The villainous young master just wants to live a Buddhist-like life.

　The only problem is that Professor Steven Harvey and Professor Cazell, the two executors, were not present.

　In short, after they made the decision to precisely sever the souls of "Number One" and Werther, they made one contingency plan after another for the final disposal of "Number One" and "Number Two".

　Then, once dinner was ready, Professor Sylph removed the wind barrier, and everyone ate together, chatting and laughing.

　Laughter filled the air as the night deepened.

　Sorrow will always heal.

　……

　December 28th.

　If you think about it, it's only been two days since Christmas ended.

　Dak woke up later than the little Guhuoniao, which was unusual for him. He moved the little Guhuoniao, who was "incubating eggs" on his face, away and then got out of bed.

　At 11 p.m. last night, Professor Steven Harvey returned from outside, bringing the good news that all the monsters had been driven away. After that, everyone went back to their rooms with peace of mind.

　But the unrest in the capital of freedom did not end there.

　Nighttime is the perfect time for evil to flourish.

　Having realized from last night's battle that the demon forces had been completely defeated, the demons almost simultaneously chose to flee under the cover of night.

　Although all the gates of the City of Freedom are firmly closed, snakes have their paths and rats have their ways; they will always find a way to get through the walls.

　Lord Montilfali, of course, would not let these demons who had invaded the city escape so easily.

　She immediately organized the army that could be mobilized in the city, posted a mission with a hefty bounty on the remnants of the demon race at the Adventurers' Guild, and then, with the mindless "magical beast: Goddess of the Mind's Eye," began to sweep through the city.

　Without the Demon King and the Black-Robed Demon Clan, the ordinary demons were no match for her. She swept through them with extreme ruthlessness, burning countless demons to death overnight.

　Even as the sun rose the next day, she showed no sign of stopping.

　But the spirit and physique of the "Sun Warrior" were enough to sustain her for several days without sleep.

　In short, her city-wide manhunt for the demons inevitably added a chilling atmosphere to the city.

　As dawn broke outside, Aurora Montilfaly woke up early.

　She didn't make breakfast for Dak; the first thing she did after getting up was to take over the city's internal affairs again, busily and methodically getting to work.

　At the same time, the entire city also began to show a different kind of vitality.

　Meanwhile, after getting up, washing up, and eating, Dak gathered with Ollie and the others in the open space behind the city lord's mansion and actually started making "bat porridge"!

　Ollie set up the large pot on the open ground, summoned a fire-attribute magical spirit and stuffed it under the pot, then took a large amount of basic materials from Dark's luggage and threw them all into the pot filled with bats.

　Although Dark knew she was brewing a potion, it looked more like she was cooking a large pot of rice.

　Combined with her identity as the "Head Maid of Aries," it seems more plausible.

　Not long after, black smoke began to rise from the pot.

　The black fumes, even more foul-smelling than the exhaust fumes billowing from factory chimneys, emerged crookedly.

　Dark instinctively covered his mouth and nose, and Eve, Angry, Little Guhuoniao, and Little Devimon sitting next to him all did the same.

　But as expected of the owner of the "Golden Armor - Aries Palace", Ollie remained unfazed and continued simmering.

　Before long, Professor Lily, unable to bear the fumes any longer, came knocking on the door and then... set up a pot on the other side, not far away!

　The few basic materials that Dak had left were all fucking looted!

　"Can you stop trying to fleece one sheep at a time?"

　He couldn't help but roll his eyes, but he still observed very seriously.

　Auli's potion-making skills might not be particularly sophisticated, but her fundamental theories are visibly solid. Because she's keeping it a secret, Dark isn't entirely sure what she's brewing. But thinking about it, it's probably something like "good things come in small packages."

　Professor Lily, on the other hand, couldn't understand it at all.

　Dark watched as she poured all sorts of unprocessed ingredients into the cauldron, then forcibly used magic to remove impurities during the cooking process, sweating profusely.

