"Let's talk about something else. I don't know why, but many different ancient myths tell a tragic story about how a snake stole the immortality that the gods gave to mankind. In ancient Sumerian mythology, a snake stole the elixir of immortality that the gods gave to a hero. The story of 'Hengwo' that I just mentioned is also about a toad that looks a lot like a snake, and the elixir of immortality that it stole was given to a great hero by a goddess. Besides these, there are some even older similar stories... Hmm? What's wrong with you?"
He changed the subject and chatted for a while, but then he suddenly noticed that Angela's expression seemed a little strange for some reason.
"I... I can't quite explain it..."
She answered with a frown.
“I always feel that my master is talking about something that is related to me, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.”
…………ah?
"Please don't tell me your true form is some giant toad that's flying to the moon or something."
Even Hayden was suddenly terrified.
"Definitely not."
Angela shook her head, looked up at the bright full moon in the night sky, but her eyes were somewhat unfocused.
"If you need to know, I'm willing to tell my master anything about me. It's just a pity that there are many things that even I don't know how to answer."
Under the moonlight, she and Hayden sat leaning against each other in the courtyard, saying nothing more.
Hayden, too, gazed at the starry night sky, but couldn't help but begin to ponder.
The incredible wind-up doll beside him, while far from omnipotent, likely possesses the power to change the world. In fact, Hayden had known for over three months that Angela might be able to help him realize his dream of developing inexpensive healing potions. In the struggle against the Mithra Group two weeks prior, Angela had also displayed abilities even stranger than those of the Old Gods.
Today, half a month has passed since the battle in the abandoned industrial zone. The ordinary citizens of New Seattle have indeed achieved a slightly better life than before. The number of unemployed has decreased, and some have even seen their wages increase.
This is clearly one of the small changes Angela has brought to the world.
But the problems now go beyond that.
She is an incredible wind-up doll, capable of granting Hayden's wishes. Beyond that, Hayden himself cannot deny that she is also the most important person to him now.
To be honest, even if Angela's true form was indeed a giant toad heading to the moon, Hayden probably... wouldn't care anymore.
Whatever Angela was, he wanted to be with her forever.
...This is probably one of the meanings behind this ancient festival today.
Gazing at the largest, roundest, and brightest moon, symbolizing completeness, Hayden couldn't help but think this.
"This festival today was once a festival that symbolized family reunion."
He opened his mouth and said,
"But now you're all I have left as family."
Hearing him say that, Angela smiled slightly and said, "Please don't worry. I will find a way to help Master solve this problem."
…………What?
Hayden thought about it and decided it was better not to pursue the topic any further.
————————————————————————
The Moon in Upright Position
[Grand Arcana, Card No. 18]
[Keywords: dreams, mystery, unease, change]
Do wind-up brides dream?
Volume Three: The Legacy of Blood
058: Miss Karen Goes in Circles
"All right."
Hayden glanced at the stopwatch on his phone, then looked up.
"The test results are in. Under the influence of the potion, your body will grow at three times the normal rate."
The Dark Witch Abigail was more focused than Hayden had ever seen before. Her eyes were closed, beads of sweat dotted her forehead, and her already red hair now even seemed to glow.
"Alright. Relax."
So Hayden called for a halt again.
"If you use any more hypnosis, your hair will start to burn—the current measured growth rate is 3.15 times."
So the Dark Witch relaxed her concentration of magic, opened her eyes, and looked exhausted.
They were currently at Abigail's "Veer" pub, in the basement of which was the Dark Witch's own workshop. Hayden had drawn an arcane magic circle in chalk on the workshop floor to monitor changes in living organisms, and had Abigail stand inside it, drink a new potion, and test its effects on her body and magic.
Of course, Hayden had already conducted animal experiments on mice with these potions. But even if the animal experiments went smoothly, these drugs ultimately needed to work on Abigail, this unique and special patient. Sometimes, you can't predict when those times will come, but there are definitely times when things just go wrong. Even if you're doing a treatment that should only go wrong once in a thousand times, sometimes it will still go wrong no matter what.
Despite his seemingly carefree nature, Hayden is actually quite cautious when it comes to healing magic—especially when it comes to healing others.
"The experimental results are in. After taking twice the dose, your body will begin to grow at 3.15 times the original rate."
As he spoke, he waved his hands on the projection screen to take notes.
"If you increase the dosage further, your hair might start to spontaneously combust. I strongly advise against doing this."
The Dark Witch clicked her tongue and sat down in a soft chair that was clearly too big for her, like the red filling inside a hard candy.
Regardless, she still seemed a bit irritated: "What's the point of growing at 3.15 times the normal rate? I can reduce my age by weeks just by casting a simple spell!"
