He Became The Most Insane Emperor Of All Time [EN]: Chapter 35

The history of medicine is surprisingly deep, even on Earth.

There was primitive surgery in ancient Egypt.

When it comes to pharmacy, both East and West have their own rich histories.

But even so, medicine in the Middle Ages was pretty much the same everywhere.

“In the Middle Ages, they would have called this a witch’s potion.”

The elixirs I have now, seized from the cultists, are exactly that in Earth terms – witch’s potions.

The only difference is that unlike the Earth version, which is just superstition or folk remedies twisted into legends, this is a fantasy version that actually works.

“How am I supposed to use this….”

I collected them all thinking they would be useful, for research purposes.

But the problem was how to research them.

Of course, I didn’t have much knowledge in this field, which could be called alchemy.

I could have looked for suitable wizards or priests with relevant knowledge, but that was impossible for several reasons.

“Come to think of it, I’ve seen a lot of knights, but hardly any wizards.”

There wasn’t even a resident wizard in the Imperial Palace.

I asked Minister Bright what was going on, and he said that the position of court wizard was abolished 200 years ago.

Reason? Well, the Empire’s situation worsened.

Until hundreds of years ago, magical studies were active in the Empire, and there were many wizards.

However, as the Empire declined, magical studies were neglected, mainly due to economic problems.

“It’s already a field that depends on talent like knights, but it also costs a lot of money, so it’s bound to collapse.”

Now, their base is only left around the Wizard’s Tower in the southern part of the Western Territory.

Of course, there are those who wander or live in seclusion even outside of that, but their numbers have significantly decreased compared to knights.

“It’s hard to find the right person, but that’s not the only problem.”

Another problem is that this elixir wasn’t made for good purposes.

It was made by cultists through terrible black magic bio-experiments, and the effects I witnessed were also negative.

I couldn’t let anyone know that I was going to research such things.

It’s a matter of security, and it’s not easy to find someone you can trust.

“There’s only one way.”

In the end, I have no choice but to research it myself.

And there was only one way for me, who has no knowledge of alchemy, to start researching.

What is that way? What else could it be but drinking it myself.

Gulp-

[You have consumed the Elixir of Evil Augmentation (B).]

[Strength is temporarily increased.]

[A strong magical energy is accumulating, which may cause side effects.]

As soon as I drank the elixir, the status window began to report on my condition.

I did this on purpose from the start, aiming for this.

“I thought I would turn into a monster as soon as I drank it, but was this not the right medicine?”

Well, I brought all the similar-looking medicines from the cultist hideout without distinguishing them.

There was no guarantee that everything there was the finished product that created those monsters.

They might have had to mix them together, or they might have been trying to research various things.

But it’s better this way. This way, I can research various things.

“Then shall I keep drinking?”

Gulp-

[Due to the effects of the elixir, eyesight is temporarily improved.]

Gulp-

[Due to the effects of the elixir, stamina is slightly improved temporarily.]

Gulp- Gulp- Gulp-

[Due to the effects of the elixir, the skin has temporarily hardened.]

[Due to the effects of the elixir, insensitivity to pain has temporarily increased.]

[Due to the effects of the elixir, virility is….]

I kept drinking the potions without saving them.

More diverse effects appeared than I thought, and originally, I had to distinguish these effects and classify them one by one.

But I didn’t need to do such cumbersome work.

[You have consumed various drugs and acquired knowledge about the effects of each drug.]

[You have quickly acquired alchemical knowledge due to the ‘Genius’ trait.]

[You have acquired the ‘Alchemy’ skill.]

After drinking about 30 small potions, I automatically gained alchemy knowledge and skills.

Finding out the composition of the drugs required referring to the research data I had also stolen, but this was not very difficult thanks to the genius trait.

At this rate, the research itself didn’t seem too difficult.

“The problem is still the side effects.”

[A significant amount of dark magic has accumulated.]

[If the magic is not purified, serious side effects may occur.]

Because they were elixirs made by cultists, side effects appeared quickly.

Muscles wriggling out of control of the body, blood vessels and tendons that were noticeably exposed, dense animal hair growing partially, and so on.

I guessed that I would eventually turn into the monsters I saw in the cultists’ hideout.

“Of course, that can’t happen.”

[Used Intermediate Purification Blessing.]

[Additional divine power is consumed due to low understanding of the divine spell system.]

[1,500 divine power has been consumed.]

[All magic in the body has been purified.]

I had to use a considerable amount of divine power, but I could get rid of the side effects with divine spells.

With this, I could research with peace of mind without worrying about becoming a monster.

“Alright. Then shall I keep drinking the remaining potions?”

Feeling progress, I enthusiastically devoted myself to elixir research for a while.

Soon, I was able to achieve considerable results.

[You have permanently acquired the following effects due to repeated elixir consumption.]

[The output of Mana Heart has greatly increased.]

[Fatigue resistance has greatly increased.]

[You can steal a certain amount of the enemy’s power each time you defeat an enemy.]

