The Herb King

To qualify as an Alchemist, one must be able to summon the most basic Red Pill Fire. However, even the Red Pill Fire is difficult to summon and only a small amount of Espers are able to do it.

"First, let me teach you about Pill Fires. To become an Alchemist, you must be able to summon your Pill Fire and the most basic one is the Red Pill Fire. The prerequisite to summon the Red Pill Fire is to have the power of a Level 1 Esper…" Leric explained a piece of detailed information about Pill Fires.

"Eh? Level 1 Alchemists can't refine pills? I don't understand." Janrose stared at Aethelwolf in confusion.

Leric shook his head and answered. "That's not entirely true. The Red Pill Fire is very weak and it can't be used to refine some herbs. In most cases, Level 1 Alchemists can only be referred to as Alchemy Apprentices and the most that they can refine are medicinal potions. However, there are a few talented Alchemists at Level 1 who can refine pills even with just a Red Pill Fire. They are also the ones who would most likely reach the peak of Alchemy. Other than that…"

Janrose listened with rapt attention. The knowledge that Aethelwolf was telling her was very valuable, but the most valuable information was his personal insights!

"This is how you summon your Pill Fire. First, you have control the world essence in your Hegel and form a…" Leric taught her the most fundamental techniques in summoning Pill Fire. He didn't know that the knowledge he was teaching her is actually different from what normal Alchemists learn. Leric's Alchemy techniques are more refined and structured, making it a lot easier to understand.

"Try doing it based on what I told you." Leric said.

Janrose nodded her head. "I'll try my best!" She knew that this was a rare opportunity and she also felt that Aethelwolf was planning to take her as his disciple. She believed that this was his test and if she managed to pass it, there is a high chance that she would become his student.

Janrose closed her eyes and put all her focus into guiding the world essence in her Hegel. She followed Aethelwolf's teachings and tried to summon a wisp of flame at the tip of her hand. While doing this, she felt a warm current slowly spreading through her right arm. When she opened her eyes, she saw a small flickering red flame, but it vanished after a second. "Eh? I failed..." She muttered with a disheartened look.

Leric who was waiting for her to fail didn't expect that she would actually summon it. Although she was only able to summon her Pill Fire for a second, it was still surprising. This girl succeeded on her first try! 'A genius! An Alchemy genius! Hahaha! I found the perfect candidate to inherit my pill recipes!' Leric laughed joyfully in his heart.

"Good! Not bad!" Leric grinned with a pleased look.

Janrose stared at him in confusion.

"Try it one more time, but this time, try to control your world essence and prevent even a small amount of energy from leaking. This way, the Pill Fire that you will summon will be more stable." Leric advised.

Janrose did as she was told and tried to summon her Pill Fire again using the method he said.

A small wisp of red flame appeared on top of her palm.

"I succeeded! I now have my Pill Fire!" She eagerly said after seeing the flickering red flame resting on her palm. It didn't hurt her in the slightest and she only felt that it was a bit warm.

Leric smiled after seeing her joyful look. "Good job! With this, you can now start your journey as an Alchemist, but you still lack a sufficient amount of knowledge regarding pill refining so you still have a lot to learn. I can teach you my methods, but you must not tell the others about it."

Janrose bowed her head and solemnly said. "Thank you, master! I'm willing to be your student."

Leric patted her shoulder and said. "Don't call me master. It makes me sound so old. Just call me Sir Aethelwolf like what others do."

Janrose nodded her head eagerly. "Okay, Sir Aethelwolf!" She was so excited that she couldn't stop smiling. She could finally learn Alchemy and she was now a student of a Level 4 Alchemist!

"Alright. Let's continue..." Leric spent the entire night teaching his new student about Alchemy. Janrose is a bright young lady and she was able to understand most of his teachings.

***

The next day, Leric opened his eyes after meditating. He then turned his head to his new student who was sleeping soundly under a tree. They ended up talking until midnight and the girl slept in the middle of his teachings.

Leric stood up and covered her body with a blanket. It was already morning, but the wind was still cold. He then left and walked inside the mansion.

There are still a few more hours before the clinic opens so he decided to eat first, but when arrived at the kitchen, he saw that some of his employees were already awake. They are now cooking some simple dishes that he taught them last night.

"Good morning, Sir Aethelwolf. We will be taking over the kitchen from now on. Please take a rest and leave everything to us." The ladies said after greeting him.

Leric didn't reject the offer since he was indeed a bit tired. He could use the time to take a short nap. "Alright. Just go to my room and wake me up once the food is ready." He said to the ladies before he left the kitchen.

"I never thought that living with my employees would actually be nice..." He muttered as he went to his room. When he jumped into his bed, he closed his eyes and immediately fell asleep.