“I’ll take a dozen Oriental Snow Lotuses, two bags of Marigolds, five packs of Magic Dust, a bag of wood ash, a bag of animal fat, and exchange all the remaining change for lacewings, leeches, Fluxweed, Knotgrass, and Bicorn Horn Powder.”
Sophie reluctantly placed five Gold Suns on the table.
Anything involving magic always turned out to be incredibly expensive.
Modi, the owner of the alchemy shop, had suspicious eyes that immediately turned eager at the sight of the gold coins.
“I’ll go get those for you right away,” he said instantly.
While the owner was gathering the materials, Sophie turned her attention to her virtual system panel.
She now had 17 Free Attribute Points.
It was time to level up some skills.
【Pickpocketing (Reversed) Lv.1: You can plant a small item on a target without them noticing. Success rate is relatively low.】
〈“The hand is faster than the eye, the heart steadier than the hand. A true artist never leaves a signature on their work, only the bewilderment of the recipient.”〉
Well, that would certainly be bewildering.
Anyone she targeted would think they’d met a saint.
Sophie looked at the next one.
【Stealth (Reversed) Lv.1: When active, your movement speed increases by 50%, and your presence increases by 50%.】
〈“The most brilliant hunter never chases his prey; he simply happens to appear in the prey’s blind spot as they turn, then shouts: ‘All eyes on me!’”〉
Fine, so it was basically a sprint. There was no reason to turn it off during normal times now.
With a 50% speed boost, Sophie could move at the speed of someone with 3 Agility even under the sun.
On the flip side, if she were ever silenced, she might forget how to run.
It reminded her of a hero who would forget how to run if hacked by a shadow.
【Heinousness (Reversed) Lv.1: A passive skill that strengthens with accumulated evil deeds. At the current level, every time you complete an evil act, you lose a tiny amount of the blessing of sin. Current effect: -1 to all attributes. This skill conflicts with Merit Accumulation.】
〈“Evil is a currency that accrues compound interest; the more you deposit, the thicker the interest. It’s just that on the day of settlement, you’re never the one collecting the debt.”〉
【Merit Accumulation (Reversed) Lv.1: A passive skill that strengthens with accumulated good deeds. At the current level, every time you complete a good deed, you lose a tiny amount of fate’s favor. Current effect: -1 Luck. This skill conflicts with Heinousness.】
〈“Kindness is a copper coin tossed into a deep well; you won’t hear the echo, but the surface has already rippled. Accumulate enough, and a hand will eventually reach out from the bottom to lift you up.”〉
These two were just insane.
In her previous life, as a min-maxer, Hiso would have undoubtedly chosen Heinousness. By the late game, it provided a massive boost to all attributes.
But in this life, Sophie couldn’t pick it.
Not just because Heinousness was reversed.
More importantly, the Hero clearly wasn’t a romanceable option for someone in the evil faction.
Sophie wanted to get close to the Hero.
Hungry for the Hero’s companionship, Sophie naturally wouldn't touch such a skill.
As for Merit Accumulation...
She didn't want to be a magnet for bad luck.
Sophie naturally skipped those two and looked at the last one.
【Acting (Reversed) Lv.1: You can briefly play a certain identity or display a specific emotion. The more saccharine your performance, the easier it is for others to believe you. Current Acting Bonus: -10%.】
〈“Others: Everyone loves peonies. Me: I alone love lotuses. It’s just... you guys get it, right? (facepalm) (facepalm)”〉
Sophie: ?
What did that even mean?
The more saccharine the performance, the more they believe?
Was this "saccharine" as in sweet?
It couldn't be that...
Am I becoming some saccharine sweetheart?
It felt like... it might be useful?
Sophie remained silent for a moment, then used three skill points to put one level into Pickpocketing, Stealth, and Acting.
With 14 attribute points left, Sophie already had a plan for their arrangement.
“Here are the items you requested.” Modi, the owner of the alchemy shop, placed several bags of materials in front of Sophie.
Sophie nodded.
“I also need to rent a complete set of alchemy equipment and a ritual circle.”
“Those are in the back of the shop. If you’d like a private room, guest...”
“A private room. I require absolute privacy,” Sophie said without hesitation, placing two Silver Moons on the table.
“Understood. This way, please.” Modi immediately led the way.
“This is the highest-grade alchemy room in the shop. The walls are inlaid with soundproofing and mana-blocking runes. Even if you were to detonate a Fireball inside, the outside would only hear a slight cough.” Modi eagerly pushed open the door. “It will absolutely meet your requirements for privacy.”
Sophie nodded and stepped into the alchemy room.
As soon as she entered, a scent mixed with mercury, sulfur, and some unknown spice hit her.
The room wasn't large, but it was fully equipped.
In the center stood a heavy obsidian workbench, its surface carved with complex geometric shapes and mana circuits that emitted a faint blue glow. In the center of the workbench, a brass cauldron sat quietly on a constant-temperature magic circle, surrounded by various precision carving knives, glass measuring cups, scales, and a mortar and pestle.
