[Do you trust your apprentices?]
I wasn’t expecting the heavenly messenger to snuff out my dragon magician state like a birthday candle. Despite advancing, it still provided a level of strain on my body that should’ve knocked me out. But Disrupter lived true to his name, disrupting both the potion, its effects and consequences, deleting all of that entirely. However, it still left me in a wrung-out state, to the point that I strained to maintain a brave face. The pain was excruciating, but I still could move, so I pulled out as many potion vials as possible, including the special variants that I never shared and rolled them to the surprised apprentices. Thankfully, labeling my potions was paying off, making it impossible for the apprentices to get confused. They’d seen me use at least most of them, so I trusted them to follow their guts. I did, after all. These were considered low-level, max quality potions and very easy to utilize.
“Remember, don’t take more than your body can handle,” I said. “Even I top out at three before I start feeling sick. These are my greatest creations. You can have them. But…” I winced at a wave of pain that threatened to collapse me like a giant pile of cards. It made me question just what the hell I was doing with my life. I only came to get ingredients to make potions. However, I also didn’t come here to whine. If there was one thing I hated more than anything, it was whining about something that couldn’t be helped. My sister back at home would actually smack me on the back of the head for such a thing.
Slapping away the thought that reminded me to keep my cool, I continued. “Follow my instructions for certain potions. He’s about to test you, but don’t try to be a hero. Whatever cultivation they do in the heavens is something beyond my understanding.”
I could tell Milia, Chenzu, and Opal were trying to break through the barrier, perhaps tell us something, but not only was the clear dome impenetrable, it was apparently soundproof too. I couldn’t risk taking my eyes off what was probably Wanda’s lacky.
Suddenly, Disrupter began to conjure up flames, right after the apprentices finished picking up the potions, making sure they each had an equal amount of what I gave them. They also didn’t take their eyes off the terrifyingly powerful and hulking existence. And the power of these flames, holy shit, they felt as if they could wipe out a million-man army in an instant.
“Drink the potion labeled Flame, now!” I commanded. There was no barrier around me, but it’d take more than one attack before I allowed myself to die. I’d even try to take the bastard with me somehow.
It was then that I realized that the God Flame potion felt perfect for Lucas, a fire-attuned magician. This trial… I wasn’t sure, but it may have forced me to stop thinking about myself, especially when it came to special potions. If they were going to be my apprentices, they’d have to take after my fighting style too. Harmony tried to imitate it, but I failed to give her guidance, so she tried to go about it blindly. “The potion will protect you from all fires, solar magic, and even magma. You will also have full control of fire, so Lucas, it’s up to you. What can you do with the power of the God Flame?”
Lucas’s eyes widened, getting my implications. He stepped ahead of the other two after downing the potion’s contents. All three seemed surprised at the uncomfortably strong spiced meat flavor. The heavenly messenger had no fucks to give, allowing them to drink, as he thrust both palms over and unleashed fucking golden flames.
I got in a lotus position, closing my eyes, though it was impossible to assemble a little peaceful meditation. They weren’t little kids, but I was sure their families wouldn’t be too happy if I allowed them to die while in my care. The heavenly messenger was just one crazy strong guy out there in the universe. But I found it difficult to believe that the attention of the heavens was that focused on me, right?
The flames that were supposed to incinerate me were upon Lucas almost in an instant, but the half-dwarf didn’t so much as flinch. Eyes determined, he grunted, pushing the overwhelming power back.
I grew worried when it brought him to a knee. Harmony and Mandi, however, didn’t just stand around.
Mandi was the first to act, tossing a handful of electric marbles at the Disrupter’s feet. Electricity shot upward, delivering current that unfortunately did jack shit to him. He didn’t so much as acknowledge the gadgets. Eventually the current subsided, the mana used up.
Harmony, on the other hand, vanished, reappearing just a few meters to the side of the armored man. I could hardly see her through the continuous flames, but she appeared to be pouring something on the ground.
Oh fuck, did I accidentally give her the…?
Aku exploded into existence, and I couldn’t help but gape. I may have shown a summoning once, but she took that memory to heart. The dragon was less than half the size I preferred to summon it at. It took the dragon less than a second to assess the situation.
