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

Chapter 161 Hill's Advancement, Ghouls Attack

Armitage nodded. "What about the others?"

Miller continued respectfully, "The Institute of Excellence remains the same; their focus is currently on the Dream Realm, and they have little interest in this area."

"The attitude of the Illuminati of the Temple is rather ambiguous; they seem to really hope that this thing will come to fruition."

Armitage nodded. "These ghouls are nothing. What I want to know is, who gave them the green light?"

"It would allow them to carve out a vague territory in the border region."

After a moment's thought, Miller said, "I think it's very likely related to Sap; his obsession with immortality has gone to a frenzy."

"With the destruction of the Alcott family and the loss of the Silver Key, he may very well want to use the power of this skeletal saint to gain immortality."

Armitage snorted and turned to walk into the museum.

"Idiot! You capitalists agreed to live to seventy years old back then."

After saying goodbye to Armitage, Ivan successfully bought his ticket and stood in the waiting hall waiting for the 7:30 train.

It was at this moment that he glanced at the attribute panel.

The side effects from the failed Black Sun Potion residue I took yesterday have already appeared.

You reversed the side effects of the failed Black Sun Potion residue.

[Special Trait: Black Sun Wings +1%]

"An additional 1% side effect? ​​That's great stuff."

Seeing the progress of the Black Sun Wings increase from 17.801% to 18.802%, Ivan felt a surge of satisfaction.

He then quickly took out a second piece of medicine residue from his bag, put it in his mouth, and started chewing it.

You have consumed the remnants of a failed Black Sun Potion. Effect: Permanent.

[Effect: Extraordinary Trait: Black Sun Wings +0.001%.]

Does this reverse the side effects?

"Reversal".

[Reversal progress: 20 hours.]

"Once we get home, we'll go to the tavern to buy materials and activate the Wings of the Black Sun as soon as possible."

"Side effects are minor issues; being able to fly is the most crucial thing."

The rest of the journey went quite smoothly.

It was 11 p.m. when Evan got home.

As the night deepens in Bolton, the city is shrouded in darkness and quiet once you enter the city from the train station square.

The last tram had already stopped running, and only a few gas lamps were still lit on the street, casting dim yellow halos in the cold wind.

Although he didn't have a car, Ivan's physique was strong enough that he began to run rapidly, his leather shoes making a rapid sound on the cobblestone road.

Thirty minutes later he arrived at Maverick Square and turned into the small tavern hidden in the shadow of the tall buildings.

Having visited twice, Ivan was now quite familiar with the place. After a brief greeting to the lord-level vampire, Mr. French, he walked directly into the market.

It seems that the market gets more lively as the night goes on.

There were significantly more people today than the previous two times. Various strangely dressed superhumans moved between the stalls, whispering in coded language that only they could understand.

Evan quickly identified his main ingredient: the Lumen Core.

This thing is only the size of two fingernails, with a crystal-like texture on the outside and something like firelight constantly surging inside.

It's like a miniature sun sealed inside amber.

I glanced at the price; it was $1.35, which wasn't cheap.

Fortunately, Ivan is currently well-off.

He bought four sets of materials, which cost a total of $160.

Subsequently, due to his declining physical condition, Evan purchased materials for ten more Blood Potions, totaling two hundred and fifty US dollars.

Currently, the only thing he has at hand that can directly improve his physical attributes is the Blood Elixir.

After packing the materials, Evan suddenly heard a familiar voice.

"Evan?"

He turned his head and saw Richard, wearing an old jacket with a fur collar, standing unexpectedly not far away.

Richard was carrying a cloth bag filled with bottles and jars, and his angular, square face showed a mixture of joy and surprise.

Evan walked over happily: "Senior brother! What are you doing here?"

Richard smiled and said, "Erlong has hunted down a few more demon spirits these past two days. I'm here to process the materials and buy some things to refine potions in preparation for what's to come."

"What preparations?"

Richard didn't say anything directly, but instead left the tavern with Ivan.

After stepping out the door, Ivan saw that Richard was wearing a thick coat and a sheepskin hat that looked quite warm.

After everything was ready, he stepped out of the door and then spoke in a low voice.

"Hill has completed the deciphering of the cipher. Her third extraordinary ability is now in its final stage. She should be able to become an expert in three or four days."