“So now you can cast a simple spell every two days after resting,” Hayden replied calmly. “Ms. Abigail, potion research is very difficult, especially since you’ve put me in charge of researching something that no one has ever researched before. It’s already a miracle that I was able to develop this potion in six months.”
"As agreed beforehand, I haven't gotten involved in any of those messy farces for the past six months and have been staying at home doing research."
As Hayden said, more than five months have passed since the end of the "Bo Xun" incident. It is now December. For the past six months, Hayden has been staying at home obediently, not taking on any mercenary work or getting involved in any dangerous activities. He has been mostly studying and doing research.
Of course, Hayden didn't say he'd spent the last five months researching potions. He had a lot more to do.
"Just keep taking this medicine. Take 20 milliliters every twelve hours, and absolutely do not take more."
As Hayden spoke, he placed the dark green potion in a plastic bottle on the table in front of Abigail.
By drinking it twice a day, consistently, the Dark Witch will age three times faster than a normal person. To everyone else, this is essentially a pointless joke. But for Abigail, it is the first method she has found in four hundred years that can barely overcome her predicament.
So although Abigail looked indignant, she was actually quite excited inside.
"How much are you planning to charge me for this half-baked result?"
But she still looked disgusted and dissatisfied.
Hayden raised his eyebrows: "This? It's free."
Now it was finally the Dark Witch's turn to be stunned: "Huh?"
“You’ve given me almost a million in research funding already, how could I possibly charge you for the medicine? I’ve already sent you the formula. You should know how to make medicine too, right?” Hayden pressed the send button on his phone. “Of course, if you experience any symptoms that might be side effects after taking the medicine, notify me immediately.”
For a moment, Abigail was completely at a loss for how to react. Her jaw nearly dropped.
"This test has already dragged on for too long, let's call it a day."
Hayden glanced at the time on his phone screen.
"I'm going home now and will have dinner soon. Your bar should be opening for business around that time, right?"
He waved his hand and turned to leave the Black Witch's workshop.
Before leaving, Hayden heard the little old witch call out "thank you" to him. He decided not to accept it.
Hayden thus left the Veela bar and returned to the streets of New Jersey in December.
Overall, winters in New Jersey aren't actually very cold. The lowest temperatures only drop to a few degrees below zero, and in December they're often around four or five degrees above zero, so wearing warm clothes is sufficient. In the Gulf Coast region, where the Mitra Group doesn't artificially control the weather, it rains frequently in winter. However, since this is the city center, the weather is mostly quite nice.
So Hayden pulled his thick gray cloak tighter around his body, and instead of turning into the wind and flying home, he strode leisurely toward other parts of the city.
It's only a little past five in the afternoon, and there's no rush for him to go home for dinner. Angela has surely already taken care of everything at home perfectly. Since he's already in the city center, why doesn't Hayden take a stroll around some other places?
Besides, he's almost used up most of the medicinal herbs at home. Hayden could buy them online, but personally picking them out is the proper way for a traditional alchemist and potion master.
He walked with light steps toward a corner of the city center.
This is downtown New Jersey, its brain and heart. However, although it is a bustling downtown area with crowds every day, if you leave the main road and turn into the side streets, you can quickly discover some wonderful shops that exude a different kind of charm in the city.
The shop Hayden is now entering is called "Sock Natural Wonders Shop." Although its name sounds rather refined, a huge North African aurochs skull hangs at the entrance, and the smell of rotten eggs and cabbage emanates from inside. The shop window displays strange bottled herbs and dried goods, giving the shop a strong eerie atmosphere that would probably make most people want to stay away.
However, at the same time, there are some very interesting signs at the entrance of the store, which read: "[Dragon Horn Powder, Refreshing and Enhancing Memory, Essential Before Exams]", and "[+3 Knives, +2 Forks, +4 Gold Spoons]", which are so confusing that they make people want to go in and take a look.
Fortunately, Hayden was already very familiar with both of them. He calmly pushed open the door and walked in, where the pungent smell of medicine immediately hit him.
Sitting behind the counter by the door was an old orc. His skin was greyish-green, his back hunched, and his face covered in wrinkles; he truly looked very old. But the tattoos covering his arms and legs revealed another aspect of this old orc's identity. The tattoo on his right arm proved that he was an elder of the Cedar River tribe, while the tattoo on his left shoulder signified that he was the tribe's most powerful shaman.
It is a traditional, classical magician within the shamanistic system.
"The Wizard Hayden."
The old orc shaman blinked its small, red eyes.
"I haven't heard from you for months. Looks like you're still alive."
What do you mean by "still alive"?
Hayden, however, wasn't angry. He raised an eyebrow and said, "I haven't had much work lately, so of course I haven't been heard from on the streets. I'm mainly here today to look at medicinal herbs. Do you have anything good?"
