Chapter: Potion of Water Breathing

"What are you going to make?" Nelly asked

"I'm going to make a potion that lets one breath underwater" I replied

"That's interesting, I'll help you look for the ingredients while my potion cools down," Nelly said

"Sure suit yourself" I replied

Nelly and I headed out of the venue and into the garden in search of the ingredients, and since Nelly insisted that she helps me I gave her a list of a couple of ingredients to look for, I gave her the easy ingredients while I went to gather the more difficult ingredients or to put it more accurately 'ingredient'.

I'm catching a Pompus Betty, which is a small bluefish that lives in freshwater and the special thing about them is that they breathe through their scales since they don't have gills like normal fishes. Nelly is collecting Raspberries, blueberries, and Neo Barnacles, which can be found in both salt and freshwater.

Nelly and I split up to go gather our ingredients. I headed towards a freshwater pond that I discovered while helping Nelly collect her ingredients before. I reach the pond and waste no time in making a small net out of the sturdy long bush leaves that were near the pond. Now normally I'd just make a spear out of a tree branch and harpoon the fish but in this case, I have to make sure not to damage the Pompus Betty's skin.

I finish making the net and start digging for earthworms which I was going to use as bait. I captured a few worms and placed them in the net I had made before throwing it into the water. After a couple of minutes of waiting I finally caught a Pompus Betty, I quickly pulled the net out of the water and made my way back to the venue where I met Nelly waiting for me with all the ingredients I asked her to gather.

"Great you're already here, you should probably take your potion for grading," I said as I placed the Pompus Betty on a chopping board

"Yes, but first a little enchantment" Nelly replied

Nelly held her potion in both her hands and started to mumble a healing enchantment that would give the strength potion healing properties. While she was enchanting her potion, multiple students were going up to get their potion graded but only a few actually passed out of the multiple students that walked up. Nelly then finished her chanting and walked up to the golem to test her potion.

"Your Nelly Lux right?" Elor asked

"Yes sir I am" Nelly replied

"Right, what's your potion?" Julie asked

"It's a Strength potion enchanted with healing" Nelly explained

"A basic potion with healing properties, well when your ready place your potion in the golem's hand," Julie said before putting a tag on the golem's chest

The tag that Julie had put on the golem's chest started to glow and all of a sudden the golem slouched as it had lost all of its strength. The golem had a few cracks all over his body from all the previous failed potion that it had drunk before. The students around that were watching started to talk among themselves quietly, but with my keen hearing, I could hear them talk down on Nelly's Strength potion since Nelly was known for making horrible portions and the fact that she had made a basic potion for a scenario like this, only made them talk more. But I believed in her. Watching her make the potion and putting effort into it, I could tell that she was going to pass.

Nelly took a deep breath before placing her potion in the golem's hand then took a step back. The golem drank the entire potion in one go and stood there in a slouch with no reaction, Nelly closed her eyes tightly and prayed to Solis to help her pass. The golem stood up straight and looked directly at Nelly, its eyes started to flicker red and green which made Nelly pray even harder, after the anticipation the cracks in the golem's body started to remould itself, its strength came back and its eye finally stopped on green indicating that she had passed.

Nelly opened her eyes and was surprised that she passed and started to do a little victory dance on the spot, those that doubted her were also surprised that she had passed.

"Well done Nelly' you pass!" Julie cheered

"Not only did your potion actually work, but you fixed up the golem thanks to the healing enchantment...your alchemy skills have improved indeed Miss. Lux" