(Alchemy Rats)......

The more he thought about the idea, the more interesting it became. Man-eating rats feed on blood, their colonies thrive in the harshest conditions, they are the embodiment of survival, they can act as spies, assassins, cronies, it takes weeks to breed a group, but ......

"Mr. Aspect?" The sweet voice of a young girl pulled him out of his musings and led him back to the counter of the store.

"Yes, Laufey?" The Dark Elf used magic to transform into a human form, a dignified, beautiful maiden with pure skin, crimson hair, and sky-blue eyes. She looks a little fragile, like a kind girl who needs the protection of a knight. A real wolf in sheep's clothing.

Speaking of wolves, Tay doesn't know what to make of the "pet" she brought from Nifheim. He gave the two monsters a place in the dungeon, but when he tried to feed them, they bit the duke.

"Your gift of landscape painting has arrived," she said, smirking as if sharing an inside joke. "From Bald Church."

At last. "Put it in the storeroom, and I'll put it in my sanctuary later."

Tai finds it fascinating to look at a good painting. An immortal image, unchanging, beyond the grasp of time...... A good painting is like immortality, a state that transcends this painful, ephemeral world.

The necromancer noticed "newcomers" entering his shop, though they were now regulars: Annie, Tacoru, and Morgan.

A good week has come and gone since that deadly, stillborn raid. The princess began to treat the wounded with the help of a local church, despite their efforts to find an antidote. Those who inhaled this toxin were lucky enough to escape permanent health problems. The fear of poison gas discourages the adventurers' efforts to attack the dungeon, much to everyone's dismay.

Interestingly, it turned out to be contracted with Tai to study a cure. The necromancer likes to get paid for solving the problems he creates.

"You're new here," Take

You noticed Laufey and said, with his usual bluntness.

"I introduce you to my new assistant, Laufey," Tye said, the young girl bowing shyly in front of his clients.

"Assistant?" Anne frowned slightly, revealing a hint of jealousy. "But you've never taken the test before!"

"She's a special case," the necromancer assured his favorite client.

"Laufey," Morgan said. "In ancient Midgard, it means full of leaves, right?"

"My father gave me this name because it reminded him of the forest he loved," said the girl, her cheeks turning red. Tay had to admit that he admired her performance. "When he was young, he fell in love with a local female bird."

"Oh, you're from Ferrand?" Anne immediately asked the newcomer a few questions. "Life there must be hard."

"Yes. My father sent me to his old friend Walter so that I could work safely in the big city. The demonic elf said, telling another lie on the spot. He saved my father's life, you know?" He kept telling how he was on the verge of death until Tay almost came back from the dead......"

Of course, she had to say so. What a woman.

"You've always been kind," Anne said with a smile to the wizard. "You never told me you went to Ferrand."

"I've traveled far and wide to market my wares," Tye said, glaring at Mr. Laufey and saying too much detail. The bad girl's answer was a shy smile, but he knew she was deliberately him off.

"You don't look older than we are," Takeliu said bluntly, and Anne touched him with her elbow. The more he got to know Tye, the more he felt that Tye was the sharpest knife in the princess's team. Always be vigilant and always be careful.

"I don't look like it, but I'm 24," Ty lied to say that it was his age before he died. "I've been working since I was twelve."

"It's too early," Morgan said. "Your parents need more money and they can't bring it home?"

"Nope. I was orphaned because of my merger with Nifheim, and I had to survive on my own. ”

"Oh, I offer my condolences." Morni said, but her sympathy sounded hollow. Despite the fact that she belongs to an organization that specializes in dealing with this threat.

"That was a long time ago," Tye said, though he remembered every second of that day. Watching his compatriots slaughtered by giant wolves before his eyes, his deep, primal fear of death instilled in him to this day. "But I don't like to talk about it, so let's change the subject."

"Yes!" Anne said. "I'm sorry, we're not here to uncover old wounds. We need your help!"

"Do you want a panacea for smoke?" aspects of speculation.

"No," Zhuyu said. "We need something that we don't have to breathe at all. Gwen said they could use other toxins, or shut down the exit to choke us. ”

"I know how to make a 'breathing potion' that will keep you breathing for eight hours straight," Tye said. "They're going to be expensive, but if you give me a full two weeks, I can make a lot of stock."

"It's been too long," Takei complained.

He can do it in half the time, but he can't extend the deadline any longer without raising suspicion. Moreover, he has an errand to do. "I will have to close the store for a few days due to a business trip," Tai said. "I'm sure the princess will ask the academy to make these potions before I return."

She didn't say that this meant two things; Either the academy didn't think the matter was important enough and didn't allocate too many resources, or the princess didn't want to visit them.

"Two weeks!" Anne said Wu Long complained that his arrows were "rusty" because of inactivity. "If you need someone to manage the store while you're away, I can help!"

"Annie, we need you to go somewhere else, not behind the counter." Morgan said her tone hinted at her belief that the event was out of character. "Now, Captain Gales will be there at any moment, and it would be a disgrace for our class to be a merchant in front of him."

Boss Gale? He was the father of the dead boy, Tye remembered. As a chieftain, a powerful nobleman with his own domain, he could be a problem in the future. In spite of. Nobles or commoners, heroes or villains, they all join the ranks of death. "You're so cute, Annie," Tye said with a smirk of smirk. "But I can't entrust my shop to someone else."

There are so many secrets to uncover here.

"I know." The witch said, clasping her hands behind her back. "But I miss the spell class we used to take!"

"I'll be happy to give you a new one when I get back," Tay said. "In fact, I can teach you the whole class if you need to."

"That's great," Anne said, anxious to make up for lost time.

