The chilling, ancient whisper had faded with the closing of the Grand Hall doors, but its echo lingered in Kenji's mind, a subtle undercurrent beneath the System's unwavering purpose. "You are a fascinating variable… Let's see how you dance on the strings of fate." He shook his head, pushing the eerie voice away. It was a problem for another day. His current problem was more immediate: the daunting task laid before him by Grand Elder Seraphina.
He spent the next few days in the Emberlight Sanctum's expansive libraries, delving into ancient records and geographical texts, preparing for his missions to the Sunken Archives of Eldoria and the Crystal Veins of Aethelgard. He accessed maps, historical accounts of past expeditions, and detailed analyses of the spiritual phenomena reported in those regions. Master Thorne, still subtly watching him, provided him with clearance to access the deeper, more restricted sections of the library, murmuring vague encouragement about the need for thorough preparation.
The information he unearthed was both fascinating and frustrating. The Sunken Archives were said to be vast repositories of ancient knowledge, submerged beneath a cursed lake, protected by complex, decaying arcane seals. The Crystal Veins, on the other hand, were a labyrinthine network of spiritual energy conduits deep within the earth, famous for rare spiritual minerals, but also for volatile elemental disturbances.
His diligent research, however, revealed a critical flaw in his preparations. Many of the ancient seals in the Sunken Archives required specific, high-grade alchemical concoctions to bypass, elixirs that were either incredibly rare or so complex that only master alchemists could forge them. Similarly, traversing the most volatile sections of the Crystal Veins safely required specialized elemental wards, again, requiring advanced alchemical compounds. The Emberlight Sanctum, while powerful, did not openly stock such items, especially not for a newly minted inner disciple. They were secrets, held tightly by powerful factions or produced only by the reclusive Alchemist Order.
Frustration gnawed at Kenji. He was stuck. He had the System, the knowledge, the ambition, but he lacked the fundamental tools. He considered approaching Master Thorne, but how could he explain that he needed elixirs that were rare even for seasoned cultivators? It would raise too many questions.
As his mind wrestled with the problem, the System screen, ever-observant, flared with a familiar blue light.
Notification: Required Resources for Main Mission (Investigate Sunken Archives/Explore Crystal Veins) Identified as Inaccessible.Recommendation: Initiate Alchemical Crafting Path.Mission: Forge a Mid-Grade Healing Elixir.Reward: Basic Alchemical Crafting Skill + Alchemist's Crucible (Low-Grade).
Kenji's eyes widened. Alchemy? A new skill path? He knew alchemy was one of the most respected, and notoriously difficult, professions in Aethelgard. It required immense spiritual control, precise knowledge of thousands of spiritual herbs, minerals, and esoteric formulas, and an almost intuitive understanding of elemental transformations. He was barely Qi Condensation Level 1. He had no training. It felt like asking an elementary school student to build a rocket.
But the System was clear. This was the path. It also offered him a tempting reward: a basic Alchemist's Crucible. That implied he wouldn't need to beg or steal expensive equipment. And a healing elixir was a practical, immediate need for any perilous expedition. He weighed the risks. Attempting alchemy without proper training was usually met with ridicule, or worse, dangerous explosions. But the System was guiding him. He had to trust it.
He carefully read the initial instructions provided by the System for forging a basic Mid-Grade Healing Elixir. It listed common spiritual herbs – Sunpetal, Dewdrop Vine, Whisperbloom – and precise Qi infusion techniques. He recognized the herbs; he'd seen them in the Sanctum's common medicinal gardens.
His first hurdle was accessing the Alchemical Labs. These were restricted, requiring specific permits. He couldn't ask Master Thorne for one, as it would immediately raise suspicion. Kenji decided on a covert approach. Using his rudimentary "Stealth Skill" and knowledge of the Sanctum's less-used corridors, he found a seldom-used back entrance to the sprawling Alchemical Labs complex. It was late at night, the halls mostly empty. He slipped in, his heart pounding, feeling like a thief.
The Alchemical Labs were a vast, multi-chambered space, filled with countless gleaming cauldrons, bubbling beakers, and intricate distillation arrays. The air hummed with spiritual energy, pungent with the scent of countless herbs and arcane concoctions. Even at this late hour, a few junior alchemists, their faces smudged with soot, diligently worked over their crucibles, their brows furrowed in concentration.
Kenji moved to an unoccupied, dusty workstation in a secluded corner. It had a small, low-grade crucible, a few basic measuring tools, and a worn set of alchemist's tongs. He pulled out the few Sunpetals and Dewdrop Vines he had cautiously gathered from the medicinal gardens earlier, and the Whisperbloom he had purchased with a few precious common coins he'd found in his spatial pouch.
