Chapter 72 Planning



After returning with Michaela close behind, Daniel found Ragnar grinning teasingly at him. Daniel sighed and sat on the same sofa he used before going out, ready to start the topic.

"Okay, I promise you on one condition…," Daniel began, looking solemnly at Yuki.

"You need to change your appearance. I don't want you to look like Wrath. If you do that, I'll create a new body for Victor and consider upgrading your body far beyond what you have right now," he offered.

"Wait...kid, you can create homunculi? What have you gotten yourself into?" Ragnar asked with concern mixed with admonishment.

"What do you mean, Lord Stenmark?" Daniel asked curiously.

"Wait, you don't know how to create a homunculus?!" Ragnar was startled, but then he smiled brightly as if he had realized something. "Oh, by building a body, you mean like a golem body, and upgrading her body should be like using an artifact to upgrade her body, right?" he asked.

Daniel was at a loss. Was his knowledge of alchemy and creating homunculi different from the norm in the Curtained World? This shouldn't be, right?

During the five days he was trapped in the emergency room, Daniel didn't stay cooped up with Michaela for nothing. He had already used the "Grand Alchemist" card to enhance himself and had maximized his level. 

He now had countless pieces of knowledge about alchemy, including how to create a homunculus and even how to create a Philosopher's Stone. He could even transmute ordinary stones into gold with his knowledge, not to mention several powerful special abilities he gained from his profession card.

Daniel didn't know how to explain it briefly, so he decided to demonstrate what he could do for Ragnar to see.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but let me demonstrate what I can do with alchemy first," Daniel said, reaching out for a glass of water on the table. He picked it up, and suddenly, a blue light shone on the glass for a moment before the light dimmed and the glass had turned into gold.

Ragnar was in shock as he witnessed a simple glass turn into gold. He knew that changing a material into gold was not impossible for alchemists, but it required equal material or a price equivalent to the mass of the material exchange, and it couldn't be done barehanded. They needed at least a small alchemist workbench or even an alchemist workshop to do it!

What shocked him even more was that Daniel did it barehanded like it was effortless. He just touched it, and the material turned into gold.

But Daniel didn't stop there. He placed the newly transformed gold glass on the table and showed his bare hand to Ragnar. A white light shone and condensed within his hand, forming a single prismatic stone that shone with a mysterious light.

"Is that… is that a philosopher's stone!? But wasn't the philosopher's stone supposed to be red!?" Ragnar exclaimed.

"I don't know if it was red or not, but this is what I learned from my teacher, Hermes Trismegistus," Daniel replied, borrowing Hermes' name from one of his card sets. As in the lore, Hermes was also the god of Alchemy, so he wasn't lying as what he had learned from the Grand Alchemist enchantment card came from Hermes himself.

"What!? Hermes Trismegistus!? You said Hermes Trismegistus!? Are you sure that was his name?" Ragnar asked again, stunned by the revelation.

"Yes, that was his full name," Daniel confirmed.

Upon hearing the confirmation without any sign of falsehood from Daniel, Ragnar was at a loss for words. 

A lot of conspiracy theories ran through his mind, each one more terrifying than the last. He decided that after they helped Wrath, he would go back to HQ and check on Grand Councilor Envy to ask for access to some of the information in the Level 9 Database.

He had a feeling that something very terrifying was happening behind the scenes.

"Kid… Do you know how philosopher's stones are created? What material is used to make them?" Ragnar asked again.

"Wasn't it pure and concentrated mana and a lot of understanding and practice about alchemy?" Daniel asked back, feeling a little bit confused at the question.

Ragnar shook his head. "No kid, it uses people's blood and soul as material. Transmuting hundreds or even thousands of people's lives, blood, and souls into a single Philosopher's Stone. That's why creating a Philosopher's Stone was restricted by the Hightower law without permission. No one could create a Philosopher's stone."

Daniel caught on to the keywords "restricted" not "prohibited" and "without permission", which meant it wasn't prohibited, and you could create that version of the philosopher's stone without consequences as long as one got permission.

"But your philosopher's stone is made from pure mana!? Was that even possible!?" Ragnar asked again, this time seeming to be more interested.

As for Greed, who had witnessed everything, she was already in a daze. Greed had more knowledge in this field than Ragnar because she is Sloth's employer. 

What Daniel showed her was no different than someone telling her that they had found a way to defy Newton's laws by creating an anti-gravity engine and had demonstrated it in front of her.

Her brain was completely short-circuited by the situation in front of her. That's why she didn't say anything until now, yes… until now.

"Mr. Magitek, may I inquire if you have already signed any contract about partnering with me in creating alternative energy sources or creating new clean technology?" Greed immediately entered her business mode as her iris shone golden light, the same as when Wrath was about to go out of control with anger.

It was the same for Greed right now. She was about to be consumed by her greed, her aspect of sin, the source of her power. 

Greed rushed towards Daniel, holding his hand with both of hers as if greeting a once-in-a-lifetime treasure.

"So, can you give me the answer right now? What do you wish in return? Money? My golden empire? Or even myself? Everything is possible, you can just only..." Greed's face got closer and closer to Daniel, making him start to feel uncomfortable while Michaela materialized her sword out of thin air.

But at that moment, a spark came out of nowhere from the back of Greed's neck, shocking her.

Greed screamed for a moment before calming down. Her bright golden iris dimmed and turned green, her natural eye color. She slowly sat down on her sofa and let out a sigh.

"What was that?" Daniel asked in confusion.

Greed smiled wryly and showed Daniel a small circular gadget that was stuck on the back of her neck. "I'm okay, Mr. Magitek. It's just a gadget that helps me control my power," she explained with a deflated tone. Then she quickly recovered.

Daniel thought about whether or not Greed's brain was still functioning properly after the shock, but he didn't say anything out loud. Instead, he just smiled wryly.

[Are you sure you're okay? You didn't get shocked to the point that your brain malfunctioned, right?] Daniel couldn't help but wonder, though he didn't say anything.

"Somehow, I think you're thinking something rude about me," Greed commented, then returned to her previous topic. "But seriously, Mr. Magitek, if you're interested in..." She was about to continue her pitch when Klaus interrupted with a fake cough.

"I believe we're already in the middle of the topic of how we could help Miss Wrath?" Klaus reminded them, signaling to focus on the matter at hand.

Yuki smiled wryly at Ragnar and Greed's antics. While Mr. Magitek's ability and talent were impressive, she couldn't believe they caused the patriarch of a large clan like Ragnar Stenmark and the CEO of the largest and wealthiest company on earth to lose their composure.

"Mr. Magitek, I accept your offer. Please help Victor after we rescue Miss Wrath," the homunculus nodded, accepting Daniel's offer.

"Do you have a plan on how to proceed? If not, I think I have some ideas," Greed offered.

"I'm new to the laws and customs of the Curtained World, so let's hear your plan first," said Daniel.

Greed's face lit up with pride. This was her strong point - scheming and plotting against others.

"Currently, Wrath is still imprisoned in the Willow Clan, right?" she asked, turning to Klause, who was still wearing a grumpy expression.

"That's correct," Klause confirmed, verifying the information that Greed knew.

"The first step is to bring Wrath out of their prison, just in case they get any ideas about doing something to her. However, they wouldn't dare do anything to make her angry, as she has the power to tear through any seal or prison if she's enraged enough. The advantage of the Wrath aspect is that nothing can keep her anger at bay, not even drugs or magic." Greed explained, putting to rest any worries Daniel may have had.