Chapter 10
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Episode 2 - Inverted Heaven [4]
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After searching the entire room, I obtained a total of ten million gold, several magic scrolls, and medium-quality potions.
I also found some low-quality elixirs that increase mana, weapons, martial arts books, and so on.
Most of it was useless to me, especially the weapons, the martial arts and swordsmanship books, as well as several magic grimoires.
Besides, the low-quality elixirs would only increase my mana by 5%, and their effects would diminish if I took more than three of the same type.
'The good thing is that if I sell all of this, aside from the ten million gold, I'll be able to make a total profit of fifty million.'
This is the true meaning of getting rich overnight.
Anyway, I'll probably spend all that gold within three months.
'A clandestine auction will be held in three months, so I made some good profits today.'
Shortly after checking the entire place, the voice of Alice's spirit echoed inside my head.
〖I sense the presence of a Supreme-Quality elixir〗
"Supreme Quality…"
〖Yes, it's coming from the other side of that wall〗
I hadn't noticed it because I had been completely focused on the items I had just obtained.
But when I used my senses, I perceived a hidden space on the other side of the wall.
And when I focused on the place where the Supreme-Quality elixir was located…
"..."
My body trembled slightly. It was a tremor of anger and fear.
'What is happening…? No, wait… I think I already know…'
I raised my sword and cut through the wall. Then I waited a few seconds until the dust dispersed.
I looked toward a display case. Resting on a white cushion was a vial filled with red liquid, carefully placed there.
"That is…"
I was definitely right, as I felt the anger and fear growing stronger.
I heard the voice of Alice's spirit.
〖I can sense that you suddenly became angry and also… afraid. Is there a reason why?〗
I didn't respond immediately.
Crack! Crack!
Destroying the display case, I grabbed the Supreme-Quality elixir.
This was a regeneration elixir, not one that increased stats or mana.
Furthermore, a Supreme-Quality elixir is the highest rank that can exist, and it is extremely difficult to find, especially one focused on regeneration.
At both legal and illegal auctions, any elixir of this quality is sold for an unimaginable price.
And this particular one was unique: it could regenerate and cure curses, diseases, and any abnormal condition as if they had never existed.
'Besides, this elixir…'
An imaginary screen appeared in my mind.
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Name: Regeneration Elixir
Quality: Supreme
Description: An elixir made from Adel's blood. It can regenerate the body even if the head is severed, as well as cure diseases, curses, and remove abnormal conditions.
Probability Effect: It can even revive a dead person with a 0.99% probability.
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Indeed, the elixir in my hands was nothing more than…
'...Adel's blood.'
Focused on my thoughts, the voice of Alice's spirit pulled me back to reality.
〖Hello, is anyone there? I'm talking to you, disciple〗
I shook my head and barely managed to control the anger and fear within my body.
'It seems to be an instinctive reaction from this body.'
"What is it?"
〖Why are you reacting like that?〗
I thought about it for a moment. There was no reason to hide the origin of the elixir or my condition.
"It's simple. The elixir in my hands is the reason for my reaction."
〖What do you mean? It's a Supreme Quality elixir. Shouldn't you be happy instead of angry and scared?〗
"..."
"That's… because the elixir is made from my blood."
"..."
Alice's spirit took a moment before responding.
〖Wait… what?〗
"As I said, this elixir—or more precisely, the red liquid—is 100% blood… and that blood is mine."
"..."
〖W-wait a moment… can you explain in more detail?〗
With a sigh, I told Alice's spirit a fragment of Adel's past.
After my explanation, I did not hear her voice again for the entire night.
***
After classes, it was lunchtime, so I went to the cafeteria.
Today, I ordered some sandwiches, and for some reason, the person serving the food seemed even more reluctant to deal with me.
So, to avoid problems, I simply ordered some sandwiches.
While carrying the full tray, I stopped in front of a vending machine.
I didn't remember seeing something like this in the game, but even so, the aroma of coffee was coming from inside.
'Could it be that it only has coffee? I can smell different kinds of coffee, but no other drinks.'
I stopped in front of the machine and stared at it.
I tried to "see" the numbers on the side and even guess which one matched the coffee I wanted.
But it was impossible.
'Damn it, I really need an assistant when it comes to these kinds of things.'
In particular, there was a nice aroma coming from the upper-left section; maybe it was a good-tasting coffee.
The problem was that I couldn't tell what number it had, much less select it.
'I guess I won't be able to drink coffee.'
For the record, my assistant used to call me a coffee addict. She even went as far as banning me from drinking it for an entire month.
I still wonder why she did that.
