"Looks really interesting."
Rin spoke as she watched what Tris was setting up.
Tris had taken out something resembling a large table with four legs, with a hollow tube in the center of its surface.
The tube wasn't completely straight but slightly curved. The lower end of the tube matched the diameter of the pot's mouth, while the upper end gradually narrowed.
At the top opening of the tube, a long slanted chute was attached, sloping downward toward the ground.
He then placed the table across the pot's mouth. More clearly, the pot and its stove were positioned beneath the table.
On the tube's body was a small door that could be opened and closed. Tris opened it and dropped in all the ingredients from earlier. Through it, the ingredients fell directly into the boiling water below. Once finished, he closed the door tightly.
Rin: "Master, what is this tube for?"
Tris: "It channels the steam rising from the pot and releases it through this narrow opening."
Rin: "Is there something special about this spot?"
Tris: "There's a specially designed magic here that gathers the steam into small spheres. Of course, for the magic to activate, we need to infuse spiritual energy ourselves, or prepare some magic crystals to serve as the energy source."
Rin: "Spheres?"
Soon, the water began to boil, releasing a strange vapor.
Unlike ordinary white steam, this one was a bizarre dark-purple mist.
As it reached the tube's opening, the purple vapor condensed into fist-sized spheres. They then rolled down the chute and onto the ground.
Tris didn't want to produce these spheres inside his own room.
Even though the magic collected the vapor, for safety and to avoid accidents, it was better to perform this outside in a spacious training yard.
Seeing the spheres continuously forming, Rin asked excitedly:
"Master, did you design this?"
Tris: "No, this comes from my village."
To equip their puppets with diverse weapons and hidden tools, not only blacksmithing but also toxin research and applications had developed in his village.
These special bombs were one of their creations.
Tris: "Take a few and store them in your spatial ring."
When Rin picked one up, she noticed it wasn't hard but strangely soft.
Tris: "The usage is simple, throw it hard to the ground. The impact will break the sphere, releasing poisonous mist around. The mist also acts like smoke, obscuring vision."
Rin: "Poison? Then, is there anything else I should be careful about?"
Startled, Rin held the spheres carefully to avoid dropping them.
Tris: "Pay attention to the wind direction. When using them, protect your face with spiritual energy so you don't inhale it. If you do, use the antidote I gave you earlier."
Rin nodded and carefully stored several spheres.
Though her Master explained casually, Rin understood these should only be used when surrounded by enemies. Using them among civilians would be disastrous.
After producing enough bombs based on the ingredients, Tris turned off the stove.
With no more toxic vapor rising, he removed the bulky table above the pot. Inside the pot remained a small amount of thick, pitch-black liquid.
Tris collected it into small empty vials he had prepared. He gave some to Rin and said:
"Keep this as well. When needed, you can apply it to your weapon to increase a little extra damage. Just don't let it spill onto your own skin."
Holding the vials carefully, Rin thought:
'(￣_￣|||) Something dangerous enough not to touch the skin… can it really be just for "a little extra damage"?'
She doubted what she had just heard, silently reminding herself to be extremely cautious if she ever used it.
* * * * * * * * * *
The discussion between Count Alistair and the other three continued afterward.
On the side of the Church of Light, they agreed to send a group of forty people, including a total of five Mages.
'The group may be small, but those from the Church are usually elites, which will surely be a great help. Still, to be safer…'
John calculated silently, then quickly asked:
"Lord Alistair, can we call for reinforcements from nearby regions?"
Alistair: "I've already sent word to the surrounding areas. But the fastest would still take nearly a week. Therefore, we must handle things ourselves first."
Peter: "Then the most urgent matter right now must be evacuating the civilians, correct?"
Alistair: "Indeed. Captain Marcus."
The Count confirmed, then turned to call Marcus.
Hearing this, Marcus immediately understood and laid out a large map on the table.
Marcus: "Here is the location of the Goblins reported by the scouts. The places marked with triangles are villages. According to the reports, their movement is heading straight toward our city."
He pointed at the map and explained. Looking at the villages lying along the Goblins' path, especially those seemingly already passed, both Peter and John frowned.
John: "We must begin action immediately."
The guildmaster of adventurers urged.
They quickly set the time and place to gather their forces before hastily parting ways to carry out their respective tasks.
. . .
* * * * * * * * * *
After finishing all the tasks at the training grounds, Tris and Rin packed everything up and headed back.
On the way, while chatting casually, Rin noticed Tris's expression suddenly shift strangely for just a moment before returning to normal.
Rin: "Master, is something wrong?"
Tris: "Nothing, I just suddenly remembered something I need to do."
In truth, his answer was a lie. The reason for his unusual expression was that he had briefly spotted a group of people cloaked entirely in black.
There were four of them in total, two men and two women.
Leading them was a bald man with a rough, ugly face, resembling a wild beast.
Judging by their builds, they were certainly adventurers, or at least people whose work involved combat.
'Very strong.'
Tris assessed silently. He could feel the danger radiating from them, or more precisely, from each individual among them.
'Does this city really have an adventurer group like that?'
He told himself he needed to be cautious, avoiding unnecessary trouble with those strangers.