Magic Workshop (Part One)

The workshop was divided into two sections. The outer room had been partitioned into four or five smaller rooms, each occupied by a young person. Some muttered incantations at bottles, while others appeared to be resting. When they saw Alec enter, they nodded in greeting. Alec returned each greeting in turn.

The inner section was blocked by a thick iron door, concealing whatever lay beyond. However, elegant cursive lettering on the door read: The working laboratory of Mage Sackville and his assistant Alec. No unauthorized entry. Violators bear the consequences.

Romon glanced at Alec ahead of him and thought, It seemed this man was highly valued by the mage. And this Master Sackville seemed to possess some of those strange, dry jokes of research workers from my previous life.

Alec led Romon and Feiqiya toward the inner building. At the doorway, he stopped and turned to look at the two behind him, speaking solemnly. "Ahead is the laboratory of my teacher, Sackville. Once you enter, I require you not to touch anything inside out of curiosity. As the saying goes, curiosity killed the cat. And displaying curiosity in a mage's laboratory will most likely kill the curious person himself."

Romon spread his hands and said with a smile, "The only place more dangerous than a Druid's natural greenhouse is a mage's laboratory."

Feiqiya smiled as well. "A qualified merchant knows how to control his curiosity."

Alec nodded and pushed open the iron door. Before them lay a staircase leading downward. It seemed the mage had built his laboratory underground.

The three of them walked down, and the iron door closed automatically behind them. A point of light lit up overhead in the pitch-black stairwell. Romon then saw another iron door at the bottom of the stairs, bearing cursive words: Old friends need not knock.

Alec pushed open the door, and the three finally entered Sackville's laboratory.

Romon carefully surveyed the surroundings. The room was about the same size as the outer one, and the entire place was roughly divided into four areas:

On a long table in the northwest corner stood many vessels. Having received a modern education, Romon could roughly distinguish their uses from their shapes: balances and measuring cups for weighing doses; sealed containers for storing special items; apparatuses for distillation, heating, cutting, and so on.

In the southwest corner, herbs and medicinal ores were piled up in separate categories. Romon gave them a cursory look. He could identify more than a dozen kinds of herbs, but only a few kinds of medicinal ore.

On the desk in the northeast lay scattered parchment sheets, along with several quill pens stuck in an ink bottle and left out in the open.

In the southeast were two beds. It seemed the mage and his disciple sometimes slept in the workshop.

At that moment, the fifth-level mage, Mr. Sackville, sat beside the desk, frowning at something.

"Teacher." Alec stepped forward and called out respectfully.

Mage Sackville was a bald old man. He was short, with a broad, square face, thick eyebrows, and a long beard, all snow-white. Whenever the old man read, he unconsciously stroked his beard.

Without looking up, Sackville gave a grunt through his nose. "Is Jacob's matter settled?"

Alec replied with a bitter smile, "That child truly caused no end of worry. He even used Flame Palm outside just now."

Sackville raised his head. "Oh? What happened?"

Alec recounted the entire matter, taking the opportunity to introduce Feiqiya and Romon as well.

The old mage shook his head after listening. "Dandy is an old friend of mine. But his disciple is truly worthless. I'll write to Dandy and Baron Ibi to handle this matter."

Then he looked at Feiqiya. "Your father Barnel is a good man, but his capital is too small for him to do business with people like us. You must work hard!"

Feiqiya immediately said gratefully, "Master, I will certainly work hard. I hope that one day I may earn the qualification to serve you."

The old mage waved his hand, glanced at Romon, and said to Feiqiya, "This is the young man Barnel recommended to me? He looks spirited enough. Hmm, I'll ask him a few questions. If he passes, he can work here."

Romon bowed to the old mage. "Please ask your questions, Master."

The old mage scratched his head. "First, what is the basic principle behind alchemical potions?"

Romon thought back for a moment and answered with certainty, "Using a Solidifying Agent to temporarily store a spell—that is the basic principle behind alchemical potions."

Sackville nodded. "Second question. Do you know how to prepare the stabilizing agent for an alchemical potion such as a healing potion?"

"I learned one method, but I have never performed it myself," Romon replied. Although he had studied and worked under the apothecary Ansen in Rika Town and had compounded potions before, ordinary potions and alchemical potions were entirely different concepts.

"Oh? Which one?" Sackville's brow twitched.

"The standard Druid preparation method for a Cure Minor Wounds potion. The materials used are: Nightmoon Grass picked on the night of a full moon, immediately soaked in wine to extract its juice; Azure Stone, soaked in rainwater and ground into powder; ..." After thinking briefly, Romon fluently recited the answer he knew.

