The Glorious Evolution

Meanwhile, most of the observing alchemists moved closer to Pell’s station, following his work with intrigued looks... they might be Master Alchemists, but none of them were capable of concocting a whole potion inside their bodies.

It was an art reserved for Cauldron-Fey Grandmasters and a few living Master Alchemists who hadn’t attended.

Even Crowglass set down her cup and watched the process with an amused smile.

Levi noticed how Pell checked her reaction before returning to his work.

’So that’s why he joined.’

Pell could have finished with the station... his earlier control left little doubt about that. He wanted Crowglass to see what made him worth taking as her apprentice!

Pell felt her attention settle on him.

Finally.

He kept his expression composed, though his heartbeat quickened enough that he had to steady his breathing.

Madam Crowglass rarely appeared in public outside gatherings like these.

If she returned to her laboratory and secluded herself for another research project, he might wait years before standing before her again.

A message requesting an apprenticeship would scarcely reach her through the countless others.

Today, she was watching him work.

He couldn’t waste it.

Pell guided the stored extracts into the base in measured amounts, adjusting the warmth inside his Kettleheart as they reacted.

He kept the remaining essences isolated until their turn came, introducing each one at the moment the preparation needed it.

The colors under his throat deepened as the final reaction approached.

Pell reached for the measured stabilizer and swallowed it.

His Kettleheart received the last addition, distributed it through the mixture, and gradually lowered the temperature.

Only when the preparation settled did he release his held breath.

A narrow thread of liquid rose from his mouth. He guided it into a clean vial without spilling a drop and sealed it.

The timer stopped.

Pell glanced at it, then lifted the vial with both hands and approached Crowglass... he passed the Master Alchemists respectfully and stopped before her.

”Please examine my work, Madam.”

He bowed deeply, offering her the potion.

Crowglass accepted the vial and drew out a small sample, while Pell remained bowed before her.

The nearby alchemists watched closely... they had seen how quickly he completed the concoction inside the Kettleheart, but if the quality was trash, it meant very little.

”Stand straight, my dear. Let me have a look.”

Pell obeyed, clasping his hands before him as she examined the tonic.

His fingers tightened slightly when she turned the sample under the light.

”Ninety-six percent clarity... and concocted entirely within your Kettleheart.” Crowglass glanced at the smoky markings on his throat and smiled. ”Very well done, dear.”

His shoulders relaxed as approving murmurs spread among the observing masters. Many nobles exchanged interested looks, already wondering which household had produced such a promising young alchemist, while others were thinking of ways to rope him in while he was still young.

”Thank you, Madam.”

”Which family are you from?”

”The Bracken family, Madam... we run a small apothecary on the outskirts of the capital. My mother taught me.”

”And who brought you to our gathering, dear?”

Pell turned toward one of the observing Master Alchemists, indicating him with a respectful gesture.

The man set his glass aside and inclined his head toward Crowglass.

”He asked for an opportunity to demonstrate his skills before you, Madam... so I brought him as my guest.” His gaze briefly settled on Pell. ”I promised him an introduction... he insisted on earning your attention first.”

Crowglass’s smile curled slightly as she returned her attention to the young alchemist, who lowered his head with a grateful expression.

”Good work, Pell. Come, stand beside me.”

His heart jumped, but before he could respond, she turned toward the other station.

”Let us give Dark Sun some quiet to finish.”

Many guests followed her gaze, only then remembering that another candidate remained in the test.

Their attention had stayed on Pell since he began using his Kettleheart... meanwhile, Levi was still arranging his equipment.

He checked the markings on an empty receiver, placed it under the extraction vessel, then shifted two smaller vials closer to his working hand.

The heating array brightened briefly before he lowered its output again.

”Has he started?”

”He seems to have chosen his bottles.”

A few restrained laughs followed, along with some complaints that he was taking too long; their dinner might get cold before he finished.

Following Pell’s amazing performance, it felt like absolute torture to watch Levi’s slow and rigid preparations.

Jasmine could not hear the whispered remarks, but one woman’s exaggerated imitation of Levi carefully setting down a vial made their subject clear enough.

Her silver eye settled on the woman with such coldness that her smile stiffened... she lowered her hand, suddenly finding something interesting on the table before her.

While Jasmine couldn’t tell them off, someone else did.

”Enough,” Drayven interrupted coldly from beside his girlfriend. ”If arranging bottles is too difficult for you to watch, look somewhere else.”

The murmurs stopped as he leaned back with a cold sneer.

”Take your time, Dark Sun... Nobody here is starving.”

Reading the dimensional captions, Jasmine looked from the dragon to Levi with a tint of amazement.

