The playful smile on Eren's lips disappeared. The time for games was over. It was time for him to get serious.
He had the precious Crystalline Herb in his possession, a herb that Zia had been searching for tirelessly. It was a powerful bargaining chip that he could use to his advantage.
Zia's anger turned into desperation as she realized the gravity of the situation. According to Eren, this was the last Crystalline Herb he had. If he broke it, even killing him a thousand times couldn't make up for it.
"What do you want?" she asked. "Do you want me to apologize? Do you want money? I'm willing to give you everything!"
"Everything?" Eren questioned, a hint of amusement in his tone. "Even yourself?"
"You..." Great Elder Zia looked at Eren in disgust.
Observing her reaction, Eren looked at Zia with a weird expression. He could roughly guess the strange thoughts that were going through her mind.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked, slightly annoyed. "Didn't I already tell you that I want you to be my disciple?"
Zia couldn't help but find her request absurd.
"Impossible!" she exclaimed. "I am the Great Elder of the Demon Sect. Not only am I in a higher position than you, but I am also stronger. What can you even teach me?"
With a calm and confident demeanor, Eren replied, "I can teach you how to make a deal with the man who holds what you want. Is that enough?"
Deep down, Eren knew that he couldn't truly teach her anything. Zia was not only stronger than him, but she was also a high-ranking alchemist.
If it wasn't for his system tricking him, he wouldn't even consider having Zia as his disciple.
Unfortunately, it was also because of her high position, he couldn't trick her into becoming his disciple. Hence, although evil, the only option for him was to blackmail her into becoming his disciple.
His priority was only retrieving his system before leaving for the Sect Master's mission.
Zia observed Eren's fingers around the crystalline herb. Just a little force and the entire herb could shatter, making it useless.
Ye Liang left the room with the Alchemy Hall Manager. Zia closed the door with a wave of her hand.
"Now that all the unnecessary people are gone, shouldn't you... pay respect to your master?" Eren smiled, enjoying the moment completely.
Zia's lips twitched in frustration. It was the most embarrassing day for her.
She took a deep breath and stepped forward, lowering her head respectfully. She poured tea in a cup. With her head down, she offered the tea to Eren.
"Disciple Zia greets Master."
Eren controlled his laughter, realizing how much Zia wanted to kill him right now.
He took the cup of tea from Zia. "Good disciple."
While taking the sip of tea, he could see a familiar notification appearing in the corner of his view.
[Congratulations on completing the Selected Option]
[You have been rewarded with knowledge and experience of a Seventh Grade Alchemy Grandmaster]
'Although I had to do some questionable things to get it back, but finally it's here.'
Following the notification, Eren went silent. Foreign memories started entering his head, all being related to Alchemy.
It was as if he was living the life of a Seventh Grade Alchemist, without having to go through unnecessary parts of their life.
He came to learn all the Alchemy recipes of the unknown alchemist whose memories he inherited. He even felt like he had been performing alchemy for centuries.
'How incredible... This Knowledge... No wonder Alchemists are so revered. Doesn't this mean I am in the same realm of Alchemy as my disciple?"
He raised his gaze, his smile widening.