The Alchemist's Guide to Flesh and Blood Ascension

Late at night, the lights in the Heisenberg laboratory remained on.

Eunerv and Iseria sat facing each other, with a copy of the manuscript marked with circles and dots on the table.

Under the magic lamp, the late professor's handwriting became increasingly messy and chaotic as the manuscript was turned.

Yonivo circled a character with a quill pen dipped in dark red ink, his expression somewhat solemn.

"This section... specifically emphasizes that the first node of the seal requires the blood of a non-magic being as a catalyst."

Iseria leaned closer, tucked a stray strand of off-white hair behind her ear, and looked somewhat puzzled.

"Does 'non-magic' refer to those who have absolutely no magical talent?"

She recalled a lesson from a certain class and said, "But such people are almost non-existent. Even... the most ordinary commoner would have some magical talent, right?"

Yunevo nodded, pulled out a thick book, "An Introduction to Continental Races," from the bookshelf by the wall, and started flipping through the table of contents.

"You said it yourself, it's 'almost never'..."

This is recorded on line seven of page 372 of the book.

In extremely rare cases, there exist individuals who, for unknown reasons, completely lack affinity with magical elements.

Their blood has a natural aversion to magic, so their magical energy channels are stagnant and they cannot improve.

Such individuals are called "non-magicians," and there are fewer than ten recorded cases.

In the appendix of the book, there is a complex diagram of the magical pathways of the "non-magician".

The dense, capillary-like magical veins appeared gray and lifeless, and the entire circulation was broken.

"So...we need to find someone like that? How do we find them? Even if we do, will they help us?" Iseria frowned.

"It's said that this seal has been maintained for many years. If it needs to be reinforced with the blood of a non-magician every forty-nine days, then..."

“Life will find a way,” Yunevo interrupted her, turning the manuscript to another page. “There will always be creatures that mimic the characteristics of the ‘non-magician’.”

The annotation here reads: "Mouthworm," whose secretions are almost identical to those of the "non-magic one," but with obvious side effects.

"These idiots... I think that's why the gargoyles' unusual activity is happening," Yunev tapped his finger heavily on "obvious side effects."

"Stamok had no other choice but to resort to this flawed method, stubbornly clinging to the hope of maintaining the 'non-magic' after failing to find one..."

A brief silence fell over the laboratory.

Yunevo spoke again: "The blood of the non-magic one is also a necessary item to break the seal, through reverse..."

"But... but where are we going to find non-magicians?" Iseria's voice was somewhat frustrated.

"Even if such a person really exists, they might be on the other side of the world, or they might already be..." Her words suddenly stopped.

Because Yunevo was looking at her with a helpless expression, his smile tinged with self-mockery: "Do you remember how you described the magical fluctuations in my body a few days ago?"

The girl tried hard to recall: "The magical fluctuations were very weak... almost imperceptible."

"Now, I need to correct you," Yunevo's smile widened as he slowly raised his right hand, "there simply isn't one."

He closed his eyes and whispered a basic fireball spell.

In Iselia's eyes... the floating fire demon source rippled slightly, gathering and swirling towards Yunefu's palm.

The fireball was solid and intensely hot, yet there was no sign of using magic to draw upon magical energy.

After replacing his own talent... Yunev found another way to use the magic he had learned.

This is sufficient for concealing organ skills.

But becoming an unparalleled mage is no longer possible—his potential has been firmly fixed.

Yunevo opened his eyes, as if conducting a simple self-assessment, "No matter what spell I use, no matter how I chant, magic won't respond to me..."

He paused, then continued, "Alchemy, on the other hand, only requires understanding and calculation. I vaguely remember the way those old guys were astonished during the assessment."

Iseria tilted her head.

He rolled up his sleeves, revealing his forearms: "Getting back to the point... In theory, my blood should perfectly fit the definition of a 'non-magician'."

The magic lamp flickered.

Iseria shook her head violently in refusal: "No way! That's a node in the sealing array! Who knows how much blood it will take..."

“Not too much,” Eunicev said, gesturing for her to sit down. “‘As a guide’ means ‘as a guide,’ like a flint.”

