38 Blood Boil Batch Completed (2/2)

Li took a smell. Strong hints of iron and smoke. He had to get rid of the smokiness. That was a sign of impurity. He took the root he had washed and put it in the liquid, stirring it around. The root shuddered, and black lines shot up its base, eventually coloring the whole root a sooty grey.

At the same time, the liquid in the cauldron turned a brilliant red, its color exactly the same as fresh blood. It smelled just like blood too, reeking strongly of iron. Li took a pot and placed it under the cauldron's neck. He tilted the cauldron, spilling the bloody liquid into the pot. With that done, he transferred the pot to the working table. He could feel the heat of the warm liquid through the cast iron, and strangely, it stayed stable, neither cooling nor heating up.

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A property of Flameweed extract. It retained its surrounding temperature. This was also how the [Blood Boil] elixir boosted stats, by imparting the essence of fiery heat all throughout one's blood to improve blood flow. It was also how with a few alterations, the extract could be turned into a [Firebomb], a thrown explosive that dealt incendiary damage, although that required metal and ore based powders as well.

”Good,” said Li as he saw that Iona had already lined up a burner, a circular tablet that laid flat on the table. Depending on how many times one tapped it, it would eject a magical fire of varying intensities. This world's equivalent of a Bunsen burner.

Beside the burner were several beakers, their lengths marked with volume measurements.

Li saw that Iona had already set the burner to a light blue flame – the correct setting – and he placed the pot on the burner. As the liquid within came to a rolling boil, they each took pipettes and drained out precisely 100 milliliters of the bubbling bloody extract, squeezing them out into individual beakers.

The beakers had a maximum volume of 500 milliliters, and so the bloody liquid only pooled at the bottom, continuing to boil as if it were still heated.

They repeated this process until the pot was empty and a dozen beakers were filled.

”Just need water now,” commented Li as he filled a cup from the purified water pot and emptied out the clean liquid into the extract-filled beakers, making sure they were exactly at a 5:1 ratio of water to Flameweed extract. The water cooled down the boiling extract just enough that it no longer bubbled but remained warm.

Not only did this dilute the extract so that it didn't massively boost blood flow to the point of a heart attack, but it also lowered the temperature of the final elixir so that nobody burned themselves touching it.

Iona followed Li, and as she filled her half of the beakers with water, she said, ”A few drops of peppermint extract or milk poppy would make these taste quite sweet. In my experience, taste is quite important for customer satisfaction.”

”You were selling to cozy and safe people in the capitol. Guys there probably wanted [Blood Boil] to make them just a little bit faster for their next silly barfight. This is a peaceful city, but it's an adventurer's city. They'll want something strong and undiluted.”

----

Li leaned against the table as he watched Iona finish up.

After purification was the unofficial step of bottling which was more busywork than anything, and Iona had insisted on covering Li for that. He saw as Iona poured the red and warm liquid into faceted elixir bottles before twisting corks into them.

”You know, you're extremely familiar with all of this,” said Li. ”I know that regular pharmacies don't teach this way.”

”Oh yes, they have huge vats filled to the brim with toxin-absorbing roots. No prowess involved in it at all. Simply dump the right herbs and roots and mix with a big spoon like some glorified soup cook.” Iona scoffed. ”Takes all the risk out, yes, but all it does produce is half-rate. And perhaps most disgustingly, all that toxic waste they dump back to the forests. If only they knew how to tend to the nature at their fingertips, then they would never have to resort to such measures.”

”I see.” Li narrowed his eyes. He had a slinking suspicion. ”Then where did you learn this?”

”It is an art of the forest spirits. Forest spirits and mortals have coexisted for more than a millennia. All throughout, we have tried to teach the mortals how to use the land to heal and nurture them, but of course, they either spurn our teachings or abuse them.”

”Then do you know where I learned this method?”

”Oh, by Aine's notes, I'm sure,” said Iona casually. ”I've lived here long enough to know of her. I respect her works, yes, they are truly forestborn in quality and care.”

Li voiced his suspicions. ”Then was Aine like you? Forest spirit?”

Iona shook her head. ”Not at all, no. I would have known, you see. But I did not sense anything from her. She was fully mortal. But there are some mortals out there that know the old ways, those from remote tribes far from the bustling towns and cities where they learned directly from spirits such as ourselves. The beastmen of the north know these ways as well. It is merely the humans and elves that have turned their backs upon it.”