"Samuel, bring him the ingredients" Diana quickly ordered the old butler before the situation could escalate further.
"Humph" Jacob snickered before storming out of the dining hall with a few of his lackeys following him behind.
"Jacob"
"Let him go, Amelda" Diana grabbed Amelda by her hand when she tried to stop the youngster. The previous laughter in the hall was completely gone and replaced with silence. They had never seen their kind third lady snap like that. Even after her only son fell victim to Star pox, she never showed the grief on her face as she believed her family would do absolutely everything to save her son.
It had been two months since her son was infected with star pox. If they didn't give him the phoenix potion within the next thirty days, there was no doubt that she would lose her only son.
"Now, where is your son, Lady Natalia?" Michael wondered why Jacob wants him gone as soon as possible. He didn't have to act that way. Michael had a feeling that Jacob is feeling threatened by his presence but couldnt find out why yet.
"This way, Young Master"
"Enjoy the rest of the day, gentleman" Diana announced looking at the people in the dining hall. Knowing the meaning of her words, they all bowed and left the dining hall.
Only the three ladies, Sabrina, Samuel accompanied Michael to Natalia's son's room. Considering there were no guards following them, Gaya retrieved a couple of spiders from her space ring before leaving them in dark corners of the corridor without anyone noticing.
Except for Michael none of them had a clue about the little spies in their home. After passing Sabrina's room and following Samuel for a few more minutes, Michael appeared before a door that had the name Andrew written on a dark brown oak door.
Samuel opened the door to reveal an old woman was sitting on the bed. Beside the old woman, a blonde youngster sleeping peacefully. The old woman was applying a purple ornament on Andrew's forehead.
"Healer Adele" The old woman waved her hands at Amelda as she was telling all of them to scurry off.
"Healer Adele, we have found a 5-star Alchemist," Samuel said. Only then the old woman turned her gaze away from Andrew. Soon, she locked eyes with Michael.
The system notified Michael of her healer trait. Despite the disheveled hair and rather normal-looking clothes, healer Adele was a Core Formation level 5 cultivator.
A glimmer of surprise flashed across her face looking at Michael.
"Grandma" Sabrina ran to Adele like a puppy running to its owner.
"I heard what happened. I'm glad you're safe, Sabi. You should have listened to Samuel and took more men with you"
Michael ignored their conversation, walking towards Andrew to check on him. His memories from Abras contained information about star pox and the book of alchemy he used to become a 5-star alchemist made him understand not only star pox but all the diseases in this world.
Except for his forehead that had purple ointment applied on, the rest of his body was pale. Tiny marks shaped like a star riddled his body. Furthermore, his body temperature was jumping between hot and cold.
"How pure will the potion be?" Healer Adele asked while Michael was feeling Andrew's temperature by placing his hand on Andrew's neck.
However, instead of giving a straight answer to Adele, he questioned her.
"How long has he been like this?"
It was obvious Andrew is infected with star pox but when Michael checked his temperature, he sensed Andrew's abnormal pulses. A patient with star pox was supposed to have a slow pulse rate but Andrew's pulse rate was abnormally high.
"For the last two months"
"And how long has he had this high pulse rate?" He was really curious as his tone conveyed his curiosity.
"His pulse rate has been increasing since last month"
"Nightmare, you can see energy pathways inside a body, right? Check his energy pathways"
"What's happening to my Andrew?" hearing the conversation between Adele and Michael, Natalia's eyes rained down tears. Amelda and Diana wrapped their hands around her to console her.
Nightmare flew towards Michael before comfortably landing on his shoulder. His black eyes then turned blue staring at Andrew.
Everyone except Natalia who was sobbing looking at Andrew starred at Nightmare for his answer. They had no idea about Nightmare's ability to see energy pathways in a cultivator's body. Even Michael had no clear idea about the extent of Nightmare's power. To learn more about dragons, he needed to travel to Ozer but for now, Michael had no desire to travel there.
The room fell silent. All the eyes were on Nightmare, expecting him to speak up.
"Energy clusters are forming inside his body, blocking the Arch energy from circulating his body"
"What...what...does it mean?" It was not Natalia but Diana who questioned Nightmare. Her voice stuttered and her eyes welled up.
