Master and Apprentices: Rise of the Cheat Potion Maker #2
Master and Apprentices: Chapter 19

[Spell book analysis. Yukihara. Rank: D. Type: Mid offense, Blood lightning.]

“Real grand tier magic can only channel properly through a spell book like this,” Andros said as he aimed a hand at me.

This was yet another wakeup call, honestly. Shop competitors with better rankings, magicians with D-ranked spell books, and the new knowledge that my very own powers may not even be fully formed yet, despite soaring through the realms like a goddamn NASCAR driver.

“Grand tier magic, L—”

A golden ball of energy smashed into Andros. He didn’t flinch, but vines wrapped around his legs and pulled. Some even tried to impale him.

“Yukihara, defensive spell Blood Lightning Cleanup,” Andros said.

That distraction enabled me to down a health potion and get moving. Unfortunately, red lightning burst from the ground, encaging us into an area of some sort, which stretched out to be at least thirty or forty meters wide, hundreds of meters high. That lightning was no joke. The aura it gave off told me that one touch could mean death. It burned away Milia’s vines in an instant. It also blocked her follow-up mana blasts.

Sensing the obvious game over with grand tier magic, I pulled out a summoning potion, downing it without hesitation. The consequences were likely going to suck, but if I was going to die anyway, I refused to allow it to be easy for Andros.

It began with a surge of minor pain, then my eyes widened as I felt as if I merged with the world and mana itself.

[Dragon Magician State.]

Chenzu rose to his feet, struggling against auras that outmatched him a million to one. Wanda’s ass, how did getting a job as a farmhand turn into this, witnessing a clash between two demigods? One thing he learned was that Ramon Thunderblade couldn’t be the true hero, right? Otherwise, shouldn’t he be going through this trial, not Nate? His boss seriously needed to upgrade his shop to E-rank and Chenzu wanted to witness it with his own two eyes.

He panicked, seeing Nate, a master magician, being brought to his very knees by the foul Black Knight. As if matters couldn’t get worse, Andros summoned a spell book far more powerful than Chenzu had ever seen. He knew spell books were soul partners to magicians, having his own, but the beastkin never heard of ranked tomes. He only knew there were legendary books lost to time and past wars.

Nate’s betrothed, Milia, tried to help with vines powerful enough to crush bones, but they were simply no match for the Black Knight’s blood lightning. Hope… seemed lost. His new friend would surely be vaporized by whatever horrible grand fecking tier magic this bastard had.

Chenzu, however, wasn’t just a support magician. He set down the lute, aimed both hands at Andros, and prepared his last-ditch spell, only to stop upon sensing the biggest surge of mana he’d ever felt concentrated in one place in his life.

Nate had consumed a potion and changed!

Milia pushed herself to defeat as many of the Black Cross as she could, while Nate held off the Black Knight. Even Anzu showed up to help, laying out her opponents with her incredible spells.

Milia trembled at everything she sensed, from her betrothed’s slowly dwindling power to the powerful devastating attacks of Andros.

Nate was a new magician, somehow with the internal mana structure of a master magician. But an experienced opponent sporting a significantly higher realm meant trouble. Everyone knew the risks, but they had to be taken, especially after Ramon revealed the Black Knight’s nature. That even if he went with them peacefully, the man’s grudge against the kingdom would likely spark him to leaving a message to anyone that defied the Black Cross. He’d destroy the city’s infrastructure, force the Red Star to rebuild from scratch. And no matter where the hero hid, the same message would be provided to any city he resided in. This confirmed the cruel fact that Ramon was but a prisoner, despite serving in the party that saved the Kingdom from the rampage of the Midnight Dragon.

Milia couldn’t take it anymore and pushed her mana to the limits, unveiling a flurry of energy balls upon the rest of the Black Cross stragglers. She tossed her sleeping potion vials to Ronica.

“Finish this, I have to go help Nate.”

She hurried off without listening to the small woman’s protest. Time was limited. The moment she saw her lover’s condition, she summoned every ounce of her remaining mana to stave off Andros’s assault, but it was to no avail, especially after he summoned an actual D-ranked spell book. She was about forty meters away, but the immense aura prevented the dryad from getting closer.

