"I..." Thunderbird hesitated for a moment, until he saw Alan pick up the mouthguard again. Only then did he blurt out with his eyes closed, "I was actually born in 1893!"
"1893? How is that possible? Aren't you over ninety years old now? But you look at most in your thirties!" Alan originally thought that the other party had just lied about his age, but he didn't expect him to say such a surprising number. The most important thing was that his Legilimency told him that the other party was telling the truth, which made him even more surprised.
"This... sigh..." After revealing his actual age, Thunderbird seemed to have a layer of skin peeled off him, letting out a helpless sigh. "That's right, my actual age is indeed much older than I look."
"How did you do that? I can tell that you didn't just change your appearance, but your body is as healthy as a wizard in his prime." Alan stared at Thunderbird with a look of surprise.
He had examined the other party before; Thunderbird's body was unbelievably healthy, which allowed him to remain conscious even after suffering severe injuries. At the same time, he also specifically measured the other party's magic value, which was as high as 2138 points. This was the first time Alan had seen such an exaggerated magic reserve, which even made him once doubt whether the other party's race was human.
One must know that Alan, who grew up eating magical creature meat every day, currently only has a magic value of 817, and his growth rate has already become gentle. It's uncertain whether he can even exceed a thousand before he turns thirty.
"Weren't you very curious about that unrecognizable potion before?" Thunderbird, having exposed the secret of his age, threw caution to the wind. "The thing in that crystal bottle is called 'Snake Skin Potion,' also known as the 'Undying Elixir' by us. It's what I rely on to maintain my current physique!"
"Snake Skin Potion?" Alan repeated faintly, but his heart was actually in turmoil. "Just this one potion can achieve such a degree? Tell me everything you know about this potion!"
"I don't know the origin of this potion either. I only know that its formula is in the control of the Club leader." Thunderbird spoke at this moment like an emotionless robot, dispirited. "As long as this potion is taken, no matter how old the wizard is, it can revert him to the age when his physical condition was most vigorous, and further strengthen his physical functions. Whether it's strength, stamina, or recovery ability, they will all be greatly enhanced, and he can also retain his original magic abilities, including magic reserves and intensity."
"There is actually such a powerful potion in this world?" Alan felt somewhat incredulous after hearing Thunderbird's description. At the same time, he also understood why this guy's magic value was so exaggerated; it turned out to be his magic reserve from over ninety years.
But Alan quickly calmed down, then looked at the other party seriously. "The gifts bestowed by fate are already marked with a price in the dark. Whatever is gained, an appropriate price must be paid. Presumably, it must have some other problems, right? I don't believe this potion has no side effects at all."
Thunderbird noticed that Alan could still remain rational and calm after hearing his statement, and secretly sighed, what a terrifying young man. It seems I truly deserved to lose to you.
"Indeed, this potion is not omnipotent. It has three very obvious side effects." Thunderbird sighed helplessly. "Firstly, the biggest problem with the 'Undying Elixir' is its extremely high cost. Although I don't know its complete preparation process, I roughly know that the main material for making it is magical creatures with powerful vitality, because the essence of this potion is to extract the life force from magical creatures and then convert it into a potion."
"So you smuggle magical creatures all over the world just for..." Alan's mind suddenly became clear. Thunderbird's words finally resolved a long-standing question that had greatly puzzled him.
That was why the Silver Spear Club, with such strong combat power and a strict organizational structure, was a criminal group specializing in smuggling. With such powerful force, what couldn't they do? This mode of operation even made Alan feel that this Silver Spears was particularly low-class.
"Indeed, we capture and smuggle magical creatures. Besides obtaining Galleons and resources, the main purpose is to provide them to headquarters and then formulate them into the 'Undying Elixir'."
"What about the other two side effects?" Alan asked impatiently.
"The other two side effects are, firstly, after taking the 'Snake Skin Potion,' one cannot stop taking it. We must take the potion once every 3 months. A crystal bottle like that contains two doses. And once we stop taking the potion, what awaits us is not a return to our original age, but direct death!" When Thunderbird said this, a trace of fear of death flashed in his eyes.
