Chapter 360 - 352: Promotion to Level 4 Alchemist

Chapter 360: Chapter 352: Promotion to Level 4 Alchemist

The next morning, Count Leman’s clipper weighed anchor and set sail. Its sails billowed with wind as it headed for the Royal Capital.

Baron Kaman and the brothers, Matthew and Samuel, stayed behind. Their carriage headed for the Newly Cultivated Land, where they would survey the area. Velin had promised they could each choose a standard-sized Knight’s Manor—any more than that and they wouldn’t have the money to manage it.

Velin took part in neither of these matters. Compared to the disturbances of the outside world, he was far more eager to return to the familiar life of research. A strange sense of excitement was welling up from the bottom of his heart.

In truth, improving the adhesive wasn’t a task no one else could do, but he chose to handle it himself. For some reason, he felt an unusual impulse for Alchemy today, as if a long-untouched string was humming, urging him to play it.

It called for him to rediscover that state of flow, isolated from the world, where all things were under his control.

Inside his private research lab, Velin took a jar of resin from a shelf. It was a product of the "Thick-skinned Tree." He needed an adhesive for paving roads, a material cheaper than the currently available asphalt.

He sat down at his workbench and spread out a sheet of parchment. His movements were fluid and smooth. On it was a formula he had already calculated three times and knew by heart.

’One hundred grams of resin, thirty grams of stone powder, ten grams of fine sand.’

He used a scale to weigh the materials precisely, placing them one by one into a crucible. He lit the alchemy furnace and adjusted the valve. Under his control, the flame’s temperature was as steady as his breathing. Blue flames licked the bottom of the crucible, and the resin began to melt, emitting the scent of pine.

He picked up a glass rod and began to stir.

As he picked up the glass rod and began to stir, the feeling intensified. The crucible felt like an extension of his body, and every stir carried a wondrous rhythm.

His Spiritual Power extended naturally, sensing the changes in the materials within the crucible.

But this time, something felt different.

His Spiritual Power pierced through the crucible, through the viscous resin liquid, and touched upon a much finer level. He "saw" the particles of stone powder suspended and tumbling within the resin, saw the sharp edges of the fine sand.

A resonance occurred.

A thought flashed through his mind—’Make them fuse faster.’

The liquid in the crucible began to swirl faster. The stone powder and fine sand, moving in a way that defied fluid dynamics, swiftly and evenly distributed themselves into every corner of the resin. The entire process was about ten percent faster than the quickest time recorded in his notes.

’A variable outside the formula.’

Velin stopped and recorded the data. He brought over new materials and repeated the process.

The results were consistent.

After more than a dozen repeated experiments, he put down his pen. The data didn’t lie; the increase in reaction speed was stable, between twelve and fifteen percent. The only variable... was him.

’Is my Spiritual Power interfering with the reaction process?’

He took his experiment logs and a cooled, solidified sample, left the basement, and headed for Valerius’s laboratory.

The master alchemist was organizing his precious materials. Seeing Velin enter, he wiped his hands.

"Any new discoveries? Judging by your expression, this doesn’t look like a small matter."

"My Alchemy was a bit unusual today. What do you make of it?" 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

Velin placed the dark gray solid and a stack of parchment covered in data on the table.

Valerius picked up the sample. It felt heavy and hard in his hand. He knocked it with his knuckles, producing the sound of stones striking each other. He leaned in to smell it, then licked it with the tip of his tongue before spitting quickly.

"A perfect solidification, with almost no impurities precipitated... Has your technique improved again?"

He picked up the parchment and began to read.

His fingers traced over the data Velin had recorded, his expression shifting from neutral to confused, and finally, to incredulous shock.

He shot to his feet, knocking over a stack of ancient books on the table, which scattered across the floor.

"This isn’t interference, it’s not! This speed... this talent! How long have you been practicing Alchemy? This is simply unheard of!"

Valerius was so excited his beard was trembling.

"Master, what exactly do you mean?" Velin didn’t understand what he was getting at.

Valerius paced around the table, waving his arms. "Your Spiritual Power is no longer an observer; it has become a participant! You have left an imprint of your will on the material plane! This is ’Spiritual Catalyst’! This is the threshold of a Level 4 Alchemist!"

"Spiritual Catalyst," Velin repeated the term.

"Yes! Most alchemists spend their entire lives lingering outside the gate, only able to follow formulas like a cook! But you, you’ve already started trying to write your own recipes!" Valerius stopped pacing and looked at Velin with a gaze mixed with envy and fanaticism.

"How do I stabilize and strengthen this phenomenon?" Velin asked the most crucial question.

"Advance," Valerius’s voice grew solemn. "You need to take this feeling from a trickle and gather it into a raging river. When your will can scour the internal structure of matter like a flood, precisely deconstructing and reassembling it, you will have formed your ’Spiritual Catalyst.’ That is the power of a Level 4 Alchemist."

Velin returned to his basement.

He commissioned Valerius to prepare the advancement ceremony for him. Meanwhile, he returned to his own lab, where more than a dozen different materials were laid out before him. He closed his eyes and began to recall and analyze the feeling of "resonance."

’Power output model established. Frequency range preliminarily determined.’

