“Before we go, let’s apply what you’ve learned,” I said to the apprentices. “We’re going to make a brand-new potion together. Chenzu, Milia, you two observe for now. This is going to be a master-apprentice exercise.”
I pulled a spare cauldron from my storage ring, though I did chuckle at the silly idea of creating a field kit. But it’d still be perfect for people who couldn’t afford to dish out thousands of gold for a storage ring.
The teenagers were actually excited instead of annoyed. First, we set up the area to be fire-safe. Sure, it’d take only a second for someone without superstrength to stomp out the flames. And speaking of superstrength, I couldn’t help but marvel at how easy it was to control. It was a matter of not accidentally exerting mana into your body parts, whether legs or fingers. Fortunately, it took just moments for me to adapt as the new mana settled.
If the body didn’t automatically adapt, every master magician would be a menace to society.
“We’re using only the herbs in this area, as well as the water,” I explained.
“What are we making?” Mandi asked, eyes glistening with excitement.
“The potion of the water spirits,” I told her. Milia’s eyes widened, but she didn’t say anything. While I did have some questions, I decided to leave it at that.
Opal gasped. “Sir Nate, that is…” She flew to the sideline with Milia and Chenzu. The beastkin began to play an intense tune, as if he knew this was a mystic trial.
“Alright, everyone gather a good mix of herbs,” I ordered. “I already have some, but the point is for us to work together to make this thing work in one go. I’ll be counting on you!”
“We won’t let you down!” Harmony said, her voice ecstatic and almost tinged with franticness, as if she saw the prompt herself.
A blazing fire lit in Lucas’s eyes as he joined the others in the race to gather herbs and water and everything was added neatly. In fact, Lucas even started the fire.
Mandi continued to keep up, almost making me forget she had no powers whatsoever. Okay, I will admit, a potion of the water spirits did have me incredibly intrigued. The fact that the system said it was very valuable meant either profit or benefits, though to be honest, I wanted the benefits to go to the apprentices. There was a lot in the world to learn and I’d need them, along with Milia. I also didn’t want to keep bugging my fiancée about common sense matters, even if she did somehow suspect my origins.
We didn’t just make one batch. I provided more cauldrons. For two of the four batches, we combined our mana. To keep Mandi included, I had her watch for anything off, so we’d know if we should stop. She caught six discrepancies.
When all was good, we bottled them up. The teenagers kept half, though they tried to refuse.
“This is something we made together,” I told them. “This teambuilding exercise showcases the reason why multiple hands are better than just soloing everything. Potion making will get far more complicated than what we’re doing. We just don’t have our hands on the most advanced recipes yet.”
[Step 1 completed! New Mid-tier Special Potion listing… Potion of Water Spirits.]
[Potion of Water Spirits. This potion enables you to interact with the spirits and elementals of water itself. What you choose to do with this ability is up to you. Research in this field is very valuable. Use any herb in the area. Create a sap, use the water, and 1 Greater Lurkerman’s fin.]
[Master and Apprentices Trial, step 2. Listen to their inquiries, hopes, or desires.]
I sat down on the grass, gesturing for the three teenagers to do the same. Thankfully, they were all wearing trousers, not skirts or dresses, so Lucas didn’t have to go into flustered mode. Harmony and Mandi weren’t exactly the teasing type, each focusing strongly on their goals, but teenage hormones were still teenage hormones.
“While we’re still here and not dealing with a long line of customers, I want to hear some of you out,” I said. “So talk to me. Maybe tell me what you want to accomplish in your lives, especially now that everyone has a goal in mind. Lucas, you first.”
The timid redheaded boy flinched, but soon took a deep breath and spoke his mind. “I didn’t have much ever since my parents disappeared. Master Nia took me in, taught me a little of my bloodline. I took it to heart, vowing to reconnect with my parents or learn of their fates. For now, I just hope to get strong enough to try. When I saw you risk your life to help our village… it was as if something woke up within me. If I could combine… if I could find a way to blend potion making and blacksmithing together…” He sighed. “Right now, I still have a way to go.”
