Chapter 37: Four-Element Resistance

"What are you thinking about?"

An Ruo'er gently waved her delicate hand before his eyes.

Xazo snapped back to reality. "Let's go. Let's head to the next painting."

"Mm~ this way." An Ruo'er hooked her arm through his and led him deeper into the gallery.

Xazo temporarily pushed the notion of a "blood-selling perpetual motion machine" to the back of his mind, content to accompany her as they finished touring the rest of the exhibition.

Historical paintings showcased their charm through a grand, sweeping perspective. The landscape paintings were slightly inferior; even the realistic works lacked half the impact of the historical ones, and the insight they provided into the elements was significantly diminished.

Around five in the afternoon, the two emerged from the exhibition hall.

Watching the bustling streets and the surging tide of people, Xazo felt that strolling by the lake inside the academy was far better—it was leisurely and quiet, much nicer than the chaotic streets.

"Let's head back to the academy. After dinner, I plan to visit my mentor."

An Ruo'er looked up at him with a beaming smile. "Then I'll stay in the dormitory and read. We'll meet at the dining hall tomorrow morning."

...

7:00 PM that evening.

After escorting An Ruo'er to the entrance of the women’s dormitory, Xazo walked alone into the Poison Alchemy district.

Every night from Monday to Thursday, he spent his time concocting White Jaw poison and its antidote, repeatedly testing and neutralizing the toxins.

Kurov lay on a soft sofa, occasionally setting down his book to glance over. This mentor, with his long, grayish-white hair, spent almost every waking moment reading in the alchemy lab.

But tonight was different.

Xazo was surprised to find his mentor absent. Just as he hesitated, wondering whether to turn back, a letter drifted over from the doorway.

In the letter, Kurov explained that he was discussing some matters with other professors and instructed Xazo to attempt trainee-level poisons on his own, provided he maintained safety precautions.

Xazo felt a surge of joy and checked his character template.

【Level】Lv.9
【Experience】230+80→310/1000
【Earth Affinity Resistance】0%→0.37%
【Willpower】3+0.37→3.37

The closer the Earth Affinity Resistance got to 0.5%, the less bonus experience the White Jaw poison and its antidote provided, and the same applied to the Willpower and resistance rewards.

Its efficiency in experience conversion was rapidly dropping—it was clearly losing its potency, making it the perfect time to test a new poison.

Xazo opened the "Encyclopedia of Poisons" and found another trainee-level formula.

【Formula Name】Black Eye Poison
【Formula Type】Compound Poison
【Formula Grade】Trainee
【Base Toxin 1】Withered Brown Essence: Distorts vision. Derived from a specific type of air-dried, withered vine.
【Base Toxin 2】Ginger White Essence: Deprives hearing. Derived from moldy parts of a ginger-like plant.
【Compound Toxin】Black Eye Toxin: The user loses their hearing. When eyes are open, objects in the field of vision appear distorted in shape and color. When eyes are closed, the user sees random, twisted imagery.
【Concoction Method】 (Omitted... several alchemy formulas)
【Required Solvent】A syrup with extremely high sweetness.
【Preparation Method】Add the Black Eye Toxin to the syrup and heat while stirring. Once the toxin is fully dissolved, let it sit until it reaches room temperature.

To ensure the safety of his solo trials, he had chosen the non-lethal Black Eye poison. Because it was non-lethal, there was no corresponding antidote.

The production process for this poison was significantly more complex than that of the White Jaw poison.

Xazo stood before the alchemy bench, pulling the rope to the bellows to heat the crucible with his left hand, while his right hand grabbed a ceramic pot, pouring in one-fifth of a measure of clear water—just enough to cover the bottom of the crucible.

A row of bottles containing potions and toxins sat on a two-tiered cabinet to his right.

Once the water in the crucible boiled, he poured in the green potion that served as the base, stirring gently to ensure the water turned a bubbling, ink-green.

Next was the most critical step.

Xazo carefully brought over the vial of Withered Brown Essence and used a dropper to add three drops into the crucible.

The dark brown liquid hit the surface of the water with a hiss, releasing a plume of black smoke. He stoppered the vial and stirred slowly to prevent the essence from sticking to the crucible walls, which would ruin the entire batch.

