Chapter 24 - Bath

The next ten days passed with Fang continuing his usual routine, and as the third holiday arrived, he made up his mind.

After all his classes ended, he found Mii again and apologized that he had somewhere to go, then promptly headed to the gate of the school.

Rhodes was already present—upon Fang’s arrival, they departed directly towards Valeria’s tower.

Valeria had been waiting in the living room of the tower. “Oh, Fang, I’m glad to see you again. It seems I didn’t have to wait long at all.”

Fang had internally debated the consequences of this agreement. It was completely verbal without a contract, and all he was responsible for was the extermination of the Ragged Pirates. He considered the benefits of gaining access to the conditions he could only dream of against the potential risks he was taking. If he died, Mii would be left alone in this world. But as he was right now, he wasn’t confident he could protect her. They both had lost their loved ones—he lost his parents to monsters, while Valeria’s father and brother had been slaughtered by pirates. The drive for justice was something Fang wished he could uphold, and so, for the sake of preventing tragedies, he made his decision.

A smile bloomed in Valeria’s eyes, as if she knew Fang couldn’t refuse. “Well, Fang, let me deliver my first gift to you. Before that, though, dinner has been prepared.”

At the dining table, perhaps because it was the second time, Fang wasn’t so nervous.

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Valeria led Fang into a large, spacious bathroom and handed him a bathrobe and a towel. “Go wash, then change into these clothes.”

He couldn’t help but think this was strange. “Lady Valeria, why am I taking a shower?”

Valeria beamed. “Because before taking an energy bath, you should clean your body to allow better absorption.”

Energy bath?

This training method was possibly the most effective. By collecting and mixing plants and precious materials from monsters, a concentrated solution of energy could be produced to absorb. Among the various supplements, this was the most expensive, as it was consumable compared to renting out a tower or hiring a private instructor.

Fang obediently took the clothes and towel, then entered the bathroom.

Filled with cloudy steam, the relaxing atmosphere was quite different from the baths he had taken back home. Carefully, Fang got into the water and washed himself thoroughly, ensuring that even the dirt under his nails was removed. Once he was sure he was clean, he put on the bathrobe and rejoined Valeria.

She took him to another part of the tower, where a distinct herbal smell permeated the area. In the room, a glass boiler was connected to an empty wooden tub.

Valeria closed the door and walked to the boiler, dropping some herbs into the ghastly mixture of water and powders. The mixture frothed furiously as a white flame lit up beneath the glass, and moments later, a captivating smell wafted out. As the solution completely liquefied, Valeria opened a latch, and a slow, crawling fluid flowed into the wooden tub.

Without wasting any time, Valeria turned to Fang. “Take off that bathrobe and get in!”

“What?”

Valeria laughed. “Well, if you want to add impurities to the energy, you can go in with your clothes on.”

His face flushed red; being told to undress suddenly before someone he had only met three times was awkward.

“But you better hurry. This energy is pretty volatile and will easily evaporate.”

Fang gritted his teeth, then turned around, quickly undressing and leaping into the pool.

But his embarrassment was quickly replaced by surprise as Fang realized that the energy contained in this concoction was abundant, even more so than the energy tower. Once he started to use the endless method, the energy was absorbed extremely greedily, with the medicine also seeping into Fang’s body. Everything was being absorbed greedily, and he felt an indescribable comfort.

Two hours went by, and the liquid had reverted from its sickly green color to clear water.

Valeria showed a hint of surprise; she had anticipated that Fang would take at least six hours to absorb and process the bath, but it only took him two hours. Most people couldn’t refine all of the materials used, perhaps at most 70%, leaving the solution discolored. However, Fang had managed to absorb enough that the solution turned clear—this efficiency was nearly perfect.

Judging from this, he might be able to take some more!

So, in the alchemic contraption, Valeria added an additional third of the components to brew. She wanted to see exactly how far Fang could go.

But this second batch was completely depleted in an hour.

A third, fourth, and finally a fifth batch was prepared when Fang reached his limit. Things went more pleasantly than she had expected; being so greedy, he had absorbed almost twice as much as she had predicted.

Restfully, Fang leaned against the back of the tub, his body sparkling with a light fluorescence.