Chapter 392 - 319: Soul-Strengthening Potion

Chapter 392: Chapter 319: Soul-Strengthening Potion

"How many more goblins did you capture this time?" Agatha carefully poured the potion from a spherical flask into a potion bottle, then pushed it to a distance and quietly observed its changes.

"It went well. The total number of goblins in the tribe has surpassed 3,000." Shire was also staring at the potion at the end of the lab bench. His tribe now had 3,270 subordinates, which meant he had been sitting upright in his chair for over four hours to complete all the ankle-touching rituals. "Is this stuff useful?"

He pointed at the potion Agatha had just finished concocting. The liquid inside the bottle was slowly changing color, deepening from light blue and beginning to shift toward green. The bottle was uncapped, and Shire could see minuscule bubbles escaping the opening, floating for a short distance before popping.

"This isn’t just soapy water, is it?" The corner of his mouth twitched, his skepticism about the potion’s function clear.

"I followed the recipe you gave me exactly; I didn’t miss a single step." Agatha pulled off her gloves, picked up the recipe Shire had transcribed for her from the lab bench, and scanned it again. "That’s right. The herbs were a bit rare, but thankfully, most of them could be found in the forest. The steps are also correct. As for you... where did you get this recipe?"

"Uh, from Torch City." Shire thought for a moment and decided not to tell Agatha the truth. The recipe for this potion, which claimed to enhance Soul Strength, had come from the Evil Book. If he revealed its origin, Agatha might become interested in the book. According to the rumors, the Evil Book enticed people to open it and read its contents, gradually ensnaring them until they became its slaves.

Shire hadn’t felt any of its influence yet, but he attributed that to the Evil Book playing the long game. It started by throwing out a simple lure, intending to gradually increase the temptation.

Case in point, he had taken the initiative to find Agatha and have the potion concocted.

That was why Shire remained deeply wary of the Evil Book, even after it had taken the initiative to rename itself *Your Eternally Faithful Servant, Little Book*.

"Should we... find some creature to test it on?" Shire suggested tentatively.

"I suppose we could," Agatha said, putting down the recipe and shaking her head. "However, if this concoction is only effective on the two of us, it probably won’t do anything to others. Unless, of course, the recipe you got is the kind that makes ordinary people drop dead instantly or go insane after drinking it. If that’s the case, then we can definitely test it on someone."

"Go insane?" Shire’s mouth twitched. ’I don’t think the Evil Book would use such an obvious method. At most, the potion would create a pleasant sensation, making me want to brew it again and again, until I finally open the Evil Book of my own accord.’

"My advice is to have Little John ask the person who gave you the recipe again," Agatha said, turning to Shire. A flicker of light shone in her eyes, showing her keen interest in the source of this novel alchemy recipe. "Or find some senior Alchemists and ask them about it."

"But I don’t know any Alchemists," Shire said with a shrug.

"Hmm..." Agatha looked down in thought for a moment. Then, pointing a pale, slender finger at the now yellowish potion on the lab bench, she said, "Why don’t you have Little John take that and ask the Druid from the Life Church? I know the Life Church has some impressive Alchemists. When it comes to something affecting Soul Strength, they should be able to provide a proper assessment."

"That makes sense. I’ve considered that approach before," Shire nodded. In two days, Little John would be coming through the Teleportation Gate to deliver the completed Chameleon Cloak. It would be the perfect opportunity to ask Sofia for a favor—to help find someone in the Life Church to examine the potion. ’Since its name is the Earth and Life Church, it must have some connection to Life Magic.’

"Anything else?" Agatha rose and walked to her desk. She poured hot tea from a strange, square-shaped pot and looked at Shire, cradling the warm cup in her hands.

Shire glanced at the square pot. He knew it was inscribed with the pattern for Rune Language: Temperature, made specifically to keep water hot. For now, they only had a few of these pots; they hadn’t produced many yet. He was still considering whether to ask the Blacksmiths in Yangjiao Town to forge some iron teapots. ’Normal pottery pots can’t withstand the Energy of the Rune Speech and shatter after just a few uses.’

"Take a look at this." Shire hopped off his chair and pulled a translucent, crystalline blue bone from the cloth bag he had brought. "I think it’s a bone from a Magical Beast."

"It’s crystallized?" Agatha walked over, a hint of surprise in her voice. She reached out and picked up the bone. It looked like a section of an animal’s tibia, about as long as a human thigh bone.

"There’s a whole skeleton of them. I just brought this one piece," Shire said, walking over and helping himself to a cup of tea. "Of course, we have some other types of Beast Bones as well."

"It appears to be demon-crystallized, a type of Magic Beast Material," Agatha said, examining the Beast Bone and flicking it with her finger. "It’s good material for crafting a Magic Bone Staff. It would be even better if its Magic Power content were higher."

Shire took a sip of tea and nodded. "We have a huge pile of this material now. And as the tribe’s territory in the forest expands, we’re encountering Magical Beasts more often. Just the other day, when Nine-finger was leading a group to gather herbs, they ran into a mutated white bird, but he scared it away with his Firebird Technique."