For Sale. Fallen Lady. Never Used.

Catching spies of the Boiling Silence, pulling a crazy stunt once and suddenly becoming the so-called (but not really) son of the Circulating Life, and catching a glimpse of Iona’s obsession.

Such things happened, but after solving everything, only one task remained: to strike before the Grotesque Proliferation’s army fully assembled.

Obviously, we couldn’t go alone.

Though I’d become a high mage, even if we could handle some mediocre opponents with numbers, there was a limit…

The problem was with cardinal-level cultists or lord-class monsters. Meeting them would mean a tough battle, and we’d be surrounded in no time.

Moreover, the monsters of the Grotesque Proliferation were generally intelligent, with some even becoming high priests. Notably, succubus-type monsters or goblin kings.

Aside from their abilities, which lacked direct combat power, their own combat strength was quite formidable.

Thus, support from Alfheim was essential… but even if we rushed, gathering the strong scattered across the vast Great Forest would take at least two days.

So, what should we do during the remaining time? The answer was clear. To boost our power even a little with the World Tree series we received from the Circulating Life.

For this reason, I sneakily asked Faye, who had been holed up in the workshop since last night.

“Senior Faye, can you do it?”

“…Yeah. I can’t get the highest quality, but I can make something better than what we’re using now within the time. I’ll leave room for improvement later, so don’t worry about wasting materials.”

“And the potions?”

“I just finished them and put them on that shelf over there. The ingredients were so good that I couldn’t tamper with the potency enhancement, but I tailored them for easy absorption, so make sure to take them in the order and with the names I’ve attached.”

Faye said this without taking her eyes off the huge cauldron.

Peeking inside, I saw it was filled with liquids shimmering in various colors—white, green, yellow, and red—and familiar-shaped chunks floating within.

Branches of the World Tree, dragon scales and horns, and… was that a flower? It was surprisingly not melting.

No, an alchemist’s cauldron doesn’t really boil things with heat; it dissolves materials with various solvents and alchemy.

Meaning, if Faye wanted, she could maintain the original shape even in the cauldron.

Anyway, since she looked busy, I should take the potions and start consuming them.

As I gathered the potions from the shelf, I glanced at Faye’s back.

“…I’m sorry for making you do something so tough, Senior Faye.”

“Hmm. No need to apologize. It’s just staying up for a couple of nights, right? This isn’t that hard.”

“But when we first came here, I thought there wouldn’t be any fighting, or if there was, it would be light, so I brought you along…”

“It’s fine, I said. I’d like to fight, too, but I’d only be a hindrance, right? So, I’m doing what I can. I want to be helpful to you guys, too.”

“…Thank you for saying that.”

“If you’re thankful, give me a kiss.”

“Huh?”

“Hurry up. I can’t take my eyes off this now. Come give me a kiss and go.”

“Ha… If that’s what you want, I’ll do it.”

I went up behind Faye, who was concentrating, and hugged her gently. Then, I kissed her soft cheeks and the nape of her neck repeatedly.

Smooch. Peck. Smooch.

“Is that enough?”

“Yeah! With this, I can burn through my remaining stamina!”

At Faye’s energetic response, I chuckled and whispered,

“Then I’ll leave it to you and go.”

“Don’t worry about me, and focus on absorbing the potions with the others.”

“Yes.”

After giving Faye’s cheek one more kiss, I left the workshop.

Thanks to Milone arranging the lodging, workshop, and training room close to each other, the move was quick.

Opening the door to the training room, I saw the women gathered together.

Carla, who had been waiting in the front, ran over and asked,

“Master, how did it go?”

“The potions are already done, and the equipment will be managed within the time, though it’ll be used unfinished due to the rush… but it’ll still be better than what we’re using now. We can perfect it later.”

“Really? I knew Faye’s talent was not ordinary, but to think it would be this much already…”

“Even with the research materials and rare books I provided, the skill she’s developed is due to her effort. I’m just grateful.”

An essentially unlimited budget. Samples you can’t buy with money. Alchemy books obtained from dungeons or auctions.

Additionally, I handed over the research records from when my body was created in Fafnir’s lair.

So, one could say she achieved this level thanks to me, but if the same support was given to someone else, would they have reached this point?

Well, probably not.

It was because of Faye’s talent, combined with her dedication to pouring everything into alchemy, that we saw this level of growth.

Nodding with a pleased smile, I took out the potions I had just gathered from my subspace.

“Let’s take these first. We need to absorb them by tomorrow to adjust our senses.”

