Alchemy

His parents were both intermediate-rank acolytes. While they possessed high strength and relatively high bloodline purity, their progress had been stagnant in the past decade, due to their imprisonment, where they could only meditate and physically train themselves instead of fighting.

For bloodline acolytes, war was the best way to grow stronger.

Drake reunited with his parents, but he felt...lost. He did not feel joy upon seeing them. They saved his life, but did not raise him. They wanted the best for him, but in the end, Drake could not feel a connection to them. Perhaps it was because he was not truly their child, but an imposter who had taken over this body.

"You want to become an alchemist?", Uncle Benjamin asked

Drake knew that one of the family's issues was the lack of alchemists. Although the Moonfall family possessed some beginners, they wasted too much resources and unless it was necessary, they would not get access to much fundings. There were only 29 acolytes in the Moonfall family after all, and few of them wasted time on craftsmanship when combat could grant them more rewards.

After losing the pink snow battle, Drake saw things differently. Rather than fighting, he could grow so much stronger by brewing potions. He would also earn a lot of merits, and contribute to the development of the household.

News that Drake had been rescued by an expert had spread in the household, and when Drake successfully showed a couple of potions he had brewed in the past year, the patriarch summoned him again. This time, the patriarch did not look at him with pitiful eyes, but rather, with greed. An alchemist loyal to the family would allow it to reach heights that were never attained before.

Uncle Benjamin was the most skilled alchemist in the family, but in Drake's eyes, his talent and expertise were like a child's play. And it was no secret for anyone.

Because alchemy was a very difficult process, the patriarch had invested countless magic crystals in the process of finding one, with little success in the end. Now that a promising genius had appeared, he would not be stingy.

Drake felt a bit pressured when the patriarch unknowingly stopped retracting his spiritual power. It must be said that the patriarch was incredibly close to breaking through to the magus realm, having already met the spiritual force, knowledge and body strengthening requirements. He only needed one thing: a regent powerful enough to allow him to break through. In the past, there used to be elixirs, but there no longer existed an alchemist capable of brewing them in the family.

As for alchemists from other Magus families, they would never allow the Moonfall family to have a rising magus considering its current growth.

However, if the alchemist came from the family, then things were different.

Drake took a look with the contract. The conditions were incredibly good. Good was an understatement, actually. They were actually excellent. It must be said that Drake's most crucial weakness in his alchemy progress was the lack of knowledge. He needed textbook recipes, practices and runes to better improve his range of actions and view. Simulations might help a little, but his foundations were a bit weak still.

[Contract Agreement for Moonfall Alchemy Services with Drake Moonfall

Terms and Conditions:

Drake Moonfall, the alchemist, agrees to produce 100 potions per year for a period of 10 years. The choice of potions to be brewed is at the discretion of the alchemist.

In exchange, the head of the Moonfall Family promises to confer upon Drake Moonfall the Ivory Tower Alchemy Laboratory Master Authority. Additionally, the Moonfall Household will allocate a monthly budget of 200 magic crystals for the alchemist to utilize as he sees fit.

The Moonfall Household shall have first priority for the purchase of potions produced by Drake Moonfall, and 70% of the proceeds from such sales shall be remitted to the alchemist.

Furthermore, Drake Moonfall will receive all knowledge pertaining to alchemy, including inner-circle alchemical knowledge.

Drake Moonfall is permitted to accept contracts from external parties during the term of this agreement.

The duration of this contract is 10 years.

In addition to the benefits above, accepting the contract will be rewarded with 1000 magic crystals, a magical artefact from the Moonfall Household Treasury as well as 5 drops of the Peak-rank Acolyte Patriarch Frederick Moonfall's blood essence]

With 15% success rate in the most basic potions, Drake could easily brew a hundred potions in a month, not to mention in a year. However, there was no way for the patriarch to know that. The amount of magic crystals far exceeded his wildest expectations. It must be said that his parents had been imprisonned for stealing an ancient elixir which could be brewed with ingredients of a value that did not exceed 400 magic crystals. Even if you hired an elite alchemist, it would only cost you 1200 magic crystals at most, yet the patriarch was willing to give him that much for merely accepting the contract.

He possessed a lot of freedom in this too, but the benefits were flabbergasting.

Access to inner-circle knowledge restricted to elders was an incredible benefit, especially when the Elderwood Family most treasured recipes had become the Moonfall Household's possessions. Inside, there might even be regents to break through the advanced rank realm, and potions capable of increasing one's spiritual force!

The monthly budget of 200 magic crystals was incredible too, as it would allow Drake to fund research and become fuel to his growth.

A magical artefact would surely increase his fighting prowess by 20 or even 30%, if not more.

As for the authority of the Ivory Tower Alchemical Laboratory, it was basically ownership of an entire floor of the Magical Tower that had been passed down through generations. The Ivory Tower possessed an array that increased the mana and shadow particles in the environment. Any member of the family would have to pay a fee to stay inside for extended periods of times, not to mention living in it. Besides the patriarch and elders, none could benefit from this due to the size of the tower.

However, none of the previous benefits could compare to the 5 drops of blood essence of the patriarch. Blood essence was akin to lifespan and cultivation condensed. As a bloodline type acolyte, the patriarch might have sacrificed as much as 5 points of magical power to condense these 5 drops of blood essence. Of course, since he could not break through into the magus realm anyway, he managed to cultivate back to the peak rank realm over the years, without anybody noticing.

The loss of lifespan, however, could not be gotten back. Roughly twenty five years of his life were lost in the process of condensing them. Originally, the patriarch most likely wanted to pave the way for the younger generations, allowing them to grow faster. By just swallowing one drop, Drake knew that he would be able to break through the advanced rank realm.

However, that would be a waste of material. It was like using a healing potions to heal a tiny scratch.

Thousands of experiments ran through Drake's mind when he thought of using these drops of blood essence. If he purified the bloodline, he might be able to create a bloodline purity raising elixir...Furthermore, the recipe already existed so he did not need to experiment to find the correct recipe!

Without hesitation, Drake made a mana oath to honour the contract, and received the promised rewards.