Nick was surprised by my resolution. He smiled, and said "Good, master your Arts, then show the world what I taught you. Show them, what you are made of". I nodded, while Nick continued. "Alright, let me show you how to make some basic medicine. We will use the pot, and the fireplace over there. Watch carefully, as each step has to be taken very seriously". Nick placed the pot inside the fireplace, and then lit the fire. He took out a bottle full of water, and poured a specific amount of it into the pot. "Today, I will show you how to make Vital Liquid. A weak medicine, but can be used for light treatment. The amount of water I poured in, is important. As you remember from the recipe, one batch of this medicine requires 300 millilitres. The more thorough you are with your measurements, the better it is". I said, "But you didn't measure anything. You just poured some water from that bottle, and that's it". He smiled, "Because I can measure things with my eyes, hands and so on. People usually use scales, but I didn't have that comfort for a long time, so I simply learned to measure things by myself. I'm actually very accurate. I'd say, as much as a scale is". It was hard to believe but it was also Nick, therefore it was possible. He continued, "I will give you something, that you can use for practice later. I have a set of specific containers, with marks on them. You will learn how much stuff weighs, at least in liquid form. That though, can be later adapted to herbs". I nodded, while Nick continued with the medicine. When the water started boiling, he threw in the Seedless Plain. This herb worked as catalyst, and looked like a thin green stalk with the middle section hollowed out. The juices were sweet, and one could use them as a sort of sweetener for dishes, drinks and so on. The herb itself had no real effects, other than improving the effects of the other medical herbs. The recipe stated, the amount should be no less than 100 grams. It could be a bit more, and the medicine would be sweeter, but wouldn't have any positive effects otherwise. Too much was bad though, as the medicine would lose its effectiveness. When the juices from Seedless Plain mixed in with the boiling water, Nick fished out the dregs and threw in another herb. This time, the herb he threw in was called Vitality Grass. Just as the name implied, it was a sort of grass but brown in colour. Very common, and easily encounterable in the forest. One could mistaken it for some withered or dirty grass. The properties of Vitality Grass were very weak. One would need to eat a lot of it, in order to feel better. If someone wasn't a cow, that would be a hard thing to accomplish. But of course, Nick was cooking that herb with another one, therefore the effects would be much different. The recipe stated that one batch required 300 grams of Vitality Grass. Of course, less meant weaker medicine, while more meant the medicine could burn. The pot contained 300 millilitres of water, if too many herbs were added, they would burn. Too little, and the medicine would be weak. Quite logical. When I asked Nick about it, he said that doing more than one batch at a time was not a problem. He could do a few batches at once, and the results would be the same. He told me not to try that for now, after all I was just a beginner. With experience, I could also create a few batches at a time. Nick also demonstrated how to control the flame. The medicine sometimes needed to cook at lower temperatures, if they were too high, the medical properties could simply disappear. The mixture cooked slowly without the lid covering the pot. After around five minutes, I noticed that the water had a hint of green in it. Kind of a milky green colour. Nick fished out the Vitality Grass dregs, and covered the pot with the lid. It had to slowly cook for a few minutes, in order for the medicine to mix properly. After that, Nick extinguished the fire, and let the medicine cool down for a while. "That is how you make Vital Liquid. It's really simple, as long as you follow the steps correctly. Just as the recipe states, if you lift the lid and the medicine doesn't smell sweet and nice, then it was a failure. It shouldn't be used as medicine at all. You will fail a few times, but I got you around a kilogram of Vitality Grass, and 300 grams of Seedless Plain. You can try three times, and get used to the process". With the medicine cool enough to touch, he took out two bottles and filled them up. "One batch will be enough for around two bottles. As for the bottles... Well, just keep them in stock I guess. I will leave a few of my bottles to you of course, but after the village is done for, you will have access to a few more bottles. Always keep bottles on you, that is important". He passed me both bottles, and said "Smell them, and check their quality. If you can't see anything swimming inside, that means the medicine is pure. This one is not completely pure, but it's close. The stronger the smell, the more effective the medicine will be. I will teach you later how to grade your medicine. For now, give it a try yourself". I nodded, while Nick showed me how to properly clean the pot and other tools. With everything cleaned up, I started a fire under the pot, and poured in the water. I didn't know if it was the right amount, but I tried to repeat what Nick did. The water level inside the pot looked the same to me, so I threw in the Seedless Plain when the water began boiling. I tried to weigh it, but again I wasn't sure. That cooked for a while, until I removed the dregs and added the Vitality Grass. The amount looked to be similar to that of Nick's, so I dumped that into the pot. A few minutes later, when the water changed to milky green, I removed the dregs again. Then I cooked it for a few minutes under a smaller flame. With all the steps completed, and the medicine cooling down, I opened the pot. Although it looked alright at the beginning, I noticed some stuff swimming inside. Nick said "Not that bad actually. You succeeded, but there are some impurities inside. Don't use that medicine, as the amount impurities is too large. Dump it and try again". I nodded, and repeated the process another two times. In the end, I was able to produce a bit cleaner medicine, that had very little impurities inside. Nick nodded and said, "Very good. Who know, maybe you have a knack for medicine making. The last batch you made is usable, you can keep it. As for its strength, it has around 60% potency. The one I gave you has 95% potency. So not only is it more pure, it is also stronger. Don't worry though, with time, you will gain more experience and such medicine will be easy for you". I nodded, and poured the content into two bottles. This was the first usable medicine I ever made, and I was proud of it. Nick said, "I will show you how to make Cloud Haze Poison tomorrow. You have some experience already, but I will try to get a few more herbs for you, to try the Vital Liquid again. As long as you familiarise yourself with flame control and weighting, it will be easier". before he left, he gave me some square containers. There were a few of them, and each container had specific marks sculpted into them. Nick told me that those things were for reference only, and I could use them to learn how to weigh things with my hands. He mentioned that I shouldn't use them for medicine making, as the containers weighed something too. I nodded, and decided to spend the rest of the day on improving my weighing skills. While I was at it, Shelly walked up to me and whined about something. I asked, "You want to go to the river?". Shelly shook its head, it wanted something else. I asked, "What is it then, want to play with me?". Shelly again shook its head. I was completely lost at that stage. 'What do you want turtle!' I exclaimed in my mind. Shelly wasn't hungry, nor feeling playful. It jumped around, and scratched its claws on the floorboard, but I had no idea what it wanted. Shelly grew frustrated, and pointed at the pot. "You want the medicine? Does something hurt you?". Shelly nodded its head this time. I was lost. Shelly shouldn't be hurt anywhere, since all it did was sleeping. 'Can I give this medicine to turtles though? There shouldn't be any problems I think...' I thought, and took out the bottle that Nick handed to me. It was better and more potent, so if Shelly was really hurt, it would be much better. I placed the bottle in front of Shelly, and asked "This is what you want?". Shelly nodded, and bit the bottle, trying to drink from it. A short while later, it placed down the bottle, and looked at me annoyed. I tapped my forehead 'Right, the cork is still in there', I thought and removed the cork. Shelly gulped down the medicine, and then happily went back to sleep. I just shook my head. 'Right... I guess that's taken care of?' I asked myself unsure. Shelly went back to sleep, so I continued with my weighing exercise.