Chapter 76: Chapter 57: “Rise”
As an Alchemist from a Knight Family, Lante maintained his grace and elegance at almost all times, rarely showing any emotional outbursts. But Sean’s temptation was simply too great for him to resist—
Lante hadn’t fully processed it when they met yesterday. It was only after he went back and thought it over that he realized it: to an Alchemist, wasn’t a person who couldn’t be poisoned the greatest treasure imaginable? He was like a cup of wine one could never get drunk on, a drink that would never run dry. Any seemingly impractical or crazy idea could be tested on him.
That was why he had said he wanted Sean.
Sean: "..."
’I get it now.’
’Mr. Witch wants to use me as a guinea pig.’
"No," Elvire refused flatly before Sean could even speak.
Lante quickly added, "Please rest assured, Miss Flame Crow. I won’t be reckless."
Elvire said, "I’m referring to that High-Potency Potion of yours."
Of course, she knew Lante wouldn’t be reckless, but how much would Sean have to suffer if he was used as a guinea pig?
’Just because he won’t die doesn’t mean he won’t feel pain.’
More importantly, there was the formula Lante had just presented.
One had to understand, even for a Tier Five Wizard like her, the effective content of the Forged Gold Potion she consumed was only 15-20%. Any more and her body wouldn’t be able to handle it. Yet, the concentration of this formula reached 91%, five times what a Tier Five Wizard used. Drinking it would result in instant, violent death, 100 percent.
"We can start small and gradually increase the concentration," Lante explained.
He had written the formula; no one knew the risks better than him. He would definitely adopt the safest possible method.
Lante could tell Elvire cared deeply for this man.
’To think the ever-proud Miss Flame Crow would one day be so concerned about a man.’
But Lante wasn’t one for gossip, and now wasn’t the time for it. What he wanted to express was that he also cared about Sean.
Sean was not only his client but also a potential perfect partner. Regardless of the role, he would prioritize Sean’s safety and ensure nothing truly bad happened to him.
The formula he provided was for the final product. Before that, he would first test Sean’s physical resilience with other Magic Potions. If he found it wasn’t viable—for instance, if Sean’s self-healing only worked on external injuries and not toxins—he would immediately terminate the experiment and readjust the formula.
Elvire remained firm. "I don’t agree."
’It’s too dangerous.’
But it was Sean who, after a moment of silent contemplation, spoke up. "I want to give it a try."
Elvire: "?"
"You’d better think through the consequences."
Magic Potions are no joke. Even a child knows not to take random medicine. If something went wrong, it might be too late to save him.
"It’s not that serious," Sean said with a smile.
’A Forbidden Spell couldn’t do anything to me, so what’s there to fear from a mere Magic Potion?’
Besides, the greater the risk, the greater the reward.
He didn’t want to follow the conventional path of Cultivation to begin with, and his current situation didn’t allow him to take things slowly. He was now the most Wanted Criminal in Siracle State. There was no telling when a Witch Hunter might find him, and he couldn’t just hide in Alola Town for the rest of his life.
Instead of hiding passively, Sean preferred to go on the offensive.
Who says the prey must always be killed by the Hunter?
Sometimes, the prey can bite back and kill the Hunter.
There was something Elvire hadn’t told him, but Sean had guessed it himself—
Zajik, the Vice Director of Florist Hospital, probably wasn’t dead yet.
The words Elvire had spoken as her sword fell that night were: "No matter where you hide, Zajik, I will find you."
This indicated that the young woman had realized it at the time—Wizards at Tier Five and above could have two Puppets. The Zajik in front of them, just like the one incinerated by the Flame Wave, was a fake. The real Zajik was the one they had seen before their operation, the one who had left Holkaydo by plane the day before the attack.
Those guys who cultivated Puppets were more cowardly than anyone.
Elvire had been busy until the early hours of the morning the night before last, likely because of this matter.
It wasn’t that Sean distrusted the young woman’s abilities, but as the enemy’s primary target, he couldn’t help but overthink things a bit.
Assuming Zajik was alive and had already witnessed his Truth Techniques, the next time they met, Zajik would surely come fully prepared to counter them. Although he still had aces up his sleeve, who would ever complain about having too many tricks?
Once he reached Tier Three, with the addition of Forbidden Meditation, he could begin to use Philosophical Techniques. For example, the previously mentioned "unobserved cat," or the Theseus’ Ship paradox. There were plenty of things Zajik had never seen.
"I’ll ask you one last time. Are you sure you want to use this formula?" Elvire asked Sean.
Judging by her tone, the young woman seemed a little angry. ’Why does this guy never care about his own safety?’
But Sean insisted, "Let’s go with this one."
"Fine." Elvire respected Sean’s choice but didn’t hide her emotions. She stared at him and said, "Don’t regret this if something goes wrong."
Elise, who was standing nearby, tried to smooth things over. She tugged the young woman’s hand and comforted her, "Nothing will happen. Don’t you have faith in their abilities?"
One was one of the most brilliant Alchemists in the Void Technique Space, and the other was a Tier Two "tough guy" who could withstand a punch from a Tier Five Puppet. Theoretically, it would be difficult for anything to go wrong with a combination like that.
"Time to start the pot, Mr. Witch," Elise joked, trying to lighten the mood. "You don’t mind if we watch and learn, do you?"
Lante certainly didn’t mind. Alchemy wasn’t something you could learn just by watching. If Elise could actually pick something up, that would be a testament to her own talent. However, they would have to wait a little longer to start the pot. He smiled and said, "I have a student coming to learn. He’s around Mr. Sean’s age, so they should have a lot in common. It’s a good opportunity for them to become friends."
At that very moment, Charles was rushing over as fast as he could.
Originally, Lante had also wanted to introduce Elvire to Charles, just to get their faces acquainted. That way, if something happened in the future, he’d have another connection to call on for help.
But plans could never keep up with changes. It seemed his formula had offended Miss Flame Crow and implicated Sean in the process. If he were to push his luck with the young woman now, he was afraid his own student would suffer the consequences.
Thinking of this, Lante couldn’t help but cast an apologetic glance at Sean.
’I hope this doesn’t affect the relationship between Sean and Elvire.’
Sean just smiled, signaling that he was fine.
’I don’t think Elvire is that petty.’
’But Lante mentioned a student of similar age coming to learn... It couldn’t be Charles, could it?’
’The "big shot" his number one anti-fan was talking about... was actually me?’
A strange smile crept onto Sean’s face.
’If that’s really the case, I’ll have to put on some airs.’
Charles ran very fast, panting the whole way, terrified of being late and leaving a bad impression on the important person.
It wasn’t more than a few minutes before a tentative knock came from the door.
"Come in," Lante said.
Charles pushed the door open but didn’t walk in right away. Instead, he started with a deep bow. "Good afternoon, Teacher!"
"Good afternoon to all the seniors as well."
"I am Mr. Witch’s student, Charles. It’s a pleasure to be in your care!"
Very polite.
Then, he heard a familiar voice from inside the room.
Someone cleared their throat and said lightly, "Hello. You may rise."
Charles froze for a second, then his head snapped up.
"???"
Sean??
...