[The effects temporarily obtained by consuming elixirs are greatly enhanced.]

Kwaaaang!

Thud, thud.

“I’ve definitely become incredibly strong.”

The punch I threw in a fully buffed state using elixirs shattered a large rock.

This is without even strengthening it with Aura [a technique to enhance physical abilities].

It meant that you could create this level of power just by drinking potions.

“However, I can’t mass-produce enhanced soldiers like Karstein.”

At least not for the time being.

It was because of the magic that accumulated when drinking the elixir.

I can use divine blessings to get rid of the magic, but others will turn into monsters, go crazy, or die after drinking only a little.

“My divine power isn’t infinite either.”

Unless I have divine power to spare later, I won’t be able to create many enhanced soldiers even if I try to force it now.

It’s better to just be satisfied with making myself stronger than that.

“War preparations are going reasonably well… But I wonder what happened to Stella?”

After subjugating the cultists, Stella returned to the Eastern Territory.

The elders of the Purification Order did not purely allow Stella’s business trip to subjugate the cultists.

The justification for allowing it was to reveal Karstein’s weaknesses and improve relations with me, the Emperor.

But do those guys really want to get close to me?

Probably not.

“Stella probably knows that too….”

However, apart from being smart, she is too devoted, so I don’t know if she can cope with the elders’ schemes.

Regardless of whether it’s possible or not, the bigger problem is that she might just blindly obey.

“Well, I’ve given her as much advice as I can, so I’ll have to watch.”

If even the advice doesn’t work, there’s nothing I can do, but she and I just have different paths to take.

I pushed away thoughts of her and focused on preparing for the future.

* * *

“Certainly, the Emperor’s actions are fast.”

“To think that Karstein’s excommunication would be handed down so quickly… I don’t know why the Pope is so cooperative with the Emperor.”

Because he has the Pope’s weakness.

Stella knew that, but she didn’t bother telling the elders.

To be precise, they wouldn’t believe it even if she told them.

“It must be thanks to Archbishop Stella providing information.”

“Certainly, it has worked out well for us.”

“Even if he is excommunicated, Karstein is not completely isolated, but he will clash with the Emperor soon.”

Since when?

Stella knew that the elders of the Order were once devout believers.

But now, their appearance seemed far from devout faith.

Divine power is something that everyone naturally loses as they get older, but faith is separate from that.

Profit seemed more important to them than faith.

It was not clear whether that profit was for the benefit of the Order or for their own benefit.

“Excuse me, shouldn’t we take this opportunity to improve relations with the Emperor?”

Stella, who had been watching quietly, finally spoke to them when the story she wanted did not come out.

“Why should we, Archbishop Stella?”

“Why? Isn’t that what we originally went to do?”

The purpose of subjugating the cultists who were operating in Gehrheim was originally to improve relations with the Emperor.

Of course, Stella’s real purpose was to subjugate the cultists themselves, and the other was just an excuse.

Now that things have come to this, she would have nothing to wish for if the Order did not conflict with the Imperial Family.

If she could go side by side with the Emperor, who received the revelations of the Empire’s guardian gods. If she could rebuild the declining Empire.

As a religious person and as an imperial citizen, she would have nothing more to wish for.

“Archbishop. Your weakness is that you are too naive. Of course, naivety is a better virtue for a believer than cunning.”

But the elders’ thoughts were different from what she wanted.

She probably expected that from the beginning.

“Whether it’s the Emperor or the Pope, it’s time to distance ourselves from them.”

“Why? The Emperor will beat Karstein-”

“Why are you so sure he will win?”

“That’s….”

Because the Emperor is protected by the Empire’s guardian gods.

…I couldn’t say that either. They wouldn’t believe it anyway.

“…I think so based on the Emperor’s skills so far.”

“Well, I admit that he is taking noticeable steps beyond what I expected.”

“But Karstein is more resilient than you think. He might even win.”

No.

The elders were saying such things because they had never seen him fight directly.

But again, there was no way to convince them.

“Even if he wins, the Empire’s situation will not change.”

“Because the other electors will each have different intentions.”

“So rather, our Order should find a way to stand alone, Archbishop.”

To be precise, it’s not that there is no way to convince them, but they will never be convinced no matter what happens.

Even if they knew that the Emperor was blessed by the guardian gods, they would somehow think about the Order’s interests or their own interests first.

“Of course, we don’t have to be enemies with the Emperor as the Archbishop says, so let’s maintain the status quo for now.”

“…I understand.”

Stella quietly nodded and left the conference room.

As she left, the elders’ kind expressions quickly hardened.

“Archbishop Stella is becoming more and more of a hindrance.”

“Why is she trying to side with the Emperor….”

“She has been an idealist since before, so there’s nothing new.”

As Stella thought, the elders no longer cared about the Empire or the Empire’s faith itself.

The most important thing to them was the power of the Purification Order.

To be precise, their power through that religious authority was important.

“Should we get rid of her now?”

“It’s too early to do that yet. She has quite a few followers.”