[Ancient Calendar: 6 April 0001]
Inside a small room, a young man woke up from his slumber and stared at the wall. After a few moments, he came back to his senses and mumbled,
"Stats!"
[User: Kai
Age: 19
Ki: 146
Profession: Apprentice Alchemist
Innate Ability: Devour
Heavenly Gift: Clear Mind (F), Heighten Senses (E)
Skills: Fire Control (F)]
"Good. If I continue at this pace, my Ki will surely reach a thousand by the end of the year."
Making plans for his future, Kai got up, left the room, and headed toward the public bath.
"Have you heard? Tai recently underwent his fourth Heavenly Trial."
"What do you mean, have I heard? I was there when it happened! Let me tell you, it was epic. When the Heavenly Pressure descended, I was sure he was going to die."
As Kai walked along, he overheard people discussing recent events.
After taking a bath at the public bathhouse, Kai headed to work.
While walking, Kai reflected on what he had experienced over the past three months. The Earth had been selected to take part in the Ascension Program, and everyone on Earth had been teleported to a new world called The Ancient World.
From the information everyone received, this program was initiated by His Majesty to strengthen his Verse.
The program, in simple terms, is a Battle Royale. Around 20 worlds were selected for this round of the program.
The rules are straightforward: hunt monsters to grow stronger and then compete against other races. When only five races remain, the program will conclude. The victorious races will receive gifts and be teleported back to their worlds.
Over the past three months, while most people hunted monsters to gain power, Kai chose to work at an alchemy shop instead.
Lost in his thoughts, he arrived at his workplace: the Honey Pill Shop, one of only two alchemist shops in town.
"Kai, you're early. Here's your task for today," a small fairy said as it floated toward him. After handing over a piece of paper no larger than his palm, the fairy flew away.
Taking the paper, Kai headed toward his alchemy room.
"Let's see what's on the brewing list today," he murmured, bringing the paper closer to his eyes to read it.
[Brewing List
Name: Kai
Date: Year 0, Month 4, Day 6
Task: 25 Basic Vitality Pills, 3 Essence Boost Potions]
"25 Basic Vitality Pills and 3 Essence Boost Potions. An extra Essence Boost Potion? If my brewing list keeps increasing like this, it won't be long before I have to work 12 hours a day."
Reading the brewing list, Kai grumbled a little before starting the refining process.
He gathered all the herbs needed for the Basic Vitality Pill and placed the furnace on the fire stones.
After preheating the furnace, he tossed Whispering Fern into it and gradually increased the intensity of the fire. Using his Gifts, [Clear Mind] and [Heighten Senses], he carefully extracted the essence of the Whispering Fern.
Once the essence was successfully extracted, he drained the contents of the furnace into a bowl. He then filtered the essence and carefully stored it in a jar.
After repeating the process four more times, he had two jars full of Whispering Fern essence, enough to refine two sets of Basic Vitality Pills.
Knowing he had sufficient Whispering Fern essence, Kai thoroughly washed the furnace and placed it back on the fire stones.
He increased the output of the fire stones to maximum and waited a few minutes. Then he lifted the lid and threw in a batch of Sunlit Blossoms.
Soon, the Sunlit Blossoms began to shine brightly. Kai then poured one jar of Whispering Fern essence into the furnace.
With the addition of the Whispering Fern essence, the Sunlit Blossoms emitted a blinding light. Knowing his eyes couldn't handle such intense brightness, Kai quickly replaced the lid on the furnace.
He carefully controlled the fire stones, alternating between turning the heat down and turning it up as needed.
The process lasted for half an hour. During this time, Kai did not relax for a moment. He knew even slight carelessness could cause the furnace to explode. Thankfully, his Gifts helped him immensely.
Although the Sunlit Blossom looks like a small, beautiful flower, prolonged exposure to high temperatures gives it the tendency to explode.
So, Kai had to control the temperature carefully to ensure it didn't exceed a certain limit. Fortunately, his recently acquired Gift, [Heighten Senses], came in handy.
With the hard part over, he set the fire stones to a low setting and opened the lid to take a peek inside.
"Good, the Sunlit Blossoms and the Whispering Fern essence are fused. Now, I just need to add 100 ml of Elemental essence, and then I can rest."
Standing up, Kai walked toward the cabinet. As he opened the door, a wave of cold air instantly hit his face.
"Ah, here it is. It seems I'm almost out of Elemental essence. I'll have to tell Miya before leaving."
He took a bottle of Elemental essence and carefully measured out 100 ml, pouring it into the furnace. After closing the lid, he adjusted the fire stones to their minimum heat setting and finally took a break.
After resting for a while, Kai pulled out a book titled Basic Herb Weaving and began reading.
An hour later, a strong aromatic smell started wafting from the furnace. Kai put down the book and opened the lid of the furnace.
After checking, he turned off the fire stones and poured the thick paste into a mold. Kai shaped the pills and inspected each one carefully.
[Basic Vitality Pill
Grade: Low
Effect: +1 Ki
Description: A pill for increasing Ki. Consuming too many may lead to stomach problems.]
All the pills looked the same, but one pill caught Kai's attention.
[Basic Vitality Pill
Grade: Mid
Effect: +2 Ki
Description: A better pill for increasing Ki. Excessive consumption may cause mild stomach discomfort.]
"Ah, a mid-grade pill. It's the third one this week. Good, all that reading is finally paying off."
Happy with his progress, Kai stored all 17 Basic Vitality Pills in a pill jar and began preparing for the next batch.
He repeated the same process, and after two more hours of refining, he completed all the Basic Vitality Pills. Unfortunately, the second batch didn't yield any mid-grade pills.
In total, Kai produced 32 low-grade and one mid-grade Basic Vitality Pill.
After storing the pills, Kai thoroughly cleaned the furnace and set it aside.