~ Chapter 22: Night Breeze Potion of One Million Deaths ~

It was getting really dark as we got close to the Draketerus mansion, but it didn't even take us more than thirty minutes to fly there thanks to the Kleo dragon express. She transformed into her big lizard self and then flew us all on her back. While Seryanna threw daggers at Kataryna, the latter barely showed a reaction to her. If I were to put my finger on it, I would say the dragoness found the young knight amusing in a way.

As for me… I was riding on the back of a black dragon, enough said.

“This is so awesome!” I said to myself as I looked around.

The best way to describe the scenery was to think about flying on board of a WWII airplane, maybe an IAR 80, but without the noise engine sounds. The scenery was simply flowing past me, giving me an adrenaline rush every time it felt like we were about to collide into some trees. Kleo was a skilled flier and showed off with every opportunity she got, but if it wasn't for Kataryna pointing the way back to Tomeron, we would have gotten lost from the very moment we took off. The black-scaled dragoness wanted to fly us in the exact opposite direction.

“Fufu! Be happy you are riding with me, otherwise, you would be running on the ground!” said the dragoness.

“Yes! This is incredible!” I said with a nod.

“You weren't so impressed when I carried you, what's the difference?” Kataryna asked.

“Envious?” Kleo turned her big head and showed her a big toothy smirk.

“No, curious actually!” replied calmly the other.

“Well it's different… Riding on the back of a dragon and being flown around by someone my size gives off a different feeling. I don't think I can explain it.” I said scratching the back of my head.

There was also the whole experience with Jophiel as well, but the flight with her was more on the deadly side than the fun side.

“Hm?” Kataryna wasn't convinced.

“We're here.” announced Seryanna as she pointed at the half-burnt mansion in the distance.

“I'm going in for the landing!” announced Kleo.

We held on tight to her back spikes. The landing itself was easy and without any difficulties unlike when she first met me. That time, she dropped like a rock on top of me. The first one to jump off was Seryanna, then me, and lastly Kataryna. With all of us on the ground, Kleo returned to her humanoid form.

Regarding the way the dragons changed shapes was rather interesting. While we flew, Kataryna explained the process to me. What happened was that their bodies were enveloped in a magic bubble the same color as their scales, in Kleo's case, it was black. Inside, their bodies underwent a fast transformation, fueling their cells with nearby Magic Energy. When the transformation was over, they emerged as a full-sized dragon with four limbs and a pair of wings on their back, a long neck, sharp claws, and scales covered them from head to toe. Their length from the tip of their tails to the tip of their nose varied from 20 meters to 100 meters. The older they were, the bigger their dragon bodies became. Kleo was around 24 meters in length and with a wingspan of about 80 meters. In my eyes, her size was impressive, but Kataryna claimed she could grow bigger. She didn't tell me how big though.

To return to human form, she went through the same process of turning into a magic sphere. The entire process lasted only mere seconds. As for their clothes, they just told me that they made them go away for a while. What exactly that meant, I had no idea, but maybe I would find out in due time. Overall, the Awakened form was the true form of a draconian, while the full-sized dragon form was their natural form or beast form as many called it. Which was a bit confusing for me. The way I saw it, both were their real forms, including the pre-Awakened one.

“Mistress Seryanna, you have returned and…” the blue-scaled maid who came to greet us saw Kataryna in that moment and froze in place.

“We have returned. Do not worry, for now… she means no harm. Isn't that right?” said Seryanna as she glared at the silver-scaled dragoness.

“Who knows?” she smirked and waved her tail a little.

I had a feeling she was starting to find the idea of teasing the redhead as ‘interesting'.

“Master Brekkar is this way.” the maid made a polite bow and swallowed her fear for the silver-scaled dragoness.

“Let's go to grandpa, then!” said Kleo after she returned to her human form, running past us.

“I'm sure the old man will be happy to know that we brought his granddaughters back to him safe and sound.” I said with a smile.

“Of course.” the maid replied and led the way for us.

A few moments later, we arrived in the part of the house that wasn't completely burned to the ground. There, Brekkar was talking with a couple of unfamiliar old dragons about something. With the sun having set already, the entire place was lit up with those special magical stones or the eventual classical torches here and there.

