Chapter 40: Body Strengthening Pills
After leaving the matter of developing hidden forces to Helena,
Blanc left the training grounds and walked towards the alchemist's laboratory
There's something else he can do to make the warrior trainees improve faster.
*Knock* *Knock*
"Albert? Is it safe to come in?"
"Oh! Mayor! Yes, you can come in."
After hearing Albert's confirmation that it was safe, Blanc entered.
Upon entering, he saw the apprentices looking at him with stars shining in their eyes. It seems that the five alchemists he trained told the new apprentices that he was the one who taught them alchemy.
Blanc smiled at them and then pulled Albert to the side to talk about official matters.
"So, do you think the five of you are ready to create pills now?"
Blanc asked Albert.
"Yes, although we're not a hundred percent confident in being successful, we at least have 70% confidence. Our success rate should also increase once we successfully craft a few pills."
"I see, that's great! Can you start today?"
"Yes, mayor. In the meantime, The apprentices shall read the books about ingredient property and basic techniques of alchemy while we craft the pills for the warriors."
"Alright! Let's start then. I'm gonna stay and watch the process."
After their short conversation,
Albert together with the four other alchemists prepare everything they need. Blanc also advised them to drink lesser stamina potions and lesser concentration potions before starting.
The alchemists were pleasantly surprised at this suggestion from their mayor.
Why didn't they think of that?
They would have much higher chances of success if they did it earlier and their progress would be faster!
A few more minutes later, everything was ready.
The pill that they were going to try and create today is called the intermediate body strengthening pill and the main ingredient for the pill will be the Yeti beast core that they got.
This intermediate body strengthening pill that they will make is expected to be high quality because the concept of the pill is, the rarer the beast core, the higher the potential of the pill.
The final quality still depends on their skill though so they have to do their best.
In addition, this is like their basic alchemy graduation exam. If they manage to create this intermediate pill, they can finally call themselves intermediate alchemists.
A few minutes later, all of them started working on their own pills side by side.
The first phase is the ingredient preparation phase. In this phase, the ingredients need to be prepared using intermediate alchemy techniques which they took the time to read and practice.
Although the intermediate alchemy techniques were complex, it seems that no one is sweating yet. The lesser stamina and lesser concentration potions were truly a huge help!
It did not last long though. As the effect of the potions wore off everyone started to have a hard time.
If they make mistakes, the quality of the pill will be reduced for every mistake that they make in the preparation phase.
"Haaah…Haaahh…"
All five of them were panting in exhaustion.
The preparation phase alone took most of their energy.
All five of them started to panic. It seems that they underestimated the intermediate alchemy techniques.
It's really different when doing the motions for the sake of practice compared to when actually used to create pills.
"Calm down guys, we still have lots of potions here. I believe you have around ten minutes to rest before the ingredients start to lose potency. Rest for around 5 minutes, consume the potions then continue."
That's right! Why were they stressing themselves out? Focus on breathing and recovering stamina as much as possible.
The alchemists followed Blanc's advice and rested for five minutes then they consumed lesser stamina and lesser concentration potions again.
It's time for phase number two.
The alchemists started to put the ingredients in the cauldron one by one and in the correct order.
Aside from this, they should put in each herb at the right time.
If you put it too early, the herbs will lose potency and if you put it in too late, it will not reach its most potent state.
On top of this, they should continuously adjust the fire and the position of the cauldron since this will affect the final quality as well.
The alchemists were sweating really hard.
Not only because of the heat but also because of the difficulty of creating intermediate body strengthening pills.
"No! Focus! Don't think of anything else! Just focus on the process!"
The alchemists forced themselves to concentrate since they were starting to lose focus due to the immense heat and fatigue.
"Haaahh…Haaaaahh…"
They were successful!
Although the quality is currently unknown, at least they were done with the most difficult part. After resting for a few minutes, they consumed another batch of potions and then proceeded with the third phase.
The third phase is not as difficult as the second phase but it requires more concentration.
They would have to increase and decrease the heat while cutting it in small portions to consolidate the materials into little individual pills!
Thankfully, the third phase went without a hitch. All they had to do now was let the pills rest for a couple of minutes before opening the lid of their cauldrons.
Ten minutes quickly passed.
Everyone including Blanc was excited to see the quality of their first batch of pills.
They quickly opened their cauldrons and Blanc checked the quality of the pills.
There were a total of 50 middle-grade pills and 10 low-grade pills in all of their cauldrons.
"Hmm…These pills seem to be around middle grade and there are a few low grade pills mixed in."
He then turned around and smiled widely at the alchemists.
"Congratulations everyone! You are now intermediate alchemists!"
"Thank you! Mayor!"
The five of them were ecstatic upon hearing Blanc's congratulatory words.
They were locked up in their laboratory for the past few months for mostly 14 to 15 hours a day.
All their hard work day and night was worth it!
After their first batch of pills, the alchemists were tired so Blanc told them to rest for the night.
There were still enough ingredients to create twenty more batches of pills.
The alchemists would be busy for the next few days.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Meowder
Meowder Second chapter for today~Chapter 40 is out! I hope you guys enjoy!
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