so before i continue, i want to explain the reason as to why i was late, pay attention now its quite serious, recently this past week there has been a virus that has been going around and its keeping people indoors mainly people between the ages of 15-30 if not a bit older.
unfourtenly i'v sucumb to this virus and its made my perception of time quite dull until i finally managed to recover. as you all know this virus is called fallout 4 becareful of it, as it will sap a lot of your life away and make you forget things. :( oh and i had a wedding i had to go to but fallout 4! is to blame, yes fallout 4 *cough*
!!!!! Pr Credits To Draconis & Rota who not only both pred it but improved this ch's quality greatly please rep them. Also Full Credits to Askard who maintains the Information Doc where a majority of spectral regalia information is written please Rep him to ^^!!!
just a heads up. temb has finished his tasks and rota will be busy for awhile so im trying to organize something to try and let them both pr with skyler but at the same time keep the chapters releasing fairly on pace and not stalled, there both good prs so i dont want to get rid of either.
this chapter is one of my personal favourites due to the personal inovation i had for my own creativity. if some readers are interested after reading this chapter im going to write a little memo? i think it's called, down bellow, to those who are more so into the storys immersion you may also like this memo.
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Avrin, whose eleven-year-old appearance usually had a serious, expressionless look, had suddenly turned it into a rare smile. Under his robe, Nebula Mist flooded inside and skillfully formed gold coins.
Avrin then walked over and began to wait in the small line. It had not taken long before it was Avrin’s turn. The old man, who had some wrinkles and only a few white strands of hair left on his head, spoke. “Hello, young man. How may I help you today?” He happily spoke with a soft, fatherly tone.
Avrin glanced at him and smiled. “I’d like to purchase the alchemist manual in the second case.” The old man’s gentle smile was replaced by his mouth gaping open.
Some of the children who had stayed in this village several days before often came to visit and knew how expensive the alchemist manual was. Even they couldn't help but glance over at the person to see if he was joking or not.
“Young man… you know the price, correct?...Surely you're joking? Uhh, where are your parents?” The old man glanced around, and another child spoke out. “Ha! Like hell, you are going to buy that. What are you, some liar!?” At these words, the other nearby children began to laugh. But Avrin only spared one glance. As if he were looking at a pack of wild chimpanzees.
He reached into his enchanted sack and pulled out the result of the Nebula Mist, another enchanted sack that he purchased several of before. But inside were exactly one thousand gold coins. He placed the sack on the counter and the old man reached inside before pulling out a handful of gold coins.
“T-This…” His face turned pale before being replaced with excitement. Even his old heart began to beat as if it were young again. The children who had seen the old man’s reaction suddenly turned quiet. “Young Master, thank you for your business! Of course you can purchase it!” The old man rushed from behind the counter excitedly before heading over towards the enchanted glass case.
He pulled out a small stone pendant and placed it on a wooden groove linked to the case, and the enchantment seemed to rush into the pendant. This allowed him to open the case and remove the manual which he handed to Avrin. Almost immediately, he turned the pendant clockwise and the enchantment that was absorbed flooded out again and engulfed the case as it was shut.
Avrin held the manual and gave a slight bow. “Thank you. I'll be off then.” He had gotten what he wanted and didn't bother to remain. Even as he was leaving, the old man bowed continuously.
“Thank you, Young Master. Please come again. Please!” he was practically begging. He very rarely sold books worth 100 gold and had never sold a book of that amount before. Hence, dust accumulated on the expensive tomes and books.
The child that had teased Avrin before frowned in disdain, as others seemed to look at Avrin with curious eyes and envy. “-That bastard... made me look like an idiot!-” Almost immediately, he whispered something to his friends and they began to follow Avrin.
Avrin didn't take any more stops before heading towards the inn. But he knew as soon as they left the store that he was being followed. “-Little whelps. Fine. I'll play a little..-” He couldn't help but think. He turned into a small alley.
“Quick, after him!” The lead boy spoke, wanting to take advantage of the situation. Soon, the 4 of them entered, wanting to cut Avrin off, and they were indeed greeted by him as he looked coldly at them. “Surely you have a reason for following me?” He spoke to them.
The lead boy laughed with an evil expression. “You made me look like an idiot... if you give me that manual, slap yourself and then kneel, I'll think about not beating you up.” Avrin looked at him as if he were an even bigger idiot than he thought.
