The stillness of the underground laboratory was punctuated only by the scratching of a pen against parchment and the gentle bubbling of various potions simmering in their retorts.

Seizing this rare moment of solitude, I focused my attention on transcribing one of my alchemic recipes into language that could be comprehended by those less versed in such matters. I carefully analyzed each phrase, simplifying it enough that even a child could comprehend it and methodically recorded every detail onto the page, making certain nothing was missed.

The minutes seemed to fly by in a blur of scribbled symbols and words, until my peace was yet again shattered by the intrusion of a foreign voice within my mind.

“Great Trismegistus, you who are all-knowing and wise," came the prayerful words that echoed through my head. I groaned in frustration and slammed down my pen, burying my face in my hands. This was certainly not what I had expected when I agreed to become the high priestess of Philosophia Naturalis.

“Trismegistus has heard your prayer, disciple. Now, I, the High Priestess of Philosophia Naturalis, shall bestow upon you a blessing. Do you seek the path of alchemy, transmutation, or astrology?” I reflexively recited the line that I had become so accustomed to saying when answering these prayers.

"What do I get for each branch of knowledge?" the disciple asked tentatively in response.

I sighed as my fingers moved in calming circles around my forehead, struggling to maintain composure. It was not the first time that a disciple had wanted to know every detail of each blessing before they made their decision. One individual even requested more time to "contemplate" it! What could there possibly be left for consideration after an hour of discussing the merit of each blessing?

There were three blessings on offer: Alchemic sight, which allowed a person to easily identify items with alchemic value; a scroll containing a transmutation circle that would enable them to forge a transmutation amulet once they had collected the necessary ingredients; or they could opt for a blessing that was still new to me: the ability to sense astrological alignments.

After half an hour of contemplation, the newest disciple made her decision, and I finished initiating her into the path of natural philosophy. Her mental presence then faded, joining the dozens of golden sparks that floated in my mind; each of them representing a disciple under my direction.

This was all due to a mistake on my part; Tris had warned me against directly initiating those whom I did not intend on personally guiding, but I had foolishly written "In the name of the High Priestess," into the prayer.

By doing this, it meant they were now sworn by my name and thus under my guidance. Even though I pleaded with him endlessly, the old god refused to intervene until after I reached my target of fifty disciples. From then onwards, the line about praying in the name of the high priestess would be erased from the pamphlets scattered across Salvia.

When I tasked Kip with the job of using the copying circle to create thousands of prayer pages, and used the favor owed to me by the Whispers guild to distribute them, I hadn’t considered all the ways it could end up going wrong.

It had been three days since the pamphlets were distributed, but the hourglass that had been gifted to me by the god showed that only thirty-eight disciples had sworn themselves to my cause; a very low number considering how many people currently populated Kaledon.

Initially, I was taken aback by the meager returns of my endeavor. However, when Pia attempted to swear her allegiance as a disciple and it failed to give any results - that's when I knew only those who truly wished to follow the path would be accepted by the god. Therefore, it made sense that there would be a high number of people who failed to gain his blessings.

Kip and Corvus were two of those who prayed in my name and had been accepted, despite my suspicions that Corvus was only doing it to irritate me. Though, the golden-haired lion bakeneko did appear to be genuinely interested in the potential for transmutation in battle. Additionally, I gained five other pupils from the guild – four seeking knowledge of alchemy and one hoping to learn the magical art of transmutation.

"Great Trismegistus, thou who art all-knowing and wise." The words echoed through my mind again and again as the numbers on the hourglass steadily rose towards the desired fifty disciples.

With each new disciple who prayed, I was a step closer to my quota of fifty disciples and eventually being liberated from this responsibility. Even though it made accomplishing any work difficult due to the constant interferences, the end was in sight.

Forty-eight... forty-nine...

"Just one more," I whispered to myself as I hugged the hourglass tightly to my chest.

A dinging bell from my lab's door jolted me out of my thoughts, and I quickly set down the hourglass on my desk. Who would be at the entrance so late in the day? Usually by this time everyone in our guild had taken to their beds for a restful sleep before starting their nightly routines.

