"You managed to find it?" Theo exclaimed as he began eagerly examining the weird-looking root I brought him from the Jagged Rocks.

"Not only do you have a talent to perfectly preserve herbs, but you also seem to be able to find rare ingredients with such ease..." He grinned at me.

I smiled at him without saying anything. 'Well, it's not that hard... for me, that is,' I thought.

In comparison to herbs, most alchemy ingredients don't seem to have any useful properties on their own. What they don't lack, however, is an abundance of essence. They are, in fact, full of it. This means I can easily spot them with my magic sense from afar.

Thanks to its constant use, I managed to improve my magic sense quite significantly over time. Now I can detect traces of essence up to one hundred meters in all directions.

"Thank you for such kind words; honestly, it is not that different from seeking out herbs," I said to him in the end.

Although getting praised for my efforts was nice, it wasn't why I came here, so I quickly changed the topic. "Previously, you mentioned the noble bloodlines; what are they?"

Theo chuckled while still examining the root. "Ah, it seems your curiosity is as strong as ever."

After a while, he carefully placed the root back on the table and looked at me. "Do you remember when I told you that only about one in ten people has the talent for magic naturally?"

"Yes." I nodded.

"So, if, for example, two powerful exalted get married together and have children, then the chance for their offspring to have the talent is much higher than it would be naturally... And if their heirs manage to maintain the purity of their bloodline over many generations by only marrying other exalted women, the strength of their children's talent will also slowly increase over time. That's basically how a noble bloodline is created," Theo explained to me.

"Does that mean every noble has a talent for magic?" I asked with curiosity.

"Hahaha! No, it's not as easy to maintain one's bloodline as you might think...Only those that hail from Legacy families can claim something like that."

He then quickly added, "Before you ask, Legacy families are those who have the oldest and most powerful bloodlines. But even then, it's not guaranteed. That is why their male heirs usually take multiple wives and have many children to ensure at least some of them have a potent talent and are worthy enough to become the next heir..."

"And how does someone find out if they have the talent or not?"

"Hahaha! Why do you think you have a talent for magic?" Theo winked at me amusingly.

I showed him a weak smile, trying to maintain my poker face without saying anything.

Theo observed me for a while before he sighed and said, "Don't worry about it; there is nothing wrong with being hopeful..."

He then continued, "There are in fact artifacts that can measure one's aptitude for magic. There is usually one in every major city operated by the court wizards. But to get examined would cost you a hefty sum of money..."

Hmm, that's interesting, so if I wanted to make my talents known, I would have to get examined... However, that is not too important for now. Even if I demonstrated my powers in public, almost all magical academies in the Kingdom take only nobles as students.

To get into a school of magic, I would probably have to travel to a different country where the rules are less strict. Which will in turn require even more money. That is why I'm now trying to learn the basics of alchemy.

While being an herbalist allows you to lead a somewhat comfortable life among the commoners, this alone could never cover the costs of something like magic training. Theo would, of course, never share any of the alchemist's secrets with me, but he doesn't have to. I can deduce many things on my own...

Alchemists are basically akin to glorified herbalists. They use many of the same ingredients and processes, with the only difference being the use of essence itself.

Whereas the herbalists could only employ the inherent properties of herbs to create their medicines. The alchemists use their own essence to infuse it into the potions, creating a much stronger effect. They also use something called alchemical formations, which are elaborate magic circles infused with their essence.

They then inscribe the properties of the desired potion into the circle, and if they want a stronger effect, they can place a catalyst there to enhance the enchantment. The potion is then placed in the middle of the formation, and the essence will slowly infuse into it.

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However, I wasn't actually planning to use this method. Not only did the learning of these formations apparently take many years, but I had no way to learn them as they were one of the most guarded alchemical secrets.

But I figured I could try infusing the essence directly into the potion itself. I don't know yet if it is possible or not, but I wanted to try it nonetheless.

I would, of course, be able to infuse only the simplest of enchantments, as I have already figured out that the more complicated the spell, the harder it is, and it takes a lot of mental capacity to do it. 'That is probably why they use the magic circles in the first place...' I thought frustratedly.

***

After we finished our business, I went back to my apartment, as it was already getting quite late outside. Now that I had the money from selling the root, I could finally start with my alchemical experiments. But for that, I will first need to secure a few things...

The next day after work, I was on my way to the Craftsman's District to find myself a good blacksmith. I managed to learn a recipe for the most simple healing potion from Theo. He didn't mind telling me, as he thought it was useless on its own without knowing the proper inscriptions...

