Rudra let out a long, shaky breath he didn't know he was holding. He looked at his hands this were same hands that had failed twice before now he finally smiled.
He wasn't just a weak boy from an orphanage anymore. He was a Chemist.
Now Rudra had learned. He could feel the heat radiating from the Surya Cauldron. He could sense the mana flow, distinct and fluid, like a river he was trying to divert. He understood when to wait… and exactly when to act. But he still can't channel mana.
When the final step was complete and the Glowroot stabilized the liquid, the cauldron fell silent. The hum of energy ceased.
The serum inside shone like clear blue crystal alive, calm, and perfectly balanced.
Then, deep within Rudra's consciousness, Genesis spoke.
[Congratulation Rudra you have successfully created Minor Mana Recovery Serum.]
Rudra slowly opened his eyes, the weight in his chest lifting.
Carefully, with hands that were steadier than they felt, he filled a vial with the glowing liquid. It shimmered softly in his hands, a captured piece of the sky.
Aarav couldn't hold himself back anymore.
"Wow… you actually did it!" Aarav breathed out, a big smile breaking onto his face.
Aunty Naina stood up and took the small glass bottle from Rudra's hand. Her expression was serious at first. She held it up to the light, studying the liquid carefully and looking for any floating bits or cloudy spots that shouldn't be there.
Then, her gaze softened.
"This… this will work," she said quietly.
She placed her hand on Rudra's head, her touch warm and grounding. "This is your first successful brew," she said. "This is the true start of your life."
Rudra stared at his reflection in the glass. He no longer saw a helpless boy who needed everyone to protect him. He saw a future Chemist.
Genesis's voice echoed in his mind once more, cutting through the moment with a lesson.
[Real power does not come from a sword, Rudra. True power comes from the hands that make life possible for others.]
Then Genesis continued, her tone quieter and more personal.
[The reason I guided you toward becoming a chemist was so you would never walk a path where killing becomes an easy choice. Help others as long as your heart remains fair.]
[But do not misunderstand,] Genesis added. [This does not mean you give your work away for free. There is immense effort behind every creation. Your knowledge has value.]
[However, if someone truly has nothing,] Genesis finished, [help them without being greedy.]
Rudra closed his eyes briefly, letting the words sink in. 'I understand,' he replied silently. 'I will remember this… always.'
"Rudra? Why are you staring into space?"
Naina's voice snapped him back to the room.
"No where, Aunty," Rudra replied, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "Can you check how good the serum is? And also…" he added, sounding a bit hesitant, "how much is it worth? Where should I even sell it?"
Naina raised an eyebrow. "So many questions. Slow down and take a breath first."
She examined the bottle again, tilting it back and forth to see how thick the liquid was.
"…Ah," she murmured, her eyes widening slightly. "This serum is E-rank quality."
Aarav blinked. "E-rank? What does that mean?"
Naina smiled faintly. "Medicines are graded by quality," she explained. "The lowest is F-rank. And the highest is SS-rank."
"SS-rank," she added, her voice lowering with reverence, "is something no one in this world can produce not even the Chief Chemist of the Guild Headquarters. In reality, S-rank is the highest achievable level."
Rudra swallowed hard. "Then… how is quality measured?"
"There are several methods," Naina replied. "But the most accurate is the result after consumption."
She looked at the vial again. "I can say with full confidence this serum is at least E-rank. Possibly higher."
Rudra's heartbeat quickened.
"Let me test it properly," Naina said. "Give me a small amount."
Rudra handed it over immediately in a small bottle.
"And as for the price," Naina continued, her voice steady despite the weight of her words, "a single bottle of this quality could easily fetch around one thousand Vells."
Rudra froze, his breath hitching in his throat. "One thousand… for just one?"
"Yes," Naina said calmly. "But a treasure like this cannot be sold over a common counter. To get the true value, we must look toward an auction."
As she spoke, her mind began to race, calculating every possible strategy. 'I have three options for selling this serum, she thought. The open market, my own hospital, or the auction house.'
