Chapter 3287

Passing the news of tomorrow's action to the church was done by Miss Reinhardt's followers; the witch's followers seemed to be very good at doing such things.

And Xia De wasn't idle this afternoon. The "Magic Potion Merchant" hadn't returned from tidying up his magic potion shop, and the meeting time agreed with Major Rads was next week, so he found some other things to do for himself.

Xia De hadn't forgotten about the ink for writing on the snake slough that Luvia mentioned in the morning. He inquired about it from the two elders after lunch, but the elders said that although there were indeed some ancient documents left on snake sloughs, this tradition had long since disappeared, and they didn't have any ink formula:

"However, Claire's father has studied the ink composition on those ancient snake sloughs, seemingly wanting to determine the evolution of the local writing style. You can go ask him."

The witch had other things to do in the afternoon, so Xia De visited the Reinhardt family alone. Today was Thursday, and Mrs. Reinhardt went to the school in the town to teach, but the folklore professor was at home.

He wasn't drunk today. After inviting Xia De in and hearing Xia De's question, he invited Xia De to sit down and talk:

"Mr. Watson, have you learned about the evolution of ink-making methods? Before the steam age, the ink people used was mostly iron gall ink, which required crushing gallnuts, extracting tannic acid, coloring, thickening, cellar storage, etc. The production process was very complex, and the finished ink was corrosive."

He picked up the fountain pen on the table again:

"And as we speak now, common ink is a product of coal tar chemicals, cheap and easy to use. But the ink marks on the ancient snake slough texts of the Fatum people, according to my investigation, are not the above two types of ink; they are mineral pigments. To be precise, they are finished products of mineral pigments mixed with other materials."

"Mineral... is it the mineral on this island?"

The professor nodded:

"Very sharp, yes. I once spent half a year trying to find local minerals to compare and match with the colors on the ancient snake slough texts, but all failed. Later, Elder Ursa told me that the unique deep brown color looked like a mineral called 'Snake Scale Stone' produced on the snow mountain. This stone is named because its surface has patterns that look like snake scales."

Xia De didn't expect to find a clue so smoothly:

"Then this kind of stone..."

"To ordinary people, it's just a stone, but it seems to be some kind of rare material for you supernatural beings. The Snake Scale Stone produced on the snow mountain is rare, and the Fatum people don't have the habit of hoarding these useless stones.

So you can try your luck on the mountain yourself, or look for it in the local black market."

"You even know about the local black market?"

Professor Reinhardt nodded with a smile:

"Clock Tower Black Market, although I haven't been there, I've heard of it. I haven't learned the technique of making mineral pigments, but I can be sure that the pigments on the ancient snake slough texts are not pure mineral pigments; some special ingredients should have been added to them.

But this is no longer the research category of an ordinary person like me, so I didn't continue to study it deeply back then. Perhaps you can ask some supernatural herbalists or pharmacists. There are still snake slough texts in the tribe; maybe those who have mastered supernatural power can distinguish other ingredients in the pigments from those ancient texts."

The best pharmacist in the area was naturally the "Magic Potion Merchant" Mr. Sargent. When he returned at 2:30 in the afternoon, Xia De mentioned this to him. Mr. Sargent was naturally willing to help Xia De analyze the composition of the ancient ink, and even had "Snake Scale Stone" in his collection.

"I rarely use this kind of stone either. Since you need it, just take it away. Besides Fatumunster Island, I haven't seen this kind of stone elsewhere. This stone should only be used by local Ring Mages."

"Can this stone also be used to configure magic potions?"

The "Snake Scale Stone" wasn't big, and its shape wasn't regular, but the surface that was the smoothest indeed had patterns that looked like snake scales.

"It can. This is also something I discovered after living here for many years—adding some Snake Scale Stone powder when boiling magic potions seems to help improve the success rate of magic potion boiling, but I can't be sure if this is the influence of psychological factors.

I'm no longer the kind of pharmacist who needs to care about the success rate. I care more about whether the efficacy of all materials has been exerted. So I'm just interested in this stone; it's useless to keep it here."

"Then what do the local Ring Mages use it for?"

"When making alchemical items like amulets, adding a little stone fragment can make the amulet's effect better, but the degree of improvement isn't very large. There are many diviners in the Principality of Lagson, so there are many Ring Mages who make amulets. The function of this stone was discovered long ago, but the price in the black market isn't high, which can well explain that it actually doesn't have much effect."

