Chapter 47: Chapter 46: The Novice Grandmaster (1)

“Whoa.”

Sans bolted upright, face flushed red. He sealed the vial just afterward, shocked that the double dose was able to affect him. In the past, he always found himself to be highly resistant to toxins, which only went to show how powerful the concoction before him was.

Elsie took double the recommended dose, just as I did. Is this what she felt?

The boy calmly closed his eyes and drummed his fingers against his leg. Attempting to decipher the drug’s components, his mind flipped through potential ingredients as if he were recalling a distant fairytale.

It feels like I know these ingredients like the back of my hand. Is this due to Doctor Lazure’s memory fragment?

The rambunctious man’s visage flashed his thoughts.

“But why do I remember it all as if I were the one who learned it? Derm seed, Agolic fern, Arctin beast scales, and many other ingredients that I’ve never seen before, yet… I can remember them so vividly.”

Sans shook his head, a naïve attempt to rattle his brain back to normalcy. It was bizarre, but after experiencing clarity from the two memory fragments; he suddenly felt like the rest of his mind was lost in an endless quagmire surrounded by fog in every direction.

“I need supplies…”

His eyes lit up in excitement, ears twitching at the sound of the bustling streets that were teeming with nighttime activity. With a chaotic grin, he scrambled for the door.

“There’s no time to waste!”

The thrill of unraveling the drug’s secrets was like an unreachable itch that must be scratched. He could sense a certain restlessness settling in, a single-minded fixation. He stole a glance at Elsie’s sleeping figure as he stepped out the door.

“Incredible. The moment I exit the room, the smell of the drug immediately disappears.”

He muttered while walking away. The intangible barrier that Elsie created earlier was still in effect, which was a strange experience.

Exiting the inn, Sans immediately scanned the surrounding market for a store that specialized in alchemy.

“10 silver coins! Get your donburi here!”

“Dry-aged spiritual tauro meat, cooked to perfection! Only a single low-rank spirit shard, cheapest in the market!”

“Total Smithy, now working late hours! The best weaponry for the money!”

Merchants of all types hollered and hawked their wares, creating a vibrant scene of activity. Bodies were cloistered throughout the streets as they huddled together within their respective groups, enthralled by the spectacle of the royal city of Anthor.

“Hmm, food, food, food, blacksmith, outfitters, accessories, bags of holding and storage rings… but no alchemy.”

Sans carefully eyed each store, realizing that his target was nowhere to be seen.

It can’t be helped. I’ll have to ask someone for directions.

Letting out a sigh, he mentally sifted through the crowd in hopes of finding a good candidate.

Maybe someone alone, because approaching a group of people would be scary. Maybe I can just ask a shop attendant? Oh wait! A guard!

In the distance, a city guard paced back and forth. He was donned in a full suit of armor, while over his shoulder rested an intimidating halberd. Sans skillfully weaved his way through the crowds.

“Hello, sir, can I ask where-“

“What! State your business!

The guard shouted back as if his dignity were at stake.

“Where the alchemy shop is-“

“It is of no concern to this soldier!”

Sans cocked his head to the side in confusion.

Why is this guard being so difficult? Ah, how unlucky.

Just as the boy was about to turn away, the guard stepped forward in a hurry.

“Wait, did you say alchemy?”

“Yes?”

“Which faction do you belong to?”

The guard almost sounded nervous.

“Faction? I don’t know anything about that. I just want supplies so that I can start my alchemy journey.”

Sans shrugged his shoulders. There was no way he was willing to get involved with intracity politics, especially not ones that he was ignorant of.

“I see.”

The guard stood tall with broad shoulders, finally resembling a figure of authority. He pointed off down the road and continued speaking.

“Down that way, and past the bend. Third marketplace on your right, there is an alchemy shop called Herbs and Cauldrons. It’s reputable, and you should be able to find everything you need there.”

“Thank-“

“Pardon me.”

Before Sans could finish his thanks, the guard had already stomped away, presumably to patrol another section of the city.

Well that was weird, and frustrating. There was something off about that guard.

