Chapter 8 - Perfect Potion

Sylvie was utterly engrossed in the brewing process, so much so that she did not even realise the High Elf boy beside her was watching her every move like a hawk.

Beginning the ingredient refinement process, she started to brew a Minor Healing Potion.

Retrieving her mortar and pestle, she ground Sun-Kissed Mushrooms and Glow Flower Petals, forming a fine crushed substance.

There she began to heat the substance, progressing to the calcination process of alchemy, where she would burn and reduce the mixture further to reduce it to its constituent parts.

Turning on the equipment before her, a bright flame formed. There, she could control the temperature. At this stage, an alchemist had to be careful since, depending on the materials and potion being brewed, they had to manipulate the flame perfectly.

Sylvie had done this many times before for this potion. It was the first potion she had successfully brewed for Haryk, and it was one of the most profitable potions an apprentice alchemist could create since there was always a demand for healing potions regardless of grade.

She was so good at this potion by now that more often than not, she could brew it with a purity standard of High Quality, which was of a better standard than most Journeyman Alchemists.

She progressed rapidly on the potion, time flying by as, after tens of minutes, she progressed through the dissolution, distillation, and finally fermentation stages. She allowed the potion to settle for a period before it solidified into a vibrant red that seemed to glow with vitality.

Both the colour and vibrancy of the potion, as well as the quality grade, meant you could often tell whether it was a success, though even Sylvie was surprised at just how intense the crimson red of her brewed potion was; the sheer vibrancy of it was beyond any Minor Healing Potion she had made before.

That was when she was interrupted in her thoughts by the exclamation of the High Elf boy as he yelled, “Perfect quality…”

‘Perfect? That can’t be?’ Sylvie thought with scepticism. Haryk said that even most Adept alchemists could not guarantee a Perfect Quality standard with Apprentice Alchemist level potions, never mind an Apprentice Alchemist themselves.

The High Elf boy suddenly made her the centre of attention in the room, and numerous alchemists and prospective alchemists wondered if the boy had seen wrongly due to his inexperience and youth.

“No way! I’ve never even come close to a High Quality potion, never mind Perfect! My teacher has never even brewed a Perfect Standard potion in their life and said an Apprentice couldn't do it,” a young elf appearing in their twenties said animatedly as a fervour of discussion erupted.

The previous bustling assessment hall full of elves, focused on brewing their potions, was now on her.

Even Haryk and her Mother looked amazed, with Sylvie finding a blush forming on her face when her usually composed Mother started praising her proudly.

Her mother had decided to become her cheerleader in her father's and brother Ballen's absence.

It required Arun to step in to calm everyone down as his commanding voice loomed over everyone present: “Calm down, everyone. I will verify it now. Either way, you are wasting time where you should be brewing. If you fail this assessment for exceeding the time limit by a few minutes, you will regret this! Focus on yourselves.”

Arun immediately made the bustling assessment room die down, as the Wood Elves continued to busy themselves with their work.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Sylvie did notice a few curious eyes remained, though; everyone seemed to wonder if the High Elf boy was correct in his judgement.

Arun approached her and said, “You are a fantastic talent. Even if this is not a perfect standard, it is a success. To brew a potion of this standard at your age means that even if you fail this time, you will surely break the record of that Browman boy with the amount of time you have. It seemed I had done Journeyman Haryk a disservice! You will be an excellent alchemist in the future if you stay dedicated. Now, let me get out of this to make sure. Appearance-wise, it looks the part, but let’s see…”

Arun took out a tool, standard testing equipment that ensures the quality of a potion. It was the most reliable method available.

Taking a sample of her potion, his eyes lit up as he found the device indicated its quality.

“Truly Perfect. You have outdone yourself; this alone should be enough to call you an Apprentice Alchemist! I would pass you immediately if I could, alas, I must follow protocol. If you can craft this standard, I have no doubt you will pass. Incredible, Sylvie, I will make sure to give both you and Haryk a recommendation to the guild for this, a talent like you needs to be nurtured!” Arun said passionately before reluctantly bidding farewell as he had to tend to his responsibilities as the Head Assessor.

Sylvie breathed a sigh of relief, overwhelmed by the sudden intensity of the previous proud Head Assessor.

That was when she heard a loud harrumph next to her. The High Elf boy's former look of wonder was forgotten; now that the moment had passed, he looked at her with irritation.

“You are fortunate I have not focused on alchemy, joining the order of Vaelorn means I have to focus on martial…” the High Elf boy began prattling under his breath, yet Sylvie already phased him out, moving onto her next potion.

Over the next few hours, there was no suspense in her brewing. She crafted every one of the five successfully.

Minor Cure Potion, Minor Cold Resistance Potion, Minor Poison Resistance Potion and Potion of Vigour, one after the other, were brewed and placed neatly in front of her.

Though she could not replicate the feat of crafting another Perfect Quality potion, the following three were of a High Quality, with only the Potion of Vigour being Good.

It was one of her best successive brews yet, and Sylvie was delighted she performed even beyond her high expectations.

Arun seemed too eager and pleased; she almost wanted to scream, ‘What happened to the absurdly composed and professional Wood Elf? Where have you gone?’

Instead, he prioritised her and ensured she was the first to be passed. He retrieved a small portion of her blood, which would be used in both the creation of her badge and registration. A droplet of blood was retrieved from every alchemist; it would alert the organisation if a member had perished.

Arun then mentioned that her badge would be delivered when it was made. However, she was already a certified apprentice alchemist and could already enjoy the benefits of this.

Sylvie felt overblown with excitement at this.

Haryk and her Mother had the most profound expressions as they congratulated her.

The delightful mood had to be dampened when the absurdly tall High Elf, who despite his imposing height and looks had somehow managed to vanish into the darkness up to this point, appeared out of nowhere as he approached them.

“Greetings, child. The name is Faelar. I have come to introduce myself to you now as I expect we will meet in the future, though not for your alchemy talents. You are very intriguing; your essence signature is unlike anything I have seen. So bright. So rich. I won’t keep you waiting, farewell now.” Faelar said as the dark, creepy High Elf vanished, like that, fading into the shadows.

Sylvie almost shivered at the uncomfortable feeling.

Turning her head to Haryk, she saw he was as pale as a ghost, and he muttered the words, “Just had to be that maniac. Faelar Shadowbane, Inquisitor of the Vaelorn, known as the Mage Hunter. And your daughter has his attention, Mryna, I think your husband is going to kill me.”

“Never mind him. I’m going to kill you! How did you not know those High Elves would be here?!” Mryna said furiously.

Sylvie was shocked, as she had never seen her mother angry before. Yet even more so, she was concerned about her future.

‘Who was Faelar, and why was everybody terrified of him?’ Sylvie thought.

Either way, she now had his attention, whatever that meant; all she could do was hope the awakening of her core could give her enough power to get out of this mess.