Chapter 144: Alchemist and Alchemist

"This is an unexpected surprise." Venigo chuckled. He produced a vial of restorative potion and poured it over the mass, which greedily absorbed the liquid.

Venigo began to feed it more materials: the remnants of water elementals, the carcasses of monsters, broken weaponry... The mass grew at a visible rate, becoming denser and more vibrant.

Unfortunately, held aloft by Venigo's psychokinesis, the instinctive tentacles that sprouted from the mass could not touch any living creature.

It could not parasitize.

"What active little things. How should I put them to use?" Venigo mused. He looked up at the mages at work.

They were busy constructing a complex magic circle. They paid no mind to his corner; in fact, few noticed that this brawny, blond young man was Venigo. They likely assumed he was just another member of the Prism Mercenary Group.

However, someone was watching. Venigo noticed a young woman among the ranks of the mages observing him.

Well, Venigo knew that General Blue’s shirtless appearance was perhaps a bit too provocative—though, to be fair, the General was quite dashing with his well-defined, muscular physique.

He gave the young mage a friendly smile.

She looked right through him. Or rather, she wasn't looking at Venigo himself, but at the golden-red meat cocoon held motionless by his telekinesis.

When her work reached a lull, the blond beauty approached and asked with a slight frown, "What is that?"

"One of the masterpieces of the Sheep-Bleating Cult; a dangerous item that turns its target into a monster by parasitizing the human body," Venigo explained. "Though, this one is alive."

"Like a demonic possession?" the beauty asked.

"Similar, but visible." Venigo gestured to the golden-red substance. "You will find these distinct traits on the monsters it creates: greater strength, regenerative capabilities, and a state of perpetual hunger... Hmm, are you interested in it?"

The beauty nodded.

"It's very dangerous. If you were to come into contact with it—" Venigo sliced off a small strip of the substance and tossed it onto a large silver-scaled fish that the little wolf-girl was preparing to roast. The mass immediately burrowed into the fish. Moments later, the nearly dead fish came back to life, thrashing wildly as it lunged toward the water.

However, the wolf-girl’s spider-claw was faster; with a single swipe, she sliced the monster fish into four pieces.

"Fortunately, this stuff can only parasitize once, so it’s safe." Venigo beckoned, pulling the fish before the blond beauty. "Look, the structure of the fish has been altered, allowing it considerable mobility even on land."

"Interesting," the mage replied.

"Interesting?" Venigo tilted his head. "A normal girl should be screaming about how terrifying it is."

"I do not seek dolls, jewelry, or handsome men," she replied. "Endless knowledge is my goal. For that, I am willing to attempt dangerous methods and handle things others refuse to approach."

"Well, if you have a sufficient understanding of its dangers, I don't mind giving you some," Venigo said with a shrug. "The Sheep-Bleating Cult has plenty of this stuff anyway. If it could destroy the world, they would have succeeded long ago."

Venigo sliced off half of the mass, controlled it into a crystal vial, corked it, and tossed it to her. "Don't get parasitized, or you'll turn into the very thing you'd least like to see."

The mage proudly flicked her dazzling long blond hair and chuckled. "Who do you think I am? I am Jesse Laurinda, the most brilliant student of Master Jayka and one of the top five alchemists in the Kingdom. Would I be parasitized by something without a brain?"

"Jesse Laurinda? A fine name." Venigo replied with feigned sincerity. "Well, remember to share your research results with me; I am providing the materials, after all."

"Share? Do you have the qualifications?" the proud girl countered.

"Well, when it comes to this, I am quite confident," Venigo said, ignoring her retort. "Shall I analyze its parasitic mechanism and anatomical principles? Let's start with its syringe-style parasitic form."

He provided a summary of the description and principles of this Kreegan technology from his Eskaton Information Sphere, using syntax as close to this world's as possible. A few short sentences were enough to make Jesse look at him with newfound respect.

"I apologize," Jesse readily admitted her mistake. "Your understanding is far beyond mine."

