On the night of the Anniversary Party, the Guild executives were enforcing their plan to shift the rumours onto the black sheep of the family.
Unbeknownst to them, the preparation for Ray’s escape plan was nearing completion under the supervision of Deus.
In the basement, before Deus stood an ancient ornamental porcelain pot with a half-bloomed lotus bud floating at the centre. With his tail, he held onto a very fragile vial, pouring its contents into the water.
| The Lotus of Buddha(A): Gives the possessor complete immunity against the Four Encounters: Old Age - As long as the user holds the item in their possession, they won’t grow older. Sickness - Wards off all diseases and infections. Death - Provides the user with rapid regeneration Ascetic - Makes the user feel numb to worldly desires. |
| Vial of Michael’s Tears(A): Holy water blessed with divine properties by the Archangel Michael. A few drops of this liquid will burn a demon from the inside out. |
This Lotus was a key ingredient of a very important Potion that would very well determine the life or death of Deus’ Master.
The Curse-Breaking Potion!
When Deus heard about it for the first time from his Master, he thought it was a ridiculous joke.
After all, the ability to place Curses was the exact reason why demons were such an unstoppable force. With no way to reverse Curses, even High Ranking Heroes were scared of recklessly fighting with the more powerful demons.
Even if it existed, there is no way such a legendary cure would come without its flaws. And sure enough, when Deus looked at the ingredients, he found two major problems with the recipe.
The first was the central ingredient of the Potion - a Lotus of Buddha that had blossomed in Michael’s Tears.
Keeping aside the fact that they were highly expensive A-Rank items, there were also religious items.
There is one commandment that almost all the religions on Earth spread, “Miracles don't come by easily!”.
Religious items follow the same rule and thus, are very rarely found in Dungeons. It was a miracle in itself that Ray was able to get his hands on both of them using his resources as a son of the Laxon Family.
But the second problem was even more delicate than the first one - the preparation of the ingredients.
The Lotus of Buddha had to be watered for three days with a very precise number of Tears. If you put more Tears than needed, the bud would burn from the overflowing holy power. Put less, and the bud would dry up.
Frankly, the Appraisal was the only reason why Deus was able to take care of the Lotus so perfectly.
“From the progress, the Lotus will blossom fully tomorrow at dawn.” Deus checked the status of the half-open bud with his Skill.
“Though I do wonder where the Master got these powers from.”
‘EX’ wasn’t a Rank that is a part of the evaluation of mana-related objects. Not to mention the sheer overpowered-ness of the ‘Appraisal’ Skill.
Although there were items that could evaluate Artifacts and other magic items, there were no Skills that could evaluate an individual's powers, usually only privy to themselves, and even tell their maximum Potential.
Such powers delved into the realm of omniscience, or at least something similar to God.
And there was also that demon that attacked the Academy a couple of days ago. Although Deus wasn’t dragged over to the sub-space, he heard everything through his connection with his Master.
That demon, Nyx, was definitely talking about some sponsorship with Ray and her master.
After going over multiple theories in the meanwhile, Deus had two conclusions about his Master.
He was either a Messenger of some God, sent here to fight the demons.
Or a Fallen, who has contracted directly with the Demon King.
The next day, Ray’s car rolled back in.
Accompanying him was an unexpected guest.
“Hello, everyone! I am Isabella.” Ray’s younger sister cheerfully introduced herself.
“Mew!” The Twin Fox Spirits rubbed their bodies against her feet, emitting small purrs.
“Aww! They are so precious.” Izzy picked them up, unable to resist their cuteness, and snuggled her face against their soft, silky fur.
“Their names are Yuna and Ryu.” Mike introduced them, a hint of proudness in his voice. He was really happy to see someone compliment his fur babies.
"They have such adorable names. Are they your pets?" Izzy asked with curiosity.
"Yes, they are," Mike replied, a warm smile spreading across his face. "I'm Mikael, but you can call me Mike."
"Nice to meet you, Mike. You can call me Izzy," she responded with a charming smile.