Once the liquid turned from ink-green to a muddy, earth-like brown, Xazo fetched the Ginger White Essence and repeated the process.

For the next ten minutes, he had to stir constantly, allowing the low heat to evaporate the moisture. Because he had to constantly monitor the surface to prevent burning, this step required manual labor.

Xazo’s mask could only protect him from splashing liquid; it could not block the acrid fumes. As the liquid evaporated, a scent so pungent it stung his eyes assaulted him.

【Health Regeneration Speed】
【Base Regeneration】0.1 points/minute
【Real-time Regeneration】0.1 - 0.07 → 0.03 points/minute

Xazo’s expression shifted; his real-time regeneration speed had nearly dropped into the negatives. Fortunately, the process was short, and since little toxin was volatized into the air, his regeneration speed quickly recovered.

Only a gray sludge remained in the crucible. Xazo used a spatula to turn the sludge, ensuring the moisture on the underside evaporated as well. After confirming no water remained, he added a few spoonfuls of sickeningly sweet syrup, using the residual heat of the furnace to heat the bottom of the crucible.

The gray sludge quickly dissolved into the syrup, turning into a black liquid.

He took three thumb-sized glass bottles, poured the black liquid in, sealed them, and labeled them "Black Eye Poison."

【Item Name】Black Eye Poison
【Item Type】Poison
【Item Grade】Trainee
【Item Quality】92% completion, Excellent
【Associated Resistance 1】Wind Affinity Resistance
【Associated Resistance 2】Earth Affinity Resistance
(Expected to significantly lower the item's impact on the host once both resistances reach 0.5%)
【Item Description】Created by Xazo.
【Item Effect】After drinking the entire bottle, the user gains 1 stack of visual hallucination and 1 stack of deafness, both lasting for 1 minute.

The Black Eye poison was associated with two types of resistance!

Xazo quickly tidied the alchemy bench and, unable to wait, sat down and tilted his head back to drink the first vial.

The world suddenly went silent. He flicked his finger against the empty glass bottle, but his ears were as if plugged—he could hear nothing.

The slender vial suddenly warped, twisting like a snake in his hand. The legs of his desk and the hands of the wall clock turned into wavy lines.

His pupils dilated, the whites of his eyes pushed to the edges, and his vision turned black, allowing more light to pour in. The light from the alchemy lamp became increasingly intense, as dazzling as the sun.

Xazo subconsciously closed his eyes, and in the pitch-black field of vision, circular, flickering colored patterns emerged.

"So dizzy."

He leaned against the edge of the desk, propping his forehead up with his arm, his body swaying along with the rolling patterns before his eyes.

A few seconds later, he slumped onto the desk, burying his face in his arms to resist the waves of dizziness.

One minute later.

The hallucination and deafness effects faded. Xazo pressed hard against his temples, using the pain to drive away the lingering vertigo.

A message from his "Golden Finger" arrived:

"Successfully consumed 1 vial of Black Eye Poison (Self-made). Extra 20% experience bonus awarded. Gained 2.4 experience points, Willpower increased by 0.024, gained 0.01% Earth Affinity Resistance and 0.024% Wind Affinity Resistance."

Two resistances at once!

Xazo grinned, looking back at the Black Eye Poison formula.

The Black Eye Poison used Withered Brown Essence, which came from air-dried vines. When the essence was separated from the vines, it retained traces of Wind elements.

Following this logic:
Base toxins separated from incinerated objects would carry traces of Fire elements.
Base toxins separated from water-logged objects would carry traces of Water elements.

Xazo spent half an hour categorizing them in his notebook. There were 7, 12, and 15 types of base toxins carrying traces of Fire, Water, and Wind elements, respectively.

The poisons made from them were numerous, ranging from trainee-level all the way to master-level.

Could it be... that Poison Alchemy, just one branch of alchemy, could provide resistance to all four elements?!

Was this the case for all alchemy branches, or was Poison Alchemy uniquely special?

Xazo sat at his desk, dazed and shocked by his own deduction.

...

Footsteps sounded at the entrance of the alchemy lab. Xazo turned to see his mentor walking toward him.

Kurov glanced at the poison bottle on the alchemy bench. "You’ve tested the Black Eye Poison?"

"Yes, Professor. I have confirmed that it causes visual hallucinations and temporary deafness." Xazo stood up to salute his mentor.

