Chapter 5:
Sunday
IT LOOKS LIKE ROUGHLY HALF the servers successfully cleared the event. Cthugha had a high clear rate, Our Ladies of Sorrow were about half cleared and half failed, and Shub-Niggurath had the lowest success rate of them all. I’m sure the Dark Young had something to do with that.
I don’t think I’ll be able to read through every last thread, but I’m sure Management are putting together videos right now, so I’ll wait for those.
I’ll spend my morning asking around about potions for undead, then test out Fist of Yog-Sothoth. For my afternoon plans, I’ll level up and look at my new evolution. Oh, but before everything else, I need to practice stances in the castle environment, since I didn’t have access during the event.
I finish up my practice and head straight for the prime minister’s office.
“Prime Minister?”
“How can I help you?”
“Are there such things as potions that work on undead?”
“And what, pray tell, is a ‘potion’?”
“…”
Now that I think of it, the prime minister is extremely old, isn’t he? They must not have had potions when he was a mortal. He won’t be able to help me like this!
The prime minister is not only quite a high-ranking immortal, but most of what he does is desk work too. Lana, the head of the army, is young in comparison, so maybe she’ll know something. Actually, if the army doesn’t use potions, then she’s probably in the dark too, isn’t she? She wouldn’t be able to give her army potions without the prime minister’s permission, so if he doesn’t know what they are, that answers my question.
“Explain to me what ‘potions’ are.”
“Here, take a look. These work on me since I’m not considered undead anymore. It’s a bit of a pain for undead to go without them, though.”
I show him a potion I have on hand, explain witches and their secret medicines to him, and reveal everything I know on the topic of potions.
“Oho. Very intriguing.”
“Were there witches when you were above ground, Prime Minister?”
“The word rings a bell, but it was so long ago now.”
“I understand. It might mean something different now, so we don’t need to go into it. Perhaps I should speak with Ms. Sophie instead.”
“Is that the name of a witch?”
“Yes. She’s said to be a genius, as she was the youngest witch in history to reach the ‘unaging’ stage.”
“Oho ho. Most intriguing indeed.”
The prime minister seems to have taken an interest in witches and their secret medicines.
“Hm? Now that I think of it, there was a former magisa in the army, was there not? You might want to speak to her first.”
“That’s Granin’s domain. Only their fellow soldiers or the arbitrator in charge of them know who they are.”
There was no need to meet or observe them, since their personalities would have to be deemed favorable to join the Nether army. That makes things simpler.
For now, we’ll have someone call the magisa to his office.
“I’m sorry I took so long,” she greets us. “I heard there’s something you’d like to discuss?”
“I was wondering if you knew a way of making potions that undead can use too,” I explain.
“I see, so that’s what this is about. But I don’t think I can be of help to you at this point.”
It seems that, upon death, witches lose their unique magical energy—or perhaps it’s better to call it a wavelength. The ritual to become a witch in the first place is meant to capture this wavelength, or possibly to become one with it entirely.
“I know how it’s done, but I’ve lost the power to make them on my own.”
“Maybe it would be faster to ask Ms. Sophie after all. I just don’t know how I’ll compensate her.”
“You want to introduce potions to our army, don’t you? Please summon me should you be successful. Not only am I interested in the subject, but I’ll handle negotiations with this witch myself,” the prime minister tells me.
“Is Sophie a present-day witch?” the magisa asks.
“She’s a sorciere, actually,” I inform her.
“Oh my. There are sorcieres out there now? Yes, you should go to her for help.”
“Research and develop potions for undead”
It’s become a bigger project than I’d expected, but things are going smoothly, so I won’t focus on the bad parts. Sophie and the prime minister will gain knowledge, undead outsiders will gain potions, and the afterlife’s army will gain a new weapon in their arsenal. It’ll be nothing but smiles all around.
1. Arrange for Sophie Lilywhite Sorciere to meet the Nether’s prime minister.
Quest conditions: An undead must consult a witch about potions for undead.
Speak to the prime minister of the Nether about witches or potions.
Rewards: Potion recipes for undead
Begin potion distribution to the afterlife army
Expanded environments in the afterlife—adds magic grass field for afterlife army
Expanded environments in the afterlife—adds new alchemy environment
Expanded environments in the afterlife—opens a potion shop for outsiders
Oh, it’s a chronicle quest, isn’t it? I suppose that’s because it’s going to have such a widespread effect. I should finish this one before someone beats me to it.
I haven’t heard of Ms. Sophie leaving the church in Starting Town, so I’ll head there first.
“All right, I’m going to go and see Ms. Sophie.”
“Make sure there won’t be any humans around for our meeting,” the prime minister requests.
“That shouldn’t be a problem. I don’t believe many people are able to meet with Ms. Sophie in the first place.”
I teleport my way to town, and once I arrive in the town square, I go straight to the church. I’ve heard that sorcieres sometimes go out and gather materials on their own, so I pray she’s still here.
“Welcome, Princess Nemeseia.”
“Is Ms. Sophie here today?”
“She is in her room. Shall I lead you there?”
“Yes, please.”
That red embroidery means this person is a deacon, right? I have them lead me to Ms. Sophie’s room. It’s still where it was last time I visited, but it’s not as if I can just teleport straight there.
I’m brought to her room and let inside, at which point the deacon leaves us.
“You’re here, Nemeseia…”
“Good day, Ms. Sophie. There’s something I’d like to ask you about.”
“What is it…?”
“I’d like your help in making potions that work on us. Or, rather, on undead.”
“Potions that work on undead…!” Her sleepy eyes open a bit wider. I can tell she’s already giving it thought. “I think it’s possible…”
“Feel free to think of it as a request directly from a Nemeseia.”
“The royal family…?”
“Correct. By that, I mean you’ll be rewarded handsomely. The potions will also be distributed to our army once they’re ready.”
“A Nemeseia will reward me… But why…?”
“The prime minister in the Nether’s castle has taken a great interest in witches and their secret medicines. He’d like to speak with you. Can I summon him here so we may discuss this?”
“The undead prime minister…”
“His race is an Aversa Elder Lich.”
“An elder lich…! I’ll see him…!”
I figured as much. The prime minister is even more of an impressive-looking lich than Mr. Skelly.
I use the Silver Key to form a gate between us and the prime minister.
“Oh, hello there.”
The magisa is still with him as well.
“I appreciate the help, Madame. And who might this be?”