Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 1440 - 1439 - Elixirs are King

Sweat poured down her brow and her body just wanted to shut down. Her mind was at its limits holding onto the aspects and Laws as they moved so slowly together.

How long had it been since she was handed the recipe? How long since she had even looked away from the sphere of water where her ingredients had been extracted and further refined?

Time was a construct beyond her consideration as the only goal was completion.

She would do it! She would not fail at the very end!

She remembered. She had been setting up her area before the elimination rounds began. A man walked in with pure emerald hair, crimson robes lined in black and gold. His reptilian eyes seemed to pierce her soul but she felt it!

A true expert! She had been surrounded by many Masters and Maesters at the guild but he put them all to shame!

She felt like her mind had lit up with inspiration for some reason but she was then handed a recipe unlike anything she had ever seen before.

It listed herbs, beast cores, and other typical ingredients but the issue was the result. It was asking her to make the best elixir possible with 3 effects!

She had never heard of such an elixir but it seemed possible. Further, it was not about time, just quality. She could finish at her own speed.

Now, she was so close. The Laws and aspects were fighting her control but she slowly moved them together until some wall was breached. The pressure she had been fighting almost laughably collapsed away.

Yet, she could not celebrate as it was the critical moment. She had to fuse the elixir to the desired result and not let the reaction dictate what came out. It was a common mistake with alchemists and elixir masters both.

So long as the ingredients were compatible, they would eventually pull themselves together to settle in stable form. Sometimes, an alchemist or elixir master had no choice but to allow it and hope but a true expert would not be so foolish.

She felt like her head wanted to split open as she used her own Laws to control the reaction. She then felt awe as a glimmering of golden sparks filled the fluid.

It reduced in size and she quickly prepared the vials as it poured out of the spouts of the fusion pot. It was a really well made artifact as it was hardly strained by such a difficult process but she finally put the stoppers in and nearly collapsed.

Her violet eyes nearly snapped shut from exhaustion as her dark hair was matted to her skull and neck. Her once pristine dark gray robes were stained not only by her sweat but the steam from concocting the elixir.

She smiled wide as she saw the shimmering golden glow from each vial. She had done it! Law Grade and higher than she had ever done before.

"Well done, Elixir Master Triss." A voice made her jump as she had felt nothing until the young woman was near. Her burnt orange reptilian eyes made it clear she was one of the Harmonic Dragons but Triss recognized a fellow expert.

The vials floated up to the woman in the dark green robes of the staff. She examined them with an artifact that allowed the vial to go into a slot. Each glowed before the results posted.

{6 vials low High Law Grade: Physical healing, Qi Recovery, and Stamina Recovery effects confirmed. Quality of each effect in balance. Result: Pass.}

Triss felt light headed but smiling ear to ear! She did it!

Oddly, there was no name for the elixir on the results nor the recipe but that was fine with her. She had succeeded!

"Here." A bright violet elixir was handed to her but the instant she beheld it, her breath froze. She was proud of her creations but what was in front of her made those vials look like a child had put them together!

There was a faint sheen of golden aura but no flecks. It was a far more refined elixir! She broke the seal and even just smelling it cleared some of her exhaustion! A Recovery Elixir!

She drank it slowly as the woman stored away her elixirs from the round.

"You have a month at least to recover as a few contestants are still going. Only a third have been eliminated so far." The words made Triss stunned. A third?! So many?!

"Wasn't this a little unfair for an elimination round?" She had thought it but she was not going to ask since she passed. Yet, with the new information, she wanted to know. The Harmonic Dragon smiled but then pointed at the recipe.

"All Law Grade Maesters could concoct any normal elixir to whatever quality they desired, even the Ancestor. Yet, he had never heard of an elixir with 3 effects being made before. So, he set it as the elimination round. For the record, it is the most basic effects and it took a lot of trial and error for him to even make it too. Thus, it was the most fair test for old monsters and newly minted Law Grade elixir maesters alike." She was surprised to get an actual answer but then realized what that meant.

