After making the Basic Vitality Pills, it was now time to work on the Essence Boost Potions.
He gathered the herbs needed for the potions and began grinding them into a fine powder. Once finished, he picked up a large pot and placed it on the fire stones.
He poured 10 liters of Moonwater into the pot and held his hand over the fire stones.
"Fire Control!"
Upon activating his ability, the fire stones began emitting heat. As the temperature rose, Kai let the Moonwater thicken slightly.
After some time, he tossed two ground Dragon Roots into the pot. Then he added powdered Whispering Fern and began mixing the contents thoroughly.
After stirring for a while, Kai added a ground stem of Sunlit Blossom. He continued stirring tirelessly for half an hour until the potion was ready.
After filling the vials, he ended up with two and a half vials of Essence Boost Potions.
[Essence Boost Potion
Grade: Low
Effects: +100 Ki (Temporary)
Description: Increases a person's Ki by 100 for one hour. No side effects.]
[Essence Boost Potion
Grade: Low
Effects: +50 Ki (Temporary)
Description: Increases a person's Ki by 50 for one hour. No side effects.]
"About 250ml of Essence Boost Potion… it seems my calculations were off. Should I put on another pot? Let's talk with the owner about it."
Not wanting to work anymore, Kai decided to speak with the owner. Getting up, he quickly made his way out of the Alchemy room.
As he stepped out, the door to the room beside him also opened, and a young boy—around 13 years old—came out.
He was also an Apprentice Alchemist like Kai. The two had joined the Honey Pill Shop at the same time. After all, not everyone was brave enough to venture outside the town and fight monsters.
"Hello." Nodding his head and offering a simple greeting, the boy headed toward the counter.
Returning the greeting, Kai headed upstairs, where the owner lived.
Knock knock.
"Come in!"
After hearing the knocking, the owner invited him in. As Kai entered the room, he was stunned.
Lyra, the owner of the Honey Pill Shop, was a Rank 4 Alchemist. Pills refined by Lyra could only be found in Silver Chests scattered throughout the wild. In the past four months, only three such chests had been found by the people of Blue Wing Town.
Because of this, pills refined by Alchemist Lyra were highly sought after.
As Kai stepped into the room, he saw Alchemist Lyra using [Herb Weaving]. In the center of the room, she was hovering mid-air, extracting the essence of various herbs.
While amateur alchemists like Kai needed the assistance of fire stones and various equipment, Alchemist Lyra was able to extract essence solely with her [Herb Weaving] skills.
A herb would float toward her, and then, as if by magic, the pure essence of the herb would separate and gently flow into a jar.
"Will you keep standing there staring, or will you state your business?" Alchemist Lyra stopped her work, flew toward Kai, and asked.
"Ah, sorry about that. I was just amazed by Fairy's [Herb Weaving] skills, that's all. As for why I'm here—I'm done with the Basic Vitality Pills. In fact, I made a few extra. But about the Essence Boost Potion, I only managed about 250ml, and I'm exhausted. I don't think I have the strength to keep stirring anymore.
So, I was thinking maybe I could call it a day?"
Explaining his reason for coming, Kai nervously looked at Alchemist Lyra.
"If you want to live the rest of your life as a slave, be my guest," she said before flying back to her place.
"I understand. Fairy, take care." Reminded of the contract he had signed, Kai quickly slipped out of the room.
Disheartened, he dragged his tired body back to the alchemy room and began cleaning the pot.
After thoroughly cleaning it, he placed the pot back on the fire stones. Once again, the stirring began.
An hour later, the second pot of Essence Boost Potion was ready. Kai filled the vials and once again started cleaning.
"I have about 4 gold coins saved up. Adding in this month's salary, I should have enough money to hire an assistant."
While cleaning the alchemy room, Kai started daydreaming about having an assistant.
After cleaning everything up, he made a list of all the herbs and ingredients he had used and left.
Leaving the alchemy room, he headed to the front desk, handed over the list, as well as the pills and potions he had created, and said,
"Here are all the pills and potions I made. Also, I'm running low on Elemental Essence."
"It took you a little longer than usual. Did your tasks increase?" asked the fairy named Miya, who was sitting on top of the front desk, while she began checking the pills and potions he brought.
"You're the one to ask. You were the one who handed me the brewing list," Kai replied, a little annoyed at the fairy.
"Don't look at me like that. I'm not the one coming up with these brewing lists — the owner does. I see, no wonder you look tired. There are extra pills and potions.
Wanna sell them at half price, or should I add them as Honey Points?"
Miya said, wondering why the human was holding her accountable for the increased tasks on the brewing list.
After counting, Miya flicked her hand, and all the pills and potions disappeared.
"Do I look like someone who has money? Just give me those Honey Points."
Saying that, Kai handed over his employee card.
"Here are your 14 points. If you continue at this pace, maybe in a year you'll have enough points to exchange for a Knowledge Sea."
Handing over the card, Miya reminded the human while giggling.
"Yeah, right."
Taking his card, Kai left the shop. He wasn't foolish enough to believe he could gather a hundred thousand points in a year.