Chapter 19: Pharmacist (2)

"First is choosing the herbs. A poor Pharmacist might not care much for the herbs they will use as long as they have the ingredients but picking higher quality herbs also helps increase the success rate"

"Among all these herbs, which are the best? Please choose, Young Master"

On the alchemical table, the old pharmacist laid out a number of herbs used to create the most basic healing potion that is effective for cultivators at the early stage of the Genetic Awakening Realm.

Kyrell nodded his head and he stared at the various herbs on the table and in total, there were three types.

The first type were clusters of flowery shrubs which are witch-hazels. These herbs have hemostatic and anti-inflammatory properties. It was the most important ingredient among the three herbs needed.

The second type is the yellow ginseng. These herbs aid in energy recovery which the healing potion's stamina recovery effects came from.

The last herb was the ryegrass which was a tall grass with even the smallest mature ones reaching at least a meter in length used as the stabilizer of the other two ingredients.

These are the three herbs needed to create the most basic healing potion and with Kyrell's current cultivation, only the most basic potions are the ones he could make.

The young man took some time choosing herbs. He first mentally chose the herbs that he thought had the highest quality and when he had his final decision, he immediately consulted with the real 'genius'

"Zero, help me identify which herbs have the highest quality" he ordered mentally and some of the herbs on the table started glowing in his vision.

The side of his lips almost twitched. He had quite a huge margin of error. Zero had chosen herbs different than the one he chose and only some of his choices were correct.

In private, Kyrell can be as stupid as he wants but in front of Uncle Ignis, he needs to appear as a genius.

Hence, without hesitation, he chose the herbs that Zero chose and the old pharmacist praised him.

"As expected of the Young Master, you really have a keen eye when it comes to herbs. You were able to pick the ones with the highest qualities!"

Uncle Ignis was simply amazed. Even a herb gatherer with few years of experience might not be as good as Kyrell when it comes to picking high-quality herbs. After all, how can a normal human's ability possibly be higher compared to an advanced A.I.?

"The next step is to dissolve the herbs' medicinal properties in water. This is the step that stomped cultivators aspiring to be pharmacists"

"There is a saying that a cultivator with excellent mana control will not always choose to be a pharmacist. However, all pharmacists have excellent mana control!"

"Those that are lacking in mana control skills are unsuitable to be a pharmacist!"

Indeed, the threshold for mana control is high in the potion-making industry. This was the reason why few could become pharmacists.

Genetic Awakeners cultivate by increasing their mana capacity and also training their mana control skills. However, in reality, the demand for mana control was actually quite low. As long as your mana capacity reaches a certain point, they will reach the next level.

Genetic Strengtheners have a higher demand when it comes to mana control but it was not too rare to have Genetic Awakeners with better mana control than them.

As such, the quote that Uncle Ignis mentioned was very appropriate. Cultivators with excellent mana control are not always pharmacists but all pharmacists have excellent mana control!

"I understand, Uncle Ignis" Kyrell replied with a nod and he prepared three beakers. He placed these beakers on top of small circular burners.

After picking herbs, the next step is to dissolve the herbs into water, specifically their medicinal properties. At least for the most basic potion, normal water is enough but for the higher level ones, special liquid must be used.

This step was one of the hard parts since the pharmacist must boil the herbs separately and they must ensure that the interval for the herbs to be dissolved isn't that long.

If one of the herbs was dissolved much earlier compared to the other herbs, there was a high tendency for the potion to fail.

This is now a test of the pharmacist's mana control!

The switch of the burners was turned on by Kyrell and he placed the three beakers on top of them. He was waiting for the water to heat up considerably.

He needs to wait for the water to reach just below the burning point of the water before adding the herbs.

Adding the herbs too early will result in failure as the medicinal properties of the herbs won't properly dissolve.

Adding the herbs too late will also result in failure as the medicinal properties will be lost if the herbs are burnt.

Pharmacists must wait for the water to reach just below the burning point before adding the herbs.

Just like the usual, Kyrell decided in his heart if the water was heat up at the right temperature but he would really only place the herbs when Zero gave him the signal.

This time, his judgment was better as he was only a bit late compared to Zero's signal, and as soon as he received it, he immediately placed the herbs inside the water.

"Very good, Young Master but this is now the time where your skills will be tested. You must watch all three beakers at the same time to intervene when necessary"

"You will see the medicinal properties of the herbs being dissolved in water. However, they will often float on the surface of the water. If that happens, the Young Master must infuse his mana into the concoction to help with the blending process"

"If too much or too little mana was used or too much or too little force was used, the medicinal properties would be wasted and you will need to try again"

Kyrell nodded as he already knew and experienced this process before. His eyes stared at the three beakers and as soon as he saw any liquid that was not water about to float on the surface, he would raise his hand and place his palm on top of the beaker.

His mana was guiding the medicinal properties to calmly bend in the water. It was great if he only needed to do this in one beaker at a time but when two herbs are 'resisting' then he needs to multitask and use his mana on two beakers.

This demanded even greater mana control skills to the pharmacist and a single mistake can result in failure.

"My luck is great this time, the three herbs are not 'acting up' at the same time. If I was unlucky and needed to manually blend the medicinal properties into the water for all three herbs, I can only feign failure"

Even for a normal genius' standard, being able to do that is seen as monstrous for someone who is only at the early stage of the Genetic Awakener Realm.

In fact, even veteran mid-stage Genetic Awakeners might not be skilled enough to create the most basic healing potion due to the lack of mana control skills.

To control three beakers at the same time, Kyrell wouldn't attract too much attention if only he was at the mid-stage. Being a normal genius is enough for him.

A crystal that is too dull might be seen as worthless but those that are shining too brightly will attract unwanted attention. Everything must be done in moderation.

"Very good, you are lucky today, Young Master. You didn't have to control three beakers at the same time" Uncle Ignis continued with his praise after seeing that the water in the three beakers was now 90% lower than before.

This means that the concoction was concentrated enough and there is no need to continue the boiling process.

With quick hands and high precision, Kyrell used a small net to quickly remove the remaining solid particles of the herbs. The time window to combine the essence of the three herbs was quite short and there is a need to hasten one's movement.

If Kyrell was at a higher rank, he simply needed to use his mana to remove the solid particles. However, even for the current him, that is impossible.

It's easy to internally circulate mana to enhance physical strength. If Kyrell focuses, he can also let his mana materialize outside his body such as his fists or weapons.

However, to control mana itself be selective and only scoop out the remaining solid particles of the herbs, that is currently hard even with his cheat.

It is the nanobots that help Kyrell control his mana but they can only do it while they are inside his body. Releasing mana is not hard but controlling mana that is outside his body was extremely hard!

As of the moment, it was impossible for Kyrell to do that without either increasing his cultivation rank or improving the nanobots.