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

Chapter 202 An Irresistible Condition: The Official Contractor!

This is in conjunction with the side effects of the previously absorbed Insightful Potion via rectal absorption.

Your willpower has been greatly increased. Your spirit has been permanently increased by 0.1.

[Your brain's resilience has increased. Physical and mental abilities permanently increased by 0.04.]

Ivan feels his mental state is now incredibly stable.

"I feel like I could make eye contact with Krishnamurti for at least five minutes right now —"

"Alright, let's be conservative, one minute it is!"

After reviewing the side effects of these potion reversals, and considering the current side effects of the three potions, Evan vaguely guessed some patterns.

"In other words, after these high-level permanent potions are injected, the improvement is no longer in physical constitution, but in some mechanical aspects."

"I just don't know if the effects of these mechanisms can be stacked?"

Just as Evan was pondering this, he suddenly felt the entire house shake violently.

"Does this place also experience earthquakes!?"

Evan thought to himself, then rushed from the bedroom to the front hall and pushed open the door.

Immediately afterwards, he saw a violent shaking occurring in the hazy area in the distance outside the town.

The surrounding trees and mountains were crushed and shredded by an invisible force, as if a giant snake was moving back and forth across the ground.

You can vaguely see some tentacles-like things slapping back and forth.

At that moment, the other eight witch towers emitted an eerie light, which combined to form a complex and magnificent magic circle in the sky above the town.

It seemed to contain countless shapes of roses, thorns, and other plants, layered and overlapping, covering the entire night sky.

As the magic circle lit up, the enormous presence in the distance gradually subsided and then disappeared completely a few minutes later.

"What is this thing!?"

Evan's eyes widened, his face full of curiosity.

Just then, with a flash of light, a slightly tired Hill appeared beside him.

Upon seeing Ivan, her wild and manic expression instantly switched, transforming into that familiar senior sister look.

Seemingly due to the deep communication and bond she has been having with herself these past few days, Hill's control over her witch powers has become quite precise and mature.

The most striking thing is that she can now completely control the switching of her mental state.

Hill said, "It's the leader of the burrowing worms, Shud Meier. You need 65 points of Insight to see him."

Ivan's eyes widened: "65 points of spiritual vision? Who is this Shud Meier? Is he that awesome?"

He had heard of the burrowing worm when he watched those tabletop role-playing game videos on Earth.

It's a mid-game boss, very afraid of water, and can be killed by exploiting certain mechanics.

However, typical individuals are only a dozen meters tall, so their destructive power couldn't possibly be that great.

Evan exclaimed in surprise, "Wow! No wonder! You banished the Great Old Ones!?"

Hill tapped Ivan's forehead with her pale index finger: "What are you thinking about~"

"The burrowing worm has a very strong telepathic ability and was just communicating and negotiating."

"The nine of us used the protection of the magic array here to share the burden of spiritual wear and tear."

At this point, Hill said with a grave expression, "It seems that something big is about to happen in reality."

Evan diligently massaged his senior sister's shoulders: "How so?"

Hill leaned back comfortably in his chair: "The burrowing worms are terrified of water, and their habitat used to be very stable."

"But recently, a large amount of water suddenly appeared in the area where it is located."

"The dream world can be seen as a mirror of the real world, and the state of the real world often affects the geological structure and weather of the dream world."

"Do you know what it means when a lot of water suddenly appears in a certain area of ​​the Dreamland?"

Evan recalled the magical knowledge he had been cramming on these past few days: "The symbol of water is an inverted triangle, one of the four basic elements."

"Water is an excellent base for magic potions, and it also carries many other meanings such as dissolving, purifying, washing, and rebirth through the cycle of life and death."

Hill nodded: "Simply put, in the real world, there are people who have accumulated a lot of spirituality and are carrying out some kind of large-scale ritual of life and death."

"If this ritual succeeds, it will affect a great many people, so even before it succeeds, it has already caused strange phenomena in the dream world."

Upon hearing this, Ivan immediately thought of Klaus's ghouls' plan.

Hill now seems to be quite perceptive of Evan's condition, thanks to the frequent and deep connections and understanding between the two.