If she chose the first option that is selling through the market there she couldn't be the face of the sale. Only Aarav or Rudra could go. While Aarav was strong for his age, he wasn't nearly powerful enough to hold his own if an elite-level warrior or a greedy merchant confronted them. Their lives would be in constant danger. 'No, she decided, the first plan won't work.'
The second plan was to sell through her hospital. She could easily reach noble clients that way, but it presented a massive problem. She would likely be forced to sell at a lower "institutional" price, and she would have to answer to the 1-star healers during their inspections. They wouldn't just sit by and let a high-grade serum be sold so easily; they would definitely pressure her to reveal the chemist's identity. Since she couldn't reveal her own secrets either, that plan was also a failure.
That left the third option: the auction house.
Most high-level items were traded there, but the auction house had strict conditions. The medicine had to be genuinely rare, and the house would take 10% of the total profit as a fee. She briefly considered sending Aarav to handle the negotiations, but immediately shook the thought away. Even if the auction house was generally trustworthy, she couldn't risk the children's safety.
'I will go myself, she resolved. I will be the one to take this serum to the auction.' Having thought of everything She looked at Rudra pointedly. "I will never disclose your name, your age, or your location."
Rudra's eyes lit up as he grasped the depth of her strategy. "That way, they'll trust the authenticity because of your identity," he whispered. "And they'll drive the price even higher just to catch the attention of this 'mysterious' master."
Naina smiled approvingly. "Exactly. I will create a ghost that everyone wants to meet. Eventually, you won't need auctions at all. Powerful clients will come seeking the source, and when they find only a secure dead-end, they will be forced to play by our rules."
Rudra nodded slowly, the weight of her words sinking in. "I understand now, Aunty . I'll be more careful."
Aarav crossed his arms, leaning against the doorframe. "Alright then. Aunty, just let me know the results once you're done testing the samples."
Rudra looked back at the Surya Cauldron, which was still giving off a soft heat. Suddenly, he remembered what Genesis had told him, that these ember seeds could be used in Level 100 medicines. A new thought hit him: 'if they were that powerful, could they improve the rank of his current serum?'
His heart started to beat fast as he looked toward his bag in the corner. Inside, hidden under the other plants, the Ember Seeds were kept safe from everyone. He knew it was risky, but he wanted to make the medicine perfect.
Taking a deep breath, he looked at Naina "Aunty, I'll give you the finished serum by this tomorrow evening," he said, his voice gaining a new layer of confidence. "I still want to refine it further. I think I can make it smoother."
Naina raised an eyebrow, a small, impressed smile tugging at her lips. "Do as you see fit. But remember, Rudra... if you can actually push its quality to D-rank..." She paused for emphasis, her eyes sparkling. "You will have a very hefty sum of money in your pocket. A D-rank serum is worth more than a month's wages for most people."
Rudra's heart skipped a beat. Money. That meant resources. That meant more herbs. "Understood."
" Rudra added. "That way, no one in the village gets suspicious about what I'm doing in here. It stays discreet."
"That's fine," Naina replied, patting his shoulder. She stood up, adjusting her healer's robes as she headed toward the gate. "I need to get to the hospital now. Those patients won't wait for me all day."
Rudra and Aarav walked her to the gate of the Ashfall Orphanage. Once she disappeared around the corner, a heavy quiet returned to the grounds.
Aarav stretched his arms over his head, his joints popping loudly. "Well, I'm heading to the training grounds. I need to work off some of that mountain adrenaline. I'll be back by evening to make the delivery."
Rudra nodded. "Go. Train hard."
As Aarav left, Rudra turned back toward the small, makeshift brewing room. His mind wasn't on the money anymore, or even the fame of being a young genius. He was focused on perfection. He had successfully created his first basic serum, but he knew he could do better.
He looked out the window and noticed the sky was already turning into a deep, velvety black. So much time had slipped away while they talked. "It's getting late," he muttered to himself. "I've pushed my body enough for one day. I'll start the next batch tomorrow morning."
At Night
Later that night, Naina stepped out into the quiet courtyard of the orphanage. She bit her thumb, drawing a single drop of blood, and pressed it firmly against the stone of the main gate.
