Chương 243

"All right," Rudra nodded.

"Then I'll claim the inheritance. I'll learn the skills and use my Sage abilities to teach them to everyone in the territory later." The knights standing around the room smiled. They looked at their Lord with deep respect, honoring his wisdom and his constant push to make them all stronger.

"Alright, enough talking," Rudra said.

"Mumud. Get ready." Mumud nodded, his hollow eyes fixed on the boiling water. Rudra held his hands over the [Protean Crafting Cauldron]. He didn't just drop the stones in. If they hit the water normally, they would instantly reject each other and explode. He relied on his titles. [Alchemist Who Transcends Matter] and [Harbinger of Divine and Demon]. A heavy aura wrapped around his forearms. He slowly lowered the [Source of Agony] and the [Heartblood of the First Orca] into the boiling water at the exact same time.

The cauldron shook violently. The water turned pitch black, then bright gold, then black again. The demonic force screamed. The holy energy pushed back. Thick steam billowed out of the pot.

"Stabilize!" Rudra grunted. He constantly changed the heat and used the power of his titles to force the two opposing elements together. He forced the freezing demonic force to wrap around the warm divine energy. The metal of the cauldron groaned loudly. Rudra sweated. His arms shook from the effort. He pushed harder, grinding the energies together until they had no choice but to blend. Suddenly, the violent shaking stopped. The black and gold water rapidly mixed.

It turned into a smooth, brilliant, shimmering silver liquid. A blinding light erupted from the pot. [You have forced opposing forces to harmonize!] [You have successfully created 'Miracle Elixir'!] [Rating: Legendary] [An elixir that defies the laws of life and death. - It provides a perfect, flawless physical vessel for a soul. - It provides 80% resistance to all demonic and divine energy. - Allows the manipulation of Divine Energy and Demonic Force without conflict] A flurry of golden system messages instantly followed. [A legendary-rated item was produced, so all stats have permanently risen by +25 and reputation throughout the continent has risen by +1000.] The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. [The Path to the Legendary Alchemist (Phase 1) has been cleared!] [You have received a Map to Althea's Inheritance!] [The quality of the Legendary item produced has triggered a facility resonance!] [Your Advanced Alchemy Mastery has reached Level 4!] [You have acquired the title [Foremost Alchemist]!] [Tower of Miracles has leveled up!] [The Tower of Miracles is now an Intermediate Alchemy Tower (Level 5)!] Rudra stepped back. He wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. He let out a long, heavy breath.

"It's done," Rudra panted. He grabbed a wooden ladle. He scooped up the shimmering silver liquid and poured it into a glass beaker. He turned around and held the beaker out to Mumud.

"Drink up, Mumud," Rudra smiled.

"Your new body is ready." Mumud slowly reached out with shaking fingers. He took the warm glass beaker. He looked at the silver liquid. For centuries, he had lived as a rotting, skeletal Lich. He had been used, betrayed, and trapped in a damp cave. Now, he held his future in his hands and couldn't help but be nervous. A few feet away from the cauldron, Rudra wiped the sweat from his forehead. He watched Mumud take the glass beaker.

While the silver-haired mage gathered his courage, Rudra quickly opened his system messages to check the title he had just earned. [Foremost Alchemist] [You are the first player to have created a legendary alchemical item - Dexterity +500. -Intelligence +500. - The success rate of creating Epic and Unique-rated items has increased. - You have a small chance of creating Legendary-rated items - All alchemical items you create have a 10% increase in overall effectiveness.]"Nice," Rudra muttered quietly.

The flat stat boost was great, and so was the 10% boost in the effectiveness of his items, but the catch was the chance for him to be able to make legendary-rated items again. He swiped the blue window away. Across the long wooden table, Elysia and High Witch Elara were staring at the empty cauldron. They hadn't moved an inch since Rudra finished the brewing process. Elysia looked down at her own hands. She was an alchemy genius. She knew every formula the Saharan Empire had ever created.

Elara was the leader of the witches, holding centuries of arcane knowledge. But both of them were completely stumped by what they had just witnessed. Rudra didn't use a special chant. He didn't use a complex magic circle to balance the demonic and divine catalyst. He didn't even use an already-created alchemical formula. He just gripped the cauldron and forced them together. He had used his willpower to force the opposing energies to combine them. Elara shook her head.

"He ignored the basic rules of alchemy," she whispered.

"He just did something that should have automatically failed." Elysia's silver eyes widened. The rigid, strict rules of Imperial alchemy that had been drilled into her head for years suddenly cracked. She remembered what Rudra had told her earlier. A Saint isn't someone confined to strict rules but rather someone who breaks them. You don't have to follow the recipe, Elysia realized. You have to bring out the extreme of the ingredients. A bright, warm light suddenly enveloped both women.

[Elysia has been enlightened!] [Her understanding of alchemy has broken through a major barrier.] [Elysia has reached the Craftsman level in Alchemy!] [Elara has been enlightened!] [Her centuries of knowledge have evolved into a new understanding.] [Elara has reached the Craftsman level in Alchemy!] The light faded. Elysia let out a long, shaky breath. She looked at Elara, and the High Witch smiled back. They didn't need to say a word.

They both understood that their entire approach to their craft had just fundamentally changed.

"Brother was right," Elysia murmured, glancing toward the door where Piaro was standing.

"Our Lord really does just make you see things differently."

"We have a lot of studying to do," Elara agreed, grabbing a fresh notebook from the table.