“Miss Isabella, have you had breakfast yet?” Jacob kindly interrupted the two, a bit concerned about what he had heard on the news this morning.
“I haven’t yet.” Izzy admitted with a hint of hunger in her voice.
"In that case, I'll whip something up for you real quick," Jacob offered, guiding her towards the dining area.
“Jacob, can you please show Izzy to a room later? I have some work to do.” Ray asked, a bit concerned about leaving Izzy.
“Don't worry, Ray. I will take good care of her.” He nodded before getting busy in the kitchen.
Ray and Deus headed down to the laboratory.
On the centre of the table, stood a beautiful porcelain pot. Blooming atop it, was the most beautiful Lotus one had ever seen. Its pink petals were sparkling with the holy power imbued into it, like a glittering diamond.
“Wow, Deus! You did a good job.” Ray praised him, seeing the perfectly flowered Lotus.
“Of course I did!” Deus flaunted his achievement proudly. “But I am curious. Will this really make a Curse-Breaking Potion?”
“Don’t worry! I will make you something so amazing, that even the Demon King of this world would run away in fear.” Ray ecstatically informed him, putting on his lab coat.
As he took in a deep breath to concentrate, his eyes suddenly became sharper as it seemed like some other force had taken hold.
Unlike the Ray that was unfamiliar with even the most common knowledge of this world and somehow seemed to be desperately chasing after something, this one looked like an eagle that had finally been let out of its cage and into the wide sky.
Deus stared at him in awe, as Ray put all his focus on creating the Potion.
He crushed herbs.
Mixed countless chemicals.
Boiled petals to extract the essence.
Slowly all the ingredients came together, leaving behind three tiny vials.
Despite the massive amount of holy energy compressed into them, the Potion was a dark red, like dirty blood.
‘Appraisal!’
| Curse-Breaking Potion Rank: S A Potion made from a Buddha Lotus bloomed in the Tears of Michael, it contains mythological levels of divine energy, able to exorcise a demon’s Curse. |
“Wow! You seriously made it!” Deus exclaimed over the bottles as he appraised them.
“Of course I did! I am sad you ever doubted me.” Ray jokingly pouted.
“I mean your Intelligence isn’t that much higher than average, you know.” Deus ruthlessly pointed out on the Appraisal screen.
Ray became flustered. “O-one's intelligence is quite subjective, you know.”
“But the Skill belongs to you, so the parameters are set by your standards.” Deus countered, his voice now taking a serious tone. “Also, I do know that you are not dumb enough to not be able to guess what I am going to ask you now, right?”
Ray just laughed lightly as he stared at Deus. “Are you going to ask me how I have something as unbelievable as a Potion to break Curses? Well, I guess I have done too many things for you to find me suspicious.”
"That 'Appraisal' Skill of yours is not all that common either, you know!"
Ray just smiled at him. “So what do you think I am, my dear Spirit?”
“My guess would have been that you are a servant of the Demon King.” Deus confessed straightforwardly. "But that changed after I saw this Potion. No Fallen would ever make a Potion that is practically the bane of the Demons' invincibility."
"So what do you think of me now?" Ray asked, a bit intrigued about the thoughts of his Spirit.
"I think you were sent here by some God to fight against demons."
“God? HAHA!” Ray burst out in laughter, hearing the ridiculous statement. A slight confession escaped his lips. “Well, I guess I am a friend of God, in a way.”
“So you do admit you are a celestial being?”
Ray just patted Deus on his head. “My relationship to this world cannot be so easily defined. Just give me some time and I will reveal it to you.”
Deus was his Spirit. So he deserved to know the truth about the person he has contracted with. It was just that Ray wasn’t sure how to tell him that this world was inside a book his friend had written.
There would be very few people who would believe and accept that they were just a mere figment of someone’s imagination.
“Let’s go up and have some food. We have got things to do after this!” Ray and Deus decided to leave the topic, but they both knew the conversation was over.
