Chapter 52: Ch 52: Naida’s Success
First, she needed to understand the liquid base. She uncorked the crystal vial with extreme care.
As soon as she did, the pure and overwhelming scent of vitality instantly filled the cramped room.
She took a sterilized glass rod, extracted a single, tiny droplet, and placed it onto a flat copper plate.
"Let us see how you react to a simple base," Naida whispered to herself.
She crushed a handful of dried Sun Lotus petals using her heavy stone mortar and pestle.
Her grandfather had taught her that Sun Lotus powder would turn blue in the presence of standard mana water, but it would fizz aggressively if the liquid contained actual monster blood.
She sprinkled a pinch of the golden powder directly over the red droplet.
The reaction was instantaneous. The liquid did not turn blue. Instead, it dissolved the powder with a soft hiss, releasing a faint smell of burnt copper and sweet iron.
Naida smiled, her emerald green eyes reflecting the candlelight as she quickly wrote down her findings in a fresh notebook.
"It is a blood base. Highly purified, likely from a high-tier beast of the draconic or phoenix lineage. But it is perfectly stabilized. But what is holding that chaotic energy together without causing an explosion?"
She immediately prepared a second test. This time, she used a weak acidic solution brewed from Fermenting Ghostcap mushrooms.
If the binding agent was botanical in origin, the acid would cause it to curdle.
She applied a single drop of the acid to the test plate. The red potion droplet immediately thickened, forming a thin, translucent jelly for exactly two seconds before reverting to a flawless liquid state.
Naida’s heart beat faster.
"Starfire Amber! The ancient sap of the Starfire Tree. That is the binding force."
Through hours of painstaking, traditional experimentation, her pure intellect and willpower had pierced the veil of a mythical item.
She had successfully identified the core components.
They are mainly: a mythical beast bloodline base, Starfire Amber as a stabilizer, and a massive concentration of pure environmental mana.
She could not source the blood of a mythical beast, but her grandfather’s notes contained a theoretical substitute using purified Wyvern blood and refined Silverweed.
If she could balance the ratios perfectly, brewing a lesser variant was entirely within her grasp.
So, the Apothecary Shop in the Central District was no longer just a distant dream..
Meanwhile, Raidan also trained until midnight.
Only when he felt completely exhausted did he finally decide to head inside to sleep.
Seeing that her side of the bed was empty, he understood exactly what she must be doing.
It made him worry about her health, but a part of him was deeply proud of her dedication.
With no intention of disturbing her, he went to sleep.
He managed a few hours of comfortable rest until it was broken by Naida’s excited screams.
"I did it, Raidan! I did it!"
"Wake up, sleepyhead!"
Raidan woke up in alarm. His hand instinctively reached for the hilt of his Mythril Blade resting beside the bed.
However, upon seeing Naida, he relaxed.
But, she looked like a complete mess. Her short hair was unkempt and sticking up in odd directions. Also, smudges of black soot and dried herbal paste covered her pale cheeks.
But despite her messy appearance, her emerald eyes sparkled with joy.
She held up a small, round glass flask in her right hand. The liquid inside was not the blazing crimson of the Mythical Healing Potion, but rather of a green color.
"I actually did it, Raidan!"
Saying that, she practically shoved the flask into his face.
"I found a way to replicate the base structure. I substituted the mythical catalyst with purified Wyvern blood and used refined Silverweed to bind it."
Raidan blinked the sleep from his eyes and took the warm flask from her trembling fingers. He silently activated his system to verify her results.
[ System Alert: Scanning Item... ]
[ Item Name: Lesser Crimson Draught (Perfect Purity) ]
[ Rarity: Epic ]
[ Effect: Instantly heals 50% of maximum health and rapidly mends broken bones. Clears most low tier poisons. ]
[ Note: A masterpiece created by a mortal apothecary without the aid of a System. ]
Raidan was a littlr shocked. After all, it was not everytime the System itself labels something as a masterpiece.
An Epic rarity item was worth a small fortune in the current market, and she had brewed it using nothing but her pure intellect and basic ingredients.
He placed both of his hands on shoulder, then gently said,
"Naida, you might not know. But this is not just a lesser variant. You have created an Epic tier potion. The healing properties on this are completely insane. Do you have any idea what you have just accomplished?"
Naida let out a joyful laugh. Her knees finally gave out from pure exhaustion, and she collapsed onto the edge of the mattress right next to him.
"I just wanted to prove that human ingenuity could match magic. From birth I didn’t have access to Mana, but I had deep curiosity for everything. I wanted to be the Greatest Healer of the World. Sounds too grand, right?"
Raidan wrapped a strong arm around her waist, pulling her gently against him.
"No! That’s what I like about you. And I will make sure your dream comes true."
The scent of sweet herbs and blood clung to her clothes, but he found it incredibly endearing.
"As I promised you will have the biggest Apothecary Shop in the Central District We will secure the funds this week. But right now, you need to sleep. You look like you fought a goblin horde entirely by yourself."
Naida did not argue.
She then closed her eyes with a contented smile, falling asleep almost instantly in his warm embrace.
Raidan looked at the the stashes of gold in his inventory.
2450 Gold Coins, 88 Silver Coins.
He didn’t know if this was enough to buy a property in Central District.
And even if this was enough, from whom he would be buying from.
First, he needed to figure that out.
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