After a moment of reflection, Sans promptly ignored the interaction, chalking it up to a quirky personality. It wasn’t the first time he had come across an eccentric of sorts. Without a moment to lose, he took off down the road in pursuit of the alchemy shop.

“That’s the second market… and here’s the third market. Oh, it’s here, Herbs and Cauldrons. Fortunately, the guard didn’t lie.”

Sans inspected the building with intrigue. The entrance was decorated with a jungle of vines and rainbows of flowers, while a tasteful signpost protruded from above the doorway.

“A bubbling cauldron of herbs, fitting.”

He eyed the signpost with a grin as he passed underneath. A strong natural scent, the combination of woods and unique plants, assaulted him the moment he entered the store. Display cases were everywhere he looked, showcasing medicinal pills of all colors sealed away in crystal vials.

“Welcome to Herbs and Cauldrons, just a minute!”

A flustered voice called out from the back area.

She sounded busy. Oh, what’s that scent?

The next moment, a muted bang resonated throughout the building, followed by an angry cry. Sans crept closer to the backroom in excitement. Through the crack of the door, he spied a young and reserved woman with auburn hair, ruminating over a smoky cauldron.

“Gosh darnit, what went wrong?”

The woman seemed to have forgotten all about her new customer and mumbled to herself, occasionally pointing at the odd ingredients strewn about the floor.

“You can’t use burmai wood dust as the catalyst, at least not with bija-cardinals.”

Sans savored the flavorful hints of ingredients within the smokey air and casually threw out wisdom.

“Huh?”

“The burmai wood dust inhibits the bija-cardinals too much, which increases the heat threshold before the essence of the other ingredients can be extracted. If you used crushed burmai leaves then it would-“

“Wait! You’re a genius! Do you mind waiting? You can watch if you want!”

The woman tripped over her feet as she scrambled about the room, collecting a new set of ingredients. Before Sans could even give a proper response, the woman was already seated beside the cauldron with an intense gaze.

“Low heat here.”

She waved her hand over the cauldron, and a thin stream of vibrant yellow fire coated the inside walls. A portion of her first ingredient, a vial of miniscule scraps of metal, was pinched between her fingers and tossed inside the makeshift furnace.

“First, melt the kormin silver flakes, and then mix in the acosta sand.”

Sans watched her move between each ingredient with rapt attention. Each time a new substance was thrown into the cauldron, it swiftly melted into a simmering ball of liquid that grew smaller with each passing second.

She’s refining the ingredients to improve the purity. Then she’ll combine them in different stages.

Just as he predicted, the woman manipulated the ingredients with her conjured fire before molding them together. Some of the materials had become dust, while others stayed in a liquid state.

“And now, burmai leaves. Next, bija-cardinals… it’s working!”

The blaze below reflected in her eyes as a smile bloomed. Within the cauldron, streaks of purple could be seen flashing throughout the combined material. The next moment, she closed the lid of the cauldron and stood up with a big stretch.

“It’ll take at least a few hours before the pill is ready. Ah, thank you so much for your input. You must be an expert, and so young too!”

Sans gave a hesitant laugh before replying.

“Me? An expert? No, no. Also you’re not that much older than me.”

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He shrugged, doing his best attempt to shift the appreciation of talent toward the woman herself.

“Huh? You’re also 32?”

The woman gave him a strange stare.

“N-No… I’m mistaken. I’m only 16 this year.”

“Wow, 16 and yet so knowledgeable. By the way, my name is Lem—short for Lemma. How may I help you today, fellow alchemist?”

Lem motioned for Sans to follow into a different room. If the shop’s entrance lobby was a showcase of complete wares, then this adjacent one seemed to cater toward alchemists themselves. Rows upon rows of shelves created a maze, and upon each shelf was an assortment of plants and pouches, all neatly labeled accordingly.

“I’m looking for a certain set of ingredients. I can write them down for you.”

Sans watched as Lem stroked her hand over the leaves of a particular vine. From the endearing smile on her face, he could only imagine that the woman enjoyed nature more than humanity.

“Also, I’ll need a cauldron that can withstand uh… well, what’s the highest quality cauldron that you have?”

He looked about the room in search of any usable materials.

