With Hars currently bedridden, Lacius feels he doesn't have much time to waste. So, he decided to take the easiest approach to capturing the city lords.

  He sent several messengers and ihose city lords into the Winter City for an emergency meeting.

  In the messages, he also added that he has a secret mission for them and they will not be able to return to their city within a short time. He added the extra messages to make those lords prepare the city for their long absence.

  Lacius knew such a cursory excuse would only increase the suspi of those lords and their subordinates.

  Once he captures the city lords and uses them as material, sooner or ter, their subordinates will definitely feel something wrong.

  But, all Lacius needs is just a short moment of peace. So once he gets his hands on those four, he focus his attention on research.

  Anyway, once he failed to use the four city lords to find the method to reach the level, he too wouldn't have much time left in the world.

  With the mi of a gambler that has nothio lose, Lacius patiently waited for the city lord to arrive while spending most of his time crafting potions.

  He is so focused on crafting potions to the point he decreases the amount of daily audieh the nobles. But, those nobles simply took it as Lacius grieving over bedridden Hars.

  Thanks to his hard work at doing alchemy for the st few days. When the first city lord arrived, Lacius's stock of sleeping potions and paralyzing potions had reached close to a hundred.

  After greeting the middle aged city lord and asking a guard to take the city lord and his subordio a guest room in the pace, Lacius returo the boratory and tinued crafting more potions.

  Two days after the first city lord arrived, the st city lord finally arrived in Winter City.

  Lacius gathered all four city lords into the throne room and said, "We'll have dinner in the evening. Then, I'll tell you the details of the mission during the dinner. But, anyone who heard about it must join the mission. So, only bring some of your subordio the dinner."

  "After the dinner, all of you must immediately leave the city through a secret path to plete the mission."

  "Why is it so plicated? A city lord frowned.

  "That's just how important the secret mission is. None of the details of that mission be leaked before it's pleted." Lacius waved his hand, "Everyone must be tired, you rest for now and I’ll send a guard to guide you to the dining room before the sus."

  Although the city lords are fused, they still follow Lacius's order aurn to their guest room. Ohey returo their respective guest rooms, the city lord discussed with their subordinates and only took one or two of them to join the dinner.

  When evening arrives, the city lord is led by a guard toward a room that Lacius has specially decorated for the dinner.

  Upoering the room, they're greeted by Lacius who has sat on the mai, "Good evening everyone, please eat to your fill as the jouro the mission site will be long and exhausting. We'll talk after everyone finishes eating."

  Lacius poi the long dining table and everyone's sight immediately focused on the food.

  Oable, there are twenty dishes entirely made of magical beasts and pnts.

  Both the city lords and their subordinates are i the extravagances of the dinner. Without muonsense, all of the city lord's subordinates quickly sat and begaing with gusto.

  When Lacius saw all of the people in the room had started eating, he smiled in relief and also started eating.

  After quickly finishing the steak in front of him, Lacius immediately stopped eating and picked up his cup.

  He quickly emptied the cup and said he was full and only watched everyohe food in front of him.

  Watg everyoing, Lacius thought. ‘I've spiked a single dish with a bottle of paralyzing potion and a bottle of sleeping potion. Those portions should take effect around this time.'

  ‘Just in case, let’s drink another portion of antidote.’ Lacius refilled his cup and slowly drank it.

  While Lacius sips his antidote, one of the city lord's subordinates falls unscious and everyone is surprised.

  The city lord quickly pced his finger in front of his subordinate's nose and slightly rexed upon feeling he was still breathing.

  Lacius saw the situation had turense and ughed, "It seems he got drunk. The drink you've been drinking is a new drink called wihat I got from Red Leaf City. It took me a lot of moo buy the best wine from the mert group there."

  When everyone heard it, they ughed along and tio eat and drink.

  Although only two city lords have truly drunk the wine Lacius mentioned. But, the other city lord has at least heard about the newly risen luxury odity and about its intoxig effect.

  Soon, everyone began to turn unscious one by one.

  When a city lord who has tried wine saw almost everyone has bee unscious, he felt something wrong and slightly panicked.

  Before he could do anything, Lacius's sleeping potion finally took effe that city lord and he fell asleep.

  When Lacius saw everyone had fallen asleep, he activated his blessed power and created a hole uhe rugs below the dining table.

  The hole he created is just big enough for two people to e once.

  After pushing aside the rug, Lacius began to throw the city lords and their subordinates into the hole.

  “Losing one of my arms is pretty inve.” Lacius sighed while throwing the bodies into the hole. Once he was done, he ed the rug and jumped ihe hole while using his blessed power to close the hole.

  After sliding downward for a few seds, Lacius arrived at a secret underground boratory he had just created.

  On his foot, there are ten people, which are exactly the city lords and their subordinates.

  After killing the six subordinates who had no use for him, Lacius fed the city lords with another bottle of paralyzing potions and sleeping potions. Then, he restraihem with a metal handcuff and took one of them to experiment with.

  Lacius pced his right palm oy lord's abdomen and started sending his energy following the earth element trainihod he had created.

