Chapter 31 Soothing Potion: She's Angry
Botanical Garden, Potion Materials Area.
Teacher Yesika clapped her hands in the apothecary, and the Palm-Bright Grass glowed upon hearing the applause. "Tonight we will make a soothing potion. It can provide continuous mild pain relief and mental calming effects, relieving tension, anxiety, and mild physical discomfort. If you are experiencing soul tingling after magical practice, or mild external pain, and cannot get help from a priest in time, you can take it. It can provide a little soul power."
Ancia crouched down to check on the growth of the Moon Shadow Star Heart Vine. The violet spiral vines naturally curled and intertwined, with pale gold star spots of varying sizes scattered on their surface. Each vine was only the length of a palm and was planted in the garden.
To harvest the Moonshadow Star Heart Vine at the optimal time, Teacher Ye Xika changed the class time for this week's "Cultivation and Rehabilitation" course to midnight. Under the moonlight shining through the transparent dome of the botanical garden, the vines became transparent, the moonlight patterns surged between the veins, and the star spots alternated between light and dark like real stars.
"So beautiful," Ancia praised sincerely.
“What is this, life…” Airan’s words trailed off. After Ancia looked at him in confusion, he urged her to hurry up and start collecting, “It’s the best time, why aren’t you collecting it?”
Ancia carefully cut the Moonshadow Star Heart Vine five centimeters above the root and quickly immersed the two cut sections of the vine into the pure spring water to prevent the magic from dissipating too quickly.
"What about the Dewdrop Flower Base Liquid?" Ancia asked.
Airland took out the sealed jar from the wooden box covered with a black cloth, filtered the liquid in the jar, and poured it into a clean crystal crucible. The base liquid after removing the dew flower petals was a translucent light purple.
Teacher Yesika is checking the progress of each student in the apothecary, helping them purify their heart crystals.
Heart Crystal is also a product of Moonshadow Star Heart Vine. It needs to be purified by a wood-type mage using magic before it can be used for subsequent potion making.
Ellan had already advanced to a five-star mage. Before Yesika could even cross most of the potion room to reach them, he directly parted the entangled vines and took out the miniature crystal encased in the core.
Before purification, this naturally formed crystal was not yet the Heart Crystal. Erlan's green magic enveloped the crystal, and the polyhedral crystal tumbled within the magic. The colorless crystal gradually emitted a soft blue-purple light.
"Is this all right?" Ancia asked.
"Wait a little longer. We need to wait until the core is shimmering with a steady, pure white moonlight," Ellan said after observing. "The frequency of the shimmering must be like the rhythm of a heartbeat for it to be a true Heart Crystal."
"Okay, call me when you're ready." Ancia nodded gently.
This process was a bit long. Erlan's purification speed was not as fast as Teacher Yesika's. His gaze fell on Ancia, who was lost in thought. The black-haired girl in front of him looked weak and harmless, and her class was the priest who needed the most protection.
But anyone who watched Ancia's match knows that she was the team's strongest support. Without Ancia, the team's victory would not have come so easily.
“I’ve said ‘Congratulations, Ancia’ four times already. Both times, the commentary booth received a lot of flowers for you. Only I had the foresight to support you from the very beginning,” Airan said with some pride.
"These two times? But I felt the intensity of the first two rounds was just average." Ancia couldn't understand why she had more supporters.
Ellan chuckled, "Only you think it's average. In the third round, the opponent ignored Skark's attacks and focused on eliminating you. You survived the attack from two three-star warriors and a two-star water mage. Many people believe that the end for two-star priests is the third round, a predicament created by class and star level, but you broke this rule."
"In the fourth round, your opponent had a four-star fire mage, a three-star wind mage, and a two-star warrior. They were still using a three-on-one tactic, but their target had changed from you to Skark. Skark's combat habits had already been figured out by others. With your two-star priest skills, you not only saved his life but also provided continuous mark support for your allies. You proved to everyone who doubted you that the priest is not a late-game class, and that the potential of a two-star priest is much greater than this."
Ancia popped a berry milk candy into her mouth, the hard candy making her cheek bulge slightly. "I was just doing my job normally, I wasn't trying to prove anything to anyone. The people I care about have never doubted my role, and that's enough. I don't care what others think."
Having spent so much time together, Erlan could tell from the way Ancia looked when she said these words that this was exactly what Ancia was thinking.
“What if the people you care about also doubt you? What if you fail?” Airland couldn’t help but ask.
Ancia thought for a moment, "Those who doubt me will no longer be people I care about. Trust and love are mutual. If I fail..."
Under Erlan's persistent gaze, Ancia said calmly, "Then let it fail. I will always find a way to succeed, because I am Ancia."
Her eyes were firm and pure, as if all the thorny paths would turn into smooth roads under her feet.
“How could there be someone like you…” Airland’s eyes flickered, his voice barely audible.
