Chapter 126: Changes Gradually Taking Place

Following the necessary routines of the recent chapters, the story will now begin to advance. The demon invasion was merely the opening act of the royal city saga, and the narrative will continue to unfold from here. I have some free time tomorrow, so I will add an extra chapter detailing the protagonist’s current character attributes and skill cards.

Avia used magic to heat some water for Wang Yu to wash up. Once he had cleaned himself and the chaotic alchemy lab, the dinner the girl had prepared was ready.

The fire in the stove cast a warm glow, and the dishes on the table were wreathed in rising white steam. The two sat at the table, eating and chatting.

"The potion you envisioned was a success? It’s called 'Armor-Breaker of the Past,' right?" Avia asked with a touch of wonder.

"Yes, it’s a success. Alchemy and potion-making are indeed different paths; as long as you follow the ratios, neither innovation nor replication is particularly difficult." Wang Yu held the golden vial in his hand, gazing at the concoction extracted from an entire canister of dragon blood.

It had cost a vast amount of precious dragon blood, but creating this was worth it. The name "Armor-Breaker of the Past" was inspired by a skill from a mod character in a game he had played back on Earth.

Its effect was to briefly re-apply the attributes from the past few turns onto oneself, resulting in a terrifyingly powerful enhancement. This small vial, refined from dragon blood, possessed a similar effect.

It could be considered a super-adrenaline, but its potency was absurd. The blood of powerful magical beasts contains a component that grants the body explosive power in desperate situations. Such components are rare, but they are explicitly documented in potion-making lore, and their effects are staggering.

Because this component is so scarce in most magical beasts, it has never appeared on the current potion market. Some unscrupulous alchemists simply prepare syringes filled with the blood of powerful beasts to pass off as "Berserker Potions."

Wang Yu had been wondering if he could extract these substances to create a more unique potion, distinct from the common Berserker variety.

While researching dragon blood this time, he was surprised—yet not entirely shocked—to find that the blood of dragons, the pinnacle of existence, clearly contained this component, and in a more specialized form.

The role of this component in dragon blood seems to be to squeeze the potential out of cells when the dragon is severely wounded, reactivating all power to achieve a miraculous, fleeting resurgence.

Cells stimulated by this component exhibit "transcendent" properties, allowing them to utilize resources far beyond their normal capacity.

Battle aura, mana, and even void energy could be absorbed and utilized by the cells in an incredible way, granting them a brief, exaggerated enhancement, potentially even manifesting special powers.

Recalling the "infinite possibilities" of dragons mentioned by the Lady of the Night, Wang Yu suspected that this incredible ability of cells to directly harness various energies was one of the sources of that infinite potential.

After some experimentation, Wang Yu successfully isolated these components from the dragon blood, resulting in this small vial of golden liquid.

When he tried injecting a small amount into his own body, the way his entire system surged with activity and a strange, ravenous hunger convinced him of his success.

"If I remember correctly, extracting this component from magical beast blood is supposed to be extremely difficult. I’ve seen it in the research of professors from other academies in my teacher’s collection. Otherwise, such a natural enhancement potion would be far superior to the current 'Berserker Potions'."

"It was a bit of a coincidence. The concentration of this component in dragon blood is much higher than in ordinary powerful beasts, and the unique activity of dragon blood allowed me to make them concentrate it themselves when stimulated."

"Also, because of Professor Zig’s unique condition, his inherent incompleteness prevents the blood from absorbing mana from the surrounding space, so it isn't consumed. By repeatedly stimulating and collecting it, I was able to obtain it."

Wang Yu looked at the vial in his hand. He had great confidence in it; once used, he would be stronger than ever before. The aftereffects would likely be just as severe, but when the time came to use it, those consequences would be secondary.

"By the way, Mr. Zig cannot use magic because his innate magic circuits are incomplete, right?" Avia nodded with a smile as she listened to Wang Yu describe his potion, though a hint of worry lingered in her eyes. She knew when Wang Yu would use this, and if she could, she would hope he never had to.

