Chapter 86: Emerald's Respite
While the world above was a chaotic, mud-caked festival of laughter, the laboratory of Skele-Avarice was a realm of clinical silence.
Several assistant Skeleton Mages stood around the experimentation tables, the Soul Fire in their sockets burning with a steady, unwavering intensity. Avarice had not participated in the Arcane Legion's "Project Genesis"; instead, he remained buried in his research.
Kaito had handed him a vital mandate: the perfection of the Evernight Empire's healthcare infrastructure.
In this world, the quality of a potion was traditionally judged by the depth of its color. The deeper the blue, the higher the concentration, and the more extortionate the price. Even the palest blue—the lowest-grade swill with minimal effect—cost an ordinary family months of wages for a single vial.
Avarice's previous experiments had been hindered by a lack of diverse materials. Common fruits, plants, and livestock only went so far. However, the recent "Great Purge" had delivered a massive influx of... fresh research materials.
Avarice picked up a vial of freshly concocted reagent from the table. The liquid within was not the traditional blue of the Church; it was a vibrant, glowing emerald green.
"Sample Ten. Prepare for testing," Avarice commanded, his voice echoing hollowly through the room.
One assistant stepped forward to the table, quill poised over a ledger. Another reached for a white ceramic bottle on the shelf—Sanctified Water from the Holy Empire of Gusteko.
The assistant unstoppered the ceramic bottle and poured a generous amount of the holy liquid onto Avarice's forearm.
"SIZZLE—"
A plume of acrid white smoke rose as the bone began to pit and corrode. Even as a Tier 5 Lich, Avarice felt a jolt of visceral discomfort. To an undead creature, concentrated Holy energy was more toxic than the deadliest poison.
Avarice picked up the emerald vial and popped the cork. Slowly, he let a single drop of the green liquid fall onto the corroded bone.
The reaction was immediate and bizarre.
There was no neutralizing explosion, no clashing shockwave of opposing energies. As the green liquid touched the grey, decaying bone, the discoloration vanished instantly. The bone surface knit itself back together with a series of soft clicks.
Within the span of a few breaths, his arm was as smooth and pristine as the day he was raised.
Avarice flexed his left hand. The joints moved with perfect fluidity. The lingering sting was gone, and his Soul Fire stabilized.
Success.
Avarice set the vial down and dictated the conclusion to his assistant.
"Potion Type: Protocol One."
"Effect: Highly efficient healing of both physical and magical trauma. Capable of purging the majority of curses and debuffs."
"Compatibility: Applicable to all biological and non-biological entities."
Avarice paused, then added a final, critical note:
"Special Remark: Exceptionally effective against damage sustained from Sanctified/Holy sources."
The birth of this potion did more than just shatter the Church's monopoly on healing. It meant the Legions of Evernight now possessed their own counter-measure against the Priest's greatest weapon. For centuries, the undead had feared the splash of Holy Water. Now, Avarice had brewed the antidote.
This tiny vial was enough to tilt the balance of the entire continent.
Avarice closed his eyes, accessing the Soul Link to reach out to a specific colleague.
"Greed."
Greed, who was currently overseeing the State Affairs Legion as they replanted the "upside-down" trees from the festival, stopped in his tracks.
"General. The healing reagent is complete," Avarice's voice crackled with a rare hint of excitement. "I have synthesized a brand-new formula based on the Master's conceptual guidance. It is ready for mass production. Testing confirms its efficacy completely eclipses the highest-quality human potions currently on the market."
Greed understood the strategic weight of those words instantly. "I will report to the Master at once."
Moments later, Greed manifested beside a tree. Kaito was there, personally helping a sapling stand straight.
"Master," Greed said, bowing. "Avarice's potion is a success."
Greed recounted the report in detail—the possibility of mass production and the fact that it outperformed the Church's finest treasures. He waited for Kaito's command.
Kaito stood up, dusting the soil from his bony hands. He didn't seem particularly moved by the financial value; his focus was purely on raising the living standards of his territory.
"Greed, pass my decree."
"First: This potion shall be officially named [Emerald's Respite]."
"Second: Every registered legal citizen of the Evernight Empire is entitled to one free treatment of Emerald's Respite per month at any designated Imperial Clinic."
"Third: For citizens requiring more than their monthly allowance, a fee of one silver coin shall be charged per treatment. The potion must be administered on-site; it is not for private sale."
"Fourth: For non-citizens—anyone seeking treatment from outside our borders—the fee shall be three gold coins per treatment."
Three gold coins?!
The price was several times higher than even the Church's "Saint-Class" medicine. The gap between one silver and three gold was a staggering difference in magnitude.
"Master, the price..." Greed couldn't help but interject. "Is it not too high? It might scare away potential clients."
Kaito turned his hollow gaze toward his Secretary of State. "To the nobles and powerhouses who value their lives above all else, is three gold coins too much to pay for a second chance? Is a life that cheap?"
Greed's crimson eyes widened. He understood.
It wasn't too much. Not even close. For those truly in need, they would pay thirty or three hundred without a second thought.
"I understand, My Lord."
"I'm not finished," Kaito added. "Fifth: Have Avarice establish a secondary production line. Dilute the Emerald's Respite, add blue dye, and package it in ceramic vials identical to the Church's standard. Sell it to the Sunflower Merchant Guild at two-thirds the current market rate."
"Set the retail price to match the Church's standard exactly. Whatever they charge, we charge."
Kaito didn't want to overcomplicate things. Novelty was often met with suspicion. If the humans liked blue water, he would give them blue water. He had no interest in wasting time explaining new formulas to a bunch of stubborn traditionalists.
Greed fell silent. His mind raced as he deconstructed the cold, interlocking logic of these decrees.
Free benefits for citizens to secure loyalty.
Low-cost internal fees to sustain the infrastructure.
Exorbitant external fees to harvest wealth from the elite.
And finally, a diluted, "knock-off" version to disrupt the human economy.
He would trap the world in a mire of "genuine vs. fake" potions, bleeding their treasuries dry through internal friction.
This wasn't just a commercial strategy.
This was war.
A war without the clash of steel, yet capable of dismantling a superpower from within.
"Your will be done, My Lord," Greed said, lowering his head deeply. "The Evernight Empire shall become a monument to your greatness."
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