With eleven tries came eleven failures.
Laine nearly tore at his messy brown hair. How could he fail this badly? Even Calla, with her sharp tongue, had called his talent for pill refining 'lamentable' before retreating back into the Tarnished Key. She'd even accused him of wasting her time. The nerve of her.
On top of that, the room's temperature had soared to 41°C. He had nearly drained the gourd canteen—a small purchase he'd made at the market earlier—and the thought of leaving the hut to refill it irked him. His black robe, now soaked with sweat, clung uncomfortably to him, but he refused to stop. Not until he succeeded at refining a batch of pills.
The most annoying factor was the one-hour gap between failures. It took him exactly one hour to replenish his depleted aura.
"Am I going to succeed even once?"
He frowned at the fleeting ingredients. All that effort and risk, just to be burned away in a pill furnace.
No! There's no way he could accept it.
Laine stood up from his seated Lotus Pose, unfolding his legs and pulling the fabric of his robes away from his sweaty body.
"Again!"
He placed the filled pill mold into the furnace.
Orange embers emerged from his fingertips and went straight into the furnace.
The temperature must not fluctuate in the slightest. His failures always happened around the 35–40 minute mark. No matter how hard he focused, he would fail.
Laine stood in front of the furnace, his right arm extended, as sweat poured down his face. The small stone room's temperature climbed to over 50°C.
He cleared his mind and disregarded the heat alongside thoughts of failure, and for the first time all day, he felt at peace.
This state of peace pulled him away from outer distractions. Laine remained in this state until a low whistle signaled out from the Bronze Pill Furnace.
"Wooh!"
"It's about time," said Calla as soon as she appeared.
Laine pushed his fatigued body forward. His shaky hand lifted the small lid from the pill furnace. A cloud of smoke rushed out and filled the room with a pleasant, fresh scent. He figured it must be from Sky Thread Root.
With a practiced motion because of his failed attempts, he pulled out the pill mold. Flipping it over, six red, pearl-shaped pills fell into his palm.
Calla floated closer to see the pills. "Hmm, they turned out well, given your capabilities"
"Why thanks." Laine rolled his eyes.
Laine, grateful for the many inner pockets within his robe, withdrew a small drawstring pouch and placed the six Resonance Pills inside. Without even glancing at Calla, he walked over to his straw bed and collapsed onto it, passing out immediately.
♦ ♦ ♦
"Success!"
Laine slept for an entire day before he finally awoke. Instead of hopping right back into pill concoctions, he left his hut and went to the open market, where he restocked on water and food. He then went to the public bathhouse. It had been a bit too long since the last time he bathed. After which, he hurried home, filled his stomach, and then fired up the Bronze Pill Furnace.
Six hours had passed since then, and on the third try, this time, Laine had successfully made another batch of Resonance Pills. Now, he had enough supplies for another nine attempts.
Laine glanced to his side and shook his head. Calla was in the Tarnished Key, which wouldn't usually be an issue, but he was still worried about her. Every day since she appeared, she would rest a little more than the previous day. If this continues, she might never wake again. He could be certain of this because of his connection to the artifact.
Calla had explained to him when he awoke today about artifact bonding. His excitement rose for a moment before she shut down his wild thoughts. His act of spitting on the key had actually bound the Tarnished Key to him. She explained that a drop of blood was the common way of binding oneself to an artifact. Laine imagined any bodily fluid would work, but he kept that thought to himself.
Laine stretched out his stiff body. "I'm improving quicker than I expected."
Failure…
Failure…
Failure…
Failure…
Failure…
Failure…
Failure…
Fourteen hours later and Laine reached his breaking point. His improvement was a delusion, it seemed. With enough ingredients left for two more attempts, he knew he had to calm down his anger.
After taking a deep breath, Laine readied the pill mold, placed it within the pill furnace, and then activated his Ember Ignite skill once again.
Time ticked by, and as though luck itself took pity on him, he succeeded.
By this time, nightfall had arrived, so the stone hut was dark aside from the flickering lantern attached to the stone wall.
Laine had the small drawstring pouch in hand and held it next to the lantern. A big smile appeared on his face as he counted the 18 Resonance Pills within.
Two hours later, when dawn arrived, so did the failure of his last batch. He didn't have the energy to be upset and passed out onto his nearby bed once again.
♦ ♦ ♦
"Wake up!"
Laine struggled to open his groggy eyes. The first thing he saw was a pair of ruby-red eyes hovering close to his.
"Here for my good morning kiss?"
Calla floated back, seemingly unbothered by his comment.
"Do you wish for your hard work to go in vain? Those Resonance Pills, unless kept in a specialized case, will lose all efficacy within a few days. Do you understand?"
Laine flung himself out of bed. "What! Why didn't you transmit that information before or tell me earlier?"
"Hmph." Calla disappeared into the ring.
"Don't 'Hmph' me. Damn moody spirit."
To think she would get so upset over a little joke. No matter, he didn't have time to dwell on it. He needed to cultivate until he used up every single Resonance Pill.
Laine sat down into a Lotus Pose on the stone floor. He took a Resonance Pill from the drawstring pouch and popped it into his mouth. The red, pearl-shaped pill had no taste as he swallowed it; however, a comforting warmth immediately spread throughout his body.
Every minute counted for a Resonance Pill had a duration of one hour.
The feeling of sensitivity and control over his life lines right now was the greatest it had ever been.
All of his spirit stones were next to him in a cloth sac. Quickly, he grabbed one and closed his eyes, focusing on using his Violet Mist Art. The name came from the violet mists that were gathering around Laine's seated body.
After several minutes, the aura swirling inside the spirit stone flowed into him through his hand.
Laine had to restrain his shock. It usually took him close to an hour before the spirit stone's aura would stir. He hadn't expected the Resonance Pill to be this amazing.
Time slipped away as Laine lost himself in the euphoria of his growing strength. Suddenly, a surge of energy tore through him, like a dam breaking, flooding his body with power. His muscles tensed, and a deep, resonating crack echoed in his ears as he broke through the realm.
Laine clenched his fists, feeling the energy coursing through him. "4th Stage of the Neophyte Realm!" he muttered to himself, a sense of triumph swelling in his chest as the power surged at his command.
But he knew this wasn't his limit.