The window closed as the power passed through him. He looked back at the breast plate. New information entered his mind as he studied it. Pointing to one of the meridians joining the symbols, he spoke to Bethany.

  “There is a poor forge here, impeding the meridian. The alloy wasn’t pure enough and there was same faint crystallization of the material.”

  Bethany looked at where he pointed. After a few seconds, her eyebrows rose and she leaned in even further.

  “By whatever gods may be, you are correct.” There was pride in her voice. Bethany had a huge smile as she leaned back and studied Mike. He smiled back. The pride he sensed from her was different from the pride Aric had in him when he showed him the Identify spell. That was the pride one felt in a well-behaved pet, or productive livestock. Mike could tell that Bethany felt the pride of a teacher in a student who performed well.

  She saw him as a person.

  “How did you pick up on that already? It would have taken me some serious study to see that flaw.”

  “The way the meridian flowed showed there was an imperfection, master,” Mike told her, scrambling for an excuse. The truth was that he had just known from a few seconds of examination. Already, he could see ways to make the enchantment work better, more efficiently.

  One more Profession slot, Mike thought as he talked to Bethany about what he saw, asking a few questions he somehow already knew the answer to. I bet that second one will be alchemy. At least once I finish that quest.

  Bethany smile faded as she chatted. She sighed. “My time is up for the day. Your next teacher should be here within minutes.”

  “I assume they will be teaching me alchemy?” Mike asked, his eyes drifting towards the beakers, burners, and other items that occupied the desk.

  “Yes. It is similar, in that you use a tool to refine and focus your mana as you push it into something else, but I am not familiar with it beyond that.”

  “And I am,” a man said as he walked in. The thread on his robe was silver, marking him as a higher status wizard than Bethany. She rose and Mike bowed as he walked in. He carried a satchel with him, a large bag slung under his arm. As he walked in, he put it on the floor next to the table.

  He was tall, well over six feet, and narrow. His hair was shorn close to the scalp, and a small smattering of scars dotted his young face.

  “My name is Ched Scorry and I am your alchemy instructor.”

  “I’m Bethany, I’m teaching him enchanting.”

  “All this education for a gladiator,” Ched said, looking Mike up and down. “It is a shame that he is just going to fight and die.”

  “Well.” Bethany didn’t know how to respond to that and glanced over at Mike. She gave a half shrug to him that Ched didn’t notice. “It was nice to meet you, Ched. Mike, I will be back tomorrow after breakfast.”

  Mike’s stomach grumbled at that and she laughed. “I’ll double check with Aric, make sure food is sent in. By for now!”

  “Goodbye, master,” Mike said with a bow as she left with a wave. Mike faced Ched and bowed again. “Greetings master, it is an honor to meet you.”

  “I am sure it is. I was directed to remind you that you are to keep up with the inventory while I am instructing you. Now, this is a calcinator.” Ched held up a ceramic pot with four legs. He looked at Mike for a moment before sighing. “Remember that you are to keep up with the inventory.”

  Taking the hint, Mike reached into the chest and pulled out the next item, a pair of soft leather gloves with symbols stitched into the back.

  Gauntlets of Warming

  Hands

  When worn, the gloves keep the wearer’s hands at a constant comfortable temperature.

  They enchanted mittens. Mike could tell that the temperature was variable, and it had an interesting mechanic for matching the temperature to the wearer. He wanted to study it more in-depth, but Ched demanded his attention as soon as he started to write.

  “A calcinator is used to burn material so that the dross of it can be removed. That way you can purify and refine a material.” One by one, he went through the various items on the table, giving a quick overview of their use as Mike continued to pull items from the chest and mark down their enchantments.

  A headache started to pulse behind Mike’s eyes as he pushed himself to keep up with both the instruction and his task. He did feel the effort needed to maintain the view of the spiritual sigils and meridians lessen as he moved along though. Either the practice he was getting was helping or his new Profession gave him assistance with it.

