My Computer Leads to an Instance Dungeon-Chapter 121 - 99: A ’Win-Win’ Deal? I Win Twice

"Master, is there anything I can do to help?" Fang Zhen asked, picking up on Gwendolyn's cue.

"Yes, there is," Gwendolyn said, handing the One-Handed Sword to Mark and looking at Fang Zhen. "I live in Ellick. Besides observing the Vampire Count, I'm working on something else."

"Legend has it that a brilliant Alchemist once refined a special potion. It wasn't fatal to humans—in fact, it was beneficial. But for unnatural creatures like Abnormal Ghosts, it was as effective as a deadly poison."

"I am a Curse Sealer, and also an Alchemist from a long line. I've always wanted to find that great Alchemist's secret formula and recreate the potion that is so deadly to unnatural monsters. However, I don't have enough materials to conduct my tests."

"The ingredients themselves aren't the main issue. Given enough time, I can always gather them, and the secret formula can be reverse-engineered through experimentation."

"The real bottleneck is the lack of bodily fluids from these unnatural creatures."

Fang Zhen raised an eyebrow.

"Bodily fluids from unnatural creatures?" he asked.

Gwendolyn nodded. "Yes. Take Abnormal Ghosts, for instance. You can find those unnatural monsters all over the world, but what I need is cerebrospinal fluid, harvested from one that has been dead for no more than thirty minutes. That's incredibly difficult to acquire."

"When I was young, I might have been able to kill one or two Abnormal Ghosts on my own to collect the fluid. But I'm old now, and I no longer have the confidence to pull it off."

"Young man, you're stronger than I expected. This task might not be too difficult for you. So, could I ask you to help me collect some cerebrospinal fluid from Abnormal Ghosts?"

"Besides, doing so would weaken the monsters in the Underground Cave. If we spend some time on it, we might even be able to clear a path from the cave to the Ancient Castle."

Fang Zhen smiled.

"No problem, Master. A task like that is well within my capabilities."

"I won't ask for much in return. All I need is for you to teach me the casting technique and method for using the Gang Zan Seal."

Upon hearing this, the corner of Gwendolyn's mouth twitched. It looked as if she wanted to say something but thought better of it and swallowed her words.

Gwendolyn stared at Fang Zhen for a long moment before speaking. "Do young people these days feel no shame in making demands? When I was young, it was considered shameful for a youngster to haggle."

"Life is short," Fang Zhen replied, completely unabashed. "If you don't even dare to ask for what you need and want, isn't that just a waste of a life?"

"Fine," Gwendolyn said, shaking her head in resignation. "I accept your terms." 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

"I can promise to teach you with all my effort, but learning to use Curse Seals is heavily dependent on talent. I'm not sure if you have the aptitude to be a Curse Sealer. Among normal people, you might only find one person with even a hint of talent out of every fifty or sixty."

"If it turns out you don't have the aptitude for it, don't blame me for not teaching you properly."

"I have that much faith in you, Master," Fang Zhen replied. "You just focus on teaching. Whether or not I can learn it is on me."

'He could tell Gwendolyn wasn't exactly thrilled to be teaching Curse Seals to someone else.'

'But since she had agreed, and judging by her character, she probably wouldn't hold anything back.'

'Fang Zhen wasn't worried about his ability to learn.'

'Others might hit a learning plateau, and that plateau would most likely be related to the need for this world's unique powers.'

'But that posed no obstacle for Fang Zhen.'

'He possessed Source Power. As long as he grasped the principles behind this world's special powers, he could convert his Source Power into this world's Extraordinary Power in a matter of minutes.'

"Master, let me go with Fang Zhen to the Ancient Castle Caverns."

"I can guide him, and I can also help collect the cerebrospinal fluid from the Abnormal Ghosts. Fang Zhen might not know how."

"Besides, I want to see how a true Warrior fights."

Mark suddenly spoke up.

Gwendolyn considered it for a moment, then nodded. "Very well."

Gwendolyn looked to Fang Zhen and asked, "What do you think?"

"I'm fine with it."

'Fang Zhen had a good impression of Mark—better than Nick, at least.'

'He could use someone to handle the menial tasks and help carry the load anyway.'

'He'd just think of Mark as a free Combat Servant.'

Having received permission, Mark immediately perked up, brimming with enthusiasm.

"Young Ranger, I have a gift for you. It should improve your chances of success," Gwendolyn said.

Gwendolyn took an apple-sized glass bottle from a pocket in her trousers.

Fang Zhen took a look. The bottle was also shaped like an apple and was about the size of his fist. The glass was of average quality—opaque and full of impurities, giving it a frosted appearance. It was sealed with a wooden cork, and inside, he could vaguely make out a green, paste-like substance.

"This is a healing salve I created using Alchemy and some rare herbs. It works wonders on external injuries."

"I took a look at those pills you gave me earlier. They seem quite useful."

"Consider this bottle of salve an exchange."

Gwendolyn said.

Fang Zhen glanced again at the healing salve in the frosted glass bottle.

'He didn't have much faith in this era's medicine. For all he knew, it was just some placebo-like concoction based on Witchcraft. Getting an infection after using it could be a death sentence.'

As if sensing Fang Zhen's distrust, Mark stepped forward, took the salve from Gwendolyn, then drew a short dagger from his belt and slashed it across his left palm.

Blood immediately began to flow.

'Damn, did you really have to go that far?'

'A tetanus infection in a place like this is a death sentence!'

Mark was one tough guy. Without so much as a frown, he uncorked the bottle, scooped out a bit of the green, greasy-looking ointment, and smeared it on the cut in his left hand.