’Did he cast a spell on him?’

She wondered to herself as she watched Levi barely register the disturbance behind him... his attention remained on the heating array’s response to each adjustment, checking how quickly the heat rose and how long it continued climbing after he reduced the output.

Once he recorded the results, he finished arranging his receivers and reached for the ingredients.

A few guests sighed in relief, expecting him to finally begin... instead, they watched him lift a prepared sampling portion to his mouth and lick it.

”...”

”...”

”...”

Whether nobles or alchemists, whether they understood alchemy or not... the sight of Levi picking up the materials one by one and giving them each a thorough lick left them utterly speechless.

”Did he just...?”

”Yes.”

Someone answered, dumbfounded, as a fifth sample touched Levi’s tongue.

Pell’s brows drew together, while Crowglass watched Levi’s fingers move across a dimensional screen invisible to the spectators.

He paused after each taste to enter something, then continued to the next ingredient without acknowledging their expressions.

’65% water in this... I need to reduce its moisture before it is mixed.’

Unbeknownst to them, Levi had unlocked Essence Appraisal in Pathfinder Second Stage... an ability under the latest Aspect added to his growing arsenal.

Composition Aspect.

An extremely niche and rare Aspect that governed the makeup of substances... their components, the proportions they occupied, and how their interactions determined the substance’s properties.

Although it was more of a research-based Aspect, it could also be used in combat, as Ash’Kral had told him about some abilities he had created under it... Of course, those were for niche situations, and the Aspect was more useful in research-based fields.

The first ability he had unlocked under it was enough proof, as it revealed a material’s composition through a simple lick... moisture, organic matter, useful essences, impurities, and other energies, each with its precise percentage!

Those were the figures he kept recording... the recipe provided standard quantities, but his tongue told him exactly what the ingredients before him contained, allowing him to adjust those quantities before beginning the concoction.

’Interesting...’

Crowglass’s initial surprise gradually turned to curiosity... she could tell that Levi wasn’t somebody who would fool around in such serious matters.

Once he finished recording the measurements, Levi activated the heating array.

He waited for the heat to settle before adding the first ingredient, then consulted his instructions again... there was nothing impressive about his handling, but neither was there anything for the watching masters to correct.

His spiritual current entered the mixture slowly, drawing away a narrow stream of useful essence while leaving the unwanted substances behind.

Pell had moved between the stages of his concoction without hesitation... Levi gave this single operation his complete attention.

When the emerging liquid’s composition began changing, he stopped the flow and cooled a tiny sample.

Another taste supplied the figures he needed to change receivers and continue the extraction cleanly.

’He is taking a bit too much time... but so far, he has made no errors.’

One of the masters held his chin thoughtfully, watching Levi stop the extraction before the unwanted fraction could enter his collected essence.

The nobles’ attention gradually wandered as the same careful process continued... There were no colorful currents weaving between his fingers or several operations progressing together.

Just Levi checking measurements, consulting his notes, and waiting for each stage to finish.

Conversations resumed near the back as some of these nobles had little patience for a low-grade concoction... especially when they believed Levi had no chance of becoming an apprentice to Crowglass or any of the masters.

Who would accept someone this slow, who showed not an ounce of talent? His way of working reminded them of themselves when they first tried to enter the field.

Yet, Levi couldn’t care less about their reactions... he tasted a cooled drop from his next extract, then allowed a little more moisture to leave before sealing it... Later, he weighed out slightly less of another ingredient than the recipe instructed.

At last, he added the Prismalique Elixir at the required point, followed the final reaction through to its completion, then distilled the finished tonic into a clean vial.

’Finally.’

His shoulders relaxed as he sealed it.

After one last check, he brought the potion to Crowglass and offered it respectfully.

”Thank you for waiting, Madam.”

”Of course, my dear.”

Behind him, a guest released a long breath.

Fifteen minutes... that was how long it took Levi to concoct a low-grade potion, which usually took five minutes at most!

As for Pell? He took no less than two minutes!

”I thought we would be having breakfast here.”

His companion covered a smile with her glass, while an attendant near the dining tables waited for the host’s signal to resume the evening.

Crowglass drew a sample from Levi’s vial, her expression remaining pleasant as she began the examination.

The Master Alchemists soon noticed that she was taking longer than expected.

The attendant continued waiting, but Crowglass seemed to have forgotten about the rest of the gathering.

She examined the tonic one last time before turning toward Levi with an intrigued expression.

”How?”

The nearby alchemists fell silent, not expecting a Grandmaster to ask a beginner such a question about a simple concoction.

”Madam?” Levi asked, also confused.

”How did you create a potion with one hundred percent clarity?”