CHAPTER 224: CHAPTER 224: FINAL ARRANGEMENTS

[S.Y.S.T.E.M.]

[USER: Siderius ’Snow’ Satterblade]

[ ATTRIBUTES ]

|Strength: 7|

|Agility: 6 (+2)|

|Perception: 8|

|Stamina: 7|

|Endurance: 6|

[WITCH HUNTER RANK: OCULUS EXTIMA II]

[ALCHEMIST RANK: SILVER II]

[SIGILS SLOT: 3/3]

[SIGIL: VERTIGO; PARAVE; DISPELLERA]

[MERCURY EXTRACT: 200/200]

[SALT EXTRACT: 200/200]

[PSYCHOSIS LEVEL: 93/150 (-7)]

[TOXICITY LEVEL: 0/125]

A week later. Siderius had digested a few bottles of Agility Anabolism. He could feel the effect of the tonic slowly become weaker every day.

His agility ranked up by two points. A very minor number. But he had become extremely fast. His feet were more nimble. His hands were lighter. His entire body could rush over the entire courtyard in a few seconds.

Combined with his superhuman perception, Siderius could do very impressive feats.

"I’m closer to the limit of the human body..." Siderius gasped for air after a marathon in the courtyard.

Ten points were considered the peak performance of ordinary humans. Without spirits and mutations, it could take someone years and years of hard work to reach.

But Siderius wasn’t human nor was he ordinary.

After reaching seven points, training would provide very little effect and it would need years of physical training to gain the last three points.

Siderius’ strength was at seven points. His body was well-built and lean. But he could become bigger with even more muscle and strength. He wouldn’t turn into something like Pax, a human head on a piece of muscular meat. Instead, he would become more aesthetically pleasing with balance in his muscles.

Witch hunters had standards after all. Unlike witches.

Siderius’ agility reached six points. He was considered much faster than the average human. Combined with his precision and skill, he could even appear faster.

Overall, he was on his way of becoming a very dangerous witch hunter.

He could gain another point in Agility via the Lynx Anabolism. But he had to leave for Mucktown so the training was interrupted again.

On that day, Siderius visited George in his new blacksmith workshop. With all the current personnels, George didn’t need to do much, he only needed to make decisions or carry out Siderius’ orders.

The rest of the time, he stayed in his workshop to refine his craft. Siderius had given him a few things to train. Nothing substantial but impactful enough for him to study.

George had a few students as well. These were all the people in the castle that he saw potential and recruited them. Of course, he hid all the valuable knowledge like Dull Steel. He wouldn’t dare share any of that without Siderius’ permission.

When Siderius entered the workshop, everyone was busy slamming hammer and smithing. George, in his usual blacksmith attire, stopped whatever he was doing and approached Siderius.

"How may I help you, my lord?"

"I come to check up on my arrow heads."

"Ah, yes! I already finished them for you. Right this way, my lord!"

Siderius had been using obsidian arrow heads for quite a while. Now that he had his own reserve of metal, he could finally use iron arrow heads.

"Here my lord. I made three variations just like you requested. Broadheads with sharp blades for penetration and bleeding. Smallheads with small tips for hunting. And these, bigheads with blunted tips in case you just want to incapacitate the target."

George pulled out the chest of arrowheads he had made.

Siderius picked a few of them up to examine. "Very fine handiwork, George. You have improved greatly in this short amount of time."

"All thanks to you, my lord!" George placed his hand on his chest and bowed.

Siderius grinned. "Please. You are the Master of the Forge after all."

George blushed slightly and scratched his head. He still thought he wasn’t worthy of such a title but he tried his best to become one.

"Keep practicing what I gave you. It will greatly improve your skill."

"Of course, my lord!"

"I will be leaving Santa Roberto. Keep your guard up at all times and seek help from Roland, Henry, or Ashe whenever you need.

Keep my castle safe, will you?"

"Yes, my lord!"

After visiting George, Siderius brought the arrowheads back to his room to stick them in his arrows.

In the afternoon, he visited Ashe. She was still hard at training as ever, preparing her body for the pain of the upcoming mutation.

She was not wearing a shirt but wrapped tight white cloth around her chest. It exposed most of her shoulder and belly, securing the annoying parts in place.

Ashe was holding a stone sword that Siderius made to practice striking at a wooden dummy.

The stone sword was much heavier than the wooden training sword. It required more strength from the user and could help with developing functional muscles.

Ashe dropped her sword when Siderius appeared.

"Mas... Master?"

Her face bushed a heavy red. Siderius kept his eyes on the ceiling.

"Very wise. This type of clothing can minimize heat and allow for more freedom of movements."

His calm words soothed her and she stopped feeling embarrassed right away.

"Haha... I thought you would think of me as crazy, Master."

"Why would I think that? It is a reasonable thing to do. You aren’t the first one to do it as well."

It was the truth, many female witch hunters used the same style of clothing when practicing. Men could just go topless but women were a bit more difficult.

Witch hunters were much more progressive as well. And with the existence of alchemists, all types of clothes were made. A minimal training attire that only covered the bust had appeared before and was very popular when Siderius was still there.

"You can try to practice Mercury Transformation to make suitable clothing with these traits. Of course, if you need it quickly, I suspect you can just make it the normal way. You are a very good tailor anyway."

"Yes, Master. I was thinking of doing that as well."

"I’m about to leave for Mucktown, Ashe. Focus on your training and keep practicing. I leave a few spirits formulas in your room for you to practice.

You can give the products to George to sell them. You will get half of the coins while the castle will withhold the remaining half."

"It’s alright, Master. Santa Roberto can keep it all. It is your domain, afterall..."

Siderius chopped Ashe’s head with his hand. She stumbled back while rubbing her head.

"Why, Master..."

"What is the law of an alchemist?"

"Anything has a price... We must pay them."

"Correct. Now listen carefully. If you don’t receive my reply within a week, immediately leave this castle. The Underground Hideout is at a very secretive location so you can run there if need be."

"Master... Is something wrong? Is something bad going to happen?"

"Most likely, no. But you can never be too sure. So we have to be careful."

"I understand, Master. Can I bring anyone with me?"

"No. Just leave on your own. If I really don’t come back, more people will only lead to more danger."

"I understand, Master."