The heat from the cauldron filled the alchemy room. Aromatic steam rose in waves, mixing with the soft glow of the runes engraved in the magic circle on the floor. Jon leaned over the mixture, his eyes intent, as drops of sweat ran down the side of his face. The bubbling liquid gave a dry crackle, followed by a bluish light.
He smiled.
On the small crystal dish, ten shimmering pills rested, each emanating a faint, sparkling glow. This was the fifth batch of the day. A simple, yet efficient, pill capable of increasing the training speed of whoever consumed it by up to fifty percent. A formula Jon had bought in the system store for only three points.
*'Since I arrived in this world, my luck has been unbelievable. Even something that seems trivial to me can turn into a treasure for them.'*
Carefully storing the pills in a vial, Jon stood up and took a deep breath. The tiredness was real, but the satisfaction of seeing the result compensated for every effort.
Opening the alchemy room door, he found Seraphine waiting outside. The elf had her arms crossed and her gaze fixed on him, evaluating every detail.
"Another failure?" The question came out laden with irony.
Jon stifled a laugh. Seraphine had already noticed that he didn't fail as much as he claimed. Every time he entered an alchemy room, he came out with the same serene expression, never frustration.
*'She is already too curious. If I keep hiding everything, she'll end up getting annoyed.'*
Jon took a deep breath and, for the first time, didn't try to disguise it. He took out one of the freshly created pills, a blue sphere that shone intensely between his fingers. He held it up before her eyes and let a confident smile appear.
"Actually, this time was a success."
Seraphine raised her eyebrows, surprised. In the background, Emily and Gabriel, who were focused on their own experiments, immediately turned around. The young half-elf, usually so reserved, let out an exclamation before approaching.
"What kind of pill is that?" She spoke with a sparkle in her eyes, almost euphoric.
Jon was already used to seeing that change in her. Emily could be shy and withdrawn in any other situation, but when the subject was alchemy, she transformed. Her timid gaze disappeared and gave way to pure curiosity and passion.
"Nothing much. Just a Concentration Pill." He replied with a calm smile, closing his fist and putting the vial away.
Emily seemed about to insist but retreated, biting her lips in silence.
Jon, in turn, turned directly to Seraphine. "Can we talk for a minute?"
The elf didn't answer immediately, but her eyes narrowed, assessing him with intensity. Finally, she nodded and opened the way to her private room.
Inside the office, the atmosphere was quieter. Shelves filled with books, vials, and crystals filled every corner. Seraphine sat in a carved wooden chair, indicating the armchair across from her desk.
Jon didn't hesitate. As soon as he settled in, he took out a notebook.
"I wanted to show you some things I've been working on. Three recipes I've refined in the last few days."
Seraphine rested her chin on her hand, observing him with that same intrigued look as before. "I'm listening."
Jon opened the notebook and turned the first page. "The first is the **Invigorating Pill**. It serves to recover physical and mental energy. Ideal for prolonged battles or intense training. It can be used once a day with no side effects."
He turned to the second page. "The second is the **Concentration Pill**. This is the one I produced just now. It helps stabilize the mind during magic training, increasing clarity and reducing mental fatigue. It's great for apprentices who get easily distracted."
Seraphine nodded, the interest visible in her eyes.
Jon then took a deep breath and turned to the last page. "But this one is the most special. The **Arcane Fusion Pill**."
He let the name hang in the air before continuing.
"This pill doubles the capacity to absorb mana from the environment for a few hours. For most mages, it means absurdly accelerating their progress. For me…" Jon paused for a moment, considering whether he should reveal so much. Finally, he gave a faint smile. "For me, it's even more useful. I have a mana core that evolves through cultivation. The greater the absorption, the greater the growth."
Upon hearing Jon mention the mana core, Seraphine stood up so abruptly that the chair scraped the floor with a dry screech. Her hands rested firmly on the desk, her eyes flashing with disbelief.
"What did you just say? Mana core? If this is some kind of joke, know that I don't tolerate that sort of thing."
The pressure in her voice made the air in the room seem denser. Jon took a deep breath, maintaining his composure. He had already calculated how far he could go.
"It's not a joke." His voice came out firm, but without arrogance. "Actually, it started with one of your lectures. When you explained about dungeon monsters and their cores, that gave me an idea. If creatures could form a crystal of condensed energy, why couldn't we try something similar?"
Seraphine's eyes narrowed, but Jon continued, molding the truth with half-lies.
"I used basic elemental theory as the foundation. First, I learned to guide my mana in an internal cycle, as if it were blood running through the veins, something we do by instinct. Gradually, I realized that the more compressed the energy became at one point, the greater the intensity I could extract. It wasn't easy, but after a long time, I managed to create a condensation in my abdomen."
Seraphine put her hand to her face, almost murmuring to herself. "That is insanely brilliant... if it's true..."
She paced in circles, her thoughts clear in every expression. Then, she turned back to Jon and narrowed her eyes. "Why are you telling me this? What is the real reason for opening up to me like this?"
Jon hesitated for an instant. *'I can't say that I need to get stronger and that others also need to strengthen themselves, because the end of the world is coming.'* That truth could never be revealed.
Instead, he let the hesitation weigh in his voice, as if he were opening a personal wound. "Because I am a commoner. I don't have the support of noble families, I have no guarantees. All that is left for me is to seek strength and allies who can believe in me. If I hide what I've discovered, I might never survive for long."
Those words would have been enough. But Jon knew he needed more. Slowly, he retrieved a piece of stained parchment from his inventory, marked with a black palm. The contract he had found among the assassin's belongings.
He placed it on the desk. "And also... because someone already tried to kill me."
Seraphine froze. Her eyes dropped to the document and fixed on the mark that no lie could fake. The black palm was an ancient and cursed symbol, known only among the most powerful and influential: the mark of the assassins' guild.
Jon watched her expression change, surprise, disbelief, and finally, a deep seriousness that weighed like lead in the room.
Inside himself, however, a smile escaped. *'That's it. She believed me.'*
His lips curved just enough to betray his satisfaction. *'I may not tell the whole truth. But if the lies give me the support I need, then I will lie without regrets.'*