"I wonder if it's because he didn't bother cleaning the corpse first."
Firewing wrinkled her nose in disgust and muttered:
"Before refining pills, you should at least wash the materials. And couldn't he skin the mutant beasts? Their fur doesn't contain any energy anyway."
"Was the mutant rat fur useless? Or just crawling with bacteria?"
"If it's bacteria, then it's even less suitable for making pills!"
"You ate one?"
Brandon White gave her a strange look. Was she this upset because she had actually eaten one? That would explain why she thought the pills stank.
"Of course I didn't eat one!"
Catching his gaze, Firewing grew a little evasive.
"I was just making a suggestion, okay? A suggestion."
"Even when you cook, you wash the ingredients first. Just because he's using an ability to refine doesn't mean he can magically purify filth."
"Stuff that disgusting—how can you expect anyone to swallow it?"
"With the way you're talking, no one would believe you didn't eat it."
Brandon looked at her, exasperated.
"I really didn't eat it!"
Firewing's eyes went wide, but then she let out a sigh.
"…Fine, I ate pills refined from other mutant beasts. Those smelled terrible too."
"If not for the good effects, I wouldn't touch them."
"..."
"Anyway, here are the pills." She handed over several bottles. "Each has different effects. I wrote the descriptions on the labels—you can decide when and how to take them."
"If you don't need them, just keep them. You could sell them or give them to a friend."
With that, Firewing stood. Her part was done; there wasn't much left to keep her busy for now. She needed to go back and train.
Brandon White—he was like the king of overachievers.
Such high talent, and yet he still worked harder than anyone else.
For people like her, who had neither his talent nor his strength, it was impossible to slack off without feeling guilty.
Brandon waved his hand dismissively, unconcerned about her departure. His attention was on the pills in his hand, his expression thoughtful.
The ability to refine mutant beasts, medicines, and herbs into pills—perfectly preserving their energy and properties.
At first glance, it seemed similar to his own Deprivation. But his Deprivation extracted a mutant beast's energy so he could wield its power directly, whereas Pillcraft transformed it into medicine, blending all its properties together in perfect harmony.
The key difference wasn't extraction. It was fusion.
"Not a bad ability," he murmured, green light flickering across his palm. "Now it's mine."
From his spatial ring, he pulled a mutant beast corpse and laid his hand on it.
In an instant, the huge carcass shrank down, condensing into a single brown pill.
Brandon gave it an experimental sniff and immediately shoved it into his ring. A pungent stench hit him, part blood, part rot—less like stinky tofu or snail noodles and more like someone who hadn't bathed in weeks.
No wonder Firewing complained. No normal person could stomach this.
Even if someone forced it down, they'd gag.
Which meant her suggestion to wash and skin the materials was sound. Maybe he should even add seasonings, treat it like cooking. Blending flavors could help make the pills more palatable.
Then a thought struck him. He opened the chat group.
Child of Nature (Brandon White): "@Glory of the Northern God, I've got something here. Want to try it?"
If humans couldn't handle it, maybe a dog could? A dog ought to be fine, right?
Richest Man (Tony Stark): "What is it?"
Ordinary Group Leader (Roxie Vale): "Yeah, what is it? If it's good, you can't just give it to Shiba Inu Thor. I'm the real pet of this group."
Child of Nature: "???"
Child of Nature: "Since when were you the group's pet? And why are you competing with a dog for the title?!"
He knew Roxie meant "pet" as in "the one everyone spoils," but his first thought had been an actual pet.
Boil Dagu Into Soup: "I don't think it's going to be anything good."
Evilest Spirit: "Probably not about the effects—more about the taste or something like that."
Evilest Spirit: "Like those Devil Fruits we saw last time."
Ordinary Group Leader: "Wait—you don't mean… ew, ew, no. Forget I thought that."
Ordinary Group Leader: "It's definitely not… that."
Uchiha Dance King: "…"
Uchiha Dance King: "You are filthy."
Boil Dagu Into Soup: "More like disgusting."
Child of Nature: "If you already know it's wrong, why say it out loud?!"
Brandon sighed. He couldn't decide if Roxie was naïve or just stupid.
Child of Nature: "It's a pill condensed from a mutant beast corpse. Not bad, strengthens the body and such—but it reeks. Thought I'd see if Thor likes it."
Child of Nature: "If he does, I'll give him the rest. They're useless to me anyway."
He could sell them back to the chat group, but the points weren't worth much.
Besides, Firewing had said more would be provided daily. He wasn't lacking.
Worst case, he could refine more himself—he still had plenty of beast corpses. And if he ran out, the mountains were full of prey.
Richest Man: "Strengthens the body, huh?"
Richest Man: "Ahem. Honestly, that's wasted on a dog. If it's just the taste, I can handle that."
Compared to the effects, taste was trivial.
Glory of the Northern God (Thor): "Woof woof woof???"
Glory of the Northern God: "You're fighting a dog for food now?"
Richest Man: serious_face.jpg
Richest Man: "To be precise, I'm competing with the son of the All-Father, the God of Thunder, over a pill that's completely useless to him."
Glory of the Northern God: shocked_shiba.jpg
Glory of the Northern God: "You actually admit I'm Thor, God of Thunder?"
Ordinary Group Leader: "Props, Tony. A real man—able to pick battles, able to let go."
Ordinary Group Leader: "Respect."
Uchiha Dance King: "…"
How was this guy so different from the Iron Man in the memory copies? Was it because he hadn't been forced to hammer metal in a cave?
Child of Nature: "Why don't you just try it before arguing."
Ding! Group member Child of Nature has sent two red packets.
Ding! Group member Glory of the Northern God has received your red packet.
Ding! Group member Richest Man has received your red packet.
Three mechanical chimes. Moments later—
Glory of the Northern God: tastes_bad.jpg
Richest Man: disgusting.jpg
(End of Chapter)
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