“Achoo—!”
A sneeze echoed through the alchemy workshop as Lan Qingyou slowly opened her eyes from her deep slumber.
She had been woken up by the cold, but also by a feeling of suffocation.
The first thing she did upon waking was look down at her heavy, tight chest. There, she saw Steel Wool curled up in her arms, eyes squinted as it slept.
Well, no wonder I felt like I couldn't breathe; having a one-pound object sitting on my chest would do that to anyone.
Casting the Body Lightening Technique, Lan Qingyou slowly rose, using her palm to steady the little creature on her chest.
As she floated up, the towel on her stomach fell to the floor, and she realized she had been covered with one.
“...”
What a precious little thing.
Lan Qingyou picked it up and placed it on top of her head.
Wait, no! How long have I been asleep? What about the magic shield?
Still a bit dazed from sleep, Lan Qingyou rushed outside, only to see sunlight streaming through the window as soon as she stepped out of the room.
Uh... is the mana tide over?
Looking at the beam of sunlight, Lan Qingyou turned back to look inside the house.
The symbols that had been flickering were now dim, just as they had been a few days ago.
It was only then that Lan Qingyou realized the mana tide had indeed ended while she was sleeping.
However, she still needed to go up to the third floor to check the core's condition.
Even if it was over, she needed to replenish what had been consumed.
When she got up there, she saw: 2546/30000. There were still over two thousand minutes left, and more importantly, the energy was recovering at a rate of one point per minute.
Lan Qingyou finally relaxed and poured the remaining mana potions from the nearby pots into the core.
She did this for no other reason than the fact that she only felt safe when the magic shield core was 'topped off.'
After finishing, Lan Qingyou tidied up the stockpots.
By this time, Steel Wool had also woken up.
“Cheep, cheep, cheep!”
Steel Wool chirped happily on Lan Qingyou's head, flapping its tiny wings that weren't yet capable of flight.
Lan Qingyou’s sudden collapse had scared the little owl nearly to death.
Now that its master was awake, it meant everything was fine.
It could still look forward to its three barbecued meals a day.
“Oh, is the little guy awake? Are you hungry? I’m a bit hungry too. Let’s go find Gu Xiaobei for something to eat.”
Seeing that Steel Wool was awake, Lan Qingyou set down the stockpot and held the creature in front of her eyes.
“You probably won't believe this, but I just had a dream. I dreamed that I researched a very powerful potion that could upgrade my talent skill just by drinking it. I even got recognition from the world will. Strange, why would I have a dream like that? Is it because I’ve started to feel dissatisfied with my talent? Humans really are insatiable.”
Clearly, Lan Qingyou was still half-asleep.
Dozens of hours without rest had caused a slight cognitive glitch.
If you didn't believe it, just look at Steel Wool.
The little bird was staring at Lan Qingyou with its wise eyes, a look that seemed to be filled with pity for the mentally challenged.
Lan Qingyou then went from the third floor down to the first and sat at the magic desk.
And then... she saw the message that had appeared in her 'dream.'
“Uh... so it was real?”
Lan Qingyou bolted into the alchemy workshop, one hand gripping the doorframe as she stared at the multicolored, cooled potion inside the cauldron.
Muttering to herself, she floated over to the cauldron, and the memories of her crazed self from a few hours ago slowly came flooding back.
“It really happened...”
Recalling her frenzy at the time, Lan Qingyou gave a bitter smile and began the post-processing.
Even though the liquid was now cold, the dregs inside still needed to be dealt with.
She scooped them out with a slotted spoon, drained the liquid, let it settle again, and then filtered and bottled it.
After finishing the bottling of 200 vials of talent ascension potion, Lan Qingyou finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She then couldn't wait to open a bottle and drink it.
The taste was a bit strange.
It was an indescribable flavor, like several different types of fruit juice mixed together.
However, her body didn't react at all. It probably hadn't succeeded.
That made sense.
Five percent didn't seem like much, and in reality, it wasn't. How could she possibly awaken on the very first vial?
So, Lan Qingyou began chugging the medicine.
As she drank, she checked her personal information.
Name: Lan Qingyou
Race: Blue Star Human
Title: Witch of the High Tower
Level: Lv1
Strength: 12 (+32)
Agility: 11
Stamina: 12
Spirit: 18
(Peak value for a Blue Star human is 10)
Health: 120
Mana: 180
Talent: Body Lightening Technique (E)
【Magic Skills: (Collection Technique E)】
【Knowledge: (Herbology E) (Alchemy D) (Symbology E) (Drafting E) (Potions D) (Magic Circuitry E) (Magic Creature Lore E) (Mineralogy E) (Mechanical Construction E) (Materials Science E)】
(Personal information can also be viewed on the shelter’s activation tattoo.)
Looking at her personal info, Lan Qingyou clicked her tongue in amazement.
Holy cow!
Her four primary attributes had suddenly skyrocketed this much? And two of her Knowledge categories had even increased in rank?
Perplexed, Lan Qingyou immediately pulled up the new title entry—which hadn't been there before—to see if it was the cause.
【Witch of the High Tower】
【Effect: All attributes +10, 《Potions》 level +1, 《Alchemy》 level +1】
【Utility: Allows you to understand everything about alchemy much faster.】
【Introduction: Stars burst into golden sand within her cauldron, and moonlight is forged into chains to bind the rushing river of time; sulfur and roses dance at the tower's peak, each petal condensing the incantations of forgotten civilizations. When the winds of the Seventh Era shatter the rusted bronze doors, the faded star charts boil anew within her pupils; the bones of heroes become alchemy bases within magic circles, while scepters and crowns melt into a glazed dusk inside distillation flasks. The High Tower grows by devouring a thousand years of moonlight, its spire piercing the clouds to trigger emerald thunder; the stardust remaining on her fingertips burns through the red threads of fate; all epics are but signatures left at the bottom of a cauldron.】
“Heh! That’s quite poetic.”
After reading the introduction to her title, Lan Qingyou couldn't help but touch her face.
She couldn't help it; the exaggerated praise and the poetic verses made her feel a bit embarrassed, yet also quite proud.
After all, she had earned this by sacrificing her sleep. It could be considered a fair reward.
No.
Perhaps this was the best proof of what Albert's handbook mentioned: 'Equivalent Exchange' and 'Alchemy will respond to your efforts.'
Especially those effects.
Not only did they increase her four primary attributes by 'one person's worth' of power, but they even increased her levels in 《Potions》 and 《Alchemy》.
The utility, which allowed her to understand everything about alchemy much faster, was extremely important.
At least, it would be crucial for her future research.
But looking at these attribute values, was she even still human?
After all, if the peak of a normal human was 10, she was already outside the realm of normal people.
Lan Qingyou suddenly thought of a very interesting topic.
“Whatever. This information seems like it might be worth quite a bit. I’ll ask Shang Chuan if he wants it later.”
Rate on N.U.
