Chapter 350 - 297: Probing
On Golden Oak Street, the early morning mist had yet to disperse.
The stone slab path was damp with dew, making a soft rustling sound underfoot.
As Aidele pushed open the wooden door of Workshop Number Twelve, her fingertips paused on the doorframe for a moment.
She was wearing a new, deep purple Wizard Robe today.
The cuffs were embroidered with intricate Time Trace patterns in silver thread, and the collar was fastened a little tighter than usual.
The hem of her robe brushed across the threshold, stirring a faint breeze.
The front hall was quiet. Old Finn wasn’t around, probably off handling a shipment.
Aidele lightened her steps and crossed the courtyard.
Beneath the half-withered old Golden Oak Tree, a few yellow leaves had fallen onto the stone slabs, their edges gilded by the morning light.
The laboratory door was ajar.
A steady glow from a Crystal Stone Lamp spilled through the crack, along with the faint, characteristic gurgling of a potion being heated.
Aidele stopped at the door and took a deep breath. Something in her chest gave a little flutter.
Then she raised her hand and knocked.
"Come in."
Ian’s voice, as calm as ever, came from within.
Aidele pushed the door open and went inside.
The laboratory was filled with the crisp scent of herbs and plants, mixed with a faint metallic odor.
Ian stood before a laboratory bench, his back to the door.
He was holding a Crystal Flask, examining the color of the liquid against the light.
Gaga was curled up on his shoulder, dozing, its little head tucked into its wings.
Hearing footsteps, it lifted an eyelid, its silver-gray pupils blinking in the shadows.
Aidele opened her mouth, but the words she wanted to say caught in her throat. What came out was something else entirely.
"Did you pull another all-nighter?"
Ian opened his eyes, glanced down at his own wrinkled long robe, and gave a casual nod.
"I was preparing a new batch of Blood Essence and took the chance to review the formula for the Purification Potion."
Aidele pursed her lips.
"You’re always like this," she said softly. "Every time I come looking for you, you’re doing Alchemy."
Ian thought for a moment.
"Not always. Sometimes I’m in Meditation."
Aidele was at a loss for words.
Ian turned around and placed the flask back on its stand.
"How was the potion from last night?"
’He actually already knew, but he couldn’t mention the hidden trick he’d put in the potion.’
Aidele walked to the other side of the lab bench.
She didn’t sit down right away, her fingers unconsciously stroking the cool edge of the bench.
"Yes. I administered one-fifth of the dose last night."
Her voice was quiet, but it had lost its usual somberness.
"The potion is excellent. The pollution afflicting my father seems to have subsided a little. He’s more... energetic than before."
Ian’s eyes lit up.
"Energetic? That’s even better than I expected."
He turned and took a new Crystal Tube from the constant-temperature cabinet. A dark silver liquid flowed within its walls.
"The potion’s targeting precision has met the standard. This version can accurately lock onto the Pollution Source."
He handed the potion to Aidele.
"You can try one-tenth of the dose today. Observe him carefully, and if the effect is stable, we can begin mass-refining it."
Aidele accepted the potion. The tube felt cool to the touch, and the liquid inside swirled with a starlike glimmer in the light.
Ian suddenly remembered something and looked up at Aidele.
"Didn’t you say your family’s Secret Vault had a specific Curse-removal Formula?"
’Aidele’s been back with her family for almost two months. Why hasn’t the potion been made yet?’
Aidele let out a cold laugh, her eyes filled with hatred.
"I’ve already used it. It was completely useless, far inferior to the Purification Potion you gave me last night.
I suspect this was all a rumor deliberately spread by certain people to get me out of the way so they could start the next round of elections for Clan Leader."
Ian fell silent. ’He’d actually suspected as much for a while now.’
’After his first visit to see Titus, he had a feeling that an ordinary curse-removal potion would be useless.’
"Ian..."
Aidele looked up at his slightly weary face.
"These past few days... thank you."
She spoke the words very slowly, as if she had weighed each one for a long time.
Ian shook his head. "No need to thank me. This is also beneficial for improving my Magic Potion Science."
He lowered his head again and began to organize the equipment on the lab bench.
His movements were skilled and methodical.
Aidele watched his downcast eyes, his focused profile.
The morning light slanted in through a high window, casting a small shadow on his eyelashes.
’The laboratory is too quiet,’ she suddenly felt.
So quiet she could hear her own heartbeat.
"You’re always like this,"
she said softly, her tone carrying a tenderness she herself hadn’t noticed.
"Hm?" Ian looked up.
"You’re always... alone in the laboratory."
Aidele walked to the window and looked out at the street, which was gradually growing busier.
"Before you came to the Central Continent... were you always this obsessed with refining Magic Potions?"
Ian’s hands paused.
’The Anoroya Continent, Shadow Moon Tower... suddenly, they all felt so distant.’
He remembered the cabin in the woods from when he first crossed over, remembered Nightfall Town, the Star Leaf Magic Pharmacy, the Demon Hunting War...
"Pretty much. I just think... all Magic Potion Alchemists are like this. I’m used to it."
"Then..." Aidele turned, leaning her back against the windowsill.
The morning light traced a soft outline around her deep purple robe.
"Didn’t anyone help you? I mean... friends, or people like that."
She asked casually, as if making small talk, but her fingertips were secretly clutching her sleeve.
Ian thought for a moment. "I did."
He put down the mortar and pestle in his hands, walked to the constant-temperature cabinet, and took out some newly arrived materials.
"When I was on the East Coast, a friend helped me a lot."
Aidele’s heart suddenly skipped a beat.
She forced herself to maintain a calm expression.
"A friend? A Magic Potion Alchemist?"
"Mhm."
Ian began to process the materials. His Spiritual Power transformed into fine, pale gold threads, precisely stripping away impurities.