Upon hearing about Zig’s condition, Avia suddenly thought of something and asked a question.

"I don't know much about it, but that is indeed what the professor said. Why do you ask?" Wang Yu looked at the girl with curiosity.

"I was wondering, is it possible to help him reconstruct his magic circuits by creating new ones externally? Dragon scales—those regenerative materials that can accept innate dragon magic circuits—if we complete them from the outside, perhaps we could really make Mr. Zig whole again."

Wang Yu opened his mouth, his instinctual knowledge telling him this was impossible. The sheer number of magic circuits corresponding to a dragon’s massive body was staggering, not to mention the precision required to carve every single scale. But...

But she was Avia. The most brilliant mage and alchemist he had ever known. Was it truly impossible? The Void Song, the Eternal Night Firmament, and the Weaver’s Tome all seemed impossible, too. If it were Avia, everything suddenly seemed to become reasonable.

Wang Yu knew his own talent wasn't particularly outstanding; his rapid progress was merely a result of his special circumstances. He knew clearly that if a true master alchemist had obtained this precious dragon blood, they would have done a better job than he did.

This was why he never grew arrogant; he knew his own limits. He couldn't stop, or one day he would truly fall behind the girl’s pace.

He shook his head slightly. "We can try. If we can really help Mr. Zig complete his restoration, that would be a wonderful thing." Wang Yu agreed it was worth a shot.

"Yes, this is a field I’ve never explored—constructing magic circuits on a living being. Let’s contact Mr. Zig next time." The girl was full of enthusiasm; when it came to alchemy, she was always passionate.

……

The winter days were a period of brief peace. There were undercurrents in the royal city, but that seemed to have little to do with Wang Yu, who was essentially on vacation for the entire winter.

Time passed quickly. The temperature hadn't risen much, but changes in the mountain forests outside the city signaled that spring was not far off.

Every year, at the end of winter and the beginning of spring, the magical beasts that had been hiding and resting during the cold months would erupt in a wave of migration and hunting just before spring arrived. This brought many troubles; if not handled well, it could lead to significant losses. Conversely, if controlled, one could harvest a great deal of magical beast materials.

A messenger golem from Captain Shuguin pulled Wang Yu out of his training. He set his equipment aside in the courtyard, took the metal cylinder containing a parchment from the bird-shaped mechanical golem, and watched it depart.

"My physique has reached the standard, but my battle aura has seen no substantial progress, and as expected, there is no sign of an 'inner latent' developing." Wang Yu didn't rush to read the message, instead summarizing his training results.

His growth seemed to have hit a plateau. His physique was still improving, but the pace had slowed to a crawl.

His battle aura training had only improved in terms of manipulation, with no change in quantity. As for the "inner latent"—the hallmark of a formal knight—there was no sign of it, even though his physique had already met the requirements.

"It’s the same situation as when I first practiced battle aura. My body lacks the bloodlines inherited by the humans of this world. Since I don't have the method to generate battle aura, it’s only natural I wouldn't know how to awaken an inner latent."

"But how can I learn these things? I’ve encountered inner latents before—Oka’s 'Deadly Rhythm,' the scorching flames guarded by little Daniel—but I couldn't learn them..."

Wang Yu frowned. He knew his uniqueness was a double-edged sword, but he hadn't expected to face the negative consequences of his special constitution so soon. It gave him a headache.

However, Wang Yu was still Wang Yu. He would try to solve these problems rather than obsessing over them pointlessly.

Giving up on the dead end, he opened the parchment. The content made him raise an eyebrow, and he gathered his things and stepped out of the courtyard.

As soon as he left, he noticed something amiss. After his physical stats reached a certain level, his previously dull sixth sense seemed to have sharpened.

This perception, which seemed close to metaphysics, was actually the result of his body subconsciously analyzing peripheral vision, faint sounds, and other subtle cues, then relaying them to his brain. The sudden feeling of being watched or an abrupt sense of foreboding were all discovered this way.