"I guess a few milliliters would be enough, and... this is also a perfect opportunity to verify it," his eyes sharpened.

"No! That's too risky," Iseria puffed out her cheeks. "What if something goes wrong? What if your blood causes an even worse reaction... I disagree!"

"I believe you," Yonivo said, taking a small first-aid kit from under the lab table, his tone leaving no room for doubt.

Iseria stared at him for a long time, finally relaxing her clenched fist and letting out a slow sigh: "...When are we going?"

"Now, let's try to reinforce it with my blood."

……

The Stamok school history museum has been completely closed in recent days.

However, Yoniv possessed a supreme permit.

It was approved by the dean of the entire college.

The two walked through the quiet, deserted academy path and arrived at the building that resembled an open book.

Eunice pressed the badge into the groove on the side of the door. A glint of light flashed through the crack in the door.

A moment later, the heavy oak door slid open silently inward.

The inside was pitch black, and the Magic Source Lamp would naturally be turned off after the museum closed.

Iseria raised the staff that Yunevo had once used, its tip glowing with a soft white light that illuminated the front hall.

Without lingering, Yonivo walked straight into the depths of the hall and stopped in front of a wall covered with the signatures of all the past deans.

"After the museum closes, we'll have to open one more door," he said softly, pressing his finger on an inconspicuous carved pattern in the lower right corner of the signature wall.

The wall began to rotate.

To be precise, one of the stone slabs, about the height of a person, quietly turned inward by ninety degrees, revealing the downward spiral staircase behind the slope.

A cold, damp air rose from below, carrying a distinctive smell of rust and ancient dust.

"Keep up close," Yonivo said, stepping down the steps first.

The scene now is completely different from when the two first visited.

The barrier became transparent, directly revealing the towering "colossus" behind it.

Even in the dim light, it was still awe-inspiring, its five-meter-tall stone body kneeling on the ground, its hands bound behind its back by thick mithril chains, its head bowed.

Its surface is covered with a layer of dark gold "metallic" keratin, which is covered with dense magical runes that flicker and intertwine like breathing.

Meanwhile, on the surrounding ground, three concentric ring-shaped nested magic arrays were in operation.

The outermost ring is a ley line guiding array, intended to converge the three elemental ley lines.

In the center is a suppression array, the function of which is evident from the densely packed sealing runes.

And the innermost ring, right next to the gargoyle base... is precisely the node that needs to be maintained with "blood of the undemon".

At this moment, its light was noticeably dimmer than the other two rings...

"That's it," Yunev said, pointing to three triangularly distributed grooves on the node array.

It also contained dried, dark red gelatinous material.

If I'm not mistaken... these are the remnants of the "Demon-Eating Worm Secretions".

Iseria shivered; compared to before... this place had become unusually quiet.

An indescribable sense of oppression filled the air, like a slumbering behemoth encountering a nightmare, unable to awaken from its daze.

Yunevo pulled Iselia closer to him and took out a prepared lancet and a small glass tube from his pouch.

He took a deep breath and inserted the needle into his fingertip...

Bright red blood gushed out.

A strange thing happened—the instant the blood left Yunevo's body, the magical energy floating in the surrounding air retreated rapidly, like mosquitoes encountering a raging fire!

"Just as I thought..." Yunefu murmured, sealing the glass tube containing his own blood.

He walked to the nearest recessed area, squatted down, and used a dropper to draw about two milliliters of blood.

As the tube approached the groove, blood dripped down, and the gargoyle's head... also twitched very slightly.

This seems like a sign that one is about to wake up...

Iseria's voice trembled slightly: "Yonev...we..."

"We have to continue," Ionev said calmly. "It's clearly working well."

Blood dripped into the groove again, like a ladle of cold water being poured into hot oil.

Boiling and evaporating, "oil splattering everywhere!"

The remaining dark red gelatinous substance began to melt...

The bright red blood "came to life"... twisting together like red threadworms soaking in water, yet able to illuminate the dim runes.

The light at this first node was at least three times brighter than before!

Yunevo rose and walked towards the second recess, his movements mirroring the same...

This time, however, the gargoyle's reaction was even more intense...

