Reading thoroughly through the potion recipes he had been given, Zayn was quite satisfied. He activated Alchemist’s Instinct, hoping that the active effect of the Uncommon Card could aid him in understanding everything. Fortunately, that was exactly what happened once he finished reading the recipes, requirements, and the steps to process them thrice.
[The recipes for the Energy Recovery potion and the Minor Fire Resistance potion have been imprinted on your mind!]
Following the notification, two screens popped up in front of the potion recipes.
[Energy Recovery Potion]
Common (+)
The Energy Recovery Potion is an upgraded version of the Energy Potion. After consumption, the User’s natural energy recovery will be accelerated.
The effect lasts between 4 to 10 hours.
—-
[Minor Fire Resistance Potion]
Uncommon
Elevates the User’s natural fire resistance to a lesser degree. The effect applies to elemental attacks and the environment.
The effect lasts 10 to 16 hours
—-
A single glance at the screens was enough to recall the brewing conditions, the list of ingredients needed, the processing steps, and the things he had to pay attention to.
“That’s quite helpful,” He murmured under his breath, a small smile creeping up his lips.
The good thing about the Energy Recovery Potion was that it prevented Energy Poisoning. It was possible to consume multiple Energy Recovery Potions, though the effects didn’t overlap. It was better to consume another one after the effect of the previous wore off.
The duration of the Energy Recovery Potion depended mainly on the technique utilized to process the ingredients, whereas the quality of ingredients used to concoct potions usually determined the potions’ quality. Of course, there were exceptions. Certain techniques improved a potion’s quality, while some ingredients prolonged the effectiveness of other potions.
“Energy Recovery Potions are tougher to make than ordinary Energy Potions. That being said, I have a modified version of the Energy Recovery Potion to decrease the failure rate. It’s more secure, but also less potent than the original,” Old Farthma said, retrieving a third piece of paper, “I can give it to you…but I think you made your decision even before I asked.”
Zayn smiled at Old Farthma. He was pretty sure that the old Alchemist had a gist of his personality by now.
“I will go with the Energy Recovery Potion. Not the modified version though,” He said, “But thanks for the offer. It means a lot!”
Old Farthma waved her hand and cursed some incomprehensible words before she made space for Zayn to start working. She retrieved a batch of ingredients of inferior quality for Zayn to practice with. Zayn relied on Alchemist’s Instincts to sort the herbs and other ingredients before he placed a few tools on the table in front of him.
Since he wasn’t going to concoct a large batch of potions, or a high-ranked potion, Zayn wouldn’t have to use the cauldron. Instead, he would use syringes and small beaks like a crazy scientist.
Zayn cleared his thoughts and his eyes focused on the materials and tools in front of him. He activated Alchemist’s Instinct and felt a minuscule amount of energy and stamina leaving his body. It was not much, and Zayn quickly forgot about it. His perception of the entire workshop changed and his vision widened. He could now see and sense far more about the plants and tools than before.
Zayn gained a sudden familiarity with the tools and his eyes landed on specific details about the ingredients spread out on the table.
After he got used to the new sensation and the Alchemist’s Instincts that were about to take over his body, Zayn began to move, his movements filled with confidence.
He glanced at the pouch of Ivy-sand and the four herbs of inferior quality before igniting the small alchemy stove in front of him. Zayn moved a tripod to the stove and filled a flask with a small amount of water, exactly at the marked spot. He put the flask on the tripod and added the Ivy-sand to the water
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Zayn sensed the energy particles within the Ivy-sand as the temperature within the water increased. The sand reacted with the water. Properties were transferred as the energy within the Ivy-sand was expelled. The Ivy-sand lost its luster. On the other hand, the ordinary – purified – water in the flask began to gleam weakly. It was infused with a minor amount of energy particles.
Once the temperature of the energy-infused water increased, Zayn added the first two herbs. He waited exactly 25 before the last two herbs were added as well. It was crucial to follow the correct order to create the necessary reaction chains from the herbs and water exactly when Zayn needed them.
The last two herbs could only react with the slowly concocting potion after the previous reactions had been completed. Adding the ingredients at the wrong time, or being reckless by adjusting the alchemy stove’s temperature when it was not necessary, would create a different type of potion, or possibly waste more-or-less precious resources by creating a failure.
In the worst case, the reaction of energy-infused herbal essences would create chaos within the flask, evolving an ordinary practice into an inferno of destruction and death, just like Old Farthma’s former apprentice did.
It was hard to achieve something as destructive as Old Farthma’s former apprentice, but it was still possible, evidently.
Before he did anything else, Zayn ensured that he did everything in the correct over, twice, before he went ahead. After he added the last herbs inside the flask, the color of the energy-infused water changed ever so slightly. A blueish tint fused into the water and a faint fragrance wafted through the workshop.
