When we arrived at the clinic the next day, Breknir ushered us into his office where Aelrie was waiting.
"The ceremony will take place in two days," he announced.
"That fast?" I asked.
"Velatha and you were the last of your group to reach level twenty," he said, "understandably so. The council opted to wait to hold a single ceremony."
Oh, we were holding everyone back. I grimaced.
"Your peers agreed with this decision," Aelrie said, "they were all worried about you."
Vel squeezed my hand in reassurance. Breknir smiled at the both of us.
"It will take two days to prepare the Elixir of Awakening," my teacher continued, "both of you will be assisting Aelrie and myself during the preparations."
"Are you sure?" I asked, uncertain.
The recipe of the elixir was a closely guarded secret in the village and was the central component of the class ceremony. It was the reason the village had so many powerful mages and warriors. When consumed, the elixir granted the drinker access to third tier classes directly. The downside was that it wasn't possible to choose exactly which class was selected, the system would assign a class based on the skills and personality of the drinker.
Improperly prepared it was incredibly dangerous, not fatal but there was a high chance to receive a dud class. Either a tier one or two class, which set the drinker back, or one that had no possibility of evolving into a higher tier, a dead end.
"The Elixir is a complex creation and your skill levels aren't high enough yet to create it by yourselves, but many of the steps are. I have already updated the schedule, Velatha will work with Aelrie in the mornings to gather the ingredients and Liscura will work with me to prepare everything during the afternoons. Elora has agreed to supervise the younger healers in the meantime."
I looked at Vel, she had a determined expression on her face.
"We won't disappoint you," I said.
----------------------------------------
I rubbed my nose as I looked at the diagram spread on the workbench before me.
Didn't expect something quite that complex.
The Elixir of Awakening was not a single potion with a complex recipe, it was a combination of multiple alchemical reagents which were in turn also composed of more reagents, three layers of alchemical preparations. More than twenty in total.
"Where do we begin?" I asked my teacher.
"The elemental salts need time to crystallize, start with those. I will create the Spirit Extract."
I folded the diagram back up and slid it into the small pouch at the back of the recipe book. The elemental salts were part of the outer ring, catalysts to change the alignment of other reagents.
Salts were relatively easy to create. I measured the appropriate quantity of Cloud Crystals and ground them into a fine powder, they would provide the base. I prepared three flasks filled with solvent, one per preparation, and split the powder between them.
In each of the flasks I added Fire Lilies, Wind Blooms, and Water Moss. Ground into a fine paste, each of the ingredients dissolved and changed the color of the liquids. I added a finely sliced Marsh Cap to thicken the liquids and promote binding and Mana Quills to imbue the liquid with additional energy.
The preparations needed to be distilled to evaporate the solvent, I clamped the first flask into the alembic and pushed some mana into the fire stones. It was a slow and boring process.
Skill Alchemy has reached rank 3, level 19
I took the time to start the preparation of the next batch of reagents, the Mana Extract and Life Extract. Hopefully, Breknir and I would be done with the outer portion at the end of the day.
----------------------------------------
> Skill Alchemy has reached rank 3, level 20
> Skill Alchemy has reached rank 3, level 21
> Skill Alchemy has reached rank 3, level 22
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I let myself sink into the water.
"Long day?" Vel asked.
I didn't answer and simply snuggled closer to her.
"How many potions did you brew?"
"Too many," I mumbled.
Vel pulled me closer and started to stroke my hair. What a day.
----------------------------------------
Even with only five reagents to create, the second day was as brutal as the first. Though not in the number of preparations but the precision and attention required for each, as well as the number of steps. Most potions only needed one or two steps, not ten. Breknir and I worked in tandem, his attentive eye caught any mistake I could have made well in advance.
> Skill Alchemy has reached rank 3, level 24
> Skill Alchemy has reached rank 3, level 25
I was dead on my feet by the time all five were done. Breknir gently shuffled me out of the laboratory where Vel was waiting.
"I will take care of the final preparations tomorrow," he said, "You both have the rest of the day free," he said, "take some time to rest and prepare yourselves. The ceremony will take place some time before midday."
"We will," Vel said.
Vel brought us back home where my two grandmas were waiting. They brewed us some relaxing tea which took the edge off from the tiredness.
"I can see you're barely staying awake," Vel said, "rest for a bit before we eat. I'll keep them company."
She patted her lap with a grin. I kissed her and flopped down on her thighs. She started playing with my hair and I drifted off. I didn't sleep, just tuned out the world and let my Meditation skill do the rest. It was a blessing for night shifts as well.
After a while, I felt a slight tug on my ear.
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"It's time already?" I asked.
"Lora is cooking," Vel said, "I don't think you want to miss it."
I licked my lips, grandmother cooking was the best. I sat back up and pecked Vel on the cheek.
"How are you feeling Lili?" Asked Lythiene.