“Huh? Not only did you fall down the ugly tree, but you hit the branches of the idiot tree as well? You want this manual? If you have the ability, try and take it from me.” Avrin chuckled while provoking them.
The boy roared out and pointed at Avrin. “Get this bastard!!” The four of them all charged towards Avrin, but in his eyes, they were truly like unruly children, not showing any signs of using magic or having any weapons, only their bare fists.
Avrin sighed before he seemingly vanished and reappeared in the middle of the charging group. With several flashes of his hands, the four all fell to the ground, limp and unconscious, with only the lead boy able to stay awake.
“Good. You're still awake.” The boy glanced around, his eyes moving about, filled with horror and fear as he looked at Avrin. He hadn't seen anything, but within the blink of an eye, he and the others had fallen. “…Monster!” He uttered out weakly.
Avrin didn't respond to that but knelt down beside him. “Hey. You're going to Laymist Academy, right? If you don't want to annoy me, you better answer truthfully.”
The boy shuddered weakly before replying. “I… am, I am!” Avrin then replied. “You got an admittance letter?” The boy remained quiet. He was wondering if Avrin intended to rob him of it. “I…” As he was going to reply, Avrin’s face twisted, revealing a hideous gaze that could pierce into one's soul. The boy felt that his life was endangered and weighed the admittance letter with himself.
“I do… I do!” Avrin smiled. “Good…” He reached over and pulled the small enchanted bag the boy had and began to rummage through it. He found casual supplies and a couple of books for fighting and magic. He then found a small, ticket-like letter and grabbed it.
He glanced over at it and raised a brow. “-Interesting. To whoever holds this admittance ticket has shown that he is competent and capable of joining the Academy of Laymist as a first-year general student-” After reading the contents, he looked to see that it had several emblems and signs that would be impossible to replicate. Impossible for just about anyone but him.
The letter was soon engulfed in Nebula Mist and vanished, which made the boy shudder, wanting to cry, thinking Avrin destroyed it. But as cruel as Avrin was, he still felt pity for the child. He reformed the letter in a near instant and handed it to him.
He began to walk off from the alley but turned back just before he entered the sunlight. “If you cause trouble for me again, I'll make sure you won't be able to move ever again.” He showed a fierce look and walked off towards the inn.
While walking, he reformed a copy of the admittance letter and looked over it. “-So other than the noble admittance letters, there are admittance tickets to those who are capable. They don't need to be targeted towards an individual because the pattern is surely impossible to mimic for anyone but me. I'm sure they will still scan it somehow, but that shouldn't be a problem-”
Nebula Mist again flooded inside the enchanted bag before circling around the admittance letter from Sient. It then absorbed it. He wasn't dumb enough to destroy it right off the bat. It hadn't taken long at all before Avrin had arrived at the inn to see it somewhat packed. But he had still managed to find a room on the 3rd floor.
After entering his room, he walked over and took a seat at the small desk. He placed the alchemy manual on it and Nebula Mist covered it. After a short moment, the book was absorbed into him. When he was weaker, he would have to wait for some time before the knowledge came to his mind, but as he became stronger, the time became less and less.
He shut his eyes and focused on the new knowledge in front of him that filled his mind. “-Alchemy. The method and idea to refine and transform herbs to pills or potions. Alchemy has a heritage spanning back to the dawn humanity's existence and has a limitless amount of recipes.
That being said, refining and concocting is very sensitive to the change of the alchemist’s mind. Alchemy originated within the eastern tribes and was enough to bolster their reputation and allow them to assist humanity considerably.
The eastern kingdom of Riyue is considered the capital of alchemy and is protected by humanity's empire. The city itself is also home to the Alchemists’ Guild as well as other alchemy establishments.
Alchemy is the way of refining and manifestation that only those with fire attribute mana are capable of. Alchemists are also divided into several types. Those who use furnaces to concoct pills, those who use alchemist pots to concoct potions and elixirs, and the very rare alchemists who use a chalice. Hmm, interesting. It’s similar to ancient methods within China and Europe-”
Avrin spent some time going over the information on both the alchemy pot and furnace before he landed on the chalice.
“-Using a chalice for alchemy is considered exceptionally rare. The chalice cannot be used by fire affinity magic users and requires the two attributes of Dark and water. Only two alchemists have ever been recorded to be able to use an alchemist’s chalice. The first is the ancient alchemist for which little is known, the second is one of only three Grandmaster level alchemists in both strength and alchemy-”
Avrin quietly glanced with awe as he thought. “-A Grandmaster in both alchemy skill as well as in strength. Isn't that the sign of a genius in itself? Let’s see… alchemy chalice-” Avrin quietly began to read up on the alchemy chalice.
