“We’re doing this in your room?” I asked as I locked the door behind me.

  “Where else could we do it?”

  I pretended to think. “I don’t know. Don’t you think others will realize what we’re doing?”

  Olivia glanced at the walls of her room and shook her head.

  “If it were a weekday, maybe. But since it’s the weekend and everyone’s out, no one will notice. And if anyone is in their room right now, they’ll probably just assume I’m trying to cook. Trust me, people in this building don’t care what I do.”

  Her voice was casual, but the words stung. I didn’t let the sadness show. Olivia didn’t need my pity, and I doubted she’d accept it.

  “I understand.”

  We started by clearing a table. I arranged the ingredients neatly on the left side of the wooden surface, with the grimoire on the right. At the center, we set up a tripod and placed a small cauldron on top. The burner went beneath it.

  I struck a flint and lit the burner.

  “What’s the first step?”

  Olivia frowned as she scanned the book. “We need to burn the Enchanted Scroll for Potion Making.”

  I waited, but impatience gnawed at me. If we followed her pace, we’d be here all day. And the longer we took, the more risk we’d attract unwanted attention.

  “Let me handle this,” I said, reaching for the grimoire. Olivia stepped aside.

  As I skimmed through the instructions, an unexpected clarity washed over me like the knowledge was already mine. Despite this being my first attempt at potion-making, I felt confident. More than that, I felt capable.

  I lifted the Enchanted Scroll above the pot and lit it. Red flame devoured the paper, leaving nothing behind not even ash. As it vanished, a pulsating magic circle flared beneath the cauldron, its layers of pentagrams, stars, and symbols weaving together like a heartbeat.

  I took that as my signal to begin.

  I added a cup of water and stirred it with a crystal ladle. With the fire set to medium, it took about ten minutes before steam rose from the metal pot.

  The first ingredient was Ashenroot Powder. To create five standard vials of smoke bombs, we needed five full packs of the said material.

  Inside each paper pack was a faint-silvery powder, its shimmer catching the light like ash under sunlight. Curious, I pinched a bit between my fingers. A tingling sensation sparked across my skin.

  “Isn’t it poisonous?” Olivia asked, eyeing me as I wiped my hand on a cloth.

  “I don’t think so. It just feels... strange.”

  I added the first pack into the boiling water and stirred slowly. The book emphasized the powder had to dissolve completely.

  As I added the remaining packs, the strong earthy scent filled Olivia’s room. It reminded me of my hometown during the rainy season. It was amazing how a simple smell could brought back a lot of memories. I couldn’t help but smile. When I glanced at Olivia, she was watching me with a puzzled expression.

  "What are you thinking?"

  I shook my head. "Have you ever gone to Gildenburg?"

  "The Land of Golden Wheats? Not yet, but I often read about it in books."

  "You should visit me someday... after all of this is done."

  The mixture thickened. I asked for a half-glass of water and poured it in before moving to the next ingredient, the Emberstone Dust.

  It looked similar to Ashenroot Powder, but instead of silvery-glass like fragments, Emberstone Dust has golden flecks danced through it like crushed embers. I held it up to the sunlight. It glistened, still alive with heat.

  My skill, Basic Potion Crafting, nudged me with a warning to never pour all of it in at once.

  “Can I borrow a spoon?”

  Olivia fetched one from the kitchen and handed it to me.

  I scooped a spoonful and gently dropped it in. A crackle sparked above the water, and glowing embers popped in the mixture. I stirred until the bubbling faded.

  I exhaled slowly. The thought of what could have gone wrong chilled me. I glanced at Olivia again. She was watching closely.

  I remembered the rumors, how she’d burned her arms during her own attempt at this potion. That incident had sparked outrage from House Hugel. They blamed the Academica Advisors for her injuries. It was enough for Count Hugel to invoke his authority from the Emperor, appointing himself as High Principal and shaking the university to its core.

  As I slowly added the rest of the Emberstone Dust, I repeated a quiet promise: this time, Olivia wouldn’t suffer. I would intervene. And if my efforts weren’t enough, I’d still make sure her wounds were nowhere near as severe as before.

  With the second ingredient complete, I moved on.

  Ten small bottles of Nightshade Ink stood neatly in a row. At first glance, they looked like regular writing ink. But when I held one up to the light, a red-violet sheen twisted inside, constantly shifting like something alive.

  It made my skin crawl.

  I opened one of the bottles and poured it into the mixture. It turned black instantly, even without stirring. By the third bottle, the mixture had grown darker than the cauldron itself. It was inky, ominous and almost alive. As I stirred it, I felt as though I were peering into an abyss with no bottom.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  “It looks horrendous,” Olivia said, staring into the bubbling pot of darkness.

  “I know. Like a sewer-dwelling slime that creeps out at night to eat people.”

  She gave me a horrified look.

  “That’s not exactly what I meant…” But her gaze returned to the mixture, fixed with morbid fascination.

  “And now for the last ingredient.” I reached for the Sulfurous Crystal pack and tore it open.

  Inside were five thumb-sized yellow stones. As the first piece dropped into the mixture, it hissed and released a sharp, yellow vapor. I stirred quickly, adding another.