Pulling open the door, I was surprised to find a slender, blond-haired, elven man standing on the other side, clutching a copy of my book, Basic Salves and Tinctures for the Everyday Potioneer, tightly in his hands.

“Craft master Kadia,” he stammered nervously as he greeted me. His appearance was vaguely familiar, but I couldn't remember his name among the dozens of guild members residing in the compound.

"Did you need something?" I asked him without responding to his greeting.

He lowered his eyes from mine and murmured an apology. "I would like to apologize," he said softly. "I behaved poorly when we last met."

Leaning my head to the side, I pondered who this man could be and wondered why he felt compelled to apologize. "Did you?" I inquired inquisitively while arching an eyebrow in suspicion.

He nodded solemnly, his cheeks becoming rosy pink as he tried to avoid meeting my gaze. "I acted out of jealousy and shame. Before coming to this world, I was an alchemist in the guild; however, since then, I have been relegated to the treasury department. No matter how hard I tried, nothing worked: my experiments and recipes only ended in failure."

With an intense gaze, I locked my eyes on him. "Ah, you're the one who was eaten by Faux," I breathed out, tapping a finger playfully against my bottom lip.

As I recalled, the elf had been demanding to go through my bag when my team returned from a trip into the dungeon. Little did he know that it housed a newly tamed mimic. Thankfully Corvus had came by at just the right time; otherwise I probably wouldn't have given it a second thought if the mimic ate him or not.

“Your name is Helvara, isn't it?” I asked, leaning against the doorframe as I studied him intently. “So, you've acquired a copy of my book?”

He seemed anxious as he replied, "Yes, Craftmaster, Commander Corvus gave it to me."

I continued prodding him for more information before deciding whether or not to grant him access to my classes. “Did he also inform you of the requirements for learning?”

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Swallowing nervously, Helvara replied in a whisper: "Yes, he did—that pain-relieving tincture can be improved by replacing the ethanol with honey." He said nothing else despite my unamused expression.

Sighing at how much teaching lay ahead for me if I chose him as a disciple, I asked. "Is that all?"

The elf's shoulders hunched visibly, and his face contorted into a mask of shame, clearly aware that it was nowhere near enough knowledge to gain admission. My pity grew stronger; here was someone who truly wanted to learn despite all the odds stacked against them; who had come here despite knowing he would be rejected due to his lack.

Deciding to give this man a chance, I took out a piece of paper from my belt pouch and pushed it towards Helvara before speaking.

"Take this," I said, my voice gentle and encouraging. "Recite this prayer, and be back here at half-past ten tonight."

The man's expression was one of surprise and awe as he accepted the paper from me before bowing his head in respect. “Thank you, High Priestess! I humbly await any task you may bestow upon me."

I smiled as he recited the prayer, impressed at the depth of reverence in his voice. He truly sounded devoted—not like Corvus and Kip had been when they recited the same prayer.

“Trismegistus has heard your prayer, disciple. Now I, High Priestess of Philosophia Naturalis, shall bestow upon you a blessing. I bless thee, oh disciple, with the gift of alchemic sight." I said, making a show of waving my hand in the air even though no such gesture was needed.

He bowed low again before departing, with an enthusiastic promise to return at the appointed time.

I sighed as I shut the door behind him. Despite all my doubts and worries regarding my own capabilities as a teacher, there was something reassuring and comforting about being able to help someone who truly wanted knowledge.

"That's fifty," I said, looking down at the hourglass with a satisfied smile before turning towards my desk. "And not a moment too soon." I was starting to think my brain would explode from the strain of all those voices in my head, but I had done it.

I settled into my chair with a contented sigh, feeling better than I had in weeks now that the stress of my impending deadline was off my shoulders. "I need a nap," I said, stifling a yawn as I reached for my quill and parchment. Sadly, sleep would have to wait until after I had finished preparing my lesson plan.

