After leaving behind the other girls, Yasenia and Kali walked hand in hand toward the alchemy room on the third floor.
They had built all the Rooms for professions, and Tatyana helped set up some of the most complicated formations.
Kali squeezed the warm hand holding hers and looked at the woman walking by her side.
Yasenia turned her head and smiled, squeezing back. Their interactions were usually like this, gentle and soft gestures without many words.
The feeling was truly magical for the Fox Lady. No matter how many times they were intimate, it still didn't fail to make her heart beat a bit quicker.
She felt that, as long as a person was sincere and had their heart in place, they would not be looked down on by others. 'The past is the past. Looking forward is usually the way. However, forgetting the past is also not a good thing. I just have to accept everything and live happily.'
Yasenia asked while climbing the stairs toward the third floor. "Kali, are you happy?"
Kali nodded. "Yes. With you by my side, I always feel like the luckiest woman in the world."
Yasenia interlocked their fingers and used her tail to play with Kali's two fox tails softly. Her mellow and gentle voice reached Kali's ears again. "Remember that we are family, Kali. If you ever feel bad, you have to tell me. I will not be upset no matter what."
Kali opened the Alchemy room door and walked inside, raising her eyebrow and teasing Yasenia. "No matter what? My dragoness has a wide and forgiving heart. I'm impressed. Then, I should try other…"
Yasenia hugged her from behind and whispered in a low tone. "You should do what, honey?"
Kali's joking sentence got choked even before it left her mouth, and she said softly. "I should try to express myself more often with you."
Yasenia smiled and kissed her scarred cheek. "That's my girl."
Kali nodded with a blush and changed the subject. "What is your experience in alchemy, Yasenia?"
Yasenia rubbed her cheek with Kali's and answered. "My practical experience is negligible. Everything I've tried creating has never taken a pill shape, after all."
Yasenia then said. "However, expect a higher level of knowledge compared to when we worked together previously. During my time in the trial, I never stopped studying all the books in my ring. Therefore, my knowledge in all the professions, including alchemy, blacksmithing, tailoring, formations, and cooking, has increased significantly."
Then, Yasenia waved her hand toward one empty table and summoned five thick books. "Here. These are the ones I used to learn Alchemy. I still haven't learned them all, but I'm constantly advancing."
Kali looked at the five books that were half her height and a quarter of their height thick.
However, Kali wasn't surprised or impressed.
Books about alchemy, or any profession in that regard, weren't small. That's why books weren't used often.
The usual way to transmit or save information was via Jade Slips.
Jade slips were a material that could retain knowledge. It acted as a memory card and could be reused.
And although they appear convenient, if a cultivator wanted to use them to save a Cultivation Method, Alchemy recipe, or anything that needed a high grade of complexity, they had to have a deep understanding of what they were engraving in it.
That's why books were still used. They could hold information of any shape, not just complicated Cultivation Methods and such.
"Hmm, not bad. Let me see the titles." Kali walked out of Yasenia's arms and observed them.
Yasenia blinked and pouted after feeling her embrace empty.
Then, she walked forward slowly and hugged her fox again. "You've probably never read them. They were made by mom's experts for me, after all. I've been quite pampered in this regard."
Kali felt the soft body leaning on her again and smirked. Then, she asked. "How were you pampered?"
Yasenia said. "Well, I had everything I needed, knowledge and teacher-wise. I never lacked anything. Even then, I had to work hard and learn many things while training. Naturally, mom and the other teachers were strict. However, it was worth it."
Kali nodded and imagined little Yasenia studying hard on a table, her short legs dangling and her still-growing tail playfully swishing.
Kali's face stiffened as her heart beat a bit faster. 'She must've been so cute and adorable. I must ask my mother-in-law to show me some videos of Little Yasenia.'
Yasenia saw Kali's mind wandering and asked. "Something wrong?"
Kali blinked twice and shook her head. "Nothing wrong."
Then, she focused on the five books on the table and read the title aloud. "Compilation of all mortal alchemy Volume 1."
The others had the same title but changed the volume number.
"Well, you are right. I've never heard of a book like this one."
Yasenia nodded. "I think Aunty Avalonia and Uncle Frederick made them."
Kali's lips twitched. 'The Death Empress personal doctor and the most powerful alchemy in the Academy made a book working together for a child.'
Yasenia chuckled and rested her chin on Kali's thin shoulder. "Well, they are also your masters. You may know most things here."
Kali nodded and took the first book. It was weighty, so Kali was confused about how could a little Yasenia study with it.
Yasenia answered her question. "Anna and Eve helped me."
Kali realized. "Right, they are your personal maids. They should've helped you study."
Yasenia nodded.
Yasenia then carried Kali toward a chair at the side and sat with her fox on her lap, waiting for her to read the books.
