Silver Nurturing Pill!
As Finn thought about this mysterious pill, a deep yearning could be seen in his eyes. Unlike potions, pills were far more difficult to make. The process was much more complex and time-consuming: melting each ingredient one by one, separating the essential components, combining them, and shaping them into a perfect sphere.
Because of how much harder it was to create, the price of a pill was easily ten times higher than that of a potion.
If the Body Strengthening Potion focused on empowering the body and could be used only once, the Silver Nurturing Pill—a type of soul-enhancing pill—focused on strengthening the soul. It could be taken repeatedly by a Silver Rank Adventurer. It was a miraculous medicine that could transform the life of any Silver Rank Adventurer, exactly what they needed if they wanted to reach the 9th Level Silver Rank as quickly as possible.
If others learned that Finn was planning to use this Rank 2 pill, they would think he had a death wish. The amount of energy a Silver Rank body could absorb was incomparable to that of a Bronze Rank—especially someone like him who was only at 7th Level Bronze Rank. If his body failed to endure the power contained in the Silver Nurturing Pill, it was highly likely that he would explode into pieces. That was why so few Bronze Rank Adventurers ever dared to attempt such a thing—usually, only those at 9th Level Bronze Rank.
Of course, Finn knew all of this—but he was not like ordinary Adventurers.
Ever since childhood, Finn had been different, though he never knew why. Even when he was only a 5th Level Bronze Rank, he was capable of fighting Adventurers or Vicious Beasts stronger than himself. Everyone in his clan who knew him praised this unusual ability. In addition, his soulforce coil could absorb resources far faster than normal.
After a moment, he took out his alchemy cauldron—worth eight hundred gold coins—and carefully set it in front of him. He also arranged more than twenty ingredients beside the cauldron. When everything was in order, he took a deep breath and slowly closed his eyes.
He recalled every required ingredient, the exact process, and the precise intensity of heat needed to create the Silver Nurturing Pill. Then he slowly opened his eyes and stretched his arms.
He laid his palm against the cauldron and let his alchemy flame flow into it. The blue-green flame gradually heated the interior. Through the cauldron's transparent glass section, he could clearly see the fierce, dancing green-blue fire.
Once the flame had calmed, he picked up a multicolored flower: the Rainbow Flower. The natural energy within it was perfectly suited to strengthening his soulforce.
He gave the Rainbow Flower one final look, paused for a moment, and then placed it inside the cauldron. The once-calm flame engulfed the flower, and its vibrant colors slowly faded. Finn carefully adjusted the flame's temperature, letting the flower char as it floated inside.
As the flower burned, a few drops of green liquid formed and hovered in the cauldron. As the drops accumulated, the flower withered into ash and fell to the very bottom. Using his soulforce, Finn guided the green liquid into a container.
After extracting the liquid, he continued processing the other ingredients. This entire process lasted nearly twelve hours and consumed an enormous amount of his soulforce. To recover his strength, he meditated and circulated his energy throughout his body.
--
In a small room, a man stood straight, gazing out the window. Behind him, another man dressed entirely in black knelt respectfully.
"Institution Master, I have completed your orders. I wish to report that your suspicions were correct. Inner Instructor Xuan did attempt to kill Finn Doria of the Azure Wood Family. However, the boy miraculously survived, and I even saw him coming in and out of the Institute as if nothing had happened," the man in black reported.
Kiden did not answer immediately. He already knew about this matter. He had spoken with Finn and suspected as much even then. But what puzzled him was how the boy seemed so unaffected. He hadn't reported the incident—as if he simply didn't care.
After a moment of silence, Kiden sighed and murmured, "Hmm. I promised myself I would never allow what happened in the past to repeat itself, yet here I am again, powerless to stop it. I can't punish Instructor Xuan. For now, I must take steps to prevent any further attempts on that boy's life—because if it happens again, the ordinary clans will start to lose faith in this institution's safety."