I nodded. “If you have any questions or want any help with that, don’t hesitate to get me. I really like that idea. You’re just about three steps ahead of yourself. Keep it up!”
Lucas’s back straightened, pride seeming to gleam in his eyes, and he grinned. “Thank you, Sir Nate.”
“Mandi,” I said without giving the redheaded girl a chance to try to seem as small as possible.
“I hope to form a core,” she said softly, eyes briefly gazing off into the distance. Then those eyes shifted to determination, perhaps stubbornness to take her situation lying down. “I… thought I’d be stuck in a life of fake social acquaintances, a forced marriage with an Astral boy that has the personality of any unfriendly noble, or just a life of misery and uncertainty. Even I was a pretender, while secretly wishing for a better life. I don’t know what came over me to just randomly force my cousins to take a four-day journey with me here without notifying Mother. But I’m glad I listened to my intuition. Admittedly, I was drawn to this place for the wrong reasons, but that’s not important.” She blushed. “At first, I thought I’d be just fine with working at the shop, but when you showed me the book, it felt… It felt as it if was made for me. I’m unsure how to explain it. I’ve always had personal charms before Mother took them. To think I’d be given a chance to make those and even gadgets. Opal may be onto something.” She glanced around at the others and then back at me. “Even when I form my core, I want to take this as far as possible, make something that will shake the heavens. And I’ll do it without pretending to be a noble. No rudeness, no mean looks, and if I can help others without powers too, that would help make things even, just a little. Even if it all still relies on mana in the end.”
I nodded, smiling. “You’re not as powerless as you think. You kept up with the others, surpassing my expectations twice over. You’re also creative. Little marbles that blast out electricity. How did you even do that? Keep it up and I look forward to your next invention. Whether it be crazy or groundbreaking.”
Now it was Mandi’s turned to smile, though she did suspiciously wipe at her eyes. I witnessed how badly her family treated her the moment I arrived at the girl’s doorstep. She earned that feeling of joy and fast as hell too. These kids were maniacs! Maybe I did stumble into three dormant geniuses.
I turned to Harmony and her smile was radiant. Once again, it felt like hearing my little sister speak up.
“First apprentice, among the three pillars of human and half-dwarf gold,” I said, though I felt that they were more than what they led on. “What’s your goal?”
“My goal hasn’t changed since the first day I became your apprentice,” Harmony said. “The potion that gave a new alternative path in life, one that didn’t involve being a polite lady to entertain insufferable nobles that were rude to my father, but a path in which my life was in my own hands for the first time. I wasn’t a family marriage chip to connect with larger families, but a real magician capable of protecting the town when the Lord Ruler turned his back on it. Your way of doing things sort of resonated with me, and I found potion creation quite relaxing. Sure, I’m not that great at it, yet. The idea of pushing for pill making is just what I need for a second skill. It doesn’t take me from the path of a potion maker, but offers a refined alternative. Pill creation is essentially alchemy. But so is potion making, even if they’re not called the same thing due to a bloody disagreement between magic and science clans hundreds of years ago. So please… allow me to follow in your direct footsteps.”
“I wouldn’t be able to stop you even if I tried,” I said, laughing. “I look forward to seeing the unstoppable potion mistress in the future. I have a feeling I’ll be inspired by whatever you make someday.”
I completely and utterly forgot this was a trial and a pang of sadness entered me when the prompt appeared. This little chat in the middle of a dungeon turned out more fun than I thought.
Suddenly, the prompt stopped and blinked repeatedly, as if it was waiting for something. It took me less than an eyeblink to figure it out. The apprentices leaned in, sensing for the first time since they’d known me that I was about to speak of my plans without being cryptic, sarcastic, evasive, or humorous. My tone became serious and maybe a bit more passionate than I’d like when I spoke.
