[Ancient Calendar: 7 April 0001]
Waking up the next day, Kai freshened up at the public bath and headed to work. Along the way, he stopped at the Kato Bakery and got some muffins.
"Thanks for the purchase," Alex's dad thanked him as Kai walked out of the bakery. After getting the muffins, Kai headed to work, munching on them along the way.
"Early again. But I get it, the shop owner did increase your brewing list. If it continues at this pace, maybe in a month or two you'll be sleeping at the shop," Miya commented as she saw the Human named Kai enter the shop.
"Isn't the shop owner trying to get me to sign the Tier 2 contract?" Kai said in a helpless voice as he took the brewing list from Miya and headed to his Alchemy room.
When he came to the Honey Pill Shop to learn Alchemy, he signed a contract. The contract was simple—and harsh.
[Contract for Alchemy Apprenticeship
Parties Involved:
- Kai (hereinafter referred to as "Apprentice")
- Honey Pill Shop (hereinafter referred to as "Shop")
Purpose:
This contract establishes the terms and conditions under which the Shop will provide alchemy education to the Apprentice in exchange for the Apprentice completing daily alchemy-related tasks.
Terms and Conditions:
1. Alchemy Education:
- The Shop agrees to teach the Apprentice all aspects of alchemy, including but not limited to potion making, herb identification, pill refinement, and other related skills.
- The education will be comprehensive, covering both theoretical knowledge and practical application.
2. Daily Tasks:
- The Apprentice agrees to complete daily alchemy-related tasks assigned by the Shop.
- The tasks assigned will be reasonable and will not exceed half the capability of an average Fairy without alchemy talent who has trained for the same period as the Apprentice.
3. Punctuality and Penalties:
- The Apprentice must complete each daily task on time, as specified by the Shop.
- For every delayed task, the Apprentice will incur a penalty. The penalty may include, but is not limited to, additional work or temporary suspension of training privileges.
- If the Apprentice accumulates ten penalties, he will be bound to serve as a slave to the Shop for a period of ten years.
4. Duration and Termination:
- This contract will remain in effect for a period of one year from the date of signing.
- If the Apprentice becomes a slave due to penalties, the contract will automatically extend for ten years, during which time the Apprentice will be bound to serve the Shop.
- The contract may be terminated before the end of the year by mutual written agreement.
5. Miscellaneous:
- This contract is binding upon both parties and can only be amended by mutual written agreement.
- Any disputes arising from this contract will be resolved through mediation by a mutually agreed-upon third party.
Signatures:
Kai Orin
Honey Pill Shop (Representative)
Date: Year 0, Month 1, Day 7]
Although becoming a slave for ten years sounded bad, he hadn't thought much about it back then. After all, as the contract stated, he didn't even need to be half as good as a Fairy with no Alchemy talent.
However, Fairies and Humans can't be measured in the same way. Fairies use Soul Powers, which make their brains more powerful, enabling them to learn things faster. Aside from that, their power system makes it easier to succeed in Alchemy.
If it were anyone else, they would have long since become the shop's slave. But Kai had good Alchemy talent. He learned how to make Basic Vitality Pills in a week and the Essence Boost Potion in just two days.
Since then, he had made a lot of progress, and now the only thing holding him back was the [Herb Weaving] skill.
Sigh "If I can't figure out a way to use Herb Weaving by the end of the month, should I sign a second-tier contract?"
Entering his Alchemy room, Kai mumbled to himself.
Currently, he had two options: one, to figure out a way to use Ki outside his body—or two, to sign a second-tier contract.
Right now, Kai was running out of time. If he couldn't figure out how to use the [Herb Weaving] skill within a month, he wouldn't be able to handle the workload.
If he couldn't complete the tasks on time, he would surely become a slave of the Honey Pill shop.
But the conditions of the second-tier contract weren't something he could accept easily.
The terms were similar to the first one he had signed. The shop would grant him a Knowledge Sea and teach him how to cultivate Soul Power.
In return, he would become a subordinate of the Fairies. He would have to work at the shop for ten years and complete the daily tasks assigned by the owner.
If he failed to complete these tasks, he would become a slave of the shop for the next 100 years.
"I should focus on the present and worry less about the future. What's on the list today?"
Motivating himself, Kai brought the small piece of paper close to his eyes and began to read.
[Brewing List]
Name: Kai
Date: Year 0, Month 4, Day 7
Task: 25 Basic Vitality Pills, 4 Strength Potions
"Eh, Strength Potions. Well, I should finish refining the Basic Vitality Pills first."
Reading the brewing list, Kai shoved it into his pocket and began making pills.
He activated his Heaven Gift and followed the same process he always did. Kai spent about an hour ensuring that the Sunlit Blossom didn't explode and mixed well with the essence of Whispering Fern.
After adding the Elemental Essence, Kai didn't rest. Instead, he began preparing the ingredients for the Strength Potions.
The effects of the Strength Potion and the Essence Boost Potion are somewhat similar. The Essence Boost Potion increases one's Ki for a certain period of time, while the Strength Potion increases one's physical strength.
He took four large Bloodroots and mashed them into a thick paste. Then he ground a dozen dried Iron-leaves into powder and carefully set them aside.
"It's about time," Kai mumbled to himself as he looked at the furnace on the fire stones.
Sure enough, within a minute or so, a strong herbal aroma began rising from the furnace.
Kai opened the lid, poured the paste into a mold, and shaped the pills. In one batch, Kai made a total of 16 pills.
[Basic Vitality Pill]
Grade: Low
Effect: +1 Ki
Description: A pill for increasing Ki. Taking too many may lead to stomach problems.
After checking every single pill to make sure there wasn't anything wrong, Kai cleaned the furnace and put it back on the fire. Forty-five minutes later, Kai poured in the Elemental Essence.
Putting the lid back on, Kai started preparing the ingredients for the second batch of Strength Potions.
About an hour later, the refining of Basic Vitality Pills was done, and he poured the thick paste into the mold to shape the pills. Then he carefully started inspecting each one.
[Basic Vitality Pill]
Grade: Bad
Effect: -1 Ki
Description: A pill containing the raw essence of Sunlit Blossom. May cause severe stomach pain.]
"What?" After checking the first pill, he was shocked. How could he have created a waste pill? Making sure there was nothing in his eye, he inspected the pill again.
[Basic Vitality Pill]
Grade: Bad
Effect: -1 Ki
Description: A pill containing the raw essence of Sunlit Blossom. May cause severe stomach pain.]
"How?" He was now confused. Kai checked all the other pills, and the result was the same — they were all waste pills.
"This can't be. After my initial days, I've never created waste pills." Knowing something was wrong, Kai began checking the herbs, and sure enough, he found the reason.