Chapter 0071: The Potion of Focus

It was precisely because the existence of the Shadowy Caverns held such immense significance for the many wizard families of Dagon that elite outsiders like Grimm became their most favored targets for recruitment.

First, drawing in such outsiders would not greatly disrupt their established balance of interests. A wizard apprentice without the backing of a family would never dare openly offend the formal wizards; thus, any elite apprentice they recruited would serve only as a reliable enforcer, never a contender for power.

Second, the world beneath the surface was far from peaceful. The rare resources surface wizards desperately needed were also coveted and fiercely contested by the subterranean darkspawn. Thus, every venture into the depths to explore or harvest became a chaotic melee between the two sides.

Over long years of exploration and development, all those rare resources unique to the underground had been discovered and marked as resource points by both factions. Each side knew well when a resource would mature and when a harvest was due. Consequently, every harvest around these resource points turned into a brutal, life-and-death struggle.

Neither side would dispatch formal wizards into these battles; instead, the conflict was confined to the apprentice level. Only the victors among the apprentices earned the right to enter the resource points and gather the spoils, while the defeated, if lucky, escaped with injuries—if not, they lost their lives there.

This cycle of bloody struggle had persisted in the Shadowy Caverns for over three centuries, becoming an unspoken rule of the region. Both sides used their strongest apprentices as stakes in the contest for the monthly allocation of resources. The winner took all, the loser perished—a splendid stage for aspiring wizards to demonstrate their prowess.

Now, thanks to his unique abilities, Grimm had attracted the notice of the training camp led by Bald Alf, and thus was fortunate enough to join their ranks as an elite apprentice. This meant he would be even busier: in addition to participating in the apprentice missions organized by the Wizard Association every fifteen days, he would also have to join the training camp’s expeditions into the underground at irregular intervals.

As a result, Grimm’s accumulation of contribution points would far outpace that of an ordinary apprentice.

Having more or less figured out the situation at the training camp, Grimm took his leave from Kevin and returned to his own quarters.

Once he had locked the door and confirmed the safety of his surroundings, he began to remove all the magical items and artifacts from his body, one by one.

Noble circlet, thorn-armored bracelet, swift leather boots, Screaming Twig, gnome-engineered goggles...

Only after confirming that there was no magical effect left on him did Grimm softly command, “Chip, begin a full diagnostic of my current physical state…”

“Beep. Task received. Commencing full-body scan…”

A subtle, slow wave of mental energy swept through his body, and soon, Grimm’s latest biometric data was projected before him.

Name: Grimm
Race: Human
Attributes: Strength 4.17, Agility 4.36, Constitution 4.98, Spirit 8.42
Class: Wizard Apprentice (Junior)
Health: 18/18
Class Experience: 765/1000
Status: Healthy
Class Skills: Scroll Transcription, Spell Reading, Golem Crafting (Junior)
Personal Skills: Burning Hand (Solidified), Flame Arrow (Solidified), Flame Spear (Solidified)

Reading these lines of data, Grimm couldn’t help but smile with satisfaction.

Compared to his previously frail body, all aspects of Grimm’s physical stats had markedly improved. The most remarkable was his constitution, which had nearly risen by two full points. Just a month prior, Grimm’s constitution had only been at 3—an almost sickly level among wizard apprentices.

The other three physical attributes hadn’t increased as dramatically, but each had improved enough to break the long-standing stagnation of previous years.

After reviewing his stats, Grimm settled into his chair, reached into his storage belt, and retrieved a vial of Focusing Elixir, holding it up to study its contents in the light.

The pale blue potion swirled gently within the sulfur-sealed bottle, with tiny blue particles faintly visible inside. Yet, with the bottle sealed against outside air, even the chip found it difficult to analyze the potion’s alchemical composition.

Grimm lightly uncorked the bottle. Instantly, a briny scent reminiscent of the sea swept into his nostrils. Without hesitation, he tilted back his head and drank the potion in a single gulp.

The moment the liquid touched his tongue, a faint blue mist was expelled from his nostrils, gathering before him into the delicate shape of a mermaid no larger than a finger. The miniature mermaid withered rapidly in the air, and as her illusory form began to dissipate, a sharp, mournful wail suddenly filled the room.

The wail was brief, and the mermaid’s image soon vanished with the lingering mist. Yet the piercing cry carried a sorrowful curse directly into Grimm’s mind and soul.

