116 Research and developmen (2/2)

Viscount Sanzu knew that him and Hartley's fate were both tied together, as long as Hartley shone bright the viscount's reputation would also increase. He felt guilty for the ordeal Hartley might experience with the apothecary but it was still better than not having one.

With this incentive the viscount decided to back Hartley to the best of his ability.

The man that was sent to Hartley a few days later left Hartley in shock, the man was as slim as a skeleton with a hunched back. He wore one of the most worn out robe Hartley had ever seen and was about 1.6 meters tall with hiswhite hair running down to the center of his back.

The man's grey eyes squinted as if he couldn't see five meters ahead of himself. When introduced to Hartley the man kept mumbling gibberish at the floor about a random formula.

He kept gesturing wildly, then contemplating for a few seconds and talking about how he was so close to perfecting it.

The man then had a moment of lucidity and introduced himself when he saw everyone in the hall staring at him.

”Ah when did you get there? I'm Alrick young lord, destined to be the most famous potion maker to ever walk the continent.” The man then gave an extravagant bow with his hunched back, almost making his forehead touch the ground.

Hartley was dumbstruck, this wild man was half way to being insane, what use could he be to the Western hills? He had a feeling once again that he had been duped by Viscount Sanzu. Hartley had no confidence in this man to produce anything of worth but he had already accepted the man and invested a couple thousand gold coins in equipment and raw material. He sighed, maybe if he can produce afew rank 1 medicinal dans it might be ok.

In The receiving hall Zhi Ruo was close to bursting out with laughter, Qin Li looked on with bulging eyes while the serving staff gave the man a wide berth having witnessed his lunacy....

The second week the man was at the manor, there was a huge explosion that rocked the entire structure, people scattered like ants running around and screaming wildly.

After receiving instructions from Viscount Sanzu Hartley had prepared a room away from the General staff of the manor in the basement for Alrick's experiments.

Hartley and Qin Li rushed to this part of the building, there was black smoke swirling from beneath the door of the little room. Hartley was suddenly having second thoughts about harboring this mad scientist in his fief and in his manor no less.

As soon as they kicked in the door of the little room thick black smoke billowed out and up into the sky, they then heard hysterical laughter and the man came crawling out of the room as black as soot.

”I almost got it this time,” the man cackled in madness while coughing.

”I don't think this is a good idea,” Qin li said to no one in particular. Hartley standing beside him was feeling the same way, if left to his own devices this man would eventually kill them all.

Now Hartley had had enough and was about to dismiss this whole mad affair, cut his losses and send this man back to where ever he came from.

Alrick staggered to his feet in another rare moment of clarity seeming to read Hartley's intentions. He cougheda couple times and exhaled a lung full of black smoke like he had puffed on acigarette.

”I've not cracked it yet,” he said while using his palm to brush back his messy soot-filed hair in a dignified manner as he staggered to address Hartley and Qin Li.

”But” he continued with his index finger pointing to the sky.

”The bi-product of this experiment might be useful.” He walked hunched over out of the building and toward an open area of an empty field and rummaged through his pockets coming out with two vials.

One filled with a thick blood-like substance and the other with a blue thin liquid.

Hartley walked out with Qin Li to see what the madman was about to do next. Alrick put a single drop of the blue liquid into the red substance and it immediately started to sizzle, returning the cork to the vial of red substance he then threw it out as far as he could, then...

Boom!....

As the glass vial landed among some shrubbery an explosion thundered out incinerating the greenery that was standing there a second ago, raining dust and pebbles everywhere sending black smoke rising up into the sky and leaving a pit in the earth like a meteorite had fallen from the sky...

Alrick started cackling again. He turned, this time his hair was filled with small pebbles and dirt, ”imagine that against infantry.” he said as if he was completely sane and sober with a sinister evil-genius smile.

Hartley's and Qin Li's jaws dropped to the floor.