It seems they’re stored in different bags of holding.

Lem didn’t keep him waiting and procured a slip of parchment, with which Sans promptly wrote down no less than 30 different ingredients and handed it back.

“Y-You want all of these?”

She stared at the list dumbfounded.

“Yes, also could you provide multiple sets of each ingredient? I need to try different methods in order to derive the original composition of-“

“Hold on. You’re doing what again?”

Lem stared at him with a strange expression.

“I’m… deriving the original composition of a toxin. It shouldn’t be a big deal as I’ve already deciphered half of… um?”

Sensing her intense gaze, Sans couldn’t help but avert his eyes. He cleared his throat and continued speaking.

“Is there something wrong with that?”

“No! You must be a grandmaster alchemist, correct?”

Before Sans could say another word, Lem did a formal 90-degree bow.

“Lemma Turst, disciple of Elder Holpin, gives her deepest apologies for disrespecting the grandmaster!”

Sans nervously laughed and took a step back.

“I think there’s a misunderstanding. I’m no grandmaster, I’m just trying to-“

“You even have all the bearings of a grandmaster! So humble and modest!”

Lem twirled in place and clasped her hands together. Her excitement was almost palpable within the air.

“I’m really not though…”

“Nonsense, you wanted these ingredients? I can sell them to you at half the price if you research the reverse composition here! I can even provide a place for you to use.”

She waved the list in the air, causing the ends of the parchment to bend back and forth along with her motion.

“Really? Half off? Okay! Although, I’m definitely not a grandmaster.”

Sans agreed to the proposition without hesitation.

“I can’t wait to see the fruits of your efforts! Practicing reverse composition right before my very eyes? Even Elder Holpin is only barely making headway with that!”

Lem bounced throughout the storehouse, collecting various ingredients the different bags that littered the shelves. After retrieving each ingredient, she then placed it into a spare bag to be handed over to Sans. It didn’t take her long to fly through the list of herbs and other materials.

“This is everything, here take a look.”

Her eyes glowed as she thrust the bag into Sans’ hands, who promptly shifted through the ingredients one by one.

“Hmm, high quality cat’s eye jade, 1000-year-old elken root, shales of korbus stone…”

He masterfully inspected each ingredient, ensuring everything was up to standard.

“I knew it, you really are a grandmaster alchemist!”

“I’m not…”

Sans let out a sigh before sealing the bag of holding once more.

It’s just… everything is so intuitive after receiving Doctor Lazure’s memory fragment. I’m still missing practical experience though. How could I possibly explain that?

Lem raced across the room once more like a cat that found a new playmate.

“Here! This is the highest quality cauldron that’s for sale. You can use it for your experiment, and if you like it then you can buy it!”

She handed over a hefty pumpkin sized cauldron. Black in color, it showcased a series of red patterns along the side that glowed mysteriously.

Sans was taken aback from the absolute faith this woman had. From the way Lem’s eyes shone, to the way her body fidgeted, Sans could tell that she idolized her alchemist superiors. Somehow, he also ended up fitting the description.

“Okay, let’s get this started then!”

The man couldn’t help but feel enthralled, finally getting his opportunity to test all the theories in uncovering the mysterious toxin.

“This way!”

Lem led him into a familiar room—the one where he first met her.

“You can take all the space you need, I’ll just be sitting over here quietly. If you um…”

Her voice grew quiet and her posture demure.

“If I what?”

Sans glanced at her strangely. Why was she acting so shy all the sudden?

“If you feel like explaining your process or need an assistant, I would be honored to listen or help. It’s extremely rare for a customer to come so late at night, usually I spend this time practicing my own alchemy anyway.”

Her eyes sparkled even though she wore a bashful expression.

Just how deep does her love for alchemy go?

Sans could only imagine this woman surrounded by an army of cats and plants in her old age. He envisioned a future where no man could possibly fill the massive shoes that alchemy left in her life.

“Of course, I’ll do what I can. Now… this is the toxin that I intend to unravel.”

He revealed the vial of green dust.

“Wait… you’re trying to figure out the recipe of Twilight Fel? That’s…”

Lem made a wry smile and scratched her cheek with a finger. Sans became elated upon seeing her reaction.

