by Zhuang Bifan
"Still won't talk? Forget it; even if you want to speak now, I won't listen to it. Anyway, that kid would be concocting the potion in a moment. You'd even come clean about the age you had your first wet dreams."
Lin Li, who was busy in the potion lab, had no idea how Gerian was intimidating the unlucky Magic Shooter.
He was meticulously calculating the dose of the potion now. This was the first time he'd actually concocted the Fear Potion since he had gotten hold of the formula, so he was naturally more prudent in the process.
Any person would have some negative emotions hidden in his heart. The effect of the Fear Potion was to trigger these negative emotions and magnify them indefinitely. Among the three ingredients, the nightmare seed and devil's tears possessed a similar effect. After mixing them, the effect would be greatly enhanced. In order to avoid excessive fear leading to a mental breakdown, a certain amount of peacebloom was added to calm the mind.
The succus from the nightmare seed was boiling in the beaker. Lin Li held a peacebloom in his hand, gingerly plucking the petals one by one. This was a very crucial process. Excessive amounts of peacebloom would seriously reduce the effect of the Fear Potion; if there were too little peacebloom, it would not achieve the purpose of calming the mind. So, every time Lin Li tore a petal off, he would gently shake the beaker and wait for the petal to dissolve fully in the potion before judging whether the dose was enough according to the color.
After all, this was his first concoction of this kind—unlike the Arcane Magic Potion, where the result could be judged by experience alone.
When the seventh peacebloom petal was added, the nightmare seed succus in the beaker began to turn turbid. Lin Li knew that it was a sufficient dosage of the peacebloom, so he picked up a devil's tears from his pocket.
The devil's tears was a kind of black fruit about the size of the pinky. It tasted bitter and astringent, and if consumed directly, it would create all sorts of horrifying illusions. Unless a tranquilizing drug was taken, one would never be able to get out of this illusion, and would continue to be tormented until he finally broke down.
Lin Li pulled out the silver knife from the Ring of Endless Storm and gently cut off the skin of the devil's tears. When he saw a drop of succus about to spill, he quickly dropped it into the beaker.
A plume of mist rose up instantly. The potion fused with the succus of the devil's tears immediately filled the potion lab with an intoxicating fragrance. It was a rather unique aroma, like one of a vintage wine that was too thick to diffuse and full of deadly allure.
Bearing the temptation of the fragrance, Lin Li poured the contents of less than half of the beaker into the glass bottle he had prepared and then secured the bottle opening tightly.
Chapter 64 - Mastermind
When he returned to the bas.e.m.e.nt, he overheard Gerian threatening the unlucky Magic Shooter.
"Don't blame me for not reminding you. You don't have much time left. When that kid comes out of the potion lab, I'm really afraid that it'll be too late for you to cry…"
"Cry what?" Lin Li heard Gerian slandering him upon entering the door.
"Heh… Nothing, nothing. How did the concoction go? If it's not done yet, you can go and study it over again. Such a thing like extorting a confession, I can do it as well…"
"You're still going to do it?" Lin Li was startled. "Another move by you and this guy will be scared to death…"
"I'm doing this for his own good!" The old fellow just had to boast shamelessly. Lin Li came to the Magic Shooter with the glass bottle in his hand.
"Do you drink it yourself, or do I feed you?"
"…" The shameless intimidation by Gerian had cast a shadow of potions in the middle-aged man's heart. When he saw Lin Li coming over with the glass bottle in his hand, he was scared out of his wits at once, shaking his head desperately while subconsciously retreating backward. But he had only retreated a few steps when his body pressed against the cold wall.
