A small puff of smoke escapes.
The liquid in the bottle was rapidly changing from a reddish hue, resembling diluted paint, to a deep black.
Another failure.
“Hm, this is troubling.”
As the potion did not produce the desired reaction, Luke sighed deeply.
Because no matter how much he searched, he couldn’t come up with a way to obtain “the blood of a beheaded criminal.”
The remedy for the damaged soul he had resolved to create for Third.
Most of the materials could be mimicked or replaced with mana or magic, but there was one thing that couldn’t be substituted: “the blood of a beheaded criminal.”
A material that must never be substituted, a material that cannot be replaced.
The blood of a beheaded criminal signifies that it is used as a price for a soul that committed a great sin, which is why it couldn’t be replaced.
Still, was it a miscalculation to think that something similar could be implemented in another way?
“Is merely having a similar effect insufficient…?”
Luke shook the container that held the remaining few drops of the World Tree’s sap.
Now, there was only one chance left.
He felt somewhat hesitant to ask Yerna for the same perfume again.
It was quite expensive, and he had already experimented with all the methods that came to mind, rendering it pointless.
“Hm.”
Luke began to analyze the causes of the failure of the “soul recovery potion.”
Most magic related to souls is a branch of necromancy, that is, black magic.
Black magic primarily deals with sacrifice, reversal, emptiness, and souls, all of which operate on principles detached from the laws of this dimension.
People often think that black magic can be learned much more quickly than regular magic, but that’s foolishness.
It’s true that it can be used quickly. Black magic often manifests without precise calculations, distorting reality.
A magic that embraces the user’s mistakes; isn’t it quite benevolent?
But if that were the normal way, black magic wouldn’t have been “forbidden.”
It would instead be encouraged.
The difference between black magic and white magic (which is usually just referred to as magic, but we call it white magic for comparison) lies precisely in “controllability.”
In white magic, if an error occurs, the magic simply cannot be cast. Thus, it can be controlled much more safely, entirely within the mage’s ability.
However, black magic is cast even in the presence of errors.
The outcomes, however, cannot be guaranteed. It may result in normal magic as intended by the mage, or it could yield a totally unexpected and horrific result.
For instance, while trying to summon a simple rabbit, one could inadvertently bring forth a monster from another dimension.
Luke had seen countless cases of those who mismanaged the error in casting black magic and led to their own destruction.
Black magic does not possess the kindness of taking nothing from the user if they lack the payment ability.
Yet Luke had a deep understanding of black magic, to the extent that he could control even the margins of failure.
Because after all, magic is magic, regardless of being black; it had to be a subject of Luke’s research.
Of course, researching black magic was forbidden, but mages dared not interfere with “Luke Ilushi” studying black magic, so they refrained from mentioning it.
That makes sense.
Who could dare instruct “Luke Ilushi,” a being whose magical talent could not be compared to anyone else throughout all ages, in the art of magic?
It would be fortunate if he was not disgraced.
Thus, mages believed that there was no issue with Luke Ilushi researching black magic, and some even thought that if he managed to sort it out later, they might benefit from it.
As such, Luke was largely left to his own devices while researching forbidden magic, allowing him to immerse himself in his studies.
The truth was that the mages had no means to control him in the first place.
However, that was not the case now.
Now, he possessed neither the title of a hero who vanquished the Demon King, nor the overwhelming authority of the 10th Circle, nor the lavish connections and resources.
He was merely a little one with a somewhat peculiar appearance, a complete 3rd Circle, and perhaps now just beginning to approach the 9th Circle of mana from 5000 years ago, and with no more than the best magical knowledge of that time and one side of magic sight.
Let’s skip the cat ears, horns, and tail. Those are powers useless at this moment.
“What do I do…?”
It was not enough just to behead someone; he needed the blood from a person expressly branded a “criminal” who had been beheaded.
Otherwise, unexpected results would ensue.
It was truly unfortunate that the death penalty had been abolished in this era.
It used to be a relatively easy-to-obtain material back in the day.
“…”
Luke pondered deeply, but no answers presented themselves.
——-
“…Hmm.”
Luke was still deep in thought.
As a result of his searches, it seemed no one was selling it, as expected.
After all, it was one of the forbidden magic materials, and with the abolition of the death penalty, beheading had vanished from this era, making it even more so.
So, did that mean he needed to go find a criminal himself?
But where could one find a person with a truly horrifying crime worthy of beheading?
