257: Chapter 257 Alchemy Apprentice Assistant! Flora! Golan Fortress Falls!

One week later.

Second basement level of Golden Flame Castle.

Rowan stood before a workbench, stirring the potion in the crucible with a glass rod.

He had recently cleared this space out to serve specifically as his alchemy laboratory.

The room was about eighty square meters.

Several rows of stone shelves lined the walls, neatly stocked with various herbs, minerals, and magical beast materials.

In the center of the room stood a large alchemy table, holding various instruments like measuring cups and a distiller.

In the corner stood a small distillation apparatus made of copper pipes and crystals.

This complete set of Alchemist equipment cost him five thousand gold coins.

Adding in a series of foundational books for an Alchemist, it cost over ten thousand gold coins in total.

Over the past week, using his Level 2 Detection Spell and Deduction Spell, he had deduced all the exclusive potion formulas for every female official and guard member in the castle.

He then began brewing their various exclusive potions in this underground laboratory.

What made him feel somewhat delighted was Flora's talent; the Detection Spell indicated that she actually possessed an Alchemist talent.

With this, even though his All-Things Evolution Meditation Method could not be directly taught to others, his experience and techniques could be.

Thus, he first taught Flora the basics of the Crystal Meditation Method, planning to deduce exclusive meditation methods for each person based on their individual traits once his Deduction Spell level increased.

Consequently, Flora became the first Alchemist apprentice assistant under his command.

"Flora, hand me the Golden-Edged Flower," Rowan said without looking up, his stirring motion not stopping.

"Yes, My Lord," a soft voice came from the other side of the room.

Flora stood in front of a row of wooden shelves, tiptoeing to take down a bundle of herbs that still retained a pale golden luster after being dried.

She wore a grey wizard's robe, her long golden hair neatly tied behind her head. Her features were slightly less naive than a week ago, possessing a bit more charm.

She brought the Golden-Edged Flower to the alchemy table and then stood quietly to the side, watching Rowan's operations intently, noting down every step.

Rowan took the Golden-Edged Flower, tossed it into a mortar, and began grinding.

As he ground it, he pondered other matters in his mind.

These past few days, he had realized—compared to those truly major powers, his foundation was still too shallow.

For a lone adventurer, this wasn't a big problem, but he had a garden to cultivate and so many children to support.

When the children grew up, he would definitely need to enfeoff them.

In that case, he would need sufficient territory. Golden Flame Territory was still too small.

His hands didn't stop, and a moment later, another potion was finished.

He poured the finished potion into a slender crystal vial, sealed it with a cork, and wrote the number and name on the label—

012 · Tier 2 · Crimson Flame Potion · Mira.

[Potion Making Proficiency +2]

He turned around and said to Flora: "Flora, bring over the Morning Light Grass. Next, we will prepare the Dawn Light Potion."

"Yes, My Lord."

Flora replied softly, turning to walk toward the wooden shelves to begin searching for the next batch of materials needed.

Although her movements were still a bit awkward, they were much more proficient than when she started.

Rowan looked at her back, a satisfied smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

Once he trained Flora personally, he could let the apprentice do the work...

The garden cultivation also needed to establish a self-circulation; he couldn't rely on himself for everything.

He had more important things to do.

...

Western border of the Empire, Golan Fortress.

Lead-grey smoke rolled over the fortress, staining half the sky a murky dark red.

On the city walls, the Augustus Empire flag had fallen, and the Night Federation army surged in like a tide.

This military fortress, which had stood on the front line of the Empire's western border, officially fell today.

The Night Federation army did not linger in the city; the vanguard had already passed through and turned north to continue their advance.

Their goal was clear: head north.

Meanwhile.

Eastern border, Weixino City.

White stone buildings were layered along the coastline, and merchant ships from all over were docked in the harbor, sails everywhere.

In the central area of the city, towering magic towers stood.

Among them, one tower was built of silvery-white material, engraved with various complex spatial runes.

At the top of the tower, in a laboratory.

Sylvia was embedding a space crystal into a complex magic array structure.

The sea breeze from outside the window blew into the room through the half-open window, gently brushing her hair, but she was completely unaware.

Not until she had firmly embedded that space crystal into the final node of the array and confirmed that the magic power was flowing smoothly did she straighten up and let out a soft sigh.

She walked to the window, her gaze inadvertently sweeping over the secret letter that had just been delivered on the table.

There were only a few words on the letter: Golan Fortress has fallen, the Night Federation army has begun to head north.

Sylvia looked at those brief lines, remained silent for a moment, and then sighed softly.

She had already done her best regarding the situation in the North.

In a game of this level, there was very little she could do.

As for the rest, it depended on that person's own fortune.

At this moment, a silvery-white disc next to the laboratory bench suddenly emitted a faint humming sound, and ripples like waves appeared on its surface.

Sylvia reached out and tapped the disc lightly, and a concise piece of information appeared before her eyes.

Star Zone 49, spatial fluctuations intensifying, suspected that a devil is attempting to cross the border.

Sylvia looked at that message, her beautiful brows slightly furrowed.

As one of the most famous commercial ports on the east coast of the Vanirnor Continent, Weixino City was not only a trade hub for humans but also attracted those visitors from other worlds.

Especially devils from the Nine Hells of Baator!

Many devils liked to disguise themselves as humans, mingling in the taverns, casinos, and black markets of the city, enjoying the prosperity and pleasures of the human world.

They used flowery words and tempting promises to lure humans with expanding inner desires into signing soul contracts, step by step corrupting their minds and Draining their negative emotions as food.

Among them, the seven deadly desires—pride, envy, wrath, sloth, greed, gluttony, and lust—were their favorite food.

Beneath the surface prosperity of this city, undercurrents had never stopped surging.

Many big figures in the city were colluding with devils to varying degrees.

After all, devils were best at trading, which coincided with some of the characteristics of this city.

And as a spatial mage stationed in this tower, monitoring and dealing with these spatial ripples was one of her duties.

She thought for a moment and began to adjust the instrument.

She needed to verify the anomaly in Star Zone 49 personally before recording and archiving it. At the very least, she had to determine the rank and attributes of the cross-border entity.

...