Chapter 17
Chapter 17
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: I Ended Up Making an Ultra-Rare Grade Potion
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Do spirits have a hierarchy among themselves?
The Lumina Spirit, now standing rigidly at attention, began cleaning up the messes it had made one by one.
It diligently scrubbed the floor it had dirtied while playing in the soil.
And gathered the empty purified water bottles in one spot.
It even returned the gardening tools it had scattered everywhere to their proper places.
For the plants it had tormented by snapping their branches, it fluttered its wings and sprinkled sparkling light over them.
And then...
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [The Stuki blessed by the spirit stretches vigorously.] [The Calanco blessed by the spirit dances merrily.] [The rubber tree blessed by the spirit falls into a peaceful sleep.] Messages popped up showing that my plants, which were like my own children, were satisfied.
For the first time, the Lumina Spirit—which I'd only ever seen as a troublemaker—looked endearing.
But Pristine still seemed dissatisfied and gestured sternly at the Lumina Spirit, ordering it to clean up every last piece of debris.
'So that's what it's like when spirits are together...'
It was another side of Pristine, who had always seemed so kind and cute up until now.
Having sorted out the hierarchy with a single gesture, Pristine instantly reverted to her angelic face and flew over to my shoulder.
She then started rubbing her cheek against mine as if nothing had happened.
It felt just like she was asking, 'Did I do a good job?'
The Lumina Spirit stared blankly at her dual nature.
Then, startled by Pristine's next command as she flew back over, it hurriedly grabbed a cleaning tool.
- Piing...
The mischievous little thing was trembling helplessly, and I couldn't help but feel sorry for it.
So in the end, I...
"Here, take this. Quick, hide it behind you."
Seizing the moment when Pristine looked away, I slipped one of the two remaining bottles of purified water into the spirit's hands.
- Piing...?
The spirit alternated its gaze between me and the purified water, then hugged it tightly to its chest with its short little arms, as if it were a priceless treasure.
- Squish, pip...
With tears welling up in its eyes, it bowed to me in gratitude before glancing nervously at Pristine and getting back to work in a frenzy.
Why was it shedding tears of joy over something like that?
Thank goodness I had an ongoing trade network with the necromancer.
I had a feeling my purified water orders were about to spike...
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Because the Lumina Spirit kept causing one mishap after another, I had no choice but to keep putting off making mana potions.
But now that Pristine had been born and discipline was fully restored...
I could finally give it a try.
I took a slow, deep breath and laid out the materials needed for the mana potion one by one.
Thirty Lumina flowers. And the last bottle of purified water.
With only one bottle left, I really wanted to use the freshest Lumina Bell flowers possible.
"Hmm, should I use that one?"
Before I knew it, my eyes had settled on a single Lumina flower with an exceptionally large bud and long stem.
It was the very flower from which the Lumina Spirit had been born.
Since it was the flower that birthed a spirit, maybe it would produce a far superior mana potion compared to ordinary ones?
I carefully washed the petals of the spirit-born Lumina flower, placed them in the mortar, and took a deep breath.
"Alright, let's do this!"
Slowly, meticulously.
I rotated the pestle clockwise.
The Lumina petals crushed, releasing a clear sap that shimmered with a blue glow.
Next, I tilted the mortar and poured the freshly extracted Lumina sap into a small glass vial.
"So if I just add the purified water here, it'll become a mana potion?"
The moment I poured the purified water into the vial...
The Lumina sap and purified water mixed, and an unnatural light began swirling intensely inside the bottle.
Startled, I picked up the vial, and the violently churning light gradually settled, forming a tiny galaxy within.
I peered closely at the softly glowing vial.
'Why isn't any information popping up?'
I was certain something extraordinary had been created, but...
Maybe because I hadn't awakened my unique ability through alchemy, I couldn't get any more details.
For now, I opened the exchange app and searched for 'mana potion.'
But even after scanning every listed potion, not a single one had floating light particles or emitted a blue glow.
Then, a piece of info I'd seen on the community flashed through my mind.
'The Awakener Management Bureau!'
If you obtained rare materials or items from gates, the national agency could appraise them and confirm their exact value and grade.
Without a moment's hesitation, I grabbed the mana potion and headed straight for the Awakener Management Bureau.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The first Management Bureau I visited was far more chaotic and noisy than I'd imagined.