"Her name is Malena. She used to be the steward of a Magic Pharmacy."
"A Magic Pharmacy..."
Aidele repeated in a low voice, her mind rapidly searching for this unfamiliar name.
"Is she well-known on the East Coast?"
"Not famous, but she has a good reputation in that area."
For once, there was a hint of warmth in Ian’s voice.
"When I first arrived in Nightfall Town, I was just a Low Level Apprentice."
"She was the one who gave me a chance, allowing me to have a stable income and cultivation resources."
He paused.
"Later, when the war broke out... in the end, it was also through her recommendation that I entered the Magic Potion Department at Shadow Moon Tower."
Aidele listened intently.
She saw a rare gentleness in his eyes as he spoke.
It was a softness she had never seen from him before.
The feeling in her chest suddenly tightened.
It was like an invisible hand had clenched around her heart, making it hard to breathe.
"So you two... must have gotten along well?"
Her voice remained steady, but her fingers had quietly dug into her palm.
"Mhm." Ian nodded, his hands never stopping.
"You could say she’s one of the few close friends I have. She’s helped me many times."
"A close friend..."
Aidele repeated the words.
She stared at Ian’s profile, trying to read more from his expression.
But Ian’s expression was placid, revealing nothing else.
"Is she still on the East Coast now?"
"I believe so."
Ian placed the processed materials into the crucible, a phantom-blue flame igniting at his fingertips.
"We lost contact after I came to the Central Continent."
Aidele was silent for a long time.
The only sounds in the laboratory were the HISS of the flame on the crucible and the faint CRACKLE of the melting materials.
The sunlight outside crept a little higher.
Patches of light fell on the lab bench, illuminating the specks of dust floating in the air.
"Besides Malena..."
Aidele suddenly spoke, her voice even quieter than before.
"Are there any other friends? I mean... fellow Magic Potion Alchemists, or something like that."
As soon as she asked, she immediately averted her gaze.
She pretended to observe the neatly arranged potions in the constant-temperature cabinet, but her ears were pricked up.
’Ian thought about it and suddenly realized that besides Gaga, he seemed to have very few friends.’
’Kenna and Robert were just subordinates.’
’As for family, he always felt a distance from them, not particularly close.’
’If he were to think of someone who had helped his Magic Potion Science and had a profound impact...’
’...besides the system interface, there was only... Alevia Wizard.’
"Alevia?"
Aidele’s heart leaped. ’Just from the name, she knew it was a woman.’
"She helped you, too?"
"Mhm."
Ian adjusted the flame, his eyes focused.
"She gave me a lot of guidance on my Magic Potion Science knowledge during my apprenticeship."
"Although she never formally took me on as a student, she did teach me a great deal."
’Especially Alevia’s explanations on the nature of Magic Potions. Although, from Ian’s current perspective, they had quite a few errors and omissions...’
’...they had still been quite enlightening for him.’
As Aidele listened, she suddenly felt it was a little ridiculous for her to be asking these questions.
’A person as exceptional as Ian was bound to attract countless gazes from anyone who crossed paths with him on his journey.’
’First Malena, then Alevia... In the future, there would be many more.’
’And yet, when he mentioned them, his tone held only respect and indifference.’
’Nothing else.’
"They... must have all admired you."
Aidele said softly, the corners of her mouth pulling into a very faint smile.
"Er... I don’t really care about that."
Ian’s hand paused for a moment before he extinguished the flame and poured the liquid from the crucible into a condenser tube.
"Interactions between Magic Potion Alchemists are more about mutual talent and value."
He looked up at Aidele.
"Just like you and me right now. A mutually beneficial partnership where we each get what we need."
He said it matter-of-factly, as if stating an unbreakable truth.
Aidele froze, staring into Ian’s calm eyes.
The tightness in her chest abruptly loosened.
But after it loosened, an empty, indescribable sense of loss took its place.
"Right..." she said in a low voice, her fingers releasing her sleeve.
"A mutually beneficial partnership."
The laboratory fell quiet again.
Gaga ruffled its feathers and tilted its small head.
Its silver-gray pupils rested on Aidele’s face for a moment.
"Aidele, you look so pretty today."
Its childlike voice was crisp and exceptionally clear in the silent laboratory.
Aidele’s reserved expression froze for an instant before she recovered.
"Is that so? Thank you for the compliment."
She turned and walked quickly to the door, the hem of her deep purple robe tracing a hasty arc.
"I’ll take the potion for now. I’ll come see you again tomorrow."
By the time her voice faded, she had already disappeared out the door, her footsteps rapidly receding down the corridor as if she were fleeing.
Gaga’s claws scratched at Ian’s collar, its small eyes filled with confusion.
"Ian, did you notice? Aidele was acting so weird today, gaga."
"Weird?" Ian looked down and continued processing the next batch of materials.
"Maybe she’s just in a good mood because the Purification Potion is working."
Gaga tilted its head, stared at him for a long moment, then sighed and let its little head droop.
"Forget it. You wouldn’t get it even if I told you."
It tucked itself back into its wings and went on dozing.
In the laboratory, the glow of the Crystal Stone Lamp shone down steadily.
Ian stood at the lab bench, the golden threads at his fingertips darting about like living creatures.
He focused on adjusting every detail, as if performing a delicate surgical procedure.
Outside, on Golden Oak Street, the morning mist had completely vanished.
Aidele walked briskly down the street, her robe whipping in the wind.
She kept her head down, her palms sweating and the blush on her cheeks not yet fully faded.
"A mutually beneficial partnership... where we each get what we need..."
She repeated the phrase under her breath, the corners of her mouth turning up unconsciously.
It was a faint smile, like a tender sprout quietly peeking out from beneath the frozen winter earth.