49. Alchemy / Potion Crafting

"I'd forgotten all about alchemy—let's try it."

Shiro suddenly stands up after breakfast, saying this.

"Alchemy? Can you actually do that?" Aria asks.

"What are you making, Shiro?" Shestia inquires.

"Ah, I can… should be able to. Hmm? I'm thinking of crafting weapons, magical gear, and potions," Shiro replies.

"Aah, Shiro, you're actually trying it today…" Mitoka says, sounding exasperated. Then,

"Shiro, first things first—let me explain the fundamentals of alchemy," Mitoka begins.

In this world, alchemy generally refers to refining various magical metals. Potions, on the other hand, are known as pharmaceutical arts.

But the true mechanics are slightly different.

First, there's the foundational skill: 【Spirit Infusion】. It’s the ability to install a spirit into a target.

There are two types of targets.

The first is a platinum plate with a magical rune inscribed and embedded using Eclir (gold-grade magical ore).

Incidentally, the standard magical runes in this world are drawn with ink made by dissolving crushed magical stones into ordinary cloth. That method doesn’t allow for particularly strong spells.

The second is magical water—water infused with mana—into which specific herbs are boiled and extracted, then dissolved.

This is what’s called a potion.

Either way, the combination of the rune or the herbs acts as a magical circuit.

The rune uses a magical stone as its power source; the potion uses magical water. In both cases, the infused spirit activates the spell within the circuit.

This is the true nature of alchemy. The first is called the "Alchemy::Magic Device" skill, the second the "Alchemy::Potioncraft" skill. In a way, a potion could be described as a consumable magical tool.

"Huh, didn't know that," Aria said.

"Neither did I. In this country, magic, alchemy, magical devices—everything’s considered a different kind of magic," Shestia said.

"Ah, I see. So, I’ve got the knowledge and skill in magic infusion, mana augmentation, embedding magic arrays, and everything related to potioncraft," Shiro said.

Of course, Shiro was planning to acquire all of that right now—but he didn’t say so.

"That’s impressive. Potions and magical tools would make great business," Aria said with a smile.

"Haha, well, if I ever run out of cash, I’ll just sell some," Shiro replied.

"So, I’m gonna start making things now. What about you all?"

"I’ll watch Shiro work," Shestia said.

"I’m interested too," Aria added.

"...Yeah, I’ll watch. I’m curious about weapon crafting," Albert said.

And so, everyone gathered as an audience while Shiro tested his alchemy.

"Alright, let’s make a workspace."

First, Shiro pulled a workroom from the library and attached it to the far end of the cottage. The goddess had even prepared it just right.

The workroom’s floor was made of stone, like concrete.

"...So that’s where we start," Aria muttered, sighing.

First, mana infusion. Infusing matter with mana means entityizing a set amount of substance and setting the mana infusion flag on it. Once done, the substance gains the property of holding mana. Or, in cases involving DNA-based entities, it can mean wrapping the entity in an entity container.

Shiro conjured about four liters of water and stored it within a barrier sphere.

“What’s that ball, anyway?” Aria chimed in.

“Ah, it’s called a barrier sphere—perfect for this kind of work,” Shiro replied without much thought.

“……” Aria fell silent.

Then, Shiro focused on imbuing the water with independent entity status and mana retention, pouring magic into it.

——『[Mana Infusion] Level 1 acquired』

The water glowed faintly blue.

“Good, mana water’s done,” Shiro murmured.

“Shiro, amazing. Mana water’s normally only available in temples,” Shestia said, gazing at him with admiration.

Shiro then created another barrier sphere, pulled out from his inventory the previously harvested yarcha fruit, cogi leaves, and kuka berries, and crushed them with psychokinesis. He materialized alcohol and mixed it in. After extracting the components, he transferred only those elements to the mana water via inventory transfer.

He stirred them randomly with psychokinesis, visualizing the three components as the core, consciously installing a potion spirit, and whispered, “Alchemical synthesis.”

——『[Alchemical Synthesis] Level 1 acquired』

The barrier sphere glowed, and once the light settled, a thick red liquid formed.

“Wait, is that… an MP recovery potion?” Aria gasped.

“Much redder than usual,” Shestia noted.

“Huh? Really? I’ve never made one before, never even seen a normal one,” Shiro replied.

Aria held up her own potion. It was a pale red liquid. Compared to that, Shiro’s creation looked significantly more concentrated.

Shiro examined the liquid that had just been identified.

MP Recovery Potion: S-Class

Restores 100% of magical energy per minute with just 10ml

“An S-Class MP recovery potion,” Shiro said. “Only ten milliliters, and it restores one hundred percent of magical energy per minute.”

“W-what?! S-Class? That’s not something you just stumble across! And you’re saying it fully restores your magic in just one minute? How is that even possible?” Aria cried.

“Normally you’d only get a low- or mid-tier potion,” Shestia said. “Maria’s is mid-tier. Even with that, it takes thirty minutes to fully restore.”

“Huh. So that’s how it is… I was hoping for at least ten seconds of recovery, though…” Shiro mused.

Then it hit him.

—Wait a second. Aren’t potions basically *edible magical devices*? The activation key is the composition. But there’s probably more to it. After all, they’re magic circuits. So what about concentration, ingredient ratios, quality of the magical water? Or maybe it’s just the amount of magical energy stored?

He mulled it over, then decided to try a few adjustments.

“Okay, this time I’ll use higher-grade magical water, increase the concentration even further, and solidify it with gelatin,” he muttered, working.

He ended up with several small tablets, about one centimeter in diameter—bright red, faintly glowing, deeper in hue than before.

Shiro immediately ran a鉴定.

MP Recovery Potion Tablet: Divine-Class

Restores 100% of magical energy per 10 seconds per tablet

“Got it. Looks like Divine-Class. One tablet, restores 100% of magical energy every ten seconds,” he murmured.

“……” “……” “……” The three watching fell silent.

“Shiro, that’s a bit much,” Mitoka said, shaking her head with a wry smile. Then,

“Saint-class is within the realm of sacred magic. Leaving aside how Shiro—someone who can’t use divine magic at all—managed to create this—there are no potions of that rank in this world. And normally, potions are liquid. What’s this, a tablet?” Mitoka said, exasperated.

“Huh? Isn’t a tablet easier to swallow? You can crush this and eat it, it’s compact… wait, Mitoka! If we use this, expanding maximum mana capacity becomes a breeze, right?” Shiro suddenly shouted.

“…You’re right, actually. Especially for these three here, this could enable mana capacity expansion…,” Mitoka replied, her expression unusually weary.

“Ooh, yes! This is exactly what I’ve been looking for!” Shiro beamed with pure delight.

After that, Shiro began crafting various potion tablets. Naturally, all were Saint-class. The ones he made were:

MP Recovery, HP Recovery, Strength Boost, Vitality Boost, Pain Relief, Sedation, Detox

“With the materials we’ve got, this is all we can manage. I’ll try again later,” Shiro concluded his potion-making for now.

Albert and Aria, who had been watching with tired expressions, stared at the tablet Shiro offered them like candy. They just stared, utterly dumbfounded.

Meanwhile, Shestia had been smiling quietly the whole time, watching Shiro’s work with no sign of fatigue at all.

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