Pulse-Raising Potion

Anthony put down the first book Clemence had given him for the day as he watched Clemence.

The method of testing the potion's efficacy by dropping it on several different powders and materials was another thing he wasn't used to in this new era.

The first drop of the pink, slightly translucent liquid in the glass bottle made a puff of smoke as it fell on a tiny pile of yellow powder.

"Is that good?"

"Shh."

Anthony raised an eyebrow in doubt at how Clemence shushed him.

'Brave.'

"How much concentration do you even need to drip the potion? Doesn't that pipette thingy do everything for you?"

"..."

Clemence didn't say anything. He told himself it was because he didn't want to lose his focus. But it was because he couldn't refute Anthony. He just felt he should have an air of expertise as he performed the experiment.

Slightly muffled about Anthony poking a hole in that air, Clemence continued. Each reaction, regardless of the, to Anthony, seemingly random outcome, put a growing smile on Clemence's face.

Anthony raised an eyebrow in response to his growing expectations.

When the final reaction resulted in nothing happening, Clemence stopped moving. Since he was turned away from Anthony, he couldn't make out whether it had been a success or not.

"Well?"

"Yaoh!"

Clemence shouted with his arms raised to the ceiling. Anthony couldn't tell if it was a cry of pain or an exclamation of joy. With a sigh, he jumped down from his armchair and waddled over to Clemence, who appeared to be worshipping the glass bottle with the potion.

'It's a success, then?'

"Ahem."

Anthony cleared his throat as he glared at Clemence. He startled Clemence enough to make the physician almost drop the potion.

"Ah. I'm not sure about the effects. But it's at least not harmful."

Clemence belatedly informed Anthony about the results with a wide grin, which Anthony couldn't fathom. They hadn't even confirmed that it would work, yet he was that excited.

"All that only to check if it's safe?"

"Yeah!"

Clemence nodded with an enthusiasm unbefitting his age.

"Drinking it would have yielded the same conclusion, you know?"

"But what if it hadn't been safe?"

"A later matter for a later me."

Anthony nodded assertively before climbing onto a stool and reaching for the bottle. But before he could take it, Clemence jerked it away and out of reach.

"What do you think you are doing?"

"Didn't you say it was safe?"

"Yeah. But we still need to test it to see what the effects are."

"Exactly."

Anthony wasn't necessarily impatient. But he had a craving for both the knowledge of the effective formula and the effects of the potion that would amplify his Natural Breathing. Besides, the best way to learn something was to experience it personally.

Anthony hadn't stayed true to that with a lot of things. But where possible, he would aim to acquire personal experience, which was why he had tried every spell or magic in his personal Soul Library at least once.

Anthony held Clemence in place with a stern glare. He instinctively tried to channel the power of his Dragon Eyes, but all he did was stare really hard. Fortunately, it was enough to make Clemence stay still for as long as Anthony needed to snag the potion out of his hand.

Clemence could probably have tried to resist a little harder. But he didn't want to upset Anthony too much. And his personal curiosity won out against his carefulness. He had already confirmed that it would be safe for human consumption, so nothing bad should happen to Anthony, even if he drank it. But he hadn't confirmed the effects yet. However, Anthony would do just that if Clemence would let him drink the potion.

Clemence could only let Anthony grab the potion, which was almost too big for the little boy to hold. His stubby fingers could barely reach past the halfway point of the bottleneck. But his grip strength was enough to make sure it didn't slip to the ground.

Anthony peered into the bottle while sloshing around the liquid before taking a whiff.

'Smells almost like it should.'

Anthony took a sip. He swallowed it after running it around his mouth a couple of times in consideration.

Clemence watched on nervously as Anthony first took one gentle gulp of the pink potion and then decided to down the rest in one long go.

'Oh, that hits the spot!'

Anthony slammed down the empty, round glass bottle on the worktable with a satisfied sigh.

The taste wasn't anything to write home about. It was like flavored cough medicine.

But it was the first thing with mana in it that Anthony had consumed since his rebirth. Since the materials were so low-level and the refinement process had been done on a trial-and-error basis, the potion didn't have that much mana.

However, it was more than he had breathed into his muscles the last few months.

Of course, since the mana was locked in with the medicinal properties, he couldn't use the mana for his own growth, at least not without a special method.

But the stream of mana flowing through his body refreshed Anthony like cool water for a man in the desert.

Since his current body didn't have any mana senses, and he could only rely on his soul sense, Anthony hadn't realized how parched he was from the lack of mana compared to his past life.

Anthony wasn't sure it was a good thing, however, since it only made him want more and to start training his mana before his body was ready. Fortunately, Anthony was swept out of those thoughts by the potion's effects.

The potion wasn't as great as it could be. Anthony was sure of that. But the last time he had seen the effects of the potion, he had been in his Dragon King body, and the one who drank it was decently strong, even for a human.

Anthony, as he was now, was far from that level of strength. Naturally, the potion he looked down on as mostly useless, albeit good support for those who need it, was powerful enough to send his heart rate soaring into the sky.

Anthony fell to the ground while clutching his chest.