Chapter 76: Chapter 76: Preparation
The enlightenment of one soul was an incomparable experience. It wasn’t ecstasy nor fulfilment. It wasn’t pride nor desire.
It was simply the truth.
In the dark mind space of Ashe, her colorless soul ascended. A faint aura of silver exuded from the manifestation of the soul, wrapping around it like a soft fabric.
She opened her eyes. The dark irises flashed silver shade that quickly faded away.
Siderius was there, standing over her and sharing a gentle smile.
For the first time ever, Ashe saw the world in the eyes of the alchemist. It was different. Less opaque and foggy. More clear and understandable.
Ashe bowed at Siderius.
"I succeeded, Master. I didn’t disappoint you this time." Her voice was calm and soft. The enlightenment of her soul allowed her to control her spirit and mind better. Now those emotions seemed less of a nuisance and more like letters on paper.
"You have never disappointed me, my apprentice."
Siderius lifted her up gently and patted her shoulder. "Now you have become one of us. Now you can finally see the truth behind the curtains."
"Yes, Master."
Ashe’s hands were shaking because of excitement. Her dream came closer than ever. She would soon take back the control of her clan and rule it. However, this time, Ashe maintained her composure well.
The shaking was simply for a fraction of a second before Ashe stretched her hands and calmed it down. It did not escape Siderius’ eyes obviously.
"Since you have placed your first step onto the Truth-Seeking Path. The next thing you need to do is to practice the ’S’ trio."
Ashe nodded with glee. "I understand, Master. I have watched carefully your alchemical processes and remembered them wholeheartedly. Where should I begin, Master?"
"Let’s start with the Salt Isolation Seal. It is a very simple alchemical reaction and an easy sign sequence. If you fail, there won’t be any consequences.
Start with separating the moisture out of the wood. You will need this skill to make your own bow. Better to practice it right away."
"I’ll start now, Master!"
Ashe was excited to begin the next step immediately. But Siderius pulled her back.
"Calm down. It is your first day. Rather than go directly to Alchemy, I will suggest you to stabilize your soul and spend some time reflecting. It will be good for your body, soul and spirit.
Take the day off. No training and no learning. Just reflection."
Ashe didn’t understand much but she followed Siderius’ guidance as always.
It was natural for a beginner alchemist to want to start their journey right away. But alchemists were truth-seekers. Their soul was the foundation of everything. It was better to make sure their soul was in good condition, rather than making rash decisions.
After that, Siderius returned to refine his Wolverine Anabolism.
The tonic had rooms to improve. The Water and Earth elements could mix better. The potency would also increase with the use of Wolverine’s Heart instead of the thin slices of its other organs.
Siderius could easily increase the potency of the tonic by trying out different percentages and quantities of the ingredients.
After improving the tonic, Siderius continued his training regime as normal.
Two weeks later.
Siderius and Ashe went on another hunting trip. However, Siderius wasn’t the leading hunter this time. It was Ashe instead.
They traversed throughout the woods, looking for a suitable game in the wilds.
They saw a buck at far, lowering its head down to the grass to munch on the plant. Ashe raised her bow and placed her fingers on the string.
She used a three-fingers draw. A technique that had good precision and power but lacked mobility. Ashe hadn’t trained shooting while moving with a bow yet so she temporarily used the three-fingers draw. Siderius planned for her to change to the thumb draw or index draw eventually.
The bow Ashe was using was a red bow with white lines on it. It looked a bit crude compared to Siderius’ bow but still a very respectable piece of equipment. At least her bow was much better than the bows in Mucktown.
Ashe had advanced quite a lot in her Alchemy skill. Basic Seals and Signs were no longer troubling her. She could do it quite consistently, but there were still rooms for improvement.
Suddenly, the buck lifted its head up and looked around. Its ears perked up.
Siderius placed his hand on Ashe, signaling her to wait. It wasn’t time to pull the arrow yet, not when the prey was at its highest point of alarm.
When the buck looked away, Siderius tapped lightly on Ashe’s shoulder. Immediately, she pulled the bowstring.
