An hour had passed since the furnace was sealed. The dense spiritual energy in the alchemy room continued to seep into Jason's pores while he waited, but his thoughts had drifted far from the refinement itself. When the silence finally stretched too long, he spoke.
"Grand Elder… you've practiced the art of pill-making for a very long time. Is it possible to create a pill that can cure any illness?"
The grand elder turned from the furnace, an awkward, almost regretful smile touching his weathered face. "The idea exists in theory. In practice, no one has ever succeeded in refining such a thing."
Jason's shoulders sank a fraction. "I thought… maybe you could."
The old man's gaze sharpened with quiet understanding. "Is someone close to you ill?"
Jason hesitated only a moment. "My mother. She's been sick for years. We've tried everything we could afford. Nothing worked. I hoped there might be a pill that could finally help her."
The grand elder's expression softened with genuine regret. He looked back at the sealed furnace. "I am sorry. That is beyond what I—or anyone I know—can currently produce."
A short silence settled between them. Then the grand elder spoke again, voice milder but probing.
"By the way… what were you doing in the beast territory that day?"
Jason's head snapped up. "You were there?"
"I happened to be passing through the outer woods when I saw you trying to shake off a pursuing beast. You were fortunate the family formation activated. Without it you would not be standing here." The grand elder's eyes stayed on him, waiting.
Jason kept his face carefully neutral. "I went looking for herbs. The kind we need for my mother's treatment are expensive in the market. The forest was the only place I thought I might find them."
The grand elder studied him a moment longer, then gave a small nod. "I see. Now that you work here you will not lack medicinal herbs. Do not enter the beast territory again. The next time you may not be so lucky."
Jason bowed. "Thank you, Grand Elder."
"It is nothing. An alchemist's duty is to ease illness and injury where we can. Consider any herbs you receive here as treatment offered to your mother as well."
Inside Jason's mind the bracelet's voice arrived, dryly impressed.
*Nice recovery, kid. I thought you were about to confess everything. You've gotten better at lying without blinking.*
*What choice did I have?* Jason answered silently.
Before the private exchange could continue, the furnace gave a low, sustained hiss. Thick steam began to rise from the sealed lid, carrying a clean, medicinal scent. The grand elder rose at once. Jason followed him to the side of the furnace as the old man broke the seal.
A burst of concentrated spiritual energy rolled outward the moment the lid lifted. Jason stepped back instinctively.
"No need to retreat," the grand elder said, already coating one hand in a thin layer of protective energy. "It is only the residual force escaping the finished pills."
Jason kept his voice even. "I wasn't retreating. I was making space for you to retrieve them."
The grand elder's mouth twitched. "It looked very much like panic."
"It wasn't," Jason insisted, offering a composed smile. "Was the refinement successful?"
*Changing the subject already,* the grand elder thought, faintly amused. *This boy is sharper than he pretends.*
He opened his palm. Three sky-blue pills rested there, each the size of a thumbnail, surfaces smooth and faintly luminous. Jason stared, genuinely struck. It was the first time he had seen a finished medicinal pill created in front of him.
*He must have burned through a small fortune in materials to produce even this many at middle grade,* the bracelet remarked, tone laced with mild contempt.
Jason frowned internally. *Do you have a personal problem with him?*
*Not personal. I simply cannot stand watching mediocre work. He would feel the same if he saw someone refining incorrectly. Don't take it to heart.*
The grand elder watched Jason's open amazement and chuckled. "You may take two of these as a personal reward for winning the tournament."
Jason accepted the pills with both hands and a deep nod. "Thank you, Grand Elder. But I thought the tournament reward was the position itself."
"It is. These are from me."
Jason carefully stored the two sky-blue pills. "Now that this batch is finished, what do you plan to refine next?"
"Nothing immediately. I need to rest before I attempt another cauldron."
Jason tilted his head, a spark of mischief returning. "So I shouldn't come tomorrow?"
The grand elder's eyes narrowed. "Did you hear me say I would be absent tomorrow?"
"I only thought recovery might take days… considering your age."
The old man let out a long-suffering sigh. "I require a few hours, not days. Do not invent excuses to stay away. If you fail to appear tomorrow, I will deliver the punishment I promised you after the tournament."
Jason's expression shifted instantly to earnest compliance. He raised both hands in a placating gesture. "You don't need to say it, Grand Elder. Of course I'll be here."
"See that you are." The grand elder's gaze dropped briefly to the pills Jason had stored. "When do you intend to take them?"
"Later. I still have work left."
"What work remains?"
Jason gestured toward the open furnace, its interior still coated with residual ash and medicinal slag. "The furnace needs cleaning. I shouldn't leave it like this."
The grand elder gave a short nod of approval. "Take your time. I am going to rest. Close the door when you leave."
He walked out of the alchemy room without further comment, robes whispering against the stone floor. Jason remained where he was, the two sky-blue pills a small, solid weight against his side, the dense spiritual energy of the room still wrapping around him like a second atmosphere. The first day had given him no miracle cure for his mother, but it had given him something else: access, information, and the quiet certainty that the alchemy room was no longer merely a place of labor.
It was a foothold.