“Hm? Seryanna! Kleo! You are safe… and you?” the old man said when he saw his two granddaughters, the goth one going up and hugging the old man, while the redhead made a polite bow in front of him.

His brow turned into a frown when he saw the silver-scaled dragoness. Kataryna simply smiled and looked around. Of course, her presence there would unsettle them, but she returned with me and everyone else, which made it clear that she wasn't going to attempt another attack on the old man's life.

“Alkelios, what is she doing here?” Brekkar asked me.

“Well… long story short, I turned her into my friend, and she wasn't behind the attack. So for now, please forgive her?” I explained and at the end slapped my palms together and made a short bow.

Brekkar looked at me for a long moment while he thought what to do about this. In the end, he let out a sigh and shook his head.

“You are one strange lad…” he complained.

“It appears so… hehe.” I said scratching the back of my head and showing him an awkward smile.

“Well, as long as she isn't here to cause any more trouble, let's say I pardon her, although I fear that even if I tried to take any action against her, there's not really anyone here who can defeat her.” he said and then looked at Kataryna.

“Except for this one, he defeated me.” she spoke with a purr as she wrapped her tail around my waist.

“Ah! Stop that! It tickles!” I pulled away.

“Him?” Brekkar asked surprised.

“Yes, this human.” she confirmed.

When she mentioned my species, the other dragons there looked at each other a bit confused, but they kept quiet for now. I only hoped these old geezers weren't something like a council of prunes, who would later try to get rid of me or claim their superiority over me. Basically, the typical nonsense you would expect from an elder when they heard you were part of their enemy's camp. Then again, if Brekkar approved of me, and I ‘defeated' Kataryna, I probably wouldn't need to worry too much about them.

“He's just lucky.” Seryanna spoke with a low tone of voice.

“Very lucky.” I added with a smirk.

She simply squinted her eyes at me. The dragoness still wasn't too pleased about letting Kataryna walk away scot-free, but Brekkar raised a good point though, none of us could match Kataryna's strength if she were to get serious. If she was a normal draconian like Brekkar, maybe, but she was a Superior Draconian of the Ice Spark, meaning that she had absolute control over two elements. This made her incredibly deadly and dangerous.

Turn your enemies into your friends, and you will have nothing to fear! Or so said some Chinese wiseguy from who knows how long ago? I thought as I looked over at the slightly bored silver-scaled dragoness.

When she caught me looking in her direction, she winked at me, and I turned my head away.

Don't remember those sweet, delicious kisses! Don't! Just… but boy oh boy… hehehe… I shook my head and stopped myself from drooling before I angered a certain redhead.

“Something the matter, Alkelios?” Brekkar asked me.

“No, sir! No!” I replied swiftly.

“Well, if she's not a threat, then what happened to the Twin Daggers bandit group?” he asked.

“Most of them are probably dead. Your granddaughters and my new friend here proved to be more than they could handle. If you wish, I can point you out towards any secret hideouts of theirs I'm currently aware of.” explained Kataryna and then offered him a small smile.

“That would help us a lot, thank you!” he nodded.

“I don't think we should fully trust her, grandfather.” warned Seryanna.

“We shall see, my dear. For now, this is our best lead and knowing that their strongest fighter is now on our side will help us take them down much faster.” he nodded and crossed his arms at his chest.

“Then, while your men do that, I want to start working on the cure… Erm, anyone knows where I can find an alchemy lab?” I asked.

When I mentioned cure, the old geezers looked at each other again a bit confused.

“I have one in my ring.” said Kataryna.

“I'll bring you those herbs then. Say where you want to place it, and I will send one of my servants right away.” Brekkar declared.

“Any empty room would be good.” I said.

“Of course, there are still a few rooms untouched by the flames at the back of the mansion, where the fire was the weakest.” he told me.

“Great! I'll go there right now! Erm… by the way, where do we sleep tonight?” I asked him.

“Sigh… The inn, my friend. None of the bedrooms escaped the flames.” he shook his head.

“Aw… Alright.” I nodded and then followed one of the maids all the way to the room where Kataryna was to set up my lab.

The room wasn't very big, and it was a bit dusty. An old dresser was sitting in the back, and the door had a few black stains where the fire licked the wood and tried to slip inside. Without even a rug or some piece of easily flammable furniture next to the door, it wasn't able to set the room on fire. Maybe this was another lucky break?