“Do you know about this? Is there anything about its creation process you can tell me?”

“My master, Elder Holpin- no, there’s not much I can tell you besides it’s effects, which you likely already know. It’s not that I don’t want to tell you anything—I simply don’t know anything.”

Sans shrugged.

“Anything that you can tell me would be beneficial.”

Lem let out a sigh before finding a stool to sit on.

“The rumor goes back maybe two decades when the King returned from the tenth floor with his advisor. At the time, Twilight Fel never existed, but within a month it had the entire Anthor Kingdom in its addictive clutches.”

Sans glanced at the vial in his hand with a frown.

“You’re saying this toxin, Twilight Fel, has been around for about twenty years?”

“That’s right. During that time, many people fell victim to it, becoming mindless and incoherent addicts. Eventually, it became city law to banish them from the capital with no exceptions. It’s a sad fate to say the least.”

Lem swung her dangling feet back and forth as she shifted side to side.

“Even my master’s wife and son fell victim to it…”

Muttering under her breath, she let out an exhausted sigh and closed her eyes. Hearing this, Sans came to a certain understanding.

“Elder Holpin, he’s trying to make a cure isn’t it?”

Lem glanced up with a mournful expression, a motion that spoke louder than words.

“I see.”

Sans waved his hand over the bag of holding, retrieving a vast array of materials.

“Let us begin. This toxin, Twilight Fel, receives most of its affect from palamo root. An extremely uplifting drug that has strong addiction capabilities. However, palamo root itself is incredibly toxic if ingested normally. To combat this…”

A curl of gentle and minty green fire traveled along the length of his arm, which then collected around a handful of materials.

“Any one of these materials can counteract the toxicity if refined together.”

With a flick of his finger, the various materials flew into the cauldron one by one.

I think this is what I’m supposed to do?

Although Sans spoke out loud with confidence, internally he could only pray that the memory fragment was leading him down the right path.

At this stage, I need to separate different samples of palamo root and combine them with each balancing agent. Then the true tests can begin.

Like an extension of his hands and fingers, Sans manipulated the fire with an uncanny level of precision, giving each pair of ingredients ample space to begin their refining process.

“Palamo root mixed with ice-ring grass will take the longest amount of time to refine. While this is ongoing, we can plan for the next phase of testing.”

Every motion he made felt as natural as breathing. Even the knowledge that bubbled forth to the forefront of his thoughts was like second nature.

“You really are a grandmaster…”

Lem watched in utter shock as the rest of her suspicions were cleared away—not that she had many to begin with. Such was the naivety of the well-natured shopkeeper.

“Not only do you have a variant fire that specializes in gentle refining, but to be able to refine more than five different ingredients simultaneously? Just how much have you honed your craft to accomplish such a feat? You must have been refining materials since birth!”

Sans gave a nervous chuckle, wondering what Lem would think if she knew this was his first time ever attempting alchemy.

“Ahem, moving on… The first combination of ingredients is a success. We can let the other pairs continue their refinement and work with this new product. Now the Twilight Fel toxin has these other ingredients mixed in. The combination we’re seeking is one that doesn’t reject the palamo root…”

The novice continued to lecture the willing all throughout the night. Back and forth, they discussed the process of reverse composition and reached higher heights.

----

With each experiment, Sans grew more confident in his handling of materials, improving at a dramatic rate right before Lem’s eyes. By the time the crack of dawn reached the city streets, Sans had already achieved a thorough understanding of the drug’s composition.

“Finally! This is the official composition list. Except there’s one glaring issue—I’m missing an ingredient!”

Sans scribbled away furiously at a paper and tossed it over to Lem. After witnessing Sans’ expertise in alchemy, her respect for the young man skyrocketed exponentially.

“Wait, why are these two circled in red?”

Lem pointed to the paper. Both of them had a crazed look in their bloodshot eyes.

“I’m glad you asked. We refer back to the board!”

Sans spun around in place and jabbed a finger at the wall full of pinned parchment notes and strings that connected them together. Each note held all the details and findings related to each individual ingredient. Naturally, Sans himself didn’t need this board of information, but he created it together with Lem for her own understanding.

