I'm a proper student; I only take nine kinds of potions every day.

Chapter 198 Princess, if you want to eat my flesh, just tell me in advance!

Listening to the voice in his mind, Evan followed the dark and damp stone steps upwards.

A dozen seconds later, the dim world suddenly became bright.

Unlike a real winter when it's completely dark, it's about four o'clock in the afternoon, just before dusk.

The climate is roughly between late summer and early autumn, quite cool overall, with a dry, grassy scent in the wind.

Stepping out through the wooden door on the left, you'll find yourself in a remarkably realistic medieval town.

Everywhere there were low, two-story stone houses with dark terracotta roofs, and several tall mage towers stood on either side, with a continuous stretch of castles in the distance.

Fortunately, this place is somewhat different from the real Middle Ages. At least the ground is not the kind of dirt road full of silt and excrement, but a clean and tidy bluestone road with a few clumps of moss growing out of the cracks.

At this time, there were many people coming and going on the street, all dressed in medieval attire, with different expressions, making it impossible to tell if they were real or fake.

Both sides of the road were lined with all sorts of stalls and shops, selling fruit, fish, weapons, and medicine—

The shouts rose and fell, mingling with the smoke from cooking fires and the smell of fish, creating a lively atmosphere.

At this moment, Evan even had the illusion that he had once again traveled through time and arrived in a magical otherworld full of fantasy.

Turning his gaze back, he saw that he was in a completely black magic tower, about four stories high.

The tower looks quite ancient, with dark black stone bricks worn mottled by time, and various kinds of withered vines climbing all around. Several narrow windows are arranged in a spiral shape upwards along the tower.

Thick smoke was billowing out of several of the windows, turning the spire gray and giving off a faint smell of burning herbs.

The newcomer, Evan, was a little lost and had no idea where to deliver the medicine to the princess.

He looked down and saw that his crucible was still in his arms, but a round bottle had appeared in his palm at some point.

The bottle contained a scarlet liquid.

Upon seeing the liquid, Evan swallowed hard, instinctively wanting to taste its saltiness.

Just then, a commanding voice rang out from above: "Potion Apprentice, what are you doing! Come with me right now!"

The princess is waiting for your potion!

Upon hearing this, Ivan turned his head and saw a tall young man wearing silver-gray armor and with a sword at his waist standing not far away.

The armor was polished to a gleaming shine, with intricate patterns on the shoulder blades, but the face was taut and full of impatience.

Faced with that bossy tone, Ivan immediately flashed his sunny, cheerful, and innocent smile: "My lord, I'm coming!"

Just then, the hazy, seductive witch's voice echoed in Evan's mind again.

"Your naive and foolish appearance earned you the contempt and disdain of the princess's guards, which reduced his suspicion of you to some extent."

"Continue playing your part, Potions Apprentice, and you'll win the witch's favor!"

Ivan followed closely behind the knight, his mind racing as he pondered the strangeness of the place.

"The panel just now mentioned the remnant soul of a superior being—combining what Armitage and Eldin said earlier."

"In other words, a portion of the soul of the high-ranking judge who died here has been integrated into the rules of this space."

"Simply put, it has become the rule system here."

"Judging from the hint just now, it's not necessarily true that one must be a lady to gain the favor of a witch."

"It's about playing your role well!"

Thinking of this, Ivan's bright smile became even more unrestrained.

"I'm extremely good at this!"

The knight leading the way looked at Ivan's silly grin and felt nothing but disdain.

"How could that witch possibly take such an idiot as an apprentice?"

The two then followed the winding road uphill and arrived at the endless castles located on the hillside.

The castle is similar to the fantasy castles Ivan has seen in anime and games, only much smaller in scale.

The gray stone wall is about three stories high, with a conical tower at each of the four corners, and several triangular flags stuck on the top of the tower.

The city wall has rows of narrow arrow slits, while the main gate is a heavy iron gate with a hanging gate.