“This place hasn't been used in a very long time.” said the maid.

“I can tell…” I squinted my eyes and stepped inside.

After opening the windows, Seryanna used a small wind spell to dust off the place. It was like a soft breeze that blew over everything and pushed the resulting cloud outside, without letting it get close to us.

“Where do you want the lab?” asked Kataryna afterwards.

“Over there, by the wall.” I pointed.

The ring wasn't on her finger but attached to a string around her neck. After she equipped it on her right hand, she then cast the complicated spell to take out what she needed from inside it. The table with all of its instruments was pulled out of the ring and flew all the way to the wall, where it was carefully sat down. Not even a single glass or vial was broken, showing just how good the dragoness was with controlling her spells.

That wasn't the only table she pulled out though, a cauldron and a few tables with enchanted magical vials and glass containers were also taken out and placed next to the initial one. When it was over, the entire room was stacked full with all sort of alchemy thingies, some weirder than the others.

“Everything a Grand Master Alchemist will ever need is right here!” said Kataryna with her hands crossed at her chest and a smug look on her face.

“I honestly have no idea what a Grand Master Alchemist needs, but let's get this started!” I said with a smile and then walked over to the room, where I sat down crossed legged.

“What are you doing?” asked Kleo a bit surprised.

“Meditating, now get out. Shoo! Shoo!” I said waving my hand.

“The man needs his private time, but if you need any of us to satisfy you, sugar, just call.” Kataryna winked at me.

“Not THAT kind of private time!” I retorted.

“I don't understand.” Seryanna said with a frown.

Both Kleo and Kataryna placed their hands on her right and left shoulders respectively. They let out a long sigh and then shook their head.

“Let's go sister… When you will grow up, you will know.” said Kleo.

“What are you two doing? What are you saying? This doesn't make any sense!” complained the dragoness as she was being pushed out of the room by the other two.

“Something tells me I got a second prankster on my hand… This time, one I can't stop…” I sighed and then opened the status menu.

Let's see… I'm level 141. Last time I was level 63. 141 minus 63 is 55… wait no, 78. I gain one upgrade for a skill every 5 levels, so the last one was at level 60, this means, I have 140 minus 60 equals 80 divided by 5 is 16. So I can upgrade my skills 16 times and gain another 8 skills. Actually, now that I remember, last time, I only used 4 improve/upgrade options, leaving me right now with a total of erm… 24 upgrades! That's awesome and probably more than I need! Alright! Let's do this! I wish to gain two skills, one that will allow me to survive better when hit by enemies and another that can grant me some sort of attack ability or spell. I thought and then opened my skill list.

The amount was still as impressive as ever, but that was most likely due to people being unable to acquire these skills before gaining another ten levels. Thanks to my [Dragon Tamer] skill, the power-leveling boost I received was beyond incredible. In not even a month, I went past level 100! That was awesome!

Now, getting back to the new skills I required, I began to look around until one of them popped in my view and pulled me towards it. Immediately, I selected it and with it, 10 points were gone. This ability was called [The Spartan Hamster]. I decided to ignore the name and search for the second one. In under five minutes of scrolling, I found what I needed and selected it. Thus, 10 more points vanished from my list, and I gained [The Effect of Tzuika]. It was spelled wrong, but thanks to my knowledge in lazy Romanian language also known as text language, I was able to translate it. The result was: [The Effect of Ţuică].

“Great, I think I just gained the ability to train hamsters and get drunk…” I sighed and hoped that wasn't it.

[The Spartan Hamster]: A passive ability which grants a defensive aura to the individual. 10% of any sort of physical damage is dampened. 10% of any sort of Magic Attack is absorbed and turned into the equivalent value of Magic Energy.

[The Effect of Tzuika]: Grants expert magic ability to the individual. Currently in control of: 2 elements. The amount of spells usable with this ability are 1 for each element. Available Spells: [Fireball], [Earth Spike].

I selected the details for those two spells.

[Fireball]: A spell from the Fire Element category. Turns the gas or liquids around the user into a hot ball of fire burning at 1500 degrees Celsius. Fueling it with more Magic Energy will raise its temperature and size. Initial cost: 25 Magic Energy Points.

