Chapter 92: Concoction
First, Raven took a sterilized solution bottle from his inventory and cleaned the wooden table.
Then, he carefully arranged the ingredients on the table. The Temporal Lotus petals shimmered faintly, exuding a mysterious silver glow, while the Crystallinewine resin glistened like molten glass. The powdered Stardew Lizard bone had a pearlescent hue, and the Bluefire Ash radiated faint warmth. Clear yet unnaturally dense, Ethereal water swirled inside a small crystal flask, and the dark root oil rested ominously in its vial, thick and black-like ink.
'I should use the 'Mind Eye' skill when concocting the potion. Although I can only use it twice, I think I'll be able to understand the process fully.' Raven thought as he rolled up his sleeves.
Taking out his alchemical kit, he arranged a small furnace, a few glass apparatuses, and a flask with a rune-etched base to handle the volatile reactions.
He placed a Temporal Lotus petal in a small glass bowl and gently crushed it using a jade pestle.
It released a faint, sweet aroma when he started crushing the petal.
"First, the Lotus petal," he murmured. Raven added the crushed petals into the flask containing 50 ml of ethereal water and heated it gently over the furnace.
As the water began to shimmer with a silvery hue, he poured in the Crystallinewine resin, drop by drop, ensuring the mixture didn't overreact. The liquid started to thicken slightly, resembling quicksilver.
Next came the powdered Stardew Lizard bone. Raven measured half a teaspoon and sprinkled it into the mixture while stirring with a thin glass rod. The reaction was immediate; the liquid hissed and released a faint blue mist.
He waited patiently until the mist subsided before reaching for the Bluefire Ash. "This is for stabilization," he muttered.
Pinching the ash between his fingers, he added it to the flask, causing the liquid to flare briefly with blue flames before returning to its silvery state.
Now came the trickiest part. Raven picked up the vial of dark root oil, his movements steady and deliberate.
"Too fast, and the potion will collapse; too slow, and the time essence in the Lotus petal won't bind."
He tilted the vial, allowing the thick, black oil to drip into the mixture, one drop at a time. The liquid in the flask churned violently, emitting faint vibrations that resonated through the room.
A soft, purplish glow emanated from the flask as the ingredients fused into a cohesive mixture.
"Failure…" A look of disappointment appeared on Raven's face.
But it was within his expectations.
"Hmm, what mistake did I make?' He recalled even the tiniest bit of his mistake thanks to his 'instant Memorize' and 'Mind Eye' skills.
'Hmm, after adding powdered Stardew Lizard bone, there is a slight change in the reaction. Instead of a deep bluish color, it only released a faint blue mist. Let's start again.'
Raven didn't even delay a moment and started the potion concoction process again.
"I shouldn't delay the timing either," he muttered, continuing to concoct the potion.
As the potion process advanced, the flask's contents transitioned through familiar phases—the shimmering silver of the ethereal water, the thickening from Crystallinewine resin, and the faint blue mist from the Stardew Lizard bone. However, the mist deepened into a rich, azure haze this time, confirming his successful adjustment.
"Perfect. Now for the Bluefire Ash."
He carefully added the ash, its stabilizing effect smoothing the liquid's surface. The potion's color shifted subtly, and its glow gained a steady pulsation.
Finally, Raven tilted the vial and let the dark root oil drops fall, spacing each with deliberate patience. The liquid responded as expected, vibrating faintly but not destabilizing.
"Just a little more," Raven whispered, his hands steady. The liquid began to emit a soft, rhythmic hum. As the final drop of oil mixed, the potion flared with a radiant purple light before settling into a translucent, silvery liquid with faint purple swirls.
"Failure again…" He closed his eyes and recalled every movement he made.
"The problem is with the quantity of the dark root oil." He nodded quietly and started again.
As Raven began his third attempt, his movements became even more precise, almost mechanical, even without the help of the 'Mind Eye' spell. The underground chamber was silent except for the furnace's faint crackle and the potion's occasional hiss.
Like before, Raven added smaller drops of dark root oil at slightly longer intervals. With each drop, he watched the potion's reaction intently.
