Chapter 78: A Breakthrough in Thinking!
“Our previous batches weren’t entirely without effect,” Nolan said, pointing to a row of small bottles on the nearby shelf.
Those bottles contained the so-called “failed products” from earlier attempts. To test their properties, Leus had personally sampled each one.
The result was that these potions did indeed increase a normal person’s strength for about fifteen minutes, allowing them to lift roughly twice their usual weight. But that was the extent of it, and they came with a very peculiar side effect—hair would grow at a visibly rapid rate after consumption.
It was somewhat reminiscent of the “three-in-one men’s formula” he had made before.
Leus ran a hand through his hair, now long enough to fall to his shoulders, and gave a wry smile. What had once been a modest cut could now be tied into a braid.
“At least for middle-aged men troubled by hair loss or… other shortcomings, this would be a blessing,” Nolan joked, trying to ease the tension.
“My lord, please don’t comfort me like that.” Leus shook his head helplessly. “At this level, it’s inferior even to the most basic strength potions, not to mention the side effects.” He turned back to the experimental records, brows tightly furrowed. “The Matona Grass Anna had gathered from the outer edges of the Borderline Forest is of excellent quality, and the extraction process was flawless. The crystallized lizard saliva we collected ourselves from the monster nests in Veli Province is also top-grade. The problem… still lies with the Elfin drake blood.”
Leus tapped a line in the records, his tone heavy. “We’ve nearly exhausted all available drake blood in Coldsteel City and its surroundings. The quality is inconsistent, and most of it has lost its vitality due to poor preservation. I’ve tried over a dozen purification and activation arrays, and even then, I can barely reach the theoretical minimum standard. The quantity is far from sufficient. It’s nowhere near enough to sustain a complete high-intensity catalytic reaction.”
“Elfin drake blood…” Nolan murmured, deep in thought.
He knew well how rare it was. The Elfin drake was a scarce bipedal, winged sub-dragon that lived only in the highlands of Loman Province, one of the three southern provinces. Nocturnal, capable of flight, and notoriously violent, they were extremely difficult to capture. Their blood was an essential component in many advanced potions and enchantment processes, and its limited supply kept prices perpetually high.
“There’s no time to hunt one now. A round trip would take far too long. The Southern Legion’s wyvern corps does have a considerable number of Elfin drakes, but if we asked them for blood, those who treat their mounts like family would probably draw blades on us immediately…” Nolan sighed in frustration. Even the cleverest housewife cannot cook without rice.
There had been some stock in Baron Haus’ treasury, but Leus had already used it up in earlier experiments.
Knowing the right answer yet being unable to act due to lack of materials was deeply infuriating.
“From your experience, is there any alternative?” Nolan asked after a long pause.
He already knew the likely answer. In the game, countless players and alchemists had tried to find substitute formulas for “Fervor” to increase production, but all had failed. Either the cost was too high, or the results were unsatisfactory.
The uniqueness of Elfin drake blood was nearly irreplaceable.
Still, he wanted to hear the creator’s professional opinion.
“An alternative…” Leus stood and began pacing again, a habit of his when thinking. “Difficult. Extremely difficult. The key to Elfin drake blood lies in its dragon-blood content. The catalytic effect depends on the concentration of ‘vital essence’ within that blood. We’ve already tried crystallized lizard blood, but its dragon-blood component is far too diluted to trigger a reaction. Attempting to concentrate it only destabilizes the composition, causing it to lose activity within seconds, and in some cases even explode within the array.”
He stopped and struck his palm with a fist. “Earth drake blood has a much higher concentration—more than sufficient! But the one we encountered in the crystallized lizard nest in Veli Province was burned to charcoal. If not for that…”
Nolan remembered as well and couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret. At the time, Evelyn’s destructive dragon breath had pierced the ground without warning, incinerating everything before they had any chance to harvest materials.
Had he known, he would have seized a few barrels of earth drake blood first.
But even the greatest alchemist could not brew a potion of regret, and even a reincarnator like Nolan could not be reborn again.
“What about dragonblood grass? I recall it can be refined into something similar to dragon blood,” Nolan suggested, grasping at straws.
“No,” Leus replied immediately, shaking his head. “Its extract has an even lower concentration than crystallized lizard blood. It’s only suitable for low-grade alchemical products. For something like ‘Fervor,’ it’s completely inadequate. Worse, its properties are the opposite of Matona Grass, which would trigger a chain degradation reaction…”
The more he spoke, the more dejected he became. His theoretical framework was clear, yet it felt like he had walked into a dead end.
Every path was blocked.
“So the key is still the concentration of dragon blood, right?” Nolan suddenly asked, interrupting him.
“Exactly.” Leus nodded weakly. “And that’s the hardest part. High-quality Elfin drake blood is scarce and exorbitant. Coldsteel City is too small to mobilize such resources.”
Silence fell over the laboratory.
Dawn was breaking outside. From the direction of the city walls came the rhythmic shouts of soldiers in morning drills, full of vigor and hope, a stark contrast to the gloom within the room.
Nolan looked at Leus’ face, etched with frustration and unwillingness, then at the pile of failed records on the table.
Something came to him. He took a deep breath. There was one more option. He didn’t know if it would work, but with no other path left, it was worth trying.
“Wait, Master Leus. There might be another way.” He raised his head and met Leus’ bloodshot eyes. “What if… we use my blood?”