Ray

Ray smiled as he thought System, how do you get new skills?

The only way to get new skills is to practice them with intent in their natural environment.

So he’d had the answer already? No, there was that natural environment thing. The combat area was clearly not the natural environment for [Magic Combat]. But what skill could he get?

Budgeting? Selling goods? Or perhaps teaching if he did teach Marcus? Well, he could try to get it that way. Ray went back to the library to see Marcus asleep, a book on his lap. Was reading really that boring for people? Marcus had been so eager a few hours ago, but now…

Ray gently shook him up, saying, “Marcus, you were supposed to be studying.”

“Bhrlbbuubub.” was the only reply he got.

Ray shook him harder, trying to wake him up.

“Huh? Five more minutes-” Ray shook him even harder- “Ugh. Why won’t you-Ray? What are you-” Marcus looked around at his surroundings and then sheepishly said- “Oh, I fell asleep didn’t I?”

“Yes.” Ray answered. “Now, how about we try some Alchemy instead?”

“Ugh, sure.” Marcus.

“What do you know about herbs?” Ray asked.

“Ugh, herbs are divided into seven types, regental, supportive, additive, core, dissolving, special and potentive. The types are self-explanatory, regental is regents, supportive supports the reaction, additive adds things, core is the core ingredient, dissolving helps ingredients dissolve and potentive makes things more potent.” Marcus answered, to Ray’s surprise.

“Ok, now can you tell me which is which in Clotting blood?” Ray said, giving the recipe to Marcus.

“The Beetlegourd is core, Rendert is additive and dissolving at the same time and Cloriss is an optional potentive.” Marcus replied. Ray had to give it to him, he knew his stuff. But that brought up the question, why was he still failing. The only thing that seemed lacking was practice and mana. Ray could help with both.

“I asked the System a question today. And it actually answered. The way to get skills is to practice them with intent in their natural environment. Now, do you want to go do some lab work? I know you can’t make potions, but you can help me while I make them. I think it might get you the skill.” Ray said, excited.

“Well, if you say so.” Marcus replied. The two of them made their way to the lab building and then to a basic lab. The person guarding didn’t question Ray taking two people in, apparently it was normal to have assistants.

Ray set up the beaker and the ingredients ready to delve in.

“Now, what is the first step?” Ray asked.

“To prepare the regent water.” Marcus replied. “The water here needs fifteen mana points.”

Ray cringed at the high cost, but went forwards and dipped a hundred and five pellets of glitter into it. Marcus looked at the pellets suspiciously, but didn’t say anything.

“The next step is to sink the Beetlegourd in and then put the Rendert in within seconds. The Rendert is needed to dissolve.” Marcus continued, as if reading from a book.

Ray did so, levitating the Rendert to add it in time.

“Now what?” Ray asked.

“Umm, just wait for it to dissolve?” Marcus said. A wrong answer.

“No, you must keep an eye on things inside. An ingredient is not always pure, what if there is a small portion of another ingredient mixed in? Ah, see, there it is. Rendert grows on other plants, this one has teensy tiny pieces of Sawroot bark on it.” Ray said, levitating it out.

“Now we sit and watch.” The potion dissolved as he watched the two ingredients mixing.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“Now what do we do?” Ray asked.

“The final step is to add a layer of regental water on top so that the solution does not escape. The water has less density and will float.” Marcus recited.

Ray followed, conjuring blue and neutral glitter in tandem as he formed a layer of regental water on top of the potion.

“And we’re done. A successful potion!” Ray said, brandishing the beaker.

[Tutoring] gained.

[Tutoring] leveled to 1: 15 mana +1 to precision

“Did you get a skill?” Ray asked.

“Yes, [Learning] not Alchemy.” Marcus said, disappointed.

“Well, that just means that you will need to learn before you synthesize! Come on, we have a lot of content to cover!” Ray said, calling on his reservoir of fake confidence.

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The tutoring went as well as could be expected. Ray got the skill to level 2 by the end of it, and Marcus got [Learning] to 1. But Ray had to say, he was slightly surprised. Just learning things was so hard for Marcus. Not to mention how hard it was for him to remember things, his lack of mana made it, so he couldn’t practice either.

Ray had made three potions today, exhausting most of his lab points. Clotting blood, Hair apocalypse and the rarer Levitarte. The third was a semi-useful enjoyment potion, usually used to give toddlers the feeling of flying. But it could also be used to allow grown men to float, something Ray was sure would be useful.

The three potions were going on the manufacturing list. And so were Night eye and Flashinglights. The first allowed one to see at night, and the second exploded with a lot of light and sound, something Ray was sure people would like in the danger prone COmmoner’s district.

Ray quickened his steps as he walked towards the Noble’s district, he could tell Marcus, but he didn’t really go that way for Marcus anymore. No, there was someone else there that he liked very much.

A plop on his head alerted him to her presence. The cat he’d seen that day. The one that jumped off a tree. Ray had gotten quite familiar with it over the last week, and he had gotten familiar with him. The cutey and very heavy thing had taken to plopping onto Ray’s head whenever he came by, meow for a second as if declaring its rule there, and go away.

Ray tickled the cat as he did his customary “meow!” and jumped off to a tree. Shaking his head, he turned back, watching the cat as it looked at him from the perch. Perhaps he would take her home? But Ma would not agree. No, she would have to remain here.

Ray sighed as he returned home, finding the shop full of customers and Ma rushing alongside a young girl trying to fill all the orders.

“Oh, Ray, you’re home! Could you synthesize a few more Cough’s cure, we’re all out.” Ma said, pointing to the empty rack. Ray nodded and headed for the attic lab.

The Cough’s cure took five minutes for him to make now, he’d made a dozen of them in an hour. Perhaps he should try double-dipping once he had enough mana? No, Cough’s cure was too volatile, but maybe with something like Clotting blood. Hmm, he should get ingredients later and try it out.

And so his day went, he spent the next hour making Cough’s cure and then rushed to get the ingredients. A short dinner later, he was making Clotting blood. The potion was trivial to synthesize together. Just put the ingredients in, then go on to the other potion.

Two potions weren’t too many to keep an eye on either, Ray was sure he could make do with three. Ray spent the next three hours exhausting his supply, Hair’s apocalypse and others were in similar situations, easy enough to make together. Perhaps that was why Cough’s cure was so rare. The thing could not be mass made easily.

Ray then went down to stock the potions, and was shocked to find the cookie eating-monster, otherwise known as the Shadow Princess, waiting.

“Oh, you’re finally here. Can you tell your cashier that I want more cookies?” the shadow princess said.

Ray nearly dropped his potions as he stared at her in shock.

“Umm, miss shadow, you are already ordering a hundred cookies a day.” Ray noted as the cashier turned to him in surprise.

“Yes, well, I want five hundred now. “ The Shadow princess said as if it was easy to do.

“I will have to ask Ma if that is even possible. Five hundred is more than we make in the entire day. “ Ray answered.

“Is there anything I can do to encourage you, more money perhaps?” the Shadow princess asked.

"Well, you could tell us why. At least, I would have something to say to Ma. " Ray noted.

The shadow princess turned to him, sighing as she said, “Not here, in your room.” as she disappeared into a mass of shadow. Ray watched as a shimmer traveled to his room, sighing as he followed.

The shadow princess was right there, sitting on his bed as before.

“Now, can you tell me?” Ray asked, a bit impatient to know.

“What do you know about Satyrs?” the Shadow princess asked, confusing Ray. What did this have to do… No, it couldn’t be.