"Dragon horn powder... I know you won't need it. But Old Sok never lacks good stuff."
The orc lazily waved his hand towards the shelves inside the store.
"Bennu feathers? Unicorn blood? Phoenix liver? Kraken eyeballs? Salamander eggs? Dried cat heads? Arachne spider silk? Ilminsur leaves? Mandrake extract? These are all good stuff; you definitely won't find them anywhere else."
"What?" Hayden was immediately shocked. "You have phoenix liver!?"
Phoenix liver—just hearing the name tells you how extraordinary this thing is. Materials related to such powerful magical creatures are usually monopolized by large corporations, with restrictions on transportation and distribution. Hayden knew this old orc had his own connections in both the legitimate and underworld circles, but… seriously, phoenix liver!?
That's incredible!
The old shaman was indeed pleased with his reaction, and grinned: "I'll give you 1200 for every 1000 dan."
"Dalan" is a common unit of quality for potion ingredients, used since ancient Greece. Selling phoenix liver at this price is at least 30% cheaper than the market price. Hayden's mind quickly wandered, wondering why this old orc was selling such a rare and precious herb so cheaply today, but upon reflection, the reason didn't seem important to Hayden.
Anyway, he wouldn't hesitate to use illegally sourced medicinal herbs. When has this guy ever truly cared about contraband?
So he briefly considered whether he could get the medicine reimbursed by Abigail, and at the same time stretched out a hand to the old orc: "Give me five dozen orbs, pack them up for me first. Let me see if there's anything else good in the shop."
Through the above dialogue, it should be easy to see what this "Sock Natural Knowledge Curiosity Shop" actually sells. The shop is filled with special ingredients used to make traditional potions—dried plants, powders that shimmer with various colors, minerals with strange spots and patterns, and the body tissues of some unknown creature soaked in ointment... all of these extremely bizarre-looking things.
Even if Hayden were incredibly skilled and a lone wolf, he couldn't possibly gather all the medicinal herbs he needed to make his own medicine by himself (although he would occasionally go looking for some main ingredients that were too expensive to buy). Only medieval wizards would handle the entire medicine-making process themselves, and whether you like it or not, we live in a market economy now.
That's why Hayden was a regular customer of "Sock Natural Wonders Shop".
Besides these, the shop also sells other magical items. Enchanted spoons, teacups, grandfather clocks, crystal balls, cat statues that walk around on your palm... and even some real, paper spellbooks. Hayden occasionally comes to browse for books, but as mentioned before, artifacts of classical magic are different from those of industrialized modern arcane magic; artifacts made by hand are more powerful, so he basically doesn't buy these things.
But this didn't stop Hayden from wandering around the store, looking at the shelves. The store was dark inside, with blinds blocking out the sunlight, which was normal. In the past, Hayden might have used a spell like "Light," but for the past six months, he had been eating Angela's food, and his hearing and eyesight had improved considerably. He could see things clearly even in the dark, just like the elves.
Hayden turned a corner and suddenly saw some quill pens on the shelf. They were incredibly old. Even classical magicians rarely used quill pens anymore. Hayden had quill pens and ink made with sheep's blood in his workshop, but he had hardly ever actually used them for anything.
So he couldn't resist picking up a quill and examining it closely. It was a black feather, likely taken from a raven's wing. Different kinds of quills were used for different purposes. Eagle, swan, and raven feathers were all powerful and could be used in various spells. However, the most powerful quills came from magical birds, such as peacocks…
"what?"
Another hand suddenly reached out and picked up an eagle quill pen in front of Hayden. However, Hayden's focus was not on what she had taken, but on the owner of the hand.
Before Hayden knew it, a familiar green-haired elf woman was standing next to him, her honey-orange eyes wide. More than six months had passed, yet time seemed to have left no trace on her. However, today she wasn't wearing a business suit, but rather a white chiffon dress paired with a light green knitted cardigan, the cardigan adorned with meandering plant stems and leaves. While it wasn't exactly a meticulously planned outfit, Hayden rarely saw her out in casual clothes.
"Yo, Karen."
So Hayden waved.
"You know this store too?"
Karen looked him up and down, then wiggled her long ears: "You know this shop? I'm a VIP customer here."
The orc shopkeeper nodded over the counter.
Hayden grinned and shook hands firmly with his old friend: "How have you been lately? Everyone's saying that because of market changes, all the employees at Mitra Group are working themselves to the bone. Have you ever thought about quitting being a corporate dog?"
Karen raised an eyebrow: "Good question. Actually, I've been thinking about these questions lately."
……ah?
059: I immediately launched a powerful attack.
"Just kidding. It's basically nothing but a pipe dream."