The middle-aged man's heart was cold, just like the wall behind him. His Magic Shooter strength was useless, having his mana sealed by Gerian. Now, he was no better than an ordinary man. He could only watch Lin Li open the bottle cap and let the intoxicating fragrance pervade the bas.e.m.e.nt…
"You actually want me to feed you?" Lin Li frowned, his hand gripping the middle-aged man's chin. "The don't blame me for being too rough…"
"I… I…" The middle-aged man really wanted to cry. He was a Magic Shooter, highly respected everywhere he went. However, at present, he was held by the chin by a young mage who wasn't over 20 years of age who even threatened to douse him with the potion violently…
"You'll really drink it on your own?" Lin Li glanced at him skeptically, yet warned him kindly, "You'd better not have any tricks up your sleeves. I've concocted a few dozen bottles of this potion altogether. If you break this bottle, don't blame me for dousing you with bottle after bottle. I won't care if anything bad happens then."
"…" The unlucky Magic Shooter was about to break the bottle upon receiving it, but his hand froze in mid-air when he heard Lin Li's words. After weighing the gains and losses, the middle-aged man, trembling, eventually brought the glass bottle to his lips. At last, he accepted his fate, and with his eyes closed, he gulped the bottle of potion down…
"Drink slowly, won't be good to choke on it…" Lin Li reminded him kindly again, then turned to Gerian and said, "You do your interrogation slowly. I'm going out to take a breather first, let me know when there's news."
After sitting in the hall for less than half an hour, Lin Li saw the bas.e.m.e.nt door open. Gerian emerged with a look of fear on his face, and the mages who followed behind revealed an expression of awe when they looked at Lin Li.
Gerian found a chair to sit in and asked Lin Li with lingering fear, "What potion did you give him, why is it so brutal? I've only asked him casually and that fellow spilled everything out while begging for forgiveness, asking me to have mercy on him. Damn it, I've never even done much to him…"
"The Fear Potion is like that, indefinitely magnifying all kinds of negative emotions. Anything would fill him with fear. Maybe you were tormenting him with various kinds of savage tortures in his fantasy…" Lin Li casually mentioned the effects of the Fear Potion and then asked curiously, "So, what exactly did he say?"
"Simply put, these three bastards were unhappy with me kicking them out of the guild. Then, someone offered a high price as a lure, so they coolly sold the defense arrangement of the Demon Fall Valley." At this point, Gerian sighed guiltily. "If we were to pursue this matter, it's actually my fault. After I had driven them out of the guild, I should have adjusted the defense arrangement of the Demon Fall Valley. The three of them had actually replenished the mana of 125 Warlock's Eyes back then, and those 20 sentry posts were actually arranged by the three of them as well… But I got so busy with the auction that I totally forgot about it. Plus, I actually thought that the Shadow's Nest wouldn't dare to mess with the Guild of Magic… Then it turned out to be such a big matter…"
"It is indeed your negligence…" Lin Li nodded.
"Apart from him, the other two fellows were the accomplices. But consider them lucky today that I didn't manage to pull them out when I went out this morning. According to this guy, they've sought refuge with one of the forces of Jarrosus City, but I've yet to confirm whether that is true. Looks like we have to hold another auction another day—I've got to dig those fellows out no matter how…"
"Quit counting on me!" Lin Li knew what the old fellow was thinking upon hearing his words. He did not want to spend his days in the potion lab. It was not easy for him to come to a totally unfamiliar world; there were still many places he had not ventured to, many things that he had not tried. How would he be content with staying in the potion lab all day?
"Just saying. Never mind, let's not talk about this. Let's talk about business…" Gerian pursed his lips and then lowered his voice. "You'll never imagine who bought the defense arrangement
of the Demon Fall Valley from him…"
"Who?"
"Evan—Matthew's hussy brother!"
"Damn, he's got guts!" Lin Li was astounded, but quickly calmed down. "Evan Merlin's that stupid? This is such a shady business, he could have sent someone to do it for him. How could he be so stupid to do it personally and even be identified?"
"Evan didn't go personally, but sent a low-level mage to contact him. But this fellow was not assured after the contact, so he secretly tailed the person Evan sent. Just think, he has the strength of a Magic Shooter—it's nothing for him to tail a low-level mage. So after tailing him, he found out who was the mastermind behind it…"
"This fellow has saved us some trouble indeed…" Lin Li mulled over it carefully. The Merlin Family was really weird. Ever since the battle with Gerian, Matthew had disappeared from the scene, and even Cromwell had not shown his face in front of anyone. The only thing that was related to them was the 800,000 gold coins deal at the auction.
