Helos flipped through the contents of Ultimate Alchemy in her mind.
She clearly sensed that, at present, she could only use the most basic alchemy.
To unlock more advanced content, it seemed she needed to fulfill some unknown conditions.
Suddenly, her spiritual form jolted—on the originally blank page, five mysterious and unfathomable crests suddenly appeared:
A blazing crimson crest, its patterns like burning flames.
A vibrant emerald crest, flowing with the breath of leaf veins.
A profound indigo crest, as if harboring an infinite starry sky.
A mysterious amethyst crest, its luster like a flowing dream.
And at the center, a pure and sacred golden crest, its edges inlaid with intricate holy light runes.
Below each crest was a line of small text, seemingly representing a branch of alchemy.
【Branch of Courage and Strength, Branch of Life and Nature, Branch of Wisdom and Enlightenment, Branch of Joy and Glamour, Branch of Order and Judgment】
Helos stared at the five mysterious crests that had suddenly appeared before her, her silver eyebrows raised high.
“Hm? Were these in the book before?”
She murmured softly, a hint of doubt flickering in her pale purple eyes.
Helos lightly touched the golden crest with her fingertip; the crest flickered faintly, then a line of cold text appeared:
【Branch of Order: Not unlocked】
【Prerequisite: Unlock the other four branches of alchemy】
She furrowed her brows and, unwilling to accept it, poked the other crests.
【Branch of Courage and Strength: Not unlocked】
【Prerequisite: Kill a magical beast by any means】
【Branch of Life and Nature: Not unlocked】
【Prerequisite: Create a potion by any means】
【Branch of Wisdom and Enlightenment: Not unlocked】
【Prerequisite: Record ten recipes by any means】
【Branch of Joy and Glamour: Not unlocked】
【Prerequisite: Increase one’s own charm by any means】
Helos stared at these conditions, a twitch forming at the corner of her mouth.
“What the heck is all this?!”
She couldn’t help but slap the page. “I can somewhat understand the others! But what kind of nonsense is ‘increase one’s own charm’ as a condition?!”
Sensing her dissatisfaction, a few lines of small text slowly appeared on the page:
【Tips】
【Branch of Courage and Strength: The method of killing magical beasts is unrestricted, but must be done personally.】
【Branch of Life and Nature: Potion type is unrestricted but must have actual effect.】
【Branch of Wisdom and Enlightenment: Recipes can be self-researched or collected, but must be recorded in a register.】
【Branch of Joy and Glamour: Methods of increasing charm are unrestricted, but must be recognized by others.】
【Branch of Order: Automatically unlocks after the other four branches have been unlocked.】
Helos stared at these explanations, falling into a brief silence.
“The branches of Courage and Life aren’t too difficult…”
she muttered softly.
“Wisdom is barely acceptable… but what am I supposed to do about Joy and Glamour?”
She looked down at her brand-new dress, then touched her casually tied silver hair, sighing.
“Am I really supposed to dress up like those other noble ladies every day, all flashy and showy?”
She shook her head and decided to tackle the other three conditions first.
As for the Branch of Joy and Glamour…
she’d deal with that later.
Helos’s gaze flickered back and forth between the five crests before finally resting on the emerald Life crest.
“Making potions… theoretically should be the safest and easiest to get started with.”
She whispered to herself, her fingers absentmindedly twisting a lock of silver hair.
But then, the girl’s brows furrowed slightly—she suddenly realized an awkward truth:
Although she could understand the recipes in Ultimate Alchemy, she didn’t even possess the most basic knowledge of potionology.
“Looks like I have to go to the Library of the Ducal Mansion to find some reference materials.”
Helos sighed and withdrew her consciousness from the spiritual realm.
When she reopened her eyes, they fell on the ten softly glowing Mana Cores lying on the table.
She carefully cupped these precious alchemical products, feeling the steady flow of mana within each core through her fingertips.
Each one was like a carefully crafted gem, shimmering with enchanting brilliance in the light.
“I need to keep these safe.”
The girl took out a wooden box lined with velvet from the drawer and placed the Mana Cores inside one by one.
When the last core settled into its slot, she paused for a moment, her fingertips gently brushing over the delicate patterns on the surface.
“When I unlock new alchemy, maybe I can upgrade you all.”
As the box lid closed, a strand of silver hair fell over her eyes.
Helos casually tucked the hair behind her ear and rose, the hem of her dress tracing a neat arc.
“All right!”
Her eyes shifted to the window, her mind already planning her next moves.
“Time to get to work!”
Helos tiptoed through the towering bookshelves of the Library of the Ducal Mansion, the silver tips of her hair faintly shimmering in the dim light.
Her fingertips skimmed over row after row of heavy tomes before finally stopping on an old book with a dark green cover.
“This is it.”
She whispered softly, carefully pulling the book from the shelf.
Back under the familiar tree beside Herlos’ Workshop, Helos lightly leapt onto the hammock.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled patterns on the pages as she opened the yellowed sheets, a faint herbal fragrance wafting toward her.
“What are you reading?”
Just as the girl was immersed in the text, Julius’s voice suddenly came from above, startling Helos enough to nearly toss the book.
She looked up and glared at the black-haired boy who had appeared out of nowhere, shaking the book in annoyance.
《The Guide to Basic Potionology.》
She spat out the grass leaf she had been chewing, her pale purple eyes sparkling in the sunlight.
“I’m planning to try making a potion.”
Julius raised an eyebrow, propping himself up against the tree trunk with one hand.
“Oh? Finally reading something serious?”
“What do you mean by that!”
Helos made as if to throw the book at him, but softened when she saw the smile in his eyes.
She pouted and lay back down on the hammock.
“The books I read before were serious too, okay?”
The pages fluttered gently in the breeze as Helos’s focused gaze roamed between the words.
She frowned occasionally and nodded at others, completely absorbed in the world of potionology.
Julius watched this quietly, a smile unconsciously tugging at the corners of his mouth.
The boy leaned back against the tree and slowly sat down on the ground.
Just as he was about to close his eyes and rest for a moment, Helos’s lazy voice suddenly sounded from above him:
“By the way, do you need to use mana to make potions?”
“Hm?”
Julius glanced at her and rolled his eyes.
“As far as I remember, I think you do… What does the book say?”
“The book says most ingredients need to be tempered with mana to be effective.”
Helos curled her lips.
“Aren’t there any potions that work without mana?”
“If I’m not mistaken—”
Suddenly, Julius turned his head and looked up at the girl in the hammock.
“There does seem to be one type of potion…”
“Even effective without mana.”
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