After going through the herbs, Kai finally found the reason.
[Sunlit Blossom]
Grade: 3
Effect: Greatly increases Ki potency when used in Alchemy.
Description: A flower that has bathed in sunlight for an extended period, absorbing and amplifying its energy. It is often used as a key ingredient in vitality pills and potions. When ingested raw, it can cause Ki to go berserk.
Usually, the Sunlit Blossoms used for making Basic Vitality Pills are of common grade and can even be found by the roadside.
But Grade 3 Sunlit Blossoms are different—they can only be found in deserts.
"Let's find Miya!" Turning off his Gifts, Kai picked up the batch of Grade 3 Sunlit Blossoms along with the waste pills and headed out.
"You're done early. Did you perhaps figure out a way to use Herb Weaving?" Miya asked jokingly as she saw the human coming out early with a pill jar filled with pills.
"I wish. I'm here because of this." Kai placed the Grade 3 Sunlit Blossom on the counter.
"What's wrong with these? Aren't—" Before Miya could finish, she saw that the Sunlit Blossom placed before her was of Grade 3.
"How did you get them?" Miya asked, puzzled by what was going on. Clearly, the human before her was an apprentice Alchemist—he shouldn't have had access to Grade 3 herbs.
"You're asking me? Aren't you the one responsible for these things? And look what happened because of this."
Saying that, Kai also placed the pill jar filled with waste pills on the counter.
"Wait, if you have the rare Sunlit Blossom, then… Oh no, I screwed up."
Realizing the situation, Miya flew off in a panic.
She quickly headed toward the Alchemy rooms and barged into Room No. 12.
"Yeah, yeah, I'll remember. Don't worry."
After a minute or two, she came out of the room with a relieved expression on her face. Today, she had dodged a huge disaster.
"Thank the Fairy Mother you reminded me. Otherwise, I would've lost my job."
Miya couldn't believe she had made such a rookie mistake. If the complaint had reached Cousin Lyra, she would've lost her job and been forced to return to the Fairy Land.
"Although you've fixed your mistake, what about this?"
Seeing everything, Kai knew that what had happened was Miya's fault. It seemed she had accidentally switched his batch of Sunlit Blossom with Master Stardew's.
"This? Can't you just make another batch?"
Looking at the waste pills in the pill jar, Miya commented casually. She had just avoided a major disaster and didn't have the energy to chitchat. Right now, she just wanted the human to leave her alone for a while.
"Then I'm going to look for the owner."
Seeing Miya's attitude, Kai turned to leave.
"Wait, wait, don't go to my cousin. I'll fix it."
Hearing the human's words, Miya panicked once again and stopped him.
"How are you going to fix it?"
Kai asked, glancing at the pill jar filled with waste pills.
"Don't worry about it."
Saying that, Miya dragged Kai back to his Alchemy room.
Upon entering, the first thing she did was restock his Sunlit Blossom. Then she asked,
"What are your chances of making a mid- or high-grade pill?"
"I haven't made any high-grade pills, but by luck, I do occasionally come across mid-grade ones."
Puzzled by Miya's question, Kai answered.
"Okay, one more thing—how many pills do you make in one batch?"
"Around 16 to 18 in one batch," Kai answered, finally understanding why she was asking these questions.
Now that she had all the information she needed, Miya began working her magic. Soul power surged from her body and wrapped around the Whispering Fern and Sunlit Blossom.
Before Kai's eyes, the essence of the Sunlit Blossom and Whispering Fern separated, and the carcass fell to the floor.
Then, Miya called forth the Earth Flame from the depths of her Knowledge Sea. As soon as it appeared, the temperature in the room spiked.
Seeing all this, Kai was amazed—and deep in his heart, he was envious. The Earth Flame was a rare treasure that couldn't be easily found. Its temperature could easily reach thousands of degrees. It was a must-have for any seasoned Alchemist.
Under the scorching heat of the Earth Flame, the essence of the Whispering Fern and Sunlit Blossom mixed easily. Then, with her soul power, Miya opened the cabinet, took out the Elemental Essence, and poured it into the furnace formed from her soul energy.
Before Kai's eyes, the Elemental Essence mixed within minutes, and soon Miya began forming pills.
After shaping the pills, she grabbed a pill jar with her soul power and placed the pills inside.
The entire process took less than five minutes.
"Here. Now I'm leaving—and don't say a word about this to the cousin." After handing over the pills and warning the human, Miya flew out of the room.
As Miya left the room, Kai stared at the pill jar for a moment before coming to his senses.
"One day, I will be able to do the same," Kai said, determination burning in his eyes.
After fantasizing about the day he'd reach that level, Kai cleaned his furnace.
Once it was set aside, he placed the pot on the fire stones and began making Strength Potion.
He poured 10 liters of Moon Water into the pot and let it thicken slightly. Then, he activated both his Gifts—[Clear Mind] and [Heightened Five Senses]. Although both abilities were passive, he preferred to keep them off unless he was working.
Next, he added the powdered Bloodroot and began stirring. After a while, he added the Iron-leafs.
The endless stirring continued. After ten minutes, Kai added two drops of Titan Tears—a rare treasure whose continuous use could strengthen the body.
After another half hour of stirring, the Strength Potion was ready.
[Strength Potion]
Grade: Low
Effects: +10 Strength (Temporary)
Description: Upon drinking, it can increase a person's strength by 10. This effect lasts for an hour and has no side effects.]
After making 210ml of Strength Potion, Kai rested for a while and then started washing the pot.
Putting the pot back on the fire stones, Kai repeated the same process and successfully made another 230ml of Strength Potion.
After filling the potion vials, Kai washed the pot and cleaned the room. He made a list of the ingredients he used and left.
"Here's the list of herbs and my task for today." Kai handed over the pills, potions, and the list of herbs.
"Give me your card. I'll add the Honey Points—and don't speak a word about what happened today."
Checking everything, Miya placed the pills and potions into her storage bag and asked the human for his employee card while warning him.
"Sure. And just a reminder—if I didn't have the Gifts I do, the furnace would have exploded, and I'd be lying in the owner's room right now."
Reminding Miya of the danger of giving an alchemist the wrong herbs, Kai took his employee card and left the Honey Pill Shop.