Feeling the fatal attack on his body, the Fishman Lord widened his eyes.
But he could still move.
To Roy's astonishment, the Fishman Lord raised his bloodied left hand, his crimson eyeball like a living thing, staring intently at him.
Roy's scalp tingled, feeling as if he was being pulled by an inexplicable force, a faint pain throbbing between his eyebrows.
He quickly pulled out his sword, jumped off his horse, and slashed at the eye.
The Fishman Lord dodged, and in the spray of blood, his arm was cut open.
He was thoroughly enraged.
Mana surged, his eyeball widened, and white light gathered.
It seemed that the might of thunder was about to transform into a Lightning Beam once again.
Roy suddenly feinted with his sword, and the hair on the back of his head grew wildly, tightly entangling the Fishman Lord.
The thick hair, with the toughness of iron wire, had begun to take on metallic properties after absorbing the characteristics of Aquinas magic gold.
It wrapped into an iron cocoon, forming a conductive cage once more.
The lightning struck, and the powerful electric current left both Roy and the Fishman Lord's bodies numb.
But in the end, Roy recovered first, swinging his sword repeatedly.
Perhaps the Fishman Lord was paralyzed by his own Lightning Beam, or perhaps he was affected by the Orchard Curse, but he offered no resistance.
Soon, he was covered in wounds, bleeding profusely.
Yet, even so, he still did not fall!
This incredible vitality was truly chilling.
"I don't believe it, you're tougher than a cockroach!"
Roy gritted his teeth, his iron sword leaving afterimages as he slashed fiercely several more times.
He had to admit that his martial skills were poor.
With only physical enhancement and Wizard Body Modification, and without the training of a formal knight, many techniques were beyond his reach.
He couldn't even land several consecutive strikes in the same spot to break through the natural armor of the Fishman Lord's scales.
But he knew that brute force could work miracles!
After acquiring the Neanderthal Bloodline, his body's strength had skyrocketed, and he no longer needed to worry about such details.
After multiple slashes, the Fishman Lord was covered in wounds, his flesh mangled, and the pungent blood of the Fishman was splattered everywhere.
Finally, Roy seized the opportunity, thrusting his sword through the Fishman Lord's chest.
The tenacious mutated magical creature could no longer hold on, collapsing to the ground with a thud, dead.
Renien and the others, who had been dealing with other enemies nearby, were thrilled by this display of might.
The magical creatures, however, were in despair, beginning to discard their armor.
Some even threw away their Bone Spears, fleeing towards the river bend behind them.
But moments later, they were caught, and each was killed with a single sword strike.
In this mountainous wilderness, the Fishmen could not outrun them.
"Great, we've won!"
The victorious group felt a surge of joy, each face filled with excitement.
They had once been driven to flee by these monsters, losing several comrades in the process, a memory that was undeniably painful.
But now, they had finally avenged their fallen!
"Don't celebrate too soon, everyone. Let's clean up and leave quickly."
Roy leaned on his sword, catching his breath for a moment, then reminded them.
There were still many other apprentices and Fishmen around, and encountering either side could lead to another battle, plunging them back into danger.
Everyone quickly complied, deftly gutting the fish to retrieve the pearls and tidying up the battlefield.
"This thing...
I've had my eye on it for a long time!"
Roy also turned his attention back to the Fishman Lord's corpse. Without hesitation, he dug out the strange eyeball that had grown in the palm of its hand.
Suddenly, he shuddered, and a sharp pain reappeared between his eyebrows.
"Can this thing still activate?"
Roy tensed his body, as if facing a formidable enemy.
But no lightning appeared. Instead, a semi-transparent, illusory panel suddenly materialized in his vision, and the progress bar surged forward dramatically.
[Alchemy Talent Acquiring (35%→100%)]
"What's going on?"
Roy was both shocked and delighted!
Previously, acquiring Alchemy Talents had always been a passive and slow process.
It had taken him a full year to obtain his second Black Iron-level talent, [Alchemy Machine].
After that, the progress had noticeably slowed even further.
He had thought it would take at least another year or so to gain his third Black Iron-level talent...
But now, it seemed he had achieved it in one fell swoop!
And what came next on the panel made him even more ecstatic.
In his vision, the semi-transparent, illusory panel glowed with an unusual light, and words began to appear.
[Sulfur-Mercury Theory (Bronze Level)]
[Master the knowledge of using sulfur and mercury to create Zabil Magic Metal. When performing related operations, the corresponding skill level increases by +1.]
[Alchemy Talent Acquiring (0%→83%)]
A Bronze-level talent!
Not a Black Iron-level talent!
Moreover, the progress for the next talent had skyrocketed to 83%!
Threads of understanding, like clear spring water, flowed into his mind.
Roy's eyes seemed to clear up instantly.
The Sulfur-Mercury Theory was an important foundational theory in ancient Alchemy.
The ancients believed that the essence of base metals was a pathological phenomenon caused by an imbalance of the four elements (fire, earth, air, water) and sulfur-mercury. Therefore, by balancing their proportions, one could "heal" them into "healthy" noble metals.
All metals in the world were composed of different proportions of sulfur and mercury.
These two substances, one dry as smoke and the other moist as vapor, condensed to form the various metal ores found in the earth.
Through specific secret formulas, combined with the incantations and rituals of Alchemy Wizardry...
And the most crucial step, the infusion of Wizardry Energy.
They could undergo transmutation!
This type of enchanted metal, crafted from sulfur and mercury, was known in the Wizard World as Zabil Magic Metal.
These metals ranged from low to high levels, with varying properties, forming a distinct category of metals that had been widely used in the early development of the Wizard World.
The Bronze-level talent [Sulfur-Mercury Theory] granted the knowledge and abilities related to this field.
"So that's how it is..."
Roy suddenly felt a sense of profound enlightenment.
This wasn't a superficial impression like watching a tutorial video, but rather an instinctive understanding that had been directly imprinted into his brain.
The scope was no longer limited to apprentice-level Alchemy operations but had shifted to the domain of Zabil Magic Metal.
And the so-called "corresponding skill level increases by +1 when performing related operations" was truly remarkable.
Here, "skill level" referred to the Alchemy skill level corresponding to the Wizard's rank.
For example, Apprentice-level Alchemy +1 becomes Level 1 Alchemy, and Level 1 Alchemy +1 becomes Level 2 Alchemy.
And so on.
As an advanced apprentice, Roy's knowledge and abilities have so far only reached the apprentice level.
However, after acquiring this Bronze-level talent, his proficiency in the field of "Zabil Magic Metal" instantly soared to a level comparable to that of a Level 1 Wizard!
(End of Chapter)