Chapter 85: The Cost of Power and a Dangerous Idea

Time flew by, and Gern and Lilia had already spent nearly half a day at the firing range.

Gern had initially believed his gold coins would last a considerable time, but when he finished a magazine and went to purchase more bullets, he suddenly felt like a pauper.

Each bullet for the large firearm cost a single gold coin, a fact that genuinely startled Gern. He confirmed the price several times before he could truly believe it, and his once-full coin purse instantly deflated.

Yet, this wasn’t the most outrageous part. Even more astonishing were the elemental magic bullets, which cost two gold coins each—double the price.

Later, at Lilia’s persistent urging, Gern tried firing one. The bullet’s power was indeed terrifying; it was estimated that even four- or five-rank powerhouses would struggle to withstand its force.

Having witnessed the bullet’s devastating potential, Gern gritted his teeth and decided to purchase five bullets of different elements, just in case.

Adding these to the dozen or so bullets he’d already replenished, Gern now had only about twenty gold coins remaining.

Afterward, to save money, the two opted to use the firearms provided within the training ground.

The bullets for these weapons were significantly cheaper, costing roughly one silver coin per shot. Correspondingly, their power was much lower, capable of felling only a two-rank knight.

Even achieving that level of power was quite alarming.

These weapons had no usage threshold; an ordinary person, after some basic training, could use them to kill two- or three-rank knights.

Recalling the scenes he had witnessed in the scrying stone, a subtle unease stirred within Gern.

He remembered seeing everyone in the Olga Kingdom, from commoners to knights, taking up arms against monsters corrupted by Chaos.

These weapons, when wielded by ordinary people, granted them the terrifying ability to kill one-rank, two-rank, or even four- or five-rank adversaries instantly. Yet, even kingdoms capable of producing such formidable weaponry could not withstand that catastrophe. So, could the current world truly endure the next coming disaster? As this thought crossed his mind, Gern’s obsession with enhancing his own strength intensified.

The disaster recorded in the scrying stone was an erosion by the power of Chaos, which inevitably brought to mind the Heretic God Cult. Perhaps the Heretic God Cult had been involved in that very catastrophe. With his current strength, attempting to destroy the Heretic God Cult would be nothing short of a pipe dream.

Therefore, he had to grow stronger. No matter what challenges he faced, he was determined to avenge his parents. Even if the task seemed insurmountable, someone had to undertake it. Whether it could be achieved was one thing; whether one tried was another entirely.

With these thoughts, Gern practiced his marksmanship with fervent intensity, spending a full two gold coins before finally stopping. He then eagerly urged Lilia to spar in magic, and a slight curl appeared on Lilia’s lips upon hearing his request.

Gern’s suggestion perfectly aligned with her intentions, so after a brief greeting to the instructor, they proceeded to the magic training grounds. The overall layout here was considerably smaller than the first floor, and a glance revealed that the entire second floor’s walls and arenas were covered in magic arrays.

The reason for these arrays was simple: to protect the training area and minimize damage from magic. Lilia, seeing this setup for the first time, curiously walked to an arena and knocked on its surface.

The arena’s material was incredibly hard, seemingly a composite, which surprised Lilia.

She knew only that these arenas contained a large amount of Demon-warding Stone powder; a complete stone of this type could withstand the full bombardment of at least a six-rank mage.

However, this stone also had a drawback: its physical defense was weak. While it could resist mages, it could not withstand the brute force of knights.

Thus, the academy had modified the Demon-warding Stone, grinding it into powder and mixing it with unknown substances, then forming the arenas using a method similar to concrete.

Arenas constructed this way had significantly reduced magical resistance, but in turn, their resistance to knight attacks was greatly enhanced.

In fact, Demon-warding Stone was widely used across the continent in various applications, such as Demon-warding Bracelets or cages used to imprison mages, all of which contained the stone.

However, the balance had to be carefully managed. If the Demon-warding Stone content was too high, the resulting item would be too fragile. If too little, it might fail to control rogue mages.

The academy’s arena, however, struck a perfect balance. Lilia roughly estimated it could resist attacks from a five-rank mage and a peak four-rank knight.

Gern, too, found the arena intriguing. He also recognized the materials used in its construction.

In his previous life, he had seen Demon-warding artifacts made from this stone, and in later stages, there were even Exorcism Potions.

Once consumed, such a potion would strip a mage of their magical power. To negate its effects, one either had to wait for time to pass until the body completely expelled the ingredients, or seek out other mages or priests to force the potion’s components out of their system.

In any case, it was an extremely troublesome process. Even experienced mages found dealing with it highly dependent on luck, unless they could break through to six-rank or above.

As these thoughts surfaced, Gern conceived the idea of creating a Mana-draining Potion.

‘My snake girl form is clever and possesses a high talent for medicine; perhaps I truly could research and develop the Mana-draining Potion from my previous life.’

‘This thing is a devastating weapon against mages. In my past life, if I hadn’t been too poor to afford it, Lilia would never have been able to chase and kill me.’

‘As for where to get Demon-warding Stones? Aren’t there plenty right here?’

‘It’s perfectly reasonable for us to accidentally break a piece during our spar, right?’

‘And if that fragment interferes with our movements during the fight, it’s also perfectly reasonable for me to pick it up, right?’

‘Though there might be some impurities, I have confidence in my snake girl form. It’s just impurities — nothing major.’

“Gern? What are you looking at? Come up quickly.”

“Ah?”

By this time, Lilia was already standing on the arena stage, seemingly ready for a friendly magic spar with Gern.

“Coming, coming.”

Gern nodded and leaped onto the stage.

“Ding~ Personnel detected. Initiate combat mode?”

At that moment, a clear female voice rang out. It sounded like a prerecorded message, triggered when the magic array detected specific conditions.

Lilia glanced at the arena’s control panel, pressed the confirmation button, and then another.

Instantly, a black curtain rose around them, enveloping both in its depths.

******

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