Victor held the giant iron spoon, stirring vigorously in the small pot that was bubbling with eerie bubbles.
The viscous liquid displayed an indescribable color and texture, somewhere between a thick meat stew and swamp sludge.
"Is it done after I finish stirring?"
Victor panted as he asked.
Venom leaned in for a closer look:
"Wait, one more thing. The book says you need to hold a 'casting medium' and chant an incantation toward the potion. Recommended mediums... dried pufferfish or octopus tentacles. The incantation is..."
Venom's voice paused for a moment, as if he also felt a hint of absurdity.
"Evil spirits be gone, evil spirits be gone!"
Victor stopped stirring, looking completely dazed.
"Was this part in the book before? Did I miss it? Besides, I don't think I bought any octopus tentacles!"
Venom fell silent for a second, then quite naturally extended a pitch-black tentacle. With a squelch, he cleanly severed it himself and tossed it into Victor's hand.
That segment of tentacle was still wriggling slightly in Victor's palm, possessive of a living sliminess.
"Take it, this will have to do."
Venom's voice sounded nonchalant, as if he were just handing over a pen.
Victor pinched the still-squirming Venom tentacle, his lip twitching, but he raised it anyway. Aiming it at the "potion," he took a deep breath, preparing to chant.
"One more thing," Venom added, "enunciate clearly when chanting."
"Fine, I got it."
Victor adjusted his breathing and prepared again.
"One more thing," Venom continued, "remember to flick your wrist, using the medium to trace an exorcism path."
"Cough, cough, cough—" Victor's breath hitched, sending him into a coughing fit, veins bulging on his forehead.
"Are you finished yet?! Where are all these 'one more things' coming from?!"
Venom pointed a tentacle at the book page, his tone innocent:
"Don't yell at me. I'm just reading the text verbatim. The notes section of this book is filled with 'one more thing'."
Victor fell silent for a few seconds, his face a picture of a breakdown, screaming "What the hell am I even looking at?"
"This author..." he squeezed the words through his teeth, "must be a dry, garlic-loving, rambling, annoying old man!"
Resigned to his fate, he raised the tentacle. His wrist began to flick in a charlatan-like, extremely affected manner as he chanted loudly:
"Evil spirits be gone! Evil spirits be gone!"
As he chanted, the black Venom tentacle in his hand actually began to emit a faint, ominous green glow!
The green light beamed like a searchlight onto the potion. Upon contact with the light, the viscous liquid that had been bubbling away instantly stilled; every bubble vanished, leaving it as smooth as a mirror.
"Is it... done?"
Victor lowered the tentacle, looking uncertainly at the still, shimmering liquid in the pot.
Venom leaned in for a look:
"Seems so."
But Victor soon spotted a problem:
"Wait, I remember the book saying the finished potion should be red. Why is mine... purple?"
Under the light, the liquid in the small pot displayed a deep, mysterious, and even somewhat cool dark purple.
Venom was also stunned. His large white eyes blinked, and he quickly offered a guess that sounded plausible:
"Uh... maybe it's... so red it's purple?"
Victor stared at the purple liquid, rubbed his chin for two seconds in thought, and then had an epiphany, his face showing admiration:
"Makes sense! No argument there! Old pal, you're the smart one! Your IQ must be 250, just like mine!"
Venom: "..."
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