“…Certainly. The energy I feel from them is no joke.”

Carla nodded blankly while looking at the World Tree potion series Faye had prepared.

I handed Carla the packet with her name on it.

With the rest in my arms, I called out to the others.

“Everyone, come get the ones with your names on them. Helena, come here too.”

“Uh… Brother, I am a Saintess.”

“I’m not sure myself, but Faye made some for Helena, too, so there must be something useful in it, right?”

“Hmm. I suppose so. Sister Faye isn’t one to play pranks in such situations.”

Helena accepted her potion with quiet acknowledgment. Glancing at it, I noticed hers had less volume and a different color compared to the others.

Well… for Helena, increasing mana or physical abilities didn’t make much sense, so it was only natural.

After distributing all the potions, we each spread out slightly to find our spots.

Normally, it wouldn’t be a good idea for everyone to take potions at once since someone should watch over the others’ conditions.

But didn’t I have the ability to absorb potions instantly, with the highest efficiency, thanks to the system’s assistance?

I decided to take my potions first and then watch over the others.

Feeling the gazes focused on me, I smirked.

“Then, shall we see how beneficial the World Tree is for the body?”

“…Stop with the unnecessarily ominous tone!”

Iris shouted with a shocked expression, but I ignored her and put my potions into my mouth in sequence.

The potions melted one after another, mixing like a cocktail as they went down my throat.

Although it seemed like absorption was going well, I was slightly anxious because no notification had come yet.

Ding!

Only after swallowing the last drop did I hear the awaited chime.

Aha? So, it considers all of this as one potion?

The system acknowledged that Faye refined each potion to create a synergistic effect.

【Essence of the World Tree Consumed!】

Wow! I don't know what exactly you did, but you've gathered the parts of the World Tree quite thriftily!

And to think you'd consume them in a form perfectly tailored to your body!

The World Tree is an avatar of the Circulating Life. So, to exaggerate a bit, you've just eaten a goddess.

...Not in a lewd sense, but in a physical one!

Naturally, that much power will be absorbed into your body.

But be cautious. Your body, already a mix of various powers, has now reached its limit with this.

Without additional enlightenment, stuffing anything more into it would make it go boom!

Of course, that won't happen today, so you can rejoice for now.

-Mana significantly increased.

-Physical ability significantly increased.

-Resistance to poison, burns, paralysis, and plague significantly increased.

-Resistance to divine powers significantly increased.

“No way…”

Not only did the major stats and resistances to abnormal statuses increase significantly, but I also gained resistance against the divine powers of the Evil Gods we’d face from now on, yet I couldn’t purely rejoice.

If I eat anything more here, my body will explode? Why is it so dangerous?!

Grumbling inside, I wondered just how much it had increased, and opened my status window.

Ding!

Name: Yandel

Title: Great Nemesis

Basic Stats

Strength: 20 -> 21

Endurance: 20 -> 21

Agility: 20 -> 21

Skill: 21 -> 22

Magic: 27 -> 28

Ah, okay.

I understood.

Without the aid of suitable traits, these body stats wouldn’t increase further, but they’d gone up by one each. With the blessing from the World Tree, the efficiency of these stats had also improved, making the practical effect even greater.

However, even this paled in comparison to the overwhelming magic stat of 28.

At this point, only two steps remained to reach the limit stat of 30. Incidentally, 29 and 30 were numbers reserved for Archmages, so the system’s evaluation was quite accurate.

Without the magic control of an Archmage, increasing just the amount of mana would definitely lead to a loss of control and rampage.

The system’s assistance would only help me perform tasks without mistakes, within what was possible. If there wasn’t even a slight possibility, I couldn’t receive the system’s aid.

Meaning, I was now bulked up to the very limit of my capacity.

Purely in terms of mana quantity, I might be on par with Iris and Iona, right?

Considering how the more mana one had, the harder it would be to increase, this was truly remarkable.

The various resistances to status effects that came next must be due to the life force of the World Tree making my body more robust.

The resistance to divine powers at the end… perhaps it was because my body had significantly absorbed the powers of Solaris and the Circulating Life, gaining an inherent resistance to divine forces?

Whatever the reason, this was resistance we desperately needed before the battle with the Grotesque Proliferation.

I gave a satisfied smile to the women watching.

“Now it’s your turn.”

The women nodded silently and put their potions into their mouths. By the time absorption was complete, we’d head to strike at the side of the Grotesque Proliferation.

Like the claw of a platypus, we’d be a subtle yet deadly dagger.