Chapter 11: Body Refining Pill

Kai was surprised when he heard that Alex was preparing to undergo his Third Heavenly Trial.

Alex had undergone his Second Heavenly Trial about twenty days ago—slightly earlier than Kai—but while Kai hadn't made any progress, Alex was already about to face his third.

However, Kai was happy for Alex; one more Gift meant a higher chance of survival in the wilderness.

"I have a few in mind," Alex answered. He was still struggling to decide which Gift to choose. Should he go for another defensive Gift and continue on his path as a Tank, or should he pick a Sword Gift that could bring out his natural talent with the blade?

"Choose the one you feel will be most useful to you now and in the future," Kai advised, repeating the words of Master Stardew.

After chatting a little more, Kai paid and left.

Upon entering the Honey Pill Shop, Miya greeted Kai with the brewing list and a look of annoyance.

"Here, take it. Be out by five, or I'll drag you out," she said, heading back to her desk.

Yesterday, after meeting with her cousin Alchemist Lyra, Miya had felt it was a shame for a talented human like Kai to be wasted because of a broken Knowledge Sea. So, she had contacted her family back in Fairy-Land.

After listening to her explanation, both her parents were willing to help. In Fairy-Land, pills like the Knowledge Sea Awakening Pill weren't that expensive. However, transporting the pill to the Ancient World was a whole different story.

There were thousands of light-years between Fairy-Land and the Ancient World. Even in the best-case scenario, it would take around two years for the Knowledge Sea Awakening Pill to arrive.

However, Miya was well aware of her cousin Alchemist Lyra's intentions—she planned to pressure Kai until he either signed a Tier 2 contract or violated his current one.

If he violated his current contract, then for the next ten years, he would become the shop's property.

There was nothing technically wrong with this method, but Miya felt Alchemist Lyra was pushing things too hard and risked leaving resentment in Kai's heart. She believed a lighter, more welcoming approach would be better.

Miya didn't agree with Lyra's strategy, but she couldn't do anything about it—and that annoyed her.

"What's the matter with you?" Kai asked, noticing Miya's expression.

"Nothing," Miya replied, choosing to ignore him rather than explain how troubled she was because of him.

"As you say," Kai replied, deciding not to waste his time, and headed toward his alchemy room.

Closing the door behind him, Kai looked at his brewing list.

[Brewing List]

Name: Kai

Date: Year 0, Month 4, Day 11

Task: 40 Body Refining Pills.]

"Body Refining Pills, that's rare."

The process of refining Body Refining Pills was as simple as refining Basic Vitality Pills. However, since Kai had started his career as an Alchemist, he had only refined Body Refining Pills three times. Including today's task, this would be the fourth.

"Let's start with the tricky parts."

Placing the furnace on the Firestones, Kai decided to begin with the hardest step in refining Body Refining Pills—extracting the essence of Sunlit Blossom.

[Clear Mind] [Heighten Senses]

Tossing three Sunlit Blossoms into the furnace, Kai closed the lid and activated both of his Gifts.

[Fire Control]

Activating the Firestones, Kai began the process of extracting the essence from the Sunlit Blossoms.

As the temperature inside the furnace rose, the Sunlit Blossoms began to react, glowing brightly.

However, before they could reach the dangerous point of explosion, the temperature inside the furnace dropped.

As the blossoms cooled down, they began to release their essence. But before long, the temperature in the furnace once again began to skyrocket.

When the Sunlit Blossom was on the verge of exploding, the temperature inside the furnace dropped again, and the Sunlit Blossom released more of its essence.

This process continued for half an hour until all the essence of the Sunlit Blossom had been collected.

Opening the lid of the furnace, Kai peeked inside — and sure enough, all the essence had been successfully gathered.

He carefully collected the essence from the furnace and poured it into a jar.

Repeating the same process two more times, Kai finally had enough Sunlit Blossom Essence.

Since the hardest part was over, it was time to refine the pills.

After washing the furnace, Kai let it dry. Then, he placed it back on the Firestones and poured 100 ml of pure Moonwater into it. Placing the lid back on, Kai waited.

As the Moonwater thickened, Kai opened the lid and tossed in two Ironwood Roots, then increased the Firestones' output to maximum.

After ten minutes, he decreased the output to its lowest setting and opened the lid. Sure enough, the Ironwood Roots had liquefied into a thick paste.

Kai then poured half of the Sunlit Blossom Essence he had extracted into the furnace.

Closing the lid, he set the Firestones to medium — and the waiting game began.

An hour later, Kai opened the lid of the furnace and poured 50 ml of Crystallized Dew into it. Increasing the Firestones' output from medium to maximum, Kai once again began the waiting game.

Half an hour later, an aromatic smell began emanating from the furnace. Opening the lid, Kai looked inside.

Since the paste was ready, Kai began molding the pills. In total, he refined 16 Body Refining Pills in the first batch and then started checking them.

[Body Refining Pill]

Grade: Low

Effect: Assists in Refining the Body

Description: A pill for strengthening one's body. Good for those walking the path of body refining.]

After checking every single pill, Kai cleaned the furnace and repeated the process.

In the second batch, he refined 14 Body Refining Pills, and in the third, he refined 15 pills.

All in all, he spent under six hours refining three batches of Body Refining Pills and refined a total of 45 pills.

"It's around 2 p.m. I should make some potions for the Honey Points." Looking at the clock, Kai decided to start with potions to earn Honey Points for the Broken Knowledge Sea.

After spending three hours, Kai made three batches of Essence Boost Potions.

Counting the five points from the 5 extra Body Refining Pills, Kai had gathered 35 Honey Points.

"Let's continue a little longer," Kai mumbled in a tired voice as he placed the furnace on the Firestones. He was planning to refine some pills since his arms were tired from making potions.

However, before he could even turn on the Firestones, the door to his alchemy room opened, and Miya came flying in.