New Abilities

The man on the stand was showing the example and speaking at the same time. He explained the process and what he was doing while making the potion.

To make the potion, as the man had explained, needed constant focus. The only reason he was able to talk at the same time was because the potion he was making was one that he had practiced for years, and even then it took talent.

The process wasn't too complicated, but it was hard to put into practice. First, one would need to know the herbs and how they interacted with each other. Next, the person making the potion should combine their essence by guiding the Mana within the herbs into a bottle. While they guide the essence, they have to use their Mana to combine them and change them, otherwise the potion will fail.

The most crucial part of making a potion lied in their Will. With higher Will one would be met with less resistance in guiding the essence and combining them.

After listening to the example Mark didn't have to wait long for his number to be called, so he walked in front of the receptionist that would receive him. The receptionist that would be receiving Mark, to Mark's delight, was male, so he wouldn't have to much trouble communicating.

"How do I register to become a potion maker?" Mark asked the male receptionist.

"You just have to sign your name here," the receptionist replied.

That sounded too easy to Mark, but he wasn't going to complain about the simplicity. He picked up the writing utensil and wrote both Amelia's and his name.

"May I go to the second floor now?"

"Hmm, yes, there is no need for anything else. However, if you want to go to the library on the third floor, then you have to become a rank 3 potion maker," said the receptionist as he waved Mark towards the stairs.

Mark left and headed up the stairs to the second floor. The second floor was packed full of rows of bookshelves. The bookshelves went all the way to the roof and there was only enough room for three people to walk in between them. There were only a few tables, so most people would have to stand while reading, making the walkway more crowded.

He went to a section labeled herbs and started browsing. He found a book titled 'Basic Herbs to Know for Potion Making' to read. Amelia asked him to get her something to read as well, so he picked up the book titled 'How Herbs Interact For Beginners' and passed it to her.

He went and grabbed a chair that no one was sitting on, which was rare. He sat sideways on it as to not push Amelia against the back of it. And so began Mark and Amelia's learning of the profession of potion making.

Throughout the entire day they would read up on knowledge they needed for potion making. Using the money Mark got from selling Mana stones that came from the beast he killed before arriving, Mark payed for their lodging during the night.

....

Two weeks of reading had passed now, and Mark was about to attempt making a potion. The potion he was trying to make was the 'Calming potion', one that many beginners started with. In fact, the example from two weeks ago was showing how to make a Calming potion.

Using his knowledge from studying he was going to use the Cold Coil Grass and the Blue Viral Weed to make the Calming potion. The Cold Coil Grass has great calming effects on the mind, but it can cause stress and tension to build up in the muscles, so when making a Calming potion Cold Coil Grass should be mixed with something that relaxed muscles, such as the Blue Viral Weed.

He had debated with Amelia on what herbs they should use to make the potion, and they eventually settled on the current makeup.

Using his Mana, the two herbs, which were each the size of two fingers, floated into the air above a bottle that he had prepared. He concentrated his Will with the goal of extracting the essence from the herbs. From the Cold Coil Grass came a winter blue essence and from the Blue Viral Weed came a cyan blue-green essence. With his Will concentrated on each one, he made them come together and they started to swirl around each other.

This was the hardest part of making a potion, combining all of the essences together. Right now he was only trying to make a beginner potion that only required two herbs which each had a weak and docile essence, but making the potion successfully would still be difficult.

Slowly and steadily their essences began to mix, forming a new color that was in between the two original ones. At the peak of making the potion, Mark was getting ready to let the liquid settle into the bottle, but the liquid suddenly collapsed on the bottle and seperated into the original colors of the essences before disintegrating into the air. The potion was nearly completed, but he lost focus at the last stretch. Still, nearly making a potion on the first try was already and accomplishment, testament to his overpowered Will.

Even though it was a failure, it seemed to count for something, as he got a new ability.

Potion Making(Rank 1, Level 1 5%)-The ability to make potions. Higher levels result in more efficiency and power in the potions that are made.

....

Another month had passed, but this time he spent half of it practicing making potions. He slowly accumulated more knowledge of herbs and experience over the month. He was now capable of making three different potions with the success rate being nearly one hundred percent. The potions he could make were the 'Calming potion', the 'Minimum Healing potion', and the 'Mana Gathering potion'.

He also learned that by adding water attributed Mana to the potion after it was finished would improve it. When he improved his first potion, he got another new ability.

Potion Enhancement(No Rank, Level 1 2%)-Increases the power of potions after their creation by adding water attributed Mana to the potion. Higher levels increase how much a potion can be enhanced.

By now he only had two weeks left, so it was time to start earning money for the upcoming auction.

He went to where he started when he came to Ventus, the teleportation line as people called it, and set up a stall to sell his potions. At this location there was a lot of competition but also plenty of opportunities for business.

His stall had all three of his potions. For his first day he specially prepared twenty of each and enhanced them as much as possible. His job was finished after he set up the stall and potions, because Amelia would be the one advertising and selling them.

He turned the other way for Amelia to see outside of the stall. Since he wouldn't be the one selling, he was planning on practicing Meditation while Amelia sells the potions. In the end, his Mana was the foundation of anything he does, including potion making, so if he wanted to improve the best thing to do was increase it.