Lind Frey knew any standard or accepted elixir was not even a challenge for him. He was relatively young compared to many other Elixir Maesters, so he found something challenging but only possible due to it being an elixir.

Alchemical pills were more common due to the gift of making elixirs being far more rare. Only the long lifespan of Immortals had allowed a whole segment of business to arise. The lower realms were much more likely to have next to no official guilds or even enough numbers of elixir masters to have more than a patchwork of experts.

Still, she understood.

She felt enlightened once more as she had looked at elixirs too narrowly. Their flexibility was not limited to what was known!

She wanted to experiment but the elixir only helped her body and mind recover. She had to cultivate. The staff woman led her to a rest area for those that passed. She immediately began to cultivate.

Even as she recovered, her mind seemed to expand before new ideas took shape. She felt excited as she wanted to try them out but she could not waste ingredients until the tournament was over.

"You seem to have been inspired, junior." A voice made her realize she had stopped cultivating long ago and was just staring into space! She blushed deeply before cupping her hands and kneeling towards the voice.

"Forgive my rudeness, senior. I realized how narrow my vision was with this elimination round. I simply can't stop my mind from exploring what could be!" She suddenly blushed deeper as she realized she had said more than she intended but the deep laugh told her it was fine.

"I feel that so rarely these days but I am glad you have had it." She looked up and froze once more. It was him!

Reptilian emerald eyes looked down at her warmly but she could see he was tired too. Had he just passed?

"T–t–true Lord Lind Frey, you honor me!" She nearly bit her tongue but he held up his hands to placate her.

"While I am him, at this moment, I am just a senior who sees a promising junior. You are the only one that got enlightenment so I am glad. Did you find the recipe difficult?" He assumed a lotus position and was passively recovering while still talking to her!

He really had just finished!

She got done before him?! The round really was fair!

"I, um, did find it very difficult. I even wondered if it was intended to eliminate more than people expected." He smiled and actually nodded.

"The tournament is about pushing limits. Alchemists have it a bit easier than us in that regard. Reaching the quality is harder for them but just getting there is enough to pass. Stability of the pill and quality dictate if they pass just like us too." He openly spoke of what she learned about.

"But why so harsh for elixir masters? Did Forging and weaving have the same difficulty?" He nodded again.

"The derivative professions are believed to be more rigid than they are. I have stumbled and struggled at times only to realize they have more breadth than anyone imagined. I can combine the 3 to make fantastical things, yet it got me wondering if I was limiting each profession. Thus, I focused on them individually once more." She was mesmerized by his voice.

She felt like she was a fresh student again but it was quite enjoyable. He spoke of how he found Forging could do far more refinement of materials before infusing effects like inscribing could. He also found weaving could connect multiple engravings to achieve more than the sum of its parts.

Her eyes dimmed at the last and he seemed to notice.

"You do not approve of weaving?" Triss quickly shook her head.

"Someone I cared about used up his soul trying to reach for the tournament. I know the profession is not evil but its risks are sometimes too high." He looked sad at her before he summoned a sphere glowing with sigils on it.

Whatever he was doing, she patiently waited until a frown crossed his face.

"This friend, he would not happen to be Lir would he?" She was surprised but quickly nodded. He hummed but said nothing more.

"Senior?" She felt moved to know. He looked at her but gone was the kind senior indulging a junior. She felt like a massive beast was looking at her briefly before the feeling passed.

"I need confirmation of something before saying more, but thank you for bringing this to my attention. Recover and I will see you again in a month for our real fight." He vanished but Triss felt disquiet in her soul.

Bringing something to his attention? He knew Lir's name? What was going on? Why would an accidental death garner his attention?

She had new questions but no answers. She shook her head to clear her mind and focused on recovery. She had one goal, and that was to go for the top! She had beaten a Sovereign Tier in the elimination round!

She could win! Still, in the back of her mind, a scar never healed grew. Lir had died but was it an accident? Was there something else going on? Those questions would need answers but for now she could only do what she could.