The rest of the day was basically a long, drawn-out thumb-whittling experience for Alex. Once the Silver Mercurial Grass roots started boiling inside the flask, all that was left to be done at the moment was to watch so it didn't boil dry. Under such intense heat, and with so little present, Alex had to keep water boiling in a separate kettle, and then constantly use it to refill the flask every few minutes.
It was never ending work, but it was completely mindless work as well. Fill up the pot. Boil the water. Check the flask. Fill the flask. Refill the pot. Repeat and repeat over and over.
Utterly mind numbing and yet utterly essential work to the extraction process!
At first glance at the process, Alex thought the whole process was vastly overrated. As long as one was immune to the toxins from the grass, or if one took the proper precautions against the toxins, and since it grew so abundantly in the wild, why was it so dang expensive to produce?
He'd thought he'd stumbled upon a simple cash cow, but the reality was turning out to be anything but that! The job was dull and mind numbing, which made it ever so easy to lose focus, and yet, it required constant maintenance and vigilance. Too much heat, it ruined the extract. Too little did the same. Not enough water? That over-scorched and burnt the roots, which, you guessed it, ruined the extract! Too little water? That overly cooled the mixture, which also ruined the extract!
"And to think," Alex sighed, exhaustedly twelve hours later, "I've got a natural advantage — the poison doesn't affect me! Just how the hell can the other alchemists produce this stuff while fully covered and wearing a face mask? One cut, rip, or pinprick in whatever protective suit they're wearing and Kkkaaaxxxxtt! It's all over but the crying!"
And the absolute worst part? No sleep that night either! The whole extraction process took twenty-four uninterrupted hours from start to finish. Alex still had another twelve hours to go!
"There's got to be an easier way to make money than this!" Alex lamented to himself, almost crying.
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A little over a dozen exhausting hours later, Alex finally held the finished product in his hands — a small vial with all of about three ounces of Silver Mercurial Extract in it. Hands trembling, Alex carefully stoppered the vial and placed it within one of the many empty racks nearby.
"Nighty nite," he muttered sleepily. Laying down uncaringly in the floor, Alex curled up into a small ball, used his own arm for a pillow, and drifted off almost instantly into an exhausted and fitful slumber.
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By the time Alex awoke again, the sun had already made its journey completely across the sky, and the moon was already sitting high up in its place. Yawning heavily, Alex stretched catlike several times before finally getting back up and starting to clean everything up.
By the time he'd washed the flask (which was surprisingly hard to do with such a small hole up top and wide bottom below), and disposed of the remnants of the grass and roots, and cleaned everything else back to how it was before he came into the room; the moon was already starting its descent back down from its apex and was heading towards the horizon.
"Time for a quick snack, a nice long soak in the bath, and then I'll have to meet Thorn this morning once again," Alex reminded himself, as he picked up and pocketed the extract he'd worked so hard to make. Moving the bedsheet from the door, before opening it, he went out into the other room and picked up the other bedsheet as well.
"Screw me trying to clean these," Alex laughed, as he strolled over and tossed them both down the room's garbage chute. "The school can just buy new ones," he shrugged, nonchalantly.
Picking up his high heels, Alex strolled back into the alchemy room and sat them down inside the washbasin he'd used to haul the grass earlier, before picking it up. Tilting the small tub, Alex leaned it tight against the edge of the table and then carefully slid the thin strands of Silver Haired Silkgrass over into it.
Whistling merrily at his success, Alex reflexively swayed seductively, as he'd been trained to do and as was his habit anymore, as he headed out of Jacob's room and proudly strolled down the steps to his on room. Going in, Alex only stayed long enough to drop off the washbasin with his shoes and the silkgrass onto his bed. With twenty-four hours of tedious alchemy extraction added to an almost twelve hour nap after, and then taking time to clean up his mess, Alex's stomach was grumbling and complaining relentlessly about being empty! Rubbing it lightly, he quickly turned and hurried on towards the cafeteria and dining hall.