"Lolofaruba... that's a lot to your name. Hi, I'm Anima. I heard you know a bit about alchemy and crafting materials and I would like to know the basics." I told Lolofaruba... no, I can't even recite all of that in my head. She was going to be called Lolo.
"Heh? Why? That's a dead art. I haven't had a student in a long time." Lolo said.
"I was just curious about the art... I might have a talent for it. Do you charge anything? I have money." I told Lolo, pulling out the bag Henry gave me.
"MONEY?! NO, YOU DAMN IDIOT PUT THAT AWAY! Somebody wants to carry on my legacy of being a craftsman... I could die!" Lolo screamed. I was extremely confused. Lolo was holding her cheeks and swaying around as if she was being flattered. I think I might've been in over my head.
"Huh? You don't want money? Well, I won't argue that... what can I do for you?" I asked Lolo.
"Just learn and carry on my wisdom! So, when can you start? Hm? What's that?" Lolo asked pointing at Shima. She seemed to be so distracted by me that she didn't even see Shima at first.
"This? This is Shima, my companion. I found her in the forest... I don't actually know if it's a 'her' to be honest, but it's a lot easier." I told Lolo.
"Shima?! How adorable! So... do you want to use Shima as an ingredient in one of your potions?" Lolo asked me again. I slowly put Shima back on my shoulder while shaking my head.
After a ton of messing around from Lolo and me with various trinkets in her shop, she finally took me to the back. The wooden floor in the previous room by the entrance has vanished into a stone floor and I could see a small, wooden tub with a ton of tubes, bottles, and pipes all around it.
"So, let's begin with the basics. The one thing you need in all alchemy sessions is a tub. You can find these tubs anywhere, and if you're crafting a ton of potions, you can even use a bathtub. This one here uses pipes that ferment ingredients but this pipe right here is specifically used for fermenting the Zyphilia flower. When you ferment it, the Zyphilia flower enhances any quality of the potion, so it's one of the most valuable materials in Alchemy." Lolo explained.
"And the third pipe? What is that one for?" I asked, pointing towards the last pipe leading down into her tub.
"That pipe right there is for adding ingredients in. You have a specific fermentation pipe right here, the Zyphilia processor here, and the ingredient addition here. Once that all mixes, you have yourself a potion. Here... give me your blood." Lolo asked me.
"You know, you could ask differently... here," I said, pricking my finger and dropping my blood into the pipe above the tub. It dropped into the tub as Lolo added in a Zyphilia flower. I understood why that flower was so popular now, it was the main flower of the city that could enhance potions. That also probably explained why the art of alchemy here is preserved. Their potions are better than anybody else.
"And voila! You have yourself a health potion." Lolo said. She handed over the red-colored potion to me. I analyzed it with the interface to see its quality of it.
It could restore 25% HP... and it was at a C rank. That was pretty good for such a low rank... now, I guess it's my turn.
I pricked my finger again, dropping my blood into the tub. Then, I gathered a Zyphilia flower and waited for the ingredients to mix. Just like a game, they dissolved into nothing, and a health potion was left in the tub. So, you couldn't create these things in bulk I see...
"How's this one?" I handed Lolo the health potion and she sat, looking at it for a second.
"Hey. Who are you?" Lolo asked me.
"Uh... what are you talking about?" I think I knew exactly what she was talking about, but I wanted to make sure.
"You're trying to tell me your first time making a health potion, it reached the maximum quality... when I made my first, it took health from me. Who are you?" Lolo's chipper attitude had completely vanished as she held the health potion up to my face.
"I guess I'm just lucky," I told Lolo. She put the health potion on the table, even dusting off a spot for it, and then turned back to me.
Lolo grabbed my collar, slipping a blade out of her sleeve and pointing it into the space between my eyes. Her entire demeanor changed as she smiled at me. "Who are you...? Don't make my blade ask you instead." She said.
"Okay! Fine! You just can't reveal my identity to anybody!" I yelled out. Lolo let go and the blade retracted back into her sleeve. I knew I got bad vibes from her.
"My name is Anima, and I'm the Third Magic Hero," I told her. Lolo didn't seem impressed, she only nodded and picked up the health potion.
"That doesn't explain the quality. How did you do that?" Lolo asked me.
"One of my special traits is being able to craft at the maximum quality. I came to find you from Sieve, then from Gaia, so you could teach me more about Alchemy and crafting... I want to help others with skills only you could teach me." I explained to her.
"I see... you came from Sieve. That explains a lot. Did you speak to Old Man Henry?" Lolo asked me. How did she guess that?!
"Oh don't tell me... you know Henry?" I asked Lolo. She smiled and chuckled while throwing her arm around my shoulder.
"Of course, I know that old geezer! He and I are about the same age... only he changes the way he looks. That old bastard. Here I am having to deal with being an old lady! You know, I was quite the eye candy when I was younger!" Lolo told me. I believed her... but I wanted to learn more about crafting. Even Shima seemed distressed.
I let Lolo continue on a rant for another five minutes, but she finally stopped and put her hands on her hips. "You want to know my stuff to apply to you being a Hero? I can do that... but you should know your full potential. That staff... that book you have on your hip as well. It's all useless. Stow it away in your inventory." Lolo told me.
"Huh? How do you know so much about... oh no..." I spoke out loud, fearing the worst. Lolo sat there smiling.
"You're talking to the world's first Magic Hero! Nice to meet you, Anima! I guess you truly are my student!" Lolo said. That's why Henry recommended this city to me...
"So... unequip my stuff... like that?" My weapons vanished in light-blue smoke and Lolo nodded.
"Your equip load is the lowest it can be now, which means you can pull things out of your inventory even faster. Do you know how to put things into it?" Lolo asked me. I shook my head. Lolo then proceeded to throw one of her trinkets into the palm of my hand. "Make it disappear." She told me.
"I hope you know that your tips do nothing for me. How do I make it go away?" I asked Lolo.
"Imagine it going away. That's a part of your inventory now, act like it." Lolo told me. I closed my hand and the trinket disappeared. I was impressed I didn't figure that out... but I guess if that information wasn't given to me, I wouldn't realize I even had an inventory. In my interface, I was alerted that an item was added to my inventory. It seemed to have infinite space as well... that was kind of broken, wasn't it?
"Awesome," Lolo said, handing me an empty jar. "Fill this with blood, I'll be back." She said. I looked at Shima and sighed with distress. She followed my moves.