Making Antidote Potions

In the center of Ashur City.

Within a luxurious mansion owned by the Royal Family, King Abayomi had just returned after attending an auction.

He walked with a joyful heart. Not only had his plans gone smoothly, but he also obtained something surprising at the auction.

The blood of a Lesser Earth Dragon.

Although its purity was low, it was still dragon blood. Creatures believed to be the strongest races in Kastia.

Dragons were extremely rare, especially in Abyss, where they were almost never seen. So, when he saw dragon blood being auctioned, Asmodeus couldn't pass up the opportunity.

That blood could be used to concoct a new, more lethal poison or to create other potions that had only existed in his imagination.

'I can't wait to begin processing this blood. What a delightful surprise!'

Asmodeus, who had already entered his residence, instructed his subordinates to quickly find several women to warm his bed. But just as he gave the order, a guard rushed in.

The guard reported something terrifying happening in the southern part of the city.

Asmodeus felt somewhat annoyed, but seeing the panic on the guard's face, he, who was prepared to enjoy a warm evening, had to go back out and see what was happening.

A large, red-colored magic circle floated in the sky above the southern part of Ashur, leaving Asmodeus slightly stunned.

People nearby panicked, assuming that there was an act of terrorism taking place.

Asmodeus himself, after being momentarily stunned, carefully examined the magic circle.

The magic circle bore inscriptions he couldn't decipher, preventing him from identifying the type of magic present in the sky.

Asmodeus could only sense the power emanating from it. Despite its distance, he could still feel the immense magnitude of the magic's radiance.

"Rank 10... a mysterious magic. Who could be the one casting it?"

Instantly, Asmodeus remembered the figure in the hooded robe he encountered at the auction. The person exuded an aura that sent shivers down his spine.

"Could this be the work of the hooded figure?"

Asmodeus believed that he had sent someone to investigate the mysterious individual.

If the magic was indeed performed by the hooded figure, it meant that a battle was currently unfolding between the enigmatic person and his subordinates.

"Hmm, I knew it. This person is dangerous. Should I personally eliminate him?"

No. Asmodeus shook his head.

It wasn't time yet to reveal his true identity. King Abayomi possessed only Rank 10 power, equivalent to the magic produced by the mysterious individual.

Asmodeus couldn't win if he had to suppress his strength to avoid suspicion.

'Let's assess the situation first.'

That's what Asmodeus thought. But just a few minutes later. The magic circle in the sky vanished without exerting its power.

The people around Asmodeus appeared relieved, but they were then puzzled by the event.

What had truly happened?

"A threat."

Asmodeus said briefly while shrugging both shoulders. He was somewhat disappointed not to see the extent of that spell.

"A threat? To whom?" Asked one guard.

"Whoever wants to catch him."

Asmodeus replied curtly, immediately ordering the people to resume their search for women who will warm his bed.

He would think about the mysterious person's threat tomorrow after receiving the report from his subordinates, who were sent to investigate.

***

Elsewhere, Cien, who had escaped from the clutches of the royal family's soldiers, was now moving quickly eastward towards Niles' location.

He wanted to warn the Old Man about the current situation and also see the spring owned by this Old Man.

About half an hour later, when the day had already turned into late night, Cien saw the workers of Niles' company still busy loading goods into the caravan from the rooftop of a house.

Cien jumped down and approached them, instructing the worker who seemed to be the leader to inform Niles of his arrival.

Cien knew that he was being impolite by disturbing someone's rest, but the current situation was urgent.

It didn't take long for the person he wanted to meet to approach.

It turned out that Niles hadn't slept at all, as he was busy preparing for his journey the next morning.

Following behind Niles was Cherry, who, upon hearing Cien's arrival, immediately opened her eyes from her deep sleep.

"Hohoho, Little C, what brings you here at this late hour? Didn't you say you would meet us in the morning?"

"The situation has changed, Old Man."

"Changed?"

Cien nodded, wanting to continue, but a girl suddenly hugged him.

"Hehehe, Grand Master..."

"Are you satisfied now?"

"Hm!"

The woman, Cherry, released her embrace.

Cien noticed the joyful expression on her face, and he immediately saw the effects that made her face radiate with some beauty effects. Something within him instantly stirred.

Feeling the change, Cien became irritated. He gripped Cherry's face, covering her face and ending her smile.

"Akkk! It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts!"

Cien released his grip, then turned to Niles.

Cherry wanted to protest against Cien's actions, but before she could, Cien's hand would always grip her face, keeping her at a distance from him.

"What are you doing, Little C?"

"Sigh, it's troublesome. Let me explain..."

Cien proceeded to tell them about Asmodeus, the King of Mandora, and the poison that had affected him. Of course, Cien also mentioned that the poison came from the spring in Ashur.

This prompted Cien to instruct Niles to check the water.

Just like Duke Bahman, Niles always kept his water in a water tower and refilled it once a month. Because of this, the poison from the spring water had not been consumed by him.

