Opportunity (4)

"Here are the rest of the herbs," Ethan transferred them to me.

"I was starting to run out," I sadly smiled.

"Did you manage to succeed in one of them?" He asked about the progress.

"I'm trying," I sighed.

Unfortunately, I never had a successful attempt. Although Ethan was used to the waste, Luke frowned at the failures. Many hours passed as more bottles exploded. Like Alex, Luke tried to synthesize the medicine for me, struggling to watch the precious ingredients being thrown out. However, he wasn't able to touch the support items, switching to guide me.

Ethan shook his head, telling him it was useless. The whole process was customized, having no standard way to conduct this. By now, everyone inside this room knew it would be a miracle if I managed to succeed. This was why Micah gave up on me a long time ago.

"Isn't this method harder than before?" Ethan noticed.

"It is," I groaned.

"Can she succeed at this rate?" Ethan asked Luke.

"It's hard to tell. Rika always struggled with control," Luke continued to study the process.

"It's strange. She managed to succeed a few times when she created the medicine for you," Ethan wondered.

"I did it!" I yelled when a bottle didn't explode on me.

Sadly, I didn't have enough herbs to create the cream and oils. I started to mix the completed support item into the bowls of soup, getting Luke and Ethan to taste-test them with me. Unexpectedly, this method produced stronger medicine, needing to dilute them more. As usual, my failures replaced our meals, Luke not mentioning dinner. Near the end, ten bowls of soup were laid in front of me, double the usual number. Maybe it was a way to compensate for the increase in difficulty.

[Notice: Due to the higher difficulty, the herbs will be replaced every half a day]

"Can you go to the garden to pick more herbs again?" I turned to Ethan.

"Didn't we pick everything?" He recalled.

"There should be more. I still need to create the cream and oils," I urged him to leave.

"Why are you still here? You have to help him," I scolded Luke when he didn't follow Ethan.

This was how I managed to bring everything to the infirmary. Fortunately, Alex was awake, updating himself on everything he missed. He sighed in relief while watching me climb onto his bed. Since I had more practice, my hand didn't shake when I passed him a spoon of soup, "it's safe, Ethan and Luke helped me with them."

"It took her double the number of herbs than usual," Ethan was exhausted.

"Don't the herbs get replaced once a day?" Alex noticed.

"Not anymore," I continued to empty the bowls.

I wondered why all my patients seemed to be very hungry. The bowls of soup couldn't digest that fast. Once I passed the rest of the bowls to the servants to clean, I moved onto using the creams and oils. Resembling Alex, Luke did all the hard work for me, allowing me to do the minimum. However, I quickly got tired, chugging more elixirs to help me regain more energy. The creams and oils were more stubborn than before, harder to absorb into the skin.

"I can do the rest Rika," Luke frowned at my condition.

I accepted his offer, passing him the containers. But the containers slipped through his hands, showing the mediator wanted me to do the work. I wasn't surprised, picking them up to resume recovering Alex's health. I wanted to finish everything by today, not giving the chance to get hunted again. I couldn't stand seeing any sharp cutlery anymore, reminding me of the previous day. It didn't make sense, the trial getting harder for a lesser item.

"When do you think you will completely recover?" I tried to check the progress.

"Around a day," Alex predicted.

My face slumped, finding the support items to be nearly useless. This meant I would have to suffer through three more rounds. I couldn't control my emotions anymore, my eyes welling with tears. Although I knew nothing would change, I hoped someone would provide me a solution. I turned to helplessly begging, "you have to recover faster. Tell me a way I can help you. I'll do anything for you to regain your health. Please?"

Alex was shocked, speechless as he watched me cry. I continued to sniffle as I managed to empty the containers of medicine. The room entered an awkward realm of silence, nobody offering any solutions. Since I knew Luke would be against me using heal, I tightly hugged Alex to disguise my spell. Thankfully, Alex wasn't able to react to the mass income of mana entering him. Only able to separate from me after a few minutes passed.

"How do you feel right now? Is there anything else you need?" I expectantly looked at him.

"How much mana did you use?" Alex studied himself.

"Around half of my usual supply. You can't die on me!" I quickly came up with an excuse.

Since I didn't know how to properly use the elixirs, I pulled all the different kinds out of my inventory. Desperate thoughts of pouring them over him came into my head. I began to open the bottles, pouring them over his head as Alex's eyes widened.

"Can you get her out of my bed?" Alex held back his annoyance.