[Earth Spike]: A spell from the Earth Element category. It sends a flux of Magic Energy into the ground, which travels under the selected target and creates a sharp spike of earth under their feet. Initial cost: 20 Magic Energy Points. After the first Cast, the Second and Third are instantaneous at the cost of 20 Magic Energy Points each. Requires preselected locations for each Spike.

Well… I'll be damned! Don't know what's more confusing: the fact that the magic spells have normal-sounding names or the fact that the names of these skills have no relation whatsoever with what's being described in them… Seriously? Spartan Hamster? I was thinking of a combat ability, not a defensive one! Who would think a hamster can be a tank?! Or the effect of Tzuika? Come on! That's should have a been a skill that allowed me to summon free booze, not shoot out fireballs! I complained in my mind, but on the inside, I was really happy about what sort of improvements these skills offered me.

I was FINALLY able to cast REAL spells!

Still, before I got all hyped about casting magic, it was time to improve and maybe advance [Bartender], so I pulled it up and got the first two levels. Now it was at level 3, and it only cost me 14 skill points.

I wanted to cry, but I had to save Brekkar.

I thought about giving it an advancement too, maybe it could help me. When I selected it, I learned that it cost a total of 5 points, so I skipped it for now.

I was left with 46 points, so I went over the new skills I acquired and gave those two a boost.

For a total of 8 points, I got [The Spartan Hamster] and [The Effect of Tzuika] at level 2. The effects I received from these were as follows: 20% in damage dampening from the first and for the latter, a new element and one more spell for the previous two. Thus, I could cast now the following spells: [Fireball], [Firewall], [Earth Spike], [Earthquake], [Water Ball], and [Water Wall].

It was amazing, so I added another 8 points in [The Effect of Tzuika]. Now, I had Air Element as well and the following spells: [Fireblast], [Earth Arrow], [Water Gun], [Breeze], [Air Barrier], and [Air Scythe].

I could tell just from reading the names what each of them did, after all, the weird naming sense of the God-like entity didn't apply for these spells. Which in itself was quite AWESOME!

Now, it was time to improve my pride and joy: [Dragon Tamer].

Without even the slightest hesitation, I began to dump the last of my skill points into this one, hoping that maybe just maybe it will give me more stat points.

This was the result after spending 15 skill points:

[Dragon Tamer] [Level 4]: This is a passive, buff type skill. When a Hero develops any sort of friendly or intimate relationship with someone of a Dragon origin, this skill will allow the creation of a special bond between the two of them. The bond is indestructible by any other skill unless the Hero wills it. The Hero gains 30% of the Dragon's Stats, and the Dragon will gain the ability to level up 5X faster wherever the Hero might be. The Dragon will gain the equivalent of 10% of the overall buffed stats of the Hero when they are within 100 meters of them.

Advancement I]: The Hero can sense the direction in which he can find his [Selected] Dragon friend. Number of dragons that can be sensed at the same time: 1

[Advancement II]: All dragons gain 10 stat points upon level up and every 10 levels gained in the presence of the Hero allows the dragons to gain a random improvement in any of their skills. The Hero can choose where to add the stat points at any given time. If bond is broken before applying them, they will be added automatically to the stat with the highest value. [Apply Stat Points]

This was… amazing. I got a 30% buff and a party buff! What more could I wish for? But then I wondered just what level 5 would give me, so I decided to see.

With a gulp, I said “Improve [Dragon Tamer].”

[Improvement will cost 25 Skill Points.]

[WARNING! Improvement will change your species from Human to Half-Human Half-Dragon PERMANENTLY. New Bonuses and Skills may be available due to species change.]

I blinked surprised and then close the message, canceling the improvement.

Half dragon? I can't… I'm a human, not a dragon… If I do this, then even if I previously had 1% chance of going back home, I would have a 0% chance now… I can't… This is scary! What am I going to do as a Half-Dragon? The humans will hate me, and the dragons will loathe me… I won't have a place on either side… NO! This improvement I can't get! I can't give up on my humanity! I'm not a monster! I thought, but when I said the last word, Seryanna's smile flashed before my eyes.

I looked down and clenched my fists.

She's not a monster, but she's not a human either… I, on the other hand, will become one if I change my species… So I can't! I absolutely CAN'T do this! I thought and then looking at my skill points, I realized I had only 15 points left.

