In Erik's alchemy workshop within the mansion, a scene quite different from when Sigrún had handed it over could now be observed. On the long, polished white marble benches arranged in orderly rows—each illuminated from above by ethereal lights floating without visible support—the cauldrons that were once there had vanished, now replaced by glass flasks bubbling with vibrantly colored liquids.
Beside the flasks stood volumetric flasks with precise measurement lines, which filled and emptied automatically through fine threads of light connecting them to various instruments and containers. These were guided by different runes engraved on the tables, which glowed faintly.
In a corner of the workshop, a series of distillation columns rose toward the ceiling, having at their base magical devices similar to Bunsen burners. These heated the columns and could control the temperature with incredible precision, intelligently. As vapors ascended, they passed through a series of rings engraved with intricate runes before condensing and being collected in receivers at the end.
The receivers were housed in transparent cabinets along the walls, displaying jars labeled with clear nomenclature. Inside were all sorts of liquids, plants, powders, minerals, and various resources necessary for alchemy, arranged in a specific order.
In the midst of this "alchemical laboratory," as Erik now liked to call it, he was intently observing the drip of a viscous, glowing liquid falling into a flask. Simultaneously, he took notes in an elegant notebook and occasionally extracted samples for more exhaustive tests.
Meanwhile, in a corner of the laboratory, two beautiful wolves—one silver and the other jet-black—lay peacefully. Measuring just under a meter, they seemed to sleep soundly, adding a touch of tranquil serenity to the place.
Suddenly, two beautiful women appeared in the middle of the laboratory: one with blonde hair and blue eyes, the other with lovely brown hair and golden eyes. They looked around, a bit surprised, until their gazes settled on Erik, who was completely engrossed in his task, so much so that he was oblivious to the appearance of the two women.
The two women, Sigrún and Eleonora, gazed at Erik with overwhelming longing. Suppressing their desire to embrace him, they approached quietly to see what he was doing. Soon after, they were quite surprised and, filled with curiosity, began to silently analyze the product and the process underway.
After some time, Erik finished testing one of the samples he had taken from the liquid in the flask. He smiled with satisfaction and cheerfully commented to himself, entirely unaware of the pair of divinely beautiful women standing behind him.
"Hehehe, I'm a damn genius—I did it!"
"And what has my little Erik achieved?"
With a cheerful and somewhat mischievous voice, Sigrún asked her adorable disciple. He couldn't help but jump in alarm, then looked around with eyes wide open in surprise. The moment his gaze met that of Eleonora and Sigrún, he beamed with happiness and ran to embrace them.
"MASTERS!"
Erik's shout awakened the wolves, who jumped up, ready for battle. But upon seeing the scene in the laboratory, they quickly approached the group of masters and disciple, wagging their tails and jumping about happily.
With smiles full of joy and affection, Eleonora and Sigrún hugged Erik back tightly, holding him for a while. Their silent warmth filled their hearts with infinite peace and tranquility, making them feel they had truly returned home.
"Why didn't you tell me you were coming back?" After some time, Erik released his masters from the embrace and asked with a smile.
"Fufufufu, we didn't want to spoil the surprise," Eleonora said, stroking the wolves' heads as they wagged their tails and barked happily. She then kissed Erik on the cheek and affectionately hugged his right arm.
"But I wanted to prepare a surprise for you; now it's ruined," Erik replied, pouting a little, which made the pair of beautiful masters laugh.
"Hehehe, don't be like that," Sigrún said after greeting the lovely wolves. She then kissed Erik's other cheek and hugged his left arm before continuing, "Better yet, tell us what the surprise is about. Does it have to do with that?" Sigrún pointed to the flask Erik had been examining earlier.
"Hehehe, yes, it's something that will make us very rich," Erik commented smugly, his face filled with pride, which greatly piqued the girls' curiosity. They quickly asked, intrigued.
"Then show us the new source of our wealth, fufufu," Eleonora said with a happy smile on her face. Sigrún quickly added, feeling proud that the surprise her Erik had prepared had to do with alchemy.
"Hehehe, I can't wait to see what you'll do with that super-concentrated version of the healing potion."
"Hehehe, so you noticed, Master, but I'm sure you won't see what I've done coming."
After commenting with a mysterious smile, Erik stepped out of his masters' embrace and went to a corner of the laboratory. There stood a kind of black metal refrigerator with glass doors engraved with various runes, containing several trays of what appeared to be pills.