"Core Instructor Haechi, can you assign Instructor Xuan to a mission? The longer he's away, the better. This is all I can do for now. Even though I already know who's behind this, I can do nothing against them. There is a powerful influence supporting the Black Tiger Family, so all I can do is watch as they torment every Azure Wood Family member who enrolls here," Kiden continued.
"As you command, Institution Master," Haechi answered respectfully. But he did not leave immediately; there was something weighing on his mind. "Institution Master, I know I shouldn't ask, but…are you referring to that Noble Clan? But why are they doing this? I can't understand what they're planning."
Kiden didn't answer. Instead, he turned to Haechi and forced a smile. Even as Institution Master, he could not stand against an entire clan—especially not a Noble Clan.
The young members of a Noble Clan were never sent to train at the Sacred Dragon Institute. Instead, they were placed directly into their factions—because they simply could not be compared to young Adventurers from ordinary clans or even Aristocrat Clans.
--
Inside his dormitory, Finn sat peacefully with his eyes closed, his whole body surrounded by an invisible aura. His breathing had returned to normal. He picked up a crystal from the floor and studied it carefully. It was a Second Grade Magic Crystal from a Second Grade Vicious Beast—one of the items he'd bought from Green's shop.
Like the other ingredients, he placed the crystal into the cauldron. He raised the alchemy flame's temperature higher, since unlike herbs, a magic crystal was quite tough.
He waited patiently for it to turn into powder, which soon floated up before him. A moment later, the other ingredients also floated around him. He guided them with his soulforce into the cauldron.
Again, he increased the flame's heat and watched as it consumed the materials. Inside, the ingredients mixed and shifted into various shapes. With his careful control, the pill finally formed into the proper sphere. He quickly placed it into a small bottle. As soon as his strength returned, he would consume it—and he swore he would crush Seve!
"At last!" Finn said joyfully. But moments later, a sudden wave of exhaustion washed over him. The world spun around him, and he felt an overwhelming drowsiness.
He tried to fight the fatigue, but he was simply too drained. After struggling for a few moments, he collapsed to the floor and immediately lost consciousness.
When Finn awoke, he realized he was no longer in his room. All around him was nothing but pure darkness. He couldn't see anything but the void.
Holding his head, he steadied himself and murmured in confusion, "Where am I?"
"You are inside your own dream," answered a voice.
"Who's there?!" Finn immediately tensed as he heard a man's voice.
'Did someone from the Black Tiger Family take me to some dark place to kill me in secret? Are they really that desperate to end my life?' Finn wondered.
"As I said, you are inside your dream," the voice repeated.
Finn's eyes widened in shock as a figure suddenly appeared before him. It was a man who looked no older than thirty. What startled Finn even more was that the man's body was surrounded by a white glow.
"If this is my dream…why are you here?" Finn asked warily.
The mysterious man smiled but did not answer directly. "For years, I traveled through the cosmos carrying the 'Rise of Gods' system—a Virtual Reality. But recently, something changed in the universe. A massive rift pulled my soul through and brought me into your body. Even I don't know why it happened. All I know is that my soul merged with yours, boy."
Finn was stunned, his eyes wide as he pointed at the man, his voice shaking. "Y-you're inside my body?"
"Hmm," the man nodded solemnly. He continued gently, "In the days I've spent within you, I've witnessed the world you live in, boy. And did you know…your world bears striking similarities to the game I played?" the soul explained.
"A game?" Finn repeated in confusion.
"Aiya. Yes—even your language is exactly the same as the one used in the game. Once my soul fully merges with yours, you'll understand everything clearly. You will inherit my memories and experience from inside and outside the game," the soul said calmly.
"In the short time I've been in your body, I've learned your clan now faces a great trial. I don't want what happened to me to happen to others," the soul continued, meeting Finn's gaze earnestly. "I want to help you gain the strength you need to protect your clan. I want to help you grow strong enough to protect everyone you love, Finn Doria."