“You know of my obvious goal to be the best potion maker on this planet, and to have a fun and amazing marriage with Milia. I’m from a far-off land, unreachable by ordinary means. I’m still learning the ways of the kingdom, and really could learn a lot of the world just by spending time with you. Sure, I plan to explore. Exotic ingredients won’t fly into our hands, now would they? But for now, I want a peaceful life with Milia, Wolverine, Cheetara, Beakwing, and you, my apprentices. If I have to dust off the spell book to slap some sense into morons that attack us, so be it. I’m still learning this whole might makes right thing and through some annoying encounters, like the fallen angel and Andros, learned that even I’m not invincible. Still, I lived a life without involving bloodshed, and even this land will not take that away. I can only hope I’ll be a guide for you three as well.”
[Step 2 completed! You unlocked further access to Yukihara. Secret ability unlocked: You can now wield 2 spell books. It’s not impossible after all…]
[Master and Apprentices trial, step 3. Protect them!]
My eyes widened when a wall of crystal energy shot up between us and Milia, Opal, and Chenzu, blocking them out of whatever was about to happen. Suddenly, the ground cracked, and a black blob emerged from it. I tried to blast it, but my heart dropped in shock as I realized I couldn’t move. A prompt flashed into view.
[You are currently stunned. Wait for the trial…]
I noticed the others had trouble moving as well.
“What is happening, Nate?” Mandi asked, her voice almost panicked.
The blob formed into a humanoid shape and then glowed as brightly as a lightbulb. A moment later, a heavenly muscled man with a lion mask stood in front of me, grasping a golden sword. Glowing golden eyes lit up the eye sockets of his mask. He wore golden chainmail armor with matching boots. Along his arms were gold tattoos that depicted shit I would probably never understand without undergoing some heavy scholarly drilling.
[Enemy analysis.]
Disrupter, the Trial of Master and Apprentice Warrior.
??? rank: blocked by the heavens. Limiter detected on the heavenly messenger…
[Step 3, begin!]
The ability to move returned to me, but the apprentices were still frozen.
“It’s a trial of the dungeon,” I told them. “He’s called Disrupter, a heavenly messenger. I’ll have to take down this guy and you’ll be able to move.”
“Good luck, Sir Nate!” Chenzu said. “Give him a kick in the jewels for me.”
Snorting, I downed one of my shadow potions. “Collapse. Come forth, Yukihara.” Disrupter waited, staring and allowing me to make the first move. “There needs to be a faster way to summon you.”
Yukihara folded her arms, glaring at me. “Well, excuuuuse me. Perhaps start searching for materials to upgrade… Oh! What’s this? A new page. I’ll activate it.”
“He’s quite kind, waiting on you,” Opal said. Fortunately, she didn’t jinx us.
[You can now use Blood Lightning Cage. Trap your enemies, prevent them from escaping!]
“Blood Lightning Cage,” I said. “This takes me back. Feels like it was just yesterday.”
Yukihara sighed before returning her focus to the enemy ahead.
Now, I wasn’t under the naïve illusion that I’d be able to beat a fucking heavenly messenger fast, so I decided to test him instead. Aiming a palm in his direction, I fired a blast of Blood Lightning.
“First move has been made, I will allow no more preparations,” Disrupter said, sidestepping the Blood Lightning. Truthfully, I expected him to slap that shit aside like it was nothing, but apparently he didn’t enjoy the idea of allowing it to touch him.
He appeared in front of me in an instant and I did everything I could to dodge the blurring sword slash. I still ended up with a long cut across my arm, which hurt like hell, but nothing a quick potion sip couldn’t fix.
Allowing mana to flow through my limbs, I delivered a punch into Disrupter’s gut, only to encounter solid steel. Seeing the problem here, I blurred to his side, dodging the sword. Unfortunately, he had an open palm waiting for me. The golden beam of magic missed as I slipped into the shadows.
Another open palm waited for me and this time, I couldn’t dodge, slightly delayed. I fired a Dragon Magic Burst against the golden magic instead, not willing to take what could be crippling damage. The clash ended with an explosion and a shockwave that threw me against the wall of the entrance to the next floor. I created a nice, painful crater and my shoulder felt like lava.
