Chapter 141: Tardus Descendit
Lucas entered the passage and walked up the stairs that led him to a long narrow dark passage.
Lucas lit up a small fireball. As the entire area lit up, he looked at the underground structure which looked like underground sewage.
True to its conclusion, Lucas heard the gurgling of water and a rotten smell hit his nose.
He looked forward and saw the light at the opening in front, he dashed forward and he appeared at the opening of the sewage.
Lucas closed his nose and looked around to see metallic stairs and climbed up.
"The member of Villain Society are quite cautious," Lucas spoke as he walked up the metallic stairs.
One cannot exit the passage from the way one entered and have to know about the bookshelf to get out once going inside. This was just a precaution so that if someone other than the Villain Society entered, he will not able to leave and maybe caught by the other member.
As Lucas climbed and walked in the small alleyway street, he heard a loud explosion and saw a huge burst of fire spreading nearby and huge trails of dark smoke hovered in the sky.
After killing the members of the Villain Society, Lucas didn't want to take the risk of someone founding his description and analyse the details of the fight so he decided to destroy the entire crime spot.
So putting a bomb and making an explosion was one of the wisest choices.
Though it will attract attention both from members of Villain Society and Knight, they wouldn't be able to figure out anything as nothing worthwhile would be left after the fire burning everything.
Lucas already burnt a little part of his hands for safety precautions.
The entire capital is under lockdown and the knight would be searching at every turn. With his identity as a student Horizon, he can give an excuse of being in the Plaza to watch the parade and but the disaster had badly injured him and now he was on his way home.
While Lucas walked, he felt a sense of drowsiness hit him and he staggered in his steps.
The world around him seemed to revolve. He felt as if he is in a drunken state.
"Shit!" Lucas cursed as he held his hand.
Lucas searched in his dimension space only to see that there was no antidote left.
He spent too much time and being a 3-Star even after taking the antidote, he can't avoid the side effects of that powder.
Lucas bit his lips, to sober up a little.
"I have to find James quickly," Lucas spoke as he tried to speed up towards James' house.
...
Inside the white lab.
James was busy with his research.
On his left eye, he wore s a small round speck that helped him in zooming in and out.
Controlling the mechanical arms, he stitched the fibres of the suit and applied his compressing principle to make the suit smaller and smaller until it became compressed like a ball.
He was about to make the next battle suit when he heard the sound of the ringing of a bell.
James decided to finish the final steps before seeing who visited him but the ringing of the doorbell became louder and louder.
"Tsk." James clicked his tongue in annoyance, recently he had been getting many visitors who are asking him to sign a contract with them for the battlesuit and they offered quite a sum of money.
But he declined, after all where were all those bastards when he was begging for investment, where were day while he was researching kn hunger stomach.
No one offered him when he was helpless except the boy who came like rays of light of sunshine when his life was full of darkness.
So, he had declined all of them. In this life, he had dedicated all his work to helping Lucas and vowed to support Lucas with his gadgets.
Even after repeatedly declining them, those people are repeatedly visiting him and which was quite annoying for him.
James frowned as he opened the computer to see who visited him. He saw Lucas standing in front of the door and knocking on the door repeatedly while ringing the doorbell.
James rushed and opened the door.
As soon as he opened the door, a blood-soaked smell assaulted his nose and Lucas's head fell on his shoulder.
He saw Lucas was panting heavily and was soaked in blood.
"Lucas, what happened to you?" James asked as he took Lucas's shoulder to support him and took him inside.
He laid Lucas on the sofa and looked at him worried tone and took out the blood-soaked cloak.
Seeing the putrid bloody smell coming from Lucas, he decided to open his shirt and threw it to the side and was about to leave to bring a glass of water but Lucas held his hand and spoke"Antidote."
"What!" James asked as he was not able to hear Lucas's faint voice.
"Give me the antidote, the one we had made," Lucas spoke loudly.
James panicked as he finally got what happened to Lucas and ran inside and in an instant, he can with a small tube with a greenish liquid in it.
Lucas took the tube from James' hand and gulped it in one go.
Gulp!
