When Lia arrived at Alchemy Haven, she was quickly led upstairs by the people working there. She was sitting on a couch, watching one of the new heads of the shop, a young 3rd-year student with short brown hair and sharp, blue eyes. He was wearing the badges of nature and water on his uniform and smiled courteously at her after sitting opposite Lia.

"Let me officially introduce myself, Barnabas Kaztamof, at your service. We did not meet yet, but previously I was the one organizing all your recipes to be manufactured here. I was also slightly responsible for setting their price and overseeing how well they sold. Now, with three others, I am one who leads Alchemy Haven."

"Good to meet you; I am Lia!" She smiled back, enjoying the sweet strawberry tea she was served. "But you know that, ahaha!"

"I do~ So… what can I do for you today?" He asked in a mild, friendly voice, trying not to look nervous, but he couldn't help it. It was an Amarin sitting before him; his palms were already sweaty beyond belief.

"I need fire seeds!" Lia said cheerfully but was surprised to see Barnabas's face go a shade paler and start visibly sweating.

“Fire seeds… that…” He tried to find his voice, "Those are extremely valuable and high-grade... pills. We… we don't have them. We don't have any pills, in fact. Only the teachers can give out any kind of pills! If you need one, Master Zorgan can help you with it-"

“Ugh… not him…” Lia groaned, grimacing, silencing Barnabas on the spot.

"I… See."

"So you can't make one? I can get you whatever is needed for it!" Lia said hurriedly, leaning forward.

"That won't be enough." Barnabas sighed, fixing his posture, "Even if we had the ingredients and the recipe, we wouldn't be able to make it!"

"Why?"

"Have you ever read about alchemy?" Barnabas asked, not to mock her but to know where he should start his explanation.

"Not much… Lorin told me about its difficulties, so I gave up."

"I see. Well… let me expand on that!" He said, lifting his own cup to moist his lips and throat. "If you have time, of course!"

"Sure! I am always ready to learn!"

"Alchemy has three sub-categories; Potion making, Pill forging, and Ointment crafting. I'll get the last one out of the way as it is an old archaic form of alchemy, mostly used by the lower-skilled alchemist. Creating an ointment only needs raw materials, a little bit of mana, and maybe a fire to concoct one. They are fast-acting surface-level medicines. If you ask anyone who is proficient in the other two branches, they would say it is for beginners and talentless individuals!"

"That is rude…."

"It is," Barnabas said, not arguing. "The other two categories are similar yet distinct. You are already familiar with potions. 70% of real alchemists pursue it. It is not to say it's easy to make a potion! But it is easier than making a pill! The two's process of creation diverges at the final part."

"And that is why making a pill is harder?" Lia asked, somewhat familiar with potions; she had also seen many of those back home. But thinking about it, she never saw any pills stored in her family's cabinet. Maybe they were hidden away if they were that precious?

"Yes. To turn a potion into a pill requires exceptional talent and focus. The alchemist must boil the concoction down to its purest form, where only its essence remains! Then form it into a pill for consumption. Four out of five attempts end in failure. Potions, on the other hand, are further distilled. They are much more stable, come in great quantity, and are easy to handle in the last phase of creating them! Pills are volatile! The purer you brew them, the bigger risks you face! A simple mistake can end up turning everything into useless junk! Along with the equipment used to make it! There were serious cases where the alchemist was also blown up!"

"Ugh… That is… truly volatile!"

"Yeah…" Barnabas smiled. "Any alchemist who ever made a pill is considered a genius. Sometimes they won't let you forget that soooo… not many of them are liked by their colleagues." He chuckled. "You know… even a low-level pill is three times more potent than the best elixir."

"Even if it would be ten times better! Hmph! I don't like pompous people either!" Lia nodded rapidly, already agreeing with that alchemist who disliked their brethren, flaunting their achievements.

"The fact remains! Those who can make a pill are extremely talented. All Grandmasters of Alchemy are capable of doing so. They just vary in the number of attempts they need to succeed!"

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"Grandmasters?" Lia asked, holding her cup and refilling it by herself.

"Oh, yes, I forgot! Alchemy has multiple ranks, just like mages! And they are not related to the tier of your mana! Not directly, at least! People like me are only called Seedlings. We are yet to prove ourselves, even if we can produce basic potions! Following recipes is one thing. One only gets to be named an Alchemy Initiate when he or she comes up with an original potion. Even if it is something trivial!"

"Oooh! That sounds exciting and fun!"

"And expensive. Creating a working, consumable potion is not an easy feat! After it is rated, replicated, and reproduced at least three times by an official committee member, proving that it is a true potion, you are yet to be officially registered as an alchemist. When you pass, however, from then on, many rules apply to you and onto your craft… I won't go into too many details; I could speak about it for days! So I will only list the ranks for you to get a basic understanding!"

