Bab 22: Success

"Vera, darling," Mystia said not long after, catching the attention of her student. "Which elixir do you want to start concocting first? The Basic Physical Reinforcement Elixir or the Basic Mental Reinforcement Elixir?"

"Which one among the two is easier, Mentor?" asked Vera in response, eliciting a light chuckle to come out of the orb.

"Well, I wouldn't blame you for thinking that way. Slowly making your way to harder concoctions guarantees greater success, after all," said Mystia. "Anyways, if you're to ask me on which among the two is easier, start with the Basic Physical Reinforcement Elixir first."

As Vera nodded in response to her mentor's words, Mystia continued to speak. "While filling up the cauldron with water, make sure you have Lizard Dragon Blood, Mountain Bull Hoof, Shadow Serpent Meat, and Scarlet Tiger Claw set aside."

Just as she finished giving her student a couple instructions, she threw a question at Valyr. "Speaking of which, Valyr. Did you only bring enough ingredients for one attempt of each elixir? If so, I'll have to make amendments to the procedure."

"I brought enough for five attempts, actually," said Valyr in response. "Although it would be ideal if all five attempts for each elixir were a success, it's not a problem if she fails one or two if it means her rate of success increases."

Hearing those words come out of his mouth, Mystia's impression of Valyr had slightly changed. After a moment of silence, she asked him, "Since you've brought enough for five attempts each, I'm guessing you're trying to get the skill that comes along consuming 10 of each elixir, no?"

"Is there a reason for you to need to know that, miss Mystia?" Valyr asked in response.

"Oh, lighten up, will you?" said Mystia, letting out a bit of laughter. "I know you're trying to be cautious, but with how you're acting so far, you seem more paranoid than cautious. Don't worry, Valyr. Neither I, nor Vera, will tell a soul of what had transpired here? So, is the answer to my question a yes?"

Scratching his head at the sudden berating he got, Valyr let out a light sigh before nodding. "Yes, that would be correct."

Unlike the Reinforcement Elixirs players bought through in-game purchases, a skill could be obtained once a player had consumed 10 of each elixir. Although it was always mentioned that all stats would be increased once one consumed the elixirs, the truth of the matter was that it didn't as the elixirs did not increase the LUK stat at all.

As if the company of the game wanted to remedy that, they added a skill that did just that.

Not only did the skill increase all of the stats increased by the elixir to greater heights, it also gave increased the LUK stat by a few points, which was considered by almost every being, both players and NPCs alike, to be the most important stat to increase.

"I see," Mystia said in response. "I presume you'll also be consuming the higher tier elixirs in the future, but let's leave that conversation for some other time."

"Vera, have you already started to infuse mana into the cauldron?" she asked, focusing her attention on Vera.

"I did, Mentor. The water in the cauldron is already boiling," said Vera as she nodded in response.

"Good. Make sure that the water isn't bubbling over," Mystia advised, making sure to remind her student to focus on the cauldron. "We're not here to cook the materials, we're here to extract the essence from them."

"With that, cut up the materials I've just mentioned earlier," she said soon after, prompting Vera to grab a knife nearby. "Make sure you cut each material into five even portions. Although I may not be able to see what you're doing at the moment, I can sense the amount of ingredients Valyr had given you through the orb."

"Understood, Mentor." Taking in a deep breath, she skillfully cut each of the ingredients into five even portions, placing a portion of each ingredient near the cauldron while moving the remaining portions aside. "Should I add the ingredients now?"

"One by one," Mystia replied. "Make sure most of the essence from the material you added has been extracted before adding the next one. Once all of the ingredients have been added in, cover the cauldron before infusing more mana into it. At that point, we want the essence to meld with one another."

Nodding in response to those words, Vera did what her mentor had told her, adding the portions she had set aside one by one into the cauldron, making sure that the essence of the materials were extracted. With that, the water in the cauldron started to change color, with each additional material making the color more vibrant than it previously was.

"Well, since it'll be a while before I give my student another instruction, how about we talk for a bit more, Valyr?" Mystia said out of nowhere, prompting Valyr's ears to perk up in response.

"Er… sure, I guess?"

"Since you know the effects of the Reinforcement Elixirs very well, what do you plan to do with them?" Mystia asked.

"I'll consume them to get the skill, just like what you asked me earlier. After that, I'll consume the stronger versions of the elixirs to get those versions of the skill," Valyr replied.

"Is that so?" said Mystia in response, her tone slightly persuasive. "Have you ever thought of sharing the Reinforcement Elixirs with other people? After all, having other people know the existence of Reinforcement Elixirs can bring great change, you know? In fact, even introducing it in the village you two are in won't only allow the general strength of the village to increase, you two could also probably form a monopoly around it and earn a massive profit."

Hearing those words, Valyr got the feeling Mystia wanted him to do more with the Reinforcement Elixirs. 'What's with the persuasion? From what she's saying, it seems like I might trigger a quest if I agree to it. Unfortunately for her, I seriously just want to have the elixirs concocted so I could increase my advantage.'

Of course, Valyr had already thought everything Mystia had thought about what he could with the Reinforcement Elixirs. However, with her being a mentor, which probably meant she wielded great power, there was one thing she failed to consider.

His current level of strength.

Reminding himself of his ultimate goal of forming an organization for the final battle and not causing a revolution before players had even entered the game, Valyr indirectly declined, saying, "I'm just going to use it on myself for now, miss Mystia. There will come a time where I would tell others of its existence, but not now."

"Well, if you say so…" Hearing his words, Mystia's tone turned glum for a bit, only for it to return to normal soon after. "Since that's your answer, then so be it."

"Then again, I am quite curious as to where you've obtained the knowledge of Reinforcement Elixirs," she said a few seconds later. "Only a small portion of those that live in the cities and kingdoms know of its existence, after all. Although I have an idea on how you also know of it, would you mind telling me why directly?"

"Let's just say I came from a faraway place and decided to stay in the village after becoming a guard. Is that a good enough answer for you?" Valyr intentionally gave her a vague answer, knowing that telling her he was a player in his previous life would be the worst thing to do. Nevertheless, her last words made him somewhat confused. 'An idea on how I know? Does it possibly have something to do with my surname again?'

"I guess that'll suffice," Mystia replied, her tone somewhat nonchalant. After that, she focused her attention back on Vera, who was now infusing mana into the cauldron after she had placed all four portioned materials into it. "Are you already infusing mana into it, Vera?"

"Yes, Mentor." Vera nodded. "Do I just have to continue infusing mana into it until I hear a sound from the cauldron?"

"Correct," answered Mystia. "Anyways, that's pretty much how you concoct the Basic Physical Reinforcement Elixir, Vera. Since all four ingredients are more or less of the same nature, it's not that difficult to extract the essences from them before melding them together as one."

"I see," said Vera, nodding in understanding. "How about the Basic Mental Reinforcement Elixir?"

"We'll talk about it once you start concocting it," replied Mystia. "In any case, I think the concoction is close to being comple—"

Bang!

Out of nowhere, an explosion resounded from the inside of the cauldron, making the ground rumble for a bit. However, rather than becoming worried over the sound, a smile adorned Vera's face as she looked at Valyr.

"Congratulations, Valyr," announced Mystia a few seconds later.

"The first attempt's a success."