Author's note: this is from Seraphina's point of view

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This lab had two doors in the far corner and Aldus told me that I can inspect anything, but I should not touch things without his permission.

I rolled my eyes silently. We were back to the no-touching rule, but I didn't dare to complain, because Aldus might change his mind and kick me out.

Anyway, this is my first time here, so visual inspection should suffice.

I carefully moved toward one of the doors and I found myself in a room that was filled with all sorts of books.

Fist-sized brown crystals were protruding from the walls, radiating dull yellow light, and illuminating the space.

Numerous books were neatly arranged on the shelves, and some books were stacked on the tables, and several books were bound by chains. I wondered if those chains were to keep others from peeking inside, or maybe to prevent something from coming out.

Just by glancing around, I could see that the number of books here greatly exceeded the amount that the library in the mansion offers.

Some books were very old with faded leather bindings. It was obvious that Aldus collected them for a long time.

As promised, I didn't touch anything, and I moved to see what's in the second room.

The other room was like a storeroom. The brown fist-sized crystals were present in the walls here as well, allowing me to observe various containers, each sealed tightly; some filled with colorful liquids, some holding strange bones and things I couldn't identify, like shimmering wisps of light.

Most of the containers had thick layers of dust on them and I guessed that this is one of the areas Krob is not allowed to enter. However, he was right next to me now, so I asked, "Don't you clean this place?"

"Master told me not to touch things in here.", Krob responded, and I was happy that I'm not the only one with the no-touching restriction. At least for this room.

I went back to the laboratory and I found Aldus inspecting several vials.

"It's difficult for me to decide what to give you as a start…", Aldus spoke without looking at me. "You see, Serina, things here are either deadly or very precious. When I say deadly, considering your special constitution, it doesn't mean that you will die, but you will suffer. As for precious, I'm talking about things that can't be bought with money."

"I thought that the most precious thing here is your knowledge.", I said matter-of-factly.

Aldus turned toward me in slow motion, and his smile told me that I've got him.

Hehe, my father has a big ego and when I give him a boost, he turns defenseless. I would love to rub this in, but if I say it, it will stop working so I plastered the most innocent expression I could come up with.

Just as I expected, Aldus nodded in approval of my words and said smugly, "You are correct about that."

He waved at me to come closer. "We will start with you observing me, and passing me ingredients I ask. Krob can assist you with that. You are allowed to ask questions. Do you have your notepad ready?"

I nodded vigorously. I came prepared. Ah, this will be fun!

I thought of one thing. "Am I now a junior alchemist? An apprentice?"

Aldus's brows furrowed a bit. "Is that important?"

I was back to nodding. "Absolutely. I should know what levels are there and where I am on that ladder so that I can gauge my progress."

He gave it a thought before agreeing with me. "You just started, so you are my apprentice without any other title. As you build your knowledge and skillset, you will progress to a junior alchemist. Above that are titles of advanced, senior, expert, and master alchemist."

I wrote those down in my notebook and asked, "Can you be more specific?"

"To become a junior alchemist, you will need to expand your knowledge on ingredients, learn from these books…" Aldus gestured to a book-filled shelf that was on his right. "Krob will teach you about herbs we have in the garden. Create one potion, starting from collecting the ingredients, to a final product and you will get a title of a junior alchemist. To become an advanced alchemist, you will need to create simple potions, at least ten different ones. For a senior, you will need to master fifty different recipes and be able to create alchemic creams and pills. To become an expert, you should know one hundred recipes and your creations need to impact living and non-living things. As a master alchemist, you will conduct independent research and create new recipes successfully."

I took note of that. "Is this a universal ladder that alchemists have?"

"No. I just made it up.", Aldus responded flatly.

I was not sure how to respond to this. Was he kidding me?

Aldus spoke quickly and with confidence and he is either amazing in coming up with stories on the spot, or… there was no 'or'. If there is a skill-ladder in deceiving people, Aldus must be a master deceiver.

"Today, we are going to make a potion that increases speed.", Aldus announced as he scribbled something on a piece of paper. "I would make pills but since this is for your training, we will take it down a notch in difficulty."

I didn't like that he had to rub in my incompetence immediately. Why did this sound like I am pulling him down? It took me a moment to get over my displeasure and realize what he said. "Potion to increase speed? Speed of what?"

"Speed of movement."

"Is that like an energy drink?"

Aldus hummed before responding, "Something like that but much stronger."

"Who uses such potions?"

"Anyone who can afford it."

Aldus probably saw invisible question marks around me, so he explained, "This potion temporarily enhances the speed at which muscles contract and expand. Depending on the individual who ingests it, and the quality of ingredients used, it can increase speed from 50% to 100%. Pills have the efficiency to increase speed from 90% to 200%."

I opened my mouth to speak, and Aldus raised his hand indicating that he was not done.

"Before you ask, yes, humans also take this. In general, humans are not aware of our existence, but they know about 'miracle drugs' how they call them. I'm confident that you've heard of potions, cremes, and pills, that can enhance the body in terms of performance or appearance. Of course, some can cause shapeshifting or provide abilities to control elements and energies. Depending on what we make, it can be as mild as a vitamin supplement which barely impacts your body no matter how much you take, or as potent as ricin where one gram can kill a grownup person within seconds. The effects it provides will impact the price."

My mind was spinning as I had a silly grin on my face. This reminded me of video games where you can drink mana and health potions or get some other boost. Also, these must cost a fortune. No wonder Aldus is loaded.

"Do you have regular customers?"

Aldus confirmed. "Other than regular customers, these can be sold on markets and auctions, and they are always a wonderful gift."

"Where do we start?", I asked enthusiastically.

Aldus gave Krob a piece of paper, the one he was scribbling on a minute ago. "Go with Krob to the garden and retrieve these ingredients. He will tell you about the plants and the right way to harvest what is needed."

Before I could react, Krob stuffed a tray with several glass containers into my hands.

"Follow me for your first lesson, fledgling…", Krob said in his raspy voice and I could swear that he smiled. Ah, he is having fun with this!

Wait a minute! Did I just deteriorate from a 'young Miss' into a 'fledgling'?

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