Yasenia saw the pages flying by at a speed that didn't look like Kali was reading.
The sound of the pages rustling was the only thing that you could hear in the alchemy room as Kali leaned on Yasenia's tall and soft body while reading alchemy. 'This is very comfortable.'
After an hour and a half, Kali had flipped through the five books. Yasenia had also been reading the books Kali wasn't using to avoid wasting time.
After organizing her thoughts, Kali looked at Yasenia and spoke. "They are one of the best theoretical books I've ever read, to be honest. The main author should have been Master Avalonia. The methodology and explanation are very similar to Master Avalonia, after all. However, some ideas aren't hers, and I can also see the influence of Master Frederick on them."
Yasenia nodded. "You are right. Aunty Avalonia wrote most of these books."
Kali asked. "How many of them have you understood? Not memorized. I want to know how many you have comprehended and truly internalized out of these five books."
Yasenia looked at them and thought for a moment. Then, she said. "Probably the first two."
Yasenia explained. "I'm not sure about the other three because I need to do practical work before being sure I've really comprehended the words. However, the ideas explained in the third and early parts of the fourth book are understandable."
Yasenia looked at the fifth book and sighed. "However, the middle and last part of the Fourth Book and the entirety of the Fifth book are a complete mystery to them. I can't understand a thing."
Kali nodded. "That's better than I expected. Even I struggle with the fifth book, so don't get depressed. After comprehending that book, an alchemist will probably be able to create their first Transcendence Grade Pill."
Kali then guessed. "If you are able to understand the first three books, you should probably be able to become an Earth-rank alchemist. Higher than that will take time because you aren't just focusing on alchemy. However, it is good enough."
Yasenia lifted her eyebrow. "Is it really good enough?"
Kali was confused. "What do you mean?"
Yasenia kissed her lips once and spoke. "I want to be able to help you in the future. Therefore, your good enough should refer to a level where I can work as a useful, practical assistant for you."
Kali blinked, surprised.
Then, a smile spread on her lips. She leaned in Yasenia's embrace, and her two fox tails wagged happily. "You don't have to, Yasenia."
Yasenia wound her arms around her neck and smiled at her. "But I want to. I'll also be able to spend more time with you that way, honey. I really like staying around you."
Their tail intertwined, and Kali's lips arched, moving the scars on her face. However, Yasenia didn't mind and felt happy that her fox could smile without restraints in front of her.
Yasenia approached her face slowly and licked those scars softly. Kali squinted her verdant green eyes and almost purred in comfort.
Yasenia spoke between each lick.
"I like your scent."
"I like your taste."
"I like your presence."
"I like your aura and your soothing voice."
Yasenia looked at Kali and gave her a deep kiss. Kali sighed through her nose and responded tenderly, thinking to herself. 'I also like all that and everything else about you, Yasenia.'
Kali and Yasenia snuggled like that for a moment.
After the kiss, Kali said with her gentle and soothing voice. "Let's get back to work, my love."
Yasenia nodded and looked at her, waiting for Kali to explain and give her an evaluation of what requirements she would need to help. "Well, to be useful to me and not slow me down, you must comprehend completely the first three books."
Kali smiled and commented. "Right now, you are honestly a burden. If you try to help me, it will do more harm than good, and I think I speak on behalf of everyone. Your theoretical knowledge is near ours, but your practical work is null. Therefore, you must slowly improve yourself."
Yasenia nodded. She really liked Kali's frankness.
If she was not helpful, she wanted to hear about it. The last thing Yasenia wanted was to become a burden for her dears.
She also didn't expect any less than what Kali said.
Her dears were extraordinary in their specialized areas, and catching up to them was impossible. Her objective was not to overcome them but to at least be able to help them in a valuable manner.
In short, Yasenia wasn't discouraged but motivated. Knowing that you didn't know anything and working to learn was the beginning of everything, after all.
Kali patted Yasenia's shoulder. "Let's see you create some pills. I want to see how good my dragoness is in alchemy."
Yasenia laughed, and after Kali stood up, she followed toward the cauldron in the middle of the room.
Yasenia took out alchemy tools, not the prepared ones, and placed them on the wooden table.
There were many items like tubes, flasks, heaters, herb refiners, and many others.
Yasenia felt that she didn't forget anything and asked. "Which pill do you think I should begin making?"
Kali took out a recipe and passed it to her. "The [Metallic Bone Pill] is a good start. It is a middle-level magic-ranked pill with a complicated but easy-to-replicate process. Recreating it is methodical and easy once you create it successfully."
Kali smiled, and she said. "If we open a shop in the future, this can be one of the general public pills we can sell. If you can create this and similar ones that boost other aspects of a cultivator, you'll be very helpful."
Yasenia chuckled at the tease in her words. Then, she looked at the recipe and began to prepare the ingredients.