"The second method is much simpler, but the barrier to entry is much higher," Nostradamus said, "You need an Alchemist. Using alchemy, they can directly exchange five Beast Cores for an equivalent Beast Core. That will do it."
"An Alchemist can do it?", Ethan's eyes lit up. Wasn't that exactly his specialty?
"An Alchemist can do it?", Nostradamus looked at Ethan with a wry smile, "Do you think Alchemists are like us Archmages, just wandering around on every street corner?"
"Master, are Alchemists that rare?"
Ethan was a little puzzled.
After all, he'd become an Alchemist so quickly that it had almost been ridiculous.
Could it be that he was just naturally gifted?
"There are plenty of alchemy practitioners," Nostradamus said, "But very few of them successfully become Alchemists."
"Is that because it's hard to reach the higher levels of alchemy?"
Ethan was already starting to feel pleased with himself.
'Looks like I really am a genius when it comes to alchemy.'
However...
Nostradamus's next sentence was like a bucket of ice water dumped over his head.
"Not at all. Alchemy is actually quite easy to learn, easier than magic, at least," Nostradamus explained, "But alchemy made one very serious mistake: it conducts exchanges with the demons of the Abyss."
"You've heard this saying before, haven't you?"
"It was said by the wise Master Nietzsche: 'When you gaze into an Abyss, the Abyss also gazes back at you.'"
"So from the moment you make a deal with an Abyss demon, you are marked by the Abyss."
"If you're only an ordinary alchemy practitioner, your energy isn't enough for them to open a teleportation array, so naturally nothing happens."
"But..."
"Once you become an Alchemist, it means your unique spiritual power has reached the peak value of ten thousand."
"At that point, the Abyss demons can begin absorbing your spiritual power. Then, at some special moment, they'll be able to break through space and travel directly to the city where the Alchemist is."
"So all those Alchemists were killed by the Abyss demons?", Ethan took a deep breath.
He quietly weighed the situation in his mind. He had already used alchemy to perform quite a few equivalent exchanges.
Would those demons come after him at any moment?
"Not exactly."
Just as Ethan thought he might one day be killed by demons from the Land of Nightmares, Nostradamus shook his head again.
"In most cases, Alchemists die at the hands of the Peace Organization."
"They believe that once an alchemy practitioner becomes an Alchemist, it's only a matter of time before they become a threat, possibly even endangering the safety of every race."
"So rather than letting that happen, they believe it's better to eliminate the danger while it's still in the cradle."
"An assassin organization called the Peace Organization?", Even hearing the name left Ethan speechless. The irony was hard to miss, "Then how do they know when an alchemy practitioner becomes an Alchemist?"
"First, through the Alchemy Association's registry. Every year, they test the registered alchemy practitioners to see whether they've advanced into Alchemists. As soon as they do, they're immediately taken away."
Nostradamus continued, "It's said they're taken to a place where alchemy can't be used. You can think of it as being placed under surveillance."
"As for alchemy practitioners who aren't on the registry, if the time comes and they fail to appear for the annual spiritual power assessment, they'll be hunted down. Once they're caught, they're executed on the spot, no matter the reason."
"As for the second type, wild Alchemists, meaning those who've never registered with the Alchemy Association or joined any organization, they have special ways of detecting them."
"It's said that the Peace Organization possesses a divine statue called Peace that can detect any sign of war before it begins."
"And an Alchemist making equivalent exchanges with demons is precisely the beginning of a conflict between good and evil."
"So they're naturally detected."
"I see," Ethan silently swallowed, "Are the people in the Peace Organization very powerful?"
"You could say they are, or you could say they aren't," Nostradamus scratched his smooth stone head, "If they competed with me in stargazing or magic, they'd definitely lose."
"But what's terrifying about them is that they're everywhere."
"As long as they've decided someone has to die, so far they've never failed."
"You could say they're exceptionally skilled at assassination."
"By the way..."
"Why are you asking all this?"
"You haven't been studying alchemy, have you?"
"If you dare practice that crooked path, I'll be the first to break your legs."
"No! No!", Ethan immediately waved his hands, cold sweat breaking out, "I'm already training both magic and martial arts. Where would I find the energy to learn anything else? You're overthinking it, Master!"
"That's true. No matter how talented you are, there's only so much time," Nostradamus nodded, "At your age, being able to train Great Fireball to this level while also studying spatial magic is already remarkable."
"It's unlikely you'd have the time to study anything else."
"Remember this, my disciple. Bite off more than you can chew, and you'll choke."
"Yes, Master. I'll remember your teaching."
After replying, Ethan hurried away, afraid that the more he said, the more likely he'd slip up.
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