【Some people often say that alchemy exists only for the creation of magic potions, but I say that is a mistake. I believe that anyone who studies alchemy should firmly believe that alchemy is omnipotent!】
—by Albert
At this moment, Lan Qingyou deactivated her talent.
She lay on the straw, which had become even softer after being warmed by the sun, and flipped open Albert's Alchemy Handbook.
That was the very first sentence in the handbook.
It was like a message of encouragement, yet also a reflection of his own insights into alchemy.
“Is alchemy truly omnipotent? Interesting.”
Lan Qingyou muttered to herself.
However, as she slowly flipped through the pages, she realized that this world's alchemy really had something to it.
Originally, she had just intended to kill time while her mana recovered, but now she was getting serious.
She was even becoming a bit engrossed.
Setting aside Albert's personal attitude toward alchemy, Lan Qingyou felt he must have been a master based on his understanding of the craft alone.
At the very least, as a complete novice who had never encountered such knowledge before, she didn't find his handbook obscure or difficult to understand. She could actually follow it.
It was like a teacher standing at a podium, dissecting academic points one by one, breaking them down into easily digestible pieces and presenting them with clear, simple explanations.
To prove his points, he had even included several examples of basic potion-making.
It made Lan Qingyou feel like she could do it too.
Wait, why am I thinking that?
Lan Qingyou suddenly came to her senses.
Hmm... maybe... I should try?
But can I really do it?
A junior high graduate who hadn't spent a single day in high school and was paralyzed from the waist down... learning alchemy?
Closing the notebook and clutching it to her chest, Lan Qingyou repeatedly questioned herself.
Sometimes, once a certain thought takes root, no matter how much you deny it or how much you hesitate, you eventually want to give it a try.
Some people attribute this mindset to the innate curiosity of intelligent beings.
And now, Lan Qingyou's curiosity had undoubtedly been piqued by the theories of this alchemist, Albert.
“Whatever, forget the hesitation! I won't know if I can do it until I try!”
Steeling her resolve, Lan Qingyou pushed aside her internal conflict. Seeing that her mana had fully recovered, she planned to leave the shelter and gather some herbs to test things out.
“Right, I'll need something to carry them. Should I take a wooden chest with me?”
Just as her hand gripped the door handle, Lan Qingyou suddenly thought about her equipment.
She couldn't exactly go out empty-handed.
However, when she tried to take a supply chest from her storage, she suddenly saw a large red exclamation mark on the small screen!
“What's going on!”
Looking at the large red exclamation mark, Lan Qingyou was bewildered.
It wasn't there when she had lunch. How did this thing appear after she lay down to read for a bit?
Was it an emergency notification?
Without a second thought, Lan Qingyou tapped the red exclamation mark, and a window popped up.
【Dear Blue Star citizen, there are 9 hours and 51 minutes left until the distribution of starter tools ends. Please select your starter tool as soon as possible.】
Uh... starter tools?
Right, she had completely forgotten about that.
Scratching her oily hair, Lan Qingyou felt a bit embarrassed.
She was supposed to choose yesterday, but she had been so excited about her talent that she forgot entirely.
Then this morning, she was focused on exploring and found two chests and the handbook, which made her forget even more.
It was all Teacher Albert's fault for writing an alchemy handbook that read like a standard textbook. Who wouldn't get distracted?
So, Lan Qingyou opened the starter tool menu and began to choose carefully.
Setting aside the issue with her legs, she could forget about melee weapons.
Bows and crossbows were worth considering, but she didn't know if they came with arrows or bolts. If they didn't, they would be no better than a fire poker.
At least a fire poker could be used to whack someone over the head.
“Oh!”
As Lan Qingyou skimmed past the weapons to look at the tools, she saw the 【Gardening Hoe】 on the interface.
【Gardening Hoe (E)】
【Function: A small tool used for organizing gardens and loosening soil for flowers and plants.】
【Description: Don't look down on it just because it's small; it's very practical and quite cute.】
“This seems like it could work.”
Remembering how Albert's handbook mentioned that it was best to pull herbs out by the roots to preserve their efficacy, Lan Qingyou felt that this gardening hoe was perfect for her.
She would go with that. Even if it was a mistake, it didn't matter; she wouldn't be able to use the other options anyway.
A gardening hoe appeared out of thin air on the small screen.
The gardening hoe was short, only about the length of a forearm, and the head was dual-purpose.
One side was a flat spade the size of a palm for weeding, and the other was a three-pronged fork for digging soil.
Now equipped, Lan Qingyou used vines to tie a chest to her back and headed out.
Gathering herbs was tedious but also relaxing.
When she went out earlier, the weeds on the ground just looked like weeds; she couldn't tell them apart.
But after reading the alchemy handbook, Lan Qingyou realized that the Abandoned Forest was full of treasures.
Although the handbook only covered Apprentice-level Mana Potions...
It also recorded the herbs needed to make the potion, with detailed descriptions of their appearance and even drawings.
The drawings were very easy to recognize.
There was 'Ascetic Grass' with long, serrated leaves, and 'Yellow-tail Flower' with yellow, flat, oval petals. Both were prime ingredients for making Apprentice-level Mana Potions.
Thus, these two herbs became Lan Qingyou's primary targets.
After all, she was currently just a rank amateur who was interested in alchemy but hadn't even started yet.
Using what Albert called the most basic potion as a stepping stone was the perfect choice.
Furthermore, these two herbs were abundant in the Abandoned Forest, so she didn't even have to look for them.
With one swing of the hoe, she pulled the herbs out by the roots, patted off the dirt, and tossed them into the chest before moving on to the next one. In half an hour, she had filled most of the chest; it couldn't have been easier.
“Wait, how did I end up back here?”
Holding her gardening hoe with the chest on her back, Lan Qingyou looked at the large mass of vines in front of her.
This was where she had found the handbook this morning. She hadn't expected that being so focused on digging herbs in the afternoon would lead her back here.
But it didn't matter.
Or rather, it was perfect.
When she was reading the handbook earlier, Albert had mentioned his alchemy workshop.
Originally, she had planned to come back tomorrow. After all, it was an alchemist's workshop; even after so many years, it was bound to have some good things left behind, just like that handbook.
Since she was already here, she might as well look around.
However, the location of the workshop wasn't recorded in much detail; she would have to find it herself.
After all, what sane person would write their own home's exact address in their notebook?
With that thought, Lan Qingyou floated up and circled the area again and again.
But she found nothing.
“Could it be where that room collapsed?”
Looking at the mass of vines, Lan Qingyou decided to go back inside and investigate once more.
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