Anyway, I turned around since there was nothing I could do.
And right at that moment, as if she had noticed my desperation—
"I can help you."
Rinna's voice reached my ears. I quickly turned around and nodded.
"Yes, I'd like this one."
I pointed toward the coffee I wanted.
"Ah, that one. You have good taste, don't you? And I think it's a coincidence, but I like that flavor too."
"I see."
Rinna nodded and proceeded to press the buttons.
"Uh, which buttons are you pressing?"
I intended to take advantage of that moment to find out the number of the coffee I wanted.
Rinna nodded and said:
"Sure, the buttons are…"
Then she suddenly stopped.
"Ah, sorry, I made a mistake."
Shaking my head, I said:
"It doesn't matter."
"Then… how should I explain it to you?"
Without saying anything, I extended my hand and touched the button panel. First, I felt the texture, and then the number of buttons there were.
Then I turned toward Rinna and said:
"Uh, can you help me? Press the numbers."
She nodded. I moved my hand away, and then she pressed the first number. After that, I extended my hand again.
Instantly, a small surprised yelp escaped from Rinna.
"Ah… w-what are you doing?"
"Oh, my apologies. It's the only way I can identify and memorize the buttons."
"Ah, uh… I understand."
She continued pressing the buttons while guiding me with her hand as I touched it.
To make it clear, I had no intention of touching her hand with any ulterior motive.
Finally, the sound of something dropping was heard.
Rinna crouched down and picked up two cans of coffee.
"H-here's yours."
"...…"
I wasn't sure what it was, but Rinna's emotions were quite strange.
Anyway, I took the can, opened it, and the aroma of coffee reached my nose.
'Oh, right… this is what I'm talking about.'
Turning toward Rinna, I said:
"Thanks for the help."
"Ah, yeah… no problem."
I turned around and sat in the same seat as yesterday.
After a minute, Rinna sat across from me, just like the previous day.
And her emotions were still somewhat strange and difficult to understand.
Anyway, while I brought a sandwich to my mouth, Rinna said:
"Uh, Adel, can I know what you did yesterday?"
"What I did yesterday? What do you mean?"
Of course I know what I did yesterday. I went to kill a villain and a group of cultists who serve the Abyss.
That was all, and I barely even got any sleep since I returned to the Academy at around three in the morning.
"Well, it's just that… I can smell a scent… coming from you, and it's a very familiar one."
"..."
While taking a bite of my sandwich, I suddenly froze.
'She can smell the blood on me… I don't remember her being this sensitive to it.'
After about three seconds of silence, I said:
"I didn't do anything… well, you could say I did do something, but don't misunderstand."
"..."
Rinna stayed silent for several seconds before her voice sounded slightly lower than usual.
"... I understand."
She probably knows that I killed people yesterday, but her ability should detect that I haven't killed innocent people.
So the counter should be at zero.
'There's no need to worry, besides…'
I briefly raised my head, as if looking at her.
'She smells like even more blood than I do.'
Ever since the first time I met her, the stench of blood surrounding Rinna had been very strong.
As the future Saint, it's natural for her to face villains.
So naturally, she would carry a strong smell of blood.
***
After lunch, Rinna returned to classroom B-1. She sat in the front row alongside the other main characters.
The professor had not arrived yet; meanwhile, she was thinking about what had happened a few minutes ago in the cafeteria.
'It's definitely the smell of a villain's blood.'
When a villain obtains the Power of Chaos, there are ways to distinguish them from a normal human.
'After killing a villain, their blood develops a scent different from the usual metallic smell; instead, a villain's blood carries a disgusting stench, similar to decay.'
Furthermore, the blood of villains is black.
And even though Adel looked completely clean, the smell of a villain's blood clings to the body for some time.
The more villain blood someone has on their hands, the longer that smell takes to disappear.
'He definitely… went out to kill villains yesterday.'
Another reason, aside from the scent coming from Adel, was a number above his head.
There was a zero clearly visible to Rinna.
Which meant that Adel had never killed an innocent person until now.
'But, just in case, it's better to keep a closer eye on him.'
Rinna was not sure, but she still could not tell whether Adel was a good person.
Because at any moment, she could see several numbers appear on the counter that every person has above their head, visible only to her.
'If he ever ends up with a high number, then… I should kill him.'
In the end, Adel is still a Dark attribute user.
People who normally have a high number of kills.
'For now, he hasn't killed innocents and has only killed villains, so I'll limit myself to watching him.'
It could be said that Rinna trusts Adel by 50%, since, so far, he has been kind to her and has not caused any trouble over the contempt he is receiving at the Academy.