Arcane Innovator

"You want to… cook something?" Gil's eyebrows shot up in surprise at my sudden proclamation, but he quickly regained his composure and gave me a dubious look. "Since when have you been interested in cooking?"

"What do you mean? Is it so hard to believe I want to simply cook myself a dinner?" I nonchalantly replied. "Anyway, will you help me or not?"

Gil eyed me suspiciously for a moment before his face broke into a mischievous grin. "Ah, I see. Trying to impress a girl, are we? Well, why didn't you say so earlier? I know just the place!"

'Huh?' Before I could correct his misguided assumption, Gil was already on his feet, bidding farewell to his drinking friends. He grabbed my arm and practically dragged me out of the tavern, chattering excitedly about some hidden gem of an eatery he knew.

'What the…? How does he even come up with such nonsense?' I shook my head with exasperation. However, as we weaved through the lunch crowds, I decided to let Gil's misunderstanding slide. After all, it was easier than coming up with another excuse, and if it helped me access a kitchen, all the better.

Thus, after a few minutes of brisk walking, we arrived at an unassuming door that was tucked away in a quiet corner of the fifth floor. I blinked, looking around curiously as I didn't expect there would be an eatery so far away from the main street.

It was a fairly ordinary-looking building, but upon closer inspection, I could discern some subtle signs betraying its purpose, like the larger-than-average windows that formed a well-lit storefront and the tactfully placed flower pots to brighten up the plain walls.

Following Gil's lead, I walked in, noting that this establishment seemed to be a strange mix between a boutique and a café. Granted, there was no coffee in this world. At least none that I knew about. Still, this place gave off just the right vibe.

Like the tiny tables that were artfully scattered around the main room, subtly separated by wooden dividers to create a cozy, intimate atmosphere. 'It's almost like this is some sort of romantic hideout….' I thought.

But before I could ponder about this any further, we were met by a portly, middle-aged woman with a kind face. "Oh, my! If it isn't young Gil! What brings you here at such an unexpected hour? And what's this? You brought a friend! …Or has your preference changed?" She winked at him.

Hearing this, Gil shuffled around awkwardly, seemingly aware of the sharp glare I was casting in his direction.

"Ehm… Madam Florence! It's always a pleasure to hear your lovely voice. Please forgive our intrusion at this early hour, but my friend here has a small problem only you could help him with." He hurriedly said, especially emphasizing the word "friend."

"Is that so?" The woman chuckled before turning her head toward me and looking me over. "Pleasure to meet you… Any friend of young Gil is welcome here, especially such a handsome one, and I would be happy to assist you with any problem you might have."

"Oh, pleasure to make your acquaintance. My name is Darian." I promptly said, trying to steer the conversation in the right direction and away from any weird topics. "I would like to borrow your kitchen for an hour or so. Would that be possible?"

"My kitchen?" Madame Florence blinked, slightly taken aback. "Ha! That's the weirdest request anyone has ever asked me, and believe me, I got a lot of those… What do you need it for? Don't get me wrong; I would be happy to help as long as you won't be doing anything strange in there, that is. After all, I need it to serve my customers."

"Don't worry, it's nothing like that!" I hurriedly said. "I just want to do a little experiment for one of my classes, that's all. I'll clean everything up so it'll be like I was never there, and I'll pay you for your troubles."

"Hmm… If you just wanted to cook something, you should have said so from the start! And you don't have to pay me... I won't be getting any customers until much later, so the kitchen would be idle anyway. So come along, I'll show you around, and while you're at it, I at least get to question the young Gil here about the latest happenings..."

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She then ushered me into the back room, revealing a tiny kitchen area. It was much smaller than the ones in the larger taverns that were closer to the floor's center, but it was perfect for my needs.

I thanked her, and after promising Gil another round of evening tutoring, he was swiftly whisked away by the eager-looking Madam Florence. Finally, alone, I sprang into action. 'Time to brew some potions…' I thought excitedly.

It was a bit nostalgic to be brewing again after so much time. Still, I knew I didn't have much time before they returned, so I worked quickly. Unpacking the freshly harvested bundle of herbs, I began chopping and grinding with practiced efficiency.

Drying the herbs to preserve their essence from leaking would be better, but since they were fresh and I didn't intend to use them for any actual healing, it was okay to use them as they were.

The first step was to make the herb elixir, which was pretty easy. I've done it so many times that it all came back in an instant. I found a small pot and set it over the fire, quickly adding the herbs and a measure of water. Soon, the familiar scent of simmering herbs enveloped me.

Although the same healing herb I've been using back in Ereneth didn't grow here, there were plenty of local substitutes. The Labyrinth was a veritable treasure trove of precious herbs, and I worked hard to memorize every last one of them during my extended stay in Labyrinth City so I knew right away which one to use.

'And if anyone comes in, I can just pretend to brew tea or something…' I thought pleasantly.

Apart from being too expensive, the main reason I wanted to do things this way instead of just buying a finished potion was to observe the brewing process carefully.

Before, during my time as a self-taught Alchemist, I was too focused on not making any mistakes to pay attention to anything other than performing all the steps flawlessly.

However, this time, I wanted to see the exact moment when the essence transformed into life energy and how it was done. I was hoping it would provide me with the much-needed insight that would help me understand the essence of healing magic.

What caused the change? Was there something inside the herbs themselves? Perhaps some sort of magical DNA that could transform the pure essence into life's energy…

Countless questions ran through my head while I began the actual potion-making process. For that, I needed some purified water. But since finding a distillation aperture in an ordinary kitchen would be a tall order, I had to make do with magic.

First, I set another pot of water over the stove, fanning the flames to bring it to a fast boil. Then, I manipulated the air above it, collecting the water vapor coming off it.

The hardest part was extracting the heat and making it condense, but after a bit of trial and error, I somehow managed to let it all slowly drop down into another pot.

Smiling, I set out to prepare the actual potion brewing. I let the herbal elixir concentrate as much as possible in these crude conditions without actually burning the herbs. Then, I mixed the extract with the purified water in the required ratio, thus finishing the base.

Finally, I poured the base elixir into the empty vials I kept in my pouch and lined them on the kitchen counter in front of me.

Now, all that was left was to infuse it with essence, and I would be done. But here came the problem—in order to see the actual transmutation, I had to carefully observe the process with my magic sense while looking for anything unusual.

Yet I couldn't use my magic sense while at the same time infusing the potion with essence. 'Hmm, what to do…' I silently wondered.

The only thing that came to mind was starting the infusion process, but then switching to my magic sense before the potion's essence had time to settle. That way, I would be able to see the changes with my own eyes, although the cost would be ruining this particular batch.

'Well, let's see how it goes first and then make adjustments on the fly…' I decided after a while. I had some leftover herbs in the bundle, enough for at least one more batch, so I wasn't particularly worried about wasting my chance here.

Besides, all I wanted was to learn more about the magic of life, not to restart my defunct Alchemist career. With that, I stopped dwindling and instead focused on circling my essence and carefully guiding it into the closest vial.

The brownish liquid started to shine, slowly turning into the vibrant crimson of a true potion. I furrowed my brows, not daring to lose focus while waiting for the right moment. 'Now!' I abruptly cut off the supply of essence, watching as the vial's contents rippled before losing its color, quickly turning back into the base elixir from which it originated.

But before it had a chance to do this, my eyes shone blue, and I peered into the flow of essence around me. 'Ah! So that's how it is…'