A Chemist's Interstellar Saga

Chapter 49: Planet-Class Bath
Chapter 49: Planet-Class Bath

Sims brought Arix back to the Chemistry Department, singing her praises to anyone they encountered, practically complimenting her from head to toe.

”Look, this is Arix. She may seem delicate, but she’s fantastic at making potions.”

”Oh my, Arix is incredible! Guess what her impurity rate was for the potion she made yesterday?”

”Yep, just 0.01%. Amazing, right? Even I can’t do that.”

”Arix is not only pretty but also great at potion-making. I don’t know which lucky guy will marry her one day.”

Arix felt the corners of her mouth stiffen with embarrassment, but she tried to maintain a composed appearance and played along with Sims’ overly enthusiastic flattery.

Since Master Chemist himself had acknowledged Arix as a potion prodigy, most people sincerely believed it. Thus, her unexpected reputation as a genius chemist quickly spread throughout the entire Fifth Legion’s Chemistry Department.

It wasn’t until they entered Sims’ personal lab that Arix finally let out a sigh of relief. She gently suggested, ”Grandpa Sims, maybe we should be a bit more low-key next time.”

”Why? Was I wrong about anything?” Sims asked.

”No, it’s just...” Arix faltered, trying to express her thoughts, but was cut off by Sims’ firm response.

”Moon Pie, we should always be honest and avoid pretending to be weak. If you pretend too much, you might actually become weak, and then I can’t help you.” Sims advised earnestly.

Arix sensed something was amiss but couldn’t quite articulate it, so she just nodded obediently, ”Alright, I understand. Thank you.”

”Good, that’s my Moon Pie. Now, your task this morning is to read through all five of these medicinal ingredients guides.” Sims said, handing Arix five well-preserved but old books from his Space Button.

”What about this afternoon?” Arix asked casually, holding the books.

Sims eyed Arix’s feeble physique with disdain and said, ”In the afternoon, you’ll soak in a medicinal bath to strengthen your physical power. Honestly, your physical power is really lacking.”

”But I heard that once you reach the Planet Class level, taking more potions doesn’t help much,” Arix timidly replied.

”That depends. In your case, the main problem is that your body’s foundation is damaged. Once it’s repaired, you’ll be able to level up at least once,” Sims explained.

”I understand. You’re really impressive,” Arix said, both genuinely admiring and trying to flatter Sims.

”Of course! Why else do you think they call me the Master Chemist?” Sims replied, stroking his white beard.

After reminding her a few more times, he went off to prepare the potion for her medicinal bath in the afternoon.

Arix sat in a nearby chair, carefully reading through the comprehensive guide to interstellar medicinal ingredients. When she encountered something she didn’t understand, she used the lab’s opticomputer to search the interstellarnet. When she couldn’t find answers there, she’d turn to Sims for help.

At this moment, her previous life’s Ph.D. in chemistry finally proved useful.

Although she hadn’t seen many of the pharmaceutical materials before, the detailed introductions to the ingredients and their effects allowed her to quickly familiarize herself with them.

She even made notes in a small notebook whenever she found inconsistencies in the guide, like conflicting medicinal properties.

After she reached the last page of the book, Sims approached her with a potion.

He handed Arix the nutritious fluid and cautioned her, ”I’ve told your brother that while you’re taking these medicinal baths, just drink the nutritious fluid. Now, drink this, and you can head to the bath. Remember, don’t come out until the solution has cleared.”

”Okay, thanks, Grandpa Sims. Got it,” Arix replied. Without much thought, she drank the nutritious fluid, set down her book, and walked toward the bath.

After she got soaked in the tub for a while, she finally realized why Sims hadn’t wanted her to eat but instead to drink the nutritious fluid.

The bath felt like it was filled with countless needles, endlessly pricking Arix’s skin. Her body felt as if it were boiling in hot water, causing her intense pain and a scorching sensation.

Thankfully, she hadn’t eaten too much before this; otherwise, the pain would have made her vomit everywhere.

Arix gritted her teeth tightly and gripped the sides of the bathtub firmly. It took all her willpower to keep herself from leaping out.

”Why didn’t he warn me it’d hurt this much? What a liar!”

Outside the bathroom, Sims suddenly remembered something. He hadn’t brewed Planet Class bathing potion in ages, and he’d forgotten to remind Arix to take a painkiller before soaking in the bath.

Feeling a little guilty, Sims rubbed his nose again, but then his attention was drawn to Arix’s notebook.

”What’s this?” He picked up the notebook and glanced through it. Before long, he was completely engrossed.

”Brilliant! Individually, these herbs are mild, but combined, they turn potent.”

”It turns out that the rare Starvine can be substituted with cheap mint.”

”These two herbs may be antagonistic, but if you add sage, it neutralizes the effect and allows the medicinal properties to work at full capacity.”

”Genius, genius! Why wasn’t this prodigy born into my Brant family?”

Sims was both impressed and disheartened. He then remembered something and promptly opened the opticomputer to send a video request to Matis.

In no time, the 3D screen displayed Matis’s face with his signature serious expression.

”Sims, is everything alright?” Matis asked.

Sims glared at him fiercely and barked, ”What do you mean, ’why’? Your granddaughter Arix is clearly a genius in chemistry, so why did you let her go to the Department of Mecha Manufacture? Isn’t that wasting her talent?”

Matis furrowed his brows and didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he asked, ”Is Arix with you?”

Sims puffed out his chest and replied, ”Yes, she’s with me right now, learning about potions. Don’t change the subject! I want to know why you had her enroll in the Department of Mecha Manufacture. You need to give me a reason, or I’m not letting this go today.”