However, for his long journey to Death Valley, Niles had to take water from his own spring, which was also stored in one of the caravans.

Cien went to the caravan and checked the water with his cellphone.

Sure enough, the water had been contaminated with Lusting poison.

The workers were skeptical of Cien's words. But Niles didn't suspect anything at all. He even instructed his people to drink the water if they wanted to see evidence.

Foolishly, one person did it. He drank two glasses of water to make sure.

As a result, a few minutes later, when he saw Cherry's face there, he felt an instant heat in his body. His eyes turned red, with a predator-like gaze.

Fortunately, the dose of poison was still small. He was still able to control himself and went to the bathroom to do some personal exercises.

Seeing that incident, who wouldn't believe it? They even felt a sense of horror if they were to carry that water on their journey.

They felt relieved. But not Niles, who immediately understood the significant impact of the water.

"What will happen to Mandora?"

Cien shook his head, he himself didn't know.

But Cien strongly advised Niles to leave as soon as possible. If the Old Man wanted his family to be safe, it was better to leave Ashur temporarily and assess the situation from the outside.

Niles didn't want to leave his homeland when a crisis was happening. But he also couldn't let his daughter-in-law and grandchild be in danger.

Niles felt stressed, but in the end, he had to proceed with his plan.

He must go to Death Valley, where he would secure his family at Cien's place before returning to Mandora.

Cien was relieved to hear this. Then he inquired about the ingredients for the Lusting antidote. Luckily, Niles had them, and there was enough to make around twenty antidotes.

Cien wanted to buy the ingredients, but Niles gave them to him for free on the condition that Cien would provide him with ten antidote potions.

Cien accepted and immediately began his preparations.

Cherry wanted to help, but Cien had to refuse her. Her presence would only distract his concentration.

There were many ways to make potions using alchemy. This time, Cien would follow the recipe on his phone, which was slightly different from what he knew.

Cien asked for a large pot to mix the ingredients.

On the surface of the pot, Cien started drawing symbols, letters, and small magic circles whose meanings were unknown to him.

He simply followed the instructions. The drawings were made using his own blood, flowing through the surface of the pot.

After decorating the pot with various strange symbols, Cien drew a large magic circle on the ground. Just like before, he had no idea what the purpose of this circle was.

This time, the drawing was made with chalk.

Once it was complete, Cien placed the pot at the center of the large circle and started activating the magic circle beneath his feet.

The magic circle shines. The symbols on the pot began to glow, emitting a beautiful light into the sky.

Cien stared blankly at it and said, "Whoaa, it's too dazzling!"

He knew it would pique the curiosity of those around him. So Cien promptly started adding each ingredient into the pot and stirred them according to the instructions.

About two hours later, after all the ingredients had been mixed, Cien stepped out of the circle and began reciting a strange spell.

He dropped a little of his blood onto the magic circle, which then lit up brightly.

Seconds later, the light disappeared. Cien approached the pot and found that its contents were filled with blue liquid.

The people who had been watching were impressed by Cien's performance.

Niles approached, patting him on the shoulder and said, "Little C, is this really alchemy?"

Cien chuckled dryly, "I'm not entirely sure myself."

Cien then took a dose of the antidote potion and drank it.

He waited for a moment until he could feel the potion starting to take effect in his body, then turned to Cherry's face.

"Ohh, your face is not as enchanting as before. Sigh, I feel better. Thank goodness..."

"..."

Cherry speechless, 'Am I ugly?'

After confirming its effect, Niles immediately instructed his people to pack the antidote into small tubes.

Then he took ten antidotes, eight for Cien, and one for the foolish person who had drunk the poisonous water earlier.

"Little C, thank you for this."

"I should be the one thanking you. Without the materials, I would have struggled."

"Hahaha," Niles laughed and then fell silent, "This potion could be a lifesaver."

Cien nodded, "I've given the recipe to Halima. She will contact an alchemist to make it, of course, using the normal alchemical process. Not like earlier, which seemed like some sort of ritual. But the problem is..."

"We're running short on Calming Moongrass," Niles continued.

Cien nodded in agreement.

Whether they liked it or not, they had to buy the Calming Moongrass from the other kingdom.

The problem was, if the merchants were already affected by the poison, they wouldn't be able to leave the kingdom.

It would be even more problematic if King Mandora or Asmodeus found out about the antidote and prohibited the circulation of such materials with his influence.

This situation made Cien think that the situation in Mandora would remain critical if Asmodeus' presence wasn't solved.

But who was capable of fighting this monstrous demon?

Prince Hanibal?

Halima said that the Royal Family may know how to contact him. But, with the influence of Asmodeus already reaching the palace, will he let the Royal Family contact Prince Hanibal? The answer must be no.

So right now, no one knows how to reach him.

No one except one.

Cherry said to Cien with a wide smile, "Grand Master, use the power of C-Owl!"