A massive screen in the middle of the lobby blared nonstop gate-related news, and shouts from awakeners echoed from all directions.
The tense atmosphere made me shrink my shoulders involuntarily.
"Awakener number 301!"
After a long wait, my number was finally called.
I cautiously approached the desk.
The staff member, frowning deeply, was glued to the monitor in front of her, typing furiously without pause.
'Should I say something... or not...'
She looked so swamped that even though it was my turn, I hesitated to speak up.
Only after quite some time, while sighing heavily over her work, did she finally notice me standing there blankly.
A brief, awkward silence followed.
"Huh...? Aren't you... that healer from the news the other day?"
Her short remark instantly hushed the bustling, noisy lobby.
From the staff handling their tasks to the awakeners clutching their tickets, waiting patiently—even those chatting idly.
Every eye in the bureau turned to me all at once.
...This was getting way too overwhelming.
I could feel my face burning up.
"Ah... Yes, hello."
"Oh my! Healer! Goodness, what was I thinking. Hello, Healer!"
As I greeted her awkwardly, the staffer jumped up from her seat, bowed to me, and hurriedly shuffled the papers on her desk.
The furrowed brow from moments ago was completely gone.
"What brings you here?"
With a bright smile, she clasped her hands politely.
Feeling unnecessarily self-conscious, I scratched the back of my neck, cleared my throat, and pulled out the mana potion I'd brought from home.
"I made a mana potion, and I was wondering if you could appraise it for me?"
The staffer stared blankly at the potion before snapping to attention, scrambling out of her seat and coming over to my side.
"Yes, yes! Of course! I'll escort you to the appraisal room myself!"
...Ah, that's really not necessary.
She looks so busy; I don't want to be a bother.
"Just tell me where it is. I can find it myself."
"Are you sure you'd be okay?"
The staffer hesitated slightly and glanced over my shoulder.
I instinctively turned to follow her gaze.
"You might have a rough time of it..."
In that direction were awakeners with tense faces, pulling out business cards and staring at me without looking away.
Looking to recruit me into a party?
Or maybe guild scouting?
I wasn't sure, but as she said, trying to get through there alone would probably mean getting hounded all day.
"...Then, if you wouldn't mind."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Thanks to the staffer's guidance, I made it safely to the appraisal room.
As I opened the door and stepped in, a man rifling through papers at his desk spotted me, widened his eyes, and shot up to greet me.
"Ah, hello! Healer!"
Why did everyone recognize me?
Was the news impact really that huge?
The appraiser carefully seated the awkward-standing me on the sofa before speaking again.
His attitude was excessively polite and kind, as expected.
"Thank you for visiting. Do you have an item you'd like appraised?"
"Ah, yes..."
I rummaged in my bag, took out the mana potion, and handed it to him.
Taking the vial from me, he donned glasses engraved with intricate patterns and began examining the bottle.
"Let me see..."
I could see his gaze deepening through the blue-glowing glass.
As time passed, the furrow in his brow grew more pronounced.
Letting out short sounds like 'Hmm...?' 'Huh...?' 'Eh...?' while tilting his head for a long while, he finally spoke in a low, serious tone with a stiffened expression.
"Where did you get this potion from?"
"I made it myself."
The moment I answered, his eyes changed.
"...You made this yourself, Healer?"
I suddenly felt like I was being interrogated, my chest tightening.
"Is there a problem with it?"
"No, no problem, but..."
He trailed off, unable to tear his eyes from the potion for a long time.
His tightly pressed lips revealed a mix of confusion and astonishment.
"In all my time doing this, I've never seen a potion that permanently expands the mana reservoir..."
I swallowed hard without realizing it.
A potion that permanently expands the mana reservoir...?
I'd never seen anything like that on the awakener community or the exchange.
"And a mana potion of this purity level, too... Honestly, it's hard to believe you made this yourself."
After a brief silence, the appraiser continued.
"Since it's something that's never hit the market before, we'd need to put it up for auction to gauge its true value..."
No way...
The potion I made was really worth that much?
"There's an auction tonight, actually. Would you like to participate?"
My curiosity about the potion's value was unbearable, so I had no choice but to nod.