Master Of None

While it was an honor to be thought of when it came to such a matter as escorting a master blacksmith, it was also a very dangerous request that the party had never tried before. The real problem was that they were already preparing to leave for the deep sun hollow forest and would be gone for an unknown amount of time to gather information on the purple slime’s plaguing the area. 

”I would love to accept it, however, my party is not experienced in escort quests. We will also be away for some while; in the forest so we will not be able to accept other quests any time soon.” The wandering blacksmith shook his head. 

He poked Walker in his chest, ”get stronger.” This was not much to go on but it was enough to know that the wandering blacksmith wanted their party to get stronger before accepting this quest. 

”Then please wait for us to get a little stronger, then we will return and go on an adventure with you.” This brought a smile to the wandering blacksmith’s face. He looked like he was already starting to plan routes and ideal locations on the map. 

With the request put on the back burner Walker had no choice but to go hunt down Remey. Her gear had been finished and she needed to try it on for a final confirmation that everything was perfectly done. Walker had no doubts that it was fine but at the same time it was better to check for anything before they went out and used them fully. 

The alchemist lab looked like it had been running smoke for days now, Walker had no idea how the two of them had the stomach to stay inside for so long without rest or food. When he approached the door he was able to hear the bickering coming from inside. ”I swear if you burn this one again I will make you scrub that cauldron a hundred time!” 

”If you didn’t try and change what I was doing halfway through the extraction process then I would have completed it perfectly!” 

”Oh yes it would have been perfect… Perfectly average!” 

Walker took a deep breath  not knowing what he was walking in to. They were obviously at odds with each other while they  were training. He pushed the door open and revealed that the two were covered in bits of ash and small amounts of dried herbs from sitting over the fire and the cauldrons. 

”Remey, I need you to come try on your gear. It’s the final check for any further modifications.” Walker said what he needed to say and expected Remey to be angry she had been interrupted but instead he was surprised to see her beaming smile. 

”You’re just in time to see more of my genius! I have already made mid Tier health and mana potions and now I am working on high tier!” Her face was getting even brighter as she said this. 

”No you are failing to make a high mana potion. If you would just listen to me then you would have succeeded.” The old man was not the happiest but Walker could see that there was a row of potions on the shelf that were all marked with an R and a number. They were the order Remey had made her potions. 

In total the shelf held about thirty potions. The quality seemed to increase every five potions. The crazy part was that they had been working continuously. This meant that Remey had taken the years of knowledge and started to apply them succeeding in creating the tiered potions almost all the time. In other words Remey may actually be considered a genius, her years of watching in awe and learning while she spent time with the old master alchemist were paying off. 

”Umm, just to be clear. How long does it usually take for a new alchemist to learn how to make a high potion of any kind?” Walker had no baseline for these things and wanted to see what the real speed of Remey’s growth had been. 

”Well one of my best apprentices took about a year and a half before he could make a high tier potion for the first time. But what can you do when a noble sends a child...They have no work ethic. If I had any apprentices that put the same amount of work and study in that Remey has all these years then I would have become the sole producer of the potions on the continent.” 

The old man was not speaking lightly in the least. He was very blunt with the fact that most of the apprentices did not live up to their potential since they were discovered to have the system then sent by family to learn and make easy money as an alchemist. People like Remey were rare in the world and here even more so.

”Like I said I am a genius. Now sit and watch me finish this high health potions then we can go give my gloves a test run.” Remey had not moved from next to the cauldron at all, the bubbling was at a peak and she had to make sure that the extraction process was running properly. The old master alchemist was very impressed by her multitasking because he could remember that even when he was at this age he had to completely focus on the production. He had no ability at that time to even listen let alone speak and look at someone else.

Walker sat down on a stool and watched as Remey used her mana to keep the potion progressing. Here and there the old man would move her hand or say something about temperature. To the untrained eye it was just a normal master teaching an apprentice. However since Walker knew that there was more to it he could see the tricks that Remey was using, having picked them up over the years that she watched him work. 

The potion started to rapidly reduce causing Remey to move in to quick motion lowering temperature and putting the lid on the cauldron. ”Next time you need to feel it happening before it reaches that point. The mana in the herbs will tell you they are about to release their own elemental mana.” This was a trick that would take many attempts to learn but once learned could never be forgotten. 

The amount of alchemical skills Remey was using already was astounding. She had dedicated herself so astutely that the old man was pushing her towards every required and even specific skill she could. He may have passed on a huge amount of knowledge to the average apprentice, but to Remey he was not going to leave even the smallest detail unsaid. ” Start on getting your vials ready now, and add some of that spring salt so that they hold a longer shelf life.” 

There were many more ingredients than Walker remembered when he was last in the alchemy lab. ”I take it you guys had some ingredients brought over while I was working in the forge?” The look of their faces spoke volumes to how dumb they thought the question was. 

”If you knew that then why ask? We needed a lot of things to get to work.” Remey and the old man replied almost together while they prepared the vials. Walker decided that this slightly busy moment may not have been the best time for him to ask a question. There was also the fact that by the looks of the two, they had not rested in the least. They needed some good sleep so that they could be a little more welcoming in their attitude. 

Without hesitation Remey started to use the same cooling skill that the old master alchemist had before. The room became chilly but suddenly the cooling stopped. ”Ugh I am out of mana again.” Remey swayed on her feet but the old man was there with a low tier mana potion. The potion took effect quickly and the cooling continued. It was clear that Remey was very limited by her level and the amount  of mana she had. All the more reason for her to get her gloves and start to store mana in to them for these moments. It would be invaluable. 

They two were still working hard to now pour the potion in to the vials which looked like a pristine red color. The spring salt dissolved and made them a slightly darker shade of red. The effect was very clear and Walker made sure he would remember the qualities. ”So did I pass?’ Remey was looking at the old man with an eager expression. 

He held up the vial to the light and swirled it around. He then tasted a little and thought for a few moments. He started to open his mouth to speak before that he gave the potion a sniff and another swirl. ”High health potion creation was a success. You lost two vials worth to the evaporation but that will come in time. You are improving greatly. Now go get your butt to that forge and get that gear that will let you store up your mana. I don’t like using mana potions so often.” 

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