Chapter 88 - 86: Wrapping Up for the Day
However, to avoid suspicion of smuggling due to his potion-making ability, David carefully considered his actions. Within a single day of successfully replicating the Sobering Potion, he sealed the test tube and tucked it away for safekeeping in a crevice between his scales.
Then, he resumed honing the purity and proficiency of his craft. What should have been the most difficult and error-prone part of the process became much easier. This was because he had already succeeded once, and the memory of Master Attilicia’s entire procedure, replaying constantly in his mind with perfect clarity, served as an infallible reference.
Precisely because of this, when working hours arrived, the High Elves reporting for alchemical duty were shaken to discover the lights in Master Attilicia’s room still on. Their shock was quickly followed by mutterings filled with a mix of dejection and respect.
Damn it! This young Silver Dragon is already so talented, and yet he’s still working so hard! He’s even arriving earlier than our work time! How are we Elves supposed to live like this!
They were certain the Alchemists would soon scold them for being foolish and slothful. They had even anticipated their teachers’ reprimands: "Look at him! Despite being so talented, he’s still so diligent. If you continue to be this negligent, you’ll truly fade into obscurity among the Elves!"
Ah! Lord Saphistouin! Why don’t you just overwhelm us mortals at once!
When the Alchemist on duty for the day—who had also been the "assistant teacher" substitute yesterday—knocked and received permission to enter, he saw David still repeating the previous day’s task of refining material purity. He silently breathed a sigh of relief.
Even though he was older and no longer harbored ambitions for further advancement, he instinctively dreaded witnessing the ’historic moment in alchemy: learning to make basic potions in a single day’ unfold. It felt like it would negate all the efforts of my early years.
It’s good that it hasn’t happened... It’s good that it hasn’t... Otherwise, I would start to suspect he might be the incarnation of a deity, sent to play this cruel joke on me.
After answering a few casual questions from David and respectfully exiting the Alchemy Room, a puzzling event occurred, baffling him and all the other Elves. The situation was a drastic reversal from the previous day, when the bell had hardly stopped ringing and the Alchemists on duty had found no time to rest.
From that moment onward, apart from the lights in the personal resting room never going out and the Halfling chefs from the Duke of Silver’s castle delivering meals daily, the well-soundproofed Alchemy Room was eerily quiet. This silence sparked curiosity while also exerting an unseen pressure.
Soon, the answer was revealed: Lord Saphistouin, the Silver Dragon, threw out a list of materials. It included nine sets of alchemy toolkits and workbenches. The rest, naturally, were all the raw materials required for making the Sobering Potion. Each request started with no less than one hundred portions of ingredients, including Century Aroma pollen. Just this batch of materials could be worth tens of thousands of Gold Coins on the market.