Seasons Garden, a botanical wizard's haven, within the Gray Soil Cemetery—land supposedly dominated by necromancers.
When he questioned Orr about this, the response was dismissive; Orr had never heard of the Four Seasons Garden. By all accounts, the region had only ever been home to one wizard faction.
Curious and intrigued, Su Nan resolved to explore the Four Seasons Garden himself.
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The AI assistant reported:
> [Fireball Beetle Potion formula completed. Mortal Repellent Potion formula completed.]
[Second Sacrificial Stone formula completed: Flight Gargoyle.]
[Third Sacrificial Stone formula completed: Obsidian Idol.]
[Superior Werewolf Potion enhancement formula completed: Flame Claw.]
The Flame Claw Potion was a recent innovation, an enhancement potion for werewolves, enabling their claws to channel fiery elemental magic.
Based on the core principles of the Fireball Beetle Potion, this enhancement required a minimum Mental Power of 3, limiting its use to superior werewolves.
This limitation didn't trouble Su Nan. By administering Mental Power potions to Warwick, Brom, and Pera, they could meet the requirement. The basic Mental Potion was now so easy for Su Nan to craft that he could produce it effortlessly.
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A knock on the tower door interrupted Su Nan's thoughts.
"Apologies for the intrusion, Lord Su Nan," came the gentle voice of Robert.
"The master sculptor and artist, Solon, whom you invited, has arrived at
your castle with his apprentices. They have also brought several gargoyle sculptures they completed en route."
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