From Alchemy Apprentice to All-Powerful God King

"Sleeping bug?"

As Matthew, hanging from the roof beam, watched the demonic insects continuously releasing white mist beside the bed, his face gradually darkened.

Both Sleep Bugs and Exploding Bugs are single-use magical insects, but the latter are generally used to deal with border monsters, while the former are usually used to deal with humans.

Inside the alchemy workshop, the apprentices were already familiar with the characteristics of these demonic insects and could recognize them at a glance.

However, before the first one was fully released, a second one flew in through the edge of the window.

"Are you trying to kill me?"

A single mollusc is enough to keep an ordinary person unconscious for a day, so two molluscs mean there's no intention to leave any survivors.

Upon seeing this, Matthew immediately used magic to cover his mouth and nose to keep himself conscious.

As the white mist gradually dissipated, the door was slowly pushed open.

Two men, one fat and one thin, dressed in black and their faces obscured, entered. One of them, holding a dagger upside down, cautiously walked towards the bed.

"What are you afraid of? Two sleeping bugs, even a power user couldn't withstand them."

The other person swaggered in, completely unconcerned about the noise they made.

"Yes...yes."

The slightly overweight man scratched his head and nodded somewhat stammeringly.

"Never mind him for now, he's just an alchemy apprentice. Quickly search the house for any other demonic insects."

As the tall, thin man spoke, he rummaged through every drawer and cabinet in the room, leaving no corner unchecked.

His technique was very skilled; it was obvious he had done this kind of thing many times before.

But he searched the entire house and found nothing about the demonic insects; it was as clean as if it had just been cleaned.

"That shouldn't be the case. How come an alchemy apprentice doesn't even have alchemy materials at home?"

He then took out a leash and placed it on the table, but the leash just kept spinning in place.

"That's right, the mark on the gray whetstone is right here. Could it be that the guiding bug made a mistake?"

Just as he was wondering, he was suddenly hit on the shoulder, and at the same time he heard the fat man's whimper behind him.

"Mmm...mmm..."

"Tsk, did you look for it? It was just mumbling over there, got mute?"

The tall, thin man turned around impatiently, only to see the fat man's throat slit by his own dagger. His large hand couldn't cover the wound, and blood kept oozing from between his fingers.

It's not that he doesn't want to talk, it's that he can't say it.

The only way to warn him was to throw the demonic insects at the tall, thin man.

In front of the fat man, Ma Xiu, who was a head shorter than him, stood in front of him, holding the dagger that should have been in the fat man's hand in his left hand.

Immediately afterward, to the incredulous look on the tall, thin man's face, Matthew lightly flicked the fat man's forehead.

The next moment, the fat man's head exploded with a bang, as if it had been ignited by gunpowder. His charred skin then fell to the ground, where he remained motionless.

He was the fat stone servant who collected demonic insects at the jade gambling site.

"You're treating this like your own home?"

"You...how are you alright? Those were two sleeping insects!"

The tall, thin man was momentarily stunned, but what shocked him even more was that the other party was actually a superhuman!

Matthew looked somewhat displeased. Without uttering any unnecessary words, he suddenly lunged at the other person and lightly clapped his hands behind his back.

As the magic burst forth, numerous sparks hissed and ignited behind him, simultaneously generating thrust that propelled Matthew forward.

Before the tall, thin man could react, Matthew was already in front of him.

The dagger grew larger and larger in his pupils until, at the very last moment, his vision went completely black.

......

An hour later, Matthew planted the shovel in the ground, stood on the mass grave outside the town, sweating profusely, and let out a long sigh of relief.

"No wonder people say that killing is easy, but dealing with it is difficult."

He dragged two men along, concealing his tracks as he arrived here. Even with the dung beetle's abilities, he was still struggling, not to mention that he had dug a large pit for two people.

Originally, the plan was to use the explosive power to blast open a large crater, but fearing that the commotion would attract the attention of the guild, the most primitive method was chosen instead.

Looking at the disposable magical insects found on them, Matthew felt that he was definitely not killing innocent people indiscriminately; these two must have done similar things tonight quite often.

"They're all for fighting humans, not a single one for fighting monsters. Are you two even human?"

[Daily good deed completed]

[Do a good deed every day: 30/100 experience points, +3 luck]

[Rob the rich to help the poor, punish the wicked and eliminate evil.]

Seeing the reminder from the Chronicle of Another World, Matthew's last trace of unease completely dissipated, and he spat at the newly erected grave.

"It's only right to reciprocate. You've given me so many nice things, it wouldn't be right if I didn't give you something in return."

After saying that, Matthew picked up the tokens he had cut from the fat and thin men and walked toward the jade gambling site.

Tonight is destined to be a sleepless night.

......

The night was hazy, outside the jade gambling market.

Matthew was dressed entirely in black, with only his eyes showing. To avoid being exposed, he had also stuffed some hay into his limbs and torso to make himself appear fatter.

This time, he planned to soak all the gray whetstones in the quarry in water to wash away the magic on their surface.

Strike the snake at its vital spot; if you're going to do something, do it until it hurts!

Matthew had just sneaked into the quarry through the back door when he heard a familiar voice coming from upstairs.

"Mentor Flynn, the number of Death Demon Insects this month is almost half that of last month. I think it's time for our cooperation to end here."

"Mr. Warren, don't worry. Recently, a goddess has arrived in the Empire, bringing with her a large number of knights. Our Alchemy Workshop can't be too blatant right now. But rest assured, the knights will be heading to the border to fight the Death Demon Worms next week. At that time, we will definitely be able to give you... double the number."

Matthew recognized Flynn's voice immediately.

Driven by curiosity, he quietly approached the second floor and eavesdropped outside the door.

At the same time, he took out the memory worm he had taken from the fat and thin duo and activated it to record the secret conversation.

"What does the knight squad's expedition have to do with your alchemy workshop?"

"Don't worry about that. We have ways to get people involved. All you need to do, Mr. Warren, is prepare the money."

Inside the room, the two discussed the details of the transaction, while outside, Matthew listened and recorded.

"No wonder business is so good."

Now he understood why someone could find magical insects at the stone gambling site in Val Town every few days, although the vast majority of them were dead.

Even gamblers from neighboring towns frequently come to patronize the place.

It turns out that behind the scenes, there was a large supply of Dead Demon Insects from the Alchemy Workshop, which then mixed fakes into the mix and sold them at high prices. This process was repeated, and the exorbitant profits involved were unimaginable.

As the conversation drew to a close, Matthew put away the memory worm and quickly left. He wasn't foolish enough to barge in and expose them, then use the recording to blackmail them.

Mentor Flynn is a second-tier ability user with a second-tier magical insect, and there is also Warren, the stadium owner whose strength is unknown.

Rather than rushing in to their deaths, it's better to keep the secret to ourselves so we can control them later.

Before leaving, however, he placed the tokens of the fat and thin men on the pile of magic stones, warning them not to try anything with him again.

If they dare to come again, he wouldn't mind raiding the jade gambling site at night and robbing the rich to help the poor.