"No need for that. My knowledge is merely superficial; I cannot explain its detailed performance or weaknesses, nor can I modify it. So, I would be very happy if you could share your research results with me," Venigo said.

"Wrong is wrong. That is my aesthetic," Jesse replied. "As one who pursues truth, I will face my own errors directly. As for the results, I am glad to have found someone who understands its utility to receive them."

"Shall we talk about your other research?" Seeing that there was nothing to do, Venigo deactivated his persona and sat on the ground.

"Hey, don't look at me like I'm an experimental specimen," Venigo complained.

Jesse hesitated, and seeing that her master was not looking, she gathered her skirt and sat beside him.

"Look, the little fox has lured another female," the wolf-girl whispered to Sona.

"Should we tell Sister Sophie?" Sona asked in a low voice.

"I wonder if that monster fish is edible," the wolf-girl’s interests were clearly not fixed; she was more curious about whether parasitized monsters tasted better.

Jesse's research direction was not highly regarded by her teachers. Most casters focused on the art of magic itself—stronger spells, deeper understanding, more magnificent effects. Jesse, however, preferred the overlooked field of alchemy. Moreover, she loved studying the properties of various creatures, magical beasts, and even elemental beings, along with their reactions to different concoctions.

"Say, you might just become a pioneer of this world's magical biology and pharmacology," Venigo remarked after hearing her findings.

"Are you willing to help me?" Jesse asked joyfully.

"I provide the materials and ideas; you give me the finished products. How about that?" Venigo asked. "Let’s start with this. I have an idea..."

Venigo did not care how the Water Elemental Gate was restored; he only cared that he had gained a useful collaborator. Their first project was to study the parasitic and transformative effects of the golden-red substance on various creatures.

Venigo provided hosts—modified creatures he had carefully cultivated from ruins. His endless repertoire of persona-building provided great convenience for their research. He could use White Mage abilities to heal wounds and purify toxins, or transform into a "Super Surgeon" to excise tumors formed by failed parasitism with stunning surgical precision, among other bizarre tests.

They successfully turned a packhorse into a heavy warhorse—a monster weighing one ton with a running speed of over 60 km/h and a sprint speed of 120 km/h. The parasites faithfully performed the functions of energy conversion and physical enhancement, while also providing adequate skin defense. The parasites instinctively "knew" where the host's vital points were and spontaneously reinforced them.

Consequently, the parasitized creatures were exceptionally hardy and tireless, operating like machines.

Deadly spikes could "grow" from the warhorse's chest and flanks at will. When it charged into enemy lines, these spikes could slaughter infantry, instantly tearing open a corridor of flesh.

Only one out of every ten packhorses was successfully transformed. Once successful, however, the result was like a light armored vehicle, exerting massive impact.

Unfortunately, Venigo’s Prism Mercenary Group lacked the heavy cavalry to utilize them, so he kept one as a specimen and sent the rest to Sir Newton. After all, their creation owed much to the efforts of Sir Newton's grand-student, Jesse, and the vast amount of materials "borrowed" from Sir Newton’s warehouses. Surely, Sir Temple and the Regent would be willing to pay a generous reward for such warhorses.

A few days later, Sir Newton sent a substantial payment. However, he also had all of Venigo and Jesse's research data confiscated, leaving nothing behind.

Such heavy warhorses could not be left in the hands of others. Otherwise, a unit of super-heavy cavalry appearing silently in the heart of the Kingdom could easily bring about a terrible catastrophe.

Yet, even Sir Newton did not know that Venigo’s materials and data were not limited to the parchment in his study or the items locked in his warehouse.

Venigo’s true data resided in the Eskaton Information Sphere, and the only irreplaceable ingredient in his experiments—the golden-red mysterious parasitic substance, the mysterious cells derived from Kreegan technology—was currently living inside Ramen.

What Sir Newton took were merely the "gifts" Venigo had obtained from Silver Rudder. And even of those, Venigo had bred a small number of new active cells, cultivating them in an inconspicuous place.

He never let anyone see his full hand—never!