The two entered a rather short, but large building which was called the Alchemy Hall, another hall of the Sect on the level of the Battle Hall and the Spell Hall, but the only difference being that it was focused entirely on alchemy; potions, pills, and other alchemical products.
The entrance was not too large not too small, but gave off a professional feeling, which was further accentuated by the silently moving disciples within the meeting hall.
"We would like to purchase a recipe." Fred whispered to the receptionist.
"Oh my, right this way…" she turned her attention away from Fred and pointed her head to a certain corner.
Fred thanked her with a single mana stone, and made his way to the corner, where a narrow passageway was present, leading to a dark flight of stairs. Kai wordlessly followed behind Fred as they passed through corridor after corridor, making seemingly random turns along the way for a good 10 minutes until they finally arrived at their destination. This destination, however, reminded Kai of the spell hall, since it essentially looked like a library.
However, unlike the spell hall, no one was allowed to enter other than the book-keepers who took care of the books, not even the elders of the Alchemy Hall.
"Hello good sir, we would like to apply for a potion recipe." Fred said after giving a polite bow to the book-keeper present. Fred did not say anything else, and just waited. The book-keeper also completely ignored him and continued writing with his feather and ink.
Kai felt like something was wrong, however the calm look on Fred's face caused him to hold back from saying anything, and instead waited next to Fred silently.
A few silent minutes passed but Fred's expression did not change. On the other hand, Kai was getting increasingly impatient. A minute later, he turned to Fred and spoke in a moderate tone.
"If this is not working out, I can just go and complain to Madam Aria that we were ignored at the Alchemy Hall. Since they wish to abuse their powers, I have enough justification to do the same. I wonder what she would have to say if she learned that her direct disciple's progress was being halted by… who are you mister?" Kai said as he turned his gaze away from Fred.
The sight he saw was a very satisfying yet amusing one. The initially nonchalant book keeper was now staring at Kai with bloodshot eyes, both fear and anger bubbling inside them.
"Wh- Which recipe?"
Kai smirked as he turned his attention back to Fred, who was dumbfounded, and said, "See. This is what a mentor can do. I suggest you get one as quickly as you can. Anyways, we want a potion recipe for something that increases Spiritual Energy. Just give me a list, I will arrange everything and pick the one I want. Thank you." Kai smiled as he slid over a small pouch filled with 5 mana stones.
The man took the pouch with apprehensive eyes, but then smiled at Kai and nodded silently before turning around and entering the library of recipes.
"Well… just who is your mentor? You have to know that each book keeper has a Rank 2 Mage as their personal mentor in order to be considered for the job of a book keeper within the Alchemist Hall."
"She is also a Rank 2 mage… only thing is… she is kind of the direct disciple of Archmage Blue…" Kai was whispering by the end of it, but Fred heard it all, and his eyes went wide in shock.
"Archmage Blue?!!?!"
"Yeah… so don't worry and let's just get this over with."
…
Sometime later, the book keeper returned to Kai and Fred with two sheets of paper, with a lot of information written in neat lines. Kai accepted the paper and immediately read the first page before passing it to Fred, and then continuing to read the second page before passing hat to Fred as well, who was still only halfway through the first page.
The system had already copied all the information very quickly, but he had to act to read it to prevent suspicions from rising.
'Organise them in three lists based on the ones with the easiest ingredients to find, the cheapest to purchase, and the one with the least severe side effects.'
*Beep*
[Establishing task]
[Time until completion: 0s]
[Task complete]
Kai opened the lists and immediately saw many of the potions which had been available at the marketplace, where he was almost scammed, as the cheapest few options. These cheapest ones also, still cost 500 mana crystals, which is not something easily affordable by normal students. As he went up the list, Kai eventually stopped looked at potions above 2800, which was his current total.
After that, he checked the ones with as few or harmless side-effects as possible, narrowing it down to around 40 potions. Lastly, he checked the availability of the potions in the sect and its immediate surroundings, and he narrowed down the options to four;
[Merman Scale Potion: Increases Spiritual Energy by 15% for those who have not reached Rank 1, but causes the user to fall into a deep sleep for 12 hours after consuming it (Costs 10 Mana crystals worth of materials to make) – 500 Mana crystals]
[Shark-fin Potion: Increases Spiritual Energy by 15% for those who have not reached Rank 1, but causes the user to drink a lot of water daily while using it (Costs 12 Mana crystals worth of materials to make) – 600 Mana crystals]
[Bone Potion: Increases Spiritual Energy by 15% for those at Rank 0 and 5% for those at Rank 1, but causes the user to suffer from pain throughout their body (Costs 20 Mana crystals worth of materials to make) – 1200 Mana crystals]
[Deer-Liver Potion: Increases Spiritual Energy by 10% for those at Rank 0 and 5% for those at Rank 1, and 2% for those at Rank 2, but causes the user to feel the need to drink blood for 5 days after consumption (Costs 100 Mana crystals worth of materials to make) – 2100 Mana crystals]