Chapter 289

As expected... it worked.

If he conducted his thinking within a frozen world, he wouldn’t waste much time.

Still, thinking under such conditions had its limitations—he couldn’t experiment while reasoning at the same time.

But overall... the advantages outweighed the drawbacks.

As for the Personal Arcane Elixir—

With a slight lift of his hand, countless ingredients appeared around Kanzaki Rei.

These were all materials he had gathered over time—collected without knowing when they might be useful.

As it turned out...

Stockpiling everything was always the right choice.

"Lunar phases... magic... combat techniques... even talents..."

"This world has never lacked uniqueness."

"Then I’ll infuse this potion with my understanding of Origin... and the essence of combat itself."

Phantom Wing Wood. Fullmoon Bamboo. Azure Insight Flower. Jade Radiance Fruit. Blood Coral Fruit. Verdant Wolf Blossom...

Kanzaki Rei stood alone in the empty wilderness.

Ingredients floated around him in orbit.

One by one, they liquefied—reduced to extracts, crushed into paste—then fused together.

Then—

Within the converging liquid mass, Kanzaki Rei formed a magic array directly inside the solution.

[Fifth-Tier Origin Magic — All-Grid Transmutation]

The liquid turned solid.

The solid turned gas.

The very elemental arrangement of the potion... was rewritten.

The state of matter was merely an expression of elemental structure.

In theory, by directly altering elements, one could create any substance in existence.

Only—the difficulty varied.

And by restructuring elements at their core, the properties of matter could be drastically changed.

Like tempering steel—altering its structure to produce entirely different characteristics.

Potions followed the same principle.

So—

He could refine potions directly at the elemental level.

Like someone from his previous world bypassing chemical synthesis entirely—and manipulating atoms outright.

This...

Was his greatest advantage as an alchemist.

From the side, Eukinri’s pupils shrank sharply.

He didn’t understand magic.

But he understood alchemy.

And what he was witnessing...

Was impossible.

Within mere seconds, the properties of these ingredients had undergone earth-shattering transformation.

They merged, overlapped, and amplified one another.

Substances that should never interact... were now stimulating each other’s effects.

Under normal conditions—

Such a transformation could never occur.

This... defied the laws of the world.

Alchemy, at its core, was synthesis.

Combining different substances through specific methods, extracting desired properties through techniques like distillation, separation, and refinement...

Everything was about isolating and recombining properties.

Under Eukinri’s guidance, Kanzaki Rei had come to understand it as something akin to chemistry.

Though vastly different in specifics, the principle remained:

Using the interactions between substances to create potions.

From an alchemist’s perspective—

It was all about different formulas and different effects.

Perspective defined understanding.

They followed the laws of material synthesis.

Kanzaki Rei... did not.

Countless streams of liquid converged!

Not only did he extract impossible properties—

He eliminated countless complex steps.

At last—

The liquid condensed into a small vial.

Settling into Kanzaki Rei’s hand.

A faint glow emerged.

Gradually—

It solidified into a flawless, golden potion.

This...

Was his personal creation.

[Ultimate Perfect — Lunar Apex Elixir]

[Effect: Upon consumption, grants temporary comprehension of a Combat Apex for one day. The specific Apex sealed within is determined by the lunar phase at the time of creation.]

...A one-of-a-kind potion.

A secret elixir only he could produce.

It embodied everything—

His understanding of the world, of Origin, of combat... and of alchemy itself.

"This is my self-created Arcane Elixir."

"Care to try it?"

Kanzaki Rei tossed the vial lightly.

It landed in Eukinri’s hands.

He was only an alchemist.

No combat class.

"A... Arcane Elixir?"

Eukinri could tell it was one—but he still froze.

You... actually made it?

You really became an alchemist today?

With this level of mastery, you could claim to be a grandmaster and I’d believe you!

"...I’ll try it."

Alchemists naturally possessed high resistance to toxins.

Testing potions on oneself was unavoidable.

Over time, resistance built up.

On top of that, as a vampire, Eukinri’s innate resistance was already strong.

Unless Kanzaki Rei intentionally poisoned him—

There was little risk.

And if Kanzaki Rei truly wanted him dead...

Poison would be unnecessary.

Still, as a seasoned alchemist, Eukinri didn’t simply drink it blindly.

He examined the contents first.

The ingredients... were all ordinary.

Nothing particularly rare.

If the method could be replicated, mass production would be cheap.

But—

That method...

He had already seen the entire process.

This inspection merely confirmed the final step.

After finishing his analysis—

Eukinri tilted his head back and drank it.

Gulp—

The potion entered his body.

Almost instantly—

It dispersed like vapor within his stomach.

A sweet, gentle flavor spread throughout his abdomen.

Thump—

His heart contracted sharply.

His strength began to rise.

The potion even granted a boost to physical power.

Then—

A profound sensation surged within him.

This...

Ah!

This feeling—

Could it be...

The legendary Combat Apex?!

His senses became crystal clear.

The world sharpened.

Every detail—plants, creatures, patterns—revealed itself with perfect clarity.

[Apex — Frenzied Loss: Sacrifice sanity to enhance regeneration, speed, strength, and instinct.]

This was the current lunar phase’s manifestation.

A rising madness stirred within him—

A state where abandoning rationality would grant overwhelming combat power.

But for someone experiencing Apex for the first time—

What amazed him more was the clarity of perception.

The difference between possessing Apex and not... was like two entirely separate worlds.

So this...

This was how Apex warriors saw reality...

"...Does this count as a success?" Kanzaki Rei asked.

Eukinri snapped back to reality.

"...Yes. It’s... a perfect success."

Granting Combat Apex through a potion?

That was unprecedented in the entire history of alchemy.

And this man...

Was he really a Level 1 Alchemist?

He had just taken the class today—

And was already rewriting history.

"...Good."

If it worked—

Then advancing to Level 2 Alchemist should now be possible.

If his alchemist class could reach a level close to his main class, it would undoubtedly become a powerful asset.

After all—

Even legends relied on secondary professions to support their growth.

Alchemy could provide supportive potions, temporary combat boosts...

Or even deadly toxins capable of killing powerful beings.

Every aspect of it—

Was immensely valuable to him.