As he began to follow the System's instructions for preparing the ingredients, crushing the Sunpetal to a fine powder, carefully mincing the Dewdrop Vine, a young alchemist apprentice, thin and overly zealous, sauntered by. He saw Kenji, a new face, fumbling with ingredients. His lips curled into a sneer.
"Look what the Spiritbeast Pens dragged in," the apprentice snickered, loud enough for others to hear. "Trying to play alchemist now, commoner? Do you even know the difference between a distillation coil and a purification array? You'll be lucky not to blow yourself up." A few other apprentices glanced over, stifling snickers.
Kenji ignored them, his focus unwavering. He knew nothing of their technical jargon, but the System's diagrams were precise. He continued preparing his ingredients, feeling the sting of their ridicule, but pushing it down. He was on a mission.
He transferred the prepared herbs into the small crucible. The next step involved precise heat control and Qi infusion. He brought his hands over the crucible, attempting to channel his Qi into it, as depicted in the System's tutorial. His Qi was still a small pool, and guiding it felt like trying to push water uphill. He struggled, his brow furrowed in concentration. The liquid in the crucible merely simmered, refusing to bubble with the required vigor.
The System, ever-observant, immediately identified his new struggle.
Notification: Host struggling with Alchemical Qi Infusion.Recommendation: Activate Analysis Mode: Alchemical Process (Basic).Cost: 1 System Point.
Kenji mentally checked his System Points. He had 2.4 SP. Enough. He willed the 'Y' to activate. His System Points immediately dropped to 1.4 SP.
Immediately, Kenji felt a profound shift in his spiritual perception. The Alchemical Labs, previously a chaotic swirl of spiritual energies and complex Qi flows, suddenly resolved into an understandable pattern. He saw the Qi currents moving through the other apprentices' crucibles, saw the subtle flaws in their heat control, the inefficient ways they infused their Qi. He saw how the molecular structure of the herbs changed under different Qi frequencies. He could instinctively sense the exact temperature required, the precise amount of Qi, the specific rhythm of infusion. It was like seeing the underlying code of reality, the very principles of alchemy laid bare before his eyes.
He applied this new insight to his own crucible. His hands moved with an instinctive precision. He adjusted his Qi flow, molding it into the exact frequency required. The liquid in his crucible immediately began to bubble with vigorous, controlled energy. The herbs dissolved rapidly, transforming into a clear, emerald-green liquid. The pungent odor of raw herbs was replaced by a sweet, refreshing aroma that filled his corner of the lab.
The apprentices who had mocked him earlier paused, their snickers dying on their lips. They turned, their eyes drawn by the sweet scent, and then widened in disbelief as they saw the emerald-green liquid swirling perfectly in Kenji's low-grade crucible. It was textbook perfection.
Just then, a voice, ancient and weary but laced with a sharp intellect, cut through the quiet hum of the lab. "What is that delightful aroma? Has someone actually managed a perfect Mid-Grade Elixir?"
Kenji looked up. Standing just a few paces away, observing him with a gaze that seemed to pierce his very soul, was an elderly woman. She was small, hunched, her robes simple and smudged with various alchemical stains. Her face was a roadmap of wrinkles, but her eyes, though cloudy with age, gleamed with an unnerving, almost frightening intelligence. This was Master Elara, the Sanctum's reclusive and notoriously eccentric Alchemist Elder, known for her unparalleled skill but also for her disdain for anything less than perfection. She had a reputation for being fiercely critical and utterly unforgiving of mistakes.
The young apprentices immediately bowed, stammering apologies for their own crude attempts. Master Elara ignored them, her gaze fixed entirely on Kenji's crucible. Her eyes, filled with a mixture of professional curiosity and profound suspicion, narrowed.
"Impossible," she murmured, her voice barely a whisper, yet it carried the weight of absolute disbelief. She hobbled closer, her movements surprisingly swift for her age, and peered into Kenji's crucible. The emerald-green liquid pulsed with pure, untainted spiritual energy. It was flawless. Perfect.
She reached out a trembling, ancient hand, picking up the freshly refined elixir in a small, glass vial that had materialized from her sleeve. She held it to the light, her eyes scrutinizing every facet of its luminescence. Her lips, thin and usually pursed in disapproval, parted slightly in shock.
"Impossible…" she repeated, her voice a hushed gasp. She turned her ancient, sharp eyes to Kenji, her face a mask of utter astonishment. "No one… no one could do this on their first try! Not even a genius with decades of experience! Boy, who are you truly?" Her gaze, previously dispassionate, now held a terrifying mixture of fear, intense curiosity, and a dawning, almost avaricious, greed. The way she looked at him, it wasn't just awe; it was as if she saw a secret, a profound treasure, hidden within him that she desperately wanted to understand.