Chapter 16: Efficiency First
"Wilson, what brings you to me?" The Fat Mage waved from beside the alchemy table, a cup of strong tea drifting over from a nearby tea table. After finishing it, the cup returned to its original spot.
Xia Zuo's gaze followed the drifting teacup, quietly casting a probing spell. "I discovered unknown things but due to low mental and perceptual abilities, couldn't gather more detailed information."
Wilson presented three silver coins and a broken cane, briefly introducing the identities of Audrey and Xia Zuo, then recounted the information provided by Xia Zuo along with his own deductions.
The Fat Mage picked up the coins, sniffed them, and shook his head. "Too many mixed scents, no distinct residue."
Placing the broken cane on the alchemy table, he tinkered with it using a wrench and a screwdriver, extracting a telescopic rod with small gears and elongated parts.
Inspecting the rod through a magnifying glass, The Fat Mage shook his head after a few seconds. "The alchemical product's identification and origin have been erased. Any notable features around the hole?"
Feeling Audrey and The Fat Mage's curious gazes, Xia Zuo spoke, "About thirty meters south of the hole, there's a partially filled pit with the bodies of two boys."
"Ah, finding bodies makes it much easier; the stench of decay must be strong. Even if taken by beasts or consumed, some scent would linger."
The Fat Mage returned to his spot, again manipulating something hidden in his sleeves, muttering incomprehensible words to himself.
About half an hour later, The Fat Mage exclaimed in surprise, "Found it! Let me see... three big black charred marks in the hole, and here's a poor soul stabbed by a glass bottle. Is this it, young brat?"
"Yes."
"Not bad. Escaping from a place like that is quite something."
The Fat Mage glanced at Xia Zuo, winked, then resumed fiddling with what he held.
"The tools in the alchemy room are all shattered... hmm... no clues on the bodies of these three kids... the old man is clean, no identifying marks."
Scratching his head, The Fat Mage seemed perplexed.
After a moment's hesitation, he took a deep breath, "The smell in the underground alchemy room isn't as bad as I expected. The smell of decay isn't strong..."
Flaring his nostrils, he sniffed the air continuously, scrutinizing the various scents just like he did at the scene of the hole.
"Hehe, let me find it for you. It was hidden in the debris."
The Fat Mage chuckled, leaning down to sniff his hands, "Hmm, high-quality solvent, the reason for the explosion. This stuff is hard to come by; even the raw materials aren't cheap."
"Alright, I know how to find these rats hiding in the hole now."
The Fat Mage grinned, turning to Wilson and the others. "I was planning to chat a bit longer, but duty calls. Wilson, escort these two friends for me."
...
In a small reception room on the second floor of the castle.
Audrey and Xia Zuo rested here, waiting for Wilson's return.
The information provided by Xia Zuo was currently immeasurable in value.
The identity of the old villain could be confirmed by tracing the source of the high-quality solvent.
If the investigation revealed many rogue alchemists like the old man, abducting children from villages and having close ties to marauders burning villages...
That would be a significant achievement for Xia Zuo.
"Sorry for the wait."
Wilson entered the room carrying a bucket of scrolls.
"I've issued a bounty to search for rural alchemists kidnapping children. Anyone providing information will receive rewards from the Piethek Citadel's military, according to the importance of the information."
He handed the scrolls to Audrey. "This is yours and Xia Zuo's. I brought them directly, saving you a trip to the announcement board."
"Thank you, Wilson." Audrey nodded, pouring over the contents of the scrolls.
"When there's new information, I'll have the messenger guards inform you."
From his pocket, Wilson pulled out a pouch and handed it to Xia Zuo.
"Kid, your broken cane and those three coins, hand them over. This is your deserved reward."
The pouch contained twenty silver coins.
Just enough to buy a potion that instantly restores 20 health points!
No time to waste; he'd buy a spare on the way back.
...
More than twenty days after arriving at the Piethek Citadel.
【Level】LV.5
【Experience】31/200
The circus performance for the soldiers was reaching its end.
For over ten days, Xia Zuo had been devoted to earning experience every moment.
From fervently performing fire-breathing during the warm-up on stage to reading books, practicing fire-breathing, and squeezing stress balls, all for leveling up and gaining free attribute points.
In the evening, Xia Zuo sat in his room, staring blankly at the book spread out before him.
Since returning after dinner, he'd maintained this posture.
Yesterday, in the early hours, Audrey arrived and delivered ambiguous news to Xia Zuo, Pole Pie, and Sneck:
Fan Er Si had left without notice, departing the circus alone. And for the final show, Xia Zuo was supposed to officially perform fire-breathing.
Pole Pie and Sneck's reactions were mixed.
They were both pleased that the addict was leaving the team but concerned about the impact on the circus's income and reputation.
The heavy responsibility of revitalizing Audrey's circus had suddenly fallen onto Xia Zuo's shoulders.
This meant he had to allocate 1 to 2 more free attribute points to vitality for the flames he breathed to qualify as a proper performance.
The goal of reaching 10 points in mental attributes seemed further away.
Upon learning of Fan Er Si's departure, Xia Zuo left the inn and spent two days wandering the city, hoping to discover more efficient ways of gaining experience.
