Legacy of the Dark Sage

Before Anette used the scroll, she took out three small bottles of different potions from her coat pocket.

Kyran, who had seen Anette take out items from her coat pocket, could not help but be amazed at how deep it was. He wondered if her coat was tailored made and the pockets were made into a space storage. Another random thought crossed his mind as he recalled Nolan taking out quite a number of things from under his coat, yet he had not seen him carry an item that resembled a space storage.

Pushing all these random thoughts at the back of his mind, Kyran focused his attention on the potions in Anette's hands. Though his Alchemy knowledge was small, he was confident in recognizing a potion's grade and effect. That was how he identified the blood replenishing potion earlier.

Frankly, when Kyran first mentioned the blood replenishing potion, he was unsure of its existence. He had a rough idea of what the potion's color might look like based on the ingredients he came up with that would have a blood replenishing effect. So he was surprised she had one.

It made Kyran suspect that Anette might have a higher understanding of Alchemy than Chairman Malia. His suspicion deepened while observing the three potions in her hand because he could not recognize its grade nor its effect!

The liquid in each small bottle had different colors: gold, yellow and orange. Their colors were very unusual to Kyran, who had only seen potions in different color variations of blue, green, red, and pink. There was also the white potion he took to mend his bones.

Kyran shivered internally, remembering his experience when he drank the white potion.

'I wonder what these potions are?' He thought.

It did not take long for him to know the answer as Anette approached him and explained the potions.

"Take these potions," she said and passed the bottles to Kyran. "The golden one is called Core Tonic. As the name suggested, it is a tonic that will heal and strengthen your magic core."

The moment Anette said the words 'magic core', Kyran's eyes flickered for a second. He had only heard about the magic core from his predecessor. How come Anette also knew about it?

"To give a brief explanation, a magic core is—."

"It's okay. I know what a magic core is," Kyran gently interrupted her.

Anette raised her brows in surprise. "Oh? That saves us some time, then. I've seen your internal injuries, and it is related to your magic core. That potion will be able to restore it to its original state slowly. Next, the yellow potion is a Tempering Potion. It will help your body naturally adapt to the changes in the surrounding temperature because the ruins had a very unpredictable atmosphere which affected the temperature. It can also hide your temperature from beasts with heat-sensing ability. Mind you, that place has a number of reptilian beasts."

Kyran silently listened to Anette's explanation. When she mentioned his internal injuries, his heart started to beat fast. As expected, she discovered his injuries. But before he could come up with an excuse to avoid being questioned, she only continued to explain the potions.

Instead of feeling relieved, Kyran felt guilty. Anette's feigned ignorance reminded him of his mother.

Kyran remembered when he got hurt because he secretly followed his older cousins to hunt when he was only seven years old. He got lost while following them, and though he did not encounter any forest beasts, he hurt himself when he fell off a small gorge. When he found his way home, he hid what happened to him from his mother. She did not ask why his clothes were dirty, nor did she show signs of knowing what happened, but he found his wounds were neatly dressed when he woke up the next day. He felt guilty and regretted hiding things from her.

Kyran clenched his fists at the memory. He hated having a good memory sometimes. Because every time he recalled a memory, all the emotions he felt then would also come back to him vividly.

"Last, the orange potion is an Invisibility Potion." Anette continued with her explanation.

Kyran snapped out of his reverie after hearing the word 'invisibility'.

"Wait, what?" He asked, looking at Anette in disbelief.

Seeing Kyran's reaction, Anette could not help but give a smug smile.

"You've heard it right," she confirmed with a slight nod. "Well, it is still in the testing phase, and I only have a few bottles left. Mind you, nurturing the ingredients for this potion is very troublesome. Anyway, though it is still in the test phase, I can guarantee its effectiveness. However, it can only be used for ten minutes, so only use it in an emergency. Like when we are surrounded and could only escape through stealth movements. Or when beasts surround us. Together with the Tempering Potion's effect, if those reptilian beasts surround us, we'll be able to walk around them without being detected."

Kyran agreed, remembering how he had trouble getting away from the mutated Basilisk because it was able to find him through his body heat.

Then he remembered how forest beasts deliberately avoided him and were about to tell Anette but decided against it. She might not believe him anyway. Once they got there and she noticed something was wrong, then he might tell her.

"How long will the Tempering Potion last?" Kyran asked.

"A day," Anette answered with a smile.

Kyran was surprised. He had never heard of a consumable potion that could last that long.

"Okay. The only thing left is your disguise," Kyran said. "I reckoned that the Templar Code will have people patrolling the ruins. We need a good disguise in case something happens and we end up facing them."

With a knowing smile, Anette took out a slim bottle from her coat pocket. The liquid inside the bottle was a mixture of violet and pink color.

"Don't worry, this potion is called the Glamour Potion and will help change my looks. Though I have no control what look I'll end up with."

Kyran was surprised once again. Seriously, his godmother's Alchemy was too overpowered. Is there anything she could not make? The Glamour Potion might not have the same effect as what he asked offhandedly during his meeting with the Conclave, but as long as it could change a person's appearance, it was more than enough.

"You have a mask to change your face, so I don't think you need this," Anette said with a smile.

Kyran nodded.

"Yes."

"Alright. Then shall we?"

Kyran nodded again and took out his mask.

Anette also drank the Glamour Potion. Slowly, her face turned younger, while her dark violet hair turned brown. Her emerald green eyes changed to black, and even her body started to shrink.

As soon as Kyran wore the mask and his face changed into Nar, Anette channelled her magic energy into the transmission scroll.

A light-golden array appeared on the floor with Anette at the center. The array glowed, and soon the two of them disappeared.

In the blink of an eye, the two of them appeared inside a dark space.

Kyran closed his eyes for a few seconds before opening them again to adjust his sight in the dark.

"This place is relatively safe. We found this place to rest," Anette's spoke as a soft blue light slowly filled the dark space.

Kyran looked at her and found a hovering light blue orb in front of her.

"I see," he replied before looking at his surrounding. He recognized the place they appeared at was a cellar. The ceiling was pretty low, and the space itself was small. He could not imagine how Nolan and Gage managed to squeeze inside with their big bodies.

"I am the one who stayed here. Nolan and Gage stayed in the room above," Anette explained with a chuckle as if reading Kyran's thoughts.

'Above?' Kyran looked up and found a hatch big enough for one person to get in.

"Nolan insisted I stay here in case those reptilian beasts appeared again," Anette said and walked toward the hatch.

"Because human males produce more heat than females, reptilian beasts are normally drawn to them. However, if there are female prey before them, they would normally 'attack' them first. Humph, as if some reptilian beast can hurt me!" She added in disdain while she checked the situation outside between the gaps on the hatch.

Kyran raised his brows from her words. Nolan did not strike him as someone who cared about anyone, so he found Nolan's concern for Anette's well-being amusing. He initially thought the two were at odds with each other, but it seemed the opposite.

"Alright. All clear," Anette declared before opening the hatch and walking out of the cellar.

Kyran followed behind.

Once he got out of the cellar, Kyran's sense of smell was assaulted by a strong metallic scent.

It was the scent of blood!