Even if I wanted to get it now, I couldn't. Without hesitation, I placed 8 points in [The Spartan Hamster], then I wished for an ability to help me with sword fighting or something to do with swordsmanship.

This was a sword and magic world, after all.

“Let's see what I got…” I said, but I wasn't as excited as I was a moment ago.

My mind kept going back to the improvement and what it would mean to gain it. A lot more power, true… but I would become something not human. I was afraid of that, of losing my humanity.

There were many who would have jumped at this opportunity, but I wasn't one of them. I wanted to stay human. Although I didn't mind gaining absurd abilities and skills as I leveled up, changing to another species wasn't something I particularly wished for either.

As for my new skill, this was it:

[Super Chihuahua Style]: Grants Apprentice Skill with any and all bladed weapons, one-handed or two-handed. Grants the following Combat Skills: [Dash], [Ten Strikes Attack], [Side-Step], [Block], [Parry], and [Dodge].

The last ones were actually just basic movements and passives. They basically allowed me to determine the right time to Block, Parry, or Dodge any Apprentice and Journeyman swordsmanship attacks.

I improved this ability once and brought it to level 2. This granted me access to Journeyman skills: [Double Jump], [One Hundred Strikes Attack], [Blade Dance Counter], and [Taunt].

Although they were very interesting, the last one basically worked only on monsters, and the blade dance thingy was basically a passive that allowed me to counter, block, or parry the incoming strikes of the enemy. So instead of dodging and avoiding the sword, I would move my blade against his and push it to the side, away from my body.

With this, I was left with only 1 skill point, which I didn't really need.

All that was left now was to put my skills into practice and start brewing Brekkar's antidote, but not before I made a list with what I needed.

“Let's see…” I said as I looked around and realized that the maid with the bag of herbs had yet to arrive.

About a few minutes later, she knocked on the door. I took it from her and opened it immediately to check what was inside. On one of the tables, I separated the plants needed for the cure and the ones I could use to make some random potions to test out how this [Bartender] skill worked.

“I'm lacking some stuff…” I said scratching the back of my head.

There were a lot of herbs missing, and I knew where to find them: in the Seculiar Forest.

“I need their help.” I nodded.

After I made a few short lists of what I needed, I double checked them to make sure I got all the ingredients I needed for my experiments and Brekkar's final cure. Once I was done with this, I stepped out of my lab and went to where Seryanna, Kataryna, and Kleo were all enjoying a cup of black tea and having a staring contest. The silver-scaled dragoness was winning.

“Girls, I need your help.” I said with a small smile.

“What do you need?” asked Kataryna.

“More herbs. Here's the list, I made copies.” I said and handed one to each of them “You can find some of these in the Seculiar Forest, I already used my Luck to make it so that you will find them. Can you go and fetch them for me?” I asked them. “Do so, and I'll make something tasty for you?” I added the bribe.

“Tasty? Deal! But, I'll just get these ones here… I can't go in too deep with my strength.” said Kleo.

“I can get the ones here. I just need to look for any strange plants that pop in my sight, right?” Seryanna asked.

“Erm… Yes, sort off. I made the wish for you a bit more complex so you don't need to bother with looks.” I smiled, and she squinted her eyes at me.

Did I say something wrong? I wondered.

“Then I presume I am left to bring the more… difficult ones?” Kataryna raised her eyes from the list and looked at me “Still, even if you wish for us to find them, I highly doubt we will be able to do so immediately. It could take weeks, maybe months to find some of these.” she noted and pointed at the Nightmare Scarlet on the list.

“You will find them in no time, don't worry.” I smiled back at her. “If you don't find them in the next four days, just return to me, and I'll go look for them.” I told her.

“I will find them.” Kataryna said grabbing the list and getting up from the comfy chair.

“I'll find mine before you do!” said Kleo and poked her tongue out at her.

“Sister dearest, that's not polite.” Seryanna warned her.

“You are just afraid that I'm going to finish my task before either of you!” she grinned and then ran off.

“Then how about a bet? The first to bring their herbs back gets a kiss from Alkelios?” Kataryna suggested looking back at Seryanna with a smirk.

“What? That… something like that!” she blushed strongly.

