112(1) – Zenyo! (VIII)
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PART 1 – Elixirs!
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Days passed. Elias sent the message to Ariel Horça, but she didn't reply, and unless the other party reacted, there was nothing to be done or said.
Thus, Verna, Zenyo, and Lina had to wait patiently. The Thorn Family accommodated them properly while they waited.
Verna took the opportunity to cultivate her inner energy and study the learning materials she had gotten her hands on since arriving in this world. Now she has these combat suits that she discovered were created by Kevel.
Rereading his work on "Kevel's Waves," she noticed inconsistencies now that she observes it with a new perspective. She noticed subtle errors in the structuring of the texts, inverted orders, or erroneous text construction for the nomenclature of this world, but which she understood without problems.
The style reminds her a little of English. Furthermore, there was the use of nomenclature for certain calculations and problems. She thought it was just the device that automatically translated doing the work, but she was wrong.
Upon removing it and using her own study of the common language of this world, she found nomenclatures similar to Earth's formulas and calculations. This made her stop and think, knowing that Kevel comes from Earth.
She wants to find him, to know what year he lived before ending up in this world. She wants to know the situation that led him here and if there's a way to track him. If it's like her first life, where her real body was sent to another world, she could use her Special Ability to track the coordinates and structure something.
But if it's like her current self, a reincarnation, where the record is actually in her soul, but she can't access it because it's supposedly encoded and she doesn't have the knowledge or tools to decode it and get the precise coordinates.
Verna wants it very much, but she decided to stop thinking about it so much. Even though she misses him and wants to return… she stopped thinking about it and paid attention to the Elixirs in her possession.
She knows that consuming such treasures in excess will bring more problems than benefits to her cultivation.
But obtaining [True Diamond Body] was an unimaginable treasure. She decided to consume some that she deemed necessary.
From what she read in the records, these are Elixirs that only have great effects on the first use; subsequent consumption reduces their effectiveness by more than half, and depending on how well her body absorbed the first Elixir, the second may have no effect at all.
Whatever the case, Verna consumed these treasures and cultivated. The energy of the elixirs spread and merged into her flesh, mind, and even her soul.
One of the elixirs she consumed is called [Magic Flow Enhancer], which talks about widening magical channels, better merging them with the soul and subsequently creating an extremely beneficial looping effect, which increases the speed or amount of mana used by at least 20%.
Verna redirected it through Cultivation, affecting not only the Mana Channels but also her Meridians, which are practically the same. She saw them, thicker than hoses, expanding beyond their limits.
Their flow became more potent; much more energy flows through her veins and meridians. This means she can exert influence over larger areas, potentially amplifying or increasing damage.
Another Elixir is called [Blood of the Ancient Ogre], made from the blood essence of a creature known for being almost immortal, a Demigod-level creature. This Elixir doubles natural regeneration at a minimum, if one has [Regeneration], this powerful passive ability or similar, which can mutate or evolve.
Verna has an enhanced version of [Regeneration] that is [Healing Factor] at Level 2.
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Healing Factor (Level 2) – A powerful body that heals and regenerates from all damage suffered, even from abnormal physical conditions. Regenerates lost limbs and ensures she continues fighting even with 5% of her HP negative.
Reduces the Severity of Injuries by 1 level.
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Verna has 1,839 HP, 5% becomes 91.95. That is, even if she is severely injured and her HP reaches 0, she can continue fighting until her HP becomes -91 or -92.
Not to mention that it reduces the severity of injuries by one level. In other words, superficial injuries disappear instantly, minor injuries become superficial, and so on.
This means that fatal injuries, which could cause dismemberment or even instant death, are reduced to serious injuries, with a much lower chance of instant death.
Consuming the Elixir caused [Healing Factor] to gain an extra level for free, reaching Level 3. Its 5% effect became 7.5%.
Verna looks at her storage full of Elixirs and sighs. She can't even remember the last time she was faced with such a treasure. Time to get high and become much stronger!
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PART 2 – Visit!
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Verna finds herself alone, drinking alcohol as if it were water. The last few days have been fruitful, equivalent to years of progress and intensive cultivation, much of which would not be achieved with time alone.