The liquid in the flask vibrated faintly, its color shifting between silvery translucence and a deep purple glow. As the final drop of oil merged into the mixture, the potion emitted a soft hum, resonating with an almost musical tone.
The flask's contents settled into a luminous, translucent liquid with faint, swirling streaks of purple and silver.
"It's done," Raven smiled.
[Amazing! Your success rate of concocting beginner rank potion has increased from 10% to 33%. You can consider yourself a peak-rank Beginner Alchemist now.] Zera said in his mind.
Meanwhile, he took out the monocle and checked the potion vial.
…
[Name: Time Affinity Potion
Grade: Beginner
Description: Upon consumption, there is a 90% chance of the user to increase his time affinity from 'Nil' to 'Low' rank.]
…
"Not bad." Raven didn't even delay momentarily and gulped down the potion in one go.
The next second, he felt the whole surroundings slowed down drastically and stopped.
Then, he noticed that everything had returned to normal as if nothing had happened.
'I see a change in the status window.' He saw the addition of Low-rank Time affinity in the blue screen and breathed relief.
But he didn't even take a break and decided to complete the Elemental Cirlcet Technique for Time Affinity.
He sat on the rough floor and entered the Mind Space without delay while reciting a short runic chant.
Like before, Raven walked into the Array and chose the following section to construct the Fourth Circlet. He created the Time Elemental Circlet this time and focused on building a similar hexagonal structure. Using his thoughts, he wrote down the runic words for the Time Elemental Circlet for over an hour and then let the spell model assimilate into the Fourth Circlet.
An invisible force came from the Circlet, pulling two crystalline spell models from the sky before assimilating them into the Fourth Circlet!
Once the assimilation ended, Raven noticed a strange energy coming from the outside world and filling the spell models.
After five minutes, the energy came from the outside world slowly, making the 'Time Affinity' spell models shine.
'Past Self Spell Model and Mind Eye Spell Model, huh?' Raven knew both were time-related spells and slowly let the hexagonal structures hover in the Fourth Circlet.
Once he finished the fourth Circlet, he left the Mind Space and stood in the underground basement.
"Now, let's check how many times I can make the Past Self clone." He muttered slowly and cast the 'Past Self' bloodline spell.
A moment later, he suddenly disappeared and appeared five steps away from where he was standing. Although it looked more like a short-distance teleportation spell, there was something different about Raven.
Instead of a relaxed face, he looked more serious and was in the middle of concocting the potion while muttering something.
"Failure again," He soon closed his eyes and appeared to be thinking deeply.
At that moment, he suddenly turned transparent and disappeared like he never existed.
At the same time, Raven appeared at the same place where he was first standing and stood with an amazed look.
He also did a few more experiments and soon nodded in understanding.
'30 seconds… I can maintain this 'Past Self' clone for 30 seconds. And the amount of 'Time-Elemental Energy' needed to recharge the spell model is 5 minutes.'
"Haa, I should go meet Jacob now." Raven left the underground basement and soon went to the main hall.
As soon as he walked in, Head butler Harold and the other maids bowed their heads and greeted him.
"Tell Jacob to come and meet me in my room." He told Harold and went upstairs through the split staircase. After walking for a while, he reached the third floor and started walking on the long corridor before appearing in front of a heavy oak door.
Raven stepped into his bedroom, shutting the heavy oak door behind him with a soft click. The room, illuminated by the warm glow of an Aether lamp, carried a serene air. Ornate furniture and a plush carpet made the room look beautiful and luxurious.
'First, I need to concoct the rest of the affinity potions. My success rate has increased more than 30%. Four sets of ingredients are more than enough.' While thinking, he moved towards the wardrobe on the left side and took a long white robe and a towel. Then, he entered the bathroom and took a long bath.
Raven soon walked out of the bath, drying his hair using the towel, and noticed someone standing outside.
"Jacob?" He asked.
"Yes, My Lord. I knocked on the door three times, but no response came. So I decided to wait outside." Jacob responded from outside.
"Sorry, I was taking a bath. Come in." Raven said as Jacob opened the door slowly and walked in.
After greeting him, Jacob placed the Empire's Constitution Law Book on the wooden table and spoke.