“See you in a few days!” Kataryna flew off, leaving the redhead dragoness behind.

Clenching her fists, Seryanna glared back at me and declared “Don't you dare let that wench finish first! No cheating!” and then she stormed off.

“Well now… Guess I should head back to work as well.” I blinked a bit surprised.

For the tasty reward, I asked the maids to bring me a bunch of fruits. I was preparing to make some tasty jam. Five years in a row mom forced me to help her out in the kitchen whenever she made traditional Romanian food, including jam. Some of those recipes had been literally hammered into my brain through experience alone.

[Brekkar's point of view]

 To think that a youngster like Alkelios knew the cure to my incurable disease. If someone told me a hundred years ago that a human would enter one day in my home and save my life as well as go after my granddaughter's tail, I would have smeared their face with their own blood and stuffed their mouths with cacti.

Nonetheless, that was the truth…

The weird part was that this fellow, Alkelios was now my friend and also the same one who made the notorious Kataryna Greorg walk away from the life of a bandit. In a kingdom, those with a Power Number over 1000 were greatly sought after. The nobles and even the king went through great lengths to acquire their loyalty. Killing them was by far considered an unfortunate loss for the entire kingdom. Thus, Kataryna's ‘mischief' would be more or less considered as non-existent by most officials as long as she fought on our side from now on.

Besides the king, there were maybe 16 at most who reached the Awakened Breakthrough. I was once counted among them before that accursed illness struck me and pushed me back to a mortal life. If Alkelios' cure worked, then I still had a chance of offering my services to my king… And to think that the one who helped us, the dragons, was none other than one of our enemies, a human.

Still, I was getting worried about this so-called cure of his.

It has been around 4 days since he sent my granddaughters and the former bandit after those herbs. Ever since then, my servants reported strange sounds coming from the boy's laboratory. I as well heard him giggling like a madman once.

Then there were the explosions.

From time to time, something blew up in there and either something broke, or he was thrown out the window. Luckily for him, those vials were enchanted to survive such unfortunate events, but it made me wonder if I should trust him with the cure of my illness or not.

“Master, can you please tell that human to stop? Yesterday he dropped a vial of some weird yucky white stuff on me! Now, my skin turned green!” complained one of my maids.

Indeed, she was as green as grass.

“I'm sorry, but I can't. The boy simply wishes to improve and find the cure to my illness… Please, look past his… problems.” I said and showed her a wry smile.

BOOOM!

Something exploded so loud it made even me jump out of my chair.

“That wasn't me!” shouted Alkelios from outside the mansion.

BOOOM! BOOOM! BADABOOM!

“Ok… Now THAT was my fault… Ouch…” he said, and I rushed off to the window.

For a moment there, I thought my heart would stop in place. By the gods! I didn't know what was going to kill me faster, the illness or this boy and his potions!

Looking out the window, I saw him walking back to the mansion. His body was emanating a weird green smoke, and his hair was pink. Stopping in front of me, he lifted a finger up and opened his mouth.

“Never mix Tiber Rice with Green Zerdrak…” and then walked off like nothing happened.

“Tiber Rice and Green Zerdrak?” I said and knitted my brow.

I never heard of those two herbs in my entire life… Just what was that boy concocting in that lab of his?

“Ah! My skin is back to normal!” the maid jump up in joy, and I could only sigh.

[Alkelios' point of view]

 If there was one thing I was forced to learn about my [Bartender] skill that was the fact that it was a bit hard to apply in practice. On one note, following the recipes made things far easier, but actually getting the right quantity in was a nightmare. For some of the simpler potions, I was able to easily make them, but the complicated ones were very hard, but I was improving at a surprising rate, most likely due to the skill's influence. When it came to using the knife, I was a master. I always made perfect cuts, but using the balance wasn't so easy.

The skill showed me the recipe step by step on how to make it, but the quantity was offered in grams, while the dragons had some weird symbol on it translated as Merk, which was the rough equivalent of 1.25 grams. Surprisingly, only Alchemy used this stupid weight measuring system. Either that or Kataryna offered me some old tools that weren't updated to the new measurement systems.

The first two days, I spent them practicing making simple potions and getting the weights right. That being said, who knew you could make exploding cabbages? On the other hand, I did better in making jam.