"You seem to have thought of something?"

Ivan hummed in agreement, and then recounted some of the information he had gleaned from the memories of the ghoul wizard Pru.

"The Bone Saint!?"

Upon hearing the name, Hill suddenly stood up, then touched her fair chin and nodded in realization.

"No wonder things haven't been peaceful in the underworld lately. It seems the ghouls are indeed up to something big."

Evan stretched and said, "It seems I should return to the real world. By the way, Hill, how do I get back?"

'

Hill snapped out of her daze and said, "Oh, so you came in through the Witch of Doom's ascension ritual, and now that you've betrayed her, there's no way to go back through her ritual."

"I can hold a ceremony to send you back."

Evan hummed in agreement and placed his hands on Hill's shoulders: "Good senior sister, take care."

"I'll come to see you often from now on!"

Hill grunted, "Every Wednesday!!"

"The audience with me takes place on Wednesday, and I have already told you the procedure many times these past few days!"

"Don't be late again!"

Ivan hugged her and kissed her hard: "I understand!"

Hill then skillfully drew a magic circle, placed several materials inside that Evan couldn't explain, and finally had Evan stand in the center of the magic circle.

Since it wasn't a matter of life and death, neither of them said much.

Hill quickly chanted a spell, and Evan instantly felt a dizzying sensation.

But during this process, Ivan suddenly sensed the intervention of another force.

This power is so twisted, giving one the feeling of ice and fire intertwined, light and darkness fused together —

Completely opposite forces were forcibly brought together, like a bomb about to explode at any moment.

"You can die now, you filthy rat."

At this moment, the voice of the Witch of Misfortune rang out in this chaotic space-time.

Faced with this situation, Ivan was just about to infuse the tattered pages of the Necronomicon in his rectum with spirituality—

Just then, Hill's arrogant and insane voice rang out.

"roll!!"

Bang!

Amidst the chaos, the two forces seemed to be colliding and entangled violently in that special space-time.

It gives the impression of two women fighting, frantically tearing each other's hair.

It was in this gap that Evan suddenly came to his senses and found himself back in Dr. Armitage's magic workshop.

Hearing the commotion inside, Armitage quickly pushed the door open and came in. He saw Ivan sitting there, staring blankly and looking silly, holding a brass crucible.

Armitage strode over and asked, "How is it, Arkham?"

Ivan blinked, then smiled and said, "It's nothing, I was just watching my senior sister fight!"

Seeing the familiar smile on Ivan's face, Armitage breathed a sigh of relief.

"What happened inside? I don't see you used the backup plan I gave you."

Ivan got up and quickly explained the situation inside in detail.

After listening, Armitage's eyes, behind his reading glasses, flashed with surprise a few times, but he finally nodded.

"That's good too. The relationship between superhumans and mortals has always been very difficult to handle."

"Adolf—no, it should be Reinhardt, this is a relief."

He then led Evan out of the magic workshop and sat down in a chair.

"I am aware of the situation. Judging from Reinhardt's current condition, she is in good condition and we don't need to worry about her too much."

"While witches are often seen as parasites and calamities, the key lies in the person who wields that power."

Armitage stroked his chin and muttered to himself, "I never imagined the Twilight Rose Sanatorium would have such a function—"

"Next time I have time, I can go and say hello."

Ivan tentatively asked, "Doctor, have you had any prior contact with this place?"

Armitage shook his head: "The Dream Realm is vast, even larger than the real world."

"We are currently in the Eastern Continent, in an area close to the Eastern Desert."

"The Twilight Rose Sanatorium is located in the western continent, in the northern part of the Rocky Desert."

"The two regions are separated by the central ocean and the Sea of ​​Selenaur, and are quite far apart."

"To make an analogy, it's like the distance between the United States and Australia."

Ivan recalled the world map from his memory: "I understand."

After quickly explaining Hill's situation, Evan recounted his experiences before leaving.

Armitage nodded: "The burrowing worm uprising—it is indeed related to those ghouls."

"The church and nobles are not useless either; they have already begun mobilization here."

"This morning, Richard returned to Bolton, and David and Erlon have been conscripted."

