The Last Alchemist

After more than ten minutes, the smell in the cave had almost dissipated, and the temperature had dropped. Rosen walked into the cave.

On the ground in the center of the cave, all the black beads disappeared, leaving only a thin layer of lavender powder. In the middle of the powder was a skull with a grayish-white metallic luster. The skull could not withstand the high temperature, and it was shrunk to the size of a fist, and only the shape of the skull could be vaguely seen. .

'This skull looks like metal. '

Rosen stared at the skull for two seconds, and suddenly his eyes lit up, and more than a dozen lines of words appeared: 'Viken's skull, biological titanium alloy, Mohs hardness 10.5, tensile strength. '

A large string of text appeared in the field of vision, all of which were professional data describing the physical properties of materials. Most people would think it was like a heavenly book, but Rosen studied material physics. After a quick glance, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart: "Biological titanium alloy, the strength is almost 100 times that of ordinary carbon steel, and the hardness exceeds that of artificial diamond. No wonder Annie's steel sword can't cut it. "

"Is he dead? "Annie walked in.

Rosen sighed: "He should be dead."

Annie squatted down, looked at the burned skull, and looked around the melted rocks around the mountain wall. Finally, she turned to look at Rosen, with a face full of emotion: "The legendary high-level vampire that cannot be killed was actually killed by you. If it didn't happen in front of me, I really couldn't believe that all this was true."

Rosen scratched his head and smiled: "It's mainly because of good luck."

"No, it's not luck." Anne shook her head seriously: "I heard what Viken said at the end. He said you are the Apocalypse!"

Rosen couldn't help but sneer after hearing this: "You believe this kind of nonsense? If I were the Apocalypse, would it be so difficult to kill a high-level vampire? In addition, my alchemical talent is only slightly stronger than that of ordinary people. With this little power, if I want to be the Apocalypse who saves the world, isn't that courting death? ”

He was the first one who didn’t believe in the prophecy of apocalypse. Since he didn’t believe in the prophecy, he naturally sneered at the so-called apocalypse.

After hearing this, Annie was not so sure: “It seems to be true. I heard that when the fire prodigy Dirac was less than half a month old, his family suffered a fire and the whole building was burned down, but Dirac was fine. He even crawled happily in the fire. Since then, he has been called the Unburned One. In comparison, you don’t seem to be favored by the gods at all. ”

“That’s right.” Rosen spread his hands and said, “Okay, don’t think too much about these things. Anyway, we killed Viken and our lives are not in danger for the time being. Being alive is the most important thing, right?”

Annie nodded in agreement: “Yes, Viken’s death is the most important thing.”

She stopped worrying about the apocalypse and turned to look around the cave. A relaxed smile appeared on her face: “For the first time, I feel that being alive is a good thing. "

Here, Rosen squatted down and carefully collected the lavender dust on the ground. This thing weighed about 1 kilogram.

"Are these ashes useful?" Annie asked.

Rosen shook his head: "I don't know, but the ashes of high-level vampires are rare. Scarcity makes things valuable, maybe I can find a buyer."

He also picked up the skull that was shrunken to the size of a fist and stuffed it into the luggage package: "Annie, let's find a blacksmith to divide this thing into two parts, and we will each take half."

Annie also started to pack her luggage. She didn't even look at Viken's skull: "If you like it, take it. This thing is so hard that there is no blacksmith in the world who can separate it. Even if it can be separated, it can't be used. "

"Then I'll sell it for money, and then we'll each take half. There must be a magician who will be interested in it." Rosen said casually.

"No need. "Annie had packed her luggage. She didn't have much stuff, just a carry-on bag, an ordinary silver sword, and a broken steel sword. After packing, she walked to Rosen and handed him the cash box.

"What are you doing?" Rosen was puzzled.

"Your money, I'll give it back to you. There are about 2,700 ronds in it, and the remaining 300 ronds are my commission."

Rosen scratched his head: "Didn't you say it was all your commission?"

Annie shook her head: "You can't count it that way. This time, we were able to kill Viken, all thanks to your own strength, I just helped a little bit."

Rosen still didn't reach out to take it: "I don't want it. If you hadn't come to save me late at night, Viken would have sucked all my blood last night and turned me into a corpse. Besides, I've already given you 3,000 ronds, what's the big deal about taking it back?"

"Just take it!" Anne insisted on putting the money in Rosen's arms. She turned her head and looked at the woods, and said faintly: "Rosen, you are a knight, and you have your own manor. You will have to rebuild your family business in the future. You need this money more than a wanderer like me. "

"Wanderer? Rebuild your family business?" Rosen was slightly startled. He looked at Annie carefully and saw that her face was full of disappointment.

'She doesn't seem very happy?' Rosen was a little surprised. He recalled the mutant hunters he met in the game and thought about their experiences. Suddenly, he felt that he understood Annie's thoughts.

‘Mutant stalkers are the product of black magic. They are half human and half monster. Ordinary people are afraid of and reject them. Stalkers of this type usually have no friends. They wander alone on the fringes of human society, barely supporting themselves by relying on the rewards entrusted by monsters. The fate of most mutant stalkers is to die at the hands of a certain monster. No one wants to know about their lives, let alone care about their whereabouts. They were created quietly and died quietly, as if they had never existed in this world. ’

In the game, mutant stalkers are the most powerful, but they are also the loneliest.

