Translator: AnubisTL
Viola sat in her opulent armchair, its cold, metallic texture contrasting with the warmth of the high tower laboratory. Through the massive floor-to-ceiling window, she surveyed the camp below, its steel-like machinery operating with mechanical precision.
Her posture was the epitome of elegance, her silver hair cascading like a waterfall. A simple yet noble white robe framed her figure, making her appear as flawless as an ice sculpture.
Her gaze was fixed on a colleague in a second-tier wizard's robe at the center of the laboratory.
The wizard's face was contorted by intense psychological struggle, fine beads of sweat glistening on his forehead. His hands were clenched into fists, knuckles white.
His eyes kept darting to the glass bottle on the table before him—a blood-red liquid that emitted an alluring fragrance.
Viola made no move to hurry him, her expression almost indifferent, as if she were merely an observer watching an irrelevant silent play.
Yet, upon closer inspection, one could detect the faintest hint of amusement nearly overflowing from the depths of her eyes.
Like a dark, cold pool reflecting the final struggles of its prey.
This torment was precisely what Viola savored most.
The wizard's inner world was undoubtedly undergoing a violent storm—a fierce battle between reason and instinct, the desperate desire for power clashing with the terror of ultimate pain, tearing at the depths of his soul.
This silent torture struck at the core of his being, far more profoundly than any physical interrogation.
After a long while, after an arduous psychological struggle, the wizard's body even trembled slightly.
Finally, as if having made some resolute decision, he gritted his teeth and purchased the magic potion from Viola.
Without another word, without daring to glance at her again, he carefully tucked the potion bottle away and fled her office without looking back, his haste like that of a condemned criminal fleeing judgment.
Watching the wizard's near-desperate figure—a mix of relief and profound pain—Viola let out a long, soft sigh of deep satisfaction.
The sound carried an extreme sense of fulfillment, as if she had devoured the most exquisite fruit in the world.
My own flaws are truly immense.
Viola had recognized this about herself since childhood.
From the earliest, hazy memories she could recall, the first clear images that surfaced in her mind were not the sun-drenched warmth or her mother's smiling face that the world so revered.
Instead, they were the grotesque visages of insects and frogs, their bodies twisting and struggling under her fingertips before finally succumbing to death.
The fluctuations emanating from those lives on the brink of collapse filled her with an indescribable mixture of excitement and calm.
Later, upon entering the wizard academy and delving into more profound studies, this twisted fascination not only persisted but grew exponentially with her expanding knowledge.
No longer satisfied with casually captured wild creatures, she turned her attention to the experimental subjects within the academy.
She obsessively observed the living specimens, their bodies warped by runes and corroded by magic potions, watching them writhe and scream through various stages of agony until their souls finally scattered to the winds.
By the time Viola realized it,
She found that she, an ordinary apprentice who should have been focusing on the Alchemy School upon enrollment, had unknowingly become a dual "genius" of the Biology and Pain Schools, thanks to her unique understanding of "suffering" and her profound dissection of "life."
Mentors from both schools had extended olive branches to Viola, promising her the best resources and the most profound knowledge.
Normally, a psychological issue like Viola's, her extraordinary interest in suffering, would easily lead one down a path of extremism and distortion, ultimately falling into depravity or plunging into the abyss.
But Viola was different.
Perhaps due to her psychological issues, she genuinely enjoyed witnessing the suffering of other living beings, yet she remained more rational and clear-minded than most wizards.
She deeply understood how to reconcile her twisted interests with harsh reality, dancing on the edge of law and morality.
When she realized she had grown weary of the crude suffering of non-sentient beings like magical beasts and experimental subjects, she even began to subtly pursue a more refined form of agony—the suffering of wizards!
The moment this thought arose, Viola didn't succumb to it. Instead, she immediately grew wary.
She knew that striking against her colleagues, even if it promised ecstasy, would come at a devastating cost, potentially even hastening her demise. Such a course of action went against her rational nature.
After careful consideration and meticulous planning, Viola resolutely rejected all olive branches extended by the Biological School and the School of Pain, turning instead to the seemingly dry and tedious field of potionology.
With immense perseverance, she started anew from scratch, finding another way to satisfy her interests.
Her vast knowledge of biology and pain allowed her to precisely grasp the mechanisms of living organisms' responses to pain and the interactions between drugs and souls.
Leveraging the knowledge she had accumulated out of interest, she quickly achieved remarkable success in potionology—the "Pain Potion Series"! This series was her pride and the source of her widespread fame within the workshop.
The series encompassed a wide range of potions, from enhancing mental power and physical constitution to accelerating wound recovery and temporarily igniting life's potential. They covered almost every functional potion a wizard might need.