Healer Adele frowned but before she could speak, Michael needed to do one more thing before drawing the conclusion.
"Lady Diana, I need Daydream Bearberry, Putrid Belladonna, and Blistering Berry. I will tell you why later"
"I will get them to you, young master" Samuele left the room. These were all common ingredients found in any noble household as they were used to treat common colds, flu, and wounds.
"You think..." Healer Adele however knew why he was asking for those three herbs. Her voice trailed off, she didn't think of that particular possibility before.
"What's happening to him?" Gaya came to his side and whispered in his ears.
Michael didn't answer her but waited for Samuel to arrive. Soon, the old butler entered the room, carrying a tray with the three herbs on it.
"I need some space," Michael said. They quickly walked away from him to the corner of the room without asking any questions. They wanted to but they chose not to except for Sabrina.
"What are you planning to do?"
"You will see"
Michael would have answered her but he planned to show off his Alchemy skills to earn more badass points from them. If he told them what he's about to do, they would be more focused on that rather than being awestruck by his skills.
The green flames emerged from his hand lightning the entire room in green. He then waved his other hand as the herbs flew straight into the flames.
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for successfully being a badass. The reward is 1000 badass points]
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for successfully being a badass. The reward is 1200 badass points]
…
He was laughing inside happily seeing the increase in badass points. Diana and everyone were stunned to see him brew a potion without the help of the cauldron. He showed them that he's on the next level compared to Noah.
"Grandma, how is he?" Sabrina's jaw dropped in shock. She questioned Adele,
"Even Gabriel can't do this' ' The old woman's voice was not loud but it was loud enough for everyone to hear. Seeing that Adele addressed Gabriel by his first name without any honorifics, Michael realized that Adele might know him personally.
He snickered inside because after establishing connections with more power houses, he would show his true potential to the world. At that time, Gabriel wouldn't be the number 1 Alchemist of Elon anymore, he would be the second.
After today's events, he was positive that the House of Winston would support him. After all, he saved not only Sabrina but also Diana from getting assassinated in her own house.
Soon afterward, a sky blue liquid formed inside the green flames.
"If this potion changed its color from blue to green" Michael's voice trailed off. He looked at Adele to finish his sentence.
"He was poisoned" As Michael expected Healer Adele finished his sentence.
"Poisoned?!"
"Healer Adele, what are you talking about?"
"NO!"
The room was filled with the cries of the three ladies. Sabrina had an expression of shock and disbelief on her face.
Michael waved his hand, sending the sky blue liquid towards Andrew before they could ask any questions to him. He was almost certain that Andrew was poisoned and wanted to confirm his suspicion. The Winstons were already in his debt and by saving him, he would not only earn badass points but could also increase their trust.
Since the House of Winston was the most powerful family in Pen Town, he wanted them as allies. He planned to use them to expand his business empire.
The sky blue liquid spread itself on Andrew's body like a blanket. Natalia prayed to the gods asking them the potion to stay blue. She did not want to face the reality that her son might be poisoned.
However, the gods betrayed her as the sky blue potion slowly turned from blue to jade green. Diana and Amelda's hearts skipped a beat seeing the transformation.
"He was poisoned,' Adele was startled. If it was the star pox, she knew a talented 5-star alchemist like him could brew the phoenix potion to save Andrew. However, on top of star pox, Andrew was poisoned. This made healing Andrew a lot more complicated.
Natalia fainted on the spot. She couldn't bear to face this new reality.
Everyone was so stunned that they failed to notice the grin on Gaya's face. She was already planning to ask for a permit to open businesses in Pen Town without any taxes. By saving Sabrina and Diana, they could most probably earn the permit but if Michael could cure Andrew, there was no doubt that they would receive the permit.
Little by little, she felt less annoyed with Nightmare because if it wasn't for him sticking his nose into Sabrina's business, it would have been difficult to get into Winston compound, bug their house and earn the permit to operate any business without paying a single gold coin.
Plus, when Noah heard about Ghost saving his family twice in a single day, he would feel indebted to him. This might help Michael in the long run.