"Saved trouble?" Gerian swore as he grumbled, "The Merlin Family is sure to have something to do with the Shadow's Nest. Darn, I've got a headache just thinking about it. One Shadow's Nest is trouble enough, now there's the Merlin Family…"
"An enemy in the dark is a terrifying thing. Since we know who is looking for trouble now, this matter is much simpler. Why, could it be that… you're afraid of Old Merlin?"
"I'm afraid of him?" Gerian glared and was about to utter something crude when he thought of the battle outside Emerald Tower and smiled embarrassedly. "But he's surely not afraid of me too. If it wasn't for your Awakening Potion last time, I'd probably be dead in his hands…"
"What can one bottle do? I'm planning to give you a bag of it this time. Even if you drink one and toss the other one away, you can still tire him out to death!" Lin Li said with clenched teeth, and then asked Gerian again, "Oh, right, how long is it until my duel with Cromwell?"
"Not many days left. But that kid is a useless bum, no need to worry."
"Hard to say… Old Merlin is not an idiot. Since he dared to put in such a request, he must have his own plan. I need to seize the time and enhance my magic level. It'd be best if I can reach the Magic Shooter level before the duel, then I'll have more confidence to deal with Cromwell. Do you have any ways to enhance the magic level in the shortest time?"
"Dream on!" Gerian gave Lin Li an angry glare. "If there was a way to enhance the magic level in the shortest time, would dozens of bottles of Arcane Magic Potion be selling for millions of gold coins…?
"No, now I remember, there is indeed such a way!" Gerian hadn't finished his sentence when he suddenly recalled something. "I've read about it in a magic book some time ago. The High Elves have a way to enhance the magic level by force. It is said that the highest level it can go is by five levels. But after the enhancement by force, the person's potential for life will be completely exhausted, and there will never be any progress…"
"You can keep it to yourself. I'll just drink a few more bottles of potion when the time comes to keep it safe…"
"Why are you suddenly placing such great importance on this duel?"
"Because I don't want to worry about the Merlin Family doing something behind our backs when we're dealing with the Shadow's Nest…"
Gerian couldn't help the surprise showing on his face when he heard it. "You want to deal with the Merlin Family?"
"Not me…" Lin Li shook his head and smiled innocently. "The person who is going to deal with the Merlin Family is the Archmage, President Gerian. Starting tomorrow, President Gerian will be launching a comprehensive crackdown on the Merlin Family. By the time it comes to the duel, Old Merlin will probably be mad as hell and would vent it all on me. I think I'd better bring a few more bottles of potions to protect myself…"
"…"
The two bastards were discussing how to deal a blow to the Merlin Family when they heard a guild's mage come forward to inform them that Mage Grimm Burnside came.
"Grimm Burnside!" Gerian seemed to have been struck by lightning as he sat dazed on the chair for a long while before stammering out his instructions, "Hur… Hurry… Hurry and invite Mage Grimm Burnside in!"
Chapter 65 - Retaliation
Gerian immediately went out with excitement when he heard about the legendary mage's visit, but halfway through, he stopped as doubt came over him. "Grimm Burnside never had any dealings with the Guild of Magic, why would he suddenly come calling?"
The mage who had passed on the message swallowed his saliva and replied with seemingly much difficulty, "Said… said he came to see Mage Felic."
"…" Gerian stared at Lin Li with jealousy. "How did you know Grimm Burnside?"
"He attended the banquet at the Castellan Mansion a few days ago."
"Damn! Kid, your luck is extraordinary. There are only two legendary mages in Jarrosus and you know them both…"
Gerian grunted as he walked out of the Emerald Tower. He saw Grimm Burnside standing below the stairs in his gray mage robe and quickly put on a warm smile on his face. "Welcome, welcome. The Jarrosus Guild of Magic is deeply honored by Mage Grimm's visit to the Emerald Tower."