At that point, it was about time for Zayn to stir the energy-infused water using his energy. He channeled his energy into the flask, stirred the liquid mixture gently, and connected the essences that oozed out of the herbs with the energy-infused water. This step was the most difficult and it was also the reason why most Alchemists were either in possession of several Cards to support this step, or their control over energy was on a monstrous level.
Fortunately, Zayn had a decade of experience using energy. His energy control was good enough to fight a Lesser God head-on and kill him. His Perception and Energy Foundation had been much higher at that time, but it was not as if he fought a Divinity. All he did was aid the essences within the herbs to fuse with the energy-infused water, creating a liquid mixture.
Alchemist’s Instincts aided Zayn well. It allowed him to finish the longest step in a matter of minutes. As a result of the successful completion of this step the glow within the flask intensified alongside the fragrant smell in the air.
Zayn felt a calming sensation sweep through him as the fragrance reached his nostrils, and he instinctively knew that it was time for him to move to the next step.
He increased the temperature of the alchemy stove’s flames by a notch. Several seconds of silence passed before the calming scent in the air was replaced by a disgusting stench. The disgusting stench overwhelmed Zayn, whose nose twitched violently. Some impurities stored within the herbs were washed away and formed clots as they reacted to the drained Ivy-sand. Instead of evaporating, the clots formed together where they turned into one mass of disgustingly reeking impurities.
Due to the great effectiveness of Alchemist’s Instinct, Zayn was able to see a certain amount of impurities with his naked eyes. He could attempt to remove them using some of the tips and tricks he’d learned from Old Farthma, but now was not the time to experiment. For now, Zayn had to focus on the success of his first potion, something that was not far away anymore.
He extinguished the alchemy stove’s flame placed a beaker in front of him and retrieved an incredible fine sieve that he placed on top of the beaker. The following task was pretty simple. He waited a few more seconds to observe the final moment that determined whether he successfully concocted his first potion, or if he failed.
Thanks to Alchemist’s Instincts his actions seemed relatively simple and well-conducted, but the truth was that Zayn’s mind was rattling like it had been overclocked since he started with the first step. Numerous thoughts flashed through his mind but Alchemist’s Instincts kept him as calm as possible. The seconds passed and the flask’s temperature dropped slowly. Zayn broke into a sweat as the seconds passed. He inserted his energy into the liquid mixture once again and it was not until 29 seconds later that the last bits of extracted impurities combined with the Ivy-sand. The last herbal essences within the herbs were exposed, fusing into the liquid mixture that began to glow dimly.
He succeeded!
A sigh of relief escaped Zayn’s lips. He lifted the warm flask with a set of tongs and separated the solution from the drained herbs and mass of impurities. Instead of sieving the liquid only once, Zayn repeated the process several times to catch as many impurities as possible. Even though he couldn’t catch all impurities as some had fused with the liquid solution, but that was due to the quality of the ingredients and the fact that Zayn didn’t use a special technique devised for potion-making. That was still a league above his mastery.
Zayn stared at the faintly gleaming blue liquid mixture in the glass beaker for a while. Once he was done praising himself in his mind, Zayn filled three vials with the liquid before the beaker was emptied.
Zayn turned around on his heels holding the three glass vials. His eyes landed on Old Farthma, a bright smile blossoming on his face. He puffed his chest out and handed Old Farthma one of the vials, pride filling his heart.
Old Farthma had followed Zayn’s steps with great precision. She was astonished at Zayn’s calmness during the whole concoction process. It was as if he wasn’t even trying hard to succeed. His control of the alchemy stove the eerie precision with which he initiated each step, and the energy control required to fuse the herbal essences into the energy-infused water was freakishly good.
[Proficiency of Alchemist’s Instinct reached 100%. Level Up!]
Zayn was surprised that Alchemist’s Instinct leveled up since it was an Uncommon Card, but it was also not that shocking. He successfully created his first potion – three, in fact!
“Your first attempt…was successful…” Old Farthma mumbled. Zayn just smiled as Old Farthma continued to inspect the vial, the liquid’s color and its smell.
“That is not an Energy Potion but an Energy Recovery Potion…”
“That’s right. You saw what I did,” Zayn was all smiley, causing Old Farthma’s lips to twitch.
“Monster!” She cursed, “Are all Immortals like you?”
“I wish.”
“Hah…”
Zayn laughed lightly at the disbelief in Old Farthma’s eyes, but he cleared his throat not long after and turned serious once again.
“Can I continue? I have yet to test the Minor Fire Resistance Potion. I think I can improve my proficiency with the Energy Recovery Potion as well!”
Old Farthma sighed deeply but nodded.
‘My heart is going to fail me if this kid continues to shock me like this.’