  By the second pack, the stench became unbearable. We both had to cover our noses. Olivia stepped in to help stir, and I gladly handed her the ladle.

  Though the book instructed us to add another half-glass of water, I didn’t. My Skill warned me against it, and I trusted it.

  Ten minutes later, we extinguished the fire.

  “Now we just wait for it to cool and dry.”

  “Should we keep it under the sunlight?” Olivia asked.

  I shook my head. “It needs a cold room. The book says to avoid sunlight as much as possible.”

  “I think I know a place that fits.”

  We went to the kitchen. She showed me an empty cupboard. I touched the inside and it felt damp against my fingertips.

  “This will do.”

  I placed the metal beaker inside and closed the door. As I did, the Golden Runes appeared in my sight. One of my Skills had reached a new rank.

  A wave of satisfaction settled over me. Small victories like this made the early stages of learning worth it.

  “How about dinner before you go home?” Olivia asked.

  I smiled. “Who says no to free food?”

  Two days passed before the potion dried into powder. During that time, I grew restless. Each night I dreamed of escape. So when Olivia finally sent word, I rushed to her dorm.

  No one answered when I knocked. Likely, she was still in class. I lingered in the hallway, then noticed a veranda nearby. I stepped outside.

  The grass fields stretched all the way to the University's brick walls. Here and there, buildings rose. Some old, dressed in gray stone and red roofs, others grand and modern, their courtyards decorated with statues of honored figures.

  I found a metal chair and sat, letting the breeze carry my unease.

  Evening arrived by the time Olivia returned. The wait hadn’t been unpleasant.

  “Lady Olivia,” I called, waving at her.

  She flinched, hand flying to her chest. “Lady Morgana! How long have you been here?”

  “Since afternoon. My classes ended early today.”

  “Sorry, I was booked until the last hour.” She opened the door. Inside, her room was as neat as ever.

  In the kitchen, she showed me the metal cup. The potion had fully dried into a fine, glittering powder.

  At last, the result of all our efforts. I touched the powder and it felt like freedom in physical form.

  “Let’s do it as soon as possible.” I met her gaze.

  She hesitated, eyes flicking to the calendar on the wall.

  “There’s an event tomorrow. A big assembly to mark the end of the month. I crossed it out so I wouldn’t forget.”

  Her scandal happens two days after that event, during one of her morning classes. But I’m too desperate to wait. I want to leave this place as soon as possible.

  As the saying goes: when you strike, strike hard. If I do this, it will be with everything I have.

  I walked to the calendar and circled tomorrow’s date.

  “All the more reason we should do it,” I said. “You said the event is big and everyone will be there."

  Olivia glanced at me, weighing my words.

  “I think you’re right,” she finally said.

  Relieved, I hugged her. She flinched at the sudden contact but then wrapped her arms around me.

  “I might not know your reason behind this plan,” she murmured, “but whatever it is, please don’t be hard on yourself. You don’t have to tell me anything. I just hope we succeed.”

  Her words cracked something open inside me. My eyes welled up, and I clamped my mouth shut to hold back a sob. But I failed. A single sob broke free and with it, the weight I hadn’t realized I’d been carrying.

  Since returning to the past, I’d been wrapped in constant thought, gnawed by the fear that I had no purpose but to relive my failures. That no matter what I did, fate would crush me again. After all, fate wasn’t something you could fight with will alone.

  But now, with even the faintest hope ahead of me, those doubts finally eased.

  “Are you crying? No, never mind.”

  I shook my head, still sniffling. “I’m just happy.”

  “Then let’s talk about the plan.”

  We stayed up until midnight, discussing the details. We decided I would throw the first smoke bomb, then Olivia would follow after.

  “We need to avoid throwing it at people,” I said. The temptation to toss one at Lady Madrina crossed my mind more than once. A petty revenge but a satisfying one. Still, that could cause more chaos than we needed, and innocent students might get hurt.

  Olivia agreed, nodding. We carefully funneled the powder into small glass bottles. It was fragile enough to shatter on impact. She handed me three while keeping the rest for herself.

  Since I had the potions, I activated one of my skills: [Essence of the Cask I].

  A small, translucent container appeared with two slots. I placed two bottles into the first slot. My hand passed through like it was dipping into cold water.

  Words from the Golden Runes appeared before me.

  The [Legendary Vintage] option was tempting, but we didn’t have that kind of time. I selected [Medium Brew] for both potions. The vials vanished from my hands and settled in the container, a timer ticking beneath them.

  That night, I slept in Olivia’s bed. It was larger than mine and fit the two of us comfortably.

  Still, sleep came slowly. I tossed and turned, already thinking ahead to tomorrow. I turned toward Olivia, watching her sleep in the faint light.

  This might be the last night we shared sleeping like this.

  Once this was over, I would return to Gildenburg to my family estate. Olivia would go back to the capital, where her family currently lived. Or maybe, depending on how much noise this scandal caused, House Ignarion would retreat to the countryside.

  I turned away and closed my eyes.

  Eventually, sleep came.