“-The Alchemist chalice is an ancient method first used by the ancient alchemist, imbuing water with dark magic to disintegrate a herb into a fine powder, or imbue dark magic with the water element to liquefy the herb.
An alchemist’s chalice is specially enchanted and crafted by both mages and blacksmiths with powerful techniques. The alchemist’s personal blacksmith division is responsible for creating all alchemy related tools. Not because of rights, but the blacksmiths are also able-bodied alchemists, thus have more knowledge and skill in craftsmanship only matched by master dwarf crafters.
The bowl and cup of the chalice are significant in alchemy, as when refining a herb, the impurities are sent to the bowl while the pure powder or liquid falls to the bottom of the cup.
While alchemy pills can be refined straight from the cup, elixir glasses can be attached to the knop and with a soft pulse of mana will activate a slot within the cup allowing the liquid to travel down the stem through the knop and into the glass vial allowing easier storage.
The alchemist chalice’s main attribute is based on the fact that it is capable of both pill and elixir transmutation and is considered far more convenient. Although this is a plus, another benefit is the fact that two magic attributes are used in the alchemizing of the pills and elixirs, making the goods created a step better than the usual created by pill furnaces or elixir pots. That being said, in the end, it all relies on the skill of the alchemist. A child with a diamond-edged sword will never outmatch a master swordsman with a rusted blade.
Alchemy chalices are not at all that rare, for many wish to try their luck with the dark & water attribute. But the skill required to operate one is much more than either of the other tools and thus many, even those incredibly rare individuals with dark and water attributes, will fail to comprehend it-”
Avrin quietly finished the introduction to the alchemy tools and sighed as he sat back. “The first two are out of the question, but the chalice… maybe there's a chance for me. I refuse to believe I'm incapable because of a silly magic attribute requirement.”
He frowned before reading on. There was an alchemist’s code of conduct that basically stated for alchemists to always have the alchemy guild in their mind when creating a new recipe to help spread it for the greater good.
From there, it introduced Avrin to some very basic recipes as well how to concoct them with all 3 alchemical tools. There were quite a few advantages of both pills and elixirs. For instance, both elixir and pill effects were instantaneous, and while the elixir’s duration may be longer, the lesser heal pill was more potent, meaning they both couldn't be said to be one over the other.
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
One rose root and one Alovi leaf. Both could be used for either recipe. Avrin began to go over the knowledge some more. Not only did he already have the knowledge in his mind, he personally wouldn't feel satisfied unless he went over it a little.
Avrin glanced out of the window of his room to see that he had spent only a short length of time going over the basic recipes in his mind. It was a quick summary and a much faster overview of it.
With the time being 8:00 in the evening, there were still lamps and torches lit with the streets bustling with activity of families treating their children to a good meal before tomorrow where it may start to be difficult to eat together for a while to come.
Even shops that would usually close were still open taking advantage of the activity. Glancing over, Avrin realized that the general store was still open, so he stood up and immediately left the inn, which was also quite packed with people eating and enjoying themselves.
There seemed to be groups of children who knew each other well that have come here together with no parents. Of course, Avrin cared not for this observation.
Heading out, he navigated through the crowd until he reached the general store. He glanced around, hoping to find an alchemy chalice. The only sign of good news was that he found a few elixir pots on the shelves. He also spotted miniature alchemy furnaces with magical runes around them. The pill furnace itself was not large, but was actually quite small, only a quarter of a meter long and ten to eleven inches in height.
Avrin made his way up to the counter and spoke in a soft tone. “Evening. I’m just curious. I see you have alchemy pots and furnaces, would you happen to have chalices by any chance?” The man at the counter, who, at first, stood calmly as he polished a dusty metal ornament, stopped his actions the moment Avrin mentioned the chalice.
“Huh? Did I hear you right, boy? You're after an alchemist chalice?” The man was a little surprised and wanted to confirm. Avrin remained quiet for a moment before he remembered that it could be considered quite rare to find someone capable of using an alchemist chalice.
“Indeed. I’m after one for my master who wishes to try his luck” It was best to not cause a scene, as he could feel some eyes glued upon him. If he mentioned that it was for his master, people wouldn't suspect that he was possibly someone with rare attributes, which in truth he wasn't.