The knight led Ivan through the small door on the left, and the first thing they saw was a dimly lit hall.

The hall was quite spacious, with various wild animal trophies hanging on the walls on both sides.

Besides the heads of lions and tigers and animal skins, Evan also saw some monsters on it.

The most eye-catching feature is a huge griffin head, nearly 1.5 meters in diameter, hanging from the ceiling.

Its beak was slightly open, and its eyes, the size of crystal balls, gleamed coldly in the dim light, as if it were alive.

Before Evan could see clearly, the knight led him up the spiral staircase on the left, and they soon arrived at the third floor of the castle.

At the entrance to the third floor of the castle, the knight urged impatiently, "Hurry up, apprentice, the court mage is waiting for you."

Ivan smiled and strode forward, past the knight, and saw a figure in front of him dressed in a mage's robe, holding a vine staff.

A young man with a serious and meticulous demeanor stood there.

Seemingly hearing Ivan's footsteps, he turned his head and asked, "How is it? The princess is still waiting!"

I----"

The moment the court mage turned his head, he and Ivan were both stunned.

Because this court mage was none other than Pilsner, the underling whom Evan had previously taken in.

At this moment, Pilsson was in a much better state than before, when he was timid and submissive.

His already handsome face radiated confidence and high spirits.

When he saw Ivan, after a brief moment of surprise, he immediately looked happy and was about to greet him when Ivan shut him down with a look.

Pilsson immediately understood Ivan's meaning and subtly approached: "Where's the potion, apprentice?"

Ivan then smiled and handed over the potion bottle, tentatively asking, "My lord mage, what does the princess need the potion for?"

Normally, Pearson would have rebuked him, but when faced with Ivan's question, Pearson calmly replied.

"The princess nowadays also wants to become a witch, so she is currently training in potion resistance."

As they moved forward, Pilsner said, "At the same time, at eight o'clock in the evening, the princess will also have a potion duel with another newly ascended witch."

Ivan was taken aback: "What's a potion duel?"

Pierson said, "This area is the witch's domain, and the people here greatly worship potions."

"Since this area does not allow intentional harm, the only way to kill the other party is to concoct potions with extremely deadly side effects."

"But the primary effect must be positive and effective!"

He paused, then looked at Ivan and said meaningfully, "Because witches crave new potions, not new poisons."

Hearing this, Ivan nodded knowingly, thinking to himself, "No wonder! They're gathering these extraordinary individuals together to use them as test subjects for drugs—"

"It also forces these extraordinary individuals to concoct new potions!"

"Good heavens! These witches are far more powerful than Pris and Byron outside!"

"There may be no intention to harm—but other means can be used to commit murder—"

"That's interesting!"

At this point, Pilsner continued, "Young apprentice, you're new here, so be careful. Potions are extremely dangerous."

"Because many of the conspiracies and schemes here are related to potions, the probability of important apprentices being silenced is also the highest."

"In the month I've been here, twelve of my apprentices have gone missing."

Ivan raised an eyebrow: "Isn't it said that intentional harm is not allowed?"

Pilsson squinted and said, "That's daytime. During the day, this is the domain of ordinary people, and they should follow the rules of ordinary people."

"As long as there is no intentional harm involved, you will not violate any rules."

"But the nights here are extremely dangerous; the night is the domain of the superhumans."

"As long as you kill someone and the local indigenous people don't consider you the murderer, you won't be punished."

Upon hearing this, Evan immediately recalled what Eltin had told him before.

Of the extraordinary individuals who come here, only one in ten survives.

"That's interesting!" After hearing the rules of the script, Evan grinned, his face full of eagerness.

"So that knight was a native, and playing that role well can reduce their suspicion of me!"

Looking at Ivan's current state, Pilsson sighed inwardly.

Just then, the two of them walked through the corridor and arrived at the entrance of the hall.

Then, a scream came from inside.

