Malek wiped the dust from the glass vial and held it up to the morning light. He set the vial down and reached for another. His hand was cramped. He flexed his fingers and waited for it to pass.

  Two months since the accident. The bones had mended. But his right hand still hurt when he used it too long, and today his hand was giving him more trouble than usual.

  He checked the page of the alchemy manual on the worktable. He flipped the page.

  [ Beginner-Tier Healing Potion – Full Recipe ]

  One month of constant attempts at making the potion and multiple failures—Malek had finally started making progress one week ago.

  Malek have to succeed in making the potion today. He needed the potion to get a contract with the Guild, otherwise things would become very difficult for him.

  He took a deep breath and started preparing ingredients.

  250 ml distilled spring water

  3 leaves of Moon-mend herb

  1 pinch powdered Raw Quartz

  4 drops Red Willow sap

  1 sprig Silvermint

  Gathering all the ingredients in one place, he wore the hand gloves and without looking at the manual, he started the process which he now remembered after so many attempts.

  Malek set the bronze cauldron on the workbench and reached for the heat crystal.

  He carefully measured 250 milliliters of distilled spring water, poured it into the cauldron, and activated the heat crystal beneath.

  Distilled spring water acts as the base for the potion. But the maker needs to be careful not to boil the water—it needs to be just steamy. Malek remembered how hard it was for him to learn to maintain the temperature.

  The water began to steam.

  His hand trembled slightly as he reached for the Moon-mend leaves, which were the primary healing agent. He took three of them, still fresh from yesterday's delivery.

  He tore the first leaf into thin strips, the way written in the recipe.

  The oils released under his fingers, slick and cool. He dropped them in and counted seven clockwise stirs with the wooden rod.

  The water turned pale yellow.

  Malek exhaled. So far he hadn't ruined it.

  The powdered Raw Quartz sat in a small dish to his right. It was useful for tissue binding, but it must be finely ground.

  He pinched a tiny amount between his fingers and sprinkled it slowly.

  The yellow shifted toward pink. Malek looked again, waited for a few more seconds, and added another pinch. Then another. He stirred continuously to keep it from clumping. The color deepened to a proper rose tone.

  Three weeks ago he couldn't have done this much. But now it was his favorite part of the whole process.

  He sliced the Petalberry carefully and separated the rind from the flesh. Petalberry works as a stabilizer and binder, but only the outer rind is used. He laid the pieces into the mixture and stepped back.

  "Now I need to wait for five minutes."

  He wanted to sit, but he needed to watch the cauldron. If he missed the timing, everything would fail.

  The five minutes crawled past. The Petalberry rind floated lazily in the pale rose liquid. Malek grabbed the Silvermint sprig and bruised it between his fingers until the oils came out sharp and clean. He lowered it into the potion and counted.

  One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten. Eleven. Twelve.

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  He pulled it out immediately.

  The Red Willow sap was next. Four drops. Exactly four. He held the vial steady over the cauldron and squeezed. One drop fell. Then another. Then a third.

  The fourth drop came out too fast, nearly a double. Malek held his breath as the potion shifted color. For a moment nothing happened. Then the liquid brightened to clear ruby-red.

  He sagged with relief.

  He removed the cauldron from heat and carefully filtered the potion through linen cloth into the copper-rimmed vial. The liquid ran smooth. No foam. No clumping. The color stayed ruby-red.

  Malek corked the vial and held it up to the light. The color was right. He smelled a faint herbal aroma from the vial.

  It was perfect.

  "Hell yeah…" he screamed.

  The next second Elara shouted from downstairs. "Don't scream, you idiot."

  Malek ignored the warning, like it never happened in the first place.

  He looked at the vial with a twinkle in his eyes. Finally, a success.

  He lowered himself onto the stool behind the workbench.

  "Everything is ready," he said in a slow tone with a smile that stretched his cheeks to their limit.

  …

  Inside one lavish mansion of Count Monte Carlo.

  Malek was sitting inside a luxurious room.

  "Man, no matter the world or what era you live in, even if the world has magic or not. Money can really buy you anything," he said in a whisper, admiring the room.

  The room door, which was made of oak and decorated with expensive materials, opened without a sound.

