Capítulo 92: 92 - Timis
A day later, in a clean room within the South District's headquarters of the Ship Gang, Lynn, who had just finished his morning lessons, held a sharp dagger and cut a piece of flesh from a once vibrant and now lifeless body, Nour.
Nour's body had changed dramatically after death; the miraculous regenerative ability it once possessed was now gone, leaving it shrunken and resembling green jerky.
Lynn placed the small piece of flesh in his palm and activated the Elementary Material Deconstruction to examine the differences between Nour's cells and those of an ordinary person.
To his surprise, the cells within these flesh pieces were highly unstable and disintegrated upon a slight impact.
Emerald blood and tissue cells scattered and flew, only to be reassembled by the Mage Hand spell and finally discarded to the side.
Was it due to being subpar, or was it the result of injecting magic into the body?
When experimenting with magic before, Lynn noticed that all living creatures possessed a slight resistance to magic. Wizards, in particular, had a higher resistance. This was especially evident in battles between wizards. For example, when Rol cast the second-tier spell, Scorching Steam, theoretically, Lynn could have countered it by manipulating the high-temperature gases. However, these gases were essentially creations of the opponent's magic, so they were impervious to his influence.
Lynn pondered for a long time and instinctively reached for an optical microscope to observe the state of the blood and tissue with physical means. But as he glanced around the empty room, he shook his head.
Conditions were truly challenging. How could he conduct quality magical research in this state?
Incubators, sterilization rooms, centrifuges, refrigerators... All of those were missing now.
Thud, thud, thud
A faint knocking sound came from outside the door.
Lynn re-froze Nour's body and invited the visitors inside.
"Lord Lynn, everything you need is ready," Laut said as he led several sailors into the room, each carrying large boxes.
Inside the boxes were sulfur, saltpetre, glycerin, and other similar materials.
Of course, Lynn wasn't planning to create black powder this time; he was preparing some self-defence items. While he intended to confront Radak, he had no intention of barging in directly.
From the information Nour had provided, the Blood-Red Thorns is a massive organization, with at least several third-tier wizards, a dozen or so formal wizards, and hundreds of wizard apprentices.
For Lynn, who had a shallow foundation, confronting them head-on was nearly impossible. While he had developed White Phosphorus Fireball and the Liquid Nitrogen Ice Domain, his combat capabilities were not to be underestimated. Lynn was well aware that no formal wizard was easy to deal with.
If Archbishop Anluke's difficulty lay in his ability to borrow power from deities, the strength of wizards lay in the various peculiar magics and alchemical items at their disposal.
Lynn could imagine how many life-saving tricks those third-tier wizards, who were hopeless in becoming Grand Wizards and not in dire need of money, had up their sleeves.
At least for Lynn, if it weren't for his tight budget, he would have equipped himself with life-saving alchemical items. Spending money to defeat the enemy was preferable to dying with unspent coins.
So, a direct confrontation was the most foolish move. Lynn had no intention of revealing his true identity unless it was absolutely necessary. Otherwise, he would face various overt and covert threats until the Blood-Red Thorns were completely eradicated.
In comparison, Lynn was more inclined to quietly disguise himself, slip in unnoticed, find an opportunity to be alone with Radak, the Black Physician, and then knock him out without raising suspicions, extracting information in the process.
However, such a smooth scenario likely existed only in fantasy.
To prepare for potential conflicts, Lynn decided to make some necessary arrangements.
The Hellfire used for destroying Harbor Town or the Liquid Nitrogen Ice Domain used in the battle against Rol couldn't be used casually. Doing so would risk revealing his identity. Unless he was sure he could eliminate all witnesses.
Under disguise, he would only have access to basic magic and his swordsmanship, which had become incredibly potent thanks to his enhanced cognitive abilities.
This was clearly insufficient to deal with extreme situations. Thus, Lynn planned to develop a new magic as his trump card.
This time, he chose [Corrosion] magic.
Corrosion magic was a rather mysterious magic. If ten wizards cast Corrosion magic simultaneously, the resulting damage might vary greatly because the power of Corrosion magic depended entirely on the strength of the corrosive liquid created.
Previously, Nour had used the stomach acid of a ghoul, which had strong corrosive properties on flesh but was limited in its effectiveness against those wearing protective gear, as it couldn't dissolve metal.
Lynn intended to prepare aqua regia to use as the material for Corrosion magic and several derivative spells.
Aqua regia, also known as nitrohydrochloric acid, was created by mixing one part concentrated nitric acid with three parts concentrated hydrochloric acid. It had extremely strong corrosive properties, easily dissolving even hard metals, with only a few materials such as tantalum, iridium, and silicon being resistant to its erosion.
Inspired by Rol's Scorching Steam, Lynn believed that with slight modifications, he could create a unique system of corrosive magic. This would be distinct from his previous combat style, providing more versatility for various situations.
In addition, Lynn planned to create something even more dangerous to ensure his escape in the event of an ambush.
"Has Radak come out of his mansion today?" Lynn asked while inspecting the materials inside the boxes.
"No, we've been watching him all day, and it seems that Radak rarely leaves his home," Laut responded nervously.
Lynn wasn't surprised by this. "What about the person you were told to find? Any leads?"
"Lord Lynn, we've found them!" Laut handed over the information.
Timis, twenty-nine years old, had been expelled from the academy last year due to a serious conflict in which he nearly killed a fellow student. It wasn't confirmed whether he was a member of the Blood-Red Thorns, but he visited Radak, the Black Physician's (Doctor) mansion every evening, making him likely one of Radak's apprentices.
Laut hesitated before adding, "We've heard that several homeless people in the South District have gone missing, and it seems to be connected to him."
