Roasted Brew

During the next three and a half days, Gerald collected fifteen Essence Cores in total. Although the amount of Essence he managed to extract at the beginning was very little, in the end, the amount increased to almost cherry-sized orbs.

He also tried to absorb more than one to test it out and he didn't feel much discomfort until he tried to consume two almost cherry-sized Essence Orbs.

It was nothing too painful, but he did start to feel some pressure coming from his body. It was quite clear that he was still extremely weak compared to whoever the author of the book was, since what he was using was considered almost nothing even for children.

"What kind of monsters were these people?! What kind of children did they have to eat these Essence Cores like candy?" Gerald shook his head in dismay.

"The time before the Great War must have been an amazing era… Sigh, now I'm stuck here, collecting scraps that they left behind."

He absorbed a few Essence Cores already, now only ten remained. He was curious as to what his strength rank would be after he ate so much of the Minecrawler Queen's flesh and the Essence Cores.

He decided to go and test it out in a Warrior's Guild, but he couldn't just go to any city. He made a short stop in Freka since they didn't know him there that much.

He just went there and requested a test.

***

"Two hundred and seventy-five kilograms?!" Gerald almost couldn't believe his eyes. Even after he left the Guild he still couldn't quite accept the sudden power spike.

"I knew I got stronger since I could fight beasts empty-handed, but I thought it was just from the Juggernaut Combat Art?"

He left Freka and found a secluded place. He swiftly created a stone pillar with his magic and prepared himself for the second test.

He once again used Juggernaut magic and punched the stone pillar with all he got.

Bam!

The strike of his fist was quite powerful, but nothing too out of the ordinary. He just didn't have the speed that would complement his strength.

The stone pillar chipped and a small crack formed at the point of impact, but that was about it.

"Hmm, I either need more speed...or more mass!" Gerald suddenly got an idea.

His weight suddenly tripled under the effect of his space magic. He already reached the limit of his speed if he didn't use Wind Body, so he could only increase the force of his punch by becoming heavier.

He flexed his muscles and took a deep breath. Then he punched.

Boom!

The stone pillar was broken in two and a few big chunks flew off it.

"Huff, huff…" Gerald was breathing deeply after that punch. Not to mention that he was now quite heavy, his defensive magic wasn't that strong at the moment and he almost dislocated his wrist.

"Damn, that hurt!" He held his right hand and a few drops of blood dripped to the floor from his knuckles.

"I think I should probably use my other hand as a sledgehammer next time…Shit!"

Although he was complaining, he was overall very satisfied with the result. When his body could withstand Iron Body, that's when his every body part could become a weapon.

And when he could perfectly combine Juggernaut with Wind Body, that's when he could bring forth massive destruction with his fists alone.

He returned to Auralba towards the end of the day. He was feeling tired but satisfied.

"Where is he? He said he was going to the auction, but then he just disappeared!" he heard Elly say after he just entered the mansion.

The girls were currently eating their dinner and talking with each other.

"Hmm," Sera stuffed a piece of meat in her mouth and said, "Who knows, he never tells us anything, that bastard! I am bored out of my mind!"

"Why don't you spend more time studying magic then? He said he was going to test us out soon…" Xilia answered. "Are you still incapable of casting spells?" she teased.

Sera looked at her sideways and then a mischievous smile formed on her face. She quickly stretched her hand and stuck a finger in Xilia's glass.

The liquid instantly froze before anyone could even react.

"Hey!" Xilia jumped up in shock and grabbed the glass, "I was going to drink that!"

Sera proudly placed her hands on her hips and laughed. "Hahaha! Who said I can't use magic? I've already become great at it!"

While those two were teasing each other, Qiona tugged on Elly's dress. "Big sister, can you give me some light? These candles are not bright enough for reading."

Elly gave her a bright smile and said, "But of course!" She quickly murmured an incantation and created a ball of light on her palm. She then released it above Qiona's head where it could illuminate the book.

"Thank you!" The little Dark Elf already finished her dinner and buried her head in books again.

"Huff, huff! I seriously need more Mana! I can barely cast three spells!" Sera suddenly complained loudly. She froze Xilia's silver hair in their catfight, and in return Xilia turned her hair into a tangled mess with her wind magic.

"Ha-ha!" Xilia shouted triumphantly. "No matter how good you become, it's all useless when going against a great Elf like me! Admit your inferiority, human!"

"Hehe…" A quiet chuckle was suddenly heard from the other side of the room. The girls suddenly turned their heads towards the source of the sound. It was already evening and the end of the table where the sound came from was in the shadows.

"Who's there?!" Xilia shouted and prepared herself for a fight.

The air at the end of the table blurred and distorted, and Gerald suddenly appeared.

He had his boots on the table and was currently eating a piece of raw salted meat. He waved them and showed a big grin. He was greatly enjoying himself at the moment.

"God damn it, Gerald! You can't just suddenly appear like that! I almost attacked you!" Xilia frowned.

"Haha, sorry, sorry…" Gerald laughed. "I just didn't want to disturb your dinner."

Gasp!

Elly opened her eyes wide in surprise, "You know how to be invisible?!"

Gerald shook his head and became a transparent blur again. "It's not quite complete Invisibility yet… This spell is way harder to perfect than I thought it would be, it's also extremely taxing on the mind."

"Now, listen up! I'll answer a few questions if you have any…" He explained to them a few things they still wanted to know before it was time to go to sleep.

He still had many things to do the next day.

***

"So…"

Master alchemist Edon Ashbrew sat on a chair opposite to Gerald. Gerald handed over an agreement of secrecy written on a piece of paper. It was a sort of a written oath, that stated the alchemist will not, under any circumstance, disclose the secrets learned from Gerald.

After master Ashbrew signed the document, It was time for Gerald to make good on his promise.

After learning the ingredients and the process of making the Potion of Focus, the alchemist sighed, "Ah, it's so simple… Who knew that you could produce this potion so simply… It's an amazing thing how even trash can become gold in the hands of a true master!"

Although he now knew how to make it, the entire procedure still had to be learned slowly. It was the first time master Ashbrew tried roasting seeds, so he was not at all good at it.

Controlling the temperature and stirring the seeds in a pan might sound simple, but he still managed to burn them a few times.

Then there was the unequal distribution of heat… Some seeds were charred, while some were still partially raw.

Making a potion that would give you diarrhea was definitely not something the Auction House wanted.

It took the entire day for master Ashbrew to produce his first proper potion. Too bad he only learned how to make one at a time. When the mass production would be initiated, the amount of seeds baked would have to be enormous.