[ View: (Mardukryon Arcane Poison Arts) - Y/N?]

My eyes widened in surprise as the notification popped in front of me, a few inches away from my tusks. Adrenaline coursed through my veins, that my limbs started to tingle. It could be a phantom sensation, or perhaps my real body was getting hyped to the heavens despite being unconscious.

This notification—I had seen a similar one when I completed the first quest Mehubanarath gave me.

“Divine Bovine from outer space!” I exclaimed. “Herald Stone struck gold. Poisonous gold!”

After all the hoops I went through, Mad Brewer Bawu finally decided to give me an Ocadule—an Open-Compatibility Accessory Data Module, a sci-fi sort of chip from the Dalkanus that was thought mystical by the inhabitants of Hierakon. Bawu’s Ocadule contained the knowledge and skills she was going to share.

But only part of her knowledge, it seemed.

SpartanDonkey had mentioned that Luds was using explosive flasks. This was a poison Ocadule, as evident from its name. Unless Bawu had made exploding poisons, she must have different Ocadules for different types of concoctions.

My celebratory mood wasn’t only because Bawu was taking me as a student and presenting an Ocadule different from the one the clown walking pharmacy kit got. I was also happy about that. But my sky-high excitement was because she only let me view this Ocadule instead of outright giving it to me.

[ Mardukryon Arcane Poison Arts ]

Mardukryon Ocadule | Epic Quality

The remaining survivor of the Arcane Brewer Lodge after the Great Quake, Mad Brewer Bawu expands her research into concoctions unthinkable and considered immoral by her predecessors. Discarding intellectual curiosity and pursuit of knowledge— ancient tenets of her Lodge—Mad Brewer Bawu shifted to researching ways of destroying the Mountain Guardian. Perhaps her potent poisons can aid in enacting her revenge.

“That’s…that’s a tear-jerking backstory,” I said after scanning the flavor text of the Ocadule. “You’re a misunderstood villain? We can talk about how society has failed you and your crusade for vengeance later. For now, let's focus on how awesome I am in finding a hidden achievement."

Bawu only showed me this Ocadule because she was going to upgrade it—the reward for a hidden achievement.

The same thing happened with Mehubanarath. He only presented information about the Novice Ancestral Flame Arts Ocadule, then gave me choices for more powerful Ocadules because I killed a pack of Mirdabons on my own.

The Mardukryon Arcane Poison Arts Ocadule was already of Epic Quality. What would the Quality of the upgrade be? And what would it teach me? Even deadlier kinds of poisons for my [Cloak of the Plaguespreader] to shower upon those who'd dare attack me?

"Our unlikely meeting might be a sign from the ancestors," Bawu mumbled, feebly pacing in front of the giant vats. I could almost hear her knees shaking, or that could be the sound of the machines. "It might be high time I begin reconstituting the Arcane Brewer Lodge."

"You have a piece to deliver?” I snorted with impatience. “Carry on."

"All the other Brewers...they died during the Great Quake. Engrossed with toiling in our laboratories deep in the mountain’s bowels, they were buried as the rocks tumbled when the Mountain Guardian stirred from its slumber. None came out alive. Our precious potions and ingredients, invaluable knowledge, everything was lost. But not forever.

"By the hand of our ancestors, I was accompanying little Gula in gathering berries for a healing paste. Only I survived, the last Arcane Brewer of the Mardukryon—I doubt if our people remember us. But I will not let our legacy fade away while I still breathe. Decades passed, and I labored to retrieve anything, even a bottle, from our Lodge. I created beasts to tunnel deep into the earth and retrieve anything they could."

"And that's why you have these guys," I said, nodding at the Carrion Golem and Chimera Borpillar.

Bawu empathically told her story, eventually reaching the part about her revenge plan for the Mountain Guardian. She rambled about explosives, poisons, and acids that I thought she had turned into her evil persona.

Her shaky voice and feeble movements told me it was still Good Grandma Bawu. The desire for revenge tied her two sides.

I didn't interrupt her even though I had many questions about the lore. Where the hell was the Mountain Guardian located, and what would happen if she succeeded in killing it? This could potentially be a way off this mountain. I doubted completing the quest given by Chief Nogras was the only path; knowing MCO, there should be plenty of options.

The faster Bawu got through her script, the better. After choosing my shiny new Ocadule, I was out of here—I almost forgot I had an important appointment after this.

"Traffic's going to be fucking hell at this hour," I mumbled after checking the in-game clock. I had an hour and a half left before the time I promised to take out Mum and Sawyer for dinner. "Is there traffic in hell?"

Bawu didn't answer me, continuing with her explanation about the magical properties of the Arcane Brewers’ potions. She seemed to be nearing the end of her exposition dump.

"You, my dear youngling, have a natural bodily constitution that should be the envy of Mardukryons," she said.

"Why, thank you. I go to the gym—wait, no I don’t. I haven’t made any progress taking care of my body, my real one.”