  “The final instrument of alchemy is the cauldron.” Ched held a large pot between his hands. Mike had noticed enchanting symbols on it earlier, but there were no meridians between them. But that changed once Ched picked it up. At his touch, the lines filled with mana, glowing to Mike’s spiritual sight.

  “All the other instruments are for purifying and refining your ingredients. This one combines them. Once you do, you need to inject your own mana. The cauldron and its enchantment help empower and stabilize the mana. At this point, focus and determination are what combine the ingredients and create something magical. Do you understand all of that?”

  It was the first time Ched had paused since he had started speaking, catching Mike off guard. He stared at the wizard, who looked at him expectantly.

  “I do not expect to ask questions twice to a slave. Do you understand everything I have told you?”

  “Yes, master.” Mike nodded, scrambling to cover up his lapse. Splitting his attention was becoming second nature. “The instruments other than the cauldron refine the material, through burning, grinding, sifting, sorting, boiling, or other means. Once the essence of an ingredient is extracted, the cauldron is where they are combined.”

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  “Correct. Now we shall move to cover some examples of ingredients and how they are refined.” Ched started removing containers from his satchel. Some were simple cloth pouches, while a few were clasped metal boxes, each the size of the palm of Mike’s hand. As Mike reached into the chest to pull out the next item he was to catalog, he brought up the Quest he had.

  A Mage can extend their powers to internalize the power of alchemical ingredients. Absorb fifteen alchemical ingredients

  Reward: A new Skill

  1/15

  There were enough ingredients here to finish the Quest, if Mike could find a way to internalize them. Some of them were going to be poisonous, so shoving them in his mouth might be impossible.

  Though if I use the tools to refine and purify them, maybe I would have an in? Mike was learning to trust his gut when it came to the System in his head. The guidance he had found was mostly instinctive at this point, and he felt that extracting the essence of the ingredient would help. And I can always fall back on trusty Identify to let me know what is up.

  The last three containers Ched pulled out were stoppered glass vials. One clear liquid, one deep red, and the final was full of what Mike assumed was mercury. Once all the containers were laid on the table, Ched went to the first pouch and opened it, revealing dried leaves.

  “I am starting with the most basic of ingredients today. Each of these will be refined in multiple ways for different effects. This is whirleaf.”

  Ched turned to the smooth wall behind him, taking a piece of chalk out of his pocket. He wrote WHIRLEAF across the top in local script, then started to draw out a grid. While he was distracted, Mike licked his finger and poked the pile of dried flakes. Some adhered to his fingers and he shoved it quickly in his mouth as he cast Identify.

  Dried Whirleaf

  Alchemical Ingredient

  The leaf of a Whirl bush. The leaf contains potent energy related to rest and recuperation. Adds Stamina restoration effects to potions.

  The leaves had a bitter taste as they crumbled on Mike’s tongue. He moved to check his Quest as an icon popped up, showing the dried herb’s effect his stamina regeneration. The quest had counted that as “absorbing” the ingredient, bringing Mike one step closer to finishing that it.

  At the board, Ched had drawn written the various tools in a column, marking the rows of the grid. Once he was done, with the first column, he turned back to Mike. By this time, Mike had already retrieved the next item from the chest and cast Identify.

  Helmet of Wisdom

  Headpiece

  This item increases the wearer’s Intelligence by 3 and increases resistance to mind control and mental snaring effects.

  The helmet was a solid metal piece that would come down over the ears, with a narrow bridge to protect the nose. The leather interior was well-padded, stained with the sweat of whoever had worn it last.

  This was perfect for Mike. He held it below the edge of the desk, keeping it out of sight of Ched as the wizard prepped the next pouch. Once Mike was sure that it was out of his vision, he moved it to his inventory. There was no way he was letting that slip into the armory of the very people he might have to fight against. As the helmet vanished into the space he still didn’t understand, Mike saw a new window pop up.

  New Skill!

  Lesser Sleight of Hand

  The ability to maneuver, misguide, and hide small objects is increased. This ability scales as a factor of Dexterity.

  “The next item is crystallized kyrastine. It is extracted carefully from ducts in the mountain beneath us.”