Harmony stepped out of the way as power gathered in the creature’s maw. A moment later, it unleashed a beam of bright golden energy and it smashed into the heavenly messenger hard enough to fling him backward. Unfortunately, he shrugged that shit off, standing back up like a goddamn terminator.
But…
His eyes widened at the golden blade sticking out of his gut. Mandi hurried out of the way before he could fall backward to crush her.
Fuck, even I didn’t see this plan coming. I kept my attention on the deadly gaze of the messenger as to keep any attention off her. She drank the potion of masking to hide her presence, grabbed the sword the Disrupter dropped earlier, and then slipped into the shadows.
Brilliance! What the hell kind of sword was that to be able to pierce the steel skin? I wondered if even the Disrupter thought much of it, believing the kids to be nothing more than a distraction that he allowed to live in order to observe.
Energy suddenly returned to me and right before everyone’s eyes, I healed completely. Rather than feel like a wet napkin that had been squeezed for every drop of a liquid, I felt refreshed.
We watched the messenger burst into motes of golden light. Seconds later, a radiant gold chest half the size of a small shed appeared. The barriers vanished.
“You have overcome the trial, exceeding the expectations of the heavens, even with the very real threat of death bearing its fangs at you,” boomed the voice of the messenger. “Meditate and ponder this event, for the secret trial may be over, but will forever pulse through your hearts. Chaos is the opposite of Peace. You who took peace by force, must learn to resist chaos in order to keep it.”
[Congratulations, you have completed the Master and Apprentice trial! Reward with bonus added due to outstanding performance: 20,000 spirit coins.]
[You have gained the ability Potion Maker’s Insight (low). Grab any object and you may see the potential potion paths. You will need to manually cultivate high-grade earth or forest mana to increase its capabilities.]
[You can now increase your class rank. To do so, create 1 complex potion. Potion of Minor Luck. New listing… Potion of Minor Luck.]
[You are now F-ranked heavenly attuned.]
[Your apprentices have been granted the Potion Maker’s Apprentice class. Impossible, becoming reality. Their potions will now be average or higher quality, instead of low quality.]
So much to take in.
My eyes widened at the rewards, but decided I’d go over my gains later. If I wasn’t mistaken, with the insight, I no longer had to blindly guess the ingredients for a potion. It should show me the possibilities. From there, I’d have to essentially narrow things down until I found something interesting to attempt to make.
“A guidance system,” I whispered, feeling like a kid on Christmas morning.
Almost one. As for the complex potion, I figured it would be something that involved more than just tossing things into a cauldron and calling it a day. About damn time. This meant the value of my potions was going to significantly increase soon. Assuming I acquired higher ranked recipes.
With Kyushu getting its own adventurer’s den, I’d have people to sell to, as well. Soon, everything I envisioned for the town and its upgrades would be coming together.
“Are you okay, Nate?” Milia asked, snapping me out of my revelry.
“Yeah,” I said. “Even I didn’t expect the dungeon to toss us into a trial. Is anyone even in the mood to clear the boss?”
Everyone stared at me, eyes full of concern. I cleared my throat and with just a small bit of aura, reminded them that there were more important things to be concerned about. Such as loot. I didn’t expect much coming into this dungeon, but once again, I found myself facing off against a heavenly opponent. Although, I wasn’t exactly sure if the fallen angel counted. She was akin to a monster in comparison to the man in the gold armor.
I nodded at the teenagers to take their deserved first picks of the loot and then turned to Milia and Chenzu.
“Would you two like to add any goals?” I asked, smiling at them.
Chenzu chuckled. “Let that moment remain between the master and his apprentices.”
“Agreed. Besides, I’d rather wait until my family arrives,” Milia said, though she didn’t further elaborate. It was still worth a shot, though we’d already talked a lot about ourselves during family time. The dryad’s reveal wasn’t bad, not with that radiant smile present, but it was important.
Inside the large chest were all kinds of things; however, what caught my attention was just how orderly things were. And on top of that, they were creepily labeled by name. No wonder why the teenagers weren’t arguing or engaging in trade wars. So much for the ‘don’t fight over materials’ mini-speech my brain began to conjure up.
