OHNIR – Chapter 13
Chapter 13: Potions
“Analysis complete. Favorability rating for key character 【Gloria Silentdis】 has reached 11, exceeding the mission standard by 1 point. Reward acquired: 【Anti-Magic Halo ×1】. This item can protect the temporary host from a magical attack of any level. Single-use only.”
“...Confirmed. Stage two mission complete. Triggering stage three mission node. Does the temporary host wish to receive it now?”
“Receive.”
“Request accepted. Issuing mission...”
“Main Quest: Unlock the 【Secret of the Gods】 True Ending route. Method of Completion (Stage Three): Successfully unlock the key plot point 【An Invitation from a Noble】.”
“Mission Reward: 【Fake Illness Potion Formula】.”
Lying in bed with her hands behind her head, Kelusta asked lazily, “A potion formula? You’re passing this off as a reward... You guys are really getting sloppy.”
Her words were blunt and dripping with sarcasm.
If the System had hands, it would have undoubtedly hammered Kelusta’s head without hesitation—but alas, it didn’t. So it could only swallow its indignation and say dryly, “If you were willing to sleep a little less in Potions class, you would find that this reward is... quite useful for you.”
“Hmm?” Kelusta blinked, mulling over the name of the potion formula. “‘Fake Illness’...?”
Suddenly, she shot up, her eyes shining as she asked the System excitedly, “Does this potion let me pretend to be sick?!”
The System really wanted to roll its eyes at her. “Of course. If you can learn to make this potion, you won’t have to suffer through your history teacher’s racket while you’re trying to sleep.”
History was Kelusta’s most hated class, even more so than the completely incomprehensible Potions class.
Thanks to her Sage achievement, Kelusta was arguably the most knowledgeable person in the entire Holy Light Magic Academy when it came to history. Even the principal probably lacked the patience to read through every single historical document in the library.
So, to Kelusta’s ears, the first-year history class was nothing more than child’s play.
And for that very reason, the suffering she endured in history was even worse than in Potions!
She already knew everything, yet she had to endure the history teacher, who was as noisy as a crow, shouting and making a fuss over incredibly boring facts while she was trying to sleep. One moment his voice was so low you wanted to shove a megaphone in his mouth, the next he was shrieking like a crazed marmot.
If only there was a potion that would let her sneak back to her dorm for a nice nap during history class... even just once, just to experience the feeling of skipping class!
Just as she was lost in her fantasy, the System, as if intentionally, chose the peak of her excitement to mercilessly pour cold water on her.
“Please be advised, temporary host,” the System reminded her. “Once the mission reward is issued, I can permit you to use the Fake Illness Potion at any time. However, the analysis system’s rules of judgment—that is, the prerequisite for you to use this potion—is that you must learn its formula and brew it with your own hands.”
Kelusta’s smile gradually vanished.
The System said gently, “Please forgive my impertinence, but as an auxiliary system, it is my duty to constantly remind the host to maintain a clear awareness of her own abilities... Regrettably, if you continue at your current level of ‘needing my help to even complete Potions homework,’ then I can reasonably deduce that you will only be able to successfully create the Fake Illness Potion under one condition—”
“What condition?” Knowing it wouldn’t be anything good, Kelusta rolled her eyes and asked reluctantly.
As expected, the System stated succinctly, “In your dreams.”
Kelusta angrily slapped the bed in protest. “Who are you looking down on! I refuse to believe it. If I put in the same effort I use for reading in the library, it’s just one measly potion. You think I can’t learn it?!”
“...If it were a potion required for your studies at the academy, then even with your lack of talent, you could indeed master it through hard work,” the System said gravely. “But unfortunately, the Fake Illness Potion is no ordinary potion.”
Kelusta froze. The System rarely used such a tone. Forgetting her defiance, she hesitantly drew her hand back and frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Headquarters does not issue low-end mission rewards. Whether it was the Probability Increase MOD or the Anti-Magic Halo, they were all precious items of ‘rare’ quality. And this time... is no different,” the System said. “You may not know this—but on this continent, any potion with the word ‘fake’ in its name was actually invented by the Dark Goddess, Talebris.”
“The Dark Goddess?” Kelusta was slightly taken aback. She thought for a moment, stroking her chin in contemplation. “Hmm, I do remember some theories in those history books insisting that the Dark Goddess was highly skilled in potioneering...”