“Surely, going to a criminal detention facility… wouldn’t be possible.”
Even just a moment’s thought made it unfeasible.
What if one day a criminal just disappeared without a trace?
It would surely cause a panic as escapees would be expected to arise.
Then the guards would certainly exert effort to track down the culprit.
And if someone were found there, beheaded, or even showing signs of having been murdered, that would be an even bigger issue.
Modern magic and technology had many aspects that Luke was still unaware of, so it was hard to gauge how they might track him down.
Would he inevitably get caught?
If that happened, many acquaintances, including Yerna, would be greatly disappointed, and he would likely be thrown in prison for a long time, unable to continue either his magical studies or pursuit of modern knowledge.
But avoiding capture was also a problem.
Then he’d have to live his life evading the world, which was hardly appealing.
To give up a peaceful existence just to obtain the blood of a beheaded criminal.
That was absolutely not what Luke wished for.
So where exactly could he obtain a criminal and carry out a beheading?
It was a problem that was seriously bothering Luke.
As he continued to struggle with it for a while, someone called out to him.
“Um, Lord Luke. Have you already arrived?”
“Oh, there you are. It’s been quite a while…”
He paused.
Turning towards the direction of the voice, Luke suddenly stopped.
“My goodness, that mask. How did it come to this? Do tell me the truth.”
In a startled voice, Luke pointed at the mask covering the person’s face.
It was a pitiful sight: a cracked and broken mask, held together messily with tape.
“Do tell me at once!”
Under repeated questioning, Third had no choice but to open his mouth.
It was very embarrassing, but he couldn’t keep it a secret.
“…It’s true. Dylan, I ended up at the owner of the potion manufacturing facility.”
“A potion manufacturing facility?”
“Didn’t my mentor say you need to have a proper job? Have you forgotten?”
“Aha. So that’s what you meant, I remember clearly.”
It seemed that Third had managed to secure a position at a pharmaceutical facility through diligent job searching.
However, modern pharmaceutical facilities were places even common people found difficult to enter, let alone someone who had not received proper training in the back alleys.
Yet, by the standards of 5000 years ago, when a mage making potions looked for an assistant, the ability to follow orders took precedence over specialty. Thus, Luke saw no reason to doubt that Third, who had grown up in the back alleys, would undertake such work.
Luke nodded, responding, “But how did that happen?”
Then Third elaborated accordingly.
“Well… I made a bit of a mistake. It seems I had previous dealings with him. Damn it. I should have remembered; I lost most of my memories due to aftereffects… I couldn’t recall his face. Had I known, I would have run away much earlier…”
Third concluded, his voice somber.
Once he had started speaking, he couldn’t lie.
After all, he was someone who housed a Circle in his heart.
So he spoke everything truthfully.
However, the sensation of laying bare his shortcomings made it impossible for him to suppress his embarrassment.
He waited for the reprimands he anticipated, avoiding Luke’s gaze.
As the hand approached, Third felt almost resigned.
Yet the returning voice was surprisingly not one of blame.
“No, regardless of the mistakes made, how could you…?”
Luke touched the crumbling mask of Third with a worried hand.
The enchantment was still barely working, but it seemed it would soon run out of effectiveness.
“You must take that mask off; it’s going to break completely. I’ll make you another one, so don’t worry.”
“…Huh?”
“Then, how’s your face?”
With a click, the mask fell from Third’s face.
Looking at Third’s face beyond the mask, Luke breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that it did not seem to be badly hurt.
Surely, the inside of the mask must be a horrific sight, yet there was not a hint of displeasure or disgust on Luke’s face.
Such treatment was exceedingly unfamiliar to Third, who had spent his life in the back alleys.
Truly unbelievable.
“Are you really worrying about someone like me?”
“Of course. No matter what, you are my disciple.”
Luke smiled as if it were the most natural question.
“…Master.”
Third felt his heart skip a beat.
It was a strange feeling, but not unpleasant… No, it was definitely a good feeling.
His Circle rattled slightly, swaying.
“Ha ha, to be moved by something so trivial once you’ve grown into a man; you truly are a sentimental child!”
Luke playfully tapped Third on the shoulder, which sent a jarring shock through him from the broken shoulder straight to his mind.
“Cough!”
“Uh, what? Why are you suddenly like this?”
Luke was taken aback by Third’s sudden and painful cry, feeling a chill run down his spine.
In reality, his tail and ears were already erect.
