Krafft's Notes on Anomalies

【acid】

In Norse, the word "acid" has the same origin as "sour" in nature, and can also be used to refer to some corrosive things. The drug dealers in school like to use it this way. It’s the same as alchemy, which is equivalent to early chemistry. I don’t know who borrowed it from whom.

There is no strict definition standard at present. Anything that smells sour or tastes sour can be called so-and-so sour. If the discoverer does not have time to name it, a representative section of his name will be used by default.

But this acid has no name. After the maker created it, he accidentally discovered its use in glass manufacturing and immediately put it to use, creating a large number of handicrafts and alchemical instruments.

At its peak, due to its extremely exquisite effect, it was selected as the building material for the wings of the Holy Emblem by the Church of Consolation, thus creating the largest and most perfect glass product in the Kingdom of North.

On the day it was built, the shield was removed at night as an exception, and the glorious wings did not look like anything in the world. Some people even mistakenly believe that Heavenly Father has appeared and worship directly in the square to repent of the sins deep in their hearts.

Everything ended here. Just when everyone thought that the hero of this miracle would have a famous name, the supply of the alchemical potion that should be named acid was suddenly cut off.

When building the church, most of the production was bought out, and the remaining inventory was quickly sold out on the market, producing the last batch of glass products that were sold at sky-high prices. A very small number are kept in the hands of various alchemists eager to get rich, trying to decipher its secrets, and until they are exhausted, there is no result.

The inventor who made a lot of money from his secret formula disappeared without a chance to give his work a name or leave his own name.

Some people say that he made enough money and was afraid of being spotted, so he kept his name anonymous; others speculated that the church, in order to ensure the uniqueness of the Holy Emblem, sent the inventor to build a church for the Heavenly Father.

There are various theories, but none of them can change the fact that "that acid" cannot be produced at present. The only remaining samples, which are no longer enough to make new objects, are left in the hands of a few caring people and have been almost forgotten.

"That's it, see for yourself. It's still a little bit that I secretly kept at that time."

The man with short beard and short hair opened the cork of the glass bottle, put it to his mouth and took a big sip, intoxicated by the aftertaste of the alcohol. "It's rare for Adrian to be so generous. I've never seen a whole bottle given to me before."

An inconspicuous, dirty, thick glass vial was pushed in front of the visitor. It slid across the greasy table and almost rolled to the floor.

Kraft, with quick eyesight and quick hands, stretched out his hand to block the way, preventing it from joining the company of its kind scattered on the ground. The light-colored liquid shadow sloshed in the frosted bottle, and some were slightly hung on the wall. The mouth of the bottle had a rare glass stopper, which was sealed with wax.

With this random action, it was hard to believe that it contained a rare alchemical potion, rather than just finding a broken bottle filled with water to fool them.

The priest shrugged and told Kraft not to be offended. This was the usual behavior for this man. They had already talked about Witcham yesterday, and the door-to-door gift was high-strength wine made by a new distillation method. They wanted this slightly decadent glassmaker to restart work and light up the furnace that had been neglected for many days.

It seems that the purpose of this trip is a bit difficult. They walked into the workshop stepping on glass that had not been cleaned for an unknown amount of time and had been trampled into pieces. Glassware of different sizes were placed randomly in the room.

They come in different shapes, the most common ones are cylindrical and round-bodied bottles, followed by plates, basins, and the most broken flat glass.

Most of it was unfinished. It was taken out of the furnace and blown into shape without further processing. It was scribbled out into a bottle shape and put aside. The flat glass was not painted, and flocculent impurities were deposited in the monotonous background. After being broken, the slightly clean parts were picked out for comparison.

There are many long spindle-shaped fragments piled in the corner to create an image of feathers that resemble the wings of the Holy Emblem. The workmanship is not bad, but the transparency is not at the same level.

Glasses of all kinds were covered in dust, including the one Kraft had just received, which was so thick that you could have scratched a handprint on it.

