"Human Potion Laboratory...Ruins?!"
Mut exclaimed in shock, his steps halting as he stared at the descending stone steps ahead, involuntarily swallowing a gulp of saliva.
Although he wasn't entirely sure what had happened here, the combination of the words "notorious" and "human...experiments" never suggested anything good.
Standing at the very front, directly facing whatever unknown dangers lay ahead, the Hero of the South, Himmel, also paused for a moment. His expression turned grim as he asked,
"Lady Serie, are you referring to that Human Potion Laboratory that was secretly established by the Royal Capital of the Central Lands during the early days of the Unified Empire, to counter the Empire's southern expansion?"
Himmel's question actually surprised Serie a bit. "I'm quite surprised that the Royal Capital of the Central Lands still retains records of such a shameful part of history."
"I always thought that incidents like this, those drenched in disgrace, would be things that the rulers of the Royal Capital would try to erase from history at all costs."
Himmel smiled bitterly. "To be honest, Lady Serie, your assumption isn't entirely wrong."
"In the Royal Capital, the publicly accessible history indeed does not include this event."
"The only reason I know about it is because, after we successfully defeated the Demon King, I was granted permission by the King of the Royal Capital to access the Royal Library to search for information."
"And I only stumbled upon this part of history while researching for a certain promise. But even then, I only learned that this kind of event had taken place—I never found out the exact location of the Human Potion Laboratory."
"I see... that makes sense."
Serie nodded, affirming Himmel's explanation.
"For those human rulers, only the histories kept for their own eyes would be less glossed over and idealized."
"Teacher, I honestly don't know much about that buried history. Could I ask you two to explain it in detail?"
Listening to the cryptic back-and-forth between Serie and the Hero, Gut couldn't hold back his curiosity and asked directly.
"It's not a pleasant history, but if you want to know, then I'll tell you," Serie sighed lightly and began narrating a story that was far from glorious.
"In human history, the most glorious eras, besides the current New Era brought forth by defeating the Demon King, would be the time of the Unified Empire."
"Back then, in the Northern Lands, the Empire approved my disciple Vlamme's plan to research magic on a national scale. Not only did they cease to treat the study of Demon Magic as taboo, but they also poured all of the Empire's resources into supporting it."
"As a result, the Empire's strength increased exponentially in a very short time. Human magicians began to appear like mushrooms after the rain, growing at an unprecedented rate."
"With this newfound power, the Empire not only gained the upper hand in its battles against the Demon Race, but also held an overwhelming advantage in its conflicts with other human nations."
"Eventually, most of the neighboring countries and cities were swallowed up, and the Empire quickly unified the entire Northern Lands, establishing the Unified Empire."
"After tasting the enormous benefits brought by magic, the Unified Empire naturally did not want to confine its ambitions to its current territory. So, it began its southern expansion into the Central Lands, crossing the natural borders that once separated the continents."
"But the Empire's rapid expansion in the Northern Lands wasn't exactly a quiet affair. Nations across the continent soon realized the importance of magic in warfare and began pouring their national strength into magical research as well."
"Therefore, although the Empire maintained a leading edge in magical development, it was no longer able to achieve the kind of one-sided victories it had seen before."
At this point, Serie's eyes dimmed slightly, as if recalling some sorrowful memories. She suddenly turned to her disciple and asked:
"Gut, do you remember the final examinee who was eliminated on the first day of the Äußerst examination?"
"Uh..."
Gut thought for a moment before responding, "You mean the one who had taken a secret potion excavated from Unified Empire ruins, right?"
Because of the peculiar reason for his elimination—and the fact that Gut had been the one to help him out of the examination area, even paying to send him back to his inn—he remembered him quite clearly.
"The Unified Empire's secret potion... The Human Potion Laboratory..."
Understanding that his teacher wouldn't bring up that candidate for no reason, Gut immediately realized there was a connection between the two.
Seeing the realization dawn on her disciple's face, Serie nodded and continued.
"To fully leverage their advantage of dominating the Northern Lands with superior magic and quickly conquer the entire continent..."
"The Unified Empire's king, along with his inner circle of loyal nobles, secretly established a Potion Research Laboratory in the Etwas Mountains, aiming to develop a kind of potent magic potion."
"A potion that would allow the Empire's apprentice magicians, and even ordinary soldiers, to rapidly acquire powerful magical energy—turning them into the backbone of the Empire's expansion."
"The idea itself wasn't bad, but the development process of the potion was painfully slow."
"After consuming enormous resources and countless lives, they finally achieved some results. But the effects were... questionable."
"After consuming this potion, magicians would massively burn their latent potential. In just one month, their magical power could increase by five to ten times its original strength."
"But the cost was severe. If they used more than thirty percent of their enhanced magic power, it would become unstable. If they were lucky, the magic would merely dissipate; if not, they would explode on the spot."
"Moreover, magicians who took the potion rarely lived beyond three years. Most died within the first or second year after taking it."
"That sounds completely useless! For a magician, the actual usable magical energy wouldn't increase that much, and it shortens their lifespan significantly," Gut blurted out in disbelief.
"It certainly is," Serie nodded. "For the Empire at that time, magicians were extremely valuable assets. Even apprentices were considered precious."
"That's why the primary users of this potion ended up being soldiers."
"Specially selected soldiers would consume the potion and rapidly grow to a level very close to apprentice magicians."
"Although the number of these special soldiers was limited due to the high cost of the potion..."
"No matter where they were deployed, in an era where there were almost no defenses against magic attacks, they were always a force capable of shifting the tide of battle."
"After several clashes, the Royal Capital of the Central Lands naturally became aware of the potion's existence."
"For strategic reasons, they realized that if the Empire had these potion-enhanced soldiers, the Royal Capital had to have them too."
"And since they were already behind in development, the Royal Capital needed to be faster and more efficient in their experiments."
"It was under such circumstances that the Human Potion Laboratory, a place of utter inhumanity, was secretly established."
When Serie finished her explanation, Himmel, who had been leading the group, suddenly stopped.
Ahead of them, the stone steps had ended.
Their destination had arrived.
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Powerstones?
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