CH663 The Intellectual Romantic I
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So days earlier...
A couple of days after the raid party ambush—and before the eting Alex called for with Brock Peyton—he sat with Eleanore inside the Fortuna Mansion after she made her rounds to check on the injured mbers of the raid party.
After being updated on their conditions, Alex intentionally shifted the conversation to a matter that had been on his mind since earlier that day.
Sothing connected to their encounter two days prior.
"Can you make the stronger treatnt for the divine curse you ntioned?" Alex asked.
"Yes, it should not be too difficult. While it is technically a Grade IV potion, I have been going over the notes I obtained from the Stele Trials, and I believe I have found a way to ease so of the formula’s requirents."
"You are planning to alter the formula?" Alex raised an eyebrow.
"I do not really have a choice." Eleanore sighed softly. "The stronger cleansing potion has both material requirents and technical demands that are currently beyond my reach."
She paused briefly before adding,
"You do not need to worry about the potion harming the BattleBanes. I will know imdiately after refining it whether the result is viable or just a useless/harmful dud."
She tapped her finger lightly against the table.
"It would help if we make use of the Pill thod you created. By locking in all the efficacy and releasing it at once inside the patient, we can compensate for so of the weaker efficacy of my modified version."
"That is good." Alex nodded.
Then he gave her a faintly apologetic smile.
He had signed her up for the task without consulting her first. He had simply assud that since she could easily refine the cleansing potion he gave to Dalton Asheton—the BattleBane Captain—she would naturally be able to produce the stronger version as well; the Greater Cleansing Potion.
Only after speaking with her later had he realised that assumption was far too simplistic.
"I told you not to worry about it," Eleanore said with a small smile. "If I do not challenge myself, how am I supposed to grow? This has forced to think beyond my usual comfort zone, and because of that, I have been able to digest the gains from the Stele Trials much faster."
Then her expression sharpened.
"Just do not make rash decisions like that again without consulting first." She gave him a hard stare.
"Noted." Alex nodded imdiately.
"That aside, the biggest issue is not the temporary treatnt, but the actual permanent cure," Eleanore continued.
"For divine curses of this magnitude, the treatnt usually requires a combination of spells, potions, and formations working together. The greater the disparity in strength between the healer and the patient, the more we have to rely on higher-grade potions and formations to compensate."
She folded her arms as she thought aloud.
"Since the captains of the BattleBane Guild are Combat Masters, it is safe to assu their Guild Master is either a Combat Saint—or at the very least, a far stronger Combat Master."
"You are worried your spells will be weakened on him because of the difference in strength?" Alex asked.
"Yes." Eleanore nodded. "But it is not only his personal strength. Depending on the severity of the curse, the divine curse itself may also add resistance against my spells.
"So it is safer to work under the assumption that my spellcasting alone will not be enough. That ans we will need to lean heavily on potions and formations."
She exhaled softly.
"I can handle the potion side of things, but—"
"You need to take charge of the formation side," Alex cut in.
"Yes." Eleanore nodded again.
"No problem. Scribble down the formation first, then copy it into OmniRune. I will get to work converting it for practical use here on Verdantis. While I am at it, I will also see if I can optimise and upgrade it further."
"That would help a lot," Eleanore said.
"It is the least I can do," Alex replied.
Eleanore simply smiled.
A mont later, one of the Fury Knights approached and silently handed Alex a report before imdiately withdrawing.
Alex quickly read through the paper, then looked back at Eleanore.
"How soon can you finish everything?" he asked.
"At least a day," Eleanore replied. Then, sensing sothing amiss, she raised an eyebrow. "Why do you ask?"
"The BattleBanes have gone all out hunting monster hordes around the BloodIron region over the past few days. We can expect them to deliver the divine statues within today."
Alex gave her an apologetic look.
"I am sorry, but it seems you are going to have to speed things up."
"Fine." Eleanore shrugged, not even bothering to complain. "But that ans you are going to be the one crafting the pills after I finish adjusting the potion formula."
"Huh? ?" Alex looked genuinely surprised.
"Yes, of course you." Eleanore gave him a flat stare. "I also have to sketch the array formation for the treatnt, rember? I am not an Array Master. It will take ti to properly draw out the formation so OmniRune can scan and copy it.
"That is ti we would be wasting if we wait for to finish that first and only then begin crafting the pills."
"Besides, as the father of this pill thod, we are better off having you refine them. It lowers the chances of failure—especially since you possess a Primal Origin Fla."
Eleanore’s reasoning was valid and painfully logical, leaving Alex with very little room to argue—especially since he was the one who had pushed them into this situation in the first place.
In the end, all he could do was sigh inwardly and accept the assignnt.
However, he could already foresee a future where every pill-crafting responsibility would sohow be quietly pushed onto him using similarly reasonable excuses.
’I cannot allow that.’
Alex narrowed his eyes slightly.
’I did not create Pill Alchemy just to give myself even more work. No... I need to find a way to improve her alchemy capabilities and make pill refinent more accessible to her—and ideally, to many more alchemists as well.’
Of course, that was a problem for another day.
Still, in that mont, sothing suddenly occurred to him.
"Wait. Didn’t you say you were planning to improve the potion formula using the notes you received from the Alchemy Stele Trial—the transmutation of plant essences, was it? I cannot do that. Wouldn’t that an I would not be able to refine the pill based on the new formula you create?" Alex pointed out.
"Do not worry. I will include the transmutation thod directly within the formula notes," Eleanore replied.
Alex blinked.
"Would that actually work?" he asked.
"Yes. You do not need to study all of Zaxan’s original notes just to use the thod. I have already digested enough of it to make the process usable on a per-formula basis," Eleanore said casually.
"That is... impressive," Alex admitted.
And he truly ant it.
Contrary to how casually she presented it, what she had just described showed an exceptionally deep understanding of the thod—perhaps close to the level of the original creator himself—to be able to break it down and adapt it so efficiently.
"Not really. I am certain you would grasp it faster than I did," Eleanore said with a small shake of her head. "Your Pill Alchemy thod is far more impressive than my little achievent."
Alex’s lips twitched slightly.
How exactly was he supposed to explain that he had not truly conceived the thod from nothing, but had rely brought to life sothing that had already existed—albeit only in fiction—in his previous life?
Ironically, he himself had always downplayed the achievent for the sa reason. Because of its origin, he often felt as though he had simply copied an idea rather than created sothing remarkable.
What he overlooked, however, was that knowing sothing could exist and successfully bringing it to life within an entirely different magical system were two completely different things.
Eleanore suddenly tilted her head slightly.
"Actually, I think it might be a good idea for you to learn [Zaxan’s Transmutation]."
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