Chapter 120: Basic Ethics of an Alchemist

As night fell, Isabel sorted through the pile of experimental materials in the candlelight.

Obviously, this was extremely valuable knowledge, but Isabel just hoped that she could forget it immediately because the content recorded on it was too horrifying.

Isabel once thought that this lich master was a rare kind person, but the information before her told Isabel a cruel truth.

A lich is a lich after all.

The undead have no morals or bottom line, they can do anything.

Isabel's hands were shaking, but she didn't dare to stop, for she was afraid that she would become one of the experimental reports.

Fear made her eyes red, but Isabel couldn't find anyone to confide in. Her brother Raul had completely become a believer of the lich master and obeyed his orders unconditionally.

If she let him know how she felt, Raul might give her a severe lesson.

The only thing Isabel could think of now was her teacher, the castle ghost who was always elusive.

Perhaps only this person can give her some spiritual comfort.

"Teacher, please save your poor students. I'm going crazy."

Big teardrops fell, blurring the ink and staining the parchment.

Just as Isabel was wiping it hurriedly, a flash of magical light appeared, and the filthy parchment quickly returned to its original state.

"Why are you crying? Why don't you go and rest if you are tired?"

A puzzled voice made Isabel look up in surprise, and then she saw a black-haired boy with unique features.

"Teacher..." Isabel said in a crying voice, and finally couldn't help crying loudly.

Amber frowned as he looked at the fragile girl. He had overestimated the human endurance.

A beam of magic light shot out from his fingertips again, landing on Isabel. This quiet and focused spell gradually calmed Isabel down.

The little girl wiped her eyes shyly and said to Amber Xiu: "I'm sorry, teacher, I couldn't help it."

Amber asked, "Your ability to withstand stress is still a little lacking. You can't handle this workload?" Isabel said quickly, "No, it's not the workload, but these experiments... are too cruel and inhumane. I feel terrified just by looking at them."

"Is this the reason?"

Amber Xiu showed an expression of sudden enlightenment.

"It's normal. This is the reaction humans should have, because elves look similar to humans." Amber said to comfort him, "Maybe you will feel better if I say this. The drow elves like to capture surface elves and torture them to please their god Rose. They have a long history of torture to torture high elves. Do you feel better after knowing this?"

Isabel's eyes widened. She was a country girl and really didn't know this. She just heard that drow elves were all liars and murderers and should never be trusted under normal circumstances.

"But...but...the drow are bad people, can we treat them like this?"

Amber did not blame Isabel. Instead, he said happily, "Good question. It's time for you to think about it."

"Teacher, what do you mean?" Isabel asked puzzledly.

"What I mean is that you have finally reached the point where you need to think about the definition of experimental subjects. This is a sign that an alchemist has matured.

"You think these experiments are cruel because the drow look like humans, which makes you empathize with them."

Isabel said quickly, "No, they are not just similar in appearance. They can think and have feelings... Does that mean the lich has the right to be above them and use them as experimental subjects?"

Amber shook his head and said, "Of course not."

"But, now these..." Isabel suddenly didn't know what to say. Did the teacher also oppose the lich master's experiment? Amber continued, "It's not just that there is no difference between the undead and the living, but also between humans and other species. Who wins and who loses is the key. The loser will lie on the operating table and the dining table.

"Do you think those frogs and lizards that died in your hands are inferior? Haven't you heard the classic story of the hunger striker?"

Isabel shook her head.

Amber Xiu had to explain: "This is the story. There was a human noble lady who loved eating meat. Until one day she accidentally drank a bottle of animal communication potion.

"Then she discovered that animals are intelligent and have feelings. Before being slaughtered, the yak was still talking to its companions about its newborn baby, and when it saw the butcher coming, it would lament that its fate was the same as its mother's.

"After hearing what the animal said, the noble lady felt disgusted and decided not to eat meat anymore and become a vegetarian."

Isabel asked doubtfully, "So, this is a good thing?"

Amber Xiu said, "The story is not over yet. The noble lady gave up meat with great difficulty and persisted for several years. When she really became a vegetarian, she met a talking tree spirit. An elder who was also wise and emotional, he generously helped the noble lady understand the language of plants. It turns out that vegetables and fruits can also feel pain, and have their own family and friends."

Isabel: ...

"What do you think was the final outcome of this noble lady?" asked Amber Xiu.

"She...starved to death?"

"No." Amber smiled and said, "She started eating meat again."

Isabel: ...

Amber patted her shoulder and continued, "People eat birds, birds eat insects, insects eat grass... We live in a world where all races have wisdom and emotions. The strong prey on the weak not because of status or morality, but only on their own needs.

"The drow became experimental subjects not because they were inferior, nor because they were cruel and evil, but simply because they did not escape."

"Whether you're a lich, a human, or a frog you cut up and mashed, we're all equal. We're just adapting to our place in nature, or striving to reach a higher level.

“Human, you are not the only intelligent being in the sky. If you want to love all intelligent creatures in the world, become a god first. Only gods in the sky are qualified to break away from the cycle of the jungle. When you no longer need to eat, you are qualified to consider how being eaten feels.”