The Black Knight’s spell book assistant spirit turned out to be a bored-looking fairy with the intense power of a high-realm magician. Perhaps even stronger than that, but even it would have the limitations bound to a D-ranked tome.

Milia noticed Chenzu, their new beastkin farmhand, preparing to put up a surprisingly strong, but risky attack, only to suddenly freeze. Why did he…?

Milia’s eyes widened at what she saw. She strained with everything she had to get closer, to see for herself what was happening to the man she planned to spend eternity with.

Nate’s hair became like golden flames. The flames also formed bat-like wings and a dragon’s tail behind him. Time and space seemed to bend around him. And the aura, it reminded her of the cosmos, endless light, warmth, a golden fire-like energy, and miniature stars.

The aura and pressure dwarfed Andros’s so much that the red lightning cage surrounding the combatants collapsed into nothingness. And it… it was like her betrothed carried the strength of a dragon.

Andros believed himself to be a match, but he picked a fight that not even a real dragon would want.

Just what was this transformation? What about the cost? If he wasn’t a master magician, Nate would certainly perish, even if Milia embedded him with her own life force.

Suddenly, Nate disappeared. Andros looked around frantically, firing massive bursts of red lightning capable of obliterating anyone in an instant. Some of them drilled straight through buildings, while others exploded massive sections of the ground. Milia knew Gwendolyn had a place where civilians could hide during a magician attack, but not everyone was fast enough to get to these places. If this kept up, more would die.

Abruptly, a red light began to coat her vision and the dryad felt sure her time had come until Nate reappeared right in front of her. He effortlessly slapped the magic upward, then vanished again briefly. His next emergence was in front of Andros, mid-punch. The Black Knight tried to block. However, that turned out to be his mistake.

Even Milia heard the cracking sound, wincing. She couldn’t help but be happy Nate saved her, but afraid at the price he’d pay for utilizing what the woman could only guess was a gift from Wanda. The strength of a fierce dragon.

Nate didn’t stop his assault there as he moved, ignoring Andros’s yell of pain. Nate seemed to be steps ahead of even Milia with his thought process as he decided to target something she didn’t think was possible. The white-haired man grabbed the fairy, something that should be an intangible assistant spell book spirit.

Milia now understood what Nate was doing. Andros could simply wipe the city from the face of the earth with just one grand tier spell. So rather than give the Black Knight the slightest second to charge even a wick of that magic, he attacked viciously, targeting the source of the other man’s power.

The fairy screamed, but rather than squish her, Nate did the impossible. He absorbed her into his storage ring. Milia, a princess of the dryad kingdom with access to millennia of information, had never heard of something like this.

Not that Milia knew everything, being a young dryad, but she was sure if this kind of thing happened, someone in her kingdom would’ve spoken of it.

Andros’s transformation, if one could call it that, unraveled instantly, leaving the man staring up in horrified surprise.

“I may not be a proper master magician, but I’m sure like the other two, I have surprises that you weren’t expecting,” Nate said. His voice felt almost as powerful as a great golden dragon.

“No. Wait, if you kill me, she’ll kill my family,” Andros said, his eyes frantic. “Please, I surrender. I’ll go quietly.”

“No,” Nate said as he unloaded what appeared to be hundreds of punches to the man within the blink of an eye. Even the afterimage struggled to keep up with Milia’s betrothed. Andros coughed up a mouthful of blood, rage and despair in his gaze. “As much as I hate the thought of taking lives, I will not risk letting you come back even stronger.”

Nate unleashed a golden fire blast from his hand, matching the mighty power of a dragon and even more. The attack itself contained an aura that made Milia almost black out, but she was no weakling. She’d stand by her betrothed’s decision to take out the Black Knight. After all, the casualties in the city were high. If he’d come to Kyushu, an F-ranked town, Andros would’ve leveled it in an instant.

Yet Nate won this without any luck. Just the potions on his person, including his newest one. She’d lecture him on the importance of not giving it to the apprentices.

Nothing of Andros remained except ashes and a high-ranked storage ring that he dropped. Nate picked it up, put it on, only to collapse as his transformation forcibly deactivated. His lack of mana was dangerous.