"Now that I'm the only one among us who's relatively free, the responsibility of protecting Hill falls on my shoulders."

"Although the hurdle to becoming an expert isn't particularly difficult, and there's only a twelve-hour period of spiritual upheaval afterward, shouldn't we still be fully prepared?"

Ivan nodded vigorously: "Of course! By the way, senior brother, I've had some free time these past few days. Do you need me to come over and help?"

Richard waved his hand: "You have a lot on your plate too. I can handle this little thing myself."

Just then, a gust of cold wind blew by, and Richard quickly wrapped his coat tighter and put his hands in his pockets: "It's getting colder and colder."

Ivan didn't seem to think much of it and simply echoed the sentiment.

Richard turned his head and said, "Evan, Christmas is just over twenty days away. What are your plans for this year?"

Ivan couldn't help but sigh.

Last year, the three of us were all together, but this Christmas I'm all alone.

"I don't know yet, it's really hard to get through this kind of holiday alone."

Richard put his arm around Evan's shoulder and said with a smile, "What's so hard about it? We'll go to David's for Christmas this year."

"We've been discussing this for the past few days and we're planning to renovate David's house, buy a Christmas tree, and some wine and meat."

"How about we all get together and have some fun?

Ivan's eyes lit up instantly: "No problem!"

Richard laughed heartily: "Just you wait! I'll let you taste my secret barbecue recipe then."

After chatting for a while, the two parted ways.

When Evan jogged back to Guding Street, it was almost 1 a.m.

Turn on the kerosene lamp, and its dim light barely illuminated the living room.

He went into the kitchen, cleaned the crucible, lit the stove, and began brewing today's potion.

Thanks to the strong resonance between the crucible and itself, the entire cooking process went quite smoothly.

However, the Black Sun Potion is much more complex than other potions.

Previously, Energy Potions and Purification Potions only required three prompts, but this one requires twelve.

Each time was quite rushed, and the intervals between them varied.

Sometimes you need to speed up the shaking a few times, and the next prompt will be to slow down the shaking a few times.

There was even a time when the heat had to be turned off and the food left to stand before it could be boiled a second time.

Fortunately, Ivan now possesses strong mental strength and physical constitution, and his reaction speed is quite fast.

"It's so much better to make your own crucible with your own flesh and blood! Others brew medicine by feel, but I have a prompt bar."

Fifteen minutes later, a thick, asphalt-like unfinished Black Sun Potion was successfully brewed.

Ivan put the thing in his mouth, chewed it twice, and swallowed it.

It seems that because the potion was not finished, even the fast-acting version without the buffer did not produce any illusions.

[You have consumed a fast-acting, unfinished version of the Black Sun Potion. Effect: Permanent.]

[Effect: Extraordinary Trait: Black Sun Wings +3%.]

Does this reverse the side effects?

"Reversal".

[Reversal progress: 30 hours.]

"As expected, because it wasn't completed, the time required for the reversal was significantly reduced."

Then, as he watched the progress of the Black Sun Wings reach 21%, Ivan's heart began to race.

"Great! Five days! We can easily break through 30% in five days."

Next, he finished refining the remaining Black Sun Potion ingredients and ten portions of Blood Potion, and then drank a bottle of Blood Potion directly.

[You have consumed a fast-acting Blood Potion. Effects last: 12 hours.]

[Effect: While the drug's effects are ongoing, it greatly increases your desire to exercise and anabolic activity. Permanently increases your constitution by 0.1.]

]

Does this reverse the side effects?

"Reversal".

[Reversal progress: 4 hours.]

"As my physical condition improves, the side effects of these basic potions are starting to be halved."

"The fast-acting version and the previous normal version have the same value."

"It can increase constitution by 0.1 every twelve hours, and the reversal effect can also improve self-healing ability by 2% and blood quality by 2%."

"If you drink two bottles a day, your body will quickly recover from the damage."

"But—a potion costing fifty dollars a day—what family can afford that?!"

"It's too much of a loss to make your own potions."

Thinking of this, Ivan cried out, "Pulse! Come back! I missed you!"

The next few days passed quite smoothly and peacefully for Evan.

He heeded Dr. Armitage's advice and did not intervene excessively.

My days consist of attending classes, taking medication, and going to the hospital to help with lab hours.

