Wizard: I Have a Cultivation System-Chapter 68: Knight’s Secret Medicine

Murphy stood in place, his thoughts churning like a tidal wave.

He had originally thought "the Court" might refer to an envoy from the Church Court, Baron Duval’s liege Duke Douglas, or perhaps even a special emissary from the Royal Capital.

But he never would have imagined it meant Roton Knight.

No! Or rather, it didn’t just refer to Roton Knight, but to a group of people—a group who genuinely cared about the cause of Baron Duval’s death.

People like Bishop Alberto, Kelvin, and Roton.

As for the others, like Viscount Hans, Sylvan, and the other people from the Church Court, they couldn’t care less how the Baron had actually died.

So, as long as those who cared about the Baron’s death and held significant influence were dead, then Option Two would be considered complete.

’What if Roton had escaped to the Rosenia Kingdom?’

’If I hadn’t killed him here, would Option Two still have been completed?’

’It probably would have. The investigation must have a time limit; it couldn’t possibly last until Roton Knight died of old age.’

Of course, with an insufficient sample size, Murphy couldn’t be sure. He only knew that he had received the reward.

But at the same time, a doubt arose in his mind. ’It seems like this time, unlike the first four, I didn’t have to give it my absolute all.’

Murphy thought back carefully. The first trial had indeed required his full effort, and in the fourth Illusion Realm, not fighting desperately would have meant death.

’But what about the second and third times?’

’Were there better solutions?’

’For example, in the second trial, I didn’t need to flee in such a panic. After all, it was later proven that the Activated Armor primarily targeted Knights’ Attendants and Knights, having nothing to do with Grooms.’

’In the third, perhaps I could have lured wild beasts to deal with Tommy Han.’

Just as he had previously considered—collecting side quests to simplify the main one—was the difficulty of this option lower because he had completed a side quest?

’So where did I complete the side quest?’

’Was it choosing to stay at the Black Wood Forest Outpost?’

’Or choosing to go out on patrol?’

Murphy had no way of knowing.

But he clearly realized that Option Two was far more complex than he had imagined.

’Should I try Option One?’

The thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

However, Murphy quickly dismissed the idea.

’Option One in the first trial was simply impossible to complete with my physical condition at the time.’

’Option One in the second trial—entering that so-called Pill Room, which I now know was the room where the Knight’s Secret Medicine was stored—would have been certain death with my strength back then.’

’Gaining Tommy Han’s approval in the third trial would also have been extremely difficult.’

Therefore, he naturally didn’t dare to choose Option One for the fourth and fifth trials.

’If something went wrong, there would be no second chances.’

Murphy looked at Roton’s body again, thinking, ’Since you’re dead, I guess I’m no longer a citizen of the Iron-blooded Velt Kingdom.’

He began to search Roton’s body carefully and finally found a tightly wrapped item. It was a small, oil-soaked leather pouch embroidered with the Duval Clan’s crest in silver thread. The opening was sealed with an exquisite Silver Button. The entire thing was only the size of his palm, yet it exuded a faint, herbal scent.

"This is?"

Murphy found it very familiar. Wasn’t that exactly what was used to wrap the Knight’s Secret Medicine?

He had secretly watched the followers take the Secret Medicine on more than one occasion, and they always took it out of pouches just like this one.

Besides this, he also found sixteen Henry Gold Coins and a number of Silver Coins.

He decided against taking the armor. The Knight’s Sword could be kept, but he wouldn’t take it right now.

...

After letting Nature deal with Roton’s body, Murphy returned to the Black Wood Forest Outpost.

Observing the Black Wood Forest Outpost from a distance, he discovered that, contrary to his expectation of Sylvan’s men arriving, the outpost was calm and peaceful, with nothing out of the ordinary.

So, Murphy went back.

On his way, he ran into Allen, who looked him up and down. "Haven’t seen you all day. Where have you been?"

Murphy dusted off his clothes. "It was too boring at the outpost, so I snuck out to hunt some game."

Allen grinned. "Just what I’d expect from someone Master Arthur has his eye on. So audacious, unlike me, who’s always so cautious. Did you catch anything?"

Murphy sighed. "I’ve been tending horses for too long; my skills have gotten rusty. I didn’t catch a thing. And you, cautious? As if I don’t know you sneak out too."

Allen chuckled. "Well, it’s rare to get a day off. Had to go out and relax a bit."

Murphy and Allen were Upper-class Grooms, assigned to their respective Knights’ Attendants. They weren’t part of the same system as the outpost’s soldiers, who tended to turn a blind eye to their movements.

Afterward, Murphy secretly tested the Knight’s Secret Medicine on the outpost’s nags. With his current knowledge from [Horse Trainer: Ascending the Hall and Entering the Room], he could analyze even the slightest harmful ingredient with a very small dose.

He discovered that the Knight’s Secret Medicine he had taken from Roton did indeed have the effect of promoting blood circulation and replenishing Energy.

It was probably real Knight’s Secret Medicine.

Even if it were fake, it likely didn’t contain any ingredients harmful to the human body.

Of course, the medicine’s effect on the nags wasn’t significant, probably because the Knight’s Secret Medicine required a special Knight’s Breathing Technique to be fully digested. When horses consumed it directly, much of it couldn’t be absorbed and would be expelled through their digestive systems.

Murphy thought for a moment and decided to take it himself.

To be honest, he already knew the Knight’s Breathing Technique; he had learned it by eavesdropping with his keen sense of hearing.

He compared it to what he had learned from [Breathing and Guiding] and found this breathing technique to be incredibly crude. Yet, it still had a miraculous effect.

Or rather, the miracle wasn’t the technique itself, but the Knight’s Secret Medicine. The Knight’s Breathing Technique was merely a tool for absorbing it.

Practicing the Knight’s Breathing Technique alone was certainly far less effective than using the Knight’s Secret Medicine. The results were hundreds, even thousands, of times weaker than when taking the medicine. Just like Lawson—once he stopped taking it, he made almost no progress.

It was precisely for this reason that the Knight’s Secret Medicine was the most important controlled substance in the Baron’s Domain. Only the Baron could handle it. After the Baron fell gravely ill, Roton took charge. Even Kelvin, before he inherited the title of Baron, didn’t have full authority over it.

Perhaps this was also why the secrecy surrounding the Knight’s Breathing Technique was not very high, allowing Murphy to eavesdrop on it so easily.

Murphy hadn’t tried to steal any before because he had planned to complete Option Two safely first, so he hadn’t wanted to create any extra complications.

To be honest, he had been curious about the effects of this medicine for a long time.

However, Murphy still didn’t plan to take it at the outpost.

First, unlike at the Baron’s Castle, he didn’t have a private room at the outpost. It was easy enough to secretly feed the Knight’s Secret Medicine to the horses, but secretly practicing the breathing technique after taking the medicine himself would be too easy to expose.

Second, he wanted to observe how the outpost changed after Roton had fled there.

But by the next day, nothing much had changed at the outpost.

At this point, Murphy realized that the situation at the Baron’s Castle had probably changed again, causing Sylvan to give up his pursuit of Roton.

’Don’t tell me Sylvan was taken down?’

’If I were Viscount Hans, I probably wouldn’t pass up the chance to control a useless person like Sylvan.’

As Murphy thought of this, an extremely bold idea suddenly formed in his mind. But before that, he needed to test the effects of the Knight’s Secret Medicine before making a decision.