Steam Age: I Fight Against Divine Authority with Otherworldly Tales

Chapter 24 Enchantment

Thinking of the possibility of Cole's abilities, Suren immediately grabbed the "Manuscript of the Truth Speaker" on the table, wanting to verify it.

However, after seeing that only the last two pages of the manuscript remained, Suren still chose to give up.

Instead of verifying something so trivial, it's better to use that time to verify something more important.

Suren thought for a moment, then picked up a dip pen and began to write on the manuscript:

"What are the reasons behind the four major churches' choice to conceal the principles behind extraordinary abilities and confine them to so-called professions?"

Before long, letters appeared out of thin air on the manuscript: "Not everyone is qualified to master this ability; differentiating professions can create more extraordinary individuals."

Suren frowned, put down the copybook, and realized he had made two mistakes:

First, you shouldn't ask for the reason directly; the answer was almost too long.

Second, the questions asked were not careful enough, and the answers in the manuscript were clearly incomplete.

Suren thought for a moment but decided not to ask any further questions. The copy was very misleading, and the answers might not be accurate. There was no need to get hung up on one question.

At this moment, Suren suddenly realized that the three abilities discovered so far could basically be summarized by a very simple concept. So what is the "Truth Speaker's Manuscript"?

Honesty? The truth?

This made Suren think of the original owner of the copy, the mysterious "Mr. Wilder." Was he a member of the "Gate of Truth"? If so, what was his purpose?

Compared to the first day of his journey, Suren now knows more and more, but he also has more and more questions.

"Gurgle~"

The rumbling in her stomach interrupted Suren's thoughts. Suren looked out the window and realized that it was already evening.

With no other option, Suren went to the canteen at the duty station to fill her stomach.

Following the moonlight, Suren walked down the street, thinking about whether he should buy some ingredients and cook for himself in the future. However, when he thought of the dirty and messy communal kitchen in the dormitory, he gave up the idea.

Realizing that she would be eating the cafeteria's "pre-made food" again, Suren couldn't help but miss the food from her previous life. Of course, all she missed was the food.

Three days later, early that morning, Suren, carrying a canvas bag filled with materials, knocked on Professor Derwent's door.

The professor's butler opened the door as always. He bowed politely and led Suren into the living room, where the professor was having breakfast.

After politely declining the professor's invitation to dinner, Suren went to the living room to wait for the professor to finish his meal.

A short while later, Professor Derwent entered and, seeing the upright posture of Suren, couldn't help but smile.

"Sometimes I even think you've received a more orthodox education; Karl's behavior when he comes to consult you is completely different from yours."

Suren didn't reply, but directly stated her purpose:

"Mr. De Went, I would like you to help me determine the purpose of these two materials."

He took two small iron boxes out of his canvas bag, inside which were the snake scale and the strange eyeball.

The professor sat down in front of Suren, took out the two materials, raised an eyebrow when he saw the eyeball, but said nothing.

The professor then extended his right hand, closed his eyes, and a scale appeared in the air. A pale blue light condensed on the two objects along the professor's palm, the light wrapped around snake scales and eyeballs, and Suren could even hear the sound of the scales colliding.

After about ten seconds, the professor opened his eyes and looked at Suren: "These snake scales have a tough attribute, and this eyeball..."

The professor pondered for a moment, then shook his head: "I don't know where you got this eyeball. I've never encountered this type of material before, so I can't analyze its composition directly in a short time."

If you're okay with that, you can leave it with me. I should be able to figure out how it works after studying it for a while.

Suren nodded. After all, this eyeball was a product of the "General Knowledge" mutation, so it was normal that the professor had never seen it before.

"'Durable' sounds like a material used for armor." Suren tapped the table, somewhat helplessly. "Unfortunately, I don't need it for the time being."

The professor smiled and said, "How about this, you can tell me your needs, and I'll help you convert them into the corresponding materials, but only within the same level. For that, you'll need to pay 10 pounds."

Suren was somewhat envious. The superhumans who practiced "equivalent exchange" were truly well-rounded. The lack of positive abilities could be addressed with equipment, and "alchemy" was their biggest source of income. They could also openly refuse any bargaining, since "rules" were paramount.

However, despite his envy, the troubles brought by the "rules" are real. If Suren had to choose, he would probably still choose his current "secret knowledge".

He nodded in agreement to the proposal, and after learning about the materials the professor could currently convert, Suren ultimately chose the [Withering] attribute.

Its effect is that the damage it inflicts adheres to the wound, continuously disrupting cell activity to prevent the wound from healing. However, the type of damage is continuous energy damage, which is very ineffective against unconventional creatures.

As for how to dispose of the materials, Suren had already figured it out. He asked the professor to enchant the original revolver. As for why he didn't enchant it directly on the armor-piercing revolver, the reason was simple: an item can only be enchanted once.

After making her choice, Suren reluctantly handed the professor 40 pounds, 20 pounds of which was for the extra materials for enchanting, and the other 20 pounds was for the professor's labor costs for enchanting and converting the materials.

After receiving Suren's gold pounds, the professor wasted no time and led Suren upstairs to a spacious room in a corner.

Compared to the Deathbird Brotherhood's laboratory, Professor Derwent's laboratory looked much more refined. The room was kept very clean and tidy, with three lab benches filled with glassware and other experimental equipment, as well as three metal storage cabinets specifically for storing materials.

The professor placed the snake scale on the lab table, then walked to one of the metal lockers. After opening the locker, Suren found that it was mostly filled with minerals and plants.

Professor Derwent took out a blood-red ore and a cluster of silvery-white flowers from the cabinet. Suren recognized these two materials as "Red Radiance Stone" and "Silver Moon Flower," both of which are relatively basic auxiliary materials.

Of course, even the most basic materials require collecting them at great risk, since these materials only appear in the activity areas of demons of level II and above.

Many ordinary people also take risks to make money, but most of them end up as food for the devil.

The professor had already grasped the snake scales in his hand and began the transformation.

Suren guessed that this ability was probably an advanced version of [Matter Conversion].

After an unknown amount of time, beads of sweat slid down the professor's forehead, and a pleasant metallic clanging sound rang out in the air, like the sound of scales colliding. The light in the professor's hand gradually dimmed.

At this moment, the snake scales in the professor's palm had changed drastically; they were now a clump of inconspicuous gray roots, like withered grass.

Then came the complex alchemy process. The professor mixed the three materials with other liquids, his hands flying between various instruments, with blue light flowing through them from time to time.

After a series of complex operations, the three different materials were finally mixed into a peculiar fluid that emitted a mercury-like color.

The professor then held the test tube between two fingers and slowly poured the liquid into the revolver, his hands still emitting a pale blue light.

The liquid dripped onto the revolver, solidified but did not disperse. As light was injected, it slowly melted and seeped into the entire revolver.

Finally, after all the liquid in the test tube had dissolved, the gun emitted a peculiar silver light, leaving an abstract symbol on the gun body—an inverted tree root pattern.