Their most striking commonality was that to achieve superior effects compared to equivalent-tier potions, users had to endure extreme, even ultimate, pain during consumption.
Viola's mastery of magic potion formulas had reached an exquisite, meticulous level.
The effects of these pain potions were often slightly superior to those of comparable potions on the market. It was precisely this marginal improvement that drew countless wizards, driven by the pursuit of ultimate power, to flock to them, willing to risk everything.
But the price was unparalleled agony during consumption.
Yet, apart from the pain itself, the pain potion series had no other permanent side effects.
They wouldn't damage one's foundation, leave hidden injuries, or hinder future advancement.
For wizards, renowned for their rationality and viewing their bodies as precious vessels, such potions—both stronger in effect and free of lasting side effects—should theoretically be the ideal purchase.
But wizards, ultimately, were living beings, possessing the most primal and instinctual aversion to pain.
They could rationally calculate gains and losses, but when true agony descended, that physiological revulsion couldn't be fully overcome by sheer willpower.
What delighted Viola most, and filled her with a sense of triumph, was the crucial "unavoidable" property of the Pain Potion series.
If a wizard perfectly masked the pain with other spells or secret arts while taking the potion, the potion would become completely ineffective. It would simply turn into a pool of ordinary liquid, its potency utterly lost.
This was Viola's true goal.
She didn't just revel in the sight of wizards writhing and struggling in agony as they took the potion; she found even greater pleasure in their internal conflict. The agonizing struggle between their rationality and instinct—the agonizing deliberation, the agonizing weighing of options, and the final, agonizing choice—brought her unparalleled delight.
To Viola, the mental anguish of wizards was far more exquisite than their physical suffering.
"Perfect..." she exhaled softly, her breathing calming considerably as the smile in her eyes gradually faded.
All her emotions settled into their fundamental state. She was no longer the potion master harboring twisted desires, but had reverted to the eternally elegant and composed wizard of the Noren Workshop.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
A rapid, rhythmic chime from the magic net terminal on Viola's wrist interrupted her thoughts.
The entranced expression on her face, still lingering from the earlier struggle of the wizard, vanished instantly.
Her eyes regained their clarity, and a perfectly measured curve returned to her lips, restoring her elegant, composed demeanor as if she had just withdrawn from a serious academic study.
When she answered the call, a young, slightly balding face appeared on the light screen—her mentor, Clark.
"Viola, how have you been?" Clark's voice always carried a gentle weariness.
"Mentor, I'm doing well. There's no need to worry," Viola replied, her voice soft and melodious, betraying no hint of deception.
The curve of her lips deepened imperceptibly. "And I've been taking good care of my junior brother, Jieming, ensuring he continues to grow amidst the harsh conditions of the Planar War. You can rest assured."
Master Clark's mouth twitched involuntarily, a hint of helplessness in his eyes.
"It's precisely because you're taking care of him that I'm worried!" Clark's voice held a tone of exasperation, clearly aware of Viola's "quirks."
Yet he remained powerless against his student.
With a sigh that seemed to carry a hint of resignation, he murmured, "Very well. As long as she doesn't push him too far and allows him to grow normally, that should suffice. After all, the boy's potential is truly remarkable."
"Mentor, what are you saying?" Viola asked with an innocent smile, her eyes twinkling. "Of course, I'll keep a close eye on my junior brother. His potential is immense, far surpassing my own when I was his age."
Viola's words weren't entirely false.
She was genuinely pleased with Jieming's extraordinary adaptability, transcendent resilience, almost cold-blooded decisiveness, and that indescribable "pain" hidden beneath it all.
"However, my junior brother seems to be troubled by something lately, constantly swamped with work. What a shame. I had planned to assign him more research tasks to test his limits. But... the pain brought by these troubles isn't bad either..."
Though she didn't understand the source of Jieming's suffering, the fluctuations emanating from it filled her with an intense, exhilarating pleasure.
This inner turmoil was precisely the "high-quality" pain she craved.
Master Clark silently mourned for Jieming, who was far away.
He knew that Viola's "satisfaction" likely meant Jieming was being subjected to trials far beyond the scope of ordinary people.
I hope this child won't develop psychological scars...
(End of the Chapter)
------------------------------------------------------
- Read ahead up to Ch322 (WIZARD) on: AnubisTL
- Free chapters up to Ch244
- No sign-up required!
- Just search us on Google to find our official site.
🚨 LAST CHANCE! 🚨
Win 10 days of free Baron Tier access on CinderTL! 3 winners chosen this Thursday, June 11th.
------------------------------------------------------