According to the priest, when church glass was still being made, Witcham and he were close drinking friends, and the distilled glass bottle was also a product of that time. The glassmaker put his passion and talent into new materials, creating both wings and a long and strong bottleneck.

The discontinuation of the alchemy potion was a big blow to him, and the room was filled with an aura of decadence that was no different from other places in the port area. There was no goal and little hope. After repeated attempts, he came to the conclusion that the problem could not be solved through technological breakthroughs.

"It's useless to keep it. This amount is not enough for a small cup. It would be nice to give me more wine." He integrated into the port atmosphere well and used alcohol to temporarily forget the frustration outside. But I will never go to church again, because there is no way to avoid the masterpiece that has become a masterpiece.

Even Father Adrian couldn't bear to see him like this. He moved the chair next to him and comforted him with his unfamiliar professional skills: "There is no need to force what fate is unwilling to give. Maybe it's just that the gods feel that it has completed its mission." , taking back the right of mortals to cast crystals."

The effect was not ideal, and Witcham muttered "stingy" while holding the wine in his mouth. Considering that he would have to ask him to make a still later, the priest didn't care about him slandering the Heavenly Father in person, and he didn't think he could change his mind with a few words, so he quietly watched him drink to satisfy his eyesight.

Kraft scratched open the wax seal on the bottle and discovered that a set of glass stoppers were used, which required much more effort than wooden stoppers. If it's not boring, then is it necessary?

He took out the small piece of linen he always had from his pocket, wiped his hands with it, wrapped the cork and carefully lifted it up. A belated reminder came from the other side: "Don't touch it. It's not that thick now." Yes, it’s easy to burn your hands off. Don’t try this.”

Witcham took out a small, pitted iron sheet from the cupboard and handed it to Kraft. Several burn and corrosion-like scars affected the skin on the back of his hand. Fortunately, it did not affect the movement of the palms and fingers.

A few drops of liquid were poured onto the iron piece, and the bubbles hissed in the new pit. "You said it could be thicker?"

"Yes, at first it could scorch the wood chips that fell in, but now you can't see them anymore."

Kraft's eyes widened. He never thought that he would be able to make up for the regrets of his middle school chemistry class here. "It's unbelievable. I thought..."

In the eyes of someone who did not know enough about chemical formulas, he thought that this thing could not exist in this era, and it would have to wait for at least several hundred years until the alchemists came up with a new method.

Sulfuric acid is still concentrated sulfuric acid that was so concentrated that it could carbonize wood. A certain path that was still far away in the original plan has been opened at a key point.

If he remembers his meager knowledge of chemistry correctly - and of course he cannot - by relying on the dehydrating properties of concentrated sulfuric acid, mixing it with alcohol, and heating it at a suitable temperature, a coveted substance will be produced, the earliest widely used surgical anesthetic. .

【Ether】

“Where can I find more?”

"No, that's it. Those useless alchemists haven't figured it out yet, and they have wasted all the remaining inventory." Witcham retracted his chair holding the wine bottle, "If you want to explore the source, I will You can provide information for free, as long as you are willing to sell me some when you find it.”

"There's someone who used to be with the inventor. I know where he lives."

"Pull him down. Ever since he fell, his life has been completely taken care of by his daughter. It's no different than death." The priest poured a basin of cold water on him in time. He had heard this many times. The earliest time was when he drank together. The alchemist then told Witcham.

He had seen a lot of strange illnesses, including people who suddenly lost control of part or all of their bodies. He had seen it more often when he was invited to exorcise evil spirits before he was kicked out of the confessional. He had never seen anyone get better. .

This man was no exception. The searchers who invited doctors to visit him all gave up one by one. Only his daughter was still making the final struggle, but it was meaningless.

While sighing, Adrian suddenly discovered a blind spot. Isn't there a good doctor here?

"I think you can try it."