Kurov approached the desk, his eyes scanning the student’s notebook, and asked with a puzzled expression:

"The relationship between base toxins and elements... did you deduce this yourself, or did you learn it from a senior student?"

Xazo recounted his process of testing the Black Eye Poison, attributing the discovery of the Wind element traces to a sudden spark of inspiration. Only after that inspiration did he link the source of the base toxins to the elements.

"Inspiration? Hmm..."

Kurov pondered for a few seconds before saying:

"Your intuition is correct. Every base toxin contains traces of elements. Once one's mental ocean is developed to the level of a formal mage, one can see the residual elemental light on these base toxins."

Kurov picked up a book from the shelf, turned back, and continued with a tone of approval:

"For you, being able to discover this rule through experimentation and reading is no small feat. You truly have a talent for Poison Alchemy."

As he spoke, Kurov picked up the Black Eye Poison, observing the viscous liquid through the thin glass.

"Excellent quality. Are you highly skilled in alchemy? The White Jaw poison you concocted previously, and these Black Eye poisons, are all of an upper-middle standard. If the academy’s enrollment file didn't state that you had never studied alchemy, I would have thought you were a seasoned alchemist."

Kurov answered his own question, set the vial down, and for once, didn't head for the sofa to lie down. Instead, he sat at his own desk and gestured for his only student to sit in the wooden chair opposite him.

Seeing his mentor’s serious demeanor, Xazo realized the upcoming conversation might not be lighthearted. He braced himself, guarding against saying the wrong thing and revealing his secrets.

Kurov gestured toward the tea table. A teapot floated into the air, pouring tea into two cups that then flew to the desk.

Kurov picked up one cup, drank half of it, and set it back down, slowly rotating it with both hands. "Although you have been my student for only a week, I consider you the most outstanding of the three."

"Thank you for the compliment, Professor." Xazo bowed humbly.

A faint smile appeared beneath Kurov’s mustache. "Tonight, I exchanged observations from the past few days with professors from other disciplines. You have self-studied many textbooks, and your quiz scores are almost all perfect. Every professor has a high opinion of you."

Xazo nodded with a smile and bowed again. This was intentional—he wanted to establish an image of a genius student as quickly as possible to secure more teaching resources.

Kurov set his tea aside, interlaced his fingers, and spoke in a steady tone:

"This year is the first time the Starry Night Academy has recruited students with acquired affinity. There are 110 freshmen in total. Next year there will be more—150? No, no, the Headmaster predicts it might reach 200."

Xazo dropped his smile and leaned back in his chair, listening calmly.

Kurov made a gesture with his arms as if embracing something, his tone turning heavy.

"By this time next year, the number of students in the academy will reach around 300. Imagine, when I hold class, not only will you and Mason be in this alchemy lab, but also five or six freshmen who enroll next year. The Potion Alchemy department, which currently has 60 students, will double in size. Their labs will need to be expanded again. But you see, the number of professors has remained the same. We are becoming overwhelmed. Moreover, besides teaching, every professor has their own research and duties."

Kurov reached toward the bookshelf, and a book flew onto the desk, flipping through its pages from front to back—it was completely blank.

"Everyone has their preferred meditation posture. I like to lie on the sofa with a book while meditating. It makes me feel comfortable, and I don't have to worry about waking up with a stiff neck or other aches."

Xazo showed a look of understanding.

For a mage to practice meditation and further expand their mental ocean was a constant, lifelong endeavor. No amount of time spent meditating was ever enough.

The influx of students with acquired affinity was encroaching on the professors' meditation time.

Xazo gazed at his mentor and nodded thoughtfully.

"As the student with the strongest self-discipline and the fastest learning progress among the many freshmen, your opinion is very important to me and the other professors. We want to know if the current teaching methods and textbooks are suitable for students with acquired affinity."

Kurov took a folded piece of paper from his robe pocket and spread it out on the desk.

"I have a questionnaire here that was drafted during our meeting. Please fill it out."

A fountain pen, filled with ink, floated toward Xazo.

He gripped the pen, removed the cap, and read the contents of the questionnaire.

From the introduction at the beginning to the final question, Xazo’s expression grew increasingly solemn. He looked up at his mentor, his eyes filled with questions and a hint of trepidation.