As he gulped it down, his body jolted and a small headache assaulted him.
"Hush."Lucas exhaled heavily after taking the antidote and sat there for a few moments closing his eyes and massaging his forehead.
" Lucas, the things you made are quite potent. Do you have plans to make it and sell the powder in the market?"James asked and further added, "I am sure it will fetch a huge some of the money, maybe even more than the suits."
Lucas laid his back on the sofa and thought about it closing his eyes.
'Tardus Descendit .'
That was the name of the powder that Lucas used which means slow down.
It all started with the small crystal, Lucas had picked from the necklace, the goblin was wearing.
The small crystal that he randomly picked from the goblin was a mana crystal.
So, what are mana crystals
As one knows, mana is everywhere in the air but still the quantity and quality of mana vary from place to place.
Sometimes, in places where there is a high density of mana, there is a chance of mana being condensed in the form of liquid and from a mana fluid.
One sip of mana fluid can greatly energise you and improve your body constitution.
When the concentration of mana fluid became higher, there are chances of it giving birth to a mana vein, a crystallised form of mana which when extracted and broken down, mana crystal or mana stones are obtained.
Mana stones are the purest form of mana which when absorbed can greatly increase your chances of breakthrough or mana capacity.
Moreover, there is a one in million chance of mana vein having an attribute and can grant the absorber a natural ability like elemental bloodline ability.
One such mana vein is present in Mist Forest which Fredrick absorbed to get the lightning ability.
The only difference between gaining an elemental ability from a mana vein and the elemental bloodline ability was that the ability gained from the mana vein is not heritable to future generations like bloodline abilities.
Like Fredrick's lightning ability which he gained from mana, the vein cannot be passed to his children, unlike the lightning ability that Dame's with one bloodline.
Lucas concluded that one of the reasons for the highly developed goblin was the presence of mana fluid or mana vein in the forest.
This may be also one of the reasons that the darkness Cult wanted to turn the entire forst into a Forest of Darkness and take it under them.
Initially, Lucas wanted to take a look and try his fortune to get a mana crystal but after all the things that happened, he didn't dare to.
Now coming onto the powder. It was one of the things that were invented later in the novel.
While experimenting on the mana crystal, a mad scientist accidentally discovered it by mixing the things.
He used the rare herbs and some other chemicals to make boost potions which increase one strength for a short time but the mixture he made exploded and a huge mist dispersed from the small explosion.
As he inhaled the fumes, he felt a sense of drowsiness and the mana in his body was suppressed for a long time and everything became fast for him but in truth, he was the one whose sense had been slowed down.
This powder attacks one sense and when dispersed into the air and inhaled by an awakened, his body function started to slow down.
Though the effect is temporary it can affect one in long run, if he is constantly pitied against the powder.
All the things required to make it wasn't rare except the mana crystal.
Mana crystals are highly valuable.
The Cyprus Kingdom had just one small mine and most of the crystals are imported from Ralph.
The Eckart who is known as God of Wealth monopolized three mana crystal mines for themselves and are the largest distributors of mana crystals.
It was the mines of the mana crystal that made them what they are now and they have built their empire of Wealth on it.
Later due to mass scale usage f this powder people tried to make an antidote to guard against this powder.
Though it can't affect warriors above 6-Star but affecting the low warriors who form a bulk of an army, it was quite effective which crippled the main supports.
Lucas used the small mana crystal to make the powder which he used to get rid of the members of the Villain Society.
He first spread it in the air from the moment he entered the shop so that the guys from Villain Society already inhaled a major portion of it and when it was time for Lucas to step in, they would be already affected by it.
Without the cheap tricks taking out Azeroth was nearly impossible.
Azeroth would become an 8-star in near future and consolidating his power in Villain society would wreak havoc on the kingdom, in the upcoming humans with demons.
He would make use of the Villain Society to swallow the forces and cut down the path of retreat but against all odds, Fredrick will risk his life and finally kill it but he was heavily injured by the end of the fight and passed out for a month.
Lucas after thinking about the things pulled out the ring and smiled and spoke.
"Ring of Karkarass. Finally, I got you."