“If we follow the connection here, we can see that we’ve removed all possibilities from the rest of the ingredients. So how is it… that those two ingredients are able to join together when there is no binding agent?”

“I… huh?”

Lem stared at the wall of parchment and strings with a bizarre expression. After experiencing the entire journey of reverse composing Twilight Fel, she likely had an even firmer grasp on the drug’s structure than her own master.

“I don’t understand. Moonlit dew and Rose of Desire are two opposing ingredients. You’re suggesting there are no other detectable ingredients that could bind them together, and yet these two ingredients have managed to do so. How is this possible?!”

The woman frantically went through the list of ingredients once again while Sans stared at the board, both perplexed and exhausted.

“Either way, I’ll have to pick this up another time.”

He let out a stretching yawn while Lem remained transfixed on the progress.

“I never thought…”

Her voice lingered as she traced her fingers over the threads on the wall.

“Hmm?

“I just never thought I would see so much progress on Twilight Fel. It’s not complete, but do you understand how much this information is worth?”

Sans glanced at the shopkeeper.

“No, but I have a feeling you don’t care about the worth either. Speaking of worth, how much do I owe you?”

“I… You’ve already taught me so much. I can’t charge you for anything!”

Lem resolutely threw her arms up, forming an X in front of her chest.

“No way, I can’t accept a single spirit shard from you.”

“Don’t be silly.”

Sans procured a high-grade spirit shard and tossed it up and down.

“We had an agreement, remember? How many of these do I owe you.”

Lem let out a sigh before skimming over the messy workspace.

“We ended up using 5 sets of each ingredient at minimum, double that for the second phase, each set is 5 high-grade spirit shards, and then half off. We can call it even at 50 high-grade spirit shards.”

“Perfect!”

Sans withdrew a bag of holding and funneled 50 shards inside it.

“Here you go!”

“Thanks, but before I can accept that I have to see your alchemist token.”

Lem pushed the bag back toward Sans.

“Er, what?”

“Your alchemist token? Don’t tell me…”

Her eyes widened.

“You don’t have an alchemist token?!”

“No? What’s an alchemist token?”

Lem’s hand immediately smacked her forehead. She twisted from side to side, looking as if she wanted to scream in frustration but desperately choosing not to.

“No, no. It’s fine. It’s nighttime anyway, and we’ve been here for far too long. How could anybody know if I sold you the materials, right?”

“Is there something I should know?”

Sans hesitantly passed the bag of holding over to Lem, who let out a bellyful of air.

“No, it’s nothing. Just be sure to visit the alchemist association and become a formal alchemist. If you’re not a formal alchemist, then it’s illegal to buy alchemy materials in The Kingdom of Anthor.”

Lem waved her hand through the air as if to dispel some tension.

“It’s illegal for me to buy materials? Then how am I supposed to practice? Who came up with this dumb law?”

“The king and his advisor of course. It wasn’t always like this, but ever since their rule began, they’ve kept an incredibly tight grasp on alchemy within the city. Okay, it’s best for you to get out of here before it becomes the morning brightens further. The less wandering eyes, the better.”

Lem ushered the man out toward the entrance room.

“Wait, if it’s illegal, are you going to be okay?”

Sans couldn’t help but shake the gnawing feeling that he’d already messed up somehow, even though it was clearly an honest mistake.

“Don’t be silly, how could anyone know what transactions went behind these doors? It’s not like there were other customers here. My master, Elder Holpin, frequents the Alchemist’s Association once the sun begins to dip. Seek him out for help. Go along now, I’ll be perfectly fine!”

Lem waved him off at the door.

“Oh, my Body Cleansing Elixir should be ready soon! I have to go check on that! Have a good night-I mean morning!”

With her final statement, she shut the door on Sans, who began the trek home with a small bounce in his step. He inhaled the fresh morning air with a smile. On the horizon, the morning clouds were parted ever so slightly, allowing the first rays of sunlight to be caught in his eyes.

Today was a great day. Now, if only I could figure out the missing ingredient that acts as a binding agent… what could it be? Does Elsie know?