Milia looked to her right, unsurprised to see a tired Gwendolyn approaching, though worry was in those eyes. She practically dragged the healer with her.

“If he dies, I will ascend to the heavens to drag him back,” Gwendolyn said. “Unfortunately, he’s not going to be happy about the accident.”

“Accident?” Milia asked, raising an eyebrow, though she already knew.

Gwendolyn shrugged. “When the leader died, Anzu’s servant slit the throats of the Black Cross members. Unfortunately, we were forced to burn the bodies, but the servant got away.”

“Not going to give chase?” Milia asked.

“Chasing a former assassin is a lot easier said than done.”

Milia wasn’t a fan of the cold-blooded methods when dealing with men who were following their orders. However, she wouldn’t shed any tears over the matter. They attacked the city and, as a result, paid the consequences. Even the Lord Ruler expected the Red Star to defend her people should Wingston come under attack.

You know, I get a little irritated when movies do that little dream sequence after the hero falls unconscious. You know what I’m talking about. Well, apparently the joke was on me, because I found myself floating barefoot above a sea of golden mana.

Everywhere, I sensed the Dao of Creation, something that went perfectly with potion making and probably anything involving crafting.

This only reignited the passion to take my class to new heights. No, I wasn’t born wanting to do what was essentially magical alchemy, but I had grown to love it. The fuckups were disheartening, a call to pick my sorry ass up and try again.

I stared down at the mana.

“If you can hear me, thanks for coming through out there,” I said to the ocean of power. There wasn’t a response, of course, but as I gazed at it, I felt the need to reach out, dip my hands into the non-water.

I didn’t gain any insights to the Dao right there, but I felt damned close to it. First, I thought about the consequences of creating things not really meant for mankind. Now my mind pondered the process of creation itself. The components that went into the potion could be compared to cooking or a mathematical equation. Yet, without a proper manual, I still essentially relied on trial and error, experimentation, and a little guesswork. This probably wouldn’t be possible if I lost my knowledge of the old world, as damn near everything was doused in chemicals.

What did the boundless ocean of golden mana mean in relation to the Dao of Creation? Limitless creativity? No… There had to be something more to this. I’d have to meditate with this ocean in mind until the answer of what this vision meant came to me.

I opened my eyes, only to realize I was back in my room. Wolverine’s whimpering caught my attention, and I sat up, pulling my wolf close to me, caressing his head. Note to self: a health potion will not work when swallowing that summoning potion. But the power it gave me, holy shit, that was no joke.

I moved, though a little jolt of damn near extreme pain almost sent me the fuck back down.

“Well, the price paid for using this could be worse,” I said. “To think it’s really just a Dao-infused energy potion really puts things into perspective.”

Hurried footsteps and moments later, I felt Milia’s arms around me.

“Good morning to you too,” I told my fiancée as I stroked her hair.

“You were close to death at least three times,” Milia said softly, “before you finally stabilized. Nuwa and some of Gwendolyn’s best healers worked to restore you for days.”

“Days?” I asked with a sinking feeling.

Milia nodded, wiping her eyes. “Never drink that again.”

“Oh believe me, I don’t want to,” I said, “but I will if I must. Just… not anytime soon. My body can’t take using the mana of the entire world.”

I just didn’t have the required physique.

“The entire world?” Milia asked.

“That’s what it felt like,” I elaborated. “Like my consciousness somehow merged with the planet and it lent me enough energy until I felt like bursting.”

“You looked like… some kind of deity,” Milia said. “Shining with golden light, flames, and stars. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Cheetara suddenly darted in, slamming into my chest, meowing loudly. I greeted and petted the adorable kitten. Wolverine barked once, his tail wagging. My apprentices came in moments later. Mandi and Harmony damn near made me regret waking up. At least Milia was gentle!

Lucas, thankfully, wasn’t the hugging type. The honest boy still had a way to go to bulk up his frame, especially with dwarf blood, but he accepted my fist bump. A smile cracked on my face, surrounded by those I actually gave a damn about.

