Chapter 125: Fortuitously Alchemical (2/2)
He was about to turn the furnace box on, when he had a sudden flash of inspiration. Using Water Magic, he added nearly a liter of pure water, enhanced with mana, before sealing the pot.
Finally he decided to place the box on a low heat, and wait to see the results. After a few minutes he grew impatient, and increased the heat. Almost immediately the pot began shaking violently. He rushed to turn the heat off, but before he could, the shaking stopped.
Curious, he cautiously lifted the lid. The pot was now full of a copper colored liquid that swirled in a slightly mesmerizing fashion.
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{Low Grade Panacea}
Alchemical Potion (Tier 3, Rank 2)
Said to have been first refined by the Star Elves, panaceas are the most well-known and well respected type of alchemical remedies. Depending on the grade, they can treat virtually any illness or cure almost any poison.
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[Alright! Looks like my Fortuitous Alchemist title is paying off.]
He quickly collected a few vials and spooned the coppery substance into them. As he was filling the fourth, he noticed a small black bead at the bottom of the pot. Suspecting that this might be something of interest, he tried Appraise.
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{Evernight Bead}
Alchemical Item (Tier 3, Rank 2)
Occasionally created when mixing potent poisons with Evernight Swamp Water, this bead is a concentration of the harmful substances used in its formation. When broken, it produces a dark cloud of deadly poisonous gas.
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[Going to have to be careful about this one. Maybe storing it in the extradimensional sack would be the best option.]
He gathered up the finished products, putting them away. He was starting to build up quite the collection of useful items.
Since he still had a little bit of time left, Mike tried a few more combinations, but was unable to make anything of interest.
When class was dismissed, he made his way over to the Martial Arts department to honor his promise to Brenden. It was the first time he visited this part of the campus.
Simple brick buildings, laid out in regular grid patterns dominated the landscape. Several training yards, obstacle courses, and vast swaths of open ground made up the rest. Apparently, the students of the department spent a great deal of time outside.
Speaking of which, as he wandered through the area, trying to locate the specific training yard that Brenden mentioned, he was attracting a lot of the wrong kind of attention.
In general this consisted of slightly dirty looks from the crimson clad youths, but every now and then he heard muttered conversation behind his back. His Detect Hostile Intent skill wasn't fully engaged, but he felt a sort of low grade hostility from the students.
Now that he thought about it, he didn't recall seeing any Martial Arts students near the Magic campus. It seemed that there was some friction between the two departments. This was somewhat disappointing to him, since he had planned on taking some Martial Arts classes in the future.
Keeping his head down, he tried to avoid any trouble.
Fortunately, he was able to locate the training yard without causing an incident.
He spotted Tal, Brenden, and Sera standing in a deserted corner of the yard. Sera was practicing with her bow, shooting at a vaguely humanoid dummy made of straw.
As he watched, she lifted another arrow, pulled it back and released, striking near the center of a painted target on the dummy's chest, placing it next to several others which were likewise embedded.
[She's really improved. I'm impressed.]
He was just about to head over and greet the trio, when he noticed a group of Martial Arts students heading that way as well. Led by a tall, blonde haired man with a cocky grin, it definitely looked like they were up to no good.
Mike had read enough books to know where this was going. However, he felt slightly conflicted. His friends had likely been dealing with this situation for a while now, but had not told him about it at all. He wasn't sure if just didn't want to bother him, or were concerned about causing him trouble, but part of him was a little uncomfortable about the idea of stepping in at this point.
Besides, as a Magic student, involving himself could cause problems for them later on down the road. Now that Sera had found herself a mentor of sorts here, he was hesitant to do anything to mess it up.
Finally, he decided he would watch from a distance, and only take action when he felt like it was truly necessary.
Wishing, once again, that he'd picked up some kind of stealth related skill, he circled the training yard until he could find a well-placed tree to hide behind.