Chapter 40: Test Subject
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Ethan, seeing that his artifact was capable of advancing to the next grade, was pleased.
Although he had to be careful in the future when using items obtained from the system, as long as he became strong enough, no one could take what was rightfully his.
Therefore, he wanted to keep a low profile for as long as possible, cultivating and becoming strong enough to protect himself in case someone targeted him.
He was in a world of cultivation, and if his knowledge of novels was correct, most people tended to be arrogant and irrational, in other words, the perfect mix for troublesome and irritating characters.
Clearing his mind of unnecessary thoughts, Ethan proceeded with the first steps.
He had already set his cauldron on the fire, and now it was time to prepare the materials.
The basic steps for creating a pill were essentially three
- Preparation and Mixing of Ingredients.
- Refinement of the Mixture.
- Formation and Drying of the Pills.
These were the basic steps in traditional pill refinement.
They varied in content from pill to pill, but overall they followed this structure.
The reason the Basic Recovery Pill was one of the simplest pills to create was that it followed these steps almost to the letter, with little to no variation.
Recalling the newly acquired ability, Ethan began his task.
He carefully prepared the ingredients: the refreshing Herb, the Vitality Flower, and the Reinforcement Root lay before him. These were the essential elements for the Basic Recovery Pill.
With precise and meticulous movements, Ethan washed and dried the ingredients.
Once dry, he finely chopped them to facilitate the extraction of their healing properties.
The bronze cauldron, now heated, emitted a faint golden glow.
Ethan added a small amount of distilled water, observing carefully as the ingredients reacted to the liquid.
He began by adding the Reinforcement Root, stirring slowly as the energy of the cauldron and the root began to merge.
He had to be careful with the doses of each ingredient because a small mistake could ruin everything.
The entire process was like a mathematical equation.
To solve it, there were rules and precise steps to follow.
A small error in the equation could lead to an incorrect result.
Here it was the same; if Ethan miscalculated even slightly in dosing the various ingredients, the final result would be unpleasant.
The aroma of the herbs filled the room, creating an almost mystical atmosphere.
Ethan then added the Herb of Restoration and the Vitality Flower, maintaining a steady and harmonious rhythm in his movements.
His concentration was absolute; every gesture was executed with precision.
At one point, even Ethan was surprised at himself.
He knew that the reason everything seemed to be going well so far was due to the mastery of basic refinement he had acquired from the system.
At first, he thought he would simply receive the knowledge of how to perform the various steps for pill preparation, not that he would also gain a certain level of mastery.
It was as if he had performed these movements so many times that his muscle memory was already trained to do them.
Ethan didn't expect the effect of the ability to be so astonishing.
'Heavens, at this rate, it won't even take me 10 days to be ready for the exam,' he thought happily.
From a month to less than ten days.
He happily accepted this acceleration of his plans to become wealthy.
Bai Yu, who had awakened due to Ethan's turbulent thoughts, couldn't help but shake her head upon hearing him.
Returning to the refinement, Ethan, now a bit calmer, resumed carefully refining the pill.
Now that he had completed the first two steps, only the third step remained.
With the mixture reduced to a dense paste, it was time to lower the temperature and remove the cauldron from the fire.
In Ethan's case, this meant extinguishing the rare flame beneath the cauldron and shaping the paste into as many pills as he could.
Usually, a portion of the ingredients could produce up to three pills.
Ethan now had to see how many of the pills he had produced were successful.
And just for the occasion, Ethan had brought a test subject from the city market to try out his pills.
Looking at a corner of the room, Ethan smiled at the small white creature in a cage no bigger than a basketball (yes, I know, it's not the best comparison. btw, the cage is square,).
After a few more minutes, Ethan was finally ready to let the test subject taste his pills.
He had spent the last few minutes shaping the paste with his hands, which he had just washed.
The shaping of the dense paste had to be done while it was still warm, so Ethan had to endure a few burns on his hands, but with some effort, he managed to create the pills.
Currently, on his table, there was a cage containing a white mouse, and in front of the cage, lined up, were three round pills, or at least almost round.
Ethan, seeing his creations, had a proud look on his face and couldn't wait to discover if his pills were successful.
For an expert, determining whether a pill was good or not was simple.
With much experience, they only needed a few clues to determine the nature of a pill and its purity.
Clues such as the aroma emitted by the pill, its appearance, and most importantly, how the pill reacted when a bit of spiritual energy was infused into it for an internal inspection.
These were the methods for experienced alchemists, but for those who were just starting, like Ethan, they could only rely on trials with test subjects like the present white mouse.
The little mouse, nibbling on a piece of cheese, felt a shiver run down its spine and became alert.
It quickly scanned left and right to locate the threat, and that's when it noticed Ethan.
Seeing the wide, cringe-worthy smile on the human's face, the mouse trembled.
'Is this my end?' it thought, resigned, while recalling some other mice.
'No, I can't perish here, I still have someone waiting for me at home,' it told itself, trying to dispel the fear.
Ethan, ready to grab the test subject, saw that suddenly the little mouse was giving him an aggressive look.
"Why is he suddenly looking at me as if I had wiped out his family??" he thought, as he saw the mouse advancing with its tiny fists clenched.
It seemed a grand battle was about to begin.
But, unfortunately for both the readers and the author, the system decided to make an appearance.
DING!
[Congratulations, you have successfully created three Basic Recovery Pills.]
[You have gained 5 QI]
[You have gained 5 QI]
[You have gained 5 QI]
"..."
"..."
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FRANK_LEE_JUNIOR:
Here's today's chapter. I hope you enjoyed it.
As usual, if you have any comments, suggestions, or errors to report, you know where to do it.
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