"Thank you for having me." Morgan said hurriedly. "But we already have a rigorous curriculum and great teachers."

“But—”

"Annie, if you want to take a private lesson, you can do it, but the academy can't let an alchemist with an unknown background get too close to Gwen"

"I've been in the city for two years," Tay replied, and Laufey watched the scene with a happy smile over his hands.

"But there are a lot of unexplained deaths in this city, much longer," the redhead replied. That's what Gwen said. There have been too many unexplained disappearances over the years. She wondered if the undead had accomplices on it...... We haven't seen the evil wizard below take off his mask. ”

"Are you accusing Tay of being a murderer?" Anne asked, surprised, while Takebu remained expressionless.

"These are very serious charges," Laufey protested, with great concern. Walter ...... Walter has always been good. ”

"Of course, I didn't accuse him personally," Morgan said, though she didn't protest as strongly. "But we're talking about Gwen. Do you understand, Mr. Tai? She is the princess of Avalon. She's too important to endanger her. ”

"I understand." The necromancer said, despite the anger in his heart. His own chance to infiltrate the academy was gone.

Morgan gave him a smirk, he really wanted to strangle her. She excuses herself to see Gwen and almost drags her classmates out of the store.

"What do you think of them?" As the adventurers walked out of his shop, Tye asked Laufey.

"That Morgan is a jealous snake," the dark elf said, putting a finger to her lips. Tai noticed that she does this when she feels excited. "I could smell her resentment. Jealousy, bitter hatred, and bitter cruelty are intertwined to make it pleasant...... I can't wait to strip her beautiful exterior and reveal her rotten ugliness. ”

The necromancer raised an eyebrow. So his book of demonic magic tells the truth; She can sense the emotions of the living and read them as if they were books. "What is there to use?"

"Of course, dear. But for what purpose?"

"Divide and conquer," Tye said. "The more discord there is in their ranks, the better. As long as it can't be traced back to me, let us listen.

Adventurers outnumber them and get more resources. But when Tye's troops moved, they were all in the same direction, and the failed attack showed a lack of unity on the part of the enemy.

And, the more he looked at the girl named Morgan, the more he hated her. He didn't mind seeing her dragged into the mud.

"In that case, I'll start with—" Tye glanced at Laufey as a familiar face walked into the store, telling him to shut up. Percy.

"Hello, young man." The necromancer said. "I mourn your loss. Sigurd is a good man. ”

"Thank you." The boy said his voice was heavy. Judging by his wrinkled eyes, he hadn't slept in days. "I'm looking for a ...... Potion of Courage. ”

"Potion of courage?"

"I'm having nightmares." Percy said, without elaborating.

"I guess it's about the dungeon?" Do you want to use potions against nightmares when you sleep, or nightmares in the dungeon?"

The young man looked away, less interested in the idea of returning along the tunnel. "I don't know."

As the necromancer had predicted, two near-death experiences must have made the squire reconsider his adventurous career. "You're from Earthling, aren't you?" Ask. "Why aren't you in the academy?"

"I lost my (sacred weapon)," the young man admitted. "Even if I could handle the others, the academy didn't think I was up to theirs."

"Because you don't like to fight," Laufey guessed. While she sounds sympathetic, her words are scathing. "You're afraid of youkai...... Poor kid......"

Percy suddenly found it much more interesting to look at his feet than at the shopkeeper's face. "Even if I don't like to speak for the dead," Tye said. "Sigurd wouldn't want you to die to avenge him."

"How do you know?"

Because the necromancer hid his soul in the basement and extracted all the valuable information from it. "I once had a mentor who told me not to retaliate; It is better for me to continue to spread the knowledge he has taught me than to bring about my own destruction. He told me to live no matter what, so that the project could continue. ”

"But what should I do?" Percy asked, needing some pointers. "Just let it pass?"

"You can never let the tragedy pass," Tay said from the bottom of his heart. "But what about the pain you feel?" In addition to dealing with monsters, you can also use it for other purposes. The dungeon isn't the only place that needs help, Percy. The city's understaffed guards gave the rioters an opportunity. Fighting gangs, murders, fraud, drug trafficking...... The robbers around Lyon do more harm in a month than in a year in the dungeon. ”

"I ...... Do you think I can make a difference there?"

"You look like a smart lad," Tai nodded, "and I think your talents will serve this institution better." Come to Captain Gorément, and he will be happy to welcome you on duty. I can even write you a letter of introduction. ”

"I ...... That's great. Percy said, forgetting his potion of courage. I...... I can go check it out. ”

"You won't regret it," Tai said, then placing a blue elixir on the counter, "It's a dose (of the sleeping potion) that will solve your nightmares." I'm in for a treat.

"I can't accept it." Percy protested. He eventually accepted the job, but Tay held out for a full five minutes before sweeping him away. The squire finally left and thanked him.

"You should have killed him." As soon as the necromancer closed the door, Laufey said. "Or give him to me."

"He's no longer an adventurer, so he's out of the way. That way we don't have to deal with him. "The necromancer hates unnecessary killing, and he prefers to live in orderly, peaceful land.

"I hope you don't 'live' to regret your decision," Laufey replied. "I'm going to work my magic on these kids right away."

"Good. But first I need you to help me with an underground mission. ”

Truth be told, even Tay can't create an infinite amount of smoke because his crucibles require chemical materials to make them. Some of them are relatively rare. He needs to disperse his forces and fortify the dungeon. He sent Hagen to do the former, and the latter he would take care of himself.

Finally, it is time for Tai to conquer even deeper and become the true master of the ruins. No matter what horror awaits them below, they will either obey his will or die. All who stand between him and his dreams will die.

That's the way it is.