Chapter 12: The Lost Hope
After reviewing the potion brewing video several times, Su Xiao was basically certain there were no issues. He had over a 90% chance of successfully brewing this type of potion.
If brewing [Radiant Potion] had a difficulty of 300, then brewing this potion had a difficulty between 19 and 30. Even without a detailed formula, Su Xiao had summarized, hypothesized, and perfected the potion's recipe by observing others brew it.
As for what kind of potion could be brewed, that was temporarily unknown. According to Kaisa, aside from the Enlightenment Potion, there were dozens of other potions with various effects, most of which were held by the Moen Family.
Su Xiao currently didn't have a single silver coin. The startup funds could only be provided by Kaisa. Moreover, Kaisa would also need to acquire the materials required for brewing the potions.
As for Su Xiao, he was responsible for brewing and ensuring the potion-selling business could continue. Once potions were sold, it would inevitably offend the Moen Family.
Kaisa had already left the Wizard Council with Bubu Wang to purchase supernatural materials from an underground street in the Holy Silver District. That bastard Kaisa originally wanted to "embezzle public funds," but after being warned by Reincarnation Paradise, he honestly went to acquire supernatural materials.
Su Xiao took Baha and left the Wizard Council, heading straight for the "Sleeping House." The so-called Sleeping House was the two-story stone building where the Maiden of Sorrow resided.
The Sleeping House wasn't far from the Wizard Council. Taking shortcuts like alleys, it only took about 10 minutes.
The morning sky was still overcast, with a thin mist shrouding Heruk City. The rainy season left the streets and buildings somewhat damp. Due to the prolonged lack of sunlight, shallow black moss grew at the base of the walls.
Jingle~
The stained wind chime on the door let out a faint sound. Su Xiao pushed open the wooden door of the Sleeping House, and the outer door, reinforced with iron strips, closed tightly behind him.
Whether it was an illusion or not, after entering the Sleeping House and closing the door, Su Xiao felt that his surroundings had become a bit "warmer."
Su Xiao dragged a wooden chair over and sat beneath the chandelier in the center of the room.
"Puppet."
Su Xiao's gaze shifted to the side of the bookshelf, where the Maiden of Sorrow stood with her eyes tightly shut.
"Lord Kukulin, you have returned."
The Maiden of Sorrow's voice was still gentle. If Su Xiao ignored her, she would stand there quietly until, a few days later, she fell into "Black Sleep" again.
The Maiden of Sorrow walked slowly to Su Xiao, her hands clasped in front of her abdomen, waiting for his orders.
"I am being eroded by the darkness."
As soon as Su Xiao raised his right arm, two pale, soft, but cold hands cupped his right arm.
"I will help you dispel the darkness. Please trust me, Lord Kukulin."
The Maiden of Sorrow knelt on one knee, lowering her head to press her brow against Su Xiao's hand.
Hiss~
Like threads of black smoke, they peeled away from Su Xiao's skin and gradually spread toward the Maiden of Sorrow's face. For the first time, her expression changed, showing obvious pain.
The black threads slithered up her cheeks and eventually disappeared into the crown-shaped silver ornament on her head. This was Holy Silver.
The manufacturing process for Holy Silver involved extracting iron from the corpse of an Old God, then combining it with pure silver to obtain Holy Silver.
[Tip: The 'Hidden Debuff Effect' on the Hunter has been lifted. The Soul Erosion status has been removed.]
[Tip: Due to the Hunter's high Soul Strength and the low degree of erosion, this Hidden Debuff Effect has not reached an irreversible level.]
[Verifying...]
[Hunter's Soul Strength: 113 points.]
[Warning: If the 'Darkness' erosion exceeds 53% and is not cleansed within 24 hours, it will cause a permanent reduction in the Hunter's Stamina attribute, maximum Health Points, and Willpower attribute.]
[The permanent reduction effect will be determined based on the degree and duration of the Darkness erosion.]
[Due to the extremely high energy rank within the Hunter's body, this permanent reduction effect is significantly suppressed and will not cause a reduction in Willpower.]
Seeing the prompt from Reincarnation Paradise, Su Xiao's expression grew slightly more serious. The "Darkness" was clearly not to be trifled with. Even with his Soul Strength and the protection of Cyan Steel Shadow Energy, prolonged erosion would permanently reduce his Stamina and Health Points.
Although only a trace amount of erosion had occurred, Su Xiao could sense that the "Darkness" was an immensely vast existence. If even he, with Cyan Steel Shadow Energy as a defense, was affected, then wizards without any protection would likely be eroded to death by the "Darkness."
The Maiden of Sorrow, who could dispel the "Darkness," was extremely important. The fact that such an important puppet was half-abandoned here was worth pondering.
"Who were you created for?"
Su Xiao removed the Holy Silver head ornament from the Maiden of Sorrow's head. Because he didn't have ownership rights and the item's rank was very high, when Su Xiao checked its attributes, he only got a bunch of question marks.
"Please return the sanctuary to me, Lord Kukulin."
The Maiden of Sorrow, still kneeling on one knee, looked up. Although her expression was blank, her face seemed to carry the word "wronged."
Su Xiao returned the Holy Silver head ornament to the Maiden of Sorrow. After she put it back on, she spoke softly:
"I was created for Lady Nia."
A flicker of emotion appeared on the Maiden of Sorrow's face—loss and longing.
"Nia? The direct descendant of Immortal Wizard Dawn?"
"No, Lord Kukulin. Lady Nia is..." The Maiden of Sorrow paused for a moment before continuing, "Lady Nia is the daughter of this world."
"Oh?"
Su Xiao felt things were becoming more interesting. The Maiden of Sorrow was created by Immortal Wizard Dawn, and her purpose was to assist Nia, to prevent Nia from being eroded by the "Darkness," or to give her the qualifications to deal with certain existences.
"You said Nia is dead? Or rather, who killed her, and what was she fighting against?"
"..."
The Maiden of Sorrow's mouth opened and closed, but the sound was "muted" again.
"Then let me ask another question. Nia... wasn't a wizard, was she?"
"Lady Nia was not a wizard, but she was a very powerful existence. She martyred herself for hope."
The Maiden of Sorrow lowered her head, and a crystal-clear "teardrop" slid down her left cheek. Puppets were not without emotions; she was grieving for her first master.
Or rather, it was precisely because of her first master's death that she became the Maiden of Sorrow. The light of hope had been martyred, and only sorrow remained.
"The source of the Darkness is still unclear, but the Dominator will be dragged out soon enough."
Su Xiao muttered to himself. His thoughts were basically sorted out. First, the relationship between the Wizard Council and the three Immortal Wizards was very complicated. At first glance, the three Immortal Wizards controlled the Wizard Council, but that wasn't the case.
One of the Immortal Wizards, Dawn, had once strived to deal with certain existences. She cultivated the Light of Hope, Nia, and created the Maiden of Sorrow.
And the Light of Hope, Nia, was not a wizard. She was the World Child!
The World Child had died, yet this world hadn't collapsed. This only meant that the existences she fought against were incredibly powerful in certain aspects. The old wizard had once provided a piece of information: "They" were sucking on this world like greedy infants.
Given the difficulty of the second ring of the main mission, Su Xiao felt that one of "them" was the Dominator. Su Xiao's goal was simple: to cut down that bastard.