As his physical stats climbed higher, this "sixth sense" advanced further. The moment he stepped out, he noticed someone watching him. When the person realized he had emerged, they quickly averted their gaze and hid, but Wang Yu was certain he hadn't misperceived it.

Walking down the street toward Shuguin’s location, the feeling of being watched grew more frequent. Hidden observers in the crowd, passersby who seemed to be chatting but kept their peripheral vision on him—Wang Yu didn't use ripples to scan them, but he was aware of every single gaze.

There was no malice, just pure observation. Wang Yu knew what these people were doing; they were likely eyes left near him by various factions and noble houses.

It made sense. Although Wang Yu seemed like an outsider, and the undercurrents of the royal city appeared to have nothing to do with him—a fact he could afford as someone who wasn't an Alastair—he was no longer a nobody.

He had been rewarded by the King during the demon invasion, his teammates included the son of a Grand Duke, he was friends with the eldest son of the Reid family, and he was a member of the Night’s Edge special operations team. Without a background or known origins, even if he had no intention of participating in the kingdom’s internal affairs, what would the other families think?

He was no longer the nameless pawn who had first arrived in the royal city. He was no longer a complete invisible entity. The moment he stepped onto the stage and was acknowledged by others, the concept of staying out of it was no longer an option.

He scratched his head. It wasn't that he hadn't anticipated this; he just hadn't expected it to come so soon. He didn't want to get involved in the murky waters of the royal city.

With Night’s Edge as his information channel, he knew which families were clashing in the shadows, where private skirmishes were occurring, and even whom the King had punished or promoted. He just had no interest in any of it.

He had never had any interest in political maneuvering, but change had arrived, and he had to accept it. These eyes from unknown families were likely just the beginning. As he became increasingly exposed to the gaze of various parties, even with Zig’s support, he would have to face troubles of his own.

He clenched his fist slightly and sighed. As expected, he really hated this messy business. A sense of annoyance began to grow, unbidden.

Just as Wang Yu was pondering how to deal with the potential probes from these families, a greeting from a sneaky-looking man by the roadside diverted his attention.

"Young man, interested in worshipping our Lord, the Lady of the Night? Many in the Ranger’s Guild already worship this goddess. Let me tell you, if you worship her, after a while, you’ll gain the ability to use divine arts related to the night."

The man, who claimed to be from the Ranger’s Guild but was likely from the Thieves’ Guild, held up a paper with an image of the Lady of the Night and tried to proselytize.

Wang Yu’s train of thought was interrupted. He glanced at the paper; it really was the image drawn by the non-human races in the Night Church—mysterious, dignified, and serene enough to evoke a sense of peace just by looking at it.

"Don't doubt it, young man. Remember when the sky suddenly went dark during the demon invasion? That was the Lady of the Night protecting us. A god who can manifest miracles—worshipping Her is definitely the right choice."

Seeing Wang Yu’s interest, the man became even more excited, bringing up the "Eternal Night Firmament" that Avia had created. In a sense, he wasn't wrong; the Lady of the Night had indeed protected the city, though the cause and effect were completely garbled.

"Do you know who I am?" Wang Yu pointed at himself and asked the man.

"Uh? You are... oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh! Sorry, sir, you’re from Night’s Edge! I won't bother you any further. Sorry for wasting your time."

The man was confused, but after his eyes darted around and he spotted the Night’s Edge emblem on Wang Yu’s clothes, he reacted immediately and retreated into an alley in a panic.

Watching the guy scurry away, Wang Yu smiled. It seemed the members of the Night Church had kept their promise and hadn't revealed who their Archbishop was. He had expected the faith of the Lady of the Night to spread quickly among rangers and thieves, but he hadn't realized it had already reached beyond the shadows of the royal city.

Recalling one of the reasons Shuguin had contacted him, Wang Yu understood. Changes were happening, but he didn't need to worry about them. He just needed to keep getting stronger until he could stand firm in any situation. That would be enough.