"Holy shit! That's some crazy effects—it can even help rank 3 beasts rank up chance by 10%," August muttered in surprise.
Then he used the inspect feature on every advancement booster elixir; they all had the same effects as the first one. Satisfied with the potions, he left the rented room and headed to the ground floor where Harry and his team were.
They were sitting on chairs, chatting with each other. August approached them and said, "I have successfully concocted all of your potions."
"Here," he said, handing out the potions to everyone.
Harry's eyes widened in appreciation. "Thank you for making them for us," he said, giving a slight bow. Then he asked, "Can you tell me how much is the fee for making them?"
"Oh no! No! You don't need to pay me. I only made them for training myself," August declined, waving his hands and shaking his head.
"Are you sure? We can pay you," Harry insisted.
"Yeah, I don't need it. You can save it for buying equipment or something for yourself," August replied with a smile.
"Thank you, my friend," Harry said sincerely and gave August a quick hug.
"No problem. You can always find me when you need potions made," August said warmly.
"Anyway, when are you all going to give the potion to your pets?" August asked, curious to see the advancement booster elixir effects.
"As soon as possible. We just need to find a quiet location," Harry responded.
"Let me ask a friend if we can use the guild laboratory," August suggested, already reaching for his phone.
"Really? You don't need to trouble yourself with that. We can go to the beast training center to test there," Harry said, looking concerned.
"Don't worry. If we can't get it, we can go there. I want to see the potion effects myself," August said as he typed a message to Zaya.
---
August: Where are you? Are you busy right now?
---
After a minute, Zaya replied.
---
Zaya: I am at the guild. I just completed making some potions. Are you here?
August: Yes, I made a new potion. I wanted to test it. Can you come to the ground floor?
Zaya: Ok, I will be there in a minute.
---
"She is coming here. We need to wait for a while," August informed the group.
Harry and his team exchanged eager glances, their anticipation growing.
*****
In the building's upper floor, Zaya was in a unique room filled with various types of equipment. On the right side of the room, a blue mystical flame danced as if it were alive, heating a cauldron that boiled with a deadly-looking substance. The room was filled with the scent of rare herbs and a faint metallic tang.
"What did he make this time?" Zaya pondered aloud as she removed her safety goggles. 'I am really curious to know that. Let's go see what potion he made.'
She quickly wrapped up her work, then called her pet, who was sleeping in the middle of the room. "Yoru, you lazy bum, wake up. We need to go."
Yoru, who had been sleeping peacefully, woke up lazily, stretched his body, then jumped up to Zaya's shoulder. ⌈Master, you know that intelligent creatures need to sleep so their minds can work normally,⌋ Yoru said.
"Yeah, but not like you, who sleeps all day like an unemployed person without any work," Zaya retorted.
⌈I am the most intelligent creature, so I need to sleep more than others, obviously,⌋ Yoru replied smugly.
"Sigh, what can I do with you?" she sighed, ignoring her pet's remarks as she headed towards the elevator. The soft hum of machinery was a familiar comfort.
****
As August was chatting with the team, he heard Zaya's voice.
"Hey, August, and who are they?" she asked.
"Oh, Zaya, you're here! Let me introduce them to you," August said as he introduced everyone to Zaya and then introduced Zaya to the team.
"Hello, nice to meet you," everyone greeted her, though they looked nervous.
"Hm, where is it?" Zaya asked.
"Oh, the potion," August said, then glanced at Harry. "Let her see the potion."
"H-here," Harry said, handing his potion over with a shaky voice, sweating from his forehead.
"Hm," Zaya murmured, taking the potion and studying it with her special eyes. Zaya's eyes flickered with a soft luminescence as she rotated the vial, her expression growing more intrigued with each passing second. "The color is perfect," she murmured, "and the consistency is just right."
Watching Harry, who looked like a gangster with his bulky body, acting nervous in front of a petite girl, August was confused. He asked, "Why are you all looking nervous?"
"What? You don't know who she is?" Dina asked, surprised that August didn't know, considering he was her friend.
"Isn't she an apprentice alchemist? What's the big deal?" August questioned.
"You really don't know her nickname?" Dina said, smiling awkwardly. She whispered, "Everyone calls her the Little Poison Witch. But don't call her that directly, or you might not leave in one piece."
'Is she really that dangerous?' August wondered, looking at Zaya's petite figure and finding it hard to believe.
"How did you make this potion? How did you come up with the idea to mix those elemental essences to create this potion? I am really curious," Zaya asked, her excitement barely contained.
'I can't always lie to everyone that I created the potion formulas I bought from the system. Why not make up a lie that I can use every time?' August thought. He answered, "To tell you the truth, I have a master who teaches me about alchemy, and my master gave me the potion formulas."
"I would like to meet your master if I get the opportunity," Zaya said, intrigued.
"My master is always busy with his work, so even I don't get to see him that much," August replied smoothly.
"How regretful," Zaya said with a sigh.
'What can make the Little Poison Witch so excited must be good. Let's ask her about the effects of the potion,' Harry thought. He glanced at his friends, who seemed to have the same thought, and they all nodded together.
"Uh, can I ask you what the effects of the potion are?" Harry asked.
"You don't know the potion's effects, and you let him make it?" Zaya asked in disbelief. Then she answered, "This potion can boost the chance to rank up to rank 2 by 50% and rank 3 by 10%."
'Oh, she didn't detect the 1% chance to awaken a beast's hidden bloodline. It might be because of the lower percentage, or she didn't mention it in front of others,' August wondered.
"What?" Everyone shouted in surprise, some of their mouths hanging open in shock.
"We thought August could make a potion that could at most boost the chance by 10%. We didn't know he could make such an impressive potion," Harry said, astonished.
"Okay, let's not waste time here. We need to test the effects in the laboratory," Zaya said, walking towards the elevator. Then she glanced back. "Let's go!"
Getting out of their stupor, everyone followed her.