Some of them began to… sniffle, tear up. I didn’t relent.
“No, no. There simply isn’t enough to go around,” I said. “It’s time you lot learn something called manners. Showing up to someone’s dinner uninvited by the host will not suddenly get things catered to you.”
My lecture about basic human manners went on and on, as if they were children. Strangely enough… they were actually listening, some nodding or grunting in agreement. None so much as glanced at the flower nymph. Some of them had guilt in their eyes.
I noticed the apprentices peeking outside from the shop. They were most definitely wondering what the fuck was going on.
“Now scram! Or I’ll let the Axem’s aura rush back in. Not you, Muiy.”
The massive crowd hurried off and right as Milia was emerging from the forest, eyes giving them a skeptical glare before it settled on the now-terrified flower nymph. I sighed.
“Have you lost your mind?” I asked, shaking my head. “Or were you going to magically manifest all of the gallons of ingredients needed to make that many pies?”
“I didn’t tell anyone!” Muiy cried. “One of the fairies followed me, heard me singing about blueberries and pie when I planted for the night. She went around, running her big mouth.”
“Uh-huh,” I said, voice skeptical.
Milia sighed. “That’s why I urged her not to tell any more. The residents are sometimes easily excitable. They have no idea what a blueberry pie is, and emerged out of curiosity. Well, I’m sure some wanted an excuse to look at you up close.”
“Ah,” I said. “Let’s just hope they take the lesson of manners to heart.” I lowered my voice to a conspiratorial whisper to Milia. “She plants herself? Do I even want to know?”
“She can morph into a flower form during dormancy,” she whispered back. “It’s their version of cultivating mana.”
“Interesting,” I said. “The more you know.”
It was obvious that dryads didn’t do the same thing, despite having the ability to travel through trees. Flower nymphs weren’t divine beings and, in this forest, Milia was the authority figure. The guardian. “Anyway, we’ll let them try it someday. When I have the help, the ingredients, and won’t go bankrupt.”
I entered the shop. “What part of a day off do you not understand? I said make the batches for the trip and then you’re free to go.”
“We were bored,” Harmony said, laid back in a chair. She had a pill making book in her lap.
Outside revealed a somewhat cool, cloudy, and slightly windy day. A perfect day for training.
“Howie’s coming over later,” Mandi said as she etched symbols into a CD-sized wooden disc. “I hope you don’t mind if he has some pie.”
“I’d better get to the forge,” Lucas said. “Thanks for shooing away the crowd. Some of them had magic… effects that did things to my creations. It’s actually the reason why I’m in here.”
“Well, I’m sorry my crafting isn’t entertaining enough,” Mandi said to him.
“For the last time, that’s not what I meant,” Lucas argued back softly. “Forging and gadget making are vastly different. I’m not skilled enough to just look at whatever… gadget you’re working on and spawn up something out of thin air.”
“They’re still going on about that,” Alexander said. “Neither willing to compromise, not even a little.”
“Since you’re all here, bright and excited, it’s time for some training,” I announced, grinning at their collective groan. “Don’t look at me like that, I gave you the day off and you didn’t want it. Be outside in about half an hour.”
I washed my hands before starting the pies. Remembering I had disciples now, I decided to make two extras, reaching the max capacity of the oven.
Afterward, I headed into the lab to see if I could upgrade anything.
[F-ranked Spiritual Room. Item rank: AAA. Item value: Extraordinary. Meditation in this room will greatly boost all Daos or connect those lacking a Dao. At F-rank, mana cultivation is increased by 5%. Chance for enlightenment at F-rank increases to 1%. Upgrade for increased boosts, enhanced, or added features. Upgrade price: 150,000 spirit coins and 1 angel summoning potion. Good luck with that!]
The price range was far out of my reach, but the potion, I had a solution for it.
System, what are the ingredients to make an angel summoning potion as listed on the F-rank spiritual room upgrade?
The thought was probably pushing it and I almost gave up on the idea of the system replying to me, but the prompt appeared. I regretted it immediately.
[The angel summoning potion is a complex potion consisting of the following ingredients. 1. Ultra-condensed holy water. 2. A-ranked wind mana-infused spiritual herbs. 3. A-ranked light mana-infused spiritual herbs. 4. 1 blessed potion of any kind. 5. Fairy dust. Make sure to have two sets of this.
You’ll need to utilize the following gates: 1. Gate of the Heavens. 2. Gate of Flight. 3. Gate of Purity. Form symbols one and two with all of them.
First, form an alchemist diagram circle, choosing the light element as a base. From there, attune it with the divine, wind, and purity attributes. Placing corresponding attuned items mentioned above on the slots of the circle should do the trick. Here, you will form the first gate. Gate of the Heavens.
Second, add some of the wind-infused spiritual herbs into a cup of the holy water. Direct your mana carefully as you create the symbol. Keep the wind herbs stabilized too. After a bit, you should have easily formed the second gate, Gate of Flight.