Sawyer might have ideas on how to go about this. That was a nice topic for a family dinner. And Mum would be delighted if I’d decided not to die an early death.

It was hypocritical of me to pester her to take care of herself while ignoring my health. Lying down for hours with an AU-VR Helm on certainly wasn’t exercising.

“With your special gift, you can progress your studies of the Arcane Poison Arts,” Bawu explained. “A cook learns how to prepare fabulous meals by tasting them, adjusting their recipes, finding better ingredients. Unfortunately for Brewers, we cannot taste most of our creations. We can only let others drink it and see its effects.”

“That is a good point,” I said. “I haven’t thought of it that way before. Not that I have considered making poisons as a career.” Then the much-awaited notification appeared.

[ Hidden Achievement: Iron Gut ]

Simultaneously survive all ten poisons administered

by Mad Brewer Bawu.

“I knew it! I felt it in my—do I have two guts as a Mardukryon? A digestive system for my upper body and—? My point is that surviving the poison bottle challenge smelled like a hidden achievement to me.”

“Although unwise to drink poisons as a general rule,” Bawu said, “my research led me to inadvertently make several that bestow tremendous arcane power at the cost of the drinker’s life. Focusing on them, I created a new line of deadly poisons that warriors could also ingest…if they don’t have plans for living long.”

The first upgrade option Bawu gave me was:

[ Adifi Arcane Poison Research ]

Mardukryon Ocadule | Masterwork Quality

Research the deadliest substances, turning them into arcane poisons to inflict painful death, corroding flesh and bone, or even metal. Brew poisons that induce a frenzied rage, giving those who drink it unfathomable power at the cost of their own life, taking down many an enemy before themselves succumbing to death.

“This looks like it’s meant for an assassin build,” I muttered, analyzing its description.

Or any build of the glass cannon variety—killing the enemy as fast as possible through high damage and DoTs in exchange for lack of survivability. The last part of the information about this Ocadule gave me the image of a berserker diving into battle with no plans to go back alive.

While I did want powerful poisons to combo with my [Cloak of the Plaguespread], there might be an issue if they were too potent, making me too easy to kill. I needed to strike a balance between my survival and spreading the most debilitating negative statuses possible.

It was better to use weaker poisons so I could ingest several of them to easily stack [Cleansing Flames], increasing my tankiness with its passive effect without sacrificing too. Damage-over-Time was the loss of health regeneration from a different perspective.

“Masterwork Quality?” Only now did I notice it. This wasn’t the next step above Epic—that was Relic Quality. “What is this?” My fingers flew over the holographic keyboard I pulled up in the air to search for information.

Bawu continued with her explanation. “And this further led me down a branching path—using toxins for beneficial effects despite the quite painful drawbacks. These are perfect for you, my dear youngling. I believe that you can progress my research even further with your gift.”

“Yeah, yeah, sure,” I said, dismissively waving at her. “Masterwork Quality items can be obtained from only one specific NPC in Mother Core Online. Does that mean these Ocadules are Bawu’s own brand? The difference from other Qualities…blah, blah, blah…is that only the player who obtained it from the source NPC can make a copy.”

During my stint using a human character, one of the NPCs from Amberkeld Town, Captain Edmund, told me that an [Empty Mirror] could be used to make a copy of an Ocadule.

This system was likely the way for other races to obtain Ocadules that they may never encounter, like Mehubanarath’s. His Ocadule provided an alternative formula if non-Mardukryons Melded with it, using Energy instead of Ancestral Shroud.

But how could non-Mardukryons use it if they didn’t have a way of meeting him? Even a Mardukryon player couldn’t obtain the Big M’s Ocadules after they had entered the village unless there was some other secret quest that looped back to his storyline. Such a situation would defeat the point of Ocadules—everyone could use them.

The answer was copying Ocadules with [Empty Mirror].

If I could compare Masterwork Quality to something in the real world, it was a patent protection system. The player who obtained a Masterwork Quality Ocadule would roll in Artas because only he could make copies, not his buyers.

That must be why SpartanDonkey was stubbornly intent on learning about what I got from Mehubanarath’s quest. He wasn’t after the secret of the quest itself—for if a normal Ocadule was the reward, the Expeditionary Legion could only profit off it for a short time until other buyers would make their copies for sale. But if it were of Masterwork Quality, his guild could jack up the price due to scarcity.

“If Adifi poisons are not to your liking, my dear youngling,” Bawu said, snapping me out of my brainstorming session, “then perhaps my specially brewed Akhos poisons might tickle your interest?”

“If it’s also of Masterwork Quality, then it’ll tickle me.”

[ Akhos Arcane Poison Research ]

Mardukryon Ocadule | Masterwork Quality

Delve into the realm of pain and afflictions, disabling enemies with poisons while withholding from them the sweet release of death. Conversely, brew concoctions that will delay the onset of pain and injuries, using toxins to slow down a drinker’s inevitable demise.

“It’s Masterwork Quality too! High five!” I raised my palm at the Carrion Golem, but it ignored me. “Let’s try that again next time.”