After entering the stage of taking medication regularly, Evan would carry all his medications with him every day, and immediately put them in his mouth to continue the medication regimen when the time came.

While Evan was busy, Hill was also busy.

The inner reading room of the Bolton City Public Library was pitch black.

Hill was reading a thick book quickly.

Her golden vertical pupils flashed with numerous cipher symbols, as if countless pieces of information were flowing across her irises.

As she continued to read and understand these coded messages, an invisible wind caused her long silver hair to flutter on its own.

There was no source of airflow, but the strands of hair were swaying gently.

At the same time, phantom images flickered around Hill, and then it was clear that her aura was rapidly increasing.

Although there was no change in his body, his soul seemed to have grown much stronger.

Not far behind Hill, Richard, in his Demon Hunter form, cautiously surveyed his surroundings.

Each successful breakthrough in rank after becoming an apprentice is accompanied by a relatively short period of weakness.

The reason is that during the advancement, one's spirituality will enter a period of fluctuation due to the sudden increase.

Like an insect that has just molted, its new exoskeleton is soft all over.

It needs time to stabilize.

After Hill became an expert, this time was twelve hours.

Once you get through these twelve hours, there's no real danger.

At this moment, as Hill's aura grew stronger, she kept muttering a strange cryptic script.

Richard couldn't understand a word, but the syllables gave off a powerful and oppressive feeling, as if some ancient force was being awakened.

The time lasted for about five minutes.

call!

With an invisible breeze, Hill's constantly flowing hair suddenly fell down.

His body, which had just been tense, suddenly felt weak and slumped against the chair next to him.

At this moment, her pupils were somewhat unfocused, her forehead was covered in sweat, and her body was trembling uncontrollably.

Although he looked disheveled, you could clearly tell from his overall demeanor that he had taken a step forward.

"Richard, I did it!" Hill's voice trembled slightly.

Richard breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good, next—"

call!

Halfway through his sentence, Richard's demon hunter instincts kicked in, and he instinctively turned around and threw a punch.

boom!

With a dull thud like hitting a metal plate, a heavy figure was sent flying backward, smashing tables and chairs not far away.

Hill looked up quickly.

A dozen or so humanoid figures with brass-colored skin and expressionless faces, like puppets, appeared out of nowhere in the darkness.

They stood motionless in the shadows between the bookshelves, like a group of machines awaiting instructions.

Among these puppets stood two people.

One was relatively thin, the other was very strong.

The two men were dressed in sharp three-piece suits, and their every move exuded an air of wealth.

The thin one had a smile on his face, like a gentleman attending a banquet.

The robust one had bloodshot eyes and was breathing heavily, like a wild beast about to descend into madness.

Richard had already taken out a bottle of potion with one hand and asked in a deep voice.

"Who are you?"

The slender young man leading the group smiled elegantly: "You can call me Martin, and this is my comrade, Chariot."

"Our purpose today is simple: I hope to gain access to the knowledge within this woman's mind."

He then grinned, revealing jagged fangs inside.

"And all the blood in their bodies."

Glug!

As he spoke, Richard had already smoothly and swiftly drunk the potion in his hand.

As the potion entered his throat, his skin gradually turned red.

His breathing gradually quickened, and a layer of dark red dragon scales gradually covered his face, fists, and arms.

His entire body swelled up, resembling a humanoid Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Intermediate potion: Dragon Blood Potion.

Martin smiled slightly and said, "Since you still wish to resist—"

He waved.

Then a distorted howl was heard.

In an instant, the burly man next to him, named Chariot, had his clothes torn apart, and his entire body began to rapidly swell outwards.

In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a terrifying humanoid monster with a body length exceeding three and a half meters and a shoulder height exceeding two meters.

His skin was purplish-black, and his entire body was covered with numerous ulcers.

It has a pair of bony horns on its head, an enormous lower jaw, and the connection between its sides and upper jaw is only supported by five or six fascia strands.

Its gaping mouth, which could not be closed at all, was filled with hideous fangs.

"A giant ghoul?" Richard's eyes narrowed sharply at the sight.

Giant Ghoul, a high-level unit within the ghoul race.

It requires eleven points of spiritual vision to see; it has low intelligence but possesses unparalleled terrifying power, and is extremely aggressive and destructive.