CHAPTER 264: CHAPTER 263 FRENZY POTION

Gah! Gah! Gah!...

For now, let’s set aside the frenzied lizard horde on the shore that seems to have scarcely diminished.

Aboard the "Storm Horn" anchored in the center of the lagoon.

We are dealing with the realm of the mysterious Extraordinary World, where ordinary crew members are of no help. Aiven has only called Milan and Gary before him to discuss strategies.

"We have probably barged into the lair of these big lizards, and after killing so many of them, hoping for a peaceful coexistence is impossible."

Although the "Storm Horn" has gained a temporary reprieve, a greater crisis lurks ahead. Aiven quietly analyzes the current situation for the two of them:

"During the day, they suffer from the ’Siren’s Song’ just like ordinary lizards of the Material World, but by night, they’re nearly immune to physical attacks.

At that time, they could stealthily emerge from the sea, leap onto the ship, and instantly overwhelm everything on board.

So, to ensure that the ’Storm Horn’ lasts until the sun rises again tomorrow, we must eliminate them before nightfall!"

After speaking, he looks encouragingly at the other two Extraordinaries on the ship, hoping for their input.

"Boss! Just tell me where to charge, and I’ll follow your lead!"

Gary’s muffled voice comes from under his fully enclosed helmet. After advancing as an Extraordinary and upgrading his gear, Gary has gradually transformed into a true Berserker.

"Don’t ask how many enemies there are, just ask where they are!"

Hmm, the Berserker’s life motto is indeed simple and straightforward.

Having realized it’s futile to ask Gary, as he’s never a strategist, but rather excels at going berserk. However, the problem now is that even going berserk can’t mow down a vast prairie of enemies...

Turning his gaze to Milan.

"Aiven, you know me!"

Milan nods heavily, giving Aiven a look of unwavering determination.

The longstanding understanding between them allows Aiven to clearly read the meaning in his eyes: Teacher! I don’t know how to solve this problem!

Sigh—

With a hand to his forehead, Aiven realizes his ship really needs someone akin to a strategist. Not someone who needs to be extraordinarily decisive, but just someone to offer advice at critical moments and help expand his thinking.

Tap.. tap... tap...

Pacing in place, Aiven takes stock of the forces at his disposal.

The ship’s conventional armament includes: a total of eighteen 24-pound cannons across two decks of gun ports and the main deck, twenty 12-pound cannons, ten 9-pound cannons, and two 6-pound small cannons mounted on the stern. There are 284 crew members in total.

During the previous patrols, the "Storm Horn" hadn’t fired a single shot. Now, besides the few rounds of "Grape Bomb" just fired, the magazine is fully loaded, with powder enough for each cannon to fire another standard allocation of 86 rounds (solid shot only) and still have reserves.

Aside from the conventional forces, the ship is also equipped with five boxes of "Alchemy Bomb" exclusive to battleships, totaling twenty bombs, and there are two boxes of eight in his own "Magic Pocket."

If using these against human infantry, there would be no problem at all.

Humans experience fear and flee, that even if it’s the elite legion of the Kingdom, once personnel losses exceed thirty percent, it’s not far from collapse.

But when facing the flood-like lizard horde, such killing efficiency... is too low!

The same applies even with the addition of three Extraordinaries and all the crew members.

As for the Ship’s Figurehead: Seasonal Wind Goddess, Ocean Treasure: Misty Silver Lamp, including the Divine Gift: Golden Compass, none are of any use now. All these treasures are predicated on the "Storm Horn" having at least fundamental mobility.

As for that thing at the bottom of the Magic Pocket. Aiven would not use it unless in a desperate situation, as the side effects are truly too great!

So in the end, he still needs to rely on his old profession as a "Wizard" to find a solution.

"Since there are many enemies, and their individual strength is just barely touching the extraordinary, there’s a possibility of turning some of the enemies to our side. Maybe that potion will have unexpected effects..."

Finally, having an idea, Aiven gives an order:

"Milan, you handle the ’Siren’s Song’, I’ll think of something!"

