Maria taught Ashtan what to gather and how to pick ingredients without damaging them, for the potions, so they could save time. She needed 20 potions, so they needed a lot of ingredients to make them. After gathering enough ingredients for creating the required number of mana recovery potions, Maria left with Ashtan to head back to the Alchemy tower. When they reached the third floor, they took out all the ingredients they collected and asked Ashtan to go back to the field and gather more ingredients. Since Ashtan already learned about the ingredients, she dutifully obeyed. They agreed to meet tomorrow at the entrance of the alchemy tower.
"Master Albion, can you oversee me with creating my first mana recovery potion?" she requested her teacher as Albion walked in the room. She was a bit nervous since this was her first alchemy.
Albion demonstrated how to create potions and how to control fire to make the potions more effective. "If someday you obtain a magical cauldron and have a fire elemental skill, you can create pills and potions anytime and anywhere."
She took notice of the process, then she tried to make her own potions and succeeded. She learned that the low tier potions were the easiest to make. But since Maria didn't have a fire element skill, she had to rely on the furnace in the alchemist tower. (I need to have a fire elemental skill in the future.)
After three hours, Maria completed 20 bottles of low tier mana recovery potions. She logged out from the game after that. Even it was just alchemy, she felt very tired. The controlling of fire was very taxing to her mind and body, she found out the hard way. Now she's more resolved to train in real life.
***
Maria found a gym just a short distance from her house. It was not a top of the line gym, but it was very decent, so Maria enrolled for a six-month program. In her first week, she was given a personal trainer and she followed the program given to her.
"If Chloe hears about this, she will tease me to death. Imagine me working out for the sake of a game? Hah!" She laughed.
Her daily schedule was fixed from 6:00 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. and no more than that. For the first few days, naturally, her whole body ached. When she logged in to play, she would just gather ingredients with Ashtan. Her affinity with Ashtan increased a lot. She supplied her with mana recovery potions for her father every day, so it was out of the question. For the rest of the potions she made, she sold them to the alchemy tower. She had now secured a steady income while her body was getting accustomed to working out and training in the gym.
A week after that she announced to Ashtan that she would begin grinding to level up. Ashtan did not hesitate to go with her. They formed a party and aimed for the slow snail first. They gathered the slime serum and the snails' shells. They sold them to the merchants as raw materials. Since Maria was already an alchemist apprentice, therefore, she could use vials automatically and save some serum for future use. Since Ashtan's level was higher than Blumock, the latter gained more experience points while Ashtan was only getting 1 point per kill.
"Oi grabe! Even the porter is stronger than me. Geez!"
Ashtan suggested changing to another spot when the experience Maria received from killing mobs became relatively low to level up again. Maria was happy with this setup.
(Wow! The NPCs here are really intelligent. They can even suggest this. Ashtan must have a high perception. She can even determine the situation and make suggestions. Grabe! Who needs another player when you can play with an NPC like this? I wonder if Ashtan can carry me. Hehehe.) Of course, Maria preferred to be the killer even if she's weak.
The next type of monster she annihilated was called Monshroom. It was a monster mushroom, level 8. They dropped mushrooms used for alchemy. Not only she gained experience but also ingredients for alchemy which made her more hyped. When Maria leveled up again, they changed the area killing a different monster. This time, she got her first jewelry drop. "At last!"
[You acquired a necklace.]
[Do you want to equip it? Y/N]
"Yes."
She right away checked the stats of the necklace.
[Fire Bone Necklace - Normal]
[Fire Resistance: 10%]
"Ah, it is better than nothing, right?" she said wryly.
"Don't worry, it will help you against a fire elemental monster, even if it is not much," consoled Ashtan.
(Oh wow, she is also capable of consoling me, huh? Peter, good job! Your NPCs can also emphasize.)
"We can also sell some ingredients to the merchants. We can still earn money while you keep some of our ingredients to make potions," Ashtan suggested. She was already amiable to Maria because of her high-affinity points. "There is a traveling merchant who just arrived yesterday. Maybe she will buy raw ingredients for a higher price from you." She sounded cheerful.
A bell sounded in Maria's mind. "A traveling merchant? Could it be-- Do you know if her name was Marion?"
"How did you know?" Ashtan looked bewildered. "Not many people knew her."
"Ah, well, my master recommended looking for her."
Ashtan smiled brightly. She suddenly felt proud that even the master Alchemist knew the traveling merchant. "Are you somehow going to buy a precious item from her? All her items are pretty unique, you see."
"Seems like it. B-but that is if I can afford it." She did not want to mention the spatial bag was her target. Because she already knew how expensive it would be.
"I see, I can hook you up. She's my aunt!" she smiled brightly.
"What?! No way!" Maria could not believe her luck! She had been looking for Marion ever since master Albion mentioned her, but no one knew her. She almost dropped the idea of buying a spatial bag because Ashtan could carry her things. She could hire her as her personal porter. But if Ashtan couldn't make it, she would need a bag. The price tag is the problem.
"Yup! See my bag? It is a spatial bag. That is why I can carry as many and as heavy without worry. Hehehe. She is my father's sister."
Maria thought it was normal for a porter to have a big bag that's why she was not curious about the Ashtan's carrier. She also thought that it was the ability of a porter to make the package lighter to carry. Maria held Ashtan's hands. "Do you think we can meet her now?" Maybe she could get a discount, she thought hopefully.
Ashtan shook her head. "I don't think it's possible today. I will ask if she's free tomorrow. Let's unload your stuff in the alchemy tower first."
"Yeah, let's do that." She could wait for another day. They went back to the alchemy tower after unpacking, Ashtan kept other stuff that was not for alchemy so she could sell them to the merchants in the town market before going home. Maria already entrusted this task to Ashtan. Maria learned new alchemy recipes based on her new ingredients. She used up almost all her ingredients and sold the excess portions to the tower. She kept some HP potions and MP potions for herself and for Ashtan, then decided to sell the new potions called Vitality Regeneration and Soul Regeneration. They are both low qualities anyway. She needed to make a lot so she could promote her alchemy to level 2. She was now richer by 22 gold, 30 silver, and 80 bronze. Not bad.