There was a lane for each of us, including Milia and Chenzu, though unsurprisingly, they had the least amount of things, while the teenagers were awarded the most, even more than me. In fairness, I could already tell everything I received was of higher rarity or ranking. The only reason why my apprentices weren’t glaring enviously at me was because they were too distracted with their piles. Mandi especially with a pile a head taller than Harmony and Lucas’s, probably extra goodies for getting the kill.
“Big Brother Woofy!”
Wolverine leapt from the rooftop, after watching the rolly-rolly and the fox for a good while. While observing the newcomers, he spent the time wondering why he held back on Mudwater. The answer came to him almost instantly. He didn’t want to reveal all of his secrets to the enemy. So the dagger remained in his spiritual holding place, ready to use during any perceived emergency.
“What is it, Disciple Cheetara?” Wolverine asked, curious.
He saw the kitten stirring a stick in her water bowl. Wolverine tilted his head.
“Look, I’m Father,” the kitten said, giggling.
Wolverine chuckled. “A potion making cat. Now that will be interesting, right Sir Bright?”
The magical turkey-like creature nodded twice. “Do you not detect it?”
Wolverine’s eyes widened as he looked down at what appeared to be water. The cheerful kitten, loving the attention, stirred in a more performative, dramatic manner.
“Viola!” Cheetara cheered.
Wolverine, Sir Bright, and even Lady Feathers turned to look at the bowl. It flickered with light and magic briefly, which puzzled the sunlight wolf. How did Cheetara infuse her mana into the water? He didn’t even know such a thing was possible. Could she use water as a weapon?
“Cheetara, new training idea,” Wolverine said.
As we traveled back home on Beakwing, I examined my stats and gains. Surprisingly, I didn’t advance another realm, indicating a potential magical bottleneck. A bottleneck in the sense that no matter how much mana I pulled in, I couldn’t break through to the next realm, maybe without the help of a spiritual treasure or a powerful revelation through my Dao.
And speaking of the Dao, I’d use it during the creation of the potion of minor luck. Though a part of me felt a little nervous. I hesitated to use it these days out of fear of accidentally summoning a creature that could destroy my house or attack the others. I needed to gain true control over it, master and understand just what a Dao was. In the old world, it’d be something related to Buddhism. But in Mondra, it likely had some differences, not that I’d understand. I certainly wasn’t a Buddhist in the old world.
The third class still hadn’t shown itself. What would it take to just get this over with already?
Nate Sullivan
Class: Potion Maker. Secondary class: **Divine Master Magician** Third class: Unknown.
Magician rank: 12th realm of the Lesser Dragon.
Class rank: Established.
Ability: Can make up to SSS and divine-grade potions.
Power: Crushing Strong.
Defense: Emboldened Steel.
Dao of Creation. Rank: Divine. Stage: Awakened. This is a middle stage.
Physique rank: D.
Primary quest: Purpose. Progression: 11%.
Shop Rank: E.
Heavenly attunement rank: F.
Abilities:
-Super Skill: Ultimate Identifier. [Ability to identify everything, including its quality, ranks, people, so on.]
-Dragon Magic Burst. (Evolution of Supreme Magic Bolt.)
-Potion Maker’s Insight (low).
Spell book- D rank. Yukihara.
-Blood Lightning.
-Blood Lightning Cage. Trap your enemies, prevent them from escaping! [Requires a large amount of mana.]
Secret Abilities:
Domain Claiming.
Double spell books.
Blood lightning tempered.
Potions Unlocked:
[Current self-use potions: Health, Energy, General Medicine, Speed booster, Sleeping, Clarity, Minor Luck.]
[Special potions: Night Vision, *Mana Core, Water Breathing, Masking, Eagle Sight, Shadow, God Flame, Summoning, Blood Lightning.]
[Mid-tier Special potions: Water Spirits.]
[Utility potions: Lighting.]
[Misc potions: Flavors.]
[*Grand-tiered potions: Storms.]
Other:
[Heaven’s Tears. Item grade: SSS. Item quality: Extraordinary. Effect: Rapidly heals and also repairs damaged mana channels within the body.]
Spirit coins: 23,451
There was a lot to take in, from the heavenly attunement that the system didn’t bother to explain to the double spell books.
“Wait, so you’re only able to use one spell book?” I asked, gaining everyone’s stares.