“Chip, what just happened?”

“Beep. Detected a curse upon the flesh… Preliminary analysis: a negative side effect of the potion. Removing the curse will reduce the potion’s efficacy. Does the host wish to use spirit force to dispel the curse?”

Grimm sighed inwardly.

He had long heard that the Focusing Elixir carried severe side effects. Now it was confirmed. If he wished to increase his spirit, he would have to endure the ravages of the flesh curse in silence.

“No. Maintain active monitoring only.”

“Command received. Potion effect now activating…”

On the projected biometric display before his eyes, the number representing his spirit began to slowly climb, while simultaneously, his constitution started to drop noticeably.

8.43… 8.44… 8.47… 8.53… 8.62…

4.98… 4.97… 4.95… 4.92…

Fortunately, yesterday’s hearty meal of magma drake blood and flesh had left Grimm with abundant vitality, enough to dull the pain that now gnawed at his organs like a thousand biting ants. Without that, he doubted he could endure the agony of this process.

Amidst the excruciating pain surging in every part of his body, the only comfort was the steady rise of his spirit stat.

8.98…

9.03…

9.08…

Watching his spirit edge past the threshold of 8 and finally reach 9, Grimm managed a grimace of a smile.

At last, the spirit stat stabilized at 9.27. Grimm grunted lowly.

“Chip, disperse the flesh curse!”

“Command received. Releasing fire elemental particles…”

Waves of soothing warmth washed through his body, gradually easing and finally erasing the numb, aching pain. At this point, Grimm’s stats had settled as follows: Strength 4.12, Agility 4.36, Constitution 4.21, Spirit 9.27.

So—this bottle of Focusing Elixir had given Grimm a 0.85 point boost in spirit, but at the cost of a 0.77 drop in constitution and a 0.05 decline in strength.

Grimm stood up and flexed. The emptiness left by the reduction in constitution was less severe than he’d feared—clearly, yesterday’s feast had provided hidden benefits. The increase in spirit, however, brought a comprehensive enhancement of his abilities: his mind moved more swiftly, his perceptions deepened, and his overall power grew notably.

Unable to resist the temptation, Grimm hesitated for half a second, then fished out another vial of Focusing Elixir from his storage belt. He uncorked it and drank it down.

The same process, the same flesh curse. Grimm, full of anticipation, endured the tormenting side effects, focusing all his willpower on the steadily climbing spirit stat.

9.29…

9.33…

9.46…

9.52…

…

Meanwhile, the chip began to issue gentle warnings.

“Warning: tissue damage level exceeds 17%.”

“Damage exceeds 19%.”

“Damage exceeds 21%.”

“Beep… Warning: damage exceeds 25%. If unchecked, host will enter short-term weakened state. Do you wish to intervene?”

Grimm gritted his teeth and replied, “No!”

What had begun as a crawling itch now became excruciating agony. Sweat poured from Grimm’s forehead as he writhed in his chair, clinging to consciousness with iron will. If he fainted, the curse would dissipate on its own, causing even greater loss to his constitution. Even if it meant saving just 0.01 points of constitution, he was determined to remain awake.

9.87…

“Damage level at 22%.”

9.93…

“Damage level at 23%.”

9.99…

“Damage level at 24%.”

10.03…

“Damage level at 25%.”

When the stat for spirit ceased to rise, Grimm finally shouted, “Begin expulsion!”

Warm currents surged once more through his body, and the pain finally faded away. Grimm braced himself on the arms of his chair, trying twice to stand, but his numbed body refused to obey. Only then did his stats update:

Strength 4.02, Agility 4.28, Constitution 3.17, Spirit 10.03.

He had finally broken through to 10!

From this moment, Grimm could rightfully call himself an intermediate apprentice.

It had taken him only a month and a half to rise from 8 to 10 in spirit and thus advance from junior to intermediate apprentice. In contrast, it had taken him six agonizing years to go from 6 to 8. The difference that access to resources made was now painfully clear.

But the price was steep. In raising his spirit from 9.27 to 10.03—crossing a whole tier—his constitution had plummeted from 4.21 to 3.17, an astonishing decline. Even his strength dropped by 0.1, and agility by 0.08.

The cumulative damage of the Focusing Elixir was indeed as grave as rumored.