The moment his entire body sank into the acid river, his eyes widened.
It was clear, and his vision wasn’t distorted in the slightest. It was almost like he had some sort of goggles on.
Still, he felt his mana drain rapidly as it fought against the acid threatening to melt him alive.
Therefore, he didn’t hesitate to guide his way through the acid river, searching for the herb with all his might.
A few minutes had passed, which soon turned into an hour, and when he had begun harboring some doubts, he saw a faint sheen underneath a rock at the far end of the acid river.
He immediately swam toward it, then lifted the rock. It was surprisingly heavy, but once the rock was lifted, he realized that his reckless efforts were worth it.
It was a tiny golden rose. Even if he wasn’t exactly the best at alchemy, he knew what this herb was.
A Grade 4 Vitriol Rose.
It had the effect of greatly increasing one’s reaction time and muscle growth. But that was if they brewed the potion with just the Vitriol Rose.
If they combined it with other ingredients, they would become much more specialized.
Combining it with herbs that grant strength would cause the Vitriol Rose’s effects to shift over to strength. Speed would have the same effect, and even willpower.
Anything brewed with this herb would be a treasure, no matter how you looked at it. Even the Phoenix Tear potion’s effects would be significantly increased.
But that was where the problems began.
It was difficult to brew. Extremely difficult.
Only someone like the Divine Alchemist could get the most out of this potion.
As for the alchemists at the academy... while I don’t doubt their skills, I don’t think they’d be able to brew this herb without wasting most of it, Raelis thought and swiftly swam up.
When he arrived on the surface, his mana finally stopped being drained, and thankfully, his clothes were intact.
Especially the Phoenix Egg, since for some reason, the progress had gone up.
And it went up much more than he expected.
But that just gave him another stupid idea.
Raelis stashed the Vitriol Rose in his pocket, beside the Phoenix Egg, and without hesitation, jumped back inside the acid river.
And like that, he began rotating his 3 Flame Rings while also trying to absorb the acid into his body.
It hurt at first, but bit by bit, the pain eased until parts of his body no longer needed the Heat Resistance Barrier.
So as he got more and more used to it, Raelis sank into a state of focus.
Raelis reopened his eyes, and to his surprise, the river’s acid had somehow turned to plain water.
Because of that, he began to drown.
Raelis swiftly flapped his arms around and rose to the surface, then stepped out of the river and fell to the ground.
He was exhausted, but at the same time, the boons he had gotten were more than worth it.
—Flame Core: 3 Flame Rings
Flame: ??? Primordial Flame (★★★☆ — Mastery: 4% → 7%)
↳ Dominion Flame [1/6]
—Bloodline: Cinder Phoenix
Purity: 21% → 23% (Kindle)
Next Rank: 30% (Flame)
Perception: 152 → 162
Magic Control: 183 → 200
Flame Singularity (★★★★★☆ — Mastery: 0%)
Expert Fireball (★★★☆ — Mastery: 38% → 44%)
Advanced Fire Manipulation (★★★☆ — Mastery: 12% → 24%)
Advanced Heat Control (★★☆ — Mastery: 20% → 30%)
Advanced Heat Resistance Barrier (★★☆ — Mastery: 72% → 99%)
Basic Flame Step (☆ — Mastery: 41% → 50%)
Passive Flame Sense (☆ — Mastery: 15% → 20%)
Expert Dagger Combat Technique (★★★☆ — Mastery: 3% → 4%)
Advanced Stealth Technique (★★☆ — Mastery: 69% → 70%)
Flame Body Technique (☆ — Mastery: 40%)
(NEW) Acid Resistance (★☆ — Mastery: 1%)
A few of his attributes had reached their limits, but most importantly, he had gotten an Acid Resistance ability.
No wonder I’m getting strong so fast... Raelis thought with a faint smile. Every time something happens to me, I get stronger because of it. But... if that’s the case, then I need to get the other resistances as well.
But that was just a short-term goal, one he could probably complete before the semester ended.
Nevertheless, now that he was out of the water, his clothes fully intact, it was time he got back to the lesson.
But that was when he realized that it had gotten slightly darker.
Julian hadn’t told them when the lesson would end, and Raelis highly doubted that he was just left behind like that.
Therefore, he jumped inside the shadows and made his way along them, trying to find a classmate.
And after just a few minutes of searching, he found one.
But it wasn’t someone he had expected to see.
"Who’s there?" Auren asked, covering his hand in flame.
Moments later, Raelis stepped out of the shadows and quietly approached Auren.
He was about to playfully tap him on the shoulder and perhaps strike up a conversation. However, he noticed a particular herb stashed away in the inner breast pocket of Auren’s uniform.
He has a Vitriol Rose as well? Raelis thought, surprised.
His plans had done a full 180 after realizing Auren had such a valuable herb on him.
So instead of a nice greeting, Raelis decided to play around a little.
He stepped back, then took out his dagger and slashed at a tree.
A loud thud resounded, prompting a fireball to fly straight for Raelis.
But Raelis used this moment of alertness to jump back into the shadows and approach Auren. Then, Raelis sank inside Auren’s shadow.
"If you’re trying to hide, then you’re doing a very awful job at it," Auren remarked coldly. "But since I can’t easily sense you, are you Raelis? Do you want to fight?"
Not at all. Raelis chuckled inwardly.
He silently stepped out of Auren’s shadow, and then, he pressed two fingers into Auren’s neck.
It was quick and precise. More importantly, he hit Auren’s weak points, causing him to momentarily be paralyzed.
As his body fell to the ground, Raelis swiftly grabbed the Vitriol Rose out of Auren’s inner pocket.
Then, without hesitation or a glance back, Raelis ran away.
After a few minutes of running, he glanced at the Vitriol Rose in his palm and let out a chuckle.
Now I have two of the five Vitriol Roses. I can save one for the potion, and the other, to enter the academy’s vault.
He paused for a moment, his smile fading slightly.
Why should I stop at two?