"You're too polite, President Gerian." Old Grimm still had the gentle smile on his face. He then directed his smile at Lin Li. "Long time no see, Mage Felic."
The three men exchanged greetings below the stairs, and Gerian solemnly escorted Old Grimm into the guild hall. For the Guild of Magic, Grimm Burnside's visit was truly a sensational event. Even Gerian, who was usually arrogant, dared not show a slight negligence; the reception was of the highest class, enough to make the leaders of all the forces in Jarrosus red-eyed with envy.
In order to receive Grimm Burnside, Gerian had summoned all the mages in the guild; even those stationed far away in the Demon Fall Valley were to pass on their welcome message through the crystal ball in the hall. The scene was spectacular and lively, and even Grimm Burnside, who had lived for over a hundred years and regarded all things lightly, couldn't help but like Gerian a little more.
Looking at Gerian beaming away, Lin Li was worried for the leaders of the various forces in Jarrosus in spite of himself. Gerian had deliberately made it sensational so that news of this day's event could spread as far as possible. When the leaders of the 17 forces knew that the legendary mage had visited them, who knew how terrified they'd be…
After the impressive welcoming ceremony, Old Grimm and Lin Li went into the potion lab to continue the unfinished discussion they had had on the day of the banquet.
This time, Gerian, who always liked to be involved, did not follow them in.
He was in the guild hall, delivering a speech to all the mages.
The speech took a long time, but the content circled around a single topic—the Merlin Family and the Shadow's Nest had joined hands!
Such were Gerian's words: "You bunch of fellows are going to rot staying in the Emerald Tower for the whole day. From today onwards, everyone must hang around Jarrosus City. What you want to do is up to you; as long as it makes the Merlin Family uncomfortable, I will support it all. Whoever has the ability to do away with the bastard, Matthew, I will reward him with a year's worth of profits from the Demon Fall Valley!"
The Guild of Magic had put up with Gerian as long as the number of years he had been the president. Among the mages present, who had never experienced the contemptuous looks from others? Each and every one of the 17 forces in Jarrosus City had dared to throw their weight around the Guild of Magic. And among them, the Merlin Family had demanded from the guild time and again; even someone like Cromwell had dared to come up and demand that Gerian kick Lin Li out of the guild.
No matter how wise or how calm a mage was, it was inevitable to be antagonized in face of such reality.
After so many years of tolerance, the anger acc.u.mulated in their hearts was enough to ignite the entire Emerald Tower. And with the rise of the Guild of Magic, the fury in their hearts grew day by day. When the Shadow's Nest launched that surprise atta
ck on the Demon Fall Valley, that fury was pushed to the peak. The Guild of Magic had been silent for these two days, but everyone knew that this was just the calm before the storm.
And now, Gerian's words had completely ignited the Guild of Magic.
There were 36 Magic Shooters and 113 mages in the Emerald Tower, in addition to the people who were stationed in the Demon Fall Valley. The mage apprentices below level-five were numerous, and by the afternoon, nearly half of them were driven out to the city by Gerian.
A terrible chaos was caused with such a force swarming into the city of Jarrosus.
Just this afternoon, the Merlin Family's businesses in Jarrosus City had suffered huge losses.
First, a fire was started in several industries located in the city center. Then, a few mysterious mages appeared in the casinos the Merlins ran with the Blood Brotherhood. It was obvious that the mages had come to make trouble, because they were utterly arrogant.
"Who is in charge of this casino?" The few mages demanded to see the casino's in-charge as soon as they entered. The men from the Blood Brotherhood went out to have a look, just to see they were people from the Guild of Magic. Who in Jarrosus City would dare to provoke them now? So they fled through the backdoor, leaving behind a few men from the Merlin Family who had no choice but to face them.
"Damn it, when are you going to return us the money you borrowed?"
"What… what money?"
The man from the Merlin Family only hesitated slightly and the few fellows who were at least the level of a Magic Shooter suddenly turned hostile. This was simply worse than a beast, totally not giving the other party a chance to admit they were wrong before smashing the casino with their magic powers, then finishing it off by igniting a fire before they left to look for another target…