A thought flashed across my mind, and I almost did a dance in bed. Loot! The horrifying fight and wakeup call did not go unrewarded. On top of that, the image of the golden ocean still remained in there, just out of reach, waiting for me to meditate and leave the awakening stage of the Dao of Creation.

I knew it wouldn’t be that easy and it could take months of meditation to evolve it; however, I planned to take my training to the next level. Okay, well, the shop still had priority over anything. Every time I thought about being just an E-ranked loser, I lost a piece of myself.

First, I took a peek into the storage ring to remember why I bothered taking it in the first place. Jackpot! So much shit! Oh boy, and the first thing to catch my attention, other than the crying fairy spirit, was the spirit coins.

It turned out Andros hid his wealth from his superiors, that or he saved up to purchase something big. One hundred spirit coins! In addition to that were swords, which I’d give to the apprentices. A tent for the garbage. A ton of gold and silver coins to pay for my injuries. So many gold coins.

“Hey brats, it’s payday,” I told them. Normally I paid them at the end of the week, but with me out cold, I didn’t get around to it. “How many days was I out again, Milia?”

“Six,” she replied.

“Six, ouch,” I said.

“Don’t worry, we kept the shop going just fine,” Milia said. “There were some big payers coming in from Wingston, willing to deplete our stock, despite your massive price increase. I already paid everyone, by the way.”

“In that case, a bonus,” I said.

“Can I accept mine in the form of a blueberry pie?” Milia asked. That caught me off guard as I looked at her. She blushed but didn’t back down. “I’m still pretty bad at making it. But yours…”

“Careful not to drool,” I quipped, smiling. “Speaking of which, holy shit, am I hungry.”

I figured mana regulated my body in a way that could even allow an extended meditation period. With a soon-to-be-wife and pets, going into seclusion wasn’t going to happen, of course.

The excitement of the spirit coins made me want to bounce around despite the soreness. A tome inside caught my attention and I pulled it out, curious. Dark blue with a slight matching aura outlining it.

“I think… that’s a spell book,” Harmony said, awed. “Unbound too. Are you going to use it?”

“Do we have to bind these?” I asked, unwilling to do so with what my analysis revealed to be an F-ranked tome. And here I thought these things were all the same.

“You can try to read them, but casting their spells without spending years studying and practicing the basics is another story,” Milia said. “If I hadn’t left home abruptly, maybe I’d have one too. My master’s inheritance.”

“Harmony, you’re getting this,” I said, but raised a finger. “After you defeat that E-ranked boss creature by yourself.” She stared at me blankly, until I grinned. “Yeah, I’m only kidding. Why the hell would I not make sure you have as much of an advantage as possible? Use it to beat the boss creature by yourself.”

I tossed the book to her, gaining myself another painful hug.

“As for you, Mandi, we’re going to do whatever we can to help your core form,” I told her. “In the meantime, I think we’ll have to go about a better way to help you craft some gadgets. Lucas, we’ll borrow your master’s forge every now and then. You create any part Mandi needs, and I or Milia will power her creation.” I eyed Mandi. “Start small, okay?”

She nodded, smiling. “Thank you, Nate.”

“Don’t thank me yet,” I said. “That book may be S-class, but it’s entirely up to you to make it work. And I know you’re going to make us proud.”

“She sure will,” Milia said. “No one gets left behind.”

I started to pull the fairy from the storage ring dimension, though in retrospect, that summoning potion was definitely bad for the mind.

“About Wingston,” I asked Milia.

“Gwendolyn’s elite builders are fast at repairing things and everything should be back to normal within another week,” Milia said. “Also, she plans to visit with her husband to talk to us.”

“Anything else happen?”

“Your cauldron came in,” Lucas replied, scratching the back of his head. “It’s… a little strange. I don’t know what Master Nia did to convince her friend to go overboard with the power it contains. She said to never make ordinary things in it, or else you’d have to triple the price and make people pay an arm and a leg.”

I laughed, eager to see my new potion making super vessel.

Without wasting anymore time, I pulled the fairy from the storage ring.

“Welcome back to the real world, Yukihara,” I said, then grinned. “Look at me. I’m the captain now.”

What? I told you I planned to rob Andros.

End of Phase 3…