Chapter 275: Goodwin
Goodwin—only active in ancient historical records, the legendary alchemist, the former owner of the Traveler's Ring now in his possession. He had countless ties with him and with the Life Alchemy Society. At the same time, he was also the same person as Wendegoon, who had flourished during the age of the Four Heroes, pioneered Puppet Alchemy, expanded the influence of Life Alchemy, and created the Alchemy Dragon.
The first time Zhou Ning had seen this name was right after his transmigration, in the diary of Holwig, the exchange student from Ruins whom Zhou Ning had refined into a monster. Holwig had been corrupted beyond salvation by Professor Bislok, a high-ranking member of the Life Alchemy Society, who used Goodwin's alchemy notes to refine him.
Afterward, by all sorts of coincidences, Zhou Ning himself learned both Puppet Alchemy and Life Alchemy from Goodwin's legacy. Even more absurdly, in a sense Goodwin could be considered both his mentor-grandfather and his adopted son.
When Zhou Ning used the simulator to cross into the [War of the Gods], in his Pirate King version, Goodwin's soul was already residing in the ring from the start. As the price for teaching him Life Alchemy, Pirate King Zhou Ning helped Goodwin reshape a body through alchemy—a small infant resembling the legendary homunculus—and raised him as his own. The name "Wendegoon" was also chosen by Pirate King Zhou Ning.
After Pirate King Zhou Ning was assassinated, Goodwin's whereabouts became a mystery. The only known clue was that he later crafted a teleportation ring, which by a chain of coincidences ended up in Zhou Ning's hands.
Zhou Ning had once thought: if Goodwin were still alive, then upon meeting him he would surely reach out a hand, smile, and say: "Be my son!" Yet now, he never expected to truly encounter him here.
What a coincidence—too much of a coincidence! Zhou Ning couldn't help shouting inwardly, while also doubting whether this was indeed the same Goodwin he knew.
The gap of time was simply too vast for him to reconcile the two.
He turned his gaze toward the symbols and text on the wall, stretched out his hand to feel around, and sure enough, he found an indentation to the side—a palm print.
At once he pressed his palm against it and pushed inward.
With the sound of gears grinding, a stone compartment slowly slid open.
Compared to the previous compartment, this one had little of value left. Alchemical materials had a far shorter shelf life than forging materials; most of the spiritual essence within had long been eroded by time. After much searching, he managed to find only one useful material.
It was a flower called "Yuān-tail Blossom," sealed in a relatively airtight container, still well preserved, with six blossoms in total. This was an upper-tier substitute for Leopard-Eared Cat tails and could be used in concocting the Mongoose Elixir, which increased agility. Zhou Ning had brewed Mongoose Elixirs before, but using Yuān-tail Blossoms as the ingredient enhanced the potion's effect and eliminated its side effects. Even in his past life it had been extremely expensive—after all, agility determined movement speed, attack speed, dodge capability, and even boosted ranged damage. It was crucial for every profession.
Zhou Ning carefully stowed the Yuān-tail Blossoms away. Like Xinwood and magic iron, they were priceless treasures, the more the better.
Aside from this material, Zhou Ning also pulled out a book from the compartment. Its title was ridiculous: The Stars and Me: Goodwin's Alchemy Notes. Thinking back to the heap of books Goodwin had written under the name Wendegoon, Zhou Ning never expected this "cheap son" (still in doubt) of his to also be a prolific writer.
———
Book: [The Stars and Me: Goodwin's Alchemy Compendium]
Legendary Book
Reading grants immense alchemy experience.
Prerequisite Skill: Ancient Elvish (Beginner)
Click to read.
———
Just like the ones he had gotten from Grand Archmage Oscard, this was a not-too-rare life skill book. Reading it granted abundant experience and sometimes new recipes. As for the prerequisite—Ancient Elvish—it was simple enough: just library science.
He stored the book in a corner of the ring, then stood up and turned his eyes to the silver coffin on the ground. In the battle earlier, the coffin had been thrown heavily to the floor, its lid knocked ajar by the whirlwind. It bore cracks, but thanks to his careful control, it had not completely shattered.
Approaching, Zhou Ning peered inside. As expected, there was a corpse within. Unlike the others he had seen, this one had been preserved with alchemical embalming and was in excellent condition. The figure was handsome, with a small beard on his chin, his expression calm and dignified. He wore a finely patterned alchemist's robe, a jeweled staff resting in his arms.
Thinking back to how Goodwin's soul had inhabited the ring at the start of [War of the Gods], if the two were indeed the same person, then Goodwin had most likely departed this place in soul form. For a master of Life Alchemy, such a feat was hardly difficult.
Ignoring the obviously epic-quality staff and the many burial goods within, Zhou Ning took a deep breath and gently closed the coffin lid once more.
He now faintly understood the situation. Most likely Goodwin, along with intruding adventurers, had found a way to escape this place.
For someone like Goodwin—a grand alchemist and scholar—it was hardly surprising that he knew a method of escape.
What's more, he might not have acted alone… Zhou Ning recalled the empty coffin in the side chamber of the left passage, once belonging to the ranger-general Talonia.
At that moment, a shrill roar and the heavy beat of wings rang in his ears. Without looking, Zhou Ning knew—the remaining Obsidian Gargoyle had broken free of its restraints.
But its energy had been almost completely drained by the whirlwind attack earlier. Even its movements were sluggish. Zhou Ning fired three shots, each one tearing cracks into the alchemical array in its chest.
[Due to your skill [Rapid Pursuit], your damage is increased by 30%.]
[Skill [Silver Bullet] activated. This attack deals bonus Light damage and True damage.]
[Skill [Armament Haki] activated. This attack deals heavy True damage.]
[You dealt 1,943 critical damage to the Obsidian Gargoyle!]
With all the buffs stacked, even his normal attacks were monstrous. Thirty seconds later, the gargoyle collapsed into rubble, leaving behind 96,000 experience and a Gargoyle Core.
Pocketing the core, Zhou Ning exited the left chamber and stood before the remaining two stone doors. After a moment's hesitation, he pushed open the one to the right.
As with the left passage, this was another "Soul's Rest" chamber of the ancient elven tomb. But strangely, there were only a few scattered wraiths here.
Low risk truly meant low rewards. After dispatching the wraiths, Zhou Ning searched the room but found almost nothing—only a few low-purity necro cores and a recipe for Undying Potion.
Undying Potion: Increases armor by 2,000 for 1 minute 30 seconds.
This was an essential consumable for tanks during early dungeon raids, with strong sales. Normally, once promoted to Expert Alchemist, there was a chance to comprehend the recipe naturally. Getting it early was certainly no loss.
Only the last door remained unexplored. Zhou Ning walked to the half-open stone door and pushed it wide.
As he had expected, the chamber was in complete disarray, its monsters already cleared. What met his eyes first were six or seven corpses. One lay directly before the door—he almost stepped on it.
The corpses were dressed in varied attire: some in classic black robes, some in coats resembling those of northern pirates. After a quick glance, Zhou Ning crouched beside one of them.
This was…
His face showed surprise. Among the dead, two wore what looked like alchemist's robes, each with a badge pinned to the chest. The badge bore an eye, beneath it two mysterious lines and a green leaf.
It was the insignia of the Life Alchemy Society.
If memory served, the Life Alchemy Society had originally been just a small fellowship. Its origins traced back to several alchemists from Ruins who had stumbled upon an ancient site filled with old alchemy recipes, from which the society grew.
Could it be… that the legendary site was here?