Luminous crystals embedded in the walls cast a soft, bright light throughout the room.
The ventilation duct was near the ceiling, covered with a fine iron mesh, and the faint hum of a mana-powered fan could be heard.
“You may use the equipment here as you wish, as long as you don’t tear the house down.” Modi rubbed his hands and tactfully backed out. “If you need anything, just pull the bell rope by the door. I’ll be right outside. I wish you a successful refinement.”
The ironwood door slammed shut behind her with a heavy thud, and the soundproofing magic circle in the room automatically activated, instantly cutting off all outside noise.
Finally, she was in a domain where she could perform well even without high attributes.
Sophie let out a long sigh of relief. She took off her mask, walked to the obsidian workbench, and dumped the large bag of materials she had just bought onto the table.
“Oriental Snow Lotus, Marigold, lacewings, leeches...” Sophie muttered as she skillfully sorted the materials.
To lock in a Charisma value while avoiding exorbitant costs, using existing alchemy materials for a basic 【Human Skin Mask Refinement Ritual】 was the most cost-effective solution.
This kind of mask could be taken off and put on at will. Sophie could completely switch back to her own face with its 1020 Charisma whenever she needed to.
“First, the base.”
Sophie picked up the stone pestle, mixed two bags of Magic Dust with the Bicorn Horn Powder, and poured them into the brass cauldron.
Then, she activated the constant-temperature magic circle beneath the cauldron. Since her own Intelligence was abysmal, she couldn't provide any mana herself and had to rely entirely on physical operations and the shop's preset arrays.
Next, she grabbed a handful of slightly sticky Oriental Snow Lotuses. They looked like pieces of white sponge and emitted a faint chill. Sophie roughly tore them apart and threw them in along with the Marigolds.
“Glug, glug, glug...”
“This Oriental Snow Lotus is clearly much more common than the Winter Snow Lotus, yet its effect is an enhanced version. It’s truly a great material.”
Sophie praised the plant.
As the temperature rose, green bubbles began to rise in the cauldron, emitting a strange smell similar to boiled old socks.
That was right; alchemy was always accompanied by odors.
Next was the crucial step. Ritual shaping required a large amount of rare materials to act as a binding agent.
In a standard process, these would consist of various monster materials.
But Sophie had a better substitute.
She bit her finger and let a few drops of crystal-clear, dark-red blood drip into the cauldron.
“Sizzle!”
Then she added her own fingernail clippings.
“Sizzle!”
Sophie pulled out two strands of her own hair and added them as well.
“Sizzle!”
She really was a treasure trove of medicinal ingredients from head to toe.
Sophie marveled at herself.
The originally murky green liquid instantly became clear and transparent, then began to solidify rapidly into a soft, gelatinous mass emitting a faint silver glow.
This was the embryonic form used to cover the face.
Sophie didn't pause. Holding a crystal as a mirror in one hand and a mithril carving knife in the other, she began to rapidly carve the silver gelatinous mass.
She carved it exactly according to her own face.
When the final rune was finished, the gelatinous mass flashed brightly. Then, all the light retracted, and it turned into an exquisite human skin mask as thin as a cicada's wing and semi-transparent.
Sophie’s human skin mask.
She applied the mask directly onto her face.
【You have successfully completed a basic alchemy ritual.】
【Your appearance has changed. Your Charisma has changed. Current Base Charisma: 14. Human skin mask duration: 30 days.】
As expected, her character model was naturally beautiful; the model alone had 14 Charisma.
Sophie touched her new face—smooth and tender, just like a real face.
Bet you didn't expect this... beneath my face is my other face!
【Log: You have completed the achievement [Novice Alchemist], obtaining 2 Free Attribute Points.】
【Log: You have completed the achievement [Ritual Expert], obtaining 2 Free Attribute Points.】
【Log: Because you perfectly replicated an unlearned ritual process, you have obtained the special skill [Ritual Mastery].】
【Ritual Mastery (Special) Lv.1: You possess knowledge of basic ritual processes. Slightly increases ritual success rate.】
Seeing a special skill appear, Sophie didn't hesitate to dump her attribute points into it.
【You have spent 2 attribute points. Ritual Mastery has reached Lv.2.】
【You have spent 4 attribute points. Ritual Mastery has reached Lv.3.】
【You have spent 8 attribute points. Ritual Mastery has reached Lv.4.】
【Ritual Mastery (Special) Lv.4: You possess knowledge of high-tier ritual processes. Greatly increases ritual success rate and ritual output.】
Her 18 Free Attribute Points instantly dropped to 4.
In return, a vast amount of ritual knowledge that Sophie originally knew began to flood her mind.
What Sophie needed wasn't the ritual processes themselves.
She needed the output.
“High-tier Vampire Supplement refinement circle, activate!”
She chuckled and made a cut directly across the artery in her wrist.
“The lady’s brew is served!”
Rate on N.U.
