Dark Magus Returns

Chapter 197 An uninvited whisper

Exploring the Demonic Faction, the wasteland, and the other clans with the vast cities and more didn't seem to be the safest thing, but Raze was confident in the new person he had met for a few reasons.

When they were heading around the city, and at the Auction house, he could see that many respected him and acknowledged him. This gave the impression to Raze that he must be with someone relatively important in the Demonic Faction.

He also had a good head on his shoulders, so if venturing outside was dangerous, then he wouldn't have suggested it unless he was confident that he could deal with the situations that would arise.

Surprisingly, Reno actually was thinking along similar lines. Seeing someone use the extraction technique at such a fast rate made him think he was with a master of sorts, at least when it came to martial arts. With a strong person like him by his side, then they would be able to avoid whatever trouble came their way.

Despite all of this, the two of them did agree on something, and that was they would need to prepare before they head out. Reno wanted to create a few things before leaving the next day, and it was the same with Raze. He would finish creating the items and completing the quota that Dame asked of him. It wouldn't take him long, mostly the rest of the day, and then he would be free to continue to do as he wished.

Before leaving, though, Raze noticed that Reno was preparing a few things.

"Are you making Qi pills?" Raze asked.

"Yes," Reno replied. "I assume you know the process. If not, then you are welcome to watch me. If you're watching me, I won't experiment but instead just make a standard pill."

Reno was quite a messy alchemist as things were all over the place, but Raze decided to watch everything carefully. As he watched the man act, it reminded him a lot of the days when he would watch wizards create potions as well.

He kept a keen eye on everything, willing to learn. First, the basic ingredients, the same as what Raze would use, were set up to the side. Oddly, they were mixed up together in a mixing bowl, and it looked more like he was about to cook rather than create Qi pills. 

However, off to the side, the crystal was attached to almost a boiling pot filled with liquid. It looked like water, but judging from the heat, it couldn't be, since water's boiling point was 100 degrees. Judging from the heat that could be seen above it and the lack of steam, the liquid was heated far hotter than that. The power stone was then placed in the liquid, and Raze understood that it was to melt it down.

After the liquid would be placed in another contraption, and a funnel. Then glowing liquid would be separated from the water into two separate bowls. It looked like a lot of work so far, but he was still intrigued. After the liquids had been separated, the power stone liquid was added to a metal mixing bowl. After that, the several plants that were around the place started to be crushed and cut up, forming them into even more liquid. Slowly, measurements were being made, and that was being added into the metal mixing bowl.

"When creating pills, it's all about the balance," Reno stated. "If you don't have balance, then it won't form correctly with the power stone. If you use a stronger power stone, then you need the right balance of other materials. Sometimes if I add one type of plant that has a certain effect, then I need to add another to counterbalance it. Which is why alchemy is such a complicated process in all of this, but of course, I have perfected certain techniques."

After adding the right amount of plant juice, Reno went to get the original mixing bowl and threw it all in. After that, he waited for it to cool down, and then, like little small dough balls, he started to use a type of grinder. The mixed content would be placed, and then with two hands, he would mainly grind out backward and forwards until he had ten small-shaped Qi pills.

"Oh, there are ten of these?" Raze said.

"Yes, these are 1-year Qi pills, so they wouldn't be worth much, but they still will be able to do something. As long as you have the right amount of ingredients, though, and know the measurements, you could easily make ten, ten Qi pills."

Watching Reno carefully, it wasn't a waste of time, as it had given Raze an idea and a way to make his enchantments a lot quicker. Still, there were quite a few things he wanted to create for himself as well.

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Back at the inn, the trio had woken up to find that Raze was no longer in the room. They knew what he had planned to do as he had already told them that they weren't to come with him, so there was no shock there. However, after yesterday's events and with Simyon's body being injured, they decided that it wasn't the best idea for them to venture outside. 

Heading down, the inn also served food, so the three of them ate their breakfast, and once they were done, they headed back up to their room again. They didn't dare venture outside; they were just a little scared.

"I told you the Demonic Faction wasn't a good place," Liam said, looking out the window.

"That had nothing to do with the Demonic Faction," Simyon complained. "The reason why I'm wrapped in bandages and stuck in this bed is because you were the one who made a stupid deal! Why didn't you just say one hit! If you said one hit, I would have taken it and survived."

"Wait, are you blaming me?" Liam said, turning around. "You keep talking about one hit, like you've got one ball. You were the one who could have quit after one hit! So why were you so stubborn taking the hits?"

Safa sighed as the two of them had been arguing constantly. For her, she felt like they were both to blame, and they should be thankful that Raze and Dame had showed up when they had done.

Thankfully, a knock at the door had distracted them, and Safa had gone to answer it. When she had done, they soon realized that there was a large number of deliveries that had been sent to the room.

When knocking, the men, per Raze's instructions, had used the secret knock, so they could only guess that the items they were bringing in were either from Dame or Raze.

Soon after, they had quickly left.

"What even is all this stuff?" Liam asked.

"You better not touch it with your stinky ball hands," Simyon commented.

With that comment made, Liam decided not to care about the crates and instead went back onto his bed.

Safa didn't really look at what was in the crates either, since it wasn't her business, so she too decided to go on her bed like the rest of them. As they were there, though, she didn't just do nothing.

Instead, she propped her back against the headboard and took a sitting position with her legs crossed, and she started the Dark Essence technique. She remembered all of the steps, and was slowly taking in deep breaths bit by bit. She had her eyes closed, allowing her to focus more, drawing in

 the energy around her.

"Ahhhh!" Safa breathed out slowly through her mouth.

"Your…."

Opening a single eye, Safa looked around. She could see nothing in front of her. She turned her head to see Simyon lying on his back fast asleep and Liam facing toward the window.

She closed her eyes again and continued to breathe out again. That's when she could feel something, no not feel, hear something a little clearer.

"Not… ready."

A soft whisper was heard going in her left ear, and a soft breath that vibrated through her body and the back of her neck.

Immediately, Safa opened her eyes and she could feel her heart race slightly. She looked to both of the boys again, wondering if they were playing some type of joke on her.

This time, when she readied herself, she wasn't quite sure what to do. She was almost worried to go into cultivating again, but she pushed through. When her heart settled down, she closed her eyes again.

A flash of a red woman's face appeared, all bloody.

"Hello!" the voice screamed defining her ears.