No wonder this guy acted so afraid of death before. This potion is called the 'Undying Elixir,' but it's actually similar to a unique product. Once addicted, one's entire will will be corrupted, and one will even fear death more than a normal person. Alan curled his lip in disdain. This kind of thing looks good, but it should definitely not be touched.
"And the last side effect," Thunderbird paused before continuing, "is that after starting to take this potion, one must undergo a 'molting' every month!"
"Molting?" Alan looked at the other party with some confusion upon hearing this.
"That's right, it's molting in the literal sense!" Thunderbird seemed to recall some painful memory. "This molting is like a ritual. Based on the first time the 'Undying Elixir' is taken, every 30 days thereafter, the entire person will feel a strong acid-corrosion-like pain, followed by the skin beginning to wrinkle and bubble, until that layer of skin completely peels off the body and sheds. The entire process will last at least 12 hours. During this period, the wizard undergoing molting will be completely defenseless, unable to even cast the simplest spell, and the entire person will temporarily lose his mind due to excessive pain. Screaming and wailing are perfectly normal occurrences. However, after completing the molting, the wizard will also fully recover to his optimal state, like a new birth, and even some simple scars will shed with the old skin!" At this point, Thunderbird seemed to recall that feeling of complete comfort, and couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
No wonder it's called 'Molting Potion'; it's truly a potion true to its name. But this molting process, rather than categorizing it as a ritual, is more like a curse. Thinking of this, Alan immediately became even more disgusted with this potion. Taking this potion would be equivalent to putting one's life under the control of others, wouldn't it?
"Since that's the case, wouldn't the molting period be the moment when this person is at his weakest?" Alan asked thoughtfully.
"Indeed." Thunderbird nodded helplessly. "Every wizard who has taken the 'Undying Elixir' regards his molting period as his biggest secret. Even when everyone first obtains the potion from the leader, they don't drink it immediately, but rather wait for a period of time before taking the potion. This is to conceal their molting period."
"Is simply hiding enough? If someone with ill intentions wanted to investigate, they could still pinpoint the range through some clues if they carefully observed your daily routine..." Alan said this, and his expression suddenly became startled as if he had thought of something.
"Heh, it seems you've realized it too." Thunderbird looked at Alan's expression and, for once, gave a bitter smile. "Why do you think the members of the Silver Spears hide their identities one by one, and why does each branch only send a mere two people, and they are always elusive and out of sight? Even without enemies, they hide in the shadows, and their appearances or activities are basically always within fixed time periods. Furthermore, for most of the time, you won't see two Silver Spears acting together."
"So, these arrangements are all to conceal your molting period?" Alan also realized at this moment that these Silver Spears were all incredibly strong, but he had never heard of them having any multi-person operations.
"That's right, many ordinary members always thought that hiding their identities and hiding everywhere was the Club's consistent style of doing things, but that's just a means of self-protection for us poor people who want to escape death. Moreover, besides hiding identities and avoiding, Silver Spear and Silver Spear will almost never use masks for direct contact, because such contact, through whether the other party replies promptly or not, could expose the time of the molting period. And even if they do use masks for contact, everyone won't reply immediately. They'll at least wait a few hours, or even days. So, if it's not a close Silver Spears, then simply contacting the other party is a quite offensive act."
Thunderbird chuckled self-deprecatingly. To keep their pitiful young secret, they constantly hid their figures, were invisible most of the time, and even if someone contacted them, they had to deliberately conceal it, just afraid of being pinpointed for their molting period.
At this moment, Alan finally understood why the Silver Spears' behavior logic was so strange. They were clearly just smugglers, yet they had to act so mysteriously as if there was some great conspiracy. At the same time, he felt disdain and pity for these guys controlled by the potion. In other words, as long as one got involved with this so-called Undying Elixir, one could basically only hide in the shadows.
"In the Silver Spears, how many people know about this 'Snake Skin Potion'? And how many people have taken this potion?" Alan immediately asked about the content he was most interested in.
"The Short Spears in the Club basically don't know, but all the Silver Spears know about the 'Undying Elixir.' However, not every Silver Spears has used the potion. As for who specifically has taken the potion, I'm not too sure about the specifics, since everyone basically doesn't know each other, plus the special nature of the potion, even if they've taken it, they wouldn't say anything," Thunderbird said honestly.