Synthesis-type adventurers

Chapter 57 Chemical Reactions

The deafening sound of bricks and stones shattering echoed throughout the neighborhood.

The moment Rod's feet touched the slippery roof tiles, the brick wall behind him that was meant to shield him crumbled into dust.

Gravel flew everywhere, and several sharp pieces of brick grazed his cheek, cutting small gashes.

Amidst billowing smoke and dust, Olivia burst through the obstacle, her vertical pupils, burning with molten gold, locking onto the speeding figure on the rooftop.

Want to play hide-and-seek?

Olivia's lips curled into a dangerous grin as she stomped her foot, causing two deep craters to form in the stone pavement under her weight.

A red figure tore through the rain, the terrain's elevation differences were meaningless to her.

Olivia didn't need any tricks; she relied entirely on brute force to plow a straight trench in the ground, turning the wooden shed pillars and brick walls that blocked her way into dust.

All obstacles were crushed.

Rod ran wildly across the rain-soaked rooftops, his ears filled with the sound of the wind and the deafening roar of buildings collapsing behind him.

The distance is rapidly decreasing.

Fifty meters, thirty meters...

With the wind pressure approaching from the side and below, Rhodes knew very well that escape was no longer an option.

Conventional steel and swords are meaningless against those scales.

We must rely on the rules.

Rhodes' gaze swept ahead, settling on a dead end not far away.

That was a corner of an underground workshop where waste was dumped, with dozens of barrels of abandoned alchemical waste piled up.

Yellowish-green liquid seeped from the bottom of the rusted iron sheet, and turbid foam emerged under the wash of rainwater.

This is a desperate situation, but also the only chance of survival.

Rod leaped off the roof, rolled forward to dissipate the force upon landing, and without pausing for even a second, rushed straight towards the pile of foul-smelling metal barrels.

He activated his full mental power, and his [Analysis Vision] covered the entire field of vision. The originally dark environment appeared as dense clusters of light markings in his perception.

High-concentration acid solution, volatile amino base, unstable high-energy reactive salt...

These poisons that most people would avoid at all costs are, in this moment, the best weapons.

The time was less than ten seconds.

Rod pulled an empty alchemy test tube from his waist bag, uncorked it, and scooped up a pool of yellowish-green mixed waste liquid that had accumulated on the ground beneath the iron bucket.

Immediately afterwards, his gaze focused, and his mental energy spread out.

"Stripping".

In the field of vision, countless white or gray specks of light, representing [mild pain], [burning], and [irritating gas], were forcibly pulled out of the waste liquid pile.

……

A sharp pain shot through my brain; it was the burden of stripping away plural terms.

Rhodes gritted his teeth and stored all these scattered conceptual fragments into his consciousness space.

"synthesis."

Deep within consciousness, dozens of faint white orbs of light merged together under the force of will.

The shock from the rejection reaction caused a rush of heat to flow from Rhodes's nasal cavity, but he forcibly suppressed the mental turmoil.

As the light receded, new terms took shape in consciousness, eventually transforming into two stable terms.

[Alchemy Projectile (Unnamed)]

State: Critical boiling

Entry:

[Painful Whiplash (Blue Excellent)]: Greatly amplifies pain signals, causing a strong sensory impact on the organism.

[Rapid vaporization (white, ordinary)]: When in contact with air or water, it expands instantly and atomizes.

……

"load."

Rhodes stared at the test tube filled with waste liquid in his hand and bound the synthesized entry to this item.

The originally murky yellowish-green liquid instantly became clear and transparent, with strange bubbles rising inside, as if some living thing was awakening.

As the last wall exploded, the smoke and dust were quickly washed away by the torrential rain, and Olivia stepped out, shattering the rubble.

Her rugged leather combat suit was glossy, and rainwater slid down the fine lines without getting wet at all, outlining her rock-hard muscle lines.

"Run?"