  He turned back to the wall, writing that across the top in the next column of the grid. Mike reached across the table and took one of the crystals. With his new skill, his hands darted out faster than he expected, and he almost fumbled the crystal. It was smokey, eight-sided polygon about the size of his pinky nail. He cast Identify at the same instant as he put it in his mouth.

  Crystallized Kyrastine

  Alchemical Ingredient

  A crystal that appears near dormant lava flows. When added to a potion, this enhances the primary effect.

  By the time Ched turned back, Mike had the crystal tucked under his tongue. His Quest hadn’t acknowledged him absorbing it yet. To hide his large swallow, he leaned over and pulled another item from the chest. This one was the second communication plate, so he marked it down.

  The crystal hit Mike’s stomach, and it twisted. Mike felt pressure rising that had nothing to do with the System in his head. Ched looked at him as he rose bolt upright, a large belch emerging from his mouth. Both the wizard and the mage slave looked at each other, stunned.

  “Well,” Ched said, but then paused to gather his thoughts. “They have not brought you lunch yet, and you don’t have your grimoire.”

  “No master.” Being reminded of how long it had been since breakfast made Mike’s stomach twist again, this time with hunger. “Master Aric still has my grimoire, I believe.”

  Ched sighed. “Very well. The training I am giving you is pointless without you being able to take notes. Stay here, continue the task your master set you. I will find someone who can reach Aric and have him send down your grimoire. And lunch. Do not touch the ingredients while I am gone.”

  “Thank you master.” Mike was startled. Ched had been cold and standoffish since he walked in the room. The fact that he was willing to put in this effort to help Mike out was a surprise. Though it might just be that he wants to make sure he holds up his end of the deal by giving me the best training he could.

  Either way, Mike was happy to watch him walk out of the room. Rising, he moved around the desk as he could. He opened each vial, each box, touching the ingredients within to Identify them.

  As each window popped open, Mike perused it, then closed it once he figured if it was safe to eat the item or not. Eight more of the ingredients went down his throat, while his stomach twisted around the abuse. The others he thought were too much for him to take at the moment.

  The quest was almost complete as Mike fought down the tension in his stomach. The varying effects of the ingredients wracked his body. Icons at the side of his vision indicated the effects each ingredient had on him. His health, mana, and stamina were all regenerating faster than expected, along with a boost to some of his resistances. Ched had started off with simpler ingredients, so his body wasn’t writhing with poison and toxins.

  Unless I am and I just don’t know it, Mike thought to himself as he recalled what the Doomvine leaf had done to him. Only Haliard could see that on the party interface. Mike checked that, seeing if there was any information he could glean about his own predicament, but there was nothing about him.

  The thumbnails showing the time left on the ingredient effects were fading as Mike got back to his prime task. The chest only had a few items left in it, and he wanted to be in the process of working when Ched got back. Not working would be a risk when the wizard had directly ordered him to do it.

  The other items in the chest were generic, household enchantments. Stones that glowed, pipes that heated water, nothing as fascinating as the helmet Mike had stored in his own inventory. He had completed that chest and was starting another just as Ched walked in, followed by a servant carrying a tray.

  Mike sat the last item in the chest as they both came to the table. The tray was one that the gladiators had eaten at lunch each day since Mike had been there, with the same food. Ched sat the metal binder that was Mike’s grimoire beside the tray.

  “Eat quickly. I will wait until you are done to go over the other ingredients so you may note what they are. I will be working on the grid in the meantime.” Ched turned to the servant, who was standing with her eye’s cast down towards his feet. “You are dismissed.”

  The lady bowed quickly and left, never once meeting Mike’s eyes. He struggled against the pain in his stomach as he prepared his meal. The first bite made his gorge rise, but he forced it down.

  Ched started to write out the rest of the grid but hesitated for a moment. He turned back to the table, ignoring Mike. Studying the pouches and other containers, he spoke, panicked and angry.

  “Did you disturb the ingredients at all? Answer me, now.”