On the night of the Anniversary Party, the Guild executives were enforcing their plan to shift the rumours onto the black sheep of the family.
Unbeknownst to them, the preparation for Ray’s escape plan was nearing completion under the supervision of Deus.
In the basement, before Deus stood an ancient ornamental porcelain pot with a half-bloomed lotus bud floating at the centre. With his tail, he held onto a very fragile vial, pouring its contents into the water.
| The Lotus of Buddha(A): Gives the possessor complete immunity against the Four Encounters: Old Age - As long as the user holds the item in their possession, they won’t grow older. Sickness - Wards off all diseases and infections. Death - Provides the user with rapid regeneration Ascetic - Makes the user feel numb to worldly desires. |
| Vial of Michael’s Tears(A): Holy water blessed with divine properties by the Archangel Michael. A few drops of this liquid will burn a demon from the inside out. |
This Lotus was a key ingredient of a very important Potion that would very well determine the life or death of Deus’ Master.
The Curse-Breaking Potion!
When Deus heard about it for the first time from his Master, he thought it was a ridiculous joke.
After all, the ability to place Curses was the exact reason why demons were such an unstoppable force. With no way to reverse Curses, even High Ranking Heroes were scared of recklessly fighting with the more powerful demons.
Even if it existed, there is no way such a legendary cure would come without its flaws. And sure enough, when Deus looked at the ingredients, he found two major problems with the recipe.
The first was the central ingredient of the Potion - a Lotus of Buddha that had blossomed in Michael’s Tears.
Keeping aside the fact that they were highly expensive A-Rank items, there were also religious items.
There is one commandment that almost all the religions on Earth spread, “Miracles don't come by easily!”.
Religious items follow the same rule and thus, are very rarely found in Dungeons. It was a miracle in itself that Ray was able to get his hands on both of them using his resources as a son of the Laxon Family.
But the second problem was even more delicate than the first one - the preparation of the ingredients.
The Lotus of Buddha had to be watered for three days with a very precise number of Tears. If you put more Tears than needed, the bud would burn from the overflowing holy power. Put less, and the bud would dry up.
Frankly, the Appraisal was the only reason why Deus was able to take care of the Lotus so perfectly.
“From the progress, the Lotus will blossom fully tomorrow at dawn.” Deus checked the status of the half-open bud with his Skill.
“Though I do wonder where the Master got these powers from.”
‘EX’ wasn’t a Rank that is a part of the evaluation of mana-related objects. Not to mention the sheer overpowered-ness of the ‘Appraisal’ Skill.
Although there were items that could evaluate Artifacts and other magic items, there were no Skills that could evaluate an individual's powers, usually only privy to themselves, and even tell their maximum Potential.
Such powers delved into the realm of omniscience, or at least something similar to God.
And there was also that demon that attacked the Academy a couple of days ago. Although Deus wasn’t dragged over to the sub-space, he heard everything through his connection with his Master.
That demon, Nyx, was definitely talking about some sponsorship with Ray and her master.
After going over multiple theories in the meanwhile, Deus had two conclusions about his Master.
He was either a Messenger of some God, sent here to fight the demons.
Or a Fallen, who has contracted directly with the Demon King.
The next day, Ray’s car rolled back in.
Accompanying him was an unexpected guest.
“Hello, everyone! I am Isabella.” Ray’s younger sister cheerfully introduced herself.
“Mew!” The Twin Fox Spirits rubbed their bodies against her feet, emitting small purrs.
“Aww! They are so precious.” Izzy picked them up, unable to resist their cuteness, and snuggled her face against their soft, silky fur.
“Their names are Yuna and Ryu.” Mike introduced them, a hint of proudness in his voice. He was really happy to see someone compliment his fur babies.
"They have such adorable names. Are they your pets?" Izzy asked with curiosity.
"Yes, they are," Mike replied, a warm smile spreading across his face. "I'm Mikael, but you can call me Mike."
"Nice to meet you, Mike. You can call me Izzy," she responded with a charming smile.