Olivia tilted her head, clenched her fist with her fingers, making a cracking sound, and her tail swept through the water behind her, stirring up murky splashes.

"Why did you stop running? Where did that energy go?"

With his back against the cold, damp brick wall, Rod quickly secured the gold-plated goggles on his face with his left hand, while his right hand pulled out a thick cotton cloth that was already soaked with rainwater and covered his mouth and nose tightly.

After doing all that, he finally looked up at the figure that was approaching step by step.

"Do you want to commit suicide? Or beg for mercy?"

Olivia exhaled a puff of white breath from her nostrils, and crimson flames rose from her fist, instantly evaporating the rain that fell upon it.

"Too late. I'm going to crush your bones inch by inch, and then dig out your heart to see what made that beast's blood flow in your body!"

"I'd like to invite you to a sauna," Rod's voice came through the thick, damp cloth.

Before he finished speaking, Rhodes raised his right hand and slammed the test tube containing the phrase, which was loaded with a tear gas-like effect, into the area at Olivia's feet.

"Smack."

The sound of shattering glass was masked by the torrential rain, but at the moment the waste liquid came into contact with the puddles—

"Sizzle—!"

An inconspicuous puddle suddenly boiled, and a piercing scream hurt the eardrums.

The chemical properties of the waste liquid itself, catalyzed by the [rapid vaporization] term, draw in the accumulated water on the ground, instantly transforming it into high-temperature steam.

However, this heat is only used to catalyze the gaseous carrier.

Thick, yellowish-green clouds, propelled by the burst of steam, filled the narrow alleyway with an overwhelming force in an instant.

This is a meticulously calculated alchemical storm.

Olivia didn't even have time to hold her breath. Instead, due to her being a half-dragon, her instinct [Blood Feud Tracking] made her take a deep breath, trying to confirm the scent of fear in her prey one last time.

With that one breath, she inhaled a wave of pain that assaulted her senses.

"cough--!"

The angry roar got stuck in his throat, instantly turning into a series of heart-wrenching coughs.

[Painful Whipping] has taken effect.

This special alchemical gas was not highly corrosive, but it felt like countless needles piercing her nasal cavity and throat, amplifying the normally tolerable irritation dozens of times.

Even more dangerous are the eyes.

Even with a semi-transparent nictitating membrane for protection, the all-pervasive gas can still penetrate it.

"Aaaaaahh ...

A piercing scream shattered the rain curtain.

Olivia covered her eyes with both hands. The powerful man who had just been able to stop the heavy shield's charge with one hand was now staggering backward, his foot slipping, and he fell awkwardly into the mud.

"My eyes... Damn it, what the hell is this! Cough cough cough cough—"

Tears and snot flowed uncontrollably, his vertical pupils were now bloodshot and his eyelids were spasming, making it impossible for him to open them.

The intense pain impaired her senses, and Olivia wildly flailed her burning fists, the force of her punches shattering the wall beside her, but she couldn't even touch the hem of Rhodes's clothes.

Rhodes pressed himself against the wall, keeping his body low to avoid the area where the poisonous cloud was most concentrated.

Through his fogged-up goggles, he calmly watched the figure tumbling in the mud.

Even the strongest creature, as long as it is made of flesh and blood and still needs to breathe, has weaknesses.

The half-dragon's sense of smell far surpasses that of humans, meaning that she is extremely efficient at capturing scents.

When this keen sensitivity encounters targeted alchemical poison, it becomes the greatest burden.

This is a continuation of the concept of equivalent exchange in alchemy.

"You despicable, vile rat! Cough cough cough..." Olivia knelt on the ground, one hand bracing herself against the mud, the other futilely clawing at the air, hoarse breaths escaping her throat, "I will... kill you..."

"Save your energy." Rod adjusted the damp cloth covering his mouth and nose. "This gas isn't lethal, but if it's not dealt with promptly, your sense of smell will be paralyzed for a long time. For a hunting dog, a damaged nose is a big problem."