She murmured a few words, and a see-through dome of energy rippled outward. It expanded quickly until it covered the entire Ashfall Orphanage. This was a High-Tier Sense Barrier, designed to alert her the very second someone of Elite rank or higher entered the area.
But she didn't stop there. Knowing that Rudra and Aarav would be making serums in their room from now on, she walked over to the dormitory wing. With a wave of her hand, she placed a second, more specialized barrier over their specific room—a Void-Shell. This shield would hide any mana energy produced during Rudra's brewing, ensuring that no one outside could sense the alchemy in progress.
Satisfied that the children were safe, she adjusted her cloak and disappeared into the shadows toward the village.
The Next Morning
As Rudra walked toward his brewing station the next day, his steps were slow. The success of the previous night wasn't a burden, but it felt like a challenge he had set for himself. One thought kept looping in his mind, persistent and demanding.
'Genesis,' Rudra asked softly in the silence of his mind. 'Can we improve the quality of this serum even more? Is D-rank really the limit for these herbs?'
[Improve?] Genesis's voice echoed back, sounding almost insulted by the question. [You are asking if I can improve a basic recipe? With the materials you have, D-rank is child's play. If you follow my instructions perfectly, we can aim much higher.]
There was a hint of genuine surprise in Genesis's voice.
[You're trying to push a Level 1 medicine rank even higher? That's already close to impossible. The rank of a medicine doesn't rise only through process. The quality of herbs matters just as much.]
Rudra frowned, stopping in the middle of the hallway. [Really? But we chose very good herbs, didn't we?]
[Yes. The herbs are good. But think carefully, If becoming a chemist were that easy, everyone in this world would already be one. Alchemy is a skill. A balance of fire, timing, and herbs. It is difficult. Did you forget? You failed twice.]
Rudra looked at his hands. He could still feel the phantom tremors from the night before, the way his muscles had spasmed under the strain of controlling the mana.
[Yeah… I really did forget that,] he admitted. [I remember… I felt like my hands were trembling back then.]
[Hmm. When rarer herbs are added, the quality will naturally improve. For now, let's do this. We need to prepare around one thousand serum bottles.]
Rudra froze. [That many?!]
[Yes. We'll sell one hundred bottles. The remaining nine hundred, you'll keep.]
Rudra took a deep breath, steeling himself. [Alright.]
An Unexpected Encounter
Rudra bumped into someone as he rounded the corner.
"Whoa, Rudra! watch where you're walking!" Standing in front of him was Shizu, a girl from the orphanage known for her sharp tongue but kind heart. She rubbed her shoulder, looking slightly irritated. "In which thought are you lost in?"
"Sorry, Shizu," Rudra replied immediately, stepping back. "My mind was somewhere else."
He looked at her more closely. Her usually bright eyes seemed dim, and her skin had a pale, waxen quality to it.
"By the way… how are you feeling today?" he asked gently.
Shizu gave a faint, weary smile. "You already know."
Rudra spoke instantly, the words rushing out before he could think. "It's okay. You'll get better soon."
"Thanks," Shizu said, though her tone suggested she didn't believe him. "So, where are you heading?"
"To my room. Just to rest a little."
"Oh. Alright. See you later."
With that, Shizu slowly walked away, her steps heavy and dragging.
Rudra watched her leave, a strange uneasiness settling in his stomach.
That was when Genesis's voice echoed, sharp and clinical.
[Rudra. There is a faint mana presence inside her body.]
Rudra froze. [mpossible. She can't channel mana at all. That's why she's here.]
[Are you doubting me?]
[No… but-]
[That's not all. Her life force is slowly weakening. She doesn't have much time left.]
Rudra's heart pounded against his ribs. [What do you mean…?]
[She may die in about one month.]
Rudra staggered as if he had been punched. [Then… How can I save her?!]
[With an Ember Seed.]
Then, Genesis abruptly shifted the topic.
[But not now. Focus on your serum first. Later, I'll explain everything.]
Rudra clenched his fist, looking back one last time at the empty hallway where Shizu had disappeared.
[Alright.]