She asked suspiciously, “But none of that can be proven... You can’t just use legends to embellish things, can you?”
“The setting data in the Oceanum database indicates that the Dark Goddess was indeed a highly skilled potion master,” the System said. “Temporary host, I assume you at least paid attention during your first Potions class... If you recall carefully, you will find that in the preface of your textbook, the very first sentence explains the fundamental properties of potions.”
“...”
Awkward. Kelusta thought with a sheepish, dry laugh that she probably hadn’t paid attention from the moment the Potions teacher stepped into the classroom.
Amidst the System’s cold chuckle, Kelusta, ashamed, pulled her textbook from the shelf. It was so new it looked like it had just been handed out. She struggled to open the first page, which was stuck from disuse, and pointed her finger at the first line of the preface, reading it with a dejected look.
—In the Nobili Kingdom, aside from the collection in the Royal Library, the only paper books were historical texts and the student textbooks of the Holy Light Magic Academy.
“...The Three Laws of Potioneering: First, Uniqueness—A potion must be made from specific materials, and each potion has one and only one method of creation;
“Second, Purity—For a potion’s effect to activate, it is essential that only that single potion is used. If two potions are mixed, they will produce no effect whatsoever;
“Third, Reality—The effects produced by a potion must be real and cannot fade on their own. For example: after a mage uses a certain amount of shrinking potion on an object, if they wish to restore it, they must use an equal amount of enlarging potion.
“Special Note: The Third Law, the Law of Reality, does not apply to potions invented by the Dark Goddess, Talebris.”
Kelusta slowly finished reading the preface of her Potions textbook, unconsciously tapping the page with her neatly trimmed nails, making a few crisp sounds.
“Many of the potions invented by Talebris have effects that can fade on their own. They may seem like they’re only useful for pranks and have no major purpose, but humans have tried every method possible and still cannot replicate these ‘prank potions,’” the System thoughtfully explained. “On the entire continent of Nobili, only two formulas have been restored based on certain documents: the Fake Fainting Potion and the Fake Smile Potion.”
Fake Fainting... Fake Smile... Fake Illness...?
What in the world was all this?!
Kelusta said, “...The feeling I get from these potions... it seems a bit different from the ruthless Dark Goddess of history?”
The System remained silent. This touched upon a blind spot in its database, beyond its authorized scope.
Kelusta didn’t dwell on it. Whether the Dark Goddess was black-hearted or an airhead had nothing to do with her. What was more important right now was—
“You’ve been rambling on and on just to tell me: stop dreaming, even with the formula right in front of me, I have no hope of creating the Fake Illness Potion—not even a single milliliter?” Kelusta said, her face expressionless.
System: “I did not say that, temporary host.”
“That’s exactly what you meant!” Kelusta said angrily. “【An Invitation from a Noble】 or whatever, it sounds like a nightmare level! I’m not going to go through all that trouble just to get a potion formula that sounds useful but is impossible to actually make!”
The System was silent, neither denying the “nightmare level” description nor the string of adjectives she had attached to the words “potion formula.”
Only when Kelusta started pulling at her hair in frustration did it finally speak, unhurriedly. “Respected temporary host, your mission completion thus far has been excellent, so I am more than happy to remind you... that there are still loopholes to exploit in the analysis system.”
Kelusta’s movements stopped. She let go of her poor hair and her eyes widened in surprise. “You mean...”
“You can use a potion you’ve made with your ‘own hands,’ but the extent to which it must be ‘your own hands’ is not strictly defined,” the System said calmly. “You pour a cup of water into the cauldron, you throw in a leaf... as long as the final product contains materials that you have ‘personally handled,’ then that bottle of potion can be considered as having been made by you.”
The moment it finished speaking, Kelusta excitedly jumped in, “So you’re saying, even if I can’t make it myself, as long as I find someone willing to help me, that’s good enough!”
“Precisely.”
Kelusta took a deep breath, clenched her fists, and declared with passion, “Mission completion guaranteed!”
Once the third stage mission was complete, her grand plan to skip class would be within reach!
And as for the tool man to brew the potion...
She smiled faintly.
In the entire Holy Light Magic Academy, the person with the best grades in Potions wasn’t Gloria, who perennially held the top spot overall.
It was her younger brother, the heir to Nobili’s first ducal family, Wend Silentdis.
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