My Servant System - #501 - 501 Chapter 500: Concoctions



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Damn, 500 Chapters?!

It’s been a fun journey so far~!

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After discussing the new sister in laws that I had, Dante eventually brought the discussion around to more pragmatic matters, asking me “Leone, besides regaling us with the details about the new additions to the Asmodia Family, what did you come here for? Magic lessons?”

Taking a sip from the tea that Monica had brewed, I stared blankly at the Dragonkin for a few moments before nodding, my mind finally reoriented for what I wanted when I escaped towards the Sanctum.

“Ah, yes… I wanted to do some potion concocting, since I haven’t been able to do so in quite a while… Wanted to get back into the groove of brewing potions again, since I have some nice ingredients from our journey down into Zhu’Rong Caverns.”

Vienna glanced at her brother before looking towards Misa and Lisa, asking “We should head down as well, don’t you think? I want to stretch my legs a bit…”

Roman rolled his eyes, waving his hand at the larger Wolfkin as he said “If the twins want to, fine, but otherwise… I’m content to just relax, y’know? We’ve been delving into dungeons for so~ long already… Besides, it’s not often that we’re back here and everyone’s present. I mean, we haven’t seen much of our dearest baby sister at all~!”

He turned back to me and gave me his normal dazzling smile, only to glance at Monica as she spoke up, agreeing with Vienna.

“I wouldn’t mind a group trip down into the Caverns… wouldn’t that be nostalgic~? C’mon Roman, let’s go~! We can talk to Leone when we get back…”

She smiled at me, before adding “Aunt Igna should have an abundance of herbs for you to use in your potions, whilst Aunt Lorelei’s more… exotic garden should be free as well, unless she is using all of it. Do try and keep it basic for now, Leone; potion brewing isn’t a… ‘hobby’, it’s a profession. An art. Treating it as anything else only leads to your concoctions blowing up in your face.”

I nodded, watching as Dante stood up as well, his red scales bathed in sunlight as he nodded towards our eldest sister, who was just a decade or two younger than him.

“Mm, that wouldn’t be too bad. I don’t think I’ve been back to Zhu’Rong in… a long time. That sounds rather excellent.”

Roman sighed as he stood up as well, donning his thin black coat as he cracked his neck, muttering “Unbelievable… We finally have a break and you all WILLINGLY want to head back down into the Dungeons… Not even a day or two of rest..!”

Vienna glared at her brother before looking at me, giving me a nod as she made her way over towards her room, where she grabbed her gear.

Everyone dispersed, leaving Aunt Igna and Aunt Theresa to watch as the various siblings got their things together to head out.

“Be safe!”

“Don’t be too long now…”

They all nodded at Aunt Igna and Aunt Theresa before exiting the Sanctum, making Aunt Igna sigh as she stood up as well, whilst Aunt Theresa made her way back to the tree, deciding to nap for now.

“Well, you can borrow my ‘primitive’ alchemy set, dear. I imagine your Mother is pouting in her room mulling over a problem or theory for now, so she’ll be rather… thorny.”

I smiled wryly at that, following the tall Dragon into her room, which was laden with flowers and herbs, books, and various small knickknacks.

“Over there. Tell me what you want to make, and I’ll get the ingredients for you… Something simple to start, like Monica said. It’s easy to lose your abilities in alchemy, and hard to get them back. It’s a constant battle you need to wage every waking day, honestly…”

I nodded, knowing for sure that I would be rusty with my skills, so I kept things simple; a three ingredient potion that I could always make use of…

“Do you have the ingredients for a stamina potion?”

That made Aunt Igna smirk at me, saying “For your daily ‘trainings’, correct~? Yes, of course… Vis Root, Bloody Bo Petals, and Rhenia Nectar. Yes, I know that they’re not what you’re accustomed too, but they are far simpler to use… Besides, every region has their own ingredients; very few ingredients are the same from place to place. You’ll need to learn how to identify these ingredients and their use, but for now…”

Using her talons, Aunt Igna sliced off what she needed from three separate plants around her room, placing them down on the desk beside me.

“This is Vis Root, and it will be your primary ingredient. It boosts your bodies metabolism, so I’d suggest eating first. Additionally, this is a ‘booster’ as well, so be careful with the dosage. Unless you like being treated like a thing… I’ve made that mistake before, and I don’t plan on making it that often~!”

She placed the brown and red marbled root on the desk first, about as long and wide as my thumb and covered in a thin fibrous fur.

“This is a Bloody Bo Petal, and they are minor stamina boosters. Makes your body use your energy more efficiently, and keeps the blood flowing where it needs to go.”

Next was a dark red petal that was around an inch in length and a half inch wide, radiating a slightly metallic scent that wasn’t unpleasant at all.

“Finally, this is a Rhenia Stalk, where the nectar is stored. This is the binding ingredient of your potion, making the Bloody Bo Petal and Vis Root more efficient at what they do and keeping the potion together. Additionally, it makes the potion taste less like a medicine and more like a sweet wine. Wondrous thing, this…”

The last ingredient was a vibrant orange stalk that oozed an orange liquid, its pores housing the nectar that I needed for my potions.

“Now, obviously you have your base Mana Water as well, but no one counts that as an ‘ingredient’ since… well, it’s in every potion. So, this is how you go about making everything…”

The Dragon began to guide me through the steps of concocting this potion, using only her words to tell me what to do.

I first filled a beaker with Mana Water – just water which I imbued my mana into, something everyone needed for any potion – before placing it onto a small hotplate, which was being heated by a Fire Crystal.

Whilst I brought that to a boil, I chopped the Vis Root into thin medallions which I then pushed off to the side, to be used in a few moments.

The Bloody Bo Petal was placed into a mortar, alongside the medallions of the Vis Root, which I then ground into a pulp with the pestle, making sure to smoosh it all together and combine it thoroughly.

When the water began to boil, I added the pulp into the beaker with the Mana Water, letting it boil out what I didn’t need as I began to extract the nectar from the Rhenia Stalk, which was far easier than I thought it’d be.

All I needed to do was squeeze the hard stalk and push the nectar out, using mana to make my hands non-stick and letting the nectar collect into a small cup beneath me.

After another minute, I took the beaker off the hotplate and began to filter it through a few funnels, catching the now unneeded pulp and retaining only the liquid, which was now a vibrant red color.

The last step was to add the nectar and shake well for another minute, getting the nectar thoroughly diffused into the Mana Water and finishing the potion off.

“There you have it~! A large beaker’s worth of what I love to call a ‘Stamina Potion’~! Now, for a Demoness I would suggest about a half vial for a manageable time, and a whole vial for… well, ‘fun’. As for yourself, a quarter vial should do wonders, and a half vial would make you rather needy. Same goes for the Begum. I would NOT suggest giving this to the Maid; it’s not a potion meant for pure women.”

I nodded, pouring the now bright red liquid into some standardized vials and corking them, staring at the four and a half vials that I now had to play around with.

Aunt Igna smirked at me, before she gestured towards the various plants inside her room, saying “We should move onto an actually ‘useful’ potion, one with more practical uses for you lot going forwards… Mana Potions, or Healing Potions to start… Ah, here… Alright, next we’re going to-“

We lost ourselves quickly to the wonders of concocting potions, and Aunt Igna carefully guided me through the various recipes, letting me end the day off with a basket filled with potions, all methodically labeled and bundled together so that I could recall what exactly I made.

The Dragon was enthusiastic about brewing potions, and when the others finally returned a few hours later from their quick delve, we ended our time together to spend some time with them, before I left the Sanctum with a smile on my face.