  After cirg the energy once, Lacius frowned, 'Just like what I expected, the differen element has bee an obstacle.'

  From his experiment, Lacius already khat every person has a small differen their energy circution pathway. This difference made every person's pathway to be unique.

  Normally the difference is miniscule enough, so he ig. But, when it es to people at his current level. The differen energy path, especially for those with different elements, is incredibly signifit.

  Lacius took several sheets of paper that had been ied by Tsukiko and began scribbling on them.

  Most of the scribbles sisted of numbers and basic math that Tsukiko and Yuma had introduced, while some sisted of symbols Lacius had made himself.

  After doing calcutions to modify his earth element trainihod so it could flow smoothly ihe body of that city lord, Lacius pced his hand oy lord's abdomen and infused his energy.

  ***

  While Lacius spends his time experimenting, Cedric is sitting on the edge of his chair while mung on pop.

  Initially, when he saw Lacius ihose city lords, Cedric had a sense of Deja Vu and wao stop him.

  He still freshly remembers what happened when Gratian invited several city lords for dinner. At that time, most of the city lords and their families got killed, while Lacius got some sad backstory and started a rebellion.

  Cedric has watched Lacius and knows his motive for inviting the city lords for dinner is definitely un. He dares bet 100 GP that Lacius is scheming against those city lords and most of them might even die.

  When the news of the city lord's murder got out, history will repeat itself and another rebellion for revenge will begin. The Sacred Kingdom might even split into several kingdoms due to this rebellion.

  But after thinking more about it, Cedric felt having the kingdom split up might not be a bad thing.

  Cedric looked at the [Diviervention: Dream] that still had some energy and thought, 'As long as I intervene and warn every party involved before the battle intensifies and causes too much misery. Having the Sacred Kingdom split into several smaller kingdoms should be able to force the humans to fill whatever hole is left when I actally increased their civilization level from tribes into kingdoms.'

  "Right now, Sacred Kingdom is basically a monopoly business without any rival," Cedric muttered while recalling how he had once seen someoioning that monopoly business will stifle innovation while scrolling the i.

  Cedric then tio mumble, “Just like how monopoly stifles innovation, y is the mother of iion. To not fall from the other kingdom, the kingdoms should've tried their best to i new rules, advaheir teology, or even perfect their governance, education, and other systems.”

  Although he has a feeling he might be mixing two uhings, Cedric still praises himself, "I am so darn smart!"

  With that idea, he began pnning how he would warn the humans in the Crystal Cube world to not cause too muE to appear while preparing to observe the situation in the Crystal Cube once again.

  That's when the System decided to show up and raise its presence.

  [Friendly reminder. Your 'Diviervention: Dream' doesn't have muergy. So, you o word your warning as cisely as possible.]

  "I know," Cedric replied. "Now, if you have nothing important to tell me, please shoo away before you start end another product. I am already poor enough as is."

  [How did you know the System is trying to ask you to buy another 'Diviervention: Dream'?]

  Cedriored the System while mung on his pop. 'The System selling things reminds me of something.'

  'Now that I already decided to intervene before the Sacred Kingdom's split. Should I buy a lifespan fruit or tell the tinuation of the trainihod to Lacius? He has gohis far, and having such a genius die from old age will be a waste.'

  'But my gut feeling said somethiremely good would happen if I didn't intervene in Lacius's attempt to reach a higher level.' Cedric rubbed his and asked the System, "Hey, what do you think about this gut feeling I have?"

  Just like he expected, the System has heard his internal monologue.

  [The System doesn't know. It might be your subsciousness warning you about information that you have gathered but simply ignored, or it might be something more metaphysical like the ability to sense fortune and avoid misfortune, or perhaps it’s caused by something else.]

  'That answer is pretty vague', Cedric rolled his eyes and asked another question, "So, should I follow this gut feeling?"

  [The System isn't sure. But, just choose whatever you want and leave .]

  "Alright. Thanks for the not-so-helpful help." Cedriodded a his mental power into the Crystal Cube world to tinue .

  ***

  In the Crystal Cube world, several days have already passed with Lacius spending all of his time in the library.

  Around him, several stacks of papers are peatly while Lacius spends the most focus he has ever used since his birth.

  In front of him, the st city lord is already on his st breath from all the experiments Lacius did to him.

  Even when Lacius has been shoving the city lord with healing potions, he knows the city lord only st through another one or two failures.

  This time, he has great hope for the energy cirethod he has just modified, and the trainihod didn't betray him.

  Its circution is already 80% plete, yet there is still no sign of failure iy lord's body.

  Under heavy pressure and expectation, Lacius followed the method he had calcuted and almost successfully pleted an energy circle iy lord's body.

  But after he finished cirg the energy through 95% of the city lord's body, it suddenly turid the city lord started spewing blood and breathing his st.

  Looking at the failure in front of him, Lacius began to throw aside the stack of paper around him while screaming.

  "Argg! I FAIL!!!"

  His scream resouhroughout the silent boratory while Lacius y oone floor and seemed to quickly age from despair.