I'm a proper student; I only take nine kinds of potions every day.

Chapter 160 Advanced Potions: Refining Sword Oil with Poisonous Blood!?

As Ivan marveled, Armitage, sitting opposite him, explained, "Richard fully absorbed all three characteristics over seven years."

"Hill's situation is special, but it has been three years since then."

"That little Alcott you fought before has also been digesting his past for four years."

At this point, the old gentleman took a sip of tea and emphasized something.

"Of course, what I just mentioned are the common extraordinary characteristics. The talent deficiencies of each profession cannot be compensated for."

"Take the most classic example, the Bloodthirsty race."

"They can never make up for the lack of solar affinity, because their power comes from the moon, and gaining solar affinity will make them hated by the moon."

"The price of being hated by the moon is the rapid weakening of one's professional strength."

Ivan quickly memorized this valuable knowledge and sighed.

"Ugh! I should have known better than to be in such a hurry."

Armitage laughed: "Given your personality, even if I had known all along that you would end up like this, I would have suspected you would eventually."

"Moreover, your situation is quite mysterious, and even I don't know the actual situation."

"Both Richard and Hill have written to me, asking if I want to tell you these things in advance."

"I have made my refusal clear."

Armitage's expression turned serious at this point.

"Because others have time, but you don't!"

"People are most fearless when they are ignorant, and you are a good prospect."

"I don't want you to become hesitant and timid when you should be most energetic, and miss the best opportunity."

"But now it seems that my decision was quite correct."

"It's clear that the side effects you're experiencing aren't very noticeable right now, which means you've been making excellent use of your talents during this period."

Evan took a deep breath, grinned, and said, "Thank you for your concern, Doctor."

""

"I'm in great shape right now, all that's missing is having a powerful sword in my hand!"

After listening to Ivan's exclamation, Armitage nodded in satisfaction and then asked.

"How's your potion-making training going? Is Dr. Forem's teaching going well?"

Evan nodded and quickly recounted the potion knowledge he had recently learned, stating that he was now proficient in crafting purification potions and energy potions.

Armitage nodded in satisfaction: "The progress is quite significant, faster than I expected, but at this stage it's still some basic applications."

"Since you have some time today, let me tell you about some advanced things!"

Ivan immediately sat up straight, his face full of longing: "My brain is already starving."

Armitage laughed, took off his reading glasses, wiped them a couple of times, put them back on, and cleared his throat.

The kind old man just moments ago instantly transformed into a serious-looking old scholar.

"As an important part of the entire extraordinary system, taking the potion after it is made is only one of its applications."

""

"Another important application of potions is for holding rituals and various sacrificial activities."

Ivan asked curiously, "So, potions can be used as sacrifices?"

Armitage stood up, put his hands behind his back, and spoke as he walked.

"Yes, different professions have different gods they worship on their respective paths."

"These deities encompass almost all the extraordinary characteristics of the entire professional path."

He paused for a moment and added, "Of course, this only applies to the fifteen professions listed below the five main icons."

Ivan sighed: "I know, Doctor, I know—"

Armitage patted Ivan on the shoulder and said, "Don't be too discouraged. Just like your ancestors were able to expand the witch's power level from the original three stages to the fifth stage."

"I also believe that you can further expand the potential of the Witcher. Master is definitely not your limit."

Evan grinned and said, "Doctor, you have a good eye for people! I do have the same idea in mind."

Seeing that Ivan remained cheerful and confident, Armitage nodded in relief and continued.

"Different gods have different preferences. To please the gods and receive special guidance and omens, one naturally needs some heavy offerings."

"But many offerings were not easy to obtain, so over the long years, people discovered that they could use some potions to replace them."

He picked up a piece of chalk and drew a few lines on the blackboard on the wall.

"Although it is still impossible to be completely certain what these offerings mean to those gods."

"But what is certain is that the gods do have their own preferences."

, 7

"And one of the preferences that can now be identified is seeing one's power being praised and amplified."

Armitage made a dot with his chalk on the blackboard.

"And potions are the best medium!"

"When performing sacrifices to the sun, some high-grade solar system potions are placed."

"When performing sacrifices to the moon, some high-grade moon-related magical potions are placed."

"In this way, the gods can experience the worship and expansion of their believers' power through these potions."

"In this way, better omens and guidance can be given during this ceremony or sacrifice."

Ivan stroked his chin and quickly summarized: "Simply put, these gods also like their followers to exaggerate and package their power, and potions are a combination of exaggeration and packaging?"

Armitage nodded: "Yes, that's one way to understand it."

"Of course, the potion is only part of the entire ritual; another important part is your own affinity."

"The stronger your affinity with the object of your sacrifice, the better the guidance and omens you will receive; conversely, the weaker your affinity, the worse the guidance and omens you will receive, and you may even be punished by the gods."

Ivan nodded knowingly and quickly memorized these points.

Looking down at his panel, where his Sun Affinity had now exceeded 150, he couldn't help but smile.

Armitage was used to this guy always inexplicably bursting into laughter.

Ignoring this, he continued, "Besides the effects of the potion after it's made, the method of making it also has many other applications."

"Because the method of making potions is essentially a part of alchemy, and different schools of alchemy share some common characteristics."

"Using these same properties and refining techniques, in addition to refining potions, you can also refine some ointments with special effects."

Ivan's eyes lit up: "Not only can you make medicine for internal use, but you can also make medicine for external application?"

Armitage listened to Ivan's whimsical analogy, nodding and laughing.

"You could also understand it that way; these ointments and oils usually have many special uses."

"For example, it can quickly heal external injuries, and it can mask one's own odor."

Evan immediately recalled how, after Richard was injured, he had absorbed the toxins from Richard's wound and applied a kind of ointment to it, which quickly healed the wound.