She brought a tray of snacks to the table. I took a slice of fruit and savored it, the taste was richer than usual. Probably another one of her experiments.
"Better," I said.
"Glad to hear," she smiled, "you need to be in top shape for the ceremony."
"Do you remember yours?" Vel asked.
"Yes, like it was yesterday," she smiled as she sat down, "I was so stressed. The Elixir wasn't as good as it is today, the results were a lot more … unpredictable. I was terrified I'd end up with a warrior class."
"You spent the entire morning pacing around," Lorathana said from the kitchen, "like a caged panther."
"And you did your best to calm me down," Lythiene chuckled. "The ceremony itself was nothing special, we were six I think." "Seven, you always forget Bhilva!" "Seven. There wasn't any altar either, it hadn't been invented yet. And the Elixir, it tasted foul, like dead fish."
"I remember the face you made when you drank it," Lora laughed.
"You weren't much better!"
"It hurt quite a bit too. So much mana flowing through the body, we both passed out."
"Don't scare them, I'm sure it's better now. Breknir has the formula perfected by now."
I had watched several ceremonies already and it was normal for people to faint, it was apparently part of the process. I had also heard about the pain but nobody had said it was that bad.
"And," Vel said, "did you get what you wanted?"
"Yes, I received the Druid class, all that worry for nothing. Later, I unlocked Plant Shaman."
Vel nodded. It was the path she wanted to follow.
"I got Ranger," Lora said, "not quite what I was looking for at the time but my second class more than made up for it."
I knew she had a priestess class, she had talked about it a few times. With several decades of adventuring under her belt, both of her classes were probably evolved as well.
The conversation turned to lighter topics once the meal was there. Lora had prepared a noodle soup, my favorite. After that, Vel and I went to bed early. I needed to rest.
----------------------------------------
I woke up on the morning of the ceremony feeling refreshed. A good night's sleep had been what I needed. Next to me, Vel was still snuggled against me and sleeping soundly. She wasn't a morning person. It was slightly past daybreak, plenty of time to get ready for the ceremony. I decided to wait a bit more until she woke up by herself.
I played with her short hair for a while to pass the time. The way her ears flicked when a strand ticked them was absolutely adorable.
It was the big day and I took one last look at my status before it would be irrevocably changed.
Name
Liscura Van-Niu
Ancestry
Dark Elf
Status
Level 21 (Rank 2) | 65 Essence
Health: 590/590 (+78%/h)
Stamina: 810/810 (+110%/h)
Mana: 1880/1880 (+170%/h)
Focus: 0/114
Primary Class
[None]
Secondary Class
[None]
Perks
Blessing of Gaia
Essence Mastery (Rank 1)
Essence Absorption (Rank 1)
Essence Well (Rank 1)
Mana Perception
Improved Senses (Rank 3)
Night Vision (Rank 5)
General Skills
Combat Skills
Dagger Mastery - Rank 1, Level 15
Light Bow Mastery - Rank 2, Level 6
Knowledge Skills
Medicine - Rank 2, Level 24
Herbalism - Rank 2, Level 22
Alchemy - Rank 3, Level 25
Survival - Rank 2, Level 12
Utility Skills
Tracking - Rank 2, Level 6
Stealth - Rank 2, Level 8
Identify - Rank 2, Level 28
Meditation - Rank 2, Level 5
Languages
Elven Language - Rank 4, Level 12
Human Language - Rank 2, Level 6
English Language - Rank 5, Level 6
Resistances
Poison Resistance - Rank 3, Level 5
Disease Resistance - Rank 2, Level 3
Attributes
Strength: 38, Agility: 58, Vitality: 40, Endurance: 52
Intelligence: 64, Wisdom: 58, Spirit: 62, Clarity: 56
I wanted to look at the list of available classes before the ritual but it was considered extremely bad luck and I didn't want to influence the result one way or another.
After only half an hour, she woke up.
"Good morning sleepyhead," I greeted her.
"It's the day," she said with a smile.
"It's the day," I confirmed.
"I'm so excited," she flew out of the covers and started to rummage through her chest. "Where did I put that dress …"
I followed at a slightly less frantic pace.
The class ceremony was a special occasion, my whole family and colleagues would be present. It was customary to wear something nice that day. But not too fancy either, like the dress I had worn for the feast. This one was reserved for dates. In the end, I ended up choosing the green leaf dress Vel had brought me when I got out of the clinic.
I planned to change into something more practical after the ceremony.
"Ready?" I asked.
Vel was still undecided between two dresses. A long purple dress with yellow and black highlights, or a shorter one with autumn leaves design.
"Which one?" She asked.
"You can get the leaf dress," I said with a smile, "that way we match."
"Oh! Great idea!"
She threw the other dress back in her chest.
"Let's go! Time to get a class!"
Vel took me by the hand and dragged me forward.