He extended a finger, pointing at a glass of clear water. His Spiritual Power was released at a specific frequency, and ripples appeared on the water’s surface.

’Frequency is too low. It can only cause macroscopic vibrations.’

He adjusted the frequency and released it again. The water’s surface remained calm, but the temperature of the water in the glass began to rise slowly.

’Frequency is too high. It’s converting to and dissipating as thermal energy. Inefficient.’

He experimented continuously, recording data with each attempt, steadily solidifying that peculiar sensation.

「Three days later.」

The advancement ceremony was ready in Valerius’s private laboratory.

A complex alchemy Array was drawn on the floor with special silver powder. The ingredients for the advancement Magic Potion were neatly placed at the various nodes of the Array.

"Remember, Velin," Valerius’s voice was serious and focused, "once the ceremony begins, you must use your Spiritual Power to feel every ingredient. Don’t force control, but rather guide and resonate. Just as you did before, let your will become the catalyst for their reaction."

Velin took a deep breath, sat down in the center of the Array, and closed his eyes.

"Now, begin! Guide the brain stem fluid of the Heartstealer!"

Following Valerius’s guidance, Velin extended his Spiritual Power, carefully enveloping the material. In his perception, the spiritual particles of the brain stem fluid seemed to come alive. He didn’t command them but followed the trend of their flow, applying a gentle push.

"Excellent! Next is the Astral Silvervine Pollen. Feel its energy, bind it, and don’t let it dissipate!"

Following Valerius’s step-by-step commands, Velin guided the ingredients one by one. His Spiritual Power was more active than ever before, and the sensation of the "Spiritual Catalyst" grew clearer and more stable.

Under his guidance, the materials on the Array deconstructed and fused one by one, converging in the air into a shimmering, iridescent mass of liquid.

"The final step! Fuse them!"

Velin’s Spiritual Power abruptly converged. Driven by an invisible force, all the substances within the Array merged into a torrent. In mid-air, the liquid let out a HUM, finally coalescing into a single droplet shimmering with a silver brilliance, hovering before him.

He opened his mouth, and the droplet flew inside.

A massive surge of energy exploded within his body. He felt his very soul being elevated to a new dimension.

He summoned his status panel.

[Name: Velin Klein]

[Level: Level 4 Alchemist]

[Bloodline: Song of the Forest (Silver Tier) 54%, Mixed Bloodline 46%]

[Abilities: Spring Messenger, Mind Torrent, Spiritual Catalyst, Extraordinary Perception]

[Overall Evaluation: The host has officially stepped into the Extraordinary Realm. Your soul has undergone a qualitative transformation. You are beginning to touch the truth of the world.]

Velin opened his eyes. A silver glint flashed through them, and his entire demeanor had become more profound.

"It worked... It really worked!" Valerius let out a long sigh, the tension on his face melting into ecstasy.

He leaned on the table, almost unable to stand. "Unbelievable, a success on the first try... You’re a monster." He then seemed to remember something and added in a mumble, "Oh, right. After advancing to Level 4, you must go to the Alchemists’ Guild in the Royal Capital for official registration and certification. Only then will your level be recognized by the official organizations, and you’ll be able to enjoy the privileges and resources of a Level 4 Mage."

Velin nodded, committing the matter to memory. Right now, he was more curious about the new ability he had acquired. He was full of curiosity about this new ability called [Extraordinary Perception].

With a thought, he tried to use this ability.

The world instantly transformed.

He could "see" the aether flowing in the air and "hear" the eons of silence from the rock beneath his feet. He focused his attention on his own palm, his vision delving infinitely deeper.

Skin, muscle, blood vessels... everything magnified at a rapid pace. He broke through the macroscopic boundary and entered an Extraordinary world at the cellular level.

The sight before him was fantastical and magnificent. Each cell was like a miniature galaxy, with points of light glittering inside. Energy flowed slowly between the cells like a river of stars.

Just then, he discovered some cells that were different from the rest.

Amidst the ordinary cells radiating a soft blue light, there were some extremely special ones. They emitted a faint yet resilient golden glow, and their interiors seemed to be inscribed with incomprehensibly complex structures.

’This...’ A thought stirred in Velin’s mind. ’This might be the source of my bloodline’s power.’

Just as he was immersed in the wondrous spectacle of this microscopic world, a series of urgent knocks came from outside.

"My lord! Urgent message!"

Velin withdrew from his state of Extraordinary Perception and rose to open the stone door. Valerius followed him out, watching the scene with curiosity. A guard stood there, panting, holding a brass message tube with both hands.

He took the message tube, twisted off the cap, and pulled out the paper scroll inside.

The handwriting on the paper was messy yet forceful—it was Count Leman’s.

’Velin, come to the Royal Capital at once. Your enfeoffment as a Count has met with a great obstacle.’

After reading the letter, Velin’s brow furrowed slightly, but it quickly smoothed out. He handed the scroll to Valerius beside him and said calmly, "It seems my trip to the Royal Capital will have to be moved up."

"Perfect timing," Velin said, turning around, his tone betraying little emotion. "Master, I can stop by the Alchemists’ Guild along the way and take care of the registration you mentioned."