CHAPTER 154: ACT 10 ALCHEMY 3

Then came the Blood Refining Array.

This was why Brand wanted to avoid others; the Blood Refinement Technique actually comes from Madara’s alchemical skills and is one of the forbidden techniques strictly prohibited within the Flame Temple. This is mainly because Blood Refinement harms the caster themselves, which contradicts the basic doctrines of the Flame Temple.

But it must be said that Blood Refinement is a very practical skill because it allows alchemists to complete some simple material synthesis without alchemical apparatus under any circumstances.

To be honest, although the Flame Temple strictly prohibited it back then, there were still a lot of players in Erune and Kruz using this technique. Players only cared about effectiveness, and at most, they would lose one level if discovered.

Moreover, generally, they wouldn’t be discovered, would they?

But Brand was somewhat nervous; for players, it’s just losing one level, but for him, it could mean losing his head. Even though Char was keeping watch outside, he didn’t quite dare to challenge the Flame Temple’s authority so blatantly.

He took a deep breath, took out the tooth he had pulled from the Intermediate Corpse Witch in Ridenburg, and placed it in the center of the array. Then he stood up, stabbed his finger with the tip of his sword, letting a drop of blood ooze out. He held his finger flat, letting the drop of blood fall in the center of the array. The array flashed red, and the tooth immediately turned into a gray crystal the size of a little finger.

At the moment the alchemy was completed, Brand felt his heart slightly throb, already suffering -1 backlash damage.

He wiped the cold sweat off his pale forehead and then picked up the crystal. This thing was actually a pure soul energy crystal. But unlike Soul Crystal, this murky soul energy would probably poison and kill anyone who absorbed it.

Don’t underestimate this crude and small thing; it is one of his most important tools for tonight.

But he couldn’t relax now because he had more work to do. Thirty-two teeth, four fingers, Brand had already planned to squander his bottle of No. 5 Holy Water here. He could only hope these investments would yield enough returns.

Just as he had finished half the work, about a quarter of an hour had passed, he heard Char’s voice outside: "Who’s there?"

Brand’s heart tightened, hurriedly smoothing out the array on the ground, collecting all the materials, and grabbing the Azure Light Piercing sword before running out. As soon as he reached the edge of the Fir Forest, he saw a middle-aged man standing opposite Char. He was stunned to realize that this middle-aged man was the one he saved last night.

How did he get here?

In Brand’s memory, this middle-aged man had quite some guts, daring to resist Markov’s guards. It just seemed a bit unwise.

But he didn’t expect that the first thing the middle-aged man said when he saw him was: "Sir, are you using a Blood Magic Array? Please take care of yourself—"

These words were like a bolt from the blue; not only was Brand stunned, but even Char was. How did he know? Had he been here for a long time? Impossible! Char didn’t believe he couldn’t detect even a civilian.

The young wizard follower instinctively began to prepare a spell.

But the middle-aged man noticed their confusion, bowed deeply, and said: "Sir, I haven’t thanked you for saving my life last night. My name is Tama, and I am an alchemist."

"Tama?"

"You are Tama!" Brand initially felt that the name sounded familiar, then he remembered this was none other than the chief court alchemy master of Madara three hundred and eighty years (Golden Star Year) later!

For a moment, he was almost stunned by this name.

He couldn’t help but scrutinize the other man, wanting to see if this was really the Tama. And it seemed very likely that it was him. Originally, Tama was not a Madara person. He must have been transformed into an undead during this war. If it was because of Markov’s bastard actions that he turned to hate this country, it wasn’t impossible. The hatred likely stemmed from the death of his son. Thinking this way, everything made sense.

But what truly confirmed it for Brand was the man’s keen sense for alchemy. To be able to discern he was using a forbidden technique just from the backlash effect wasn’t a common alchemical talent.

Historically, Tama was an extraordinary strongman. Most of Madara’s high-level undead transformations were accomplished by him, Mezat, and Sirilando, three unparalleled undead alchemy masters. And Tama’s most famous achievement was the Black Magic Array technique for transforming skeleton soldiers directly from corpses, a technology that doubled Madara’s military strength—

Nowadays, it seemed that Madara would find it difficult to achieve such results again. Looking at the still-human Tama in front of him, Brand couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear.

"Sir?" This smile startled Tama, wondering if this knight had some strange preferences. He had heard those sordid rumors among the nobles, so even though he was nearing forty, he couldn’t help but feel a bit uneasy.

Char, feeling annoyed, coughed beside them, bringing Brand back to his senses. He hurriedly explained: "You are the alchemy master from Ridenburg, Tama?"

Alchemy master? That was one of the top titles in the field of alchemy. Was he that famous? Tama, stunned, quickly shook his head: "I am just an unremarkable alchemist, sir. I have been working for the Noble Council with no notable achievements—"

Not famous yet? This was a real treasure found! Brand was overjoyed.

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