Well, would you look at that!
The others at least came with a simple description or something, but you? You didn't know a thing!
What did that mean?
It meant this was damn good stuff!
Shaking her head and suppressing her excitement, Lan Qingyou fumbled around where the pop-up window had appeared. She didn't care that she'd stirred up all the water in the well until it was completely murky.
At last, Lan Qingyou dug a stone out of the sludge.
The stone was an irregular oval, about the size of her palm. Its surface looked very smooth, and there wasn't even any pondweed growing on it.
But Lan Qingyou didn't have time to examine it closely. The well water was still up to her neck.
After looking around and confirming that no other windows had appeared, she floated out.
Then she continued searching the area until the clouds on the horizon turned red like flames, and only then did she head back.
The first thing Lan Qingyou did after returning wasn't appraise her finds, but take a bath.
After all, she'd spent so long soaking in the icy well water, then even longer exposed to the cold wind in the air. She was afraid she'd catch a cold if she didn't take a good bath and sweat it out.
Once she'd finished bathing and changed clothes, she took out everything she'd found that day.
A wooden stick over a meter long and as thick as half an arm, a broken compass, a butterfly pupa in a glass jar, a bottle of spring water, Water Element Essence, and an unidentified stone.
And, of course, the cauldron she'd been using for days.
[Deep Sea Meteorite Iron Cauldron (C)] [Effect: Increases the success rate of potions and magic potions by 50%.] [Description: The ultimate tool that alchemists dream of, a world-class magic item recognized by the World Will. Whoever owns it will be blessed; everyone who's used it says it's great. Unfortunately, its effect has faded after being left unused for a long time. Perhaps you can try using it regularly to reawaken this slumbering World-Class Item.] [Emerald Stirring Rod (C)] [Effect: Increases potion success rate by 50%.] [Description: A stirring rod made from a branch of the World Tree. You don't have to worry about flavors mixing when you use it; it can even add a hint of the world's flavor to your potions. Unfortunately, its effect has faded after being left unused for a long time. Perhaps you can try using it regularly to reawaken this slumbering World-Class Item.] [Damaged Thorium Compass (E)] [Effect: Increases the efficiency of your magic arrays and alchemy arrays by 50%.] [Description: The circular arrays drawn with it can... Unfortunately, it's damaged. You can try asking a mechanic to repair it. But be careful, because it's just as attractive to mechanics as it is to Array Masters and alchemists.] [Elf Butterfly Pupa (S)] [Description: An unhatched Elf Butterfly Pupa. It's amazing you managed to obtain a magical beast of this rank. Find a chance to hatch it, and you'll see the gentlest, most beautiful butterfly in the world.] [Spring of Rest (C)] [Effect: Watering, forging, Enchantments, alchemy.] [Description: Spring water containing a large amount of Magic Power. It can be used directly as a base liquid by alchemists. Though its rank is low, it's extremely precious.] [Water Element Essence (D)] [Effect: Can be used for alchemy and Enchantments, or for irrigation. It also effectively increases the growth rate of water-element plants.] [Description: The purest collection of Water Element energy, born from Water Element Magic Power intertwining over a long period of time.] [Stone of Rest (S)] [Effect: Place it on the ground, and it will continuously produce Spring of Rest. There is also a chance it will produce Water Element Essence.] [Description: It's said that a certain arrogant alchemist once found it troublesome to make Mana Water every time he brewed a potion, so he teamed up with another arrogant magic item craftsman to develop this stone. It's a World-Class Item recognized by the World Will.]
So the Water Element Essence and Spring of Rest had all been produced by this Stone of Rest.
And that "arrogant alchemist" mentioned in the description was probably Albert, right?
After reading all the appraisal details, Lan Qingyou let out a long breath.
"Phew—I didn't expect Albert to have left behind such a rich legacy. Looks like I can go do some archaeology at his workshop whenever I have time. Maybe I'll find all sorts of other surprises?"
Lan Qingyou thought to herself.
Then she placed a hand over her chest, closed her eyes, and spoke with great solemnity.
"So, you, Albert, from today onward, are my teacher—even though we've never met. If you have any good stuff, please be sure to leave it in that camp, so your student can admire your brilliance even more."
For Lan Qingyou, who'd inherited so much and was also an alchemist, all these things could help her greatly.
So, from the bottom of her heart, she was grateful to Albert.
Of course, it would be even better if he'd left behind more tools.
But...
She still had work to do.
Now that she'd obtained so many tools from the master alchemist Albert, Lan Qingyou immediately shifted gears. With a confident air, she began filtering the potions, bottling them, and delivering them to her "creditors."
First, of course, was the person who'd sold her Monster Studies.
Although it was only a trade request, a trade was a trade.
Until the transaction was complete, Monster Studies wouldn't be in her hands.
Although she now had Appraisal Glasses, they needed knowledge to work to their full potential.
No matter what it was, as long as it broke through D-Rank, the Appraisal Glasses would also advance to D-Rank and become capable of appraising D-Rank items.
In that sense, the glasses could be considered a growth-type magic item.
Next was Shang Chuan. Although he'd received a few dozen fewer potions, getting the first batch had finally put his mind at ease.
After finishing all that, Lan Qingyou returned and began dealing with that day's finds.
The first thing she tackled was, of course, the Stone of Rest, which could produce Spring of Rest on its own.
Before, Lan Qingyou had been worrying about her water supply.
After all, relying on other people to bring her water wasn't a long-term solution.
Now that she had the Stone of Rest, she could get water whenever she wanted.
But because it produced Spring of Rest continuously, she had a hard time figuring out where to put it.
In the end, after placing the stone in the Water Tank, which didn't have much water left, she discovered a problem.
The thing really could produce water, but it would only produce up to fifty centimeters' worth.
The water level was the same as it had been in the well.
This put Lan Qingyou's mind at ease.
After all, if water came gushing out of her Tree House, anyone passing by would probably look up, wouldn't they?
The Water Tank was different.
Not only did she not have to worry about being discovered, but she could also just open the valve and let the water flow whenever she did alchemy. It couldn't be more convenient.
It was a bit of a waste for a huge Water Tank that could hold a hundred liters, but it was the only option for now.
After she'd washed the Emerald Stirring Rod and the tools she'd used that day, she put them in the workshop.
There was nothing she could do about the Thorium Compass. She didn't know how to repair it, so she'd leave it for now.
As for how to hatch the Elf Butterfly Pupa, she had no idea.
After all, even the Monster Studies book she'd just acquired didn't say.
Uh... More accurately, Monster Studies wasn't a book that introduced individual magical beasts.
Instead, it gave a very systematic account of "magical beasts" as a whole.
Monster Studies had two branches: Botany and Magical Beast Studies.
Botany had its own branches, too.
One was the familiar Herbalism, and the other was Magical Plant Studies.
The Man-eating Flower that had appeared before belonged to the magical plant category of magical beasts.
Lan Qingyou couldn't help marveling at how ridiculously extensive the fields of study in this world were.
—She had a lot to learn.
Before you continue