"I couldn't buy this book due to restriction, My Lord. But I asked Toby's help and borrowed it from the Court's Library. We've got to return it before Monday."
"One day is more than enough for me to memorize it. So, did you gather any important information?" Raven asked as he sat on the bed.
"Yes, My Lord. Toby's uncle works in the Supreme Court as a clerk, so I have an easier time gathering information about how the Court operates during holidays. The one who manages the Supreme Court building is a man named Everett. Although he isn't from a noble background, he has connections with nobles and even wizards of Crows Misery. Toby's uncle said all the bribes to the Judges move through the hands of Everett. And during Sundays, no one visits the Court except for the patrol police officers and a few cleaners."
"Hmm, find out who will be managing the cleaning work of the main hearing room this coming Sunday." Raven paused momentarily and soon spoke.
"Mr. Jacob, I want to spend 2 hours alone in the hearing room on Sunday. This matter is so important; you must find a way for me to get in. I don't care even if I must bribe Everett." As he spoke, he took out a large leather bag and filled it with gold coins.
"I-Is this for the bribe?" Jacob asked in a shocked tone.
'There should be around 500 gold coins in this bag! He is willing to spend this much money just to stay alone in the hearing room for 2 hours?'
"Yes. Do it anonymously." Raven said in a grave tone.
'Anonymously? It's a dangerous mission, but I can do it.'
"Yes, My Lord." Jacob nodded.
"Tell Selene to sell these materials back to the Mystic Cauldron shop and buy other items." Saying so, he took out the spatial ring and gave it to him. Then, he kept only four potion materials badges and put the rest in the spatial ring.
After that, he took a notebook from the inventory, wrote down a few other affinity potion ingredients, and gave it to him.
"Inform her to get as many ingredients as possible with the remaining money," Raven said calmly.
"Yes, My Lord. Anything else?" Jacob asked.
Raven pondered for a moment and nodded.
"I won't be using the spirit pool during our stay. You and Selene should use them wisely."
Although shocked inside, Jacob soon composed himself and thanked him for giving them this opportunity.
"We'll do our best, My Lord."
"You can go back now." Raven waved his hand and decided to take some rest.
He quietly lay on the master bed and soon fell into deep sleep.
…
Raven woke up around 8 P.M, had dinner with Jacob and others, and soon returned to his room to enter the illusionary world.
After that, he went to the training hall and continued practicing Spearmanship for the next few hours.
By the time he finished his training, it was already around 2 A.M.
'Zera, I want to see the memories related to Charles Nightwind.' Raven asked as he returned to his bedroom.
[You can find them on the twenty-fifth shelf of Runeth's memories on the first floor. Although there are only a couple of books, you will be able to learn a lot from those books.]
He lay on the soft bed quietly and entered the memory library. After that, he turned around and walked towards the right side. After walking for a while, he finally found the exact shelf and searched for the right book.
He soon found a memory book of how Charles and Runeth met.
"They start as enemies, huh? Moreover, Holem's Crown, is it?' He learned how Charles faced his enemies singlehandedly and even tricked Runeth into signing a slave-like contract. After that, he saw memories of how Charles and Runeth journeyed through another world called 'Edhen' and even took disciples. But what amazed Raven was how Charles schemed against a Goddess and even killed her incarnation!
'And his strength was only above Expert Realm at that time!' As Raven continued to absorb more memories about Charles, his admiration grew.
'But they even built a Magic Tower for Wizards, huh?' He even saw the whole blueprint of the Magic Tower in the memory books and decided to memorize it, too.
After that, he stopped reading the memory books and left the Memory Library.
'I more or less learned how Charles acts and what types of magic spells he possessed. But his fire magic spells are truly amazing and unique.' He muttered inwardly and soon noticed it was already morning.
[What are you planning to do Today?] Zera asked.
'Today is 20th September. So, I will focus on improving the plan first. After watching those memories, I realized how careless I was. If I want to save my aunt, I need to use even the slightest advantage I have and even become ruthless. Once I make the plan, I will prepare for the Dream Ritual in the underground basement.' He said with a cold gaze.
…