An indescribable smell filled the laboratory.
There was the reek of urine, the smell of scorched herbal residue, and all sorts of other odors, blended into an exquisite bouquet straight from hell.
Bits of herbs, overturned medicine bottles, and unidentified dried liquid stains littered the floor.
Pale yellow steam drifted through the air, carrying a damp, suggestive warmth.
Silco wore gloves and covered his nose, utter despair written across his face. "Tch, damn it all.
I'm a genius Alchemy Apprentice recognized by the Jade Federation, a future great Alchemist, and what am I doing now? Refining turtle piss?!"
His face was full of resentment, but he had no choice but to carry out this grueling task.
A few weeks earlier, Lord Louis, who seemed gentle but was actually a complete sicko, had personally issued this utterly baffling experimental directive:
"Develop a potion that can soothe male turtles' agitation and use their instinctive courtship behavior to induce gentle heat production."
When Silco heard the assignment, the first thought that sprang to mind was:
Has this man lost his mind? Is this what the noble art of alchemy is for?!
But Louis had carefully explained the importance of the potion.
"The bitter winter is almost here. The Red Tide Fief has geothermal heat to get by, but those places outside it? No geothermal heat, no resources. The little warmth they get from burning firewood won't be nearly enough..."
And so Silco could only grit his teeth and slog through seven failed attempts.
Either the pot exploded or he burned through the table. Once, he even nearly blew up the laboratory.
Only yesterday had he finally extracted a mildly pungent component from countless samples of female turtle waste.
He had used female turtle urine as the main ingredient, combined it with several common