"It looks like we've reached the point of showing our cards."

Evan raised an eyebrow: "Recruit them? Shouldn't they be my men now? Vic should give me that favor."

Armitage nodded: "Of course Vic will give you that courtesy; it was David and the others who offered."

"Vic offered a deal that was impossible to refuse."

Hearing this, Ivan raised an eyebrow: "What are conditions that are impossible to refuse?"

Armitage said meaningfully, "Contractual staffing."

"Upon completion of this mission, your entire faction will not only receive a generous reward, but also the recipes for the Ironblood Potion and the Lion Potion."

"We can also establish a super organization with you as its leader, authorized by official law enforcement."

"In the future, you can accept relevant tasks from the official extraordinary system, earn commissions, and be free from official constraints."

Have you ever heard of the once-famous Pinkerton Detective Agency?

Ivan nodded: "Of course!"

Armitage said, "In the future, your form will be similar to this, belonging to the official extraordinary contractors."

"This is an offer that no witcher faction can refuse."

"For many years, the core pain point for witchers has been the lack of stable employment and the inability to reliably obtain monster materials and potions."

"Furthermore, because hunting monsters is extremely dangerous, there are no corresponding protective measures or wounded personnel containment systems."

"This makes the Witcher's mortality rate extremely high."

"This directly led to the natural extinction of many demon-hunting factions over time."

After hearing these explanations, Evan finally understood the true value of this condition.

Armitage stood up, supporting himself with his hands, and stared at Ivan with his deep and wise eyes.

"You should know who their real target is, just as Hill told you, you inherited Rhine's extraordinary qualities."

"This already implies that you will need to become the leader of this faction in the future."

"With these conditions offered, this job is definitely not going to be easy."

"But if you can lead them through this hurdle, your faction will surely be able to quickly expand and multiply in the future."

Hearing this, Ivan took a deep breath: "I understand, Doctor."

"When Hill gave me his extraordinary abilities, and when Richard was willing to fight to the death with Priss for me, our fates were already intertwined."

"Just as Hill said, the world is bound to change dramatically in the future, and the Witcher's current niche is too fragile."

"We must now proactively seek change and expand our reach as much as possible."

As he spoke, Ivan grinned broadly and said, "I may not be good at business or anything like that, but luckily I'm full of clever ideas!"

"I believe there are some brilliant ideas that will allow us to gain a foothold in this rapidly changing environment."

Armitage laughed heartily: "I'm relieved that you have such confidence!"

Suddenly, Ivan remembered something and asked, "Doctor, I remember I spent more than ten days in the Dreamland. How many days have passed here?"

Armitage waved his hand: "The flow rates on both sides are different. Only a day and a half has passed here, or a day and two nights."

Upon hearing this, Ivan's eyes lit up: "Isn't this the Time Chamber? Doesn't that mean we can go to the Dream Realm to cultivate?"

""

Armitage shook his head: "Someone thought of this a hundred years ago, it's a real shame."

"Due to the laws governing matter, extraordinary characteristics developed within the Dream Realm are very prone to going out of control."

"After all, this is the realm of monsters and gods, and cultivating there will allow you to absorb a great deal of bestiality."

"If there are too many of these impurities, you're practically doomed to failure when it comes to promotion."

Ivan nodded, his eyes darting around as he thought to himself, "Cultivation won't work, but I can go there to digest the magic potions later!"

Seeing that Ivan had returned safely, Armitage then took him next door and made a long-distance phone call.

A moment later, Vic's voice came from the other end.

"Master Armitage, any news from Arkham?"

Armitage nodded: "I'm back safely. How's it going on your end?"

Vic said, "The Healing Church has already made its move; they raided a mine located in the suburbs."

"Everyone can sense that the Bone Saint has reached the final stage."

"We hope Arkham will return as soon as possible, as there are many problems related to potions right now."

"Richard and his team are having a bit of a runaway problem."

Armitage nodded: "I'll inform Richard and the others later and tell them not to worry, Ivan will be back tomorrow."

P.S.: A new group has been created. There are entrances in the introduction and at the end of the chapter. Brothers who are interested are welcome to join.