　Professor Thompson hasn't taught us to that point yet.

　In short, relying on her deep magical reserves and powerful magical manipulation abilities, she managed to turn the meticulous potion-making process into a chaotic mess, just like the pot of stew next door, Ollie's.

　Of course, it cannot be ruled out that she did it on purpose.

　After boiling a pot of clear, transparent liquid, she began to pluck feathers from the "Thunderous Roc"... Yes, pluck feathers!

　Feathers from the wings, tail, belly, back, and head... were plucked off one by one and then put into a pot to melt.

　Finally, she took a stone wrapped in electric current from the "Thunderous Roc's" electric sac and threw it into the fruit.

　……

　Professor Lily arrived later and finished making the potion first.

　She carefully poured the last remaining potion, which amounted to only the bottom of a pot, into a glass test tube, and then showed it to Dark as if to show it off.

　"Ta-da! Guess what this is?" The little fairy's smile was sweet.

　Dark said, "The nectar of the little fairy."

　"It's a Nirvana potion," Professor Lily said with a grin. "Of course, not the kind that can bring the dead back to life. Watch closely!"

　With that, she patted her chest triumphantly, flapped her wings, and flew into the air, summoning the "Thunderous Roc" that was circling high above to come down.

　With a whooshing sound like lightning and thunder, the "Thunderous Roc" swooped down.

　Professor Lily casually tossed the potion test tube, which was enveloped in magic, into the mouth of the "Thunder Roc".

　With a snap, the test tube was bitten into pieces.

　Presumably, the "Nirvana potion" inside the test tube also flowed into its mouth when the test tube broke.

　A faint light gradually appeared on the surface of the "Thunderous Roc's" body.

　It folded its wings and landed on the relatively narrow open space that was quite large for its size.

　"Don't move!" Lily commanded, and the "Thunderous Roc" turned into a "stone sculpture".

　If it wanted to, it could easily spit out the "Nirvana Potion" or neutralize it with magic, but it cannot!

　The light emanating from its body was initially pure white, then mixed with flashes of electricity, and after a while, blue, purple, red... all rushed out at once.

　Its body began to become as dazzling as neon lights.

　"Cuckoo, cuckoo!"

　The little guhu bird flapped its wings vigorously, praising its artistic performance.

　The "Thunderous Roc" concealed the deep resentment in its eyes and remained completely unmoved.

　……

　The effects of the "Nirvana Potion" last much longer than expected.

　Lily was already sitting next to Dak, eating snacks and watching with him as Ollie continued cooking the bats.

　A faint fragrance surrounded them, completely isolating them from the foul odor.

　Twenty minutes later, Ollie lifted the huge pot lid, took a look, and finally showed a satisfied smile that said "cooking is finished."

　That "bat hot pot" is finally ready!

　……

　That being said, what Ollie finally managed to take out of the pot was only enough red liquid to fill a standard test tube.

　“This doesn’t quite fall into the category of a potion,” Ollie said, handing the test tube to Dak. “You can call it ‘Vampire Essence.’”

　Dark asked in confusion, "Vampire essence... what is that?"

　“Yeah, yeah, I’ve never heard of it!” Lily chimed in.

　Auli patiently explained, "This is the name I chose myself. It's basically condensing the essence of a vampire into a vial of liquid like this. It's very similar to the core substance produced within a vampire's body when they inject blood into a living being, turning them into a blood slave, but there are differences. This 'vampire essence' can only be extracted from high-level vampires, skipping the initial embrace step and directly turning a human into a blood slave or blood demon. If the purity is high enough, it's not impossible to directly turn them into a vampire."

　Dark frowned immediately and said, "There are such things?"