Those young stalkers who have just left the academy often try their best to help ordinary people, hoping to gain goodwill, but reality will always reveal the cruelest side to them without reservation.

"Hahaha~~"

Rosen suddenly laughed.

Annie was puzzled by his laughter: "Why are you laughing?"

Rosen didn't answer but asked: "Annie, do you think I will return to Laplace Manor to inherit the family business?"

Anne looked at Rosen strangely: "Isn't it necessary? There are at least a thousand acres of land near the manor, and they are all fertile farmland. This is a huge wealth."

Rosen nodded: "You are right."

"Then you won't go back?" Annie was even more puzzled.

Rosen shook his head, with a firm face: "I won't go back, because I don't like that kind of life. I like alchemy, and I prefer to adventure around. More importantly, the blood mark magic on my body has not been lifted yet, low-level The effect of the anti-evil medicine can only last three days. After three days, I will have to take the medicine again and endure another wave of terrible pain. Also, if I stay in the manor until one day, the Blood Rose people come to hunt us down. Can’t you find me immediately?”

What he said was true, and his reasons were very good, but there was one most important thing he didn't say.

When he faced the vampire Viken before, he vowed to kill the monster into a protected animal. This was by no means an impulse, but the deepest thought in his heart. Now that Blood Rose has happened, it is destined that he will never be able to comfortably stay in one place and become a rich man in this life.

He has a strong feeling that in the foreseeable future, he will be dealing with and fighting monsters, becoming mortal enemies of each other. Now, what he should do most is to improve his strength instead of going back to guard that land?

Anne didn't expect Rosen to say this. She looked down at him, incredulously: "Hey little guy, I don't want 1,000 acres of fertile land, and you don't want the knighthood either? Now that Viken is dead, there is no longer any threat from him. The blood seal magic can be solved at any time."

Rosen shrugged: "My family's knighthood is just an honorary title. My father bought it from the Grand Duke of Delenn for 5,000 rands. I can't inherit it."

After saying that, before Annie could react, Rosen pushed back the money box in his hand: "As you said, the reward for killing Viken is 300 rands. But now, I want you to escort me to Huo Deburg’s reward for removing the blood seal magic is 2,700 rands. If you don’t accept this commission, I will go to Holderburg alone.”

Anne shook her head repeatedly: "No, no, no, you can't go alone. The north is a war-torn area. As soon as you leave the scope of the Principality of Delen, the roads are full of bandits and monsters. It's too dangerous for you to go alone!"

Rosen pushed the cash box and said, "Then escort me."

Anne looked helpless: "I really don't know what you little guy is thinking. Well, I will take you to Holderburg, but the reward does not need to be so much, 100 rands is enough."

She took out 100 rands from the cash box and then returned the remaining money to Rosen.

Rosen waved his hands repeatedly: "Don't give it back to me. This money is too heavy and I'm tired of carrying it. Besides, the journey north is not easy. It's not safe to put so much money on me, right?"

These words convinced Annie. She nodded and put the cash box away: "That's right. I'll keep it for you. If you want to use it, just tell me."

"Okay." Rosen responded simply, and then asked: "How should we go next?"

"Just come with me." Unconsciously, Anne's tone became very brisk. She walked in front and said as she walked: "I have to buy a new steel sword first. My leather armor is full of holes and I need to repair it. By the way, we also have to buy two horses. So we have to go about 40 miles northeast to the town of Sunderland, you know?"

"Sunderland is a small town, the most prosperous town within a hundred miles, of course I know. Let's go." Rosen agreed happily.

The two walked in tandem, with Annie in front and Rosen behind.

At first, the two chatted casually, with Annie telling some interesting anecdotes about her journey, and Rosen telling some simple but wonderful scientific theories.

The strange thing is that although the two of them had completely different topics, they still had a very pleasant conversation. When Annie talked about something interesting, Rosen always burst out laughing. And when Rosen said some wonderful theories that were obvious in everyday life but had never been thought of before, Anne's eyes sparkled and she sincerely admired Rosen's wisdom.

They kept chatting like this for several hours, both of them felt that they still had something to say, and they felt more relaxed than ever before.

Anne couldn't help but sigh: "To be honest, I haven't said as much this whole year as I did today."

Rosen smiled and said, "You must not have known before that you are actually a talkative person."

Annie reached out and gently hit Rosen's shoulder, saying angrily: "You are the one who talks too much."

"Ouch~ It hurts~" Rosen rubbed his shoulder with a painful look on his face.

Annie was startled: "Does it hurt? I didn't use any force."

"Haha~ I was kidding you." Rosen laughed.

"Go to hell." Anne waved her hand and pretended to hit him.

Rosen dodged hurriedly, and after dodging a few times, he suddenly stopped. The smile on his face instantly withdrew, and his eyes kept looking at the position beside Anne, with a heavy expression.

Annie noticed something was wrong and immediately turned her head to look. As a result, she saw that about 30 meters away, under a big locust tree on the roadside that was as thick as a man's arms, a highly decomposed corpse was half lying and half leaning.

Rosen put away his playful attitude and looked around vigilantly: "More than half of the flesh on the body is missing, and there are obvious signs of gnawing on the damaged parts of the body. Could it be done by a ghoul?"

'clang~'

Annie pulled out the silver sword with her right hand and took out the crossbow with her left hand.

"Let's go over and take a look."