Alchemy Lesson

"Hehehe, i know that i am amazing" Sumiko said, proud of herself, before she received a scold from her older sister "You would have been already a 3rd rank Alchemist if you didn't slack in your training!"

With those words from her sister, Sumiko's pride quickly vanished.

...

If you don't have any further questions, we will start the lesson now," the green-haired woman smiled and began the lesson. "So, since you already know the story, I'll skip it and go directly to potion making!"

"Earlier today, we discussed how to create a Healing Potion, which we will now continue."

"A Healing Potion consists of Incrementum (Im) and Gelida (Gi) atoms. The former enhances cell healing, while the latter stops the wound."

"But that's not all," Nao then gazed intensely into Seichi's eyes. "What do you think a Healing Potion is also composed of?"

Seichi fell into deep thought. "If the Gi atoms freeze all the cells of the wound, they would freeze even the cells that need healing. Therefore, no matter how many Im atoms are present, it would never be effective."

Silence filled the room as Seichi pondered on how to solve the issue. Eventually, he reached a conclusion. "Master, we should somehow increase the energy within the interior of a cell that requires healing to raise its temperature. However, we must be cautious not to raise it too much, as it would unfreeze the external part of the cell too quickly, causing further damage. Thus, it will gradually heal thanks to the Incrementum cells, which will take action as the cells slowly thaw."

Silence enveloped the room, with the two girls staring in shock, especially the older one. "Yes, that's correct..."

"Really?" Happiness radiated from Seichi's eyes. "Did I truly get it right?"

"Yes, Seichi-kun," Nao smiled at him, then activated a unique interface using voice command. "Virtual Board!"

Nao stood and inscribed a peculiar formula on the floating board with her hand: (Gi1Im2(Et))(Ad1(It)).

"As you can see, this is the formula for the potion," she indicated on the virtual board. "It consists of one atom of Gelida, two atoms of Incrementum, each multiplied by an absolute atom of Externum, and one of Ardor, multiplied by an absolute atom of Internum."

"It matches your description perfectly," Nao was pleased to have such a remarkable student like Seichi who promptly raised his hand at her words. "Master, could you explain what Ardor atoms and those absolute atoms like Externum and Internum are?"

"Ardor (Ad) is the opposite atom to Gelida, causing heat," Nao explained enthusiastically. "While Externum (Et) and Internum (It) are absolute atoms; when Et is multiplied by another atom, it affects the external part of a cell, whereas It affects the internal part."

She felt delighted to have such an exceptional disciple. "Absolute atoms are those that confer special properties when applied to other atoms."

"Fascinating," Seichi raised his hand again. "So if I create a potion with a Gelida atom combined with Et atoms and consume it, will my external body freeze, right? And if I add an It atom instead, will my internal body freeze instead?"

"Interesting," Seichi raised his hand once again. "So if I make a potion with an atom of Gelida applied with Et atoms and I drink it, my external body will freeze, but if I apply an It atom to it, my internal body will do so instead?"

Nao's eyes shone even brighter at his example. "You even came up with the Freezing Potion recipe?!"

"You're such a genius! Even brighter than my little sister!"

"Hey, he's nothing like me," Sumiko puffed her cheeks. "I'm more intelligent than him."

A hit fell on Sumiko's forehead. "You took three minutes to understand it, while he took only a couple of seconds. I guess this explains it all."

...

Hours passed, and Seichi was learning more and more about alchemy.

[Image of the elements discovered by Seichi so far]

"Master, is this the right formula for a Tier 1 Genetic Advancement Potion?" Seichi raised his hand once again, showing her a formula: Cp (Om (Im1(Et) Im1(It)))

Nao widened her eyes in shock. "Y-yes, Seichi, you continue to surprise me."

"You came up with one of the most complex Tier 1 potions!" Nao continued to be shocked due to Seichi's great talent and intelligence in Alchemy, besides his curiosity in it.

"Master, when will we start practicing it, instead of just doing the theory?" The majestic boy couldn't wait to brew potions. He was having a lot of fun coming up with new alchemical recipes, and his hunger for knowledge grew with time.

"Why?" Seichi's curiosity urged him to start immediately, but his master felt he wasn't prepared. "Well, it can be risky if you make mistakes with ingredient quantities."

"One time, Sumiko accidentally caused an explosion in half of the mansion by miscalculating the Ardor in an Anti-Burn Potion!" Nao recounted with amusement, causing the young girl to blush in embarrassment.

"When will I be ready then?"

"When you become more attentive to precise measurements and differences between substances," she emphasized by pointing at her eyes. "You don't possess a unique ability like mine, Subatomical Eyes, which allows for accurate calculations and instant substance recognition without error."

"What an incredible ability!" Seichi pondered momentarily before his thoughts took a darker turn. "If I were to acquire her Uniqueness, I could start brewing potions right away."

Suddenly, Seichi's eyes turned crimson. "Potions, here I come!"

As the Glutton Aura began to emerge from Seichi's body, his consciousness intervened. "What am I doing? This ability is negatively affecting myself. It's really a problem."

Seichi's eyes returned to his pitch-black normal color. "I should be careful when I use this ability... in the... future..."

Seichi lost consciousness and was falling to the ground.

"Seichi!" Nao rushed to him.

"Onii-chan" and Sumiko did so as well.

...to be continued.

***

This is the rewritten version. Please tell me if you like more this one or the previous one.