After Elira was ready, Liam brought the elf to a local healer who was also an alchemist.
"What would it take for you to heal my slave?" Liam asked the guy authoritatively, still maintaining his image of an arrogant young lord.
The alchemist politely nodded and started examining Elira's condition.
"Her mana veins are blocked. The tissue around the veins have become petrified and useless. It is impossible to cure her completely."
"No. I want her cured. I do not care how much it costs." Liam insisted.
The alchemist immediately broke into a cold sweat. He became nervous because Liam's tone was very serious.
"My Lord, I am afraid I am really incapable of healing her completely. Her condition is beyond what my skills and available resources can address."
"Hmph. Let me decide what you are capable of and not capable of. Show me all your medicinal scrolls." Liam shouted loudly that the alchemist instantly ran inside and brought out a bundle of parchments.
Liam took them all and scoffed, before turning and leaving the chamber in a huff. He then signaled to Elira.
While Liam was unable to openly visit the individual shops and purchase the basics of mana channeling or any other essential books like that, he did not have any issues sending Elira out to do the same.
Deciding that today marked the end of his stay in this elven clan, they had to go all out. He gave a list to the elf of various items he had taken note of during the last few days.
Of course, the elven kingdom seemed to be using a different token system as their currency with a yellow shade token, green shade token and a red shade token denoting the various levels of value, much like the copper, silver, and gold coins back in the tutorial world.
Except these tokens had an elven face etched on them. It almost looked like a human being except for the long pointed ears and ethereal features that were distinctly elven.
"Get whatever you can from this list," Liam instructed, "and tell them that I will pay for it later. Be discreet, and try not to draw too much attention to yourself."
Elira nodded, the list. "I understand. I'll do my best."
Liam then proceeded to walk out of the settlement and after a few minutes, Elira returned, her hands filled with bags containing various items. "I've acquired most of what you requested," she said, setting the bags down on the ground.
Liam tossed everything into his spatial artifact. "It's time to leave." The two of them sped toward the forests that stretched beyond the settlement.
"Where are we headed to?" Liam asked whilst gazing at the vague almost like a flower.
At first, Liam thought that the elven Empire had managed to unite map Elira managed to acquire from one of the shops.
Now that he saw it, this world, Tirnanog, was weirdly shaped, almost like a flower.
At first, Liam thought that the elven Empire had managed to unite all the elves in the world, establishing some sort of iron clad regime.
But that did not seem to be the case.
Instead, there were eight big empires, each composed of various elven clans, and they were located around a central region, marked as a danger zone.
"What is there in this area?" Liam immediately asked.
"That's the forbidden area!" Elira immediately exclaimed.
"Hmmm?" An idea began to form in Liam's head. "Why is it forbidden?"
"That is the resting place of our guardian. No one is allowed to create disturbance in the area."
"Master, it is common knowledge. Not even the strongest and mysterious Solarae elven clan meddle with the forbidden area."
Liam nodded, remaining silent. He then changed his direction subtly. At first Elira did not notice but soon she realized where they were headed to and gasped in shock.
"Master, you cannot be serious," Elira stammered, her eyes widening in disbelief. "We must not venture into the forbidden area! It is our law!"
Liam glanced at her, his eyes glinting with a hint of audacity. "Rules and laws are just constructs. Sometimes, to gain power, you have to break a few. Besides, there must be a reason that area is restricted, and I intend to find out what it is."
"Master, I implore you to reconsider," Elira pleaded, her voice tinged with desperation.
"The guardian is not just a legend; it's a force of nature, ancient and powerful. Disturbing its rest could unleash calamities we can't even fathom. Your life will be in danger if we enter that place."
Liam chuckled. "My life is already in danger."
The two of them traveled in silence. Elira appeared nervous for a while but she then returned to her formal state, seemingly not caring about anything. She looked like a person who had accepted her fate a long time ago.
The journey was a long one, especially because they had to circumvent some regions where powerful auras seeped out. However, Liam continued moving at a steady pace, slowly covering the distance.
To Elira's surprise, her new master was stronger than he looked.
At times when a strong beast intercepted their path, Liam did not avoid it. Instead, fought head on with the beast using the paltry mana supply that he had. He also did not forget to store the soul once he was done with the beast.
Occasionally, he also took breaks where he studied the recipes he had obtained by threatening that small-time elven alchemist.
The elf had the recipe for a high-grade health potion, high-grade mana potion, even potions to enhance elemental affinity and resistance. Over all, Liam gained a lot by studying the recipes and the scribbled descriptions of new herbs.
However, from these descriptions, he could also see that these recipes were not the most optimal ones. It was almost as if they were purposefully downgraded from what they could have become.
It seemed as if the elven royal family took several measures to make sure that they would never get overthrown or outpowered by their subjects.
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