It was indeed very simple. I smiled as I recalled the recipe. It consisted of only two ingredients: umbrifila herbs, which I was already pretty familiar with, and something called "purified water."

That was apparently a special type of water purified with magic, and it was the most common alchemical ingredient there is. I had no idea how to make it, and buying it would be not only expensive but also suspicious, as it didn't have any other uses outside of alchemy itself.

'But if it is only some sort of clean water, why couldn't I replace it with distilled water?' I thought as I contemplated my dilemma. Making distilled water was quite easy. All you need to do is boil water and condense the steam afterward. I could even do it right now with my magic. But I didn't want to waste precious essence on something mundane like that.

That is why I am looking for a blacksmith right now to make me a simple funnel that I can place atop a pot and a curved pipe that could serve me as a simple condenser. I visited my uncle earlier to ask him if he could recommend me a blacksmith who takes custom requests, and he gave me a list of several names of reputable blacksmiths he often works with.

The narrow alleys then led me to a modest blacksmith's workshop tucked away in a quaint courtyard in the corner of the Craftsman District. I pushed open the heavy doors as I looked at the sign above, which read Gorin's Workshop, and as soon as I entered, a wave of heat and the clinging of metal greeted me.

I looked around, and I quickly spotted a middle-aged man with broad shoulders and a weathered face hammering away at an anvil, so I approached him.

"Welcome, lad, whaddya need?" Gorin boomed, his voice echoing within the workshop.

I put on a polite smile and said with a respectful tone. "Greetings, Master Gorin. I seek your skills for a custom order."

Gorin's eyes sparkled with curiosity. "A custom order, eh?" I then showed him the simple diagram that I had drawn while explaining to him what it was.

Gorin then shrugged his shoulders. "Sure, lad, I can make this. But whaddya want this for?"

"Ehm, it's for an experiment," I said with an innocent-looking face. He looked at me dubiously but didn't say anything else.

'I don't care what he thinks about it as long as he makes what I want...' I thought as I paid him an advance before quickly exiting the shop to escape the forge's heat. My next stop was a familiar glass maker's shop, as I also needed to buy some vials.

As the vials for medicinal elixirs and basic alchemy potions were mostly identical, I could just use the same supplier Isadora buys vials from and nobody would bat an eye. I already had plenty of umbrifila herbs, which I collected during the course of my ingredient-hunting expeditions, so this was the last thing that was missing before I could finally start...

***

It took about a week before Gorin finished my assignment, and I was ready to proceed with the making of distilled water. But as I assembled the crude distillation column together, I couldn't help but feel dissatisfied with its being so primitive.

'Oh well, it's not a perfect solution, but it doesn't have to be; all I need is a few liters of it...' I tried to reassure myself as I started a fire under the cauldron. I used the time before the water heated up to retrieve the herbs from my hiding place and lay them out on the table.

As the water started boiling and producing steam, I extracted the heat from the pipe with magic to cool it down, making the water condense much faster. Soon enough, the water started dripping into the small cauldron underneath the condenser.

When I felt the amount was sufficient for my needs, I moved the cauldron with the distilled water to the table and put the already prepared herbs right into it. I then started to heat it up over a fire to extract the healing properties of the umbrifila.

So far, it was the same as making an elixir for Isadora, and I was very familiar with the process as I did it every day in the workshop. Except for the addition of the purified water, that is.

Soon the water turned into a pure amber liquid, and the extraction was finished. I let the concoction cool down as I prepared for what came next. I felt both excited and nervous at the same time, as now comes the hard part...

I poured the liquid into the vials, and it was enough for about ten potions, giving me plenty of opportunities for experiments.

'Even if I fail a few times, as long as I manage to make a single potion, it will all be worth it,' I thought with satisfaction.

I then carefully took one vial and placed it at the center of the table while I focused intently, ready to try to infuse it with essence. But I couldn't simply pour it in as is, or else the essence would simply dissipate into nothingness, in the best-case scenario...

I knew I had to carefully replicate the same essence pattern the umbrifila herbs were exuding to achieve the healing properties of the potion and then slowly infuse it into the vial. I basically needed to replicate the effect of the alchemical formation inside my own mind and do it all without knowing a single inscription...

I smiled as I mentally prepared, 'What could possibly go wrong...? I just hope it won't explode right in my face...'

That was the day when my humble room transformed into a secret alchemy lab.