Chapter 2371 Water of Forging <TOC> Chapter 2373 Soul Armor
Translator: SumTLMan
Thawing, unsealing, and administering medicine were all done in one smooth motion.
After completing all these tasks, Renko’s condition seemed to have improved somewhat; his lips, no longer turning blue, gradually regained some of their rosiness.
Nausica, observing Renko’s noticeable improvement, asked Angel, “Is he better now?”
“Far from it,” Angel replied, glancing back at Renko, who was still unconscious. “The Water of Forging only activated his potential, not directly detoxifying him. Right now, he’s in the process of being transformed by the Water of Forging. It won’t be long before he wakes up, and that’s when the real detoxification will begin… However, whether he can withstand it is another matter.”
Hearing Angel’s explanation, Nausica and the other doctors around breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as Renko still had a chance to live, that was good news.
After administering the medicine to Renko, Angel also took the opportunity to slightly repair Barlow’s fractured skull, then turned to Nausica, “Let’s find a place to talk.”
Nausica nodded in agreement.
“Esteemed lord, do you need a quiet room? The pharmacy next door has been soundproofed to a certain extent, and there’s also a rest area inside,” a doctor volunteered, stepping forward with a suggestion.
Angel was indifferent to where they talked, and seeing this, Nausica gently nodded to the doctor who had stepped forward.
Since the pharmacy was just next door and Little Flea had been there before, he volunteered to lead the way, guiding Angel and the others to the pharmacy.
The pharmacy was somewhat larger than the medical room, filled with various iron medical instruments that appeared quite new, judging by their specifications.
Some of the purification and separation equipment clearly reflected the style of recent mechanical reforms.
Nausica, having been a pirate captain, had seen her fair share of pharmacies, but this was her first time encountering one with such a modern style, prompting her to take a few extra glances unconsciously.
Catching Nausica’s gaze, Little Flea said, “The pharmacy on the Moonlight Toucan is much larger and more advanced than the one on the Broken Blood. I was also taken aback when I saw it for the first time yesterday.”
Nausica replied, “After all, the Broken Blood is just a pirate ship focused on plundering, while the Moonlight Toucan is a merchant ship that regularly travels between continents.”
Little Flea nodded in agreement, “Yes, the difference between pirates and legitimate merchant ships is significant. The Broken Blood didn’t have a pharmacy at all, just a medical room, and many of the instruments in it were quite old. Later, at my suggestion… the captain found an island and had a blacksmith make some modern medical instruments. But even so, those were just rough prototypes, incomparable to the precise and meticulous instruments here.”
Looking at the nearly new medical instruments in the room, Little Flea’s eyes were filled with longing, “Many of these instruments are unfamiliar to me; I don’t know how many generations they’ve been through. I’m still using the first-generation models from Akesacresia; the gap is really huge.”
After expressing his admiration, Little Flea suddenly realized he might have spoken too much, especially in front of two extraordinary individuals.
Embarrassed, he coughed twice and said, “Excuse me, esteemed ones, I shall take my leave now.”
With those words, Little Flea hurriedly made his way back.
As Little Flea passed by Angel, Angel suddenly spoke up, “You mentioned Akesacresia just now.”
Little Flea stopped in his tracks, looking somewhat puzzled, and nodded, “Yes, lord.”
Angel asked, “Have you ever heard of the Serpent Kingdom?”
Repeating with confusion, Little Flea said, “The Serpent Kingdom? What is that?”
Angel fell silent for a moment, not offering an explanation but instead asked, “Where did you hear about Akesacresia, and what do you know about it?”
Little Flea replied, “My teacher told me about it. My teacher said that Akesacresia was the origin of modern medicine, a sacred place for physicians capable of performing miracles. That’s all I know.”
“And how did your teacher come to know of Akesacresia?”
After a moment of thought, Little Flea said, “I don’t know, but the medical texts we used in my studies were published in Akesacresia.”
Akesacresia published medical texts? Angel showed interest and asked, “Where are those texts now? And where is your teacher?”
Little Flea answered, “My teacher passed away when I was fourteen. As for the medical texts, my teacher cherished them greatly. So, when my teacher was buried, I buried the texts with him.”
Angel nodded slightly, choosing not to continue the conversation further.
After Little Flea had left the pharmacy, Nisi, who had taken a seat on a nearby sofa, asked, “Are you particularly interested in Akesacresia?”
“A bit,” Angel nodded.
“Because of Totoro?” Nisi didn’t know that Angel had been to Akesacresia, but he had heard of this serpent kingdom long ago, which once housed the Laudsourcians. After the fall of Akesacresia, the Laudsourcians vanished completely, only to reappear thousands of years later in the form of Totoro. Thus, seeing Angel’s interest in Akesacresia, Nisi immediately guessed it had something to do with Totoro.
“Indeed, it has something to do with Totoro,” Angel silently added in his mind: but not entirely.
Nisi chose not to say anything more, but Nausica, curious, asked, “What is Akesacresia?”
“A country from the Fairytale World, but it disappeared a thousand years ago,” Nisi explained offhandedly, “I remember it was replaced by some king’s court.”
“The Whiskas Royal Court,” Angel added, “I’ve seen some ruins of Akesacresia. Indeed, many medical instruments were found there, and from their design, they differ from ancient medicine, likely marking the origin of modern medical practices. However, as the medical knowledge spread, fewer and fewer people knew of Akesacresia.”
Nausica asked, “And Totoro…”
Angel concluded, “I encountered Totoro in the ruins of Akesacresia.”