Third, mix one of each of your remaining ingredients of set one into the blessed potion. Have the new liquid float into the air and mix with the mana that’s forming symbols one and two. The symbols will change to a red color. Then the gate will appear. The Gate of Purity. From there, the symbols will change to gold.
With the gates opened, now is the time to place your cauldron on top of the circle. Fill it with purified water and bring that to a simmer. Direct the gold symbol from the Gate of Purity to float above your cauldron. It will leak at least two drops of angel essence. From here, mix all of set two’s ingredients into the cauldron. Let that simmer for thirteen hours. A magic cauldron will automatically keep time for you. It is recommended to open the Gate of Maintenance to keep everything orderly while you are asleep or away.
After the simmering is done, add in any mana source. The purer, the better. Also you may add in B-ranked or higher herbs, and 2 C-ranked or higher spiritual herbs. Let this simmer for 2-5 hours.
The last step will be to push the symbols into the alchemist circle and form the final gate. The Gate of Mana. When formed, the gate will infuse itself into your ingredients and create the potion. It will also cool it down for you to bottle immediately.]
[System advice. All complex-level potions end with the Gate of Mana.]
[New listing! Potion of Angel Summoning.]
“Okay, System, seriously,” I said, head aching. In fairness, following the instructions of any decent guide should help. This level of potion simply wasn’t for chumps who wanted everything to be easy.
And if I could master it, maybe I’d be able to afford more than just that special sewing machine for Milia. With the spirit coins gained, I’d buy that mountain and the airship. The airship would mostly be for the townspeople.
Maybe I’d be able to awaken some new talented crafters. That or Kyushu could be known as the blessed town or the place of peace. Assuming the light element worked that way.
I glanced at the brochure’s description, one of the most valuable items on the planet, and my ticket to finding these ingredients.
[Special Ingredient Brochure. Item rank: S. Item quality: Excellent. Looking for a specific ingredient? Tell the brochure. It will reveal to you and your party the nearest location and route.]
Gone were the days of blindly searching and begging the dungeon to give me any major ingredient I needed. Well, I would still beg for ingredients, but the brochure made it so that searching in the wild was actually possible.
Sensing the approach of the disciples, I put away my chemistry set and headed outside. Milia was already staying near the kitchen to watch over the pies, an excited Muiy at her table. Cheetara sat on her shoulders.
Wolverine was lined up with the disciples. I smiled at the goodest of boys.
“We don’t know what we’ll be facing out there on the trip to the city, other than a dungeon or two,” I said.
The disciples bowed to me, despite my orders the prior day not to do that. I glared at them. Ronica smiled sheepishly.
“We forgot,” she said. “We’re new to actually having a master, you know.”
“You should give them a break,” Mandi said. “Let them treat you with the respect you deserve.”
I started to say what respect, but Harmony interrupted me.
“And don’t try to be modest,” she said. “We’re all thankful for what you’ve done for us and in such a short time frame.”
I sighed, knowing it was pointless to argue with the stubborn teenager. “Everyone line up, it’s time to get started.”
I took out my alchemist’s wand and gave it a twirl. “Milia hid a potion in the forest, out in the open somewhere. Your job will be to retrieve it. While doing that, you’ll have to defend yourself. First one to find it will gain contribution points and receive any potion you’ve seen me use. The potion will be free of charge.”
“Defend…? Wait, what do you mean, defend yourself?” Mandi asked.
“Milia… asked the earth to do her a favor,” I said, smiling. Ronica narrowed her gaze. Iris, on the other hand, looked surprisingly motivated. She made eye contact with Kelvin.
“You shouldn’t give me the eye of challenge,” she said to him, voice playful. “I do not plan to lose.” She did some kind of gesture that clearly meant “You’re going down!”
Kelvin laughed. “Remember when we lost to a girl with no powers?”
Mandi nearly missed a step. Harmony laughed.
“Oh yeah, no attacking each other,” I continued. “You’ll need your focus. After all, Wolverine and I will be… a bit meaner today.”
Wolverine barked twice. Chenzu, walking up from the path with a bag, cackled, and sat in a chair nearby, eager to watch the fun.
“You’re going to attack us?” Mandi asked, horrified.
“No, not exactly,” I said, laughing. “But we will be making your race significantly more difficult. For everyone’s safety, the forest will not let you go past a certain point. We still have an Axem problem to eventually deal with.”
Wolverine and I leapt to the top of the guard tower as the trainees prepared to run. “Oh, by the way, Mandi, you’re free to fly. Whether it helps or not to find a tiny potion, you’re training for that reason.”
“What!?” the others exclaimed, but it was too late.
“Go!”
Mandi took off into the air ahead of the others. However, as expected, Harmony consumed a speed boosting potion and soon vanished to duke it out with the redhead.
