Nicholas II cast an Edict spell with great anticipation. However, after checking up on the effect of the reagent, he quickly showed a disappointed expression.
“This reagent has become a specialized poison against the elemental creatures again.” He sat down in annoyance, “It’s way more far-fetched than the previous attempt.”
Forget it. Let’s memorize the recipe first.
It is rare to have a relatively high product completion.
“How should I name it? Well, forget it…” Nicholas II pondered for a while, then pulled out a piece of tape and wrote, “No. 23 Poison Dust—Effective on Elemental Creatures—Concentration 289%—Adhesion Coefficient 64%.”
After he wrote the recipe, he took a small portion of it with a spoon and wrapped it on paper. Then, he wrote “Sample No. 23” on the paper and put it into a thick book of obsidian texture that looked a bit like a photo album.
“But I’m a little tired.” Nicholas II removed the barrier and sat back in his chair, muttering in a low voice.
This part of occult knowledge was unlike the deity’s real name, which would be forgotten after using it. However, there would be evident fatigue after using it, even for a Gold Rank soul.
Those Silver Rank or below would not be able to contain the power of occult knowledge, which would pull them into hallucinations and incur ‘influence’ into the world. There was even the possibility of being burned by the knowledge.
After all, occult knowledge had its weight.
The exhaustion of using occult knowledge on the soul was like carrying heavy objects.
“You can’t rest yet.” Behind him, the stone statue with frowning and closed eyes blurted out, “Meditate for a while before continuing.”
“Seriously, is it impossible to get the Demon Blood?”
“Yup.” Father Stone replied calmly, “Now, Noah’s situation is getting tenser, and you can’t go out. Otherwise, you may be entangled in some troublesome events.”
“How troublesome can it be?” Nicholas II sighed.
Can it be more troublesome than my current situation?
I’m locked here every day, drawing on Noah’s leyline’s power to construct a ritual. If I want to go out, I have to meditate and go out with my soul.
But that was how it would be.
As an artificial human, that was his mission.
“Then, can I utilize my soul state?”
“Yes. Just don’t get caught.”
“Even if I go out in person, I won’t be found out.”
“It’s different.” Father Stone answered briefly.
Nicholas II knew that he would not get an answer even if he continued to ask questions.
So he gave up asking questions but quickly sat in front of the chair and began to meditate to recover his energy.
He rose from his chair with an orange outer shell and a crystalline soul burning with gentle fire.
“I’m going out for a walk.” He glanced at Father Stone, bowed politely to him, and left the room.
To relieve the pressure on the soul, he must let the soul temporarily leave the body. Anyway, the soul of a Gold Rank would not be seen easily. So it did not matter if he went for a walk.
Nicholas II was unclear why Father Stone had not let him go out. However, as an artificial human, he could only survive because “Nicholas was dead”.
From the beginning, the original Nicholas had no intention of sharing the technology for creating artificial humans. Only his soul could make such an innovation, and those artificial humans had dedicated prohibition installed in them.
The artificial humans could not manufacture and synthesize the Sage’s Stone, let alone create new artificial humans. Even Nicholas II, born as a replica of Nicholas, could not break through this limit.
If artificial humans wanted to expand their population, they could only reproduce in the same way as other animals.
Everything was obvious.
From the beginning, Nicholas intended to be the king of all artificial humans… or the Deity of Synths.
That was why Nicholas II was allowed to be kept alive.
An alone synth could not continue the growth of its race.
From this point of view, perhaps “Nicholas II” was a backup when Nicholas thought he might die. Thus, it came about an inheritor who had all his talents and would not be executed.
Considering Nicholas’ talent and intelligence, this arrangement was also likely.
“…Um?” As soon as Nicholas II left the basement, he vaguely felt that his soul was being pulled by something.
He was curious but not the slightest vigilant and fearful about it.
He immediately flew over at high speed.
Although he could not refine the Sage’s Stone, he inherited all the power and experience of Nicholas, and he was even much younger than the original Nicholas. Even for typical Gold Rank transcenders, Nicholas II could easily defeat three of them with one hand.
Nicholas II could overwhelm his opponents with his sheer experience and wisdom.
Nicholas II followed the feeling that attracted his soul and flew to a large, luxuriously decorated hotel.
The floors of this hotel were installed with hand-woven wool carpets. There were famous paintings on the walls and small sculptures placed between rooms. Even the chandeliers were crystal chandeliers studded with gold. The decoration in the room was also far more luxurious than the typical local viscount. A filled bookshelf and premium quality daily necessities were available in each room.
This was a top-notch hotel dedicated to nobles and business people from other places, as well as foreign big shots who come to Noah through the subway.
As a hotel, the decorations here were majestic. The quality of their staff was at an equal level too. Thus, the hotel was only feasible in the royal capital.
Nicholas II frowned slightly.
In his view, this was nothing but mundane mortal stuff.
It simply spelled out as a waste of time and resources in his eyes.
Chipped gems were inlaid on the wall. If he were to ground them into gem powder and use them to craft magic reagents, their price would be twenty-folds of their current value.
The statues of these historical Great People contained “historical air”, which could be used in the ritual to talk to people from the past or modify the location of nightmares based on its influence.
He could use the crystals and gold on each chandelier to create a holy shield that could withstand a single blow from the Silver Rank Destruction Wizard—even the furniture made of high-quality wood was a waste, in his opinion.
These woods were not the best woods for furniture. They were expensive because they could be used for ritual after treatment, not because of their excellent quality as wood.
It was simply a collection of wasting resources.
Nicholas II was disgusted by it. He could not help but feel a little contempt for the person he could be meeting.
However, this contempt quickly dissipated when he saw the other party.
Sitting in the room was a spirit who had lost his head.
Indeed, the spirit had lost its head.
He sat securely in the seat, and only his head was empty. The light converged to the head, allowing it to regenerate slowly.
“Who are you?” Nicholas II asked politely.
The other party spoke warmly and kindly, “You can call me Bernardino.
“I know who you are, and I know your father.”
“But, my father doesn’t know you.” Nicholas II searched his memory silently but responded indifferently and vigilantly.
He did not have memories of the original Nicholas knowing the man in front of him.
The headless old man just let out a laugh and said nothing.
Then, he said plainly, “Let’s speak straight to the point. I hope to get the formula for ‘Hermes School Sage’s Stone’.”
“That’s impossible.” Nicholas II immediately rejected, and then he turned to leave.
However, Bernardino said from Nicholas II’s back as he turned around, “Do you know about your father’s story?”
“What?”
“—Nicholas Flamel, son of Hermes. The greatest alchemist in the world… A sage who accomplished the great deeds at the deity level as a human being,” uttered Bernardino.
He “looked” at Nicholas II and replied.
“He did not die back then… Do you know that?” Nicholas II was silent for a long time, then turned to look at Bernardino silently.
The headless Bernardinohehe smiled.
“I can first teach you the recipe for ‘artificial soul’ as a deposit.” The headless old man said slowly, “This is something that Nicholas Flamel invented in recent years. If you go back and study it, you will know that this is Nicholas’ style, but it is not in your memory.
“If you ever want to give me the technology of Sage’s Stone, come and find me here.”
—I will always be here.
—Waiting for you.
The headless Bernardino “stared” blankly at Nicholas II.
Nicholas II was silent for a long time, neither agreeing nor rejecting it. Instead, he stood there as if waiting for something.
Then, Bernardino laughed again and slowly revealed the recipe for “artificial soul”.
He is confident that he won’t be waiting here for too long.