"I see! It can even be made into this kind of portable good stuff."

Armitage nodded and continued, "The applications are not limited to these. In addition to the two mentioned above, it can also be used to make some monster ointment and monster bait."

"The former, when applied to the body, allows one to blend into a group of monsters without being attacked or targeted."

"The latter can attract specific monsters over a wide area, thereby quickly finding the target you want to hunt."

These things have a wide range of uses and consume a lot of resources.

"After all, these are essential basic consumables for any superhuman who wants to enter the Dream Realm for hunting and adventure."

Ivan became excited: "Doctor, is the process of making these ointments basically the same as making potions?"

"Is it also necessary to have a copper crucible that you can connect with, into which you put the ingredients and boil them?"

Armitage nodded: "Yes, the steps are basically the same, and you also need to expend your own spirituality for guidance."

"However, since this thing does not involve animalistic instincts and is generally just a material, even if the refining fails, it will not have any serious impact."

"The materials used to make these ointments are also more expensive than those used to make potions."

"Because the core of a potion is animality, it can replace the effects of many conventional substances, while these ointments and oils depend entirely on the quality of the core ingredients."

"For example, with Ghoul Oil, the more ghouls in your core ingredients and the higher their level, the better the final product will be."

After listening, Ivan nodded, and then a sudden inspiration struck his otherwise erratic thoughts.

"Doctor! Can I add enough poison and then make it into an ointment?"

"If we apply these ointments to swords, will we be able to poison ordinary longswords, thus making them more effective at attacking?"

Armitage rubbed his forehead and shook his head helplessly.

"How could you, you brat, end up turning almost all your knowledge into combat? And from such a cunning and insidious angle no less?"

Ivan didn't seem to care at all, still sporting a sunny smile: "After all, I've been fighting my way through lately."

"Since there are so many enemies, the highest priority is obviously to kill them as quickly as possible!"

Armitage sighed, "Alright, you brat!"

"That idea is indeed correct, but conventional poisons will not have any significant effect on superhumans or those monsters."

"Although the potion is also highly poisonous, its essence is bestiality. However, bestiality is not stable and can easily dissipate on its own if proper protection is not taken."

Even if they succeed, the other party might not get poisoned; it could be the enhancement effect of a magic potion.

"As for the toxins in the bodies of those monsters, these toxins themselves possess extraordinary properties."

"Once it leaves the monster's body, the terrifying poison will dissipate very quickly."

Evan recalled what Dr. Forem had mentioned when they talked about crucibles.

The church's copper-like properties mean that a body transformed into copper will revert to a flesh-and-blood body half an hour after being separated from the human body due to the dissipation of its spiritual essence.

Armitage continued, "And you also need to pay attention to the condition of these ointments."

"The physical abilities of superhumans are generally exceptional, even terrifying, and the weapons they wield can generate extremely high speeds when swung."

"The regular paste-like substance would be flung away due to the enormous acceleration, and only a very small portion might be lucky enough to enter the opponent's wound at the moment of impact."

"But this kind of completely unstable damage is disproportionate to the large amount of money you pay."

After listening, Ivan nodded. The situation was indeed serious, but at this moment, his thoughts were growing stronger.

"If I were to use my blood as the core to concoct a highly poisonous ointment and apply it to a sword—wouldn't that be a poisoned sword?"

"As for the issue of the weapon during the swinging process—"

"I can do something with the sword, design some grooves, and stuff the ointment into the grooves."

"The interior can even be hollowed out, so that after the ointment is poured in, it's not chopped up but directly shoved in."

"After it's inserted, the ointment hidden inside the blade is squeezed out through the holes on both sides via a mechanism in the hilt."

Thinking of this, Ivan's eyes lit up: "If that's the case, the subsequent Witcher's lethality will increase significantly."

"Since many monsters and professionals have quite good self-healing abilities, they generally don't bother to dodge physical attacks."

"A single, decisive blow can be delivered during this process."

"And since it has already been refined into an ointment, no one would have guessed that the core ingredient of this thing is my blood."

95

Armitage stood aside, watching the gleam constantly flashing in Ivan's eyes, and sighed inwardly.

"Hey! I told you last time that it's good to be cheerful for investigators, but isn't this kid a little too cheerful?"

Armitage then explained to Ivan the detailed refining process of the ointment and the precautions to take.

After completing the relevant teaching, it was already 6 p.m.

Armitage, all smiles, led Ivan to a restaurant for a big meal. Since Ivan had eaten quite a lot the previous few days, he only ate a small amount, about a dollar's worth.

But looking at the stacks of plates and bowls in front of him, Armitage sighed.

"This young man!"

After dinner, Ivan and Armitage said goodbye.

The old man smiled and said, "I'll transfer the money directly to you after I deal with this extraordinary property. If you encounter any problems that you can't solve, remember to come and let me know."

Ivan nodded seriously: "You should also take care of yourself, Doctor."

As Evan strode toward the tram stop, Armitage's eyes gleamed behind his reading glasses.

At this moment, his assistant Miller respectfully came over and draped a cashmere coat over the old man's shoulders.

Miller looked to be in his thirties and was dressed in a well-behaved student outfit.

A white shirt, a gray vest, trousers, and leather shoes; his face was ordinary, but his eyes were sharp.

"Teacher, we've basically figured it out here. The group causing trouble in Bolton City is a cult called the Bone Revivalists."

"These guys have been parasitizing human society for years, and they long to completely escape the Dream Realm and build their own country on Earth."

"This is a relatively extreme organization, a rather radical faction within the entire ghoul community."

Armitage nodded: "What are the other factions' thoughts?"

Miller said respectfully, "The Healing Church's goal is simple: they have already completed their plans and intend to completely wipe out this wave of ghouls."

"The Holy Sword Execution Team has been dispatched."