“Hahaha,” he chuckled “Boy, your master should know that there has only ever been two individuals who have been able to use chalice alchemy. I doubt he will be a third. Unless he is a once in a lifetime genius. But business is business, give me a moment.” Avrin didn't reply as the man went out the back while another young individual, seemingly his son, took over the shop duties.
After a few minutes, the man returned with a steel chalice that had some low-quality cut gems decorating its base and the outer side of the cup. It looked like a usual chalice, nothing special.
“This is the only one I bought. No one ever buys these things, and if they do, it would never be in my shop. But there was a craze for chalice alchemy once, and on a whim, I bought one to see if I could make a profit. Now it's just taking up space in the back. I had purchased this for 20 gold coins, but I'll give it to you for 18. What do you say, boy?”
Avrin grinned as he replied. “Well, as you say, sir, no one would ever buy a chalice from a casual general store as there would be specialty shops, correct? But I would be doing you a favor by taking it off your hands and I wasn't given much money. 20 gold coins is all I have, and I need to purchase some other things. How about 15?”
The man’s eyes widened as he eyed Avrin carefully. He couldn't see any flickering expressions despite his years of experience in bartering and haggling, he was just glad to have a chance to get rid of it. “Bah! Boy, 15 gold coins is a bit low. 17 is the lowest I can go.”
Avrin knew this man had more experience than him, so he would just compromise. “How about this, sir. I'm looking for some ingredients for my master’s attempts in alchemy.“ From there, Avrin told the man the ingredients he was after and the man began to rub his short beard.
“Hmm… Indeed, I got a few. But not all of those can be bought in this town. The rose root and Alovi leaves are quite easy, but the Earth Seed and Fire Flower are mainly big city goods. Other than that, I can also give you the other six.”
Avrin smiled happily and quickly replied and began to negotiate with the man. Within a good minute, he left the shop with his enchanted bag holding 2 kilos of alchemy ingredients. As he stepped out of the shop, he could hear the crowd chatting excitedly and moving towards the center of the district’s path.
“Hmm?” Avrin quietly uttered before curiously following. As he managed to find a good view, he saw two dozen individuals on two sides glaring daggers at each other. There were two noteworthy people.
One was a female who looked fierce with blonde hair tied in a ponytail that reached down to her lower back, she wore a similar outfit to the students, who were supposedly enrolled at Laymist all day, but hers seemed different. It had blue edges and a white color with a blue emblem.
On the other side was a male who seemed quite handsome, to the point where some nearby females seemed to blush harder the longer they looked at him. He wore the same outfit as the girl on the opposite side of him.
Behind them were several individuals with the usual outfits. Brown edges with a gray color for the main uniform and a brown badge to match. Behind the female was a boy on the ground with a swollen face, with a girl and another boy tending to him. It was then that the lead female roared out.
“Yesen you bastard… what the hell do you think you're doing hitting my brother!!” The girl emitted a magical aura as she placed her hand on a longsword sheathed at her hip. Yesen, supposedly the handsome looking fellow, narrowed his eyes. “Your brother is rude and should know his place... he provoked me and I gave him what he deserved!” He also emitted a similar magical aura that was no weaker than the female.
Of course, Avrin could see that these two children, in his eyes, at the very least, were between 15-16 and both at the Intermediate level. Somewhere between the early and mid stages. Although it was somewhat fun to watch a conflict that didn't involve him for once, it was entertainment that he didn't have to pay for. It also meant that he may get some information for a potential hierarchy in Laymist.
“Provoked you?!! Your damn lackeys attacked him to steal equipment he just bought and you say he provoked you!?! If I don't beat you to a pulp here, I won't be able to live with myself for the rest of my life!!” The girl roared before unsheathing her longsword and turning into a faint blur, charging towards Yesen.
Yesen immediately pulled out a shortsword and a shield that was on his hips as his face twisted a little. “Yuvi, you're picking a fight with the wrong person!” He also charged towards her. But before their weapons could collide, two individuals appeared in front of them, causing their advancement to halt.
These two were a male and a female. Both of them wore similar outfits to the other students, but their attire was pure white with gold edgings with a gold badge.
If Yuvi was considered a beautiful warrior who seemed elegant, the girl who had stopped her advancement was a level higher in all aspects, whether it be in looks or figure with skin that was just one tone down from being as flawless as white jade. “Yuvi, enough. We can't be causing trouble. You know the rules.”
