Chapter 68: Chapter 65- Learning a craft (1)

 

“Take your time. There is no need to hurry. Lower the heat and stir the mixture a little bit more vigorously.”

Listening to Eliss’s instructions, I manipulated the runes of the cauldron, inserting my mana to activate the required runes. The cauldron had six different runes: One to increase the heat flow from the flames, one to decrease it, another to increase the internal pressure applied to the mixture, and one to decrease that pressure. The last two runes consisted of one with an emergency stop function and one to control the extraction of mana.

I had already failed to brew my potions three times today and burned through half of the materials in Eliss’s laboratory. Fortunately, the dark elf seemed prepared; she was not concerned by my failures and prompted me to give it another try.

‘This time, it is going to be a success!’ I stared intently at the bubbling green mixture. I had never reached that far in the brewing process. All the materials had already dissolved into the mixture and their mana had been extracted. Only the easiest step was left which was to cool down the potion and lower the pressure back to atmospheric pressure. It was a simple task but it was not as straightforward as simply turning off the heat. Instead, I needed to cool down the mixture to certain temperatures and maintain these temperatures for a certain amount of time.

The process was similar to how deep sea divers would stop at certain depths when ascending back to the surface. The divers needed to allow their lungs to adapt to the change in pressure and it was the same for the potions. For the potion to retain most of the mana extracted, I needed to cool down the potion down step by step.

The annoying part was the lack of thermometers to measure the exact temperature. Instead, I had to rely on visual clues such as the bubbling rate of the potion, the change in colour and viscosity. I memorised the pattern more than once and could also rely on Eliss’ changes in expression.

In the corner of my eyes, I noticed the dark elf nodding faintly as the tensed muscles on her face relaxed. She was pleased with my performance. “It should be good. You can put off the flames and let the mixture reach room temperature. We’ll wait for it to cool down completely and then, we’ll evaluate the potion. According to what I’ve observed, the purity should be at around 70%, which is more than acceptable for a novice.”

I smiled back in delight. After over a week of theoretical studies and a few more days of practical experience, I had finally succeeded. I brewed my first potion. It was a basic healing potion but this simple mixture brought me a great sense of satisfaction. Hours of work were finally paying off.

“That is great.”

“Don’t just stand there watching it though. You can start cleaning up the workstation. I’ll need to use it this afternoon.” Eliss said sharply as she returned to her usual calm and cold self.

“Oh. Right.” I scratched my head happily and got to work. I was familiar with the cleaning process after having done it a few times. Since I started practicing potion-making, Eliss left me to do the undesirable tasks like cleaning and material preparation. It was part of the learning process of any craft; all great cooks started as dishwashers and vegetable peelers.

A few minutes later, the workstation had been thoroughly cleaned, the trash had been taken out and the used materials had all been replaced. When I came back into the lab after picking a couple of empty bottles from the warehouse, I saw the dark elf staring at cauldron I used. She transferred a few drops to a vial and tasted the potion.

She cocked her head as she noticed my arrival. “I’ll estimate the purity at 69%. Good job for your first successful attempt. You can bottle it up and leave the bottles on the shelves. I’ll tell the attendant that it is your work but you won’t get much credit for it since you wasted so many materials in the process.”

I quietly complied. ‘69% A nice number for my first try.’ My work has finally paid off. I was in a good mood but as I was bottling the healing potion, I heard Eliss complain with an unpleasant tone.

“Can you stop grinning like this? You look like a maniac like this. Hurry up and leave. Don’t forget that you have the afternoon shift at the Healing Hall today.”

…

I spent the rest of the afternoon at the Healing Hall but nothing I did could dampen my good mood. The Healing Hall was rather busy but as a human I was the only healer lacking customers. Nevertheless, the lack of work was not something I was going to complain about.

My life has been relatively quiet and peaceful in the last few days. After Robb and Park Sungjun joined the Healing Temple, I was no longer asked to wander around the town to act as bait. Instead, this task was left to the two newcomers who were weaker and therefore, better targets.

This current lifestyle was fairly close to what I wanted. The only negative point was the lack of financial security. In my past life, I had already accumulated a decent amount of wealth to live in retirement but now, my bank account was empty and I only earned twenty points each week. Although all my living expenses were taken care of by the Healing Temple, this system also tied me up completely to the temple. If I ever left it, with an empty bank account, I would not last for long in the tower.

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I turned to potion-making as a way to build up my wealth but it could take years before I could certify as a potioneer.

“Fiouf! Another day of work is coming to an end. I really envy you, Alex. You are the only healer who gets to sit down during an entire shift.” A fairy flew up to me and landed on a nearby chair, cutting off my line of thought.

I blinked twice and glanced at the fairy. Her name was Mirail; she was one of the few healers I befriended while working here. She often reminded me of Levi; having the same speech pattern and behaviour. In my mind, I considered her as a chubbier female version of my guide.

“Haha. True but it can be tiring to sit down and do nothing for hours. Still, I guess I am lucky to be paid to sit on a chair.” I said jokingly.

The shift was coming to an end and most of the patients had already been healed and were leaving. However, a couple of silhouettes appeared, escorted by an attendant.

Mirail flashed a smile and said happily. “It seems that you spoke too quickly. Your period of idleness is coming to an end.”

The new patients did not stop at the healers near the door. Instead, they headed directly toward me. “Oh?” I gasped in surprise as I recognised the patients. They all wore the uniform of the Spatial Bank, a simple dark grey robe, except for one. And that one person turned out to be a human.

“Mr. Alex. This man has been injured in an earlier conflict. Can you please take care of his treatment?” The attendant asked politely.

I fell into deep thoughts as I looked at the three Spatial Bank members and the human. ‘Is the Spatial Bank also making a move to recruit some new blood? They must all have heard of how the Healing Temple has recruited Robb and Park Sungjun.’

I nodded and guided the man onto one of the beds for a closer examination. There were a few cuts on his arms and bruises. His face was swollen but all his injuries could be removed by a series of Heal.

I behaved professionally and after a brief observation, I placed my hand on his injuries and used my spell.

Heal!

There was no need to rush and apply it several times. I let my mana seep into his body as I took a closer look at his face. ‘He looks familiar. But I just cannot remember where I saw his face before. I definitely had no acquaintances that looked like him.’

I stared at the man as I let my spell do its work. The man also seemed to have noticed my gaze. He uncomfortably averted his gaze which only aroused my interest even more.

Eventually, I released his arm and moved to his face. I used another Heal while rummaging through my memories for the man’s face.

And then, it struck me. I widened my eyes as I realised the identity of the man. I almost choked and strangled that man but forced myself to stay calm. The man nervously shifted his body; he seemed to have noticed my change in expression.

'How could I forget... His face was plastered almost everywhere on the first ten floors. The ginger head who mysteriously vanished overnight.'

‘Who would I thought that I would meet you here so early… Richard Mackenzie… The most wanted human in the tower… The man who single-handedly destroyed the economy of the Union and also largely contributed to improving the status of the human race… But at the same time, he was also the man who ran away with a quarter of my savings at that time!’

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