Lynn nodded. He wanted to meet Radak and gather some information. He needed a suitable, non-suspicious identity to do so.
Timis was a perfect fit for this. He had been expelled only last year and hadn't been an apprentice to Radak for very long. They were not very familiar with each other, allowing for some flexibility in his actions.
As for Nour, his role was over. Even if he had been Radak's assistant, his death would have likely reached Radak's ears.
Lynn contemplated for a moment, then asked Laut and the others to leave as he began preparing the concentrated nitric acid and concentrated hydrochloric acid, hoping to quickly condense the corresponding magical spells.
***
In the evening Lynn appeared in the South District under the guise of Timis, the apprentice.
As for the real Timis, he had been restrained and brought to the Ship Gang's headquarters as a "guest."
Considering that Nour had died during the interrogation, Lynn didn't press Timis too hard. After extracting some basic information, he had Timis ingest a large dose of powdered withered root stalks, enough to keep him asleep for several days.
Now, Lynn intended to use this identity to investigate Radak, the Black Physician's background.
At exactly six o'clock in the evening, Lynn arrived outside Radak's estate. Before coming here, he had never imagined that he would witness such grandeur in the South District.
The estate was vast, surrounded by a three-meter-high and ten-centimetre-thick iron fence, leaving only a stone path wide enough for two people to walk side by side, extending all the way into the heart of the estate.
"Timis, why are you so late today?" Several apprentices were waiting at the entrance of the estate. Seeing Lynn, a witch in her thirties with dark hair couldn't help but frown.
Radak had no good temper. After an apprentice messed up an experiment last time and was taken away, nobody had seen him since.
"I had an urgent matter today, which delayed me on the way," Lynn replied with a carefully crafted expression of fear.
"I hope you'll be delayed even more next time," a sinister voice came from beside her, as a male witch with a mocking smile spoke.
Lynn furrowed his brow but didn't say anything.
On the contrary, the witch who spoke earlier expressed her displeasure, saying, "Brock, what do you mean by this?"
"You know very well, don't you? Patti, one less person means one less opponent. I'm not as hypocritical as you," the wizard named Brock sneered.
Everyone present fell into silence. Every year, Lord Radak would select the most outstanding apprentice to promote them.
This year, the biggest opportunity should have gone to Radak's new assistant, Nour. However, he had messed up something important, and these days, he had disappeared without a trace. Many speculated that Nour had become Radak's new experimental subject.
The silence in the room didn't last long. The gates of the estate were kicked open at that very moment, and out walked a burly man, standing over two meters tall.
"Lord Korman..." the witch apprentices greeted him respectfully.
"Follow me inside!"
Korman glanced somewhat disdainfully at the apprentices who were extremely courteous to him. Not so long ago, he had been a material dissected and studied by these people in the laboratory. But now, he had become a powerful magic user.
Naturally, he didn't hold much affection for those who had once operated on him.
Lynn and his group followed Korman through the long cobblestone path into the heart of the estate.
The internal defenses of the estate were strict. Even at night, several patrol teams were still visible.
Upon entering the castle, they were greeted by a splendid sight - a magnificent golden dome chandelier, colossal sculptures and decorations, various artworks hanging on the walls, and even the carpets were made of expensive magical beast fur, soft and comfortable to walk on.
Korman didn't linger but led everyone deeper into the castle. A faint scent of blood wafted in the air. Lynn turned to look at the witch apprentices beside him, who showed no reaction. They seemed accustomed to this.
Once they entered the basement, Korman finally spoke, assigning each apprentice their tasks for the day. Then, he turned to Lynn and his group.
"Brock, Patti, and Timis, you'll be in charge of Experiment Number Seven."
The other apprentices breathed sighs of relief. Some of them even showed smirks of schadenfreude. Since Brock's group had taken on this dangerous task, the others would have a relatively easier day.
"Lord Korman..." Brock stammered, on the verge of pleading. The seventh laboratory held beings who had lost their sanity, and the experiment aimed to examine the reactions between different shaping elixirs.
The danger was evident.
However, under Korman's cold gaze, Brock was forced to swallow his words.
"Experiments arranged by Lord Radak always need to be completed by someone. Otherwise, you can ask who's willing to take your place?" Korman remarked sardonically.
Brock's face turned deathly pale. He knew that no one here would willingly take on such a dangerous task. In the end, he could only look at Lynn with resentment. If not for the conversation at the entrance, Korman wouldn't have noticed them.
Throughout this, Lynn remained silent. The information he obtained from Timis was limited, and he had no idea how dangerous this so-called experiment truly was, or why the apprentice witches were so fearful.
Under Korman's forced arrangement, Lynn, Brock, and Patti entered a chamber inside the castle.
Compared to the cramped, sealed environment outside, the laboratory was quite spacious. It was filled with the strong stench of blood and the foul odors of various potions. Transparent jars on the side contained bizarre creatures, their heads split open and coated with a thick gel-like substance, making them look particularly eerie.
But the most conspicuous item was the surgical table, which resembled a grim instrument of torture. It held daggers, forceps, scissors, suture needles and threads, as well as a few rusty iron chains for restraining hands and feet.
After entering, Brock and Patti had their eyes fixed on several sealed iron coffins in the corner.
After a long hesitation, Brock stepped forward and cautiously opened one of the iron coffins.
TL/n -
Aqua regia (from Latin, "regal water" or "royal water") is a mixture of nitric acid and hydrochloric acid.
Freshly prepared aqua regia is colorless, but it turns yellow, orange or red within seconds from the formation of nitrosyl chloride and nitrogen dioxide.
It was so named by alchemists because it can dissolve noble metals like gold and platinum, though not all metals.
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