The male opposite of her looked imposing, with a somewhat athletic build. He was as handsome as Yesen, but with a quality that made him more appealing. He gave an aura of leadership. “Yesen, we’re heading back.”
Yesen’s face paled as he quickly bowed. “Y-Yes, brother…” He then turned to leave while the man, seemingly Yesen’s brother, turned to steal a glance at the female who stopped Yuvi before smiling softly and walking off.
Yuvi frowned for a moment as she saw this glance, then turned to look at the female. “Fiora... that bastard and the others ambushed Dion... how can I let this go?...” Fiora, the girl who was attracting hungry and lustful gazes from the crowd, waved her hand, to which several students came from the crowd, each wearing an outfit identical to Yuvi’s. “Well talk somewhere else. Let’s go. Tomorrow is a big day.”
Yuvi huffed before turning to gaze at Dion, who seemed to be healed somewhat, before being helped up by the others. Soon, the commotion died down and the crowd dispersed. Avrin was barely interested in all this. The reason he stayed was to see how the students of Laymist were and gain a bit of information on them.
“Did you see that girl? She’s as beautiful as a goddess. I’d give anything to have a night with her.” One of the dirty looking men near Avrin spoke while another simply laughed and replied.
“Hah! You idiot. That's Fiora. She’s a noble and also the second in command of Laymist’s Lotus alliance. If you tried to go near her, I'm sure you would be hacked to pieces.”
As Avrin walked off, he began to hear several rumors about the individuals of both sides. The man who stopped Yesen was called Tygas, his older brother, and also second in command of the Red Phoenix alliance. He also discovered that other than Yesen and Tygas, they had another an older brother who ruled the Red Phoenix alliance.
Apparently both were led by nobles who opposed each other within a nearby kingdom. Although the kingdom was small, Laymist was a place they could use to gain some influence. One competing with the other to grab great talents to foster and grow to help them achieve victory.
The strategy wasn't anything special. To Avrin, it seemed boring. And these noble families seemed to have been at each other’s throats for hundreds of years over some territorial issue. Side entertainment is what Avrin considered it to be.
Avrin began to ponder something. “-I wasn't really able to tell the level of their strength. They hadn't released their aura. I'm sure I can develop a way to figure it out with dark matter. I wonder if it's possible to adjust my Divine Sense?-” He soon put the thought aside as he returned to the inn.
He didn't bother trying alchemy within the room, as it may attract unwanted attention, so he decided to just get some rest by habit. The night turned to day in what seemed to be seconds.
Today was the day Avrin would head over with the masses to enter Laymist Academy.
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Memo in spoiler tag excuse the terrible grammar :(
Spoiler :
as you can see by this chapter and my past chapters, i am heavily influenced by Chinese xianxia novels, that being said i am not writing from the point of view of someone i am not, which is why i try my best to be a bit creative. The novel I shall seal the heavens as well as battle through the heavens both focus on alchemy.
of course this subject itself is not unique to east Asia despite it being associated more towards them im sure you have heard the tale of the emperor and the mercury makes you live forever tale *Wink wink nudge nudge* though i am not someone that hates where i am from as i am from the west, Australia to be exact i wanted to blend western and eastern elements together.
pill furnaces for pill concocting and alchemy pots for elixir/potion concocting. potions and elixirs i feel are more of a western element the health/mana potion for example. but these are things that are set in stone for the mainstream story's/ideas, which led me to personally research...a whole day of research trying to figure out my own way of innovating the field while keeping my own western touch, that is when i stumbled upon the chalice!.
i don't believe the chalice receives as much attention as it should but i feel it is perfect for what i have planned for sr, i want to keep my readers interested and coming back for more with non cliche and non linear plots and twists so my story can be regarded as something unique in its own right.
While novels are more so tied to pill furnaces, the alchemy pot is more out there for both novels and media such as video games. but the chalice that is my own little twist. Alchemy chalice's i had to research chalices and you would be surprised how many named sections it has, for instance the knop.
i truly want to add onto alchemy for sr and make it unique as well as black smiting. these two are both crafts i want to focus on and keep them properly introduced while not overdoing it and making it to similar to btth and issth both of which are inspiration for me.
as for the concocting all i can say is nothing is as it appears to be, im sure many of you know that i have a habit for not letting you guess what can happen :) this is all i want to say without spoiling anything. thank you for reading.