Fierce pink aura erupted around the twerp as she too vanished. Soon, everyone took off by their various own means. Ramon covered himself in the aura of the hero’s soul and lightning, Iris in bright gold aura, Kelvin in light blue cold aura. Maxus simply vanished like any rogue, probably invisible. Nuwa also held the same golden aura as the elf woman.
Lucas had no such fancy movements and simply jogged into the forest, a faint flicker of fiery aura flowing around him as he looked around for the potion.
Alexander was my favorite for this one. I didn’t say he couldn’t call Mazu, hop onto his back as if the fox was a mount, and blur into the forest. I wasn’t sure if that’d help the kid, but I found the scene to be hilarious, nonetheless. Because of that, I wouldn’t pester him first. He probably wouldn’t be safe from Wolverine.
“You ready, buddy?”
Wolverine barked once, his tail wagging.
“Alright, so don’t attack them directly and the forest will repair itself. No residents are around the course area, so feel free to scare ‘em up.”
Wolverine let out a massive howl full of power that would’ve stunned anyone else. He glanced at the tower’s special interface, seemed to smile in a wolfish way, then leapt down, disappearing into the forest. I blinked when Cheetara suddenly bolted after him, eager to join in on the fun. Whoops.
I sat back and watched the race. Cheetara apparently stole my spot as an aggressor. They would not see this coming.
A moment of inspiration came to me and a few ideas for the town popped into mind. I’d suggest them to the mayor later, and hopefully he’d get the professionals on it as soon as possible. It helped that he was ecstatic when I told him I secured more financing.
I supposed taking a minor active role into the town building wasn’t a bad idea. Taking full advantage of the city trip now felt like top priority.
“Big Brother Woofy, wait for me!”
Wolverine slowed, allowing the kitten to catch up to his side.
“Disciple Cheetara Cutie, you’ve come to Best Buddy’s great test too?”
“Oh, that’s what this is,” Cheetara said. “Then failure is not an option! Uhm. What are we doing?”
Wolverine stared blankly at his favorite disciple, before grinning evilly. His tail wagged. “The others have to find Best Buddy’s potion, which is easy. I can smell it. We have to get in their way, make it difficult for them to retrieve it.”
Wolverine unleashed a half-powered sunlight flash, just barely missing Alexander. However, the shockwave of the blast as it collided into the ground knocked the boy off the fox.
Mazu ended up hitting his head against the tree, slipping into unconsciousness. That… wasn’t actually a half-powered sunlight flash. Or rather, the sunlight wolf’s new version of his attack appeared to be over one hundred times more powerful.
Wolverine hurried over to Elder Mazu, whimpering. He didn’t mean to overdo it. The purpose of Best Buddy’s great trial wasn’t to hurt friends.
“Elder! Elder!”
“He’s fine, Wolverine,” Alexander said as he walked over. He fed the fox a potion, then petted Wolverine. “Reduce your magic output by another half. Lock in your aim at the ground or objects around. This is training for you too, okay? Don’t beat yourself up.”
“He’s right,” Mazu said as he sat up. “Wanda’s ass, I need to meditate in that spiritual room. Perhaps I may have an evolution or two left in me. It is hard to believe it is just an F-ranked building.”
“Should we continue?” Alexander asked Mazu. “A potion cannot cure shock.”
“It wasn’t a full output attack,” Mazu said. “Wolverine, go ahead, continue your job. Don’t worry about us. If we catch up, we catch up. I don’t have the bottle’s scent.”
Cheetara gave both the fox and boy a cat hug. “Sometimes he doesn’t know his own strength. But don’t think we’ll go easy on you.”
Wolverine took off, the kitten at his side.
“Big Brother Woofy, how are we going to distract Mandi without hurting her?”
Wolverine flinched. “Hmm. Best Buddy’s not one to show favoritism, not even to Apprentice Harmony. And she’s the strongest. That must mean flying to find the potion isn’t easier than walking. She will eventually land.”
“Father has a potion that allows him to see far, right?” Cheetara asked.
“He does? How do you know this?” Wolverine asked.
“He said something about it in the lab,” Cheetara replied. “Do you think he gave one to Mandi?”
“I… don’t know,” Wolverine said as he pushed harder, sensing Lucas not too far behind. The sunlight wolf decided to focus on the targets ahead. “There’s Maxus. He’s invisible to the eye, but not to the nose.”
“On it!” Cheetara cheered. She launched into the air, flipping and twirling once as her claws glowed. She released a quick burst of powerful bright white mana that annihilated the ground in front of the unsuspecting rogue.
He yelped as he fell into a six-feet-deep crater. However, Maxus wouldn’t go down so easily as he kicked his feet seemingly from the air to spring back into action.
Wolverine and Cheetara were long gone, their mission of briefly distracting him completed.
Up ahead, Wolverine spotted Ramon and howled, his tongue lolling. Cheetara meowed excitedly.
“Coming through!” she said.