　Auli nodded, "Vampires created using this method, aside from bloodline suppression, are not controlled by vampires. Therefore, in an era when vampires were at a disadvantage, some high-ranking nobles hunted vampires to prolong their lifespans and refine this 'vampire essence.' However, the essence within low-level vampires is simply insufficient to refine a qualified 'vampire essence.' If you simply accumulate them in quantity, the resulting 'vampire essence' will be extremely impure, only capable of transforming living beings into something even less than a blood slave. Even for high-level vampires, extracting this essence requires expending most of their life force. But the vampire last night possessed 'True Ancestor Blood.'"

　Dark suddenly realized: "So, this is the highest quality 'Vampire Essence' that can be refined in the world right now?"

　Auli smiled and said, "That's right. Although there's a chance of death, the probability of directly transforming into a vampire after taking this 'Vampire Essence' is quite high."

　"How tall?" Dak asked curiously.

　Ollie said, "About three percent?"

　Dark: "Wow, that's really high!"

　Auli blinked and smiled, "Of course, directly consuming it is just one use of 'Vampire Essence.' In this day and age, using it as material to forge a magical spirit is also a good idea."

　Dark laughed too: "Use this to create a magical spirit? To create another Victoria... huh?"

　Dak gradually stopped smiling and fell into deep thought.

　Just now, a flash of inspiration seemed to pass through his mind. But he couldn't grasp it, and it couldn't form a clear thought in his mind.

　He needs some time to think.

Chapter 776

　Dark kept a very faint trace of "Netherworld Fire" in his hand in order to preserve his perception of it.

　However, as time goes by, most people who possess the "Netherworld Fire" have come to realize the benefits it can bring, and naturally, they will also learn how to conceal its aura.

　After concealing their presence, it would be very difficult to detect each other unless their "Netherworld Fire" resonated with each other upon approaching.

　The Duke's mansion is now facing trouble as it searches for the owner of the "Netherworld Fire".

　The world is too big, and once someone wants to hide, it's not so easy to find them.

　But one thing is almost certain: anyone who can still retain the "Netherworld Fire" must be extremely strong in a certain area of ​​expertise.

　However, if the one who possesses the "Netherworld Fire" is an adventurer whose primary profession is hunting magical beasts...

　Dark raised an eyebrow slightly and turned to look in the direction from which the fluctuations were coming from.

　That's the entrance to this adventurers' guild.

　A man wrapped in a thick robe walked in through the doorway.

　The man wore a hat, his hands were tucked into his sleeves, and he looked sickly.

　When Dak looked at him, he also looked up, revealing a weary expression.

　But the eyes hidden beneath that weary face burned with fire.

　……

　For those who possess "Netherworld Fire," it is difficult to resist challenging each other once they face off.

　The instinct to devour each other through dueling rituals is an unbreakable instinct rooted in their hearts by the "Fire of the Underworld".

　But at this moment, both sides clearly possess means that are not controlled by this instinct.

　However, there are naturally differences in the quality of these methods.

　Dark was completely unaffected by the "Netherworld Fire".

　But the sickly man was clearly suppressing his pain.

　Therefore, as soon as their eyes met, although the man's eyes were filled with raging flames, he quickly retreated.

　Clearly, they wanted to suppress their desire to duel by creating distance.

　“Eve,” Dark called softly.

　Eve stepped back and immediately disappeared silently into the shadows.

　Some people noticed her disappearance, but they all remained silent.

　The adventurers surrounding Dark felt a chill run down their spines, realizing that they might have underestimated the status and position of this "golden patron".

　"Who was that who just went in?" Dark asked directly, ignoring their changing expressions.

　Madonna reacted the fastest, immediately replying, "That's Edward, an A-rank adventurer who recently joined the guild."

　“Edward? I remember there was an alchemy master named Edward.” Dark nodded slightly, then asked, “Are there many A-rank adventurers?”

　Madonna smiled and said, "In the whole kingdom, there are naturally many. But in fact, A-rank is already the top among adventurers, and it would be quite rare when spread among various guilds. However, our Free City Adventurers Guild is different from other small places. In just half a year, five or six have come. Edward is one of them."