Jon was alone in the alchemy room, surrounded by shelves filled with flasks, herbs, and mana crystals carefully organized. The smell in the room was intense, a mixture of spices, mineral dust, and the smoke of burned reagents.
He sat before a polished stone table, on which rested a thick, brown-covered book. Slowly, he flipped through its pages, trying to absorb every detail.
"Basic concepts of alchemy..." he murmured, scanning the words.
He had read fifty pages in silence when the familiar notification that always made him smile appeared before his eyes.
DING!!
Alchemy (Beginner) — Lv. 1.
Jon's heart raced. Suddenly, the words in the book came alive. He could visualize each process as if he had practiced alchemy for years. The sensation was so vivid he could almost feel the weight of the mortar in his hands and the heat of the cauldron against his skin.
'This system is incredible.'
Setting aside his euphoria, he took a deep breath and looked at the ingredients he had requested. The list shone in his mind:
— Monster Core Level 10
— Aether Root
— Sun Crystal Powder
— Three Nights' Lunar Dew
— Purified Phoenix Blood
It was the recipe for the Phoenix Blood Revitalizing Pill, something that anywhere in Aeloria would be considered a treasure—a secret recipe.
He began.
The monster core was placed on the runic mortar. At his touch, it radiated wild energy, almost impossible to contain. Jon activated the containment runes as instructed, controlling the flow. With precise strikes, he crushed the crystal until it turned into a fine powder. Each strike reverberated in the air like a muffled drum.
Crack... crack... shhh.
The powder glowed bluish, and Jon carefully poured it into a jade container, ensuring no energy escaped.
Next, he picked up the Aether Root, a dry, fibrous plant. With a sharp blade, he reduced it to small pieces before grinding them down. The bitter smell of the root filled the room, making his eyes sting slightly.
Then came the Sun Crystal Powder. Golden and glittering, it seemed to emit a gentle heat on its own. Jon mixed the ground root with the powder and poured them into the cauldron.
The magical flame beneath the cauldron was ignited. The liquid inside began to bubble softly.
Jon lifted a transparent vial containing the Three Nights' Lunar Dew. The liquid was silver, almost ethereal, glowing as if it had captured the light of the moon. He began pouring it slowly, stirring clockwise with a mana rod.
With each turn, he channeled his energy to mix the ingredients. The flames responded, flickering with his control.
"Slower... keep the rhythm."
The mixture became homogeneous, glowing in shades of gold and silver.
Finally, the last step. Jon raised the vial of Purified Phoenix Blood. Only a drop was needed, yet his hands trembled. The crimson liquid seemed to pulse as if it had a life of its own.
He let the drop fall.
Ploc.
In that instant, the cauldron trembled, and a red-golden flare burst out from within. Jon reflexively stepped back but kept his hands raised, controlling the energy with his mana.
"Seal... now!"
He channeled mana around the cauldron, compressing the energy that tried to escape. The thick liquid bubbled violently before finally stabilizing.
Jon panted heavily, sweat dripping down his forehead. He then used the final technique: compressing the mixture into small spheres. With the force of his mana, he molded them one by one, until ten small red-and-gold pills floated above his palm.
"Huff... I did it..."
He stored them in the system's inventory. When he checked, his eyes widened.
Phoenix Blood Revitalizing Pill (High Quality) x10.
A huge smile spread across his face. 'Not only did it work… the quality even surpassed my expectations.'
For a moment, Jon just stared at the screen before him. The world of Aeloria truly seemed to bend to the rules of his system, turning knowledge into real power.
After finishing the refinement, Jon stayed in the room for a while longer, sitting cross-legged. Closing his eyes, he slowly guided the newly stabilized energy through his body. His mana core spun gently, assimilating the residual essence of the ingredients. The heat that had built up during alchemy gradually turned into serenity.
'I need to keep everything in balance. Rushing will only get in my way.'
Only when his body fully calmed and his breathing steadied did Jon rise. He cleaned his hands, adjusted his clothes, and, with firm steps, opened the door to the room.
He stopped abruptly.
In front of him, Seraphine was waiting. The smile on her face was one of pure triumph, and beside her, the half-elf siblings watched with eyes shining in curiosity, trying to peek inside.
"Jon," Seraphine began, crossing her arms. "What exactly were you doing in there? I've never seen a recipe that used the materials you bought."
Jon felt his stomach tighten, but he kept his composure. He smiled awkwardly, avoiding her gaze. "Nothing much... just practice. I'm still learning, and theory is what I've studied the most. I decided to test some concepts, but as you can imagine, nothing special came out of it."
Seraphine narrowed her eyes for a moment, but instead of pressing, she shifted the subject. She raised a small bottle in her hand, inside of which a light-blue liquid pulsed faintly, as if alive.
"Look. This is a mana potion prepared with your modification to the recipe. Besides restoring energy, it amplifies the power of ice elemental magic by thirty percent."
Jon widened his eyes, feigning surprise. "Incredible..." he said in an admiring tone. "That's truly worthy of the Rank S Healer of Valdoria. I wouldn't expect less from you, Seraphine."
For a moment, the elf's smile turned questioning. "Where did you get that idea, Jon? It's a very... ingenious perspective for someone who's still at the basics of alchemy."
Jon replied without even blinking, the lie flowing naturally. "During my readings, I thought certain reagents could reinforce an element within a potion. It was just a guess."
Seraphine stared at him in silence, but Jon didn't let himself be intimidated. He pretended to glance outside and smiled. "Anyway, I need to go. The day is beautiful, and I want to use the time to sign up for the arena."
Without waiting for a response, he walked past them quickly, leaving the elf and the siblings behind.
When the door closed, Seraphine entered the room with Gabriel and Emily following. The place was impeccably clean, as if nothing had been prepared at all. Only a few burned residues remained at the bottom of the cauldron.
Emily huffed, crossing her arms. "So much expectation... for nothing."
Gabriel also looked disappointed but stayed silent.
Seraphine, however, stood still, attentively observing every detail. Then she closed her eyes for a moment and smiled to herself.
'You're very slippery, boy.'
Even here, she could feel the subtle fluctuations of energy left behind. Small traces of compressed mana, almost imperceptible, but undeniable to someone who had reached Rank S.