He turns and rushes to his laboratory on the ship. Although not fully confident, this is the most viable solution Aiven can think of.

Out of trust for Aiven, Milan doesn’t ask further, and solemnly promises:

"Leave it to me, there absolutely won’t be a problem before nightfall!"

Bang—

Aiven’s laboratory door slams shut, and the two pots of "Hanging Wind Chime," which resemble small lanterns, light up instantly on the experiment table, emitting bright yet gentle "light."

Now, Aiven has almost completed the preliminaries for the "Spirit Communication Potion" series he focuses on, but there are still two major obstacles he has yet to overcome.

In the initial stages, he used dozens of different potions to delve into the understanding of humans and biological bodies.

Targeting organs like muscles, bones, blood, viscera, nerves, brain, and major systems, including the musculoskeletal system, circulatory system, respiratory system, digestive system, endocrine system... etc.

For different parts and functional areas of the human body, corresponding magic potions allow for influence and even control.

When finally approaching the "Spirit Communication Potion," he still needs to complete two special potions to access human emotions and soul!

These are the "Frenzy Potion," representing the id with all physical instincts, and the "Wise Man’s Potion," representing the super-ego’s idealized highest morality.

Only by overcoming these two major hurdles can Aiven formulate the "Spirit Communication Potion" that embodies the completely Free Will of the self!

For now, leaving the other two aside, Aiven’s current breakthrough method is to rapidly concoct the "Frenzy Potion"!

This potion, which sounds similar to the Exiled Prisoner’s ability to unleash "wildness," is actually hundreds of times more domineering in effect.

Human instinctual desires mainly include: survival instinct, appetite, sexual desire, sleep desire, greed (acquisitiveness), display desire, indulgence...

One can imagine the terrifying scene of instantly triggering the most fundamental instinctual desires of the human body.

And when these extreme desires are infinitely amplified by the potion, even a zombie, born for appetite, pales in comparison!

Standing before the experiment table, Aiven is the consummate researcher. His mood calms, temporarily putting the external crisis aside.

High-end magic potion concoction is very different from Black Sea Potion’s straightforward operation. To eliminate all unexpected factors, Aiven repeatedly rinses the crucible with distilled water, then uses heated air to quickly dry it.

Aiven takes a deep breath, and the concoction formally begins.

A standard dose from the formula:

"1L of clear volcanic spring water, 10g of raging vole fang powder, 3g of rauwolfia root, 5 stone lotus seeds of any size, 7 right cicada wings of the autumn cicada..."

Heating with an alcohol lamp, Aiven carefully adds the meticulously collected various potion ingredients into the crucible according to the formula’s requirements.

After slowly simmering for ten minutes, Aiven adds the second type of Extraordinary Creature’s body tissue, "broken tail of a red-eyed gecko."

Using tweezers, he picks out a piece of gray gecko tail from a small glass bottle, even though long severed from its body, the tail still writhes as if trying to escape.

Unfazed, Aiven tosses it into the bubbling orange-yellow potion.

Gulp... gulp...

A dense flurry of bubbles rises instantly, and the boiling potion rapidly turns blood red.

However, the intense reaction shows no sign of stopping!

With acute awareness, Aiven promptly steps back.

The next moment.

A red smoke column, similar to a tentacle, shoots from the center of the potion, writhing through the air as if trying to grasp something.

A full half minute later, finding nothing, the smoke column suddenly explodes, transforming into a red smoke ring that spirals upward.

Looking back at the crucible, the potion has completely turned back into clear water.

"Failure!"

"This situation...? Though the cicada wings were entirely dissolved, the Spiritual integration was imperfect. Next time, hold on a bit longer."

The biggest difference between concocting Extraordinary Magic Potions and a pharmacist mixing potions is that even if you follow a formula perfectly—with exact measurements and timing—there’s no guarantee of producing the expected end product.

It requires the wizard’s own "Spiritual" involvement to grasp the changing qualities between materials, maintaining balance at any time.

Using one’s soul to capture that ineffable moment is the untold secret of potion concoction!

This is also why all mysterious creations, including alchemy tools, can never be mass-produced mechanically!