At this moment, it seemed to want to clench its ten fingers, which were pierced by the mithril chains, into a fist!

A low, muffled murmur filled the air...

A headache struck Iseria; something was trying to replay in her mind!

Fragmented images, jarring sounds, pure resentment...

She gritted her teeth, her expression somewhat dazed, but stopped Yunevo from looking after her: "It...it seems to be in a lot of pain..."

"Never mind me...keep going..."

The latter pursed his lips, a bead of sweat appearing on his forehead, his expression growing increasingly grave...

The third time was just as he was about to bleed.

The gargoyle... opened its eyes.

Or perhaps it is the "soul fire" that has been ignited.

The eye sockets on that head, where eyeballs should have been, seemed to have been hollowed out, and were covered with bloodstains that couldn't be wiped away.

A dark red light shone from the two hollows.

Clearly, a certain "sensory" activation that replaced the eyes was activated at this moment—and thus it "looked" at Eunicevo.

In an instant, a massive flow of information flooded into their consciousness.

On the experimental table, countless cold needles pierced the still-unpetrified body...

Many figures dressed in white robes were moving around, recording data...

They only had feelings about "consumables".

The pain just wouldn't stop...

The tearing sensation when the anti-magic stone was implanted in my chest cavity...

Its innate, immense magical power desperately tried to repel that thing.

Meanwhile, those dressed in white robes doubled the binding magic array and were saying something...

All of this is for the gods; it is to be the gods' vanguard.

It was first awakened in secret when it was ordered to destroy a "village where demons have descended".

Something was twisting his will to resist, as if saying, "You've done something like this more than once..."

It is a gargoyle used to suppress demons...

But most of the time, it lies in a long, restless slumber, shrouded in chains, darkness, and darkness.

The anti-magic stone and the "holy water" that had been integrated into the magical energy channels were eroding the body and distorting the consciousness.

Can it still be considered a gargoyle?

Resentment was building up, and anger was brewing...

It wants to go out.

It wants everyone to pay the price.

Eunice's hands were trembling; the overwhelming negative emotions were so intense that he could barely hold the dropper.

But he gritted his teeth and managed to drip the last few drops of blood into the third groove.

The last step is complete...

The three layers of sealing array simultaneously erupted with dazzling light!

The innermost ring was as bright as day, and the flowing runes cast three-dimensional light and shadow in the air!

A perfectly triangular pyramidal cage completely enveloped the gargoyle...

This again negates the freedom of gargoyles.

It let out a silent roar.

A pure mental shock! The entire underground hall began to tremble...

The mithril chains binding it rattled as they tightened to their limit almost instantly!

Fortunately, the mages who set up these three layers of seals were reliable...

The newly lit runes are taking effect—they are suppressing the gargoyles while…

It is also undergoing "purification".

Unblock those lumps that have become like "blood clots" due to improper maintenance... as well as those abnormal "growths" on the surface of the skin.

The gargoyle's dark gold armor was cracked in a spiderweb pattern, with tiny fragments and dust falling along with it.

And beneath this crack... lies the ancient, natural, grayish-white rock texture that a gargoyle should possess.

A wave of intense dizziness washed over Yunefu—the blood circulating within the sealing array was still inextricably linked to him!?

That's why he was fortunate enough to perceive something deeper...

Wait, deeper?

There are still experts!?

The entire underground space seemed to collapse downwards for a moment!

Iseria, clutching her head, rushed over to support Yunevo, who was about to fall: "We have to get out of here! Now!"

Yonivore managed to stand firm and took one last look at the gargoyle.

Those dark red "eyes" were staring at him, but this time, they held more than just pure resentment and madness.

It also saw... liberation.

Yunevo snapped out of his daze and grabbed Iseria's hand: "Let's go!"

"The seal has been reinforced; it won't be able to escape for a while..."

The two supported each other as they ran towards the spiral staircase.

Behind them, the light in the underground hall flickered...

The gargoyle's silhouette eventually disappeared into the shadows.

Deeper still, creatures that had slumbered for centuries seemed to have been unintentionally affected by the purification ritual just now…

I was briefly awakened by the noise.

The steps slowly closed, and the school history museum returned to silence.

The plan, however, must continue.