Opal tilted her head. “Isn’t that common knowledge? Sir Nate, I didn’t take you for the unknowing type. You can only equip one spell book at a time. There’s no way your body can handle the strain of double mana pools. It’d be like being crushed by two oceans.”
I sighed. “Apparently under special circumstances, a person can, in fact, wield two. Or at least I can.”
“Yeah right, you’re such a jester, Sir Funny Nate. Sir FunNate.” Opal folded her arms, expression smug.
“You know, it wouldn’t surprise me to see you do the impossible,” Chenzu said. “Go ahead and make me more envious of your abilities, will ya. I’m still waiting for Wanda to give me booze-based powers.”
Milia shot him a flat stare. “There isn’t anything stopping you from training after the morning chores.”
“Wanda’s spinning bottom, what do I look like, woman, a workhorse? You know what’s stopping me from training after the farm work in the mornings, noon, and evening? A social life,” Chenzu said. “Who’s going to make the tavern lively if I’m meditating all the time?”
“Just do it at least once a week,” Milia said, facepalming softly.
I laughed. I couldn’t help but wonder what did the beastkin do to basically gain Milia’s permanent ire. The teenagers told me it had something to do with a song somewhat offensive to nature, involving a wolf taking a leak. But there had to be more. Hopefully her aura didn’t start infusing with killing intent. It happened only once, briefly, after a terrible pun that Opal found funny.
“Anyway, the best way to prove my point is to show you,” I said. “As soon as I get my hands on another spell book.”
“Are you going to the capital to purchase one?” Chenzu asked.
“Is the capital really the only place that sells them?” I said, shaking my head. “The twerp did mention that E-ranked books are the highest they sell and that nobles horde and sell them at exorbitant prices.”
“Also, there is a good chance that purchasing a spell book from the capital could result in grabbing the attention of a kingdom official for recruitment,” Milia said.
“Or a high-tier noble interested in enslaving you to his guard. Or worse, forcing you to marry one of his daughters,” Chenzu said.
I almost commented on the forced marriage thing, before I remembered that this world was either in the Edo period or even around the steampunk age. Then again, it was difficult to know for sure with it literally being a different planet or dimension. Instead, I continued speaking.
“Anyway, I may be able to use two spell books,” I said. “Just trust me on this.”
“I’ve never heard of such a thing, even from a master magician that shows up in a rare battle,” Milia said. “Are you sure?”
“Pfft, Sir Nate’s just a jester,” Opal said, lazily laying backward on Mandi’s head. “You should be careful when it comes to overconfidence. I don’t want anything bad to happen to you.”
I sighed. “I figured this would be something I’d have to prove. I wonder how Yukihara will feel getting a roommate.”
“So… don’t hold back on us,” Milia said. “What’s your new potion insight? You always seem to get them during stressful events, like in the dungeons, right?”
“Did you get what you’re looking for?” I asked.
Milia’s grin and nod confirmed the yes. I smiled back, happy for her. And elated that we didn’t have to gamble on the fallen angel. For fuck’s sake, I received a whopping twenty-thousand spirit coins. Sure, it wouldn’t get me the really good stuff, but my hands itched to spend them. I resolved myself to save as much as possible.
We wouldn’t be able to form an awesome shop if I spent too irresponsibly. Hopefully after obtaining the D-rank, we’d get guidance on upgrading into the C-ranks. From there, even I knew things would get far more difficult. But with adventurers as paying customers, things should be fine. Assuming we could rank up the town first.
“Other than the water spirit potion,” I said, which made me think about Cheetara for some reason. “I gained the potion of minor luck. I plan to combine it with an ability to boost its effect.”
Chenzu and Milia gaped at me.
“Minor luck… one of the most sought-after potions, even in the Astral Empire,” Chenzu said. “And you… you received the recipe from an insight. Wanda’s jiggles. The heavens really are cheating for you.”
“It’s supposed to be quite the complex potion and only one potion maker pulled it off after seven months,” Milia said. “Wanda, rest his soul. He was killed by the Midnight Dragon.”
“I hate to say it, but that doesn’t sound very lucky,” Opal said. Mandi bonked the pixie with a finger.
My thoughts briefly returned to Cheetara. Wolverine would protect her. I had full confidence in my best buddy. Even the weird elicrone loved her. The kitten was adorable, after all.
