4 Another Experiment with the Curse of Wishes
In Stoneton, Leo walked lightly out of his residence towards the only apothecary in town, which sold not potions but unprocessed raw herbs.
Such remote towns lacked proper alchemy.
"Lord Leo, you're here," Conrad, the shopkeeper, expressed surprise upon seeing Leo but quickly understood the reason for his visit.
"I need some herbs," Leo said. "And what's with that strange look?"
Conrad nodded, his aged face creasing into an inexplicable smile.
He turned and rummaged through the shelves behind him.
After a while, as Leo grew impatient, Conrad returned with several packets of herbs.
"Lord Leo, these are Dragon's Blood Flower, Earth Bone Stone, and Stone Pig Beast Bone. Boil these and drink the broth. It's not as effective as the Blood Fusion Elixir, but it will help to some extent. The most important thing is, you need to be moderate."
"Otherwise, even if you can handle it, Miss Lilith might not."
Leo realized where the misunderstanding lay.
Conrad had gotten it wrong.
His weakness was due to the curse of wishes, not a physical encounter with Lilith.
But he didn't feel like explaining.
Conrad was old, at least a hundred years according to the townsfolk.
Such age was remarkable for an ordinary person, but it inevitably brought various problems.
Conrad's hearing was poor, often leading to misunderstandings, transforming a single story into something entirely different when it passed through his lips.
However, Conrad's skill in concocting medicines was formidable.
Had he possessed magic talent, he could have been a revered master alchemist.
The herbs Conrad prepared was close enough to what Leo needed, so he didn't bother to change the prescription.
Carrying the herbs, he headed back to his lavish residence.
On the way, he glanced at the tailor's shop.
Even though it was daytime, old Neil's door was still shut.
"A dark wizard, huh? Neil must have some interesting items in his possession. After dealing with Rain, I'll have a good chat with him..."
Pondering this, Leo returned home.
He then called Lilith to brew the herbs.
Perhaps because of the bet he mentioned, Lilith had changed out of her gorgeous dress back into her maid's uniform, covering herself completely.
Leo didn't pay much mind to this.
Half an hour later, the herbs were boiled down to a small bowl of broth.
"Lilith, wait outside the door," he instructed.
Once Lilith left, Leo drank the broth, the indescribably bitter taste instantly filling his mouth, almost causing him to spit it out.
But he held it down.
Following this, Leo began practicing the methods outlined in the Lionara Knight Training Tome.
This regimen consisted of a series of special movements coupled with unique breathing techniques.
Each completed cycle of movements and breathing was considered one practice session, slightly enhancing his physical strength.
As his power incrementally increased, he would eventually undergo a transformation, marking the transition from an apprentice knight to a basic knight.
Beyond the basic knight were the intermediate and advanced knights, and above them, it was said, lay the divine knights.
A divine knight could perfectly control their body, exhibiting martial skills rivaling those of powerful magi, representing a kingdom's ultimate force.
However, Leo was not after the power, but the robust physique of a divine knight.
Once one became a divine knight, they were fundamentally different from ordinary people.
They possessed not only immense self-healing abilities but also a strong resistance to various magical curses and adaptability, capable of surviving in almost any environment.
This was exactly what Leo needed.
In this reborn life, Leo had no intention of changing his course; he was still determined to pursue his revenge to the end.
He was a man of obsession and madness, reveling in the sight of his enemies falling into insanity amidst his retribution, enjoying the destruction of what they cherished most.
As Anna once described him, "If hell were to birth a new Demon King, I believe it would be you. Leo, you are a madman, a natural-born Demon King."
With the exceptional adaptability of a divine knight's body, he could infiltrate many hidden places, where many of his enemies resided.
Of course, this was a long-term plan.
For now, Leo simply wanted to attempt a basic session of training under the condition of having half his bodily strength reduced.
As the broth was digested, Leo felt his body growing hot.
He began the knight training movements, maintaining a special breathing rhythm and repeating the process until three hours later, as dusk fell, he finally concluded his training.
He assessed his strength and indeed found a notable improvement, especially considering his condition of halved strength.
"Before starting knight training, my strength was roughly around thirty kilograms per punch. Now it seems to have increased by five kilograms."
The Knight Training Tome included specific methods for testing strength.
After assessing himself, Leo estimated his current strength.
Even with half his physical power lost, he could still deliver a punch with about thirty-five kilograms of force.
"If my condition returns to normal, would my punch be seventy kilograms, or sixty-five kilograms?"
Leo pondered, as this was crucial for him.
In his past life as a hell magus, Leo had a profound understanding of magic, but he firmly believed in one saying:
"Magic! That's just a triviality! Magic is rigid; only wisdom and madness represent true strength."
The Curse of Wishes from Goddess Aelthas granted wishes, but Leo's enemies would receive double.
This seemed to put Leo in a difficult position, yet it had loopholes.
Like this time, losing half of his body's strength.
No one would normally wish for such a thing, and whether it could even be considered a wish was debatable.
However, the curse, like a rigid machine, executed it anyway.
This meant that there was a significant scope for Leo to manipulate the situation.
This session of knight training was also a further experiment.
The halving of strength under the wish's condition, was it fixed for the promised day, or at the moment of the promise?
If it's the former, it means that any strength gained during the day would also be considered half of his own, and when restored, this additional strength would double.
And this was just for wishing to lose half his strength.
"What if I lose even more strength? It means the increase could be tenfold, a hundredfold, a thousandfold..."
"With such a precious gift, Aelthas, how shall I ever thank you?" Leo murmured, a mocking glint in his eyes.
Meanwhile, in the newly established camp outside Stoneton, the members of Rain Vickery's personal guard stood vigilantly around the perimeter.
Their faces tense as they listened to the eerie howls emanating from the Sunset Forest, alert to any lurking danger.
Inside his tent, Rain had regained his composure from his earlier fury.
"Leo, is this your tactic? To use Lilith to infuriate me? How ludicrous, she's just a lowly slave, albeit a pretty one. But such women, I can find plenty."
He spoke to himself with a sneer.
But instantly, the sneer vanished, replaced by a cold expression.
"I had already rendered his magic talent useless with a potion. How can he still cast curse magic? It's impossible! Unless he's found a way to restore his magic talent..."
"Or, a way to birth magic talent in those who lack it..."
Considering this possibility, Rain's eyes burned with fervor.
Regardless of which it was, he was determined to uncover the truth.
Unaware of the existence of the Wish Curse, Rain was convinced it was magic wielded by Leo, a deliberate show of power, fitting his perception of Leo.
But the issue was, it seemed only Leo knew the truth.
Rain exhaled deeply, his mind forming a plan: "Tomorrow, when I enter Stoneton, I'll learn the truth from Leo himself."
"If he makes any demands, I can agree for the time being. And once I have the truth, he can go to his death!"
"No, he'll be exiled, reduced to a slave! Tormented forever by others!"