Walking through the sprawling laboratory, I could feel my anticipation growing as I inspected the workstations set up for the upcoming alchemy and transmutation class. Five workbenches had been arranged side-by-side, each one equipped with a large basket brimming with glowing pink mushrooms. On the far side of the room, three barrels filled with pristine white sand had been placed next to a long wooden workbench— a perfect setup for my transmutation students.

It had taken me some time to accept that I needed to take on pupils in order to make progress in my research. After all, laboratories like those of my mother and other researchers I knew of were full of students who were delegated tasks that freed up the primary researcher for more important experiments. With this in mind, I resolved to start small—assigning basic tasks to get everyone used to working together before progressing onto more complex projects.

I fondly thought back on my previous summers spent interning at Greene Pharmaceutical under Dr. Carlson, the head of research and development. In spite of what had happened to the company since then, I still held out hope that Dr. Carlson would be able to rebuild it into something even better than it was before.

The sound of voices coming from down the hallway echoed throughout my lab, breaking me from my reverie and pulling me back into reality. The students had arrived.

As I turned to face the door, a group of eight disciples entered the room. Sadie, a waifish blond elf who was one of the youngest members of the guild and held promise for learning alchemy, was the first to enter. The others followed her in, with Corvus being last, his arms crossed as he leaned against the door frame.

"Good afternoon, Craftmaster Kadia," Sadie chimed with a bright smile, and I returned the gesture with a nod. Though I was only two years older than her, I felt as though we were much further apart in age.

"Alchemy novices, pick a workstation over there," I said, not wasting any more time for pleasantries. "Begin by following the instructions on the recipe, while I instruct the transmuters on their task." The group of five quickly moved to separate workstations where each could read over their recipes in silence.

I watched them silently as they began cutting mushrooms; three of the five immediately set to work prepping them without properly reading the recipe. Only Sadie and Helvara, the other elf in the group, appeared to be using the proper cutting technique which I’d written at the very bottom of the recipe.

“You don't look happy,” Kip commented from behind me, and I sighed as I turned away from the budding alchemists.

“Two out of five isn’t that bad, I guess,” I muttered, looking down at the dwarf. He was wearing a dark red tunic and trousers, with brown leather boots that laced up to his knees. Kip had his hair shaved on one side to reveal a dragon tattoo on his head, with the rest braided and his beard and mustache adorned with beads. This gave him a distinguished yet somewhat mercenary look.

He crossed his arms, a small smile playing across his lips as he regarded me. “It's their first day."

"I expected better from this batch of apprentices.” I sighed, looking back at the alchemy novices.

Kip nodded in sympathy. “They'll get it eventually, Kadia," he said reassuringly. "You just have to keep working with them until they do."

Walking over to the transmutation work bench, I ran a cursory gaze of the red haired gnome, Roswyn. She had freckles across her nose, and cheeks flushed with excitement as she stood, peering into the barrels of sand with interest.

Roswyn, had only recently approached me with a request to learn the art of transmutation. She had previously attempted to study earth magic at a mage's academy but was unable to properly attune her mana core - something transmutation wouldn't require. Thus, it seemed like an ideal fit for her.

"Have you each gathered the components needed for your amulets?" I queried, getting a nod from each.

"I got the last of it this morning," Corvus drawled, pushing off the door frame and walking over to join Kip and Roswyn.

As I walked around to the other side of the table, I pulled out a copy of the amulet-forging array and held it up for them both to see. Pointing out each of the symbols around its edge, I explained that each person must use a scalpel to make a small cut at the tip of each finger of their non-dominant hand.

"Once you've cut all five of your fingers, it's time to press them onto each symbol at the same time and infuse as much mana into the circle until no further power can be added," I demonstrated by spreading my fingers across all five symbols.

Being blessed with knowledge from Tris himself concerning how best to execute these tasks certainly made things easier; otherwise, I would have been completely in the dark about how exactly one goes about creating amulets such as these without risking injury or misalignment of magical energies.