The sudden noise of the string caused the buck to duck down. But Siderius had already taught Ashe to aim lower, compensating for the buck’s natural behavior.
The arrow pierced through the upper thigh of the buck’s front leg. It darted off immediately with blood dripping out.
"Good shot, my apprentice. Let’s follow it."
Tracking a prey was an essential part of hunting. Siderius had taught Ashe well and therefore expected her to remember.
She had learned well. Ashe was able to track the buck to its hideout and ended its life with a knife.
The buck lost a lot of blood in its escape and had no strength left to even stand up. Allowing Ashe to kill it mercifully.
"Remember. We don’t kill out of cruelty. We kill because of necessity. Otherwise, Light Aether would hold a grudge against us."
Ashe nodded. She placed a hand on the deceased buck. "Depart in peace."
With it, they returned to their hideout once more.
[S.Y.S.T.E.M.]
[USER: Siderius ’Snow’ Satterblade]
[ ATTRIBUTES ]
|Strength: 4|
|Agility: 4|
|Perception: 3|
|Stamina: 7 (+2)|
|Endurance: 6|
[WITCH HUNTER RANK: OCULUS EXTIMA I]
[ALCHEMIST RANK: SILVER I]
[SIGILS SLOT: 2/2]
[SIGIL: <VERTIGO>; <PARAVE>]
[MERCURY EXTRACT: 8/150]
[PSYCHOSIS LEVEL: 30/125 (-5)]
[TOXICITY LEVEL: 0/100]
For the previous two weeks, the Wolverine Anabolism had greatly enhanced Siderius’ stamina. His stamina attribute had gone up by two points by this short amount of time.
Compared to his original state, Siderius could admit that he was no different than a well-trained knight in his old world. He wasn’t the best. There were much better warriors but he had reached a respectable level for a beginner.
At least, if he encountered the assassin again, he would have no chance of escape.
Siderius did more than train and meditate over this short period of time. He bought some materials in Mucktown and even created some more Clay Projectiles for his sling.
Any bought items were handled by Kraus.
As for the Clay Projectiles, previously Siderius used Mercury to quickly shape the clay. But he had a lot of time now so he didn’t need Mercury and simply did it by hand.
Siderius spread his ammo out on the ground. With the remaining ammo from the previous fight in the Rocky Pit, Siderius had a total of thirty projectiles.
Fifteen of them were Explosive Projectiles made from saltpetre and vitriol oil.
Ten of them were Sticky Projectiles with slagpaste inside.
Five of them were Phosphorus Projectiles in case he needed more fire power.
Siderius also placed a few bottles on the ground. Two of them were Arvenox Tonic, a good tonic to fight against disease and infection in the wild. Three of them were an entirely new Tonic called Flesh Restoration.
Flesh Restoration was a healing tonic made from Rice Wine, Salamander’s Flesh and Zinc, a surprisingly common metal.
Zinc was common but the people of this world did not know how to extract it, making its ores became much cheaper than it needed to be.
Zinc ores were also acquired from the Rocky Pit but Siderius didn’t buy it directly. He still had Kraus to do his biddings in the meantime to avoid Lyara’s eyes.
The capability of Flesh Restoration was exactly as its name suggested. It sped up the time for Flesh to heal and close up, a great tonic to stop bleeding and heal injury.
"Are you going somewhere, Master?" Ashe said.
"Yes. I need to visit an old friend." Siderius nodded
Ashe had grown a lot. She was more than capable of surviving on her own. So Siderius would let her stay in the woods, honing her skills in Alchemy and survival.
As for Siderius, it was time for him to visit Scalize. The town of which George the blacksmith was most likely to be in.
Siderius needed a better sword. Not the low-quality sword of the guards or any in Mucktown. He wanted at least a sword with Dull Steel grade.
"Focus on your training while I’m gone, my apprentice."
"Do I need to look after it, Master?"
Ashe pointed to the baby wolverine. For these two weeks, it had grown quite a lot. The body extended for a few more centimeters, its claws were longer and its fur became thicker.
Siderius had let go of the leash, allowing the wolverine to roam freely around the hideout.
"I will bring it with me."