Chapter 9 The Alchemist Secret

The rebel soldiers raised their swords immediately. General Kaelen stepped forward, placing his massive body between me and the mysterious woman. His heavy broadsword was pointed directly at her chest. The cold wind howled through the scorched trees around us. The ashes from the destroyed royal army were still blowing gently in the freezing night air.

"Take one more step and I will take your head from your shoulders," Kaelen warned in a deep rumble. "How do you know about the magic of the King?"

Elara did not look scared at all. She stood perfectly still. She just smiled and pointed down at the small glass bottle sitting on the wet leaves. The blue liquid inside glowed like captured starlight in the dark forest.

"I am an alchemist," Elara said simply. "I study ancient magic, dark curses, and deadly poisons. I know the System is a parasite. I have seen it consume greedy men before. King Valen is bleeding his life away with every single spell he casts. You saw him age right before your very eyes."

I gently pushed Kaelen aside and looked at the young woman. My body felt incredibly heavy. My breathing was shallow and weak. The massive cost of the green fire had drained my youth completely. My legs were shaking violently beneath me.

"You said you know how to cheat the System," I whispered. My voice sounded rough and incredibly dry. "Tell me exactly how to do it."

Elara kicked the small glass bottle toward my boots. It rolled smoothly over the wet ground and stopped right at my toes.

"Drink that first," she commanded. "It is not a permanent cure, but it will trick the ancient parasite inside you. It is a fake life force potion. It will give you enough borrowed energy to walk on your own two feet without collapsing."

"Do not drink it, my King," Kaelen urged quickly. His eyes were wide with pure suspicion. "It could be a deadly poison from Malakor. This woman could be another assassin sent to finish the job. We cannot trust a stranger hiding in the dark woods."

I looked down at the glowing blue liquid. My physical body was failing rapidly. The dark dragon scales on my arms looked dull and cracked. I had just burned five whole years of my life. I needed strength immediately if I wanted to survive the night in this freezing forest. I slowly reached down and picked up the smooth glass bottle.

The blue System screen flashed softly in front of my eyes.

[Unknown alchemical substance detected. The liquid contains high levels of concentrated monster soul energy. Consumption will temporarily mask your true lifespan and restore your physical strength.]

The System confirmed her words. It was not a deadly poison. I pulled the wooden cork out of the bottle and drank the glowing blue liquid in one single gulp.

It tasted like cold mint and raw electricity. A sudden wave of freezing energy washed down my throat and exploded outward into my chest. The pain in my muscles vanished instantly. The terrible heavy weight crushing my lungs lifted away completely. I took a deep breath of the cold forest air. I looked down at my hands. The pale and wrinkled skin was smoothing out beautifully. My normal physical strength was returning incredibly fast. I felt completely reborn.

"Incredible," Kaelen whispered, lowering his heavy sword just a little bit.

"It will only last for twenty four hours," Elara explained calmly. She pulled her dark hood back over her head. "Once the fake energy burns out entirely, the System will realize it was tricked. It will demand real lifespan again. But twenty four hours is more than enough time to reach my hidden workshop."

"Why should we go to your workshop?" I asked, testing my new strength by clenching my fists. "And why are you helping a fallen king you have never even met?"

"Because I hate your brother Malakor," Elara answered. Her bright purple eyes flashed with sudden pure anger. "His royal guards destroyed my peaceful village. They burned my magical books and hunted my family. I want him dead just as much as you do. But you cannot kill him if you die from your own magic first."

She turned around and started walking deeper into the dark forest. She motioned for us to follow her lead.

"The System requires life force to power your spells," Elara said over her shoulder as she walked. "Right now, it is eating your human life. But the System is stupid. It only knows pure hunger. It does not care where the food actually comes from. If we can capture a massive monster core, we can link it directly to your body. Every time you cast a spell, the System will eat the monster soul instead of your actual life."

I stopped walking for a second. The idea was brilliant. It was a perfect cheat. I could use all of my devastating dragon magic without aging a single day. I could become totally invincible on the battlefield.

"Is it really that simple?" Kaelen asked loudly. He signaled for the fifty rebel soldiers to fall into line behind us. We marched quietly through the thick fog.

"Nothing is simple in this cursed world," Elara replied with a dark laugh. "The monster core must be incredibly powerful to satisfy the System. A normal beast will not work at all. We need a supreme threat level creature. I have one trapped inside the deep basement of my workshop. It is a shadow demon I caught three long years ago."

We walked for several hours through the freezing rain. The borrowed energy in my veins kept me perfectly warm and strong. Eventually, we reached a massive stone door hidden perfectly inside the side of a tall rocky mountain. This was her secret alchemist laboratory.

Elara placed her small hand on the stone door and whispered a strange magical password. The heavy door slowly ground open with a loud scraping noise. We all stepped inside the pitch black cavern.

Suddenly, the bright blue System screen violently shattered into tiny pieces in my vision. It reformed instantly, glowing a blinding and incredibly angry red color.

[Critical Warning. Parasite Protocol Activated.]

[Host is attempting an illegal soul substitute. The System refuses fake magical offerings.]

[Punishment Protocol Initiated. To prevent the host from cheating, all remaining lifespan will now be drained in five minutes. Survive, or die immediately.]

Before I could even shout a loud warning to Kaelen, the massive stone door slammed completely shut behind us. We were locked completely inside the dark mountain, and a terrifying roar echoed from the deep basement below.