Most engraved spell formations were designed to ‘breathe’ the Aether in the air to fuel themselves. But a spell formation that used the Aether in monster blood theoretically didn’t need that.

It also meant they would only last as long as the Aether in the blood and not a moment longer.

Alec’s hand froze for a moment as he thought about the uses of such an engraved spell formation. It took a couple of moments before he realized that engraved spell formations like that could be set to consume all of the Aether at once for a more explosive effect than most engraved spell formations could create, especially on their own.

There were spell formations that used the mana of mage or warrior to produce slightly more intense effects. But there was usually a limit even to those.

However, if he could write in a detonation requirement, he could theoretically make monster blood spell formations into landmines with devastating effect.

Unfortunately, he didn’t know where to begin with that kind of spell formation, so he stuck with what he knew and tried to come up with a way to draw in Aether from the surroundings.

Since he was just making a prototype, it didn’t need to be any more than that. A simple spell that attracted the Aether around it.

Alec drew spell formation after spell formation using monster blood, ink, or carving it into the stone. He let it try to use the Aether in the monster blood, supplied it with his own mana, or tried to power it organically.

He carved and egnraved spell formations he knew wouldn’t have the intended effect just to see if something would happen. He entered a mad frenzy as he wrote and wrote, trying to solve the mystery of the Aether concentrating spell formation.

Before long, the room that housed Old George was covered in scribbles of madness, and George realized that he hadn’t messed with a mage. He had antagonized a madman. Pleading for mercy for the rest of his life wouldn’t be enough to bless him with a swift end.

Millie peeked in, saw what he was doing, and promptly turned around to hang out with the monsters. She could tell they weren’t like ordinary monsters, even if they were still hostile.

At least they weren’t mad.

Still, Millie wouldn’t have left even if she could. Alec might be mad, but he wasn’t scary.

After what he had told her and Dario, a little eccentricity was to be expected. After all, he had probably downplayed what he went through.

A normal person didn’t solve multiple impossible problems just by being put in a slightly harsh situation. If that were the case, almost everyone would have changed the world by now.

Either Alec wasn’t normal to begin with, or he had been through something a lot worse than he let on. Probably both.

So, she waited patiently while eating the food Alec had prepared. It was just grilled meat that had been left out to cool, but it was still a luxury she had never enjoyed to this degree before.

She fed the lizard and the cat since they looked hungry before going to check on Alec again. She considered turning back again when she saw him giggling like a maniac, but she was curious about what was happening in the city. Were the others making any progress regarding Iystar’s Ring?

Alec’s head rose as he straightned out his back, and his expression calmed down. He turned to look at Millie.

“You’re up.”

“Have been for a while. You were pretty focused on…whatever this is,” Millie said, pointing at all the scribbles and spell formations on the room’s floor, walls, and ceiling. How had Alec even reached the ceiling when he wasn’t that much taller than her?

“Oh. Are you hungry, then?” Alec asked, knowing that while the Reinforced Recovery he used had been weakekned still should have made her hungry.

Millie tilted her head.

“Wasn’t the plate of grilled meat for me?” She asked innocently. She was a little worried. What if she had accidentally eaten Alec’s lunch?

Alec’s expression changing rapidly into one of doom confirmed her guess, and she lowered her head, afraid to meet his gaze.

“I-I’m sorry, Alec! I was just so hungry, and seeing the plate left on the table like that…I just couldn’t help it! I swear to repay you!” She promised. She knew how much food was worth. As an orphan living on the streets, she knew how awful going hungry was.

She shouldn’t have assumed it was for her just because Alec had been kind to her until now.

‘Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!’ She chastised herself without looking at Alec. Alec slowly stood up, walked over to her, and grabbed her shoulder. He ushered her to the monster room, where the plate should have been waiting for him.

“This plate?” He asked.

She nodded, still not daring to look at him. But she noticed that the grip on her shoulder, while firm, was also gentle. She glanced up.

Alec was staring into the distance.

The next moment, blood trickled down from his nose and he looked at Millie with bloodshot eyes.

“I think I’ve got it. But I think I need to put you to sleep for a while.”

“Huh?” Millie’s eyes widened in fear due to unintentional intensity of Alec’s gaze.

“That was monster meat, Millie. But don’t worry. I’ll do something about it. It might hurt, though, so it would be easier for both of us if I put you to sleep. Sleeping will also lower your metabolism, which should give me more time.”

Millie grabbed Alec’s arms and looked him straight in the eyes. She had fucked up. She might turn into a monster.

But she had also put another weight on Alec’s already heavy shoulders.

“I trust you,” She said.

“Do it,” She asked without hesitation.

The next moment, everything went black. She would have hit the floor if not for Alec.

Alec then put her on the workbench before turning around.

Before he did anything on her, he was going to test his theory on Old George.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep