Joseph's incident, thanks to the Overseers' swift intervention and Elric's diplomatic handling, didn't stir up much trouble. Only a small circle of Mages knew the real reason behind Joseph's disappearance.
Following Joron's suggestion, Edwyn moved into the 56th floor of the Central Black Tower, becoming neighbors with Chayle.
The assassination attempt left a lasting impact on Edwyn. Before this, he had always focused solely on studying and exploring knowledge, in no rush to increase his personal power.
That was partly because knowledge is power for a wizard, and partly because his reclusive, low-key lifestyle made him feel safe.
Joseph shattered that illusion.
…
"Intermediate Meditation Technique: 200,000 Academy Coins," the shop's golem clerk announced in a mechanical tone.
"Here's the payment," Edwyn said, handing over a thick wad of academy currency.
As Edwyn's Spiritforce gradually increased, his beginner-level meditation technique had become less effective. Before the curse attempt, he hadn't really minded, there were still six or seven years before the Blood Trial. He had enough time to reach Intermediate Apprentice using just the beginner technique, and he preferred to trade Mana Stones with Joron for knowledge instead.
After all, for Mages, knowledge is the ultimate form of strength. A few points of Spiritforce rarely made a difference.
But now, his mindset had changed.
Strength does matter.
The intermediate technique was many times more effective. With it, he could likely raise his Spiritforce to 30 within three years.
After collecting the scroll via pneumatic tube, Edwyn headed to the marketplace for materials, it was time for his second bloodline alchemy.
"Two-Headed Troll Bloodline: 500 Mana Stones. Thank you for your patronage."
Two-headed trolls are humanoid creatures that dwell in the eastern plains of the Magus World. They possess immense strength and terrifying regeneration. According to records, a pure-blood adult troll could be sliced in half and still regenerate both halves into full bodies.
Edwyn stared at the vial of blood, watching it pulse and squirm along the glass like it was trying to escape.
"Your vitality's off the charts. If I refined you into pure blood, would you just ascend into the skies?"
Because of their high fertility, two-headed trolls have countless hybrid offshoots. Even hybrids who breed with pure-bloods can produce offspring that appear identical to true two-headed trolls, and even their regenerative abilities are nearly the same. That's why most blood samples sold on the market contain mixed lineage.
But Edwyn didn't care. He could refine it.
Back at the Black Tower, Edwyn began preparing his tools.
Unlike the crude setup from his first attempt, the second required a magic-conducting containment unit large enough to hold his entire body, as well as specially-prepared alchemy reagents to aid the process.
The container was easy, Joron had tools for crafting chimera beasts, and some of those would do.
Still, when he and Chayle entered Joron's storage room, the sight left Edwyn speechless.
"Isn't this… a coffin?" he muttered.
What stood before him was a coffin made of dark crystal, engraved with countless runes. At first glance, it looked like something designed to imprison a monster.
"You said you wanted the best growth chamber," Chayle said, barely suppressing a laugh. "This is the professor's finest. Using it for bloodline alchemy is serious overkill."
Edwyn rolled his eyes, but accepted it anyway. He was a practical man. If it worked, that's all that mattered.
Back in his room, he spent the afternoon drawing the complex bloodline alchemy circle on his body. He failed twice before getting it right.
Then, he picked up the vial of troll blood.
[Material: Two-Headed Troll Blood]
[Refinable Substance: Pure Two-Headed Troll Blood]
[Refinement Cost: 150 Mana]
[Refine?]
"Yes."
As he confirmed, the blood vanished, and his mana dropped. Seconds later, a glowing, vivid-red droplet materialized in his hand, teeming with life force.
He stored it carefully.
Then he filled the crystal coffin with a pale green solution, viscous like jelly. During the alchemy process, this fluid would provide nutrients and life energy.
He inserted twenty Mana Stones into slots on the side of the coffin.
Everything ready, Edwyn stepped into the fluid, held the blood to his chest with a mana grip, sealed the lid, and activated the alchemy circle.
Thump. Thump.
A thunderous heartbeat rang in his ears. Like lava, the blood pumped from his heart and surged through his body. Every muscle in him began to twitch and spasm.
Tear, recover. Tear, recover.
The pain defied description. If pain had levels from 1 to 10, this wasn't on the scale. It was like the number Pi, endless, dull, and inescapable.
Eventually, the agony began to subside. His body was adapting to the new bloodline.
And then, he passed out.
If someone had opened the coffin at that moment, they would've seen that the fluid had gone from pale green to clear, and Edwyn's body had visibly grown in bulk.
His physical stats climbed steadily.
24… 25… 28… 29…
Who knows how much time passed before Edwyn finally awoke.
Rumble.
He pushed open the lid and climbed out. The solution inside was now completely clear, and the twenty Mana Stones had all been consumed.
"How long was I out?"
He rinsed off the remaining fluid, changed into a fresh outfit, and immediately noticed something.
His clothes were too tight.
He found Chayle, who informed him that he had been asleep for an entire month.
"Nice formula, little bro," Chayle said, patting Edwyn's biceps in awe. "You've only done this twice, and already you look this strong."
He'd once suggested Edwyn switch to one of Joron's official formulas. But now it looked like Edwyn's homebrew bloodline path was working better.
"Not bad. This round focused mainly on strength and regeneration," Edwyn explained.
Chayle fetched a crystal orb for a test. Edwyn was stunned, his physique had jumped from 23 to 29.9.
"Just barely missed the reflexive enhancement threshold," Edwyn muttered. "If I had crossed that line, it would've saved me tons of time meditating."
"Don't dream too hard, kid," Chayle said, retrieving the orb. "That last point may look small, but crossing it is like jumping a canyon. Countless masters die trying to break through, using exotic potions and risking their lives in battle just for that one point."
"Meditation might be slow," he added, "but before you become a Mage, it's the only method without a hard cap."
"Yeah… I suppose." Edwyn sighed. If bloodline enhancement was truly more efficient, then it would've been the dominant wizarding path, not spirit-powered spellcasting.
"Oh right, Chayle, I need a favor." Edwyn stopped Chayle from leaving and gave him a sheepish grin.
Chayle narrowed his eyes. This was suspicious. Very suspicious.
"What kind of favor?"
"Well… I want to use your chimera beast to help me test out my new strength."