Sackville nodded repeatedly. Once Romon had finished, he asked, "Final question: the proper timing for using a stabilizing agent, and the spellcasting state that should be chosen."

Romon frowned. He had not undergone systematic Druid training. Fortunately, since producing healing potions was the greatest source of income for low-level spellcasters, he had once consulted relevant materials in the Temple library in the small town and sought guidance on the matter from the apothecary Ansen and the Druid Jefa. Recalling the fragments of information revealed in the books and by the two men, Romon organized his thoughts and answered, "The first question: after a Solidifying Agent has been successfully prepared, its activity index constantly changes. Once the activity index drops to zero, the Solidifying Agent has failed and must be prepared again. Different Solidifying Agents follow different patterns of activity fluctuation. In principle, enchantment should be carried out when the Solidifying Agent's activity is at its highest. The second question: when making alchemical potions and magical items, casting spells during the process is called enchantment casting. The incantations and gestures used in enchantment casting differ from ordinary spellcasting. Taking the Cure Minor Wounds potion that I know as an example, during the chanting process, one should..."

Romon explained everything he knew in as much detail as possible.

After hearing him out, Sackville said with a smile, "Young man, you have passed my test. Now I will discuss your compensation and work requirements. If you find them unsuitable or have special requests, you may raise them after I finish."

"Very well, Master," Romon answered respectfully.

Stroking his snow-white beard, Sackville said, "You should know that an ordinary Cure Minor Wounds potion, like the one you know, has an effective duration of one month and sells for 1 gold coin. The potion I prepare remains effective for forty-five days, and it sells for 2 gold coins. As for the total price of stabilizing-agent materials, the kind you know generally fluctuates around 2 silver coins on the market. But considering that a qualified potion cannot be prepared successfully every time, the material cost alone exceeds 2 silver coins. The stabilizing-agent formula I use costs less than the one you know, at around 1 silver coin. So this is how your wages will be calculated. You must complete one qualified potion each day. For that potion, I will give you 7 silver coins as the price of your spellcasting. I will also allow you one failed attempt each day, but for every failure beyond that, I will charge you 1 silver coin to compensate for my stabilizing-agent materials. Finally, if you can complete three Cure Minor Wounds potions per day, I will give you an additional 5 silver coins as a reward. As for food and lodging, you will receive a small room and one free lunch. Oh, I nearly forgot the most important benefit of working here. Every week, you may sit in on my lectures, but you may not ask questions or speak. As for my requirements, the stabilizing agents you receive may not be taken out of the workshop, and failed waste products must also be returned. Do you understand?"

Romon listened and nodded seriously. "Master, you are a generous man. I am willing to serve you."

"Then let us sign a magical contract. The term will be one month. After one month, we will decide whether to renew it based on the circumstances." Sackville smiled and took out two parchment sheets from the desk drawer.

Romon accepted them. They were two copies of the same contract. He carefully read the terms, which were generally as Sackville had described. The more detailed sections stipulated how failures to meet the conditions would be handled. At the bottom, Sackville had already signed his own name. Finding no problem, Romon picked up a quill and signed his name on both copies.

The old mage accepted the contracts, his smile becoming even more kindly. He instructed Alec, "Alec, take Romon to his room and workroom. Hmm, and demonstrate potion preparation for him once. Romon, remember this: you have a total of three chances to watch Alec prepare potions for free. Likewise, you may only watch and may not ask questions. Later, if you wish to observe Alec preparing potions, Alec will charge a fee—about 5 silver coins each time. Also, I trust you would not recklessly break into a mage's laboratory, would you?"

Romon bent at the waist in a bow. "Master Sackville, I understand." Then he followed Alec out.

The three passed through the dim staircase again and returned to the outer workshop.

"Mage Alec, Romon will be in your care from now on," Feiqiya said with a smile after they emerged.

Alec patted Romon on the shoulder. "No problem. He seems like a clever young man."

"Then thank you very much. We came in great haste this time, and the caravan will be returning to Rika Town at once, so we can only invite you for a drink at the House of Arcana next time."

Romon pricked up his ears as he listened to the two speak. He had heard adventurers mention the "House of Arcana" back in Rika Town. It was an inn affiliated with the Spellcasters' Association of Aps City. Its basic clientele were the purses of those seeking favors from spellcasters. In other words, if someone wanted a spellcaster to do something, they would choose the House of Arcana and invite a mage for a drink—of course, mages had their own private taverns, places ordinary people could not enter.

Although I am a spellcaster, as a Druid, I must reach level five before I qualify to enter. For now, I still cannot go to such places! Romon thought, yet he felt no indignation at all. With Shennong Horn backing him, he was instead filled with confidence in the future.

!!