“Oh… okay…” She replied, a bit disappointed but listened on with twinkling eyes.

"After Alchemy Initiate comes; Alchemist, Great Alchemist, Grand Alchemist, and finally, Supreme Alchemist. The latter… well, if my memory holds, the last one appeared 2000 years ago. Sooo… nobody had the privilege of that title in our era yet!"

"Oooh!" Lia exclaimed, "What makes someone earn it?"

"Be an 8th Tier mage and be capable of creating some really potent pills. Four out of five times! Constantly! The last man who held the title managed to create a hundred pills before failing with a concoction. Now! Those titles are bestowed by the International Alchemy Association or IAA. The reason I am telling you this is so you understand the world of alchemy is vast and seriously regulated! People who can create fire seeds are at least true Alchemists! Do you get why we wouldn't be able to do it?"

"Hmm… I see, I see." Lia nodded, pursing her lips, "So I can't get it until I go to Master Zorgan, who probably has some, or to the Silly Fox…."

"Um…" Barnabas flinched, hearing her call the Headmaster like that. "There is a second option."

"Oh? Tell me!" She jumped on it immediately. Barnabas was not wasting time, he stood up, bringing forth a weird, metal disc with a formation etched onto it. Putting it on the table, he snapped his finger and let his greenish mana envelop the device.

"Oh! I saw mom use one of these once!" Lia clapped, recognizing the device, grinning when she saw the holographic head of Lorin appear. He looked around, squinting while his 'face' distorted a few times.

"I am out traveling, so the connection is not the best!" came through his voice, filled with static, and it sometimes skipped like an old record. "Is that you, Lia?"

"Yeah! Hi-hi! How's the business?" She laughed happily.

"Good!" Lorin smiled back, "There are many things to do, but I love it! I assume there is something you need so that Barnabas is contacting me through this?"

"There is," Barnabas said quickly and respectfully, explaining it.

"I see. Well, Barnabas was right in that Master Zorgan has many of them. He has a brother who is a Great Alchemist. He frequently makes fire seeds for Zorgan and the Academy. You saw his many flames, yes?"

"Um!" Lia nodded vigorously.

"Those are fire seed containers. All of them have a pill in them. He uses them to conjure their different flames and study them directly. He is trying to learn their patterns, composition, and whatever else; I am not so good with fire! He is learning to change his own fire on the fly without consuming a fire seed. So I don't think going to him would yield you any. It was good that you called me instead!"

"Oh?" Lia leaned forward, already expecting some hard bargaining to take place.

"My family employs multiple alchemists! Not initiates! True ones! I can ask my father to bring you over a handful of fire seeds. They won't be a top-notch batch and no unique flames amongst them! But I can get you what you need to start studying and experimenting!"

"That is great!" Lia laughed, licking her lips, "What would it cost me? Don't hold back!"

"Nothing, really. Father is ecstatic with how things are going on my end. But he wants to subtly let the world know we are working with the Amarins. He wants to meet with some, and I thought of you and the girls. Entertain him a little, take him around the city a little as your guest. Otherwise, he wouldn't be allowed onto the Island!"

"Sounds easy! Really? Just that?" Lia asked, surprised. "You… are you tricking me or something? Does your dad like girls with mismatched eyes?"

"Hah?" Lorin grimaced while Barnabas was holding back his laughter, "No! My dad is just like me! If anything, he will be smitten on the spot by your friend Raufon's body!"

"Pft!!" Lia and Barnabas laughed simultaneously but then, Lia stopped, looking with enlarged eyes at Lorin's image.

"But… then… how? You… and… eh?!"

"Ahahaha!" Now it was Lorin's time to laugh loudly, making his voice distort and sound eerie and creepy. "Magic, Lia! Magic! I am a 100% magical boy~ Didn't you see me twinkle?"

"Egh…" She flinched, but she felt like… Lorin was not joking.

"So? What do you say? Deal?"

"Sure!" She agreed readily. "When will he come?"

"Give me time to organize it, but it should be a week. Two tops!"

"Good!" Lia laughed, grinning from ear to ear as they said their goodbyes and the image faded. She stayed a little, talking with Barnabas, wanting to hear more about alchemy before she stood up, leaving Alchemy Haven, watching the full moon as she walked back to the Tower of Misfits.

…

….

……

It was tough for Lia to focus on going to sleep when she was finally back in their Tower. Keily was already dozing, just like the rest of the Misfits, yet she was tossing and turning in her bed. Her mind was constantly thinking about the different flames, alchemy masters, and the fact that she may be at the doorstep of what she needed to learn about her own powers. If she could try out a fire seed and get a good feel for how her fire changed and gained a new attribute, even if for a short time… it could lead her to grasp how to combine fire and ice. As she was thinking about it, her mind slowly relaxed, letting her slip into a dream space. Into a place that, when waking up the following day, she just couldn't recall, no matter how hard she tried.