He chose not to mention the matter of the Laudsourcians, as it involved some secrets.
Nausica seemed to have an epiphany, nodding her head. Instead of continuing to inquire about the matters of Akesacresia, she changed the topic and asked about the Water of Forging.
“What exactly is the Water of Forging?”
“It’s a type of potion that activates potential, using the human body’s own potential to combat internal harm. Toxins, for instance, are the kind of thing it can fight against,” Angel explained.
Nisi added, “I remember the Water of Forging is a traditional potion of the Valiant School, quite ancient and with significant side effects. It’s almost fallen out of use in the world today.”
“Side effects?” Nausica asked.
“Didn’t Angel just mention it? The process is extremely painful. Pain so intense it feels like one would rather be dead,” Nisi chuckled. “The reason it’s called the Water of Forging is that it forges a person’s potential, hammering it out like forging metal. Each strike in the forging process could potentially cause physical and mental breakdown.”
“Besides, there’s another major side effect, which is the high likelihood of completely exhausting the body’s potential. It could lower the ceiling of how strong one could have become.”
“That’s also why the Water of Forging has gradually fallen out of the mainstream, replaced by other potions,” Nisi said, unable to resist glancing back at Angel. “When I saw you take out the Water of Forging, I was quite startled. It’s something you can’t just buy nowadays, and you have it ready at hand?”
“I learned about the Water of Forging when I was studying potion-making with Potion Master Midora, who used it as an example of the Valiant School’s methods,” Angel replied indifferently.
“I see,” Nisi didn’t press further, understanding that carrying any potion was Angel’s prerogative, his comment being more of an offhand remark.
After hearing about the Water of Forging, Nausica frowned deeply. “Given such severe side effects, why offer it as an option to Renko?”
Angel was about to explain, but Nisi interjected, “It’s definitely because the Water of Forging has additional benefits.”
“Think about it. If Renko chose direct recovery, a second level magic like Toxin Clearing Spell or a third level magic like Stubborn Poison Expulsion could solve most of it. Then, with a Healing Spell, Renko would be almost fully recovered.”
That is to say, if Renko chose the first option, a simple wave of the hand could cure him, without the need for any potion.
Since a potion was used, even if the Water of Forging had been phased out of the mainstream, it remains an extraordinary potion almost inaccessible to ordinary people. Moreover, this potion was personally concocted by Angel, who, as a member of the Research Institute, signifies that it’s not cheap.
Angel offering this choice indicates there are significant benefits involved.
“What are these additional benefits?” Nausica asked.
Nisi replied, “As I mentioned earlier, with every ‘strike’ of the Water of Forging, there’s a chance to enhance the body’s resilience and mental fortitude… You get what I mean, right?”
Being a wizard apprentice, Nausica had a broad range of knowledge. With Nisi explaining to this extent, how could she not understand?
In normal circumstances, Renko’s treatment was aimed at the physical body, and the spirit was not supposed to be under any threat.
However, Nisi specifically mentioned that the spirit could also be affected, indicating that the Water of Forging reshapes not only the damaged physical body but also “forges” the spirit.
With each brutal blow, as potential is infinitely developed and activated, the originally impregnable mental power is very likely to begin fluctuating.
As long as one perseveres, there is a great chance for an increase in mental power values.
Nisi had previously stated explicitly—— “Renko’s soul power is stronger than that of ordinary people, and after his death, he should be able to condense a soul body. However, in terms of mental power values, it probably hasn’t reached the standard of a talented individual, but it should be very close.”
This suggests that Renko’s mental power values are likely close to 10, perhaps around 8 or 9 points.
If Renko makes it through, reaching a mental power of 10 points, it means he would become a talented individual.
This is to say, Angel has given Renko a chance to step into the extraordinary world.
Even if the Water of Forging exhausts the physical body’s potential, exchanging it for the status of a talented individual is already a huge gain. Because after becoming a wizard, one can completely solve the problem of the physical body’s bloodline through other means.
Of course, all this is predicated on Renko making it through.
While Nausica was pondering, a piercing scream came from next door. ——Although the pharmacy room was soundproofed, to an extraordinary being, this level of soundproofing was practically non-existent.
“It seems he has already woken up,” Nisi said.
Angel nodded: “The potion has also started to take effect.”
Nausica could tell with a little discernment that the person screaming was Renko. Undoubtedly, Renko had awakened, and the effect of the Water of Forging had begun to manifest in him.
Although Nausica had not spent much time with Renko, she could see that he was a steadfast and enduring knight.
Such a knight, under the ‘Hammering’ of the Water of Forging, still emitted such a piercing scream, which sufficiently illustrates how strong the aftermath of the Water of Forging is.
It’s estimated that ordinary people simply cannot withstand it.
Even many wizard apprentices cannot bear it, otherwise, the Water of Forging would not have been marginalized to such an extent.
The continuous screams were enough to show how painful it was.
This made Nausica think of Angel’s brother, Leon.
When Nausica was at the Bliss Pavilion, she learned some information about Leon. His mental power value also hadn’t reached 10 points, and the reason he eventually became a talented individual was not due to Angel but was thanks to the Will Forging Method from Suis.
Through high-intensity, almost cruel training of the physical body, refining his will, and ultimately causing a breakthrough in mental power.
Renko’s current situation is actually very similar to Leon practicing the Will Forging Method, both involving the refining of will.
Nausica sighed softly, silently wishing Renko the best.
This is a very precious opportunity. Since Renko has chosen the Water of Forging, it means he has seized the chance. As long as he can hold on, hope lies ahead.