Witcher's Atelier

Vizima - Temple District - In front of Kalkstein's Alchemy Workshop

"Kalkstein is an alchemist with a strange personality. He rarely appears outside. His income mainly comes from supplying unknown potions to several nobles for a long time. It is said that he is very difficult to get along with. Almost no one can talk to him normally..."

At this point, Angouleme stopped.

"Hmm...Hmm...What about below?"

"Nothing below."

The air suddenly became quiet.

Then Victor's voice rose slightly: "That's it? Are you kidding me?

This introduction is as good as nothing! I asked you to come for ten days first and you gave me this?"

"No, Captain, this is all the information I got from the people around me. You also said not to contact him first and not to let him have preconceived prejudices. What can I do?" Angouleme replied with a wronged and aggrieved look.

Just when I thought the members had improved, reality slapped the captain in the face.

The young man helplessly observed this ordinary-looking house. Only the name of Kalkstein hung on the door proved that this famous alchemist lived here.

Now that they were here, there was no point in thinking too much. The leader and two members of the group pushed the door and entered the house. The first floor of the house was just an ordinary residential structure, empty, but the sound of people arguing could be heard faintly coming from the basement.

After thinking for a while, Victor waved his hand to let Angouleme wait on the first floor, and walked down the stairs leading to the basement alone. Along the way, he could smell the increasingly strong smell of medicine. It was probably that alchemy had similar views, and Kalkstein also built facilities in the basement.

As he walked down, the sound of the argument became clearer, as if he was discussing the plague. Going around the screen, the young man stopped and saw two people sitting and talking. It can be said that they were quite different...

One was shorter, with a lush and long goatee, and his long hair was combed back to reveal a broad forehead, and his facial features were slightly regressive.

The other was tall and thin, with fluffy short curly hair and a slightly hooked nose, but he looked quite charming under the well-trimmed moustache.

"Listen, Alexander, what you are thinking of is not feasible at all..."

"No, no, no! Kalkstein, shut up, at least listen to me first, my point is..."

They were so engaged in the discussion that they didn't notice Victor's arrival at all.

However, the boy didn't interrupt their discussion, waiting quietly in place, and didn't take another step forward, because the wolf faction badge was trembling slightly, reminding him of the existence of magic.

Observing casually, Victor saw several magic traps that were not intended to be concealed at all. It was obvious that this alchemist master was not an amateur in magic, and the protection of the alchemy room would not be limited to what could be seen on the outside.

Continuing to observe, this spacious alchemy studio is a layout with a bookshelf on one side and tools on the other. There are extraction bottles, grinding mortars, mixing beakers, fermentation barrels, distiller, filter pots, and of course, there is also a large boiling cauldron in the middle of the room, which is indispensable for alchemy and all witches.

Imagine if he were to work here, the boy believed that he would like this refreshing and convenient feeling. He decided to make his own alchemy room based on Kalkstein's layout.

"... In short, Karl, apart from the known contact with patients or corpses, splashing pus or blood, there must be a medium that plays a decisive role, otherwise the Catriona plague cannot spread so far..."

"Well... water, air... the most likely possibility should be a living medium, and it is hard to say whether this medium itself is affected by the plague..."

At this point, the air suddenly became quiet, and the two people who were talking fell into a silent state of thinking at the same time.

At this moment, "── It's rats!" A strange voice broke the silence.

Kalkstein was a little surprised, turned his head to look at the source of the voice, and retorted calmly: "We have considered rats a long time ago, but no symptoms of the disease were found in them, and there were no signs of rat bites on the original patients' bodies!"

Alexander also raised his head in surprise and found that the person who spoke was a young man, who looked no more than 20 years old, wearing a mercenary outfit but carrying a herbal bag on his back, which looked a little out of place.

The young man ignored Kalkstein's rebuttal. He continued with a calm and confident expression: "No! It's rats, to be precise, it's the fleas on rats.

Flea bites are the main medium for the spread of Catriona Plague."

Catriona is the name of the Nilfgaardian ship that brought the plague.

Most of the infected people suddenly develop inflammation, redness, swelling, tenderness and may burst and ooze pus in the groin, while a few start from the armpits or neck.

Yesterday in the tavern, based on the symptoms described by Shani: abscesses spreading all over the body, gray skin, and black limbs, Victor intuitively thought of an ancient disease he had never seen before - the Black Death, or the plague.

But the outstanding intellectuals of this era are not stupid. They have taken correct epidemic prevention measures, cleaning houses to reduce pollution, indirectly eliminating rats, isolating infected patients, and burning dead bodies. They have almost done the best they could before they had antibiotics.

Victor had nothing to add to Shani after hearing what she said. She even had a mask, although the shape was a bit weird from a modern aesthetic point of view.

Anyway, when the answer of flea bites came out──

Kalkstein fell silent.

Alexander also fell silent.

Then the tall Alexander suddenly jumped up from his chair, chanted a spell loudly and opened the portal with milky white ripples. He walked in such a hurry that he didn't even pay attention to Kalkstein or say hello, and disappeared through the portal without a trace.

The atavistic Kalkstein raised his head thoughtfully, waved away the auras of several magic traps, and waved for Victor to come forward and take a seat.

He put one hand on his chest, "Alchemist──Adabeltus Aloysius Kalkstein, who are you? Stranger, what are you doing here?"

The young man put one hand on his chest and bowed in return: "Victor Corleone, from Bell Town east of Serikania, an apprentice alchemist, came here to seek the wisdom of alchemy." Then he sat down in the chair.

A smile appeared on Kalkstein's atavistic face: "In my opinion, you have shown good wisdom. You can make Alexander lose his temper like this. A flea bite must be a valuable idea."

“Unfortunately, that wisdom does not belong to me, but it is just that I was once threatened by Catriona in my hometown.

And even now, there is no sure way to cure it, and it can only be reduced naturally through public health measures. "

The alchemist nodded: "It doesn't matter, that's the topic Alexander is researching. I'm just discussing it with him. Now let's talk about your request.

Since you claim to be an alchemist apprentice and are here to seek the wisdom of alchemy, let's talk in an alchemist's way.

Tell me, what do you think an alchemist is? Let me remind you first, if your answer does not satisfy me, you can leave. "

This question came out of nowhere, but combined with Angouleme's unreliable pre-investigation before entering, and observing their discussion after entering, as well as Kalkstein's behavior and way of speaking at this moment, it was enough to make the young man have an impression of the alchemist's character. There is a rough outline.

A naive, pure, paranoid scientist who pursues his own goals.

Therefore, Victor said: "The alchemist is the seeker of truth."

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