“Is there no way to settle a trial without fighting? My back’s going to give out if I keep getting slammed into things,” I said to the heavens or whoever the hell was monitoring this. Wasn’t Wanda supposed to be for peace, being a goddess? What the hell? But of course I knew damn well that in this world, the divine figures were likely supportive of the might makes right philosophy. Because why wouldn’t they, the assholes. I’m looking at you especially, System. Or was it Wanda?
No answer came from the heavens as I stood and fired a Blood Lightning blast. I tried to activate the Blood Lightning Cage but realized I simply didn’t have the mana for it. It required an unreasonable amount… I missed the requirements by five percent. Or that’s what I felt.
“Not the most useful skill, Yukihara,” I said, voice in a deadpan.
This time, Disrupter did slap my magic to the side as if it was nothing more than a nuisance. He raised a hand into the air. The feeling of danger blasted into my senses. I tried to slip into the shadows, but something prevented me from doing so.
Sensing the magic coming from above, I tried to run, but it was too late. Gold coated me briefly, bashing me to the ground. I found myself yelling in pain and all sounds briefly tuned out as the frying commenced. I honestly wanted the heavens to just put me out of my damn misery. I was simply no match for even one of their messengers.
“This is your resolve? How disappointing, especially for a divine master magician. Maybe you really weren’t forged in the heavens, earthling. I shall commence to killing the apprentices as payment for wasting my time. Your strategies were fine, but weak attacks will be the death of these small fry.”
I forced myself to stand and caught the glimpse of raw terror on their faces as the heavenly messenger approached them, his sword glowing. He could honestly kill them with his pressure if he got too close.
All three of them looked at me, eyes hardened and filled with anticipation and belief. The despair, in fact, vanished the moment I stood. Even when faced with an impossible opponent, they believed I’d… save them.
Mist began to pour from my mouth.
The man before them seemed impossibly strong and the moment he declared the deaths of Lucas and the others, raw fear coursed through the boy’s veins. He believed in Master Nate, but he was just one man and couldn’t be everywhere at once. Or so he thought.
Nate began to break the world around him as his red aura erupted into existence, mist pouring from his mouth endlessly. His eyes, his eyes began to glow a frightening red. But the glow quickly vanished.
Replacing it was the feeling of Nate’s pressure coating the entirety of the area. It didn’t end there. He pulled out the potion that incapacitated him for a week and downed it without hesitation, adding a power on top of his power. Then a strange transformation came, and Lucas couldn’t believe what he witnessed. A divine dragon walking in the form of a man.
Hair of golden flames with bat-like wings and a dragon’s tail behind him.
“Did… Nate change into a god?” Lucas whispered. He doubted that was actually correct, but the pressure.
So this was what they missed.
Lucas had never felt so humbled in his life. Nate was willing to incapacitate himself if it meant saving them. It made Lucas wonder if he even earned such respect and protection.
Nate suddenly vanished and reappeared in front of the heavenly messenger.
Disrupter gazed into his eyes and then, to Lucas’s astonishment, he dropped his weapon and bowed.
“The heavens is pleased with your resolve,” Disrupter said. “You have passed the third trial.”
Lucas felt control of his body slowly return to him.
“But it is not over yet.”
Disrupter raised a hand. Suddenly, Nate’s transformation winked out. He dropped to a knee, panting, but still conscious. Barely.
“Now it is time for the final trial,” the heavenly messenger continued. “It is time for them to protect you.”
Disrupter leapt back to his original starting spot. Full control returned to his body and with the other two apprentices, Lucas ran to Nate’s side. Harmony tried to feed him a potion, but she was rebuffed by an invisible force.
“Defend your master or he’ll die,” Disrupter said. “He’d defy reality itself if it means protecting you. But will you do the same? Defend yourselves!”
Lucas unsheathed his sword and cycled his fire mana, eyes burning with rage. Harmony did the same. Mandi prepared a slew of gadget balls and also had her sword at the ready.