As for distinguishing the composition of the ink on ancient texts, according to Mr. Sargent, every pharmacist with small achievements has his own unique method to distinguish the materials of potions, and ink can naturally be counted as a magic potion.

Xia De then borrowed a copy of ancient snake slough text from the elders who were planning the All Souls Festival activity flow in the snow mountain hall, and let Mr. Sargent distinguish it on the spot.

"Don't worry about breaking it; I have the ability to reverse time and repair items."

Mr. Sargent took a separate room and spent half an hour telling Xia De the result by the window:

"The main component is indeed Snake Scale Stone, and the other components are a bit complicated. There are eighteen components in total, fourteen of which are common. I listed the list, and you can find them yourself. The remaining four... one of them is human blood."

Seeing that Xia De had no expression, he continued:

"The content is very small, but I can't distinguish whether this human blood has special meaning. After all, if you use ritual means to make ink, maybe the selected blood has symbolic meaning. For example, born in a specific year and month, or having some bloodline.

The second is the solvent for mineral pigments. Before this year, I would definitely have thought it was just clear water, but during the treatment process, the elders generously prepared some snow mountain water for me. Yes, the solvent is that expensive and rare snow mountain water."

"Looking at your expression, the last two materials must be the most precious."

"Yes, the third is the root extract of a plant native to the snow mountain. That plant, known as 'Tear Fern,' has surface parts that look like teardrops hanging down. It only grows in the high-altitude areas of the Fatumunster Snow Mountain, and can even be said to be the most well-known and precious material on this island—it is one of the few materials that can enhance the stability of the 'Bell-Ringing Potion'."

Ring Ringed Ringed Shushi awakening requires five steps in the regular process, namely collecting elements, ringing the bell, lighting the fire, pushing, and singing. Ringing the bell refers to shaking the soul and letting the soul undergo the initial sublimation. This step sounds complicated, but it's actually drinking magic potions.

Different organizations have different formulas, and different formulas have some differences in taste, stability, and success rate, so magic potion materials that can enhance the stability of this unique magic potion are indeed very precious.

"Do you have any in your hand?"

Xia De asked, and Mr. Sargent immediately shook his head:

"I used to have it, but it's long gone. The local Five Gods Church has been buying this material at a high price in the black market all year round... The price is really high, and you basically can't see it on the market. It is said that the church has studied whether it can be planted in other mountain ranges at high altitudes, but facts have proven that Tear Fern can only grow on this snow mountain outside the window.

The Fatum people definitely have Tear Fern. Magic potions configured with this plant are essential potions for the All Souls Festival. Every year, the elders prepare half a year in advance. But now the All Souls Festival is approaching, so I'm afraid they don't have extra materials to spare for you."

"I see. Let's talk about this herb later. Then what about the last component?"

The magic potion merchant actually looked at the door nervously before lowering his voice by the window:

"Although it's incredible, but... Philosopher's Stone."

"What?"

"The amount is very small; it is the material with the least usage among all the components of the ink. I can guarantee that it is not a fake like 【Counterfeit Philosopher's Stone】, but some fragments of the genuine Sage-level relic 【Philosopher's Stone】. It's incredible, right? Just for the relevant texts of the tribe's history, the Philosopher's Stone was actually added to it. Are the ancient Fatum people very rich?

But this text itself has no special effect; this practice is really a waste. If I had the Philosopher's Stone, I would definitely use it to make more rare potions."

But what Xia De felt was even more incredible was that Mr. Sargent could identify the "Philosopher's Stone," which at least showed that this magic potion merchant who came from outside many years ago had indeed contacted or even deeply understood the Philosopher's Stone.

So his background was definitely unusual. Xia De discovered that everyone on this island really had secrets.

However, although the full composition of the ink was determined, Mr. Sargent couldn't determine the specific production process. According to him, the difficulty of distinguishing magic potion components is like a limited-degree contest between Ring Mages of the same level, and guessing the production process of unknown magic potions out of thin air is about the same difficulty as containing an Angel-level relic.

"Try your luck with a diviner; besides clocks, this place is rich in this."

He gave the most suitable suggestion:

"Although the Prophet Association doesn't take private jobs in name, as long as there is a way, you can find any kind of diviner in the Principality of Lagson. Different diviners have different areas of expertise. I heard that some people even specialize in helping people investigate emotional relationships."

Mr. Sargent even wanted to introduce a few high-ring diviners he was familiar with to Xia De, but was rejected by Xia De. He didn't want to get involved with local diviners on this mysterious island for the time being. The first diviner he met here—Mr. Mortis—was troublesome enough.

(End of chapter)