Beginning Alchemy

The doors opened a stream of rich smell from medicinal herbs, various flowers and plants, as well as some other ingredients came out.

"Wow... This is incredible..." Ruby muttered with sparkling eyes, looking around and slowly stepping forward.

"Damn, I couldn't agree more. Even for someone who doesn't understand anything about alchemy, it's obvious that gathering all this stuff is difficult, and it costs a fortune!" Klaus exclaimed. Not even he could contain his excitement.

Getting into an alchemist's workshop was something that was not possible every day. If not for Halvor's friendship with Angus, it would never have happened.

Lana, Reine, Ruby, and Hana watched the cabinet with dozens of jars with curiosity. Inside besides rare flowers and herbs, there were also monster parts. 

"Eik!" Ruby jumped up startled when the massive eye in the jar looked at her. In fact, it just happened to turn around. The monster was long dead.

Evan was no exception, though he didn't look like a kid in a toy store unlike the girls, but some things impressed him.

'Hmm... I'm pretty sure this flower is deadly poisonous, and there are plenty of things like that around here.' Evan muttered inwardly, rubbing his chin and glancing at the white flower with three petals and strange purple pollen. 

Angus smiled slightly, covering his face with his long sleeve.

"I won't hide it, hearing praise is nice, but you overestimate me. Perhaps all of my workshops are indeed worth a fortune, but this is one of the smallest." Angus uttered, waving his hand.

Halvor walked up behind Angus, putting an arm around his shoulder.

"Hey, maybe I've had too much to drink already, but besides all these weird potions, you probably have something better, right? Like wine, right?" Halvor smiled broadly.

Angus glanced at him, then took a deep breath.

"I guess I have no other choice."

...

Two hours later, Halvor was still drinking, but this time he did so slowly as he realized that Angus's wine was special, for it was partly a potion.

"Are you sure I'm allowed to drink?" Ruby asked, uncertainly holding the cup in her hands.

"Of course!" Lana said seriously, "Didn't you hear what Mr. Angus said? This wine is infused with herbs that have been absorbing mana for years! Not only will it enhance our bodies, but it will also make us stronger!"

"Tsk. It's just an ordinary drink, with a few bonuses." Reine snorted, taking a sip.

Evan and Klaus had long since had their portions and were watching Angus. Even though they were Commoners, any kind of potions affected them as well, even with more effect than mages, since their bodies were weaker.

At this time, Angus was doing what they had come here to do - making potions, or rather preparing for it.

In the center of his workshop was a huge cauldron, into which he occasionally threw various herbs, and the color gradually turned dark purple.

"I'm no expert, but why do I think it looks more like poison than Rise Potion." Klaus said, looking at the bubbling cauldron with a strange look.

Angus smirked.

"Young man, do you really think I can't hear you?"

Klaus's face went pale, he didn't know what to say, his only option was to apologize. He was just expressing his opinion, but he didn't want to offend the Alchemist, that was the last thing on his to-do list.

"Oh, don't worry, I don't take offense." Angus waved his hand.

Evan raised an eyebrow, "Rise Potion? What's that?"

Angus shrugged, "It's one of the most common types of potions of all. They're made from either mana crystals or the cores of monsters and beasts. Obviously, the higher the quality of the crystal or core the better."

Evan asked, "If you had to choose one thing, between cores and crystals, which would you choose?"

Angus thought for a moment, touching his lips together.

Then, he answered, "Cores are probably the ones, though that's only because they usually have a higher concentration. However, crystals are just as good, they're just two different materials from different sources, but they serve roughly the same purpose."

"However!" Angus raised his finger high, "If you were to ask a Blacksmith about this, the answer would be more harsh. Cores can be made into gear, but crystals are unlikely, though finding a good blacksmith is quite a challenge."

Evan looked away, pondering Angus's words.

'Hmm... Now I roughly understand what the Einrich Family does, at least the task of the prison has become obvious. It's unlikely I could use those crystals in their raw form, I'd need an alchemist or at least some tools for that.' Evan pondered, rubbing his chin.

Then, a sly smirk appeared on his face.

'I don't know how powerful the Head of the Einrich Family is, but it would be nice to return to the prison at some point and subdue everyone there! There's more than enough crystals, but first...' Evan looked at Angus, 'I need to see the effectiveness of these potions and figure out if I have a talent for magic, or not.'

Clap. Clap. Clap.

Angus with a satisfied face patted his palms to knock the dust off them and pulled out a pouch from his belt filled with small white spheres infused with energy. Each First Rank Core could be sold for a good amount of money, and considering there were 37 of them in Angus's hands, the price could buy some pretty good catalysts.

"Well, it's about time to get to the fun part! Not to sound arrogant, but you're damn lucky Halvor and I are friends!" Angus uttered as he tossed all the Cores high up.

At the same moment, before the Cores fell into the purple liquid, Angus's eyes flashed, and his Warp spun. His Tantum activated, and the temperature around him rose sharply as his hands burst into bright white flames, pure but powerful.

"Hah, that was always my favorite part!" Angus exclaimed excitedly, directing his flames straight towards the cores.