Lord of Rot

Toma, completely unaware that in Leech’s eyes he had already become a ”peculiar character,” asked, ”Would you like to buy some of the Magic Alchemy Items I’ve made?”

Leech glanced around the room. It was a complete mess, with clothes and socks strewn everywhere, making it hard to find a place to stand. There were even a few glass jars and bottles on the chair.

The smell was strange. It wasn’t a stench, but the acrid aroma of Magic Potions.

He dismissed the thought of sitting down, nodded, and said, ”Could you show me a few?”

Leech had always held a great deal of interest in Magic Alchemy Items.

”Haha, then let me show you my prized collection! Please wait a moment!” Scholar Toma hurried away.

Leech was worried that after saying ”Please wait a moment,” Scholar Toma would completely forget about him. Fortunately, that didn’t happen.

Soon, Scholar Toma returned with four or five boxes.

He didn’t open the boxes right away. Instead, he said to Leech, ”When I was just an apprentice, I was once dozing off under an apple tree when an apple fell and hit me on the head.”

Leech’s eyes widened in shock.

His heart couldn’t help but beat faster. ’Could it be that I’ve stumbled upon a major figure?’

Scholar Toma continued, ”I asked my teacher why the apple fell from the tree instead of flying up, but even he couldn’t give me an answer.”

”And then?” Leech pressed.

”Then I began my research.” Scholar Toma was very pleased with Leech’s encouraging question. He said, ”I researched it for many years. Even after becoming a scholar, my research never stopped. Eventually, I discovered that there is a force from the ground that pulls all things downward. I call this force gravity.”

’This is it!’ Leech couldn’t help but exclaim inwardly.

’Is Scholar Toma not a useless scholar, but a magical Newton?’

Just as Leech made up his mind to lure the man back to Porcupine Territory no matter what, Scholar Toma opened a box. Inside was a stone. ”This is the result of my research.”

”This is...?” Leech asked with his eyes. After receiving a nod, he picked up the stone.

He weighed it in his hand. It didn’t feel special at all.

”This is a Gravity Detection Stone!” Scholar Toma said with great seriousness. ”Anywhere there is gravity, this stone can detect it.”

”How does it detect it?” Leech asked.

Scholar Toma said, ”You throw the stone. If it falls down, there’s gravity.”

Leech’s hand trembled, and he nearly used his master-level throwing skill to smash the stone right into Scholar Toma’s face.

”A normal stone can do that, can’t it?”

”This is a Magic Alchemy Item, not a normal stone,” Scholar Toma said, shaking his head.

’No wonder they call him a useless scholar,’ Leech suddenly understood.

’Maybe I shouldn’t have come today.’

Leech silently placed the Gravity Detection Stone back in its box.

”Please take a look at this one.” Scholar Toma opened the second box. It was completely empty.

”And what is this?” Leech inquired.

’Has Scholar Toma created something like an [Invisible Pot]?’

”An Invisible Ring,” Scholar Toma said. ”A delicately crafted ring that is completely invisible.”

”...”

’If you can’t see the ring, what’s the point of wearing it?’

Leech reached out and, indeed, his hand closed around a ring. An idea sparked in his mind, and he asked, ”Can you make it bigger?”

’If it’s completely invisible, maybe it could be made into a transparent weapon.’

’It would be incredibly effective for ambushes.’

’But there’s one condition: I’d have to be able to see it and grab it. If not for the tactile sensation in his fingers, Leech couldn’t perceive the ring with his naked eye at all.’

”No, and right now, I can only make rings.”

’Alright, a useless item.’

Leech made a motion as if he were placing the ring back in the box, but it was actually still in his palm. Then, Scholar Toma closed the lid.

’That’s right, Scholar Toma can’t see it either!’

Scholar Toma continued, ”And there’s this. I made it by researching Space Magic.”

Leech, who had lost all expectations, felt his interest rekindle upon hearing the words ”Space Magic.”

Like a storage ring or a trunk with an undetectable extension charm, he believed no one could refuse a magical storage item.

Scholar Toma opened the third box.

”A deerskin pouch?” Leech was taken aback.

It looked like a very ordinary deerskin pouch, one that could probably hold about three loaves of bread.

”That’s right.” Scholar Toma smiled. ”I studied the literature of past scholars and ancient records, and finally succeeded in creating this Space Bag.”

”May I see it?” Leech asked.

”Please!”

Leech took the bag, opened it to take a look inside, and asked, ”How much can it hold? A carriage? A suit of armor?”

”How could it possibly hold that much!” Scholar Toma shook his head as if frightened by the suggestion, then said, ”It can hold this much.”

As he spoke, Scholar Toma picked up a cup next to him and placed it in the bag.

That small cup was only about half the size of a loaf of bread.