“Miss Isabella, have you had breakfast yet?” Jacob kindly interrupted the two, a bit concerned about what he had heard on the news this morning.
“I haven’t yet.” Izzy admitted with a hint of hunger in her voice.
"In that case, I'll whip something up for you real quick," Jacob offered, guiding her towards the dining area.
“Jacob, can you please show Izzy to a room later? I have some work to do.” Ray asked, a bit concerned about leaving Izzy.
“Don't worry, Ray. I will take good care of her.” He nodded before getting busy in the kitchen.
Ray and Deus headed down to the laboratory.
On the centre of the table, stood a beautiful porcelain pot. Blooming atop it, was the most beautiful Lotus one had ever seen. Its pink petals were sparkling with the holy power imbued into it, like a glittering diamond.
“Wow, Deus! You did a good job.” Ray praised him, seeing the perfectly flowered Lotus.
“Of course I did!” Deus flaunted his achievement proudly. “But I am curious. Will this really make a Curse-Breaking Potion?”
“Don’t worry! I will make you something so amazing, that even the Demon King of this world would run away in fear.” Ray ecstatically informed him, putting on his lab coat.
As he took in a deep breath to concentrate, his eyes suddenly became sharper as it seemed like some other force had taken hold.
Unlike the Ray that was unfamiliar with even the most common knowledge of this world and somehow seemed to be desperately chasing after something, this one looked like an eagle that had finally been let out of its cage and into the wide sky.
Deus stared at him in awe, as Ray put all his focus on creating the Potion.
He crushed herbs.
Mixed countless chemicals.
Boiled petals to extract the essence.
Slowly all the ingredients came together, leaving behind three tiny vials.
Despite the massive amount of holy energy compressed into them, the Potion was a dark red, like dirty blood.
‘Appraisal!’
| Curse-Breaking Potion Rank: S A Potion made from a Buddha Lotus bloomed in the Tears of Michael, it contains mythological levels of divine energy, able to exorcise a demon’s Curse. |
“Wow! You seriously made it!” Deus exclaimed over the bottles as he appraised them.
“Of course I did! I am sad you ever doubted me.” Ray jokingly pouted.
“I mean your Intelligence isn’t that much higher than average, you know.” Deus ruthlessly pointed out on the Appraisal screen.
Ray became flustered. “O-one's intelligence is quite subjective, you know.”
“But the Skill belongs to you, so the parameters are set by your standards.” Deus countered, his voice now taking a serious tone. “Also, I do know that you are not dumb enough to not be able to guess what I am going to ask you now, right?”
Ray just laughed lightly as he stared at Deus. “Are you going to ask me how I have something as unbelievable as a Potion to break Curses? Well, I guess I have done too many things for you to find me suspicious.”
"That 'Appraisal' Skill of yours is not all that common either, you know!"
Ray just smiled at him. “So what do you think I am, my dear Spirit?”
“My guess would have been that you are a servant of the Demon King.” Deus confessed straightforwardly. "But that changed after I saw this Potion. No Fallen would ever make a Potion that is practically the bane of the Demons' invincibility."
"So what do you think of me now?" Ray asked, a bit intrigued about the thoughts of his Spirit.
"I think you were sent here by some God to fight against demons."
“God? HAHA!” Ray burst out in laughter, hearing the ridiculous statement. A slight confession escaped his lips. “Well, I guess I am a friend of God, in a way.”
“So you do admit you are a celestial being?”
Ray just patted Deus on his head. “My relationship to this world cannot be so easily defined. Just give me some time and I will reveal it to you.”
Deus was his Spirit. So he deserved to know the truth about the person he has contracted with. It was just that Ray wasn’t sure how to tell him that this world was inside a book his friend had written.
There would be very few people who would believe and accept that they were just a mere figment of someone’s imagination.
“Let’s go up and have some food. We have got things to do after this!” Ray and Deus decided to leave the topic, but they both knew the conversation was over.