This shows how necessary external help is for strengthening and evolution. Much can be achieved alone, but in the end, humankind did not reach the top of the food chain alone.
She finds herself thinking about her children and wives. The family relationship is terrible, and for plausible reasons. How she wished she could choose the easy path, tell the truth about why they suffered so much.
But then the blame would fall on Lohan, so she would have failed as a mother, which is to protect her children. She hates that and hates the fact that this alcohol does nothing to her.
“Irritated about something?” – A calm voice sounds, and beside her sits a woman with red hair, milky white skin, amber eyes, and wearing a long tunic that appears to be made of high-quality fabric.
“Just frustrated waiting for you and missing certain people.” – Verna says calmly and pours the contents of the bottle into a second glass. Ariel thanks her and accepts.
“I heard that an unknown Demigoddess was looking for me, naturally I was worried, since she could have just spoken to any other Demigod nearby and they would have introduced her to me. Instead, you went through the complicated work of irritating an entire government faction and being exposed in the end, for what exactly?” – Ariel looked curiously at Verna.
“Fun?” – Verna smiles, she knew the risks and headaches, but saw the perfect opportunity to get tons of otherworldly resources, not to mention knowledge that would be difficult to acquire with money alone.
“So, what do you want with me? Or did you do all this to try to woo me?” – Ariel scoffed, never having brought the glass to her lips, only smelling it at first.
“I wouldn’t come to another world to woo a woman. Regardless of how many marital problems I have at the moment.” – Verna smiles and Ariel nods.
“I remember a few years ago, an unusual number of beings from other worlds visiting us. There were some problems, but besides the demigods, the nations that established trade agreements benefited the most. You've probably heard about me, or more precisely, my abilities in dealing with anomalous effects, right? Does that mean you have a problem with some kind of illness or curse?” – Ariel understood what the other person wanted.
“Yes, but not for me, for a friend.” – Verna says. – “In my world, apparently a Legendary Dwarf was cursed by a Demigod-level Witch. This curse affects a man's masculinity, making him more effeminate and nullifying any means of reversing or circumventing the curse. The dwarf then found a way, passing the curse into the womb of a woman who carried his child and then disappeared.”
“So, my friend, you inherited this curse from birth, which the Witch who cast it is unable to undo, and no other artifact or elixir available in my world can reverse. That's why we heard about you, the bearer of a Special Ability that deals specifically with this kind of thing. And I know how abnormally powerful Special Abilities can be; I've dealt with a few users, one of whom was able to manipulate time to a certain extent, and he used it to abuse as many people as possible.”
Ariel nodded. – “It seems like a case of a mutant curse that merged with the user. When a child, more precisely a newborn, receives a Curse, their still-developing body, if it doesn't die from the curse, will adapt to it, merging with it and escaping the control of the one who cast it.”
“Yes, he’s told me about this thousands of times over the years. He’s even hired dozens of demigods and thousands of Legends specializing in curses to try and cure him, but nothing has worked.” – Verna said calmly.
Ariel listened calmly, then asked, “What do I get out of it? It seems that if I support you, I might lose some of my neutrality in government matters.”
Verna stared at her, then said, “I owe you a favor. You can ask for anything you want, as long as it’s within my capabilities. I can even take a look at your mistress; it may not seem like it, but I have excellent medical skills, both physical and neurological.”
Ariel froze upon hearing this. “What do you know?” – She frowned.
“I’ve learned that after the fall and corruption of the Gods of Light, their strongest connection to the mundane world goes mad. I’ve already dealt with individuals in a similar situation. So unless we’re talking about a corrupted Legend, I may have ways to reverse the major damage and give the individual time to heal on their own.”
Ariel blinked. – “And what if I can’t heal her?”
“Isn’t it worth a try? If I can’t heal her, I’ll still owe you a favor. I’ll also give you the method to contact me.” – Verna said calmly. Ariel seemed thoughtful and soon nodded. If there’s any hope of saving her beloved, she’ll seize it, for it shows her desperation.