Silver Bottle V

In the blink of an eye, ten days passed without anyone noticing.

Over those ten days, the three apprentices—Gilan, Lemei, and Garken—lived in the wooden cabin. At most, they would take casual walks through the surrounding woods or by the stream.

According to Madam Macara, wild beasts did roam near the cabin, but the three had never encountered any. At most, they saw small animals such as wild rabbits, pheasants, and squirrels.

Both Lemei and Garken were frail and powerless, but Gilan used stones he picked up at random to flick down several wild rabbits, adding to everyone's meals.

There was nothing particularly remarkable about this display, yet it left the noble girl Lemei astonished, drawing repeated cries of surprise from her.

Garken watched silently, quite envious. When they turned in that night, he even cautiously asked about the technique for throwing stones.

Gilan merely smiled and brushed him off with a few casual remarks, telling him to eat more and exercise his body.

Life and study in the wooden cabin were peaceful, but never dull.

Learning alchemy always felt novel.

Apart from helping their teacher, Madam Macara, with odd jobs and physical labor, Gilan and the other two apprentices constantly drew and memorized basic alchemical arrays, seeking a deeper understanding of their principles.

Other than checking their progress and answering their questions during dinner each evening, Madam Macara usually shut herself away in the attic of the main house to conduct research, rarely showing herself.

Every two or three days, Lemei's family would send supplies over by carriage. Madam Macara did not refuse, as it saved her the time needed to procure them herself.

That evening.

Taking advantage of dinner, Madam Macara checked the three apprentices' learning progress.

Gilan was the first to display his results.

Using the feather