Garth worked in silence, the stillness of the night broken only by the crackle of flames and the occasional clink of metal. The first task was to recreate the Bubonic Tree Neutralizer.

  Though he encountered a minor hiccup midway, he ultimately managed to reproduce the neutralizer—this time in a different form. He poured the mixture into two of the many potion bottles he had purchased earlier.

  But his work was far from over.

  The next objective was far more dangerous: the Bubonic Bomb. Crafting it was notoriously tricky—especially without the intricately designed alchemical apparatuses that made the process safer and more manageable.

  Alas, there was no other choice.

  He rummaged through the heavy bag of materials he'd hauled home from the market. Inside were rare and volatile ingredients: Bubonic Tree sap, Seris ore, Verijin Crystals, Sunstone herbs, Mudlion tusks, Alchemist Catalyst, Spark Rocks, Firebird ash—each one more dangerous than the last.

  First, he selected the Verijin Crystals and tossed them into the fire to heat. Then he grabbed a mixing bowl and began combining the Bubonic sap, Sunstone herbs, and a few careful drops of Alchemist Catalyst.

  He crushed the Sunstone herbs in a mortar with steady hands until they melted into a pulpy blend. Once the consistency was right, he turned his attention to the Mudlion tusks.

  Placing them on a flat stone slab, he brought down the hammer with deliberate force. The tusks shattered into jagged pieces, which he immediately added to the herb mixture already in the pot.

  Next, he retrieved the now-glowing Verijin Crystals from the fire and submerged them into a bowl of cold water. This rapid shift in temperature reversed their usual properties—a risky but necessary adjustment.

  Now came the most critical phase: fire regulation.

  He had to keep the flame perfectly balanced. One wrong move, one misjudged flicker of heat, and the Bubonic Tree sap could evaporate—its fumes capable of triggering a pandemic.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  He fed the fire constantly, blowing on it and tossing in firewood like a man possessed. The pot eventually turned bright red, signaling the peak of the mixture’s reaction.

  That was his cue.

  He grabbed a stick and slid the pot off its stance, then quickly positioned a metal bowl beneath it. The green, glowing concoction inside the pot revealed an oil-like film at the top—the Spirit. Slowly, it began dripping into the bowl.

  Bit by bit, the Spirit collected, and just before the green liquid beneath could mix in, Garth pushed the pot back onto its stand.

  What remained inside the bowl was among the most dangerous substances he had ever handled. A single drop of this oily Spirit on bare skin would bore straight through flesh and exit the other side.

  He handled the bowl with extreme caution.

  With the Spirit collected, the next step was infusing the Verijin Crystals. He picked them out of the water one by one, setting them aside carefully—until one slipped from his fingers and shattered against the ground.

  Instantly, it disintegrated into vapor, spreading fast. Garth cursed under his breath. One crystal gone—and those things weren’t cheap.

  Ordinarily, Verijin Crystals absorbed toxins from the air. But by heating and then cooling them, he had reversed that effect, transforming them into miniature dispersal agents. Upon impact, the volatile particles would erupt outward in all directions.

  He now had his smokescreen. All that remained was to soak the remaining crystals in the Spirit. Once saturated, they would form the core of a flesh-eating bomb.

  Leaving the crystals to absorb the Spirit, Garth turned to the final item on his list.

  He gathered the Firebird ash, Seris ore, Alchemist Catalyst, and Spark Rocks into one spot. Carefully, he poured the Firebird ash into a fresh bowl, then used his hammer to crush the Spark Rocks.

  Sparks flew with every strike. One particularly dangerous spark shot toward his face—but by sheer luck (or perhaps divine grace from Calista), it missed his eye by mere millimeters.

  Once reduced to powder, the crushed Spark Rocks were mixed into the Firebird ash.

  He returned to inspect the previous mixture in the pot. As hoped, the green liquid had transformed into a harmless powdery residue. Normally, he would clean the pot, but time was of the essence. The leftover powder wouldn’t interfere with the next process—so why waste the effort?

  He dumped the Firebird-and-Spark mixture into the pot and grabbed a long stick to stir. Almost immediately, the mixture began absorbing heat, its color shifting to a glowing red.

  Garth poured the entire contents of the Alchemist Catalyst into the blend. The mixture's temperature surged, and the red glow flared into a bright, blinding gold.

  The heat became unbearable. He staggered backward, shielding his face from the intense energy.

  Without hesitation, he grabbed the Seris ore and hurled it into the blazing mixture. The reaction was immediate—the heat vanished, absorbed by the ore.

  He lunged forward, stick in hand, and struck the pot with a resounding PANG.

  The metal vibrated, sending those pulses through the mixture and directly into the Seris ore. The ore began to glow—first red, then gold.

  As the light faded, Garth struck the pot again. The glow returned.

  "Five… four…" he began to count aloud.

  From five to one as the seconds hand ticked down. He needed to strike the pot the perfect amount of times in the perfect amount of time intervals.

  Too many strikes, and the Seris ore would disintegrate into ash. Too few, and it would harden into useless metal.

  But more than that, if Garth missed the count down even by a second, he would be dead before he even knew it.

  With every strike, his heart pounded in his chest, leaping into his throat. His hands trembled—not from fatigue, but from fear.

  Yet he stayed strong, he had to do this.