Above the mage

Chapter 3 [Torture]

After passing through the narrow, curved corridor, you can see a slightly larger, dark brown door at the end of the corridor.

The experienced apprentice leading the way stopped in front of the door and carefully knocked three times.

The knocking sounded particularly abrupt in the quiet environment.

"Master Seda, God has brought him."

As the sound faded, the tightly closed door was opened.

"He can come in."

A deep, unpleasant sound drifted out of the room.

The apprentice who was leading the way respectfully replied "Yes" and silently withdrew.

Gao De's gaze fell into the room through the doorway. The light inside was dim, so he couldn't see what was inside, but the oppressive atmosphere was real, as if a dangerous beast was hiding inside, ready to devour him at any moment.

After a moment's hesitation, Gaode strode inside.

The moment he stepped into the room, the door closed silently and automatically again.

My vision was first blurred, then shrouded in a dim yellow light.

As far as the eye could see, Gao De saw an extremely long log table, on which were scattered parchment and some simple tools: a balance scale for weighing, a grinder for grinding medicine powder, and wooden shelves with many slender glass bottles resembling test tubes.

To the left of the long table was a huge bookshelf, on which were neatly arranged books.

Near the right side of the long table is a crucible, and underneath the crucible is a complex heating device.

Gao De's gaze swept quickly across the room, finally landing behind the long table.

There was a high-backed chair, and a person who wasn't very tall was sitting with his back to him.

Gao De knew in his heart that he was Master Seda.

"Master Seda." Gao De stared at Master Seda's back, tilted his upper body slightly at about fifteen degrees, bowed to Master Seda, and then returned to his original position.

He was unfamiliar with the etiquette of this world, so he could only use the most common Western bow to express his respect for Master Seda.

As Gao De spoke, Master Seda turned around.

When Gao De saw the true face of Master Seda for the first time, he was slightly surprised.

From the back, Master Seda was not tall, but there was nothing unusual about him. However, from the front, what came into view was a pale and lifeless face, as if his time was up.

"Cough cough." Master Seda coughed twice and said weakly, "You've come, my good apprentice."

"I heard you've woken up," a strange expression appeared on his withered face, and he seemed somewhat excited. "Tell me quickly, how are you feeling right now?"

Master Seda stared intently at Gaode, a hint of anxiety and anticipation flashing deep in his eyes.

As expected, Master Seda's question was exactly what Gao De had anticipated; he had already prepared the answer on his way there.

"Compared to before taking the medication, there doesn't seem to be much change," Gao De shook his head, then hesitated, "except for being unconscious for a while."

"No change?" Upon hearing this, Master Seda's expression immediately darkened, and his tone became much harsher.

"How could there be no change? Either you're dead, or there shouldn't be no change!"

When Gao De saw Master Sai Da's reaction, his heart skipped a beat, and a sense of unease arose spontaneously.

However, he wasn't afraid that Master Seda would realize that his body had been replaced.

For Master Seda, these apprentices were nothing more than expendable objects. He wouldn't normally pay attention to their habits and personalities, so naturally he had no reason to notice any changes in them.

"Come here!" Master Seda suddenly snorted coldly.

Gao De put on a fearful expression and hurriedly stepped forward, stopping only when his body was close to the long table. He nodded slightly, not daring to look directly at Master Seda.

Master Seda stared intently at Gaode, expressionless, and remained silent for a long time.

Gao De knew that he was unhappy and wouldn't take the initiative to provoke the other party, so he wisely stopped making any moves and waited for the other party to speak first.

After a long while, Master Seda still did not speak.

The atmosphere was strange, and Gao De felt a little uneasy, glancing slightly upwards.

"If you want to look, then look. Are you sneaking around because you have a guilty conscience?" The somber voice of Master Seda suddenly rang out.

Gao De's gaze faltered for a moment, then he raised his head, his eyes sweeping over Master Seda's face before quickly looking away.

Master Seda looked at the obsequious God with a forced smile, his gaze darkening.

The next instant, Gao De felt a sudden force pushing him forward from behind.

He was already close to the long table, and with this push, his entire upper body leaned forward.

Then, as if he had expected it, Master Seda stretched out his right hand and grabbed God's neck like a pair of pliers.

The mage Seda's grip wasn't very strong, yet it inflicted indescribable pain on God.

The pain was so intense that Gao De almost fainted and felt nauseous, wanting to vomit.

The feeling was as if the palm of the sorcerer Seda was covered with sharp thorns, which then pierced his neck, penetrated his bones, and stirred his marrow.

Of course, it's impossible for a mage like Seda to grow sharp thorns.

Gao De understood that this was the effect of "magic".

"Master...I..." he said, his voice trembling.

"After taking the medicine, do you really feel that your body hasn't changed at all?" Master Seda asked the same question he had asked before.

"Yes." Despite the intense pain, Gao De answered with difficulty.

Master Seda frowned. "That is indeed the truth."

After a pause, his voice returned to its calm tone, and he loosened his grip on Gao De, saying, "I doubt you'd dare lie to me. Now, get out of here."

"Yes," Gao De, who had just recovered from the intense pain, replied hurriedly in a trembling voice, and then staggered away from the room.

The huge room was now empty except for the monk Seda.

His withered face was indistinct in the shadows, and no one knew what he was thinking.

"Phew~"

After a long while, Master Seda let out a long sigh, venting his frustration, and his self-talk echoed in the secluded room.

"At least the apprentice who participated in the drug trial survived, which proves that my direction is correct. Adding sage can effectively neutralize the medicinal conflicts between other herbs."

"But there's still a problem. Why isn't it working? Is it because the sage also neutralized the psychic properties of the psychic bone powder?"

Master Seda didn't doubt that Gaode was lying. He was high above and didn't think that these "ants" he could crush with one hand would dare to play any tricks on him—even if they did, did they have the ability?

Before magic, all cunning and trickery are futile.

Just now, he used a magic trick to "torture" Gaode.

[Torture] (Necromantic, 0 Rings):

Make contact with the target and threaten them with strange pain caused by magic, then question them.

The target can choose not to answer the questions truthfully, but the threat of pain will make you realize that the target is lying.

The magic proved that Gao De was not lying.

"Let's try replacing the ten-year-old sage with the five-year-old sage again!" Over here, Master Seda gritted his teeth and finally made up his mind.

The reason he had to grit his teeth was that the main ingredient for the medicine he was preparing, "spiritual bone powder," was extremely expensive, even for him.

Moreover, spiritual bone powder is not a common material, and even if you have money, you may not be able to buy it; you have to wait.

He has already used up the bone powder he purchased last time.

Only one herbal medicine shop in the city regularly stocked small quantities of Tongling bone powder, which he had already bought up entirely.

This herbal medicine shop usually restocks once a month, and it's only the second day of the month, meaning there's still almost a month until their next restock.

"I guess I'll just have to wait another month..."

"I don't have much time left."

"I must hurry and break through to become a first-ring mage!"

(End of this chapter)