Isabel thought for a while and whispered, "But...can't we choose other methods, such as euthanasia or other painless methods?"

Amber nodded and agreed, "That's a good idea. As an alchemist, you should respect your subjects.

"Never take it for granted that you have the power to control the life and death of others. Don't do experiments when you are not sure, don't waste the data obtained with lives, don't let your experimental subjects suffer unnecessary pain and torture, and don't sacrifice your mice for boring and meaningless experiments. This is the basic ethics of a scholar when doing research.

"But at the same time, don't be bound by the word "brutal slaughter". Just like people need to eat meat, in the eyes of shadow druids, aren't steaming, boiling, and roasting considered brutal slaughter? In the eyes of gnolls, hollowing out a human's internal organs is not cruel; in the eyes of deadwood monsters, cutting down trees is simply a heinous atrocity; the drow elves throwing high elves to feed spiders is just their traditional rite of passage, and the most pious sacrifice to the goddess Lolth."

It took Amber Xiu many years of living in this world for him to figure this out. At the beginning, he still looked down on the world with a human-centered mentality, thinking that as a human being he had a responsibility to every species in the world.

Later it was discovered that humans are just one type of sentient being, even gods can be cruel, and Io allowed Hell to exist. This is not his happy home Earth.

On Earth, saying that everything has spirits is just self-admiration. But here, even the goblins will laugh at you for saying that everything has spirits: “Isn’t that nonsense?”

Amber Xiu said with the tone of a person who has experienced it: "In short, don't apply moral standards rigidly to different worlds."

There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!

"Different world?" Isabel seemed to hear something strange.

"That's not the point. The point is whether you can accept this cold reality. Like the noble lady in the story, you either have to figure everything out and go back to eating meat, or starve yourself to death. If you can't figure it out, then don't be an alchemist."

After hearing what Amberxiu said, Isabel felt a little confused.

Although I haven't figured it all out yet, these cruel experimental records don't seem so painful anymore.

Seeing that his employees had returned to work, Amber Xiu stopped wasting time. Every time he turned into a human form, it was because he had to go out and meet people.

Today is the same, the day for negotiations with the elves has arrived.

With Amber's efforts, he finally completed his research before this day. Although Isabel was still sorting out the manuscript, the experiment was already mostly successful.

He now has enough confidence to meet the elves of Silvermoon High Garden.

Watching Isabel start to organize the information again, Amberxiu left the castle humming a happy tune.

As expected, the students trained by the master are easy to fool. They will continue to work hard after a few words. If it were another alchemist, they would have their own set of standards. They would either try to do something tricky for you, or ask for more money, which would annoy you to death.

This is also the reason why Amber doesn't want those alchemists. They are not easy to fool and the cost of controlling them is too high.

Walk out of the castle and float into the night.

Amber flew towards the destroyed Alchemy City. The location of this negotiation was on the ruins.

The dwarves of the Kingdom of Gold were represented by the King's Hand Hoffman Ironfist, while the elves were represented by the Elf Queen Catherine herself.

To be honest, the scene was a bit too grand. Amberxiu originally thought that the elves would at most send someone like a prime minister.

As the middleman and the initiator of this negotiation, Amber Xiu needs to prepare the venue issue.

Amber Xiu was straightforward and chose a relatively flat open space in the ruins. He built a huge platform with a few earth wall spells, and then just put some tables and chairs there, creating a "simple" style.

After setting up the venue, Amberxiu created dozens of ghost fires to illuminate the area so that people could see it from a distance.

When the agreed time came, an army of dwarves appeared not far away.

The envoys from the desert dwarves have arrived.

Amberxiu looked over and saw elite dwarf guards, each of them wrapped in heavy steel armor, even with crystals inlaid in their eyes.

Hoffman Iron Fist walked in the center. Although he was not tall, Ambersu did not dare to look down on him because he was obviously also a powerful man of legendary level.

However, the dwarf next to Hoffman Ironfist seemed overly lively. When he saw Amber Xiu, he waved and said, "Brother, we finally meet."

The vampire, Herky Stone, was floating without touching the ground. He looked half a head taller than the other dwarves. When he saw Amberxiu, he came forward enthusiastically.

Amber Xiu also liked this friend who brought him big business. The two of them got along very well and there was no awkwardness at all as if they were meeting for the first time.

Ambershaw briefly chatted with Hoffman Ironfist, then invited the dwarves to take a seat.

Now, all we have to do is wait for the elves to arrive so that the negotiations can begin.

However, when the agreed time passed, the elves still did not appear.

Hoffman Ironfist said dissatisfiedly: "These arrogant elves, don't they even know the basic courtesy of being punctual?"

Amber Xiu also felt that something was wrong. The Queen’s presence in person showed that they attached great importance to this negotiation. How could she be late?

Amber opened his palm, and several dice of fate rotated in his palm, then turned into a video.

The elven delegation was trapped in a sea of ​​fire, and there were many ferocious monsters roaring around the sea of ​​fire.

"Is this... a demon from hell?"

(End of this chapter)