Chapter 240: Secretary-General

Among all the inheritors of Heroic Spirits, Victoria always believed she was the most special.

Special because she was so mediocre.

Of her peers, there was an ancient, resurrected mechanical race; a maiden blessed by the gods; a telepath with multiple personalities and a high noble; a magical girl who broke free from beast control and looked like a protagonist; a Mushroom King striving to escape racial limits; and, aside from that male alchemist she had no chance to meet, she was probably the most mediocre.

"Even that Orc alchemist must be extraordinary."

She had always harbored a latent inferiority complex and unease.

Especially seeing others make obvious progress: a Dark Elf in a similar situation to her suddenly became a Maiden and High Priestess; the mechanical race achieved absurd evolution; even the Mushroom King acquired his own new underground territory and began running his own business.

"Welcome."

The suddenly ringing doorbell initially failed to catch her attention; business at her small shop had always been terrible, with occasional customers who would just look around and leave. Opening an alchemy shop in the dock district was like selling cars in a slum; she had already been feeling quite down about it.

Yet, those potions, discounted again and again, had still helped many people, making her quite happy. Some needs and ailments had not vanished; if they could never receive aid, it would be the people with those needs and ailments who would silently disappear.

These past few days, she had tried repeatedly "downgrading" her painkillers, disease-curing potions, and antidotes, lowering costs—that is, prices—as much as possible while retaining their effects as much as possible. To her surprise, with the aid of certain special powers, she had actually succeeded.

Those "watered-down potions" selling for a few copper coins a bottle were hugely popular here. Even Demont had complained twice, urging her to watch her customers and avoid these potions falling into the hands of bad people, but this clearly exceeded Victoria's capabilities.

"If you need healing potions, they are on the left shelf, marked with signs. If you want small gadgets, you can write your request on the desk to the right and leave a deposit. Eh? How is it you? A rare guest."

Li En looked at the "Doorbell Boy" smiling down at him from above, and the "Broom Lady" happily sweeping the floor, and felt a bit numb.

In this not-so-large hall, aside from the shopkeeper dozing at the counter, every corner was bustling with activity.

On the bookshelves, two winged magic books were floating and organizing the shelves.

Inside a crucible, a cauldron with two hands sticking out was diligently stirring the pale yellow potion within its own body.

On the other side, in the sink, a self-made faucet was spraying water while washing bottles and bowls in the basin.

When she first entered, Victoria, wearing a large-brimmed hat, had slumped over the desk and let out a yawn, while her chair was actually massaging her... even extending a hand to make a shushing gesture.

"I have something to ask you. Don't you think your shop is a bit strange?"

"Uh, even if it's you mocking my empty shop, I will still get angry."

The Dark Elf girl sighed. Business had been truly terrible lately. Forget hiring an employee; she didn't even know when she would recover the renovation costs, even with rent being nearly zero. Demont, though a bit nagging, had truly taken good care of local industry, even waiving many necessary fees.

Li En looked around left and right; these "little ones" all greeted him, but each also made a silence gesture, making him sigh.

"As expected, none of Kuk's disciples are normal."

But Li En ultimately did not expose it. He vaguely sensed that Victoria's situation was somewhat similar to Shaliman's back then: a "new self" was growing rapidly, while the main consciousness was unconsciously ignoring it.

This was akin to a state between sleep and wakefulness, more suitable for the rapid growth of a "newborn."

Since this was Victoria's power, Li En naturally would not expose it and disrupt her normal incubation.

"A soul-splitting ability? It's somewhat like material animation."

Of course, it also resembled schizophrenia shifting from mania to multiplicity; feeling good about oneself, while the person themselves is the last to know.

For transcendent beings, however, abnormalities are not necessarily bad things, especially when bolstered by Heroic Spirits.

The upper limit of this power might involve creation, while the lower limit is at least creating an army of puppets.