Pilsson whispered, "Be careful, Princess Sap is quite arrogant and domineering, and is known as the Vampire Princess."

"She needs fresh blood to drink before she can take any potion."

"Sap!?" Ivan raised an eyebrow.

Pilsson nodded. "You guessed right, it's that Sap."

Ivan then understood.

Then you see the four-meter-high door, covered with various exquisite gemstones and gold patterns, being pushed open.

A pale-faced young man dressed in a magic robe stumbled out.

He covered his neck with his left hand, and blood was still flowing out uncontrollably, seeping out from between his fingers.

"The blood is too pale! Next!" A deep, resonant voice rang out.

Pilsson warned warily, "Be careful!"

Then, he led Evan through the door and into a luxurious living palace that spanned over 100 square meters.

The floor was covered with a thick red carpet, and the walls were draped with luxurious brocade curtains. Rows of candles burned on several candelabra, illuminating the entire hall in a magnificent golden light.

At this moment, on both sides, there were more than a dozen maids dressed in medieval court attire, all pale-faced with their heads down, not daring to breathe.

Behind the gauze curtain directly in front, a burly and robust body leaned against the bed.

"Holy crap!"

Upon seeing this body, Ivan immediately recalled the creature called "Mountain Demon" from an anime he watched as a child.

These two things look almost identical, except that this one has a deathly pale skin.

At this moment, Pilsner stepped forward with the potion and said, "Your Highness, beautiful princess! Your potion has been brought!"

Princess Sap gave a cold "hmm" upon hearing this, and then an invisible force emanated from her, holding the vial in her palm.

She easily unscrewed the potion bottle, then pointed at Ivan with her finger: "Why do you smell like both a witcher and a ghoul at the same time?"

She then carefully sensed him, and sneered, "What a lowly witcher!"

"Looks like you and that new witch, Reinhardt, are both a bunch of bastards!"

Upon hearing the name, Ivan's heart skipped a beat: "Reinhardt? The Witcher?"

He remembered very clearly that Hill's name contained the surname "Reinhardt".

At this moment, Ivan remembered the information that Pilsson had just discussed with him, and he instantly understood!

The target this woman wants to eliminate with the potion is probably Hill, who seems to have become a witch.

"In that case, there's no need for you to keep it."

Thinking of this, a chill ran through Ivan's heart, and then a plan took shape in his mind.

Princess Sap had already swallowed the potion and then casually tossed the bottle back.

Evan quickly caught the bottle.

Just as Evan caught the bottle, Princess Sap's body, which was as large as a mountain of flesh, floated over on its own.

A large, fat face, short limbs, deathly pale skin, and strange bluish-black veins—

At first glance, it looks like a rotting corpse.

Before Evan could react, the woman's fat hand grabbed his arm, and her disgusting mouth bit down on it.

Having planned ahead, Evan offered no resistance, his face filled with bewilderment and terror.

Princess Sap, having torn off a large chunk of flesh, chewed the meat in her mouth for a while, then her expression showed a hint of surprise.

"I didn't expect that the Demon Hunter, who smelled so bad, would have such delicious flesh and blood. The quality is quite good!"

With a trembling voice, Ivan asked, "Your Highness, why do you want to eat my flesh? You didn't even let me prepare beforehand."

Princess Sap shouted after hearing this, "You are my slave! You have no right to question me!"

"Go back immediately and continue concocting medicine for me. Deliver the Soul-Shattering Elixir to me before 8 PM tonight."

"Master, take him away!"

Afterwards, led by Pilsson, Ivan quickly left the room.

Pilsner asked with concern, "Are you alright?"

Ivan nodded: "I'm fine, it just hurts a little!"

Pilsson lowered his voice and said, "I have my own things to do and can't leave here."

"Remember, never leave the mage tower at night."

"If you're coming to deliver the medicine today, try to arrive before 6 o'clock, or you'll miss it."