Ancia didn't hear those words; her entire attention was drawn to the crystal that was steadily shimmering with pure white moonlight within its magic. "Heart Crystal!"
Ye Xika walked right up to their group. "Not bad, it's a Heart Crystal. Looks like you don't need my help to purify it."
Ancia used silver tweezers to take the Moon Shadow Star Heart Vine out of the spring water and gently placed it into the crucible.
Arlan placed the Heart Crystal in his hand into another cup of spring water to cool it down from the high temperature caused by the magical purification.
Yesika: "Now we will begin the fusion phase. Note that you must use a gentle heat to heat the crucible. If the temperature is too high, the magic in the Star Heart Vine will be lost."
The crystal cauldron base in the apothecary is a magical device that can be ignited simply by inputting magical energy. Ancia's mental strength is best suited for such delicate operations. She sends fine strands of magical energy into the base, and the flame slowly grows to a gentle blaze.
Erlan added the room-temperature Heart Crystal to the crucible and slowly stirred it with a small wooden stick. The Star Heart Vine and Heart Crystal slowly dissolved in the base liquid, and the light purple liquid gradually deepened, turning into a crystal-clear blue-purple. Even after stopping stirring, the starlight that continued to flow inside the liquid could be seen.
Ancia removed the crucible and let it cool to room temperature naturally, while she drifted off into her own thoughts again.
“You seem to have something on your mind; you’ve been spacing out all day.” A hint of worry flashed in Ellan’s emerald eyes.
“I didn’t…” Ancia retorted instinctively, then sighed, “Okay, it’s about Heli.”
"What's wrong with him?" Airland frowned slightly.
“I’m very sensitive to blood energy. After the last round of the competition, I smelled blood energy on Heli, and he wouldn’t let me treat him.” Thinking that Erlan was also a friend of Heligalo, Ancia naturally asked him, “Has something similar happened before? This is the second time since I’ve known Heli.”
Ellan showed no surprise, remaining silent for a moment before saying, "The priest can't cure it, so don't worry about it."
Ancia narrowed her eyes, placed her hand on the table, and her body and the corner of the wall encircled Erlan. She said with certainty, "You know about this."
Aierlan avoided Ancia's sharp gaze. "Knowing won't help."
Ancia went a step further, "I'm useful. Heli said my healing magic can relieve his pain."
Arlan practically pressed himself against the wall to maintain a distance from Ancia. His ears were noticeably red, his face turned to the side, and his breathing became rapid. "Don't come any closer!"
Ye Xika had somehow wandered into this corner. "Don't date during class, okay?"
Ancia then reluctantly stepped back, saying, "We're not dating, teacher. We were just playing around."
Yesikala drawled, "Is that so, Ellan?"
Erlan had regained his composure; if it weren't for the lingering red marks on his ear tips, one wouldn't have guessed he had just been flustered.
The calming medicine had cooled down, and Airan began to dispense it into two light-proof bottles, using her busy movements to resist the teacher's questions.
Yesika stopped paying attention to this area and moved on to another place. "Ancient texts record that the Moonshadow Star Heart Vine grows under the pure moonlight, and the Heart Crystal contains fragments of the moon's tranquility. The soothing potion we made today may be simple, but perhaps this 'tranquility' will guide you at some point in the future."
Aerlan handed Ancia the calming potion and said in a low voice, "There has never been a priest with full light elemental affinity before. Perhaps your healing spells are a bit special, but whether or not they work on Heligaluo, you'd better not let anyone else know about this, especially the Church of Light."
He hesitated for a moment before continuing, “Herigalo’s choice to keep it a secret is not because he doesn’t value you. On the contrary, it’s precisely because we all consider you our most important… friend that there are things we can’t do, not because we don’t want to. The current situation is the result that Herigalo has chosen to accept, but if we involve you, we can’t predict what will happen next. If you get hurt because of this, neither Herigalo nor I can bear it.”
Those emerald eyes looked at her pleadingly, "Ancia, please stop investigating, okay?"
Arlan was always proud, and Ancia had never seen him plead with such pain. She didn't want to see her friend driven to this point.
Ancia put the soothing medicine into her system inventory. "I respect your choice."
Her voice turned cold. "But I absolutely do not understand."
“Since it might involve me, why can’t I know the truth? Let my friend suffer while I, as a pastor, can only watch helplessly, not knowing where the wound came from, the extent of the injury, or when the next time will come…”
A faint tear welled up in Ancia's eyes. She quickly wiped it away and said calmly, "Herigalo is the Holy Son of Light. He was able to injure me repeatedly under the Church's surveillance, yet he wouldn't let me reveal my healing magic..."
“Unless it was the Holy See that injured him, I’m not stupid, Ellan.” After saying that, Ancia left without saying goodbye.
Ellan looked at Ancia's indifferent back and leaned against the wall with a bitter expression.
What should I do? She's angry.
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