Brushing horses at the stables, carrying burdens for farmers, assisting hawkers with carts, repairing clothes at the tailor's shop, even slaughtering chickens at the butcher's to borrow space for the task...
He did everything available in the city, only stopping short of patrolling the streets with a weapon or asking Wilson about joining the military.
As expected, fire-breathing performances yielded the most experience and were the most efficient.
Xia Zuo picked up a pen, scribbling numbers and formulas on the paper, signifying things only he comprehended.
Half an hour later, he lit the paper on fire, watching it turn to ashes in the basin in the washroom.
The result of his calculations was...
Xia Zuo berated himself, feeling like a fool. He should have settled down and calculated this long ago.
The template of the 'Golden Finger' seemed attribute-based at a glance, but truthfully, the levels were the core.
Beforehand, the 'Golden Finger' had made it clear: the higher the level, the more free attribute points gained upon leveling up.
In other words, the higher the efficiency in gaining experience, the faster the acquisition of these free attribute points.
Rather than fretting over where to allocate these free points, it was better to do everything possible to increase the leveling speed.
Whenever one gained two or more free attribute points from a single level-up, any previously wasted attribute points in enhancing efficiency were immediately recovered!
Xia Zuo focused, eyeing the plus sign next to the Vitality attribute.
"Vitality: 5+1→6
Health Points: 22+3→25
Healing Rate:
[Base Healing Rate]
1.11+0.18→1.29 points/hour."
He concocted a vial of mixed flame-spitting elixir, using intermediate flame-spitting elixir as the base ingredient.
"Audrey's Intermediate Mixed Flame-Spitting Elixir; it deducts 7 health points per hour when ingested."
The deduction rate on the panel compared to the performance rate seemed to be at a ratio of roughly 5:1.
With a healing rate of 1.38 points per hour, it neatly covered the deduction rate during the performance.
Spewing a small flame (0.5 meters) was effortless and could be sustained for a dozen seconds. If a few drops of intense fire solvent were added to enhance the flame's power, sustaining a medium flame (1 meter) for about 10 seconds was not impossible.
Xia Zuo picked up the elixir vial and torch, heading to the backyard of the inn to experiment.
With a higher healing rate, the effects of 'Undying Body' self-healing became more apparent.
Short bursts of flame spewing didn't cause discomfort in the throat.
The success rate for a medium flame reached 100%.
"Oh, why didn't I understand this earlier!?" Xia Zuo slapped his forehead, his face filled with regret.
Boosting the Vitality attribute earlier would have significantly enhanced the brilliance of the flame-spitting performance, surely garnering far more than 31 experience points in the past ten days! Why fuss over point allocation when efficiency in gaining experience was paramount?
"Golden Finger, enhance me!"
Xia Zuo shouted in his mind, allocating the remaining 2 free attribute points to Vitality.
"Vitality: 6+2→8
Health Points: 25+1+2→28
Healing Rate:
[Base Healing Rate]
1.29+0.33→1.62 points/hour."
With a healing rate of 2.09 points per hour, matching the 10 points per hour panel deduction rate of the flame-spitting elixir.
Xia Zuo added 3 drops of intense fire solvent to the intermediate mixed flame-spitting elixir.
Instantly, the spewed flames reached a length of about 1.6 meters. With a little more force, it turned into a strong flame (at least 2 meters), easily sustained for 5 seconds.
"Real-time Healing Rate:
1.62-16→-14.38 points/hour
Average Healing Rate:
1.62-1.33→0.29 points/hour."
Returning to the room, Xia Zuo concocted 2 vials of secondary elixirs for warm-up, 2 vials of intermediate elixirs for the initial appearance, 1 vial for emotional stirring, and 1 vial for the peak performance stage.
He carried the flame-spitting elixirs in his bag, holding the torch as he arrived at the pointed tent, donning the flame-spitting performance strap left by Wilson.
"Exhale~"
"Exhale!!"
"Exhale~~"
Alone on the stage, Xia Zuo rehearsed, facing the empty audience seats with a radiant smile, as if they were filled with spectators cheering for him.
Alternating between 6 vials of mixed flame-spitting elixirs, he continuously spewed flames, consuming them all only after a full 10 minutes.
"Health Points:
24/28 (Mild Poisoning)
Average Healing Rate:
-
2.2 points/hour."
This marked Xia Zuo's maximum intensity in flame-spitting performance.
If forced, the pain in his mouth would affect the smoothness of spitting, potentially causing failure or, worse, accidentally swallowing the elixir and falling into a poisoned state.
After stopping the spewing, Xia Zuo's 'Average Healing Rate' on the character panel was stabilizing. The prickling sensation in his mouth slowly faded.
Sustaining high-intensity flame-spitting, supported by high vitality, resulted in only a mild poisoning effect causing blood loss, with no other adverse reactions.
Comparatively, Wilson needed pain-relieving elixirs to suppress the discomfort during high-intensity continuous spitting.
The superiority and inferiority were crystal clear.
Vitality and flame-spitting, truly an unparalleled combination.
Xia Zuo stretched his arms, immersed in the air filled with the scent of elixirs.
The white smoke from the flames swirled around him, seeming to praise his splendid performance.
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