Ch:64 – Witchcraft

I began by smashing two herbs that I had saved from one of my quests. They were used as an antidote for healing paralysis.

I placed the mixture inside a container, adding some water inside and then I took it to the kitchen to warm the glass on the fireplace. 

I used a piece of flint against a small, thin bar; a sparkle reigned among the wooden territory of the oven. Then, I placed the glass on top of the clay pot and waited for the contents to boil. In a way, it looked no more and no less than making tea.

I waited patiently for the water to start bubbling. By some reason, this happened after heating the liquid for a while. It also indicated that it was too hot for my fingers to touch. Instead, with a cloth, I took the pot clay out of the fire and let it rest on top of the sturdy kitchen table.

Once it cooled down, I had my first real potion completed.

System: Low-quality potion produced. It has been categorized as an antidote against the paralyze debuff. A new entry has been registered in the witchcraft skill. You may now use the recipe there, directly converting mana into a potion.

"Ah!" My heartbeat raced, tears almost falling. This hadn't been the first time I attempted this whole procedure. However, it was the first time I had succeeded.

"Thank you, Elise." She had given me pointers as she was Vicent's student for years. Her best potions were low-quality health potions, and this antidote I had created.

"So, it was possible to progress! Wicked world!" I shouted with a half-angry, half-happy tone.

I had found another source of money. Everything was sold in the Astia village. After all, this was close to the border where adventurers fought daily.

The very few alchemists focused mainly on creating three types of potions for them. The last one was to recover mana.

I left the potion in the kitchen and returned to my room. Upon entering, I approached my small wooden desk. 

A brown bag rested on top.

"You can do this, Iris."

I took one of the herbs carefully with a cloth. Poisonous, the book stated that it would cause pain to anyone who touched its blue petals. So to pick it up, the fingers must pluck it from the base, or preferably from its roots. This herb has been a gift from Elise, who made sure to lecture me about its dangers.

"She's such a good friend." 

After repeating the whole process, I ended up with a new addition to my skill.

 [

Curses:

<Empty>

Witchcraft recipes:

Potion [Antidote] - Paralysis.

Potion [Poison] - Physical pain.

Researched Spells:

<Empty>

]

"What?" I blinked once, then twice.

"Using my curse skill doesn't add curses to the list?" I was in complete shock. How in the world was I supposed to register them, then?

My eyes went low, then raised back again.

"Unless... I have to create a curse from the start?" My conclusion came from the way I produced a potion and received an entry for it. Still, my knowledge of curses was an absolute zero.

"But how?" I stored both potions in my mirror world and then headed back to Artana and rushed to the library.

I looked through book after book, as this information was not something I could ask the person working there, Tom. Especially considering he was not very trustworthy despite being part of Einstein's family.

"Religion... religion... alchemy... religion... Lumen history...... religion..." I became angrier with every passing book. Sure, I loved books, and I didn't particularly hate religion, but the place being filled with books related to it or the goddess, it drove me mad.

"Ten traits of Aria's beauty." My eyes ignited with fury, rolling them away from this title. "Goddess. Will you not make your race adore you just a little less? Just a bit so they can focus on something else, like gaining knowledge and stop losing against other races?"

"Humans are both lazy and greedy." 

I looked back at Tom, who decided to come up with something a tad wiser for a change.

"Sadly."

"Grandpa always said that they would go as far as to sell their souls to the demons in the north, in exchange for great wealth."

I placed the clearly best book back on the shelf. "He did?"

"Yes. Some people deal with other races. Some get blessed, others get cursed."

I fixated my gaze at his brown eyes that remind me of my dad. His sharp-pointed nose, tanned features, and slim body spoke wonders of a leisurely life, despite the common folk's daily hardship.

"Is this common knowledge?"

"For my grandpa, everything was common." 

"Eh?" I paused in silence for a moment. Einstein was much smarter than I. If he treated all knowledge as basic, then Tom wouldn't know which parts are important.

"Do you talk about his teachings to anyone?"

"I'm alive, aren't I?

I nodded at that roundabout confirmation. "Did you spend a lot of time with him?"

"I would be dead if I had."

Those words came as a shocker. How easily he spoke of death and how threatening it was to have knowledge. I looked around, doing a careful twirl of 360 degrees, by doing a few turning steps.

"Yes! You would!" I laughed.

He laughed too, confusion struck in his eyes. He may have laughed out of consideration for me.

"Tom!"

"Yes, Iris?"

"Don't hold back and read the 100 books in this library. I'm sure your grandfather would be happy if you did."

I noticed how his eyes turned left to the shelves and remained there for a while.

I walked past him, halting by his right side, my right hand landing on his left shoulder. "I'll do it too when I have some free time."

I left the library with a smile. There was something maddeningly challenging me. Was it humanity? The world? The gods? Something was completely amiss. It intrigued me. It sparked my curiosity. I needed to know. Water almost slipped through the corners of my mouth as I starved for knowledge. The one the church hid from us humans.