The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 144: Even a third-tier cultivator is quite formidable.

Eric cast several divine spells on himself, buffing himself to the buffs. He then tied Ferdinand up with a rope, hoisted him onto his back, and climbed up the rope.

"Honestly, you're a bit bloated. I can't stand you alchemists, don't you ever exercise? Scientific research also requires a good physique as a foundation."

"...What is science?"

Eric ignored him, let out a heavy breath, and continued climbing.

Fortunately, the rope was strong enough, and after climbing for a while, the two returned to the ground safely. Ferdinand was carried up entirely on his back, but his legs were so weak that he couldn't stand up.

"Is it resolved?" Elise had pulled Eric up when he came up, whether it helped or not is another matter, but her palm got quite a bit of the sticky substance from his arm as a result, and now she was frowning as she looked at her palm.

“Solved.” Eric nodded. From above, all they could see was him slicing the BOSS a few times like cutting a cake before coming up.

"Keep this safe..." Ferdinand tremblingly handed over the BOSS's flesh and fluids that he had collected earlier to the other alchemists.

Nehm stared at him blankly. "Cairos is dead?"

Ferdinand nodded regretfully but firmly. "This can't go on forever. It's better to resolve this sooner rather than later, lest we all be swallowed up by it someday."

Eric glanced at him discreetly but said nothing.

The alchemists had prepared clean water for them to wash their bodies. When Eric went over, Elise was rubbing her hands in the basin and occasionally bringing them to her nose to smell them.

"Don't worry, it's just some bodily fluids... almost like saliva."

She frowned, feeling even more disgusted.

However, while Eric was washing his body, she still helped him wash and asked about the specific situation below.

"It was just a primitive artificial life form that didn't even have the instinct to eat, so when it was dismembered, it didn't encounter any resistance."

Eric paused for a moment. The flesh around the life core was unusually tight and difficult to cut. Could this be considered its resistance?
“How pitiful,” Elise simply said.

Molly leaned closer. "What did you give Ferdinand? He's been holding onto it and won't let me even take a look."

"The crystals that grew inside that thing down there."

"Is it valuable?"

"It should be worth a little more than your life."

After a few quick washes, a truly thorough cleaning from head to toe was needed back at the hotel. Eric approached Ferdinand to say he was leaving, to which the latter replied in surprise that he was planning to walk alone at night.

After all, the nights in Castelfeld are really dangerous, and it's quite a distance to the hotel.

“You can stay here for the night. There are places to rest, both here and in the mage tower,” Ferdinand said.

Eric thought about it and decided to stay.

Then there's the question of what to eat for dinner. Not only him and Elise, but also Molly, who was kidnapped, and the group of alchemists who kidnapped her, are all still hungry.

The alchemists' only food was dry, hard black bread.

“There are quite a few lizards near the mage tower. If you’d like, you can catch some yourself and roast them; they actually taste pretty good,” Nehm said. “We usually eat roasted lizards sandwiched in black bread.”

Elise frowned immediately, while Eric seemed slightly intrigued. "Anything else?"

Nehm nodded. "And scorpions, snakes, pheasants, and the like."

"Pheasant?" Eric licked his lips.

"It's a kind of pheasant with colorful feathers, and it's quite big. I know a formula for a drug that's specifically used to lure those pheasants. If you need it, I can make it for you right now."

"it is good."

Nehm went to prepare the potion, while Elise, holding a loaf of black bread, leaned close to Eric and said, "Is it really necessary to go through all this trouble? Toasting the black bread would have been fine."

"His black bread is harder than a rock. Who knows how long it's been sitting there? It's not even as good as the dry biscuits we ate on the road."

Eric took the black bread from her hand, threw it back on the table with a loud thud, and said, "Don't worry, I'll do it. You just wait to eat."

Elise smiled. "I'm honored."

Molly, who was standing to the side, looked at them and suddenly asked, "Where did you come from?"

"If you're asking about the previous stop, it was Tallinn."

“Hometown? This Aran is a given, you don’t look like a southerner at all,” Molly said, looking at Eric.

“Ottville,” Eric said, walking outside, “has been developing in Lessier for the past two years.”

"Wow, the Holy Capital has a bright future. But we mustn't let those alchemists hear this, or they'll be terrified."

Eric smiled and went outside.

Fred, the alchemy apprentice whose robes he had previously stripped off, was standing guard at the door. He still looked somewhat afraid when he saw Eric.

Eric struck up a conversation, asking, "Where can I find pheasants?"

Fred looked at him and said, "They're everywhere in this wood."

After waiting a while, Nehm came out with the prepared potion, wrapped in paper, and told Eric to light it upwind. Once the smell spread, the pheasants would be attracted, and then they could be caught.

"This stuff isn't poisonous, is it?"

"Of course it's not poisonous."

Eric walked into the woods, licked his fingers, then held them up to feel the wind direction, lit the packet of powder upwind, and then stepped aside to wait.

He could also smell a faint, indescribable odor, which he didn't find particularly special, but it held a unique attraction for pheasants. According to Neham, the lure was made from a powder of insects that could accelerate wound healing, and those insects were exactly what pheasants loved.

After a while, some obvious noises came from the woods.

Eric threw an illumination ball into the air, then hid behind a tree, listening to the sound of flapping wings getting closer and closer.

"They really came..."

Several colorful pheasants fluttered over and flew over. They looked quite plump. Eric held back and waited until they all landed and started pecking at the soil in the area where the burning powder was before suddenly rushing out, dodging and weaving, taking them down one by one with his sword.

Carrying several headless pheasants back to the mage tower, he left the task of managing them to the mage apprentice Fred.

When Eric saw the pheasants again, they had been plucked, skinned, gutted, and skewered with iron skewers.

He lit a fire at the foot of the mage tower and put the pheasant on it to roast, with Elise and Molly helping out.

"Aren't there any spices?" Molly suddenly asked.

“Go ask those alchemists.” Eric twirled the skewer, feeling that his sword was still more convenient.

Molly got up and went inside. She came out a while later and said that the alchemists were all studying the BOSS's flesh and blood brought back from underground, as well as his pearly lump, and didn't have time to deal with it. She told her to find it herself.

"did you find it?"

"These bottles and jars must contain powder, right?"

Eric took it, opened it, and smelled it. The flavorful part was some kind of pepper-like spice, while the unsmelling parts were salt and sugar. He sprinkled some of each.

After roasting for a while longer, the pheasant meat visibly cooked under the watchful eyes of the three men, whose stomachs were already rumbling loudly.

The three men shared the two whole pheasants, leaving the remaining two for the alchemists, regardless of whether they were in the mood to eat.

"I haven't eaten this much in a long time..." Molly exclaimed. "I never thought that the most satisfying meal I've had in the past two weeks would be after I was kidnapped."

Eric, piecing together chicken bones on the ground, glanced at her and said, "You can't afford to eat anymore?"

"No, not really, but it was all black bread with water. Although I was full, well... how should I put it, I didn't feel very full," Molly said.

Elise gazed at the dying embers of the fire. "The desire to eat is satisfied, but the desire for food is not."

Molly raised an eyebrow, turned to look at her, and said, "Yes, that's it!"

Elise merely smiled slightly.

Molly looked at her and Eric for a while longer before asking, "What's your relationship? Master and servant?"

Eric shook his head, Elise said it was about the same, and the two looked at each other again.

“She’s a friend who’s been traveling with me,” Eric said.

Elise didn't speak, so Molly asked again, "Where are you going?" Eric realized something, "Are you coming with us?"

“That depends on where you’re going,” Molly said. “I’ve discovered that you can’t make a lot of money near the academy. I’m thinking of going to the border to see if there are any other options, like smuggling or something.”

“You were saying this afternoon that you were going to sneak into the college and make money off the professors and students,” Eric reminded her.

“During my time being kidnapped, I thought about it carefully, and I realized that this business is probably no longer available to me,” Molly sighed.

"You were thinking about this when you were tied up?"

"Then what else can I do?" the female mage asked in return.

Eric rolled his eyes and said after a while, "We'll stay here for two more days, then head to Tallinn, and then to the ancient battlefield."

"Ancient battlefield? What are we going there for?"

"Train yourself and improve your strength."

Molly looked at him. "I think you're pretty good. You took down that alchemist with one kick, and no one else dared to fight back."

“The problem is there are still many people who can take me down with one kick,” Eric said. “I’m just a warrior below level four right now.”

Molly excitedly denied it, "But I think Eric is already amazing!"

Elise glanced at her, then at Eric.

He moved to the side, "Just say what you have to say."

"Give me a ride," Molly said frankly. "The profits from business here at the academy are too small. I plan to go to Tallinn City to take a look, and if I have the chance, I'll go to Lutia."

"You're all alone, you can get through this by yourself."

“That’s too dangerous… I can get kidnapped even when I’m just setting up my stall at the academy gate, let alone on the road.” She looked at him with pleading eyes. “Just give me a ride for a bit, from here to Tallinn City.”

Eric continued fiddling with the chicken bones, offering no comment.

"Go ask those alchemists if they still want to eat it."

"okay."

Molly got up and went inside.

“She has her eye on you,” Elise said.

“She’s after my money.” Eric exhaled, flicked his stick, and pushed the chicken bones into the fire. “Since it’s on the way anyway, I might as well give her a ride.”

Elise didn't say anything.

When Molly returned, Eric didn't pay attention to what she said. He simply promised to take her to Tallinn and then they went their separate ways.

"Then it's settled."

After sitting for a while, it got a little late, so the three of them went to rest. Eric chose to sleep at the top of the mage tower, and Elise went with him.

There was no bed in the small room at the top of the tower, but there was a mat on the floor with some dry grass underneath, which was quite soft.

The two lay down on a mat and fell asleep one after the other. When they woke up, it was the next morning.

When Eric came down from the top of the tower, he found that the alchemists hadn't slept all night and had been busy with their research.

