Chapter 601: Vile

Each discovery did more than expand the puzzle. It broadened its very scope.

It was similar to climbing a mountain. The higher one went, the farther one could see, witnessing an exponentially greater picture.

Liam had initially seen the Great Quiet Desert’s lack of magical plants as an incredibly limiting factor, which it was. However, his recent experiments had expanded what he could do with the far fewer available ingredients, at least the poisonous ones.

With the Poisonous Refinement, Liam had sort of concocted a harmless version of his venom. He had greatly limited its deadliness to a specific target, which could be as ethereal as the Qi.

That opened the path to turning something as incredible as the rank 3 venom into a mere complementary ingredient, enabling recipes Liam had previously believed unavailable in the area.

Moreover, the rank 3 venom was just the beginning. Liam could apply that theory to every poison, which he should. His time in the Great Quiet Desert promised to bring complete immersion in those substances, and he planned to push it even further.

That was Liam’s opportunity to specialize his alchemical skills properly. Since perfection was his baseline, he couldn’t even fathom what kind of poison master he would become.

Truth be told, Liam didn’t know magical beasts well. He had more experience than most with animals due to his hunting upbringing. Still, Krosstoen’s mountain hadn’t exactly made him an expert in every kind of fauna.

The desert especially was an environment very foreign to Liam, but he didn’t need to know the fauna’s patterns for his current task. He only had to follow his nose and mouth.

The task was exceedingly easy. After a week of hunting, Liam had caught plenty of details about the area, especially an extremely foul one.

It took Liam but a few hours after leaving the underground hall to find his target. Feces lay on the rocky soil, likely marking a territory’s edge, and being so close to it almost made him rethink his understanding of poisons.

’This is truly vile,’ Liam cursed internally, covering his nose and mouth with his ample sleeve, only for that to have little effect against that biological weapon.

It was also amazing how the feces didn’t seem to belong to powerful creatures. At most, Liam would put them under level two magical beasts.

’I bet even the overlords would stay away,’ Liam thought, storing the feces, before an idea popped into his mind. ’Didn’t I do the same with the bats in the Demonic Sect’s ruins?’

Back then, Liam had used a specific scent to keep magical beasts away, but he could weaponize that theory far more now, even achieving properly debilitating effects.

’A poisonous scent,’ Liam considered. ’It would be easy to counter, but what if I make it unnoticeable until it’s too late?’

Poison masters had to be insidious, and part of it came from their ability to infect opponents without them noticing. Liam had considered the matter in the battle cages when he wanted to slip his venom into Lee’s wine, but he could see actual battle applications now.

’I need to seclude myself for the next decade,’ Liam couldn’t help but think. He had barely started living as a branching expert, but he already had so many ideas that made his fingers itch nonstop.

Of course, there was a time and a place, and Liam still lacked the ingredients to experiment to his heart’s desire. Still, that step would come right after dealing with the perfume, so he hurried to get it done.

With how vile that smell was, finding more feces didn’t take long. Liam could even start using his upbringing there since he was basically treading the perimeter of a hunting territory.

As the night descended in all its chilling cold, Liam was pretty much set and ready to return to the underground hall, but an issue had tailed him for some time, and it was now about to burst.

Liam turned, inspecting the small army of polecats that had gathered behind him. Thirty or so level one and two creatures were warily checking him, hissing nonstop despite the immense power difference.

’Am I doing the whole branching expert thing wrong?’ Liam wondered, fangs peeking from behind his canines as he hissed at the group.

Jessica had been able to talk a level three bear out of a fight, so Liam could obviously convey his intentions far better through his hisses.

The polecats shrank under Liam’s hiss, but they didn’t disperse. They trembled in fear but held their ground, some of the level two specimens among them turning and lifting their striped tails.

Qi moved, suggesting abilities, which Liam soon saw in all their terrifying foulness.

A murky cloud blew over the area, infesting it with a smell so vile the very ground withered. Liam had obviously dodged the attack, but remained at its side, outside its reach, his sleeve covering his face, his dark eyes showing interest.

’I can totally make this,’ Liam thought. ’Is this what the Demoness meant by mimicking the world?’

Liam couldn’t dwell long in his inspection. Actually, he could, but he preferred to summon the greatsword and make the best of that strangely aggressive species.

The polecats had charged at Liam, seemingly in a frenzy. They jumped at him despite feeling their inferiority deep into their bones, even showcasing commendable speed.

Nevertheless, those magical beasts inevitably appeared slow in Liam’s perception, but even they had their uses. Just like rank 3 recipes also relied on rank 2 ingredients, he could benefit from that harmless assault.

Images from the battle against Andrew played in Liam’s vision as he swung the greatsword. Even against level one and level two magical beasts, he could perfect himself.

It wasn’t about the world, the opponent, or the power difference. Liam was an alchemical product with a recipe that kept expanding the more abilities he wielded, and he could continue refining himself even when just using himself.