CHAPTER 108: MISSING INGREDIENT

As Shaan walked out of Sir Walter’s office and through the club’s exit, a mix of emotions started to swirl inside him. On one hand, he felt relieved, because they had finally gotten one step closer to finding another way into the cave. But on the other hand, worry began to creep in after hearing Dr. Marshal’s explanation about how difficult the potion would be to make.

"I just hope we can make that potion."

Once they stepped outside the club, they noticed a crowd gathering near a streetlamp. Shaan saw several medics lifting the body of a drunk man—still unconscious—onto a folding stretcher before carrying him into a medical vehicle.

’Damn... Sir Walter really doesn’t mess around.’

The crowd began to disperse, and eventually Chelsie, Nalira, and Mr courier were seen near the lamp post. Shaan, upon seeing this, immediately informed Dr. Marshal of the situation.

As the crowd slowly dispersed, Shaan spotted Chelsie, Nalira, and the Courier standing close to the same streetlamp. He immediately pointed them out to Dr. Marshal, and without wasting a second, the two of them walked toward the group.

"Chelsie! Nalira! Mr. Courier!" Shaan called out as he moved closer.

"Shaan? Dr. Marshal?" Chelsie turned her head quickly at the sound of her name. "Thank goodness you’re both alright!"

"What exactly happened in there?" Nalira asked, her face full of curiosity. "While we were waiting for you two outside the bar, we suddenly saw the front door get smashed, and then a man flew out and crashed into this streetlamp."

"Yeah, what Lira said is true," Chelsie added, nodding quickly. "Nalira and I even thought about going inside to check if you were both okay, but Mr. Courier stopped us. He insisted that you two would be fine."

"That drunk guy started a scene and pushed the bar owner too far," Shaan explained. "He even tried to attack the owner... so the owner lost it and threw him out—literally."

"...Alright, that makes sense."

"Mr. Marshal," Chelsie said, turning her attention to him. "So how did it go? Did you manage to meet the bar owner and ask about another way into the underground mine?"

"Yes, we managed to speak with him," Dr. Marshal replied. "But he didn’t give us the information for free—he gave us a condition."

"A condition?" Chelsie paused. "What kind of condition does he want?"

"He wants a potion that we must make based on the ingredients listed in this scroll," said Dr. Shaan, briefly showing them the scroll. "Come on, there’s no time to linger here. We need to get to the lab and start working right away."

They quickly followed Dr. Marshal’s lead until they finally arrived at Dr. Marshal’s lab. To be honest, Shaan couldn’t help but shake his head when he saw the place. His first impression of the lab was... far from what he had imagined.

He had expected something sleek—maybe even futuristic. The kind of lab you’d see in high-budget TV shows: clean, high-tech, filled with glowing monitors, automated tools, and equipment that made you feel like you were inside a spaceship.

But all of that expectation vanished the moment he stepped inside. The lab looked... incredibly simple. A long wooden table stood in the center, along with a massive old furnace in the corner, its surface blackened—probably from that fire incident that had once thrown the entire town into chaos.

At the far end of the room, Shaan noticed several wooden shelves that reminded him of Sir Walter’s collection, though these looked far more worn out. Some shelves leaned sideways, and not all of them held glass bottles. In fact, many shelves stood half-empty, with signs of dust, age, and long periods of neglect.

"Oh, good, at least the smoke filling this place is starting to clear," said Dr. Marshal, running quickly toward his desk. "I’ll clear the papers scattered on the desk first. Just hold on a second." Dr. Marshal quickly gathered all the papers and placed them on top of the pile at the end of the desk. "Ah, this is much better. Now, we’re ready to make the potion."

"Uhmm... Dr. Marshal, it seems like you need to pay more attention to this place," said Chelsie, looking around. "I don’t know, but I think this place is quite..."

"Quite messy."

"Yes, that’s exactly right." Chelsie nodded.

"Haha... yes, it seems you’re right," said Dr. Marshal, scratching his head. "Since the fire was extinguished, I haven’t had time to tidy up this place. I apologize in advance."

"Yes, we understand, Dr. Marshal." Shaan nodded. "You’ve been busy helping us, and we don’t mind at all."

"Sir. Marshal, I’ll go to the storage room and get some cleaning supplies to tidy up this place first," said Mr courier. "I just don’t want everyone to feel uncomfortable here."

"Oh, yes, yes. That’s a good idea." Dr. Marshal smiled. "Alright, I’m counting on you."

"Yes, Sir. Marshal. Glad to help," said Mr. Courier as he walked toward the storage room.

Just a few seconds later, Dr. Marshal pulled the scroll from his pocket and unrolled it on the table, making the contents visible to everyone.

"Jeez... I have no idea what any of this writing even means." Shaan stared at it, completely lost.

"Hmm... alright. It looks like this Black Elixio scroll describes a potion called the Eclipse Serum," Dr. Marshal said as he studied the strange symbols and text.

"Eclipse Serum?" Chelsie raised an eyebrow. "That’s a weird name. I’ve never heard of it before."

"It says here that the potion provides the exact effects I mentioned earlier," Dr. Marshal continued. "It induces euphoria, reduces pain, and creates a calming sensation for the user." He smiled, clearly satisfied. "Just as I suspected."

"That’s strange... but why would the bar owner want something like that?" Nalira asked, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "Is he planning to sell it to his customers?"

Dr. Marshal paused for a moment. "It’s possible... but I doubt it. I say that because I know Sir Walter’s character—he’s not the kind of person who’d do something like that," he said calmly. "Besides, if he wanted to sell it, he’d need to go through a long approval process. And that old man absolutely hates waiting."

"...Alright. That makes sense."

Dr. Marshal walked over to his wooden shelves while reading through the list of ingredients written on the scroll. "Hmm... It says here we need several specific ingredients, and it looks like I have almost all of them."

"Well, at least that’s some good news," Shaan said with a sigh of relief. "So... it means we can start making the potion now?"

"Unfortunately, no. We’re missing one ingredient."