"We''re here," said Vera as the two of them stood in front of a wooden door a few minutester. cing the bag on the floor, Vera went ahead and opened it, revealing the insides of the room before them to Valyr.


    Though, just as he took a look inside, a thought quickly surfaced in Valyr''s mind. "Should I… should I leave you be and wait here?"


    Although there weren''t a lot of amenities in the room, a bed could be seen on one side of the room, with multiple pillows slightly scattered on top of the mattress. Beside it was a simple wooden bookshelf, containing books that seemed to exude the feeling that they hade from a time before he had even been born.


    On top of the shelf were a couple picture frames that held photos of Vera, as well as photos of her and another woman that looked like her older sister.


    Btedly realizing what Valyr meant by his question, Vera wryly smiled in response as she swung the door wide open, revealing a set of alchemical instruments surrounding a decently sized cauldron, neatly arranged near the side of the room covered by the door. Heading inside, she grabbed the bag and turned to look at Valyr, urging for him toe in. "Since I''m the only one in the vige who knows how to use it, as well as the fact that there''s not much purpose in moving it, my alchemical instruments are here inside my sleeping quarters."


    "As long as you don''t mind the mess on the other side, you''re free toe in." Vera wryly chuckled, scratching her head.


    After saying those words, she went closer to the cauldron, cing the bag of ingredients beside it before heading to the other side of the room. "Wait here for a bit. I have to grab something."


    Lightly nodding in response, Valyr waited by the cauldron as Vera brought out a few boxes underneath her bed. Blowing off the built-up dust on the surface, she then opened them as she searched for a certain item.


    In the meantime, Valyr allowed his curiosity to get the better of him, getting a closer look of everything that was in this room. As Vera told him to not mind the other side, he focused his attention towards the alchemical instruments she owned, though he did think that she was more organized than him, considering how her bed looked neat and tidy even though she said it was messy.


    Seeing as the instruments seemed to be devoid of any dust on their surface, Valyr quickly got the idea that Vera took good care of her instruments, making sure to clean them at least once a day. ''Then again, from an alchemist''s perspective, it makes sense. Even a small speck of dust can dictate the sess or failure of a concoction, so it''s not surprising that she cleans them often.''


    ''However, such instruments like these wouldn''t normally be found in a vige,'' he thought. ''Did she buy all of this herself?''


    Curious, Valyr decided to ask. "Did you buy all of the instruments you have here, miss Vera?"


    "I wish I did," replied Vera as she looked back at Valyr with a wry smile. Returning her attention to the boxes, she continued, "Anyways, I didn''t buy them. Instead, they were gifted to me by my mentor after I became a Novice Alchemist."


    "What a kind mentor," Valyr could not help but say, to which Vera nodded in agreement.


    "She definitely is."


    "Ah, found it." After rummaging through the boxes for quite some time, she ced a light gray orb on the floor before putting the boxes back in their original ce. Bringing along the orb with her, she headed to where Valyr was, cing the orb on a pedestal near the cauldron.


    "I wonder if she''s busy…" Vera murmured, taking in a deep breath as she ced one of her hand on the orb. Soon, a pale blue light emanated from her hand, which was slowly absorbed by the orb not long after.


    After a while, a light of simr light to the one emanating from Vera''s hand appeared in the middle of the orb. Little by little, it grew in size until it eventually burst, turning into strands of light that looked simr to confetti.


    Soon, an oppressive aura emanated from the orb, prompting Valyr''s eyes to slightly widen in surprise. However, this aura onlysted for a few seconds before disappearing as a voice resounded from the orb a few secondster.


    "Well, well, well. Look who finally decided to contact me," said a voice on the other side, her tone slightly raspy.


    Twiddling her thumbs in slight nervousness, Vera could not help but act meek as she replied. "It''s not that I don''t want to, Mentor… I thought you were busy…"


    "Busy? Me? Hah! As if." The voice let out a light chuckle in response. "In any case, it''s rare for my only student to contact me. Knowing you, you wouldn''t contact me for no reason."


    Hearing those words, Vera inwardly let out a sigh of relief as she returned to her original behavior. "It''s like this, Mentor. Someone asked me if I knew how to concoct Reinforcement Elixir, specifically, Basic Physical and Basic Mental Reinforcement Elixir. In response, I told them they would be better off having another alchemist concoct it instead. However, they were adamant that I should be the one concocting it, confident that I had the ability to do so."


    "Of course they should be confident! You learned under my tutge, after all," the voice replied. "Anyways, have they left you on your own to concoct it?"


    "No, the person that asked me is actually here." Vera shook his head. Turning around, she looked at Valyr. "Mind speaking for a bit, sir Valyr?"


    Scratching his head for a bit, Valyr eventually nodded in response as he opened his mouth. "Hello? Can you hear me?"


    "I can hear you loud and clear," said the voice. "Mind telling me who you are, if you don''t mind?"


    "Would it be alright if you introduce yourself first, ma''am?" asked Valyr back in response. "Although you say you''re miss Vera''s mentor, I can''t help but be a bit suspicious."


    "A cautious one, eh? Well, I don''t mind." The voice giggled. "I am Mystia Aschel, the alchemy mentor of the young woman in front of you. Now, would that be enough for you to reveal your identity to me? Or would you like me to tell you more?"


    "No, that would be enough. Thank you." Valyr shook his head in response. Though, while doing so, he could not help but think, ''I wonder how they''re rted to each other. They do have the same surname, after all.''


    Taking in a deep breath, he then said, "It would be impolite for me to renege on my promise, so let me introduce myself. My name''s Valyr Zeihardt, currently a guard in Astarto Vige. I''m the one who asked miss Vera to concoct the elixirs."


    Hearing Valyr''s response, Mystia could not help but focus on a certain part, murmuring, "Zeihardt…? Is he…?"


    "Is there a problem?" Naturally, Valyr heard her murmurs thanks to his heightened stats, making him wonder if there was anything peculiar about his name. After all, he had also thought about his surname for a bit on his first day. However, before he could obtain an answer to his question, Mystia quickly changed the topic.


    "Ah. There''s no problem. No problem at all," said Mystia, which made Valyr raise his eyebrow in response. Though, as Mystia did not want to pursue the topic, he could only leave the matter to the back of his mind, inwardly letting out a sigh.


    "Anyways, let''s have the elixirs concocted, shall we?"