After breakfast, Kai left the Candy Complex and headed toward his workplace—the Honey Pill Shop.
After more than half an hour of walking, Kai arrived at his destination.
Entering the shop, Kai took today's brewing list from Miya and headed toward his Alchemy Room.
[Brewing List]
Name: Kai
Date: Year 0, Month 4, Day 19
Task: 10 Recovery Potions]
"If this is a joke, it's not funny." At first, Kai didn't believe what he saw. He looked at the list two more times to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him.
However, no matter how many times he looked, the number of Recovery Potions didn't change.
"I have to undergo my third Heavenly Trial as soon as possible." Taking a deep breath, Kai calmed himself and began working on the Recovery Potions.
Recovery Potion is a downgraded version of Healing Potion. Since a Healing Potion requires the essence of many herbs, a person without a certain level of mastery in [Herb Weaving] struggles to make it.
Thus, the Recovery Potion was invented—something even Apprentice Alchemists can refine.
Even though the Recovery Potion is simplified compared to the Healing Potion, it still requires the essence of Ki Root and Gleaming Grass, which takes a lot of time to extract.
First, Kai started by extracting the essence of Ki Root. For one Recovery Potion, the essence of two Ki Roots is needed. So, Kai needed to extract the essence of 20 Ki Roots.
Placing the furnace on the fire stones, Kai activated both his Gifts: [Clear Mind] and [Heightened Senses].
"Fire Control!"
After preheating the furnace, Kai tossed in four Ki Roots and increased the output of the Fire Stones to maximum.
Skillfully controlling the heat, Kai successfully extracted the essence from all four Ki Roots in half an hour. Cleaning the furnace with a clean cloth, he began extracting the essence from the next four Ki Roots.
Half an hour later, Kai once again cleaned the furnace with a dry cloth and started extracting the essence of Gleaming Grass.
After weighing the Gleaming Grass, Kai placed 200 grams into the furnace and began the extraction process.
Once the first batch was done, Kai extracted the essence from a second batch of 200 grams of Gleaming Grass.
With enough essence of both Ki Root and Gleaming Grass on hand, Kai put away the furnace for now and took out a pot.
Unlike the large pot he uses for brewing Essence Boost and Strength Potions, this one was much smaller.
Both Essence Boost and Strength Potions require Moon Essence. However, Moon Essence is far too precious to waste on Grade 1 potions.
So, a clever alchemist once came up with a brilliant idea: leave a large quantity of regular water under the full moon for six hours, and it will turn into Moon Water—water that contains a trace amount of Moon Essence.
Because Moon Water contains so little Moon Essence, more than 3 liters of it are needed to make a single Essence Boost Potion, Strength Potion, or any low-grade potion that requires Moon Essence.
"Let's see."
After placing the pot on the Fire Stones, Kai took out a book and looked up the exact amount of each ingredient required for a Recovery Potion.
Once he was sure he had the portions correct, Kai began brewing the potion.
First, he poured 400 ml of Moonflower Nectar into the pot. Shortly after, he added all the Gleaming Grass Essence he had extracted and began mixing.
As the mixture began to turn a pale green, Kai added the essence of Ki Roots and continued stirring.
Half an hour later, he slowly started adding Crystal Dew, one drop at a time.
After adding 16 drops of Crystal Dew, Kai gently continued mixing until the Recovery Potion was finally ready.
Recognizing the potion's completion, Kai turned off the Fire Stones and allowed the mixture to cool.
After letting it rest for 20 minutes, Kai filled glass potion vials with the finished Recovery Potion.
[Recovery Potion]
Grade: Low
Effects: Speeds up the recovery of lost Ki, stamina, and minor injuries.
Description: A simple yet effective potion that accelerates healing and replenishes lost Ki.]
After checking all four potions, Kai started working on the second batch. Around three hours later, he completed the second batch of four Recovery Potions and began working on the third batch.
"Hey, didn't I tell you to be out by 5?" Miya barged in just as Kai was resting after finishing the final batch of Recovery Potion.
"I'm done. I just need to fill these vials," Kai replied, showing Miya the pot full of Recovery Potion and the empty vials in his hand.
Seeing this, Miya left without saying anything.
Once she was gone, Kai filled the vials with the Recovery Potion and checked each one. Afterward, he cleaned everything and made a list of all the herbs and ingredients he had used before leaving the Alchemy Room.
"Why don't you just sign a Tier 2 Contract? Not only will you receive a Knowledge Sea Awakening Pill, but you also won't have to worry about the upcoming war," Miya suggested as Kai handed over the Recovery Potions.
Although it sounded like Miya was merely advising the human named Kai, in truth, she was trying to trap whoever might be possessing the human's body.
If the human's thoughts showed even the slightest shift, she could confirm her suspicion and convince her cousin as well.
"No thanks," Kai refused without hesitation.
If it had been earlier, he might have considered Miya's offer. But now, he had obtained the D-Rank Gift [Ki Control], which allowed him to perform [Herb Weaving] without needing Soul Power.
It would be foolish for him to sign the Tier 2 Contract now—just for a Knowledge Sea Awakening Pill that he could easily obtain after becoming a Rank 3 or 4 Alchemist.
"It's your loss."
Seeing that the human's attitude didn't change at all, Miya—for the first time—began to doubt whether Kai was actually possessed or not.
After all, signing a Tier 2 Contract not only guaranteed his survival, but also gave him an opportunity to quickly recover from any injuries.
"Your employee card."
After checking everything, Miya asked for Kai's employee card and added his new Honey Points.
Looking at the card, she noticed there were no points left on it.
After checking the logs, she discovered that the human had exchanged his points for a Grade 4 Healing Potion.
Seeing this, Miya didn't say anything, simply added today's Honey Points and returned the card.
"Thanks," Kai said, taking back the card and leaving the Honey Pill Shop.
After leaving the shop, Kai headed toward Kato Bakery.
"Uncle, four strawberry muffins," he said as he walked in after a few minutes of walking.
"Kai! Where've you been these past few days?"
Hearing Kai's voice, Alex, who was working in the back, came out to greet him.
"Since the Monster Tide started, the owner's been giving me nothing but potions to make. After work, I barely have any time. Even today, I just got off," Kai replied, greeting Alex and paying for the muffins.