As the three followed my instructions, I felt a tinge of apprehension as Corvus sliced his fingers slightly deeper than necessary. Roswyn was the first to lay her fingertips down on the glowing circle, and I watched with bated breath as the red lines of energy seemed to devour her blood. After a few moments, the gnome slowly pulled away her hand, revealing that the cuts on her skin had stopped bleeding altogether as the circle thrummed with powerful magic.

Kip and Corvus each followed suit, though their own circles took a bit longer due to their limited access to mana. Despite my directions to channel their mana into their cores, neither were willing to commit fully to this endeavor. As such, even after days of hunting and increasing their reserves, both were still markedly behind myself and Roswyn who had devoted all our available mana into our respective cores.

"Next," I instructed, pointing to the symbol, "place the gold on the symbol for Earth. Then, place the water, air, and fire wisp cores on their corresponding symbols. Finally, place the mana crystal in the center of the array."

I held my breath as they placed the wisp cores down. The shimmering orbs were small and delicate, like precious gems, reflecting a faint gleam in the flickering candlelight. The guild had spent a lot of gold purchasing them, but it was well worth it.

The Whisper guild had been invaluable in helping us acquire the items we needed, traveling between Valonia and here with incredible speed and stealth thanks to their vampiric ability to Shadow Walk across vast distances. It was an expensive venture, but Darius had been more than willing to pay for their services in order to speed up the acquisition of the required materials.

I carefully observed the transmutation circles as the high-grade mana crystal, wisp cores, and gold began to rise up into the air. The light emitted from this magical display was almost blinding, but I couldn't help but stare.

The components merged together to form a single ball of light which gracefully descended back onto the circle. As it did so, it formed into a replica of my own amulet that had been given to me by Tris; aside from the gem in the center, which was a deep blue color, just like the mana crystals used as catalysts.

My left palm was fused with my amulet, contained a gemstone that exactly matched my eye color—that is until Trismegistus proclaimed me his high priestess. At that point, my once-violet eyes gained a thin golden ring surrounding the iris. Upon closer inspection, I could make out tiny runic symbols etched into them, although I still hadn't managed to decipher their meaning.

"Congratulations on forming your first transmutation amulets!" I said enthusiastically as I pulled three gold chains out of my pouch and handed them out for everyone to string their amulets through. "Take some time to recover your mana, and then we can move onto the next lesson."

Roswyn's gaze flicked from her amulet to me. "Can we attach these amulets to our hands, like you have done?"

"Fusing an amulet is not something a novice should attempt," I informed her sternly yet kindly—not wanting to admit I myself did not know how to do it without relying on Tris' assistance.

Plus, I wasn't keen to converse with the god at the moment, not after he filled my first ever loot box with two thousand luminous pink mushrooms. My anticipation had been building since I was promised a special reward for every fifty disciples sworn to the god. To my dismay, the god had swindled me of a reward by gifting only fungi which could be easily cultivated by my dryad companion, Rainy.

I had intended to ask Rainy to grow some mushrooms for creating luminous orbs, but certainly not in such massive quantities. It would take days of careful work and attention for the novices to render and distill all those mushrooms, as the retorts they had could only hold close to six at a time. The distillation process alone took an hour per batch, requiring all five of them working on the task simultaneously in order to render them down before they spoilt.

I knew it was not necessary to rely solely on distillation; drying, infusing in different liquids, and other simple experiments were potential solutions too—but there simply was not enough time for me to explore them right now.

After inspecting the alchemy novice's progress and providing guidance on filling the retort properly, I returned to the transmutation work area.

Grinning broadly, I reached into my pocket and pulled out three glass orbs — one for each transmuter — and set them down on the table with a clink.

"Now that you have your transmutation amulets," I declared, "it's time to learn how to use them."

A low chuckle escaped from the dwarf who sat opposite me. Kip's gaze darted between the alchemy section of the lab and my collection of glowing orbs, his expression one of awe as his mind grasped what I had created; I had used the class to build a luminous orb assembly line!