  An elderly man walked in with dignified posture.

  Malek stood up and tried to mimic the noble greeting. He bowed his head slightly, his right hand on his chest. "Hello sir, it's a pleasure to meet you."

  The man repeated the greeting without the bow. "The pleasure is all mine, Malek. Please take a seat."

  Both took a seat opposite each other on a comfortable sofa.

  The man who Malek was greeted by was Stephen, the head butler of House Monte Carlo, who handled most of the tasks for the house head.

  Malek had been trying to register himself as an adventurer in the "Verda Adventurer Guild," the biggest guild in Verant, which was also a subsidiary guild of one of the biggest guilds in Verdant Kingdom.

  Registering yourself as an adventurer doesn't mean that you get the adventurer license. But for commoners who don't have any kind of wealth or standing in society, it was the most accessible way of getting contact with "Akasha Record."

  Malek was not exactly sure what exactly the "Akasha Record" was. But he had some inkling of what he could expect at least. He had read enough web novels to know that "Akasha Record" refers to the book or entity which holds all the knowledge in the universe. Be it past, present, or future.

  But he was not sure about how exactly it would help him to walk the path of power.

  One thing he was sure of—no matter who he heard it from, they always said one thing, and it was a fact that most people only learned after the painful realization that the earlier you get to access the "Akasha Record," the better it is for you.

  For commoners, the Guild was the only option, but the Guild only let you register yourself when you met at least two conditions out of three. One, you must be over 18 years old. Second, you must be a warrior path (battle oriented). And lastly, you have great talent for magic.

  And sadly, Malek had none of them. He had not even awakened his magic yet.

  "Show it to me," Stephen said calmly.

  Malek took three vials from his bag and put them on the table between them. The vials were three centimeters long.

  "This is the sample of basic level healing potion," Malek said. "Despite being the basic level healing potion, their healing capabilities are better than what is out there in the market."

  Stephen took one vial in his hand. Watched it closely up to his right eye. He was wearing eyeglasses. For a brief moment Malek saw a blue light flickering in the glass.

  "They are authentic," Stephen said as he continued to inspect the other vials. "But are you sure you can deliver what you promised?"

  "100 vials of healing potion every week," Malek said, hiding his anticipation. "As long as I'm provided with all the ingredients, I will deliver what I promised."

  "And what if you can't?" Stephen asked. Suddenly the air in the entire room stopped. Malek's breath was caught in his throat. Stephen's eyes were glowing red behind the glasses.

  Malek's back become drenched with sweat. He tried his best to calm his nerves down as much as possible. He couldn't afford to make any mistake now.

  The reason Stephen had been so cautious was that potion making was a very difficult job. And if you considered the healing path of potion making, it became even more so, with the success rate of only 60 percent for the Master Potioner and 70 percent for the Grandmaster Potioner. But that was taking into account that it was only for basic level healing potion—the higher the potion level, the less success rate it had.

  Even then, to hear from a kid not even 18 years old that he could provide 100 vials of basic level healing potion every week—no one could help but feel cautious.

  "Yes sir, if I can't make the delivery every week, I will pay any price you want," Malek replied, almost breathless, his voice getting tight.

  Stephen didn't say anything for a few more seconds, which felt like an hour to Malek. "I like your confidence, kid." The air returned to the room. Malek took a deep breath of air.

  Stephen put the document papers on the table. "100 vials of basic level healing potion each week. We will provide the ingredients. The buying price will be 200 Ran per vial… and if you are late for even one day or the vials lack the potency you have promised, you will pay the fine of 100k Ran."

  "Do you agree to these terms, Malek?" Stephen asked.

  "What about my guild registration?"

  "Are you really going to do that, kid?"

  "Yes sir."

  Then another document paper appeared on the table.

  "You will provide 500 medium grade healing potions under 2 years to House Monte Carlo at a 70 percent discount. For you to acquire a request for guild registration by House Monte Carlo." Stephen paused. "And if you fail to deliver what you promised, you will be killed in front of the whole town with your family for deceiving the noble count house."

  "Do you agree to these terms?"

  "Yes, I do," Malek said without hesitation.