After waiting for a moment with no further action from Scholar Toma, Leech couldn’t help but ask, ”Is that all?”

”Yes, that’s all.” Scholar Toma nodded affirmatively.

’A useless scholar, so that’s what it means!’

”Have you ever thought about expanding the space inside?”

”It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s that I can’t,” Scholar Toma shook his head. ”This is already the limit.”

”If you could make it the size of a ring and it could still hold a cup, that might be useful,” Leech said.

But Scholar Toma shook his head. ”Impossible! This is the smallest I can make it.”

”What if you used a wine barrel? How much could it hold then?” Leech asked.

”Still just this much,” he said with a smile.

’And you’re proud of it!’

Although Leech truly admired Scholar Toma, who understood concepts like gravity, invisibility, and space, and whose knowledge reserves probably surpassed the Taven Scholars of Iron Stone City, the things he created were utterly useless.

”And there’s also...”

”That’s enough!”

Leech stopped Scholar Toma’s presentation. He was afraid if he saw any more, he’d have a brain hemorrhage. ”Actually, I didn’t come here to buy anything this time. I wanted to ask about something else.”

”A discussion of knowledge? Of course!”

Scholar Toma put away his precious Magic Items and gestured for Leech to ask his questions.

”I want to know, as people gain Extraordinary powers with the emergence of the Magic Tide, are these powers divided into general tiers?”

This was one of Leech’s intentions for coming here: to find a knowledgeable scholar to clear up his doubts.

”The emergence of the Magic Tide...” Scholar Toma seemed surprised that a lord would ask such a question. He showed a hint of astonishment and said, ”Extraordinary power. I believe a more accurate term would be human evolution.”

”Evolution?” Leech suspected Scholar Toma also had some knowledge of biology.

”Yes. After becoming a Transcendent, one’s body is no longer that of a normal human. They begin to possess all sorts of strange abilities,” Scholar Toma said. ”I’ve seen it in many documents, and I believe these people are evolving to a higher level. I should probably first explain what evolution is.”

”No, I know what evolution is,” Leech said. ”It’s like how humans evolved from monkeys.”

”Haha, an interesting hypothesis, though a bit laughable,” Scholar Toma said with a chuckle. ”But it’s at least more logical and evidence-based than the church. Those people go on about ’gods this, gods that’ all day. In my view, gods also evolved from humans.”

”Gods evolved from humans?”

Scholar Toma nodded. ”In many myths and legends of the Lu Leiyi Continent, there is evidence of humans becoming gods. So, the power tiers you mentioned, I believe they refer to different stages of a life form.”

”Roughly what are they?”

”They can be roughly divided into three stages. After all, I haven’t even reached the first stage myself. However, from what I understand, the church calls them Saints, Emissaries, and Legends. Some tribes in the Giant’s Foot region refer to them as Grand Priest, Demigod, and Divine Spirit,” Scholar Toma said. ”Each stage is a different state of being. Unfortunately, there are too few documents. One thing is certain, though: an adult Giant Dragon is a Legend.”

’Three stages of life. The Water Nymph was most likely in the second stage. But as a second-stage being, she shouldn’t have been killed so easily. It’s a pity I can’t see her memories to find out the exact reason.’

Leech suddenly felt something was off. Scholar Toma’s tone was very certain. ”You’ve seen a Giant Dragon?”

”I’ve heard one from a great distance.”

”Dragons are real!” Leech suddenly felt that fulfilling the Necromancer’s last wish—creating a Corpse Demon Dragon—wasn’t impossible after all.

’But there are three difficulties here. First, finding a Giant Dragon. Second, killing it. Third, ensuring the Corpse Demon Dragon can be controlled.’

The conversation with Scholar Toma had been very fruitful for Leech.

He now knew about the rough three-stage division, though knowing about the stages themselves wasn’t particularly significant.

The Water Nymph, for instance, had given Leech a feeling of complete helplessness, of not knowing where to even begin.

So, he extended his olive branch. ”Scholar Toma, I was wondering if you might be interested in coming to my territory. You would only need to work for me, and I can provide you with funding to support your research.”

”I’m sorry, you’re from...”

”Porcupine Territory.”

”Yes, Porcupine Territory. I’ve heard of it.”

’His expression says he’s never heard of it at all!’

Leech didn’t force the issue and instead asked, ”So, what do you think?”

”Of course, I’d be delighted!”

Judging by Scholar Toma’s expression, it was as if he’d just caught a clueless moneybag.

Leech was very happy. As long as the man had knowledge, Leech could find a way to make him useful. Besides, Scholar Toma’s knowledge was confirmed to be genuine; it was just that his finished products left one speechless.

’Recruiting talent is never a loss. Hmm... probably not a loss, anyway.’