The Herb King

Johann smiled kindly at Leric. He knew at this moment that he had to befriend this young genius! At the age of twenty-nine, he was already a Level 4 Alchemist and on top of that, he also showed a refined talent in smithing. Just that he was quite stunned at Leric's smithing technique. It was way different than what he had seen from other Blacksmiths. His skill looks brilliant and he seemed to be at ease while crafting.

"You have truly opened my eyes, young friend. Aside from being an Alchemist, you're also a Blacksmith. Respect!" Johann praised wholeheartedly. This guy was the most monstrous genius he had ever met. Even the crown prince who was known as the brightest genius in the last hundred years might not grow as talented as Aethelwolf.

The crown prince of the Leone Empire, Prince Christopher Leone is now eight years old. He showed a terrifying potential that stunned the whole Leone Empire and some of its neighboring powers. He was now a peak Level 1 Esper and also a newly promoted Level 1 Alchemist!

Johann sighed in his heart while looking at Leric's face. Where did this young man come from? He wondered.

Leric chuckled and shook his head humbly. "It's just a skill I learned when I was in the wilderness. Anyway, Sir Johann, I made these tools just for you."

Johann revealed a bewildered look and then a moment later, he seemed to have understood something. "You saw it, didn't you?" He asked in a calm voice.

Leric nodded his head. "When you fainted earlier, I checked your pulse and noticed that there is something amiss with your breathing. There is a parasite sleeping inside your heart. I have a way to remove it."

His words was like a bomb suddenly exploding, making Johann extremely agitated. "Are you telling the truth? Can you really remove it?"

The old man's body trembled as he grabbed Leric's shoulders. The parasite has plagued his body for many years, but no one has any idea how to take it out. How could he remain calm after hearing his words?

'What a poor old man.' Leric thought when he saw how agitated Johann was.

"Of course. To tell you the truth, I'm a hundred percent certain that I can remove it!" Leric flashed a beaming smile at the old man.

What did he say? A hundred percent? Crazy!

Anna and Johann looked at Leric deeply. If not for this guy being a Level 4 Alchemist, they would have thought that he was a lunatic. It was a parasite that even Lord Karman was helpless about, but now this guy told them that he could take it out with a hundred percent certainty!

Looking at their dubious expression, Leric wasn't offended. He knew that this world was way behind in terms of technological advancement compared to the world in his previous life. They might have many magical spiritual plants and magical fruits here, but most of them didn't know how to properly maximize the medicinal properties of these fine materials.

He dared to say that he was a hundred percent certain because he was confident in his technical skills and also because of the Status Screen!

"I know this might sound crazy, but if you give me a chance, I will prove it to you."

Johann looked at Leric's sincere face before he replied. "In that case, this old man's life is in your hands, young friend."

Even if Aethelwolf failed, Johann knew that he no longer have much time. He might as well place his fate in the hands of this absolute genius. Maybe, just maybe he would be able to remove the parasite!

Anna wanted to say something, but she chose to remain silent when she saw her grandfather's resolute expression.

Seeing that the old man has agreed, Leric smiled at him. He then moved his gaze at Anna and said. "Miss Anna, I will need four herbs for this operation. A tooth of ten-year-old Carnivorous Aster, the leaf of a Venomous Marigold, one flower of Purple Camellia, and the seed of a Flaming Nightshade."

Anna attentively listened to his words and nodded her head after repeating the four herbs in her mind, but she was stunned because all of those herbs were poisonous in nature. She could not help but stare at her grandfather only to see him nod his head. Seeing this, she could only bite the bullet.

While Anna was getting the herbs, Leric grabbed his tools and help Johann stand up. He then handed the old man's cane back to him. "Sir Johann, do you have a room that we could use for the operation?"

"Oh, silly me! I actually forgot about this. Come! Follow me, young friend!" Johann dragged him to a room that was filled with the smell of herbs. There were all sorts of books about medicine and herbs inside the room. From the looks of it, Johann never gave up on finding a way to remove the parasite in his heart.

Soon, Anna came to the room with four jade boxes. Inside those boxes were the herbs that Leric has mentioned earlier. She also brought the herbs that Leric ordered when he came to the shop. "Sir Aethelwolf, inside these jade boxes are the herbs you need for the operation. And this big box is your recent order."

Leric grabbed the big box and placed it inside his storage space. "Thank you, Miss Anna." He then stared at Johann and said. "Let's begin."

Johann nervously lay on top of the bed. He was filled with anticipation and anxiety about the operation.

"Just stay there for now, Sir Johann. I'll prepare the herbs first. You might be curious why I told Miss Anna to gather these four poisonous herbs. Let me tell you the reason." Leric opened the jade boxes one by one as he stated his reason for asking for the herbs.

Johann and Anna didn't blink their eyes as they both listened to him.

"The parasite in your body has a very strong absorbing power. I can't take it out if it is still alive because there is a high chance that it would wake up. If it wakes up, the parasite will immediately start to absorb Sir Johann's blood vitality which is fatal in his present condition. To prevent this from happening, the parasite must be killed in one go!"

"But wouldn't the poison harm grandfather's heart as well?" Anna asked while looking at Leric who was grinding the four poisonous herbs inside a beaker.

Leric smiled as he answered her. "A magical thing will happen if we mix these four herbs and an ample amount of liquified world essence."

Anna and even Johann who was a Level 3 Alchemist were confused.

The four herbs were somehow similar to the four flowers in his past life. He knew everything about them! Although he wasn't sure if the herbs in this world has similar properties to the ones in his past life, the moment he touched the herbs, his gut feeling told him that it was possible.

He wasn't worried that this would fail since he still had some countermeasures in case something unexpected happens.

"A poisonous solution will be created, but with the addition of my liquified world essence, the lethality of the poison towards the human body would be removed!" Leric started pouring his world essence inside the beaker and turned it into liquid form using his newly learned skill.

You have learned the skill [World Essence Manipulation]

Johann and Anna watched as Leric casually turn the world essence into liquid in just a few seconds! They couldn't believe what they were seeing.

Johann could also do the same thing, but he wouldn't be able to manipulate the world essence as skillfully as Leric did!

After liquifying his world essence. Leric took out a small metal rod that looked like a swizzle stick used when mixing drinks. He then stirred the mixture with the metal rod and stopped when it was at the perfect consistency.

The resulting mixture was an eerie dark purple liquid, looking incredibly spine-chilling.

"Alright. It is done. Sir Johann, let's begin the operation." Leric smiled at the old man, but Johann was scared witless as he stared at Leric and the dark purple liquid inside the beaker.

'Good lord almighty, please help me survive this catastrophe.' The old man prayed in his heart.