Ferdinand, sporting heavy dark circles under his eyes, asked Eric to stay a few more days so he could study the Heart of Life more thoroughly.

Although it was his spoils of war, it originally belonged to these alchemists. Eric thought for a moment and said, "Three days. You can keep it here for these three days. I have things to do back at the academy. I will pass by here again before I leave, and you will have to return it to me then."

Ferdinand was overjoyed and immediately agreed, then had his apprentice Fred drive the carriage to take Molly back.

Eric rode his horse with Iris in tow, following the carriage back to the vicinity of Xingyuan Academy.

The carriage dropped them off and then returned. Molly followed them on foot to the inn. "You're staying here?"

"Ah."

"I'll come here to wait for you three days from now."

Eric nodded, and Molly left first.

Upon returning to the inn, Eric and Elise each took a shower to thoroughly clean themselves. Then, Eric went out alone to check on the alchemist McKinney's progress at his residence.

His small shed was already piled high with alchemical raw materials and the finished products he needed, leaving almost no room to move. Despite working for two days, McKinney showed no signs of fatigue and was instead very excited, which made Eric realize that there were differences even among alchemists.

He brought over a jar of the finished product and showed it to Eric to see the results.

Lifting the simple seal on the pottery jar reveals a liquid that is very similar in form to mercury, and is also silvery-gray in color, only a bit duller.

"This is Gray-Veined Mithril?"

“Yes, Mr. Eric.” McGinn nodded and emphasized, “This is the Grey-Veined Mithril that only I can synthesize right now.”

Eric took a glass rod from his hand, stirred it, and looked at it for a while.

The liquid covered the glass rod, creating regular silver-gray patterns, some dark and some light.

"What are the features, or rather, the main purpose of this thing?" Eric asked.

"Although this is a new material I developed, I can't say that I fully understand it..."

That being said, McKinney's face showed more pride than anything else. "As far as I know, there are two main aspects. One is that when applied directly to already forged equipment, it can form a special protective film that provides good resistance to elemental magic; the other is that when added to other materials, it can effectively prevent certain synthetic materials from conflicting with each other..."

"Like a compatibilizer?" Eric said casually.

McKinley paused for a moment, then clapped his hands. “That’s right, to make the two materials compatible! Hmm… compatibilizer, a very fitting name.”

Eric guessed that the elven master craftsman was interested in this particular characteristic of the gray-patterned mithril.

He resealed the terracotta jar of gray-patterned mithril that he had opened, and then looked at the part that was being synthesized on the workbench.

On the table were piled many materials and tools, several different kinds of silver powder, a can of black liquid, a heating rack in the middle, and even a strangely shaped bone, with a file next to it covered in bone powder.

Eric glanced at it unconsciously for a moment, then noticed McKinsey's gaze and suddenly realized, "Sorry, I probably shouldn't pry too much into the raw materials and processes."

McKin immediately shook his head. "It's alright, Mr. Eric. I can tell you know nothing about this. It's fine if you just watch me synthesize it."

"..."

Can't you speak properly? Can't you speak properly?
Eric resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "I really don't know much about it... Well then, I won't bother you any longer. Please continue. I'll come back the day after tomorrow evening."

"No problem, Mr. Eric, it will all be finished by then."

McKinn was full of confidence, but added a reminder, "However, this thing is quite heavy, so you'd better bring a carriage."

Eric nodded and left McKinney's cabin.

He had originally planned to hire a carriage to transport the materials, but since Molly was going to Tallinn with them, he decided to just buy a carriage and use his and Elise's horses to pull it. Traveling by carriage was more comfortable than riding horses all the time.

So for the rest of the time, Eric returned to the inn and took Elise to a specialty shop to choose a carriage.

The two ultimately chose a high-class carriage equipped with a magical shock absorption device. The interior was luxurious, and there was a small storage space under the floor, making it suitable for both carrying people and goods.

The shop owner said that for a little more money, he could age the carriage to make it less conspicuous, which was especially important for Castelfel, who was saving his life on the closed doors at night.

Carrying his belongings would minimize any trouble on the road, so Eric chose to pay for peace of mind.

The exterior modifications also took some time, but they were all completed before the evening of the fifth day.

Dragging a weathered old carriage, Eric found McKinney again and received ten cans of grey-patterned mithril from him, along with a handful of leftover gold coins. The honest alchemist only charged a small fee for the materials and processing.

The earthenware jars were loaded onto the truck and arranged closely under the floor, almost completely filling the small space. Eric then asked McKinney for some colorless, odorless, and harmless alchemical waste to fill the gaps, ensuring that the jars would not collide with each other during transport.

The next morning, Molly met the two men outside the hotel, and she had brought almost nothing with her except a short staff.

"This is all the stuff I can take with me," Molly said. "I'm sure I'll get robbed along the way, so it's better to take as little as possible."

"Stop jinxing it."

Eric had her and Elise sit in the back of the car while he drove.

"Sit tight, we're about to set off."

(End of this chapter)