Chapter 38
May I Borrow You for Dissection?
"This is... a dissection table!"
As a Tier-3 witch apprentice, Orlando immediately realized where he was.
"Please, I beg you, let me go! I won’t bother you ever again! I’ll tell you everything I know!"
The desperate plea echoed in the cramped dissection laboratory.
Under the plague doctor mask, Lucy revealed a sweet smile.
Then, the question that would soon become the nightmare of all living creatures for centuries softly spilled from her lips:
"May I borrow you for dissection?"
...
When the morning light pierced through the towering windows, dyeing the messy dissection room of the apprentice in golden hues, Lucy finally put down the No. 3 Alchemical Scalpel, her face showing a trace of lingering satisfaction.
Immediately after, a string of system notifications flashed before her eyes.
[Unnumbered: Heart of the Weak Aberration] [Comment: An ordinary dissection experiment] [Academic Points: 3]
[Unnumbered: Lungs of the Weak Aberration] [Comment: An ordinary dissection experiment] [Academic Points: 1]
[Unnumbered: Brain of the Weak Aberration] [Comment: An ordinary dissection experiment] [Academic Points: 3]
...
[Academic Points: 18→25]
As the Star Ring Wizard's famous saying went: On the dissection table, even gods are but containers for specimens.
When the aberration that Orlando had turned into was restrained on the silver dissection table, the last traces of fear in Lucy's heart transformed into a fervent passion for the unknown.
This feeling of dissecting a "creature" she had never studied before, and gradually unveiling its mysterious veil, made Lucy unable to stop. She even briefly entertained the idea of actively "running into ghosts".
"The essence of an aberration is the materialization of biological grudges."
She murmured while wiping the scalpel. Three glass jars filled with black mist-like organs floated up and down in preservative fluid. "The organ structures are completely identical to those before death, but their material composition is a misty energy form, with the circulatory system entirely absent."
Lucy examined the specimens soaked in the glass jars.
Because the aberration that Orlando had turned into was simply too weak, Lucy did not record these specimens into The Witch's Anatomical Notes. She merely labeled them with simple parchment tags and placed them on the shelf.
As for the dream-entering ability, Lucy did not find any related magical vein on Orlando's aberrant body. Perhaps this ability was not something a weak aberration like Orlando could possess on its own.
"If I could dissect a few stronger aberrations, perhaps I could figure out the principle behind their formation."
Still unsatisfied, Lucy neatly placed the three preservation jars onto the specimen display rack.
Unlike when she had first crossed into this world and the shelves were empty, they were now filled with a whole row of glass jars. A peculiar sense of satisfaction arose within her… perhaps this was what one called a collecting addiction?
"I wonder what the scene will be like when all the shelves are completely filled."
She caressed the cold surface of the jars, suddenly recalling the sub-dimensional storage tools of the Dimensional School. She resolved to purchase one once she had saved enough magic stones; after all, these precious specimens could not afford accidental damage.
After admiring her work for a while and completing a simple wash-up, Lucy left the room.
Though she greatly looked forward to the dragon heart stored in Mentor Fernando’s laboratory, the immediate priority was to address the issue of mental strength.
There were still fourteen days left before the deadline given by her mentor, and she had to raise her mental strength to 10 within this period.
Gathering information about Carlton was not difficult.
She spent only 5 magic sands to inquire from a member of the Advancement Society about his morgue and recent situation.
This former president of the Advancement Society had been completely abandoned by its members for his indifference toward Lisa’s death.
When Lucy knocked on the door of his morgue, the once high-spirited and brilliant young leader now appeared with sunken eye sockets, disheveled beard, and even a grayish film covering his pupils.
Having witnessed the entire process of Lisa being brutally slaughtered by the filthy Abyssal Tentacle, Carlton no longer dared to touch the corpses of enchanted beasts.
The settlement last week nearly emptied him of all his magic stones. Before long, he would be forced to settle debts using his own organs.
"What... do you want?"
Carlton’s voice was so weak it seemed he might stop breathing at any moment. His lifeless eyes focused on Lucy’s face.
Lucy silently shook her head.
This man was completely ruined.
"Answer one question for me. The reward is 20 magic sands."
Lucy shook her money pouch, and the clinking sound of magic stones finally lit a faint spark in his eyes. "You once mentioned to Lisa that you exchanged for a Mental Strength Enhancement Potion at the tower’s Exchange Office. But I went there this morning and found no such potion exists. Can you tell me where you heard about it?"
Lucy, who had been so confident about breaking through to official apprentice rank, was informed during her trip to the Exchange Office that no such thing existed in the Tower of the Four Sages.
She had no choice but to come to Carlton.
"That was just an excuse I made up to scam magic stones from them. I never actually asked at the Exchange Office." At the mention of Lisa's name, Carlton instinctively shrank his neck.
Lucy gritted her teeth, not even knowing how to describe this man anymore.
"So you're saying you made up the Mental Strength Enhancement Potion?"
Seeing that Lucy was about to put away her money pouch, Carlton grew anxious.
"No, such a potion does exist. I saw the recipe in a book on the tenth floor of the library, but..."
"But what?"
"But the book is only half complete."
Lucy frowned. "Where is it?"
"First row, third shelf, left corner. I swear!"
Following Carlton's directions, Lucy soon found the half book of potionology parchment titled Silverleaf Awakening Potion in the library.
It was a Mental Strength Enhancement Potion intended for apprentice-level use.
Just as Carlton had said, about a quarter of the potionology notes had gone missing.
And it was precisely the missing part that contained the brewing process for the Silverleaf Awakening Potion.
No wonder such an important potionology note had been left to gather dust in the corner of the first row shelf.
After spending 65 magic sands, Lucy acquired five days of usage rights for this half potionology notebook, and she also renewed her rentals for High Elvish Introductory Dictionary and Traveling with Migratory Birds for another two magic stones.
After finishing all this, Lucy shrank herself into her dormitory.
The Silverleaf Awakening Potion was composed of three main ingredients and twenty-one auxiliary ingredients.
Its brewing required the basic potionology toolset as well as a cotton filter containing 1% mithril.
It only took Lucy five sandglass turns to memorize the entire content of Silverleaf Awakening Potion by heart.
The system panel updated as expected:
[Name: Lucy Felicia]
[Level: Apprentice (Mental Strength: 8.3)]
...omitted...
[Skills: Devouring Contamination Potion (Advanced), Silverleaf Awakening Potion (Incomplete) (Not yet learned)]
[Equipment: Gear Staff (+2° magical energy), No. 3 Alchemical Scalpel of the Midnight Dissector]
[Contamination Value: 35%]
[Academic Points: 25]
Upon seeing the entry Silverleaf Awakening Potion under the [Skills] section, Lucy finally felt relieved.
As for the "(Incomplete)" part, it was probably due to only having half the potionology notes.
However, as long as it could be registered into the system, that meant it could be deduced; it was only a matter of how many academic points would be required.
Since that was the case.
Lucy said, "System, help me deduce Silverleaf Awakening Potion."