With familiar movements, Erik took one of the trays from the "fridge" and showed it to his masters, who looked at the creation a bit confused and curious. This made Erik laugh joyfully, and he enthusiastically explained:
"Masters, allow me to present the revolutionary product that will mark an era, hehe"
"With all that presentation, now I'm excited to know what these little things are," Eleonora said eagerly as she examined the pills with curiosity.
"You seem really confident in your creation, Erik," Sigrún commented with a proud smile, inspecting the pills.
"Of course! I call these little ones 'healing pills,' and they will be the new way humanity consumes healing potions from now on."
Upon hearing their beloved disciple, Eleonora and Sigrún each took a pill, examining them with curiosity, especially intrigued by the thin and flexible material they were made of, which deformed slightly between their fingers.
"If you like, try them, and you'll see what I mean. You can just swallow them, or if you prefer, you can bite them and swallow them for an immediate effect like that of potions," Erik said with a smile upon seeing the curiosity on his masters' faces. They nodded eagerly.
Following Erik's instructions, Sigrún and Eleonora placed the capsules in their mouths, then bit into them, releasing a tasteless liquid, which they swallowed along with the capsule. At that moment, Sigrún commented, somewhat surprised.
"This is impressive, Erik! It really is a healing potion, and it has about 80% the effectiveness of a normal one."
"Hehehe, yes, those are some old prototypes, so they still need improvements." Erik pointed to the flask he had been observing earlier and continued, "Like my new version of the concentrated potion, which, if my calculations are correct, should retain 98% effectiveness of a potion in just a couple of milliliters."
"This is truly revolutionary and will be especially useful on the battlefields. The only problem would be the production cost."
Hearing this, Eleonora pondered how to promote the product developed by her beloved disciple. But a cheerful laugh from the spiky-haired boy pulled her out of her thoughts, and he briefly explained with a smile.
"Hehehe, I wouldn't dare call it a revolution just because of its size; the real revolution lies elsewhere."
Filled with genuine curiosity, Eleonora and Sigrún looked intently at Erik. After setting down the tray he was holding, he went to one of the cabinets lining the walls and took out a blister pack containing ten beautifully packaged pills.
"In this presentation, the healing pills should, in principle, last as long as a pill from the Zazen discipline. Although for now, these are just calculations and need testing. Additionally, they can be mass-produced easily, so according to my calculations, producing a package like this"—Erik waved the package in his hand and continued—"should cost about the same as making around five current potions. So we only have advantages, hahaha!"
With astonished expressions, Sigrún and Eleonora looked at Erik. Immediately afterward, Sigrún took the blister pack from his hand and examined it carefully. What she discovered left her utterly surprised.
"Erik, is this crystallized mana? How is it so soft and flexible?" Sigrún asked in amazement as she bent the blister pack in her hands and looked at Erik.
"Hehehe, more or less. I actually call it magic plastic or 'Manalite' to make it sound better. It's the result of combining the studies on petroleum and plastic by the Sage Theodore Wells with your research on mana crystallization, Master. This resulted in a very useful material for various purposes, besides being quite cheap and relatively easy to produce."
"How did you come up with something like this, Erik?" With an expression full of surprise and pride at the achievements of her beloved disciple, Eleonora asked with a huge smile on her face, to which Erik quickly explained.
"Well, basically because I was thinking of ideas to make a living, since I can't be living off my masters forever—"
"Don't be silly, you're not living off us; everything I have is yours, I've told you many times."
With an annoyed expression, Sigrún interrupted Erik while crossing her arms. Eleonora quickly joined in with an equally angry and offended look, adding in a tone that seemed almost like scolding her dear disciple, who, no matter how many times they explained it to him, didn't seem to understand.
"Yes, Erik, we've talked about this many times. You don't have to worry about things like that. We are very rich and have more than enough for us to live a life of luxury without worrying about anything, so stop saying things like that, or we'll really get angry."
"Hehehe, alright, sorry, I'll try not to do it anymore. It's just that it's a bit uncomfortable for me not to earn my own money."
With a visibly uncomfortable smile on his face, Erik responded while looking away, which made the pair of beautiful masters sigh. Although they could understand his position and feelings, they really wanted him to leave the past behind and live happily without any worries, although it seemed that would take much more work. So Sigrún decided to drop the subject for the moment and commented with a smile.
"Alright, don't forget, and better yet, keep telling us how you came up with all this."