Well, most of those things were nothing more than practical jokes. Their usefulness in real combat was close to zero, but maybe a skilled prankster would make some good use of them. Either way, they weren't going to be part of my weapon arsenal.

About 6 days after I sent the girls to bring me those herbs, they finally returned with everything on the list. Both Kataryna and Seryanna were out of breath and looked like they went through Hell and back. They were both dirty, and their armors were in tatters. Of course, they were wearing different ones than those they used when we went to rescue Kleo. Seryanna's dragon knight armor was cracked and damaged in various places. As for Kataryna's, let's just say it stopped serving the purpose of armor the moment it began to disintegrate as a result of a certain Phoenix' attack.

Speaking of which, the black-scaled dragoness managed to finish her task before the end of the day. I had no idea how she did it, but apparently she was the one responsible for a new rumor spreading around town, something about spooky dark shadows moving left and right through the woods. I didn't ask her, and I simply played the innocent fool. What I didn't know anything about couldn't hurt me, especially when it came to ghosts and other creepy crawlers.

“So? Who won?” asked Kataryna while swaying her tail left and right.

I had the feeling she enjoyed the hunt for the herbs.

“Who?” asked Seryanna, squinting her eyes at me.

“Erm… no one. Both of you got here at the same time.” I shrugged and looked through the herbs.

“Then… I'll just do this!” said Kataryna with an annoyed voice.

The moment when I looked towards her, I saw a very rare and sexy scene… The dragoness grabbed the redhead's head with both palms and gave her such a kiss, it simply dumbfounded the knight. I was gasping as well because I never thought the silver-scaled dragoness would do something as outrageous as that.

“I'll give my thumbs up for that!” I said with a perverted grin.

“Hihihi!” Kataryna winked at me.

“What was that all about?!” shouted Seryanna as she threw a nearby empty basket at me.

Using [Dodge], I was able to avoid it, while Kataryna played the joke a bit further and slapped the redhead's behind.

“Hey!” she shouted.

The silver-scaled dragoness ignored her and walked off, swaying her hips left and right.

Pouting, Seryanna shot me a glare and then left as well.

I smirked and returned to my work. Of course, I did tell the maid to offer them some of the jam I cooked up. Apparently, Brekkar found it delicious.

About one day later, I finally managed to brew the potion. It was a nightmare to do so, especially since I ruined the first batch because I sneezed. Using my [Bartender] skill and after training on how to more or less approximate the correct quantity, I was able to do it properly.

[Night Breeze Potion of One Million Deaths] potion was a very complicated one because it actually required to make four different potions, then I had to mix them up like one would do an alcoholic drink. Stir the result with a silver spoon, then dip a root of Rosiette in it, leave it like that for two hours, and it was ready to consume.

“Here!” I told Brekkar with a big smile.

“Alkelios? What is it? It's three hours past midnight… Can't we do this in the morning?” he asked.

“Nope! When brewed, you drink! That's the rule!” I nodded.

“Ugh… Do I really have to?” he asked raising an eyebrow at me.

“Yes!” I nodded a few times.

He took a glance at the suspicious-looking drink and then back at me.

“Really really?” he asked.

“Ask one more time, and I'll call Kataryna here to hold you still, and I will pour it down your throat no matter if you want to or not. I stayed up for three freaking nights to make this… Don't mess around with a sleep deprived alchemist.” I glared at him.

Actually, just two days, the first parts were ready by the time Kataryna and Seryanna showed up, but meh… who's counting? I thought.

“Ugh…” Brekkar was reluctant, but he picked up the glass and slowly poured it down his throat.

It was a bit murky and probably tasted like crap, but who cared? It had all the right ingredients and most importantly, it was the genuine stuff.

“There…” he said.

“Alright! Now, just sleep. When you wake up, your body should be cured… Erm you have no problems with growing breasts and maybe an extra arm from your stomach, right?” I told him and then shrugged “Meh, you'll get used to it.” I turned around, and with a mischievous smirk on my lips, I walked out.

“What? Breasts? An extra arm? What in the name of all the gods did you put in this thing? Alkelios! Hey! I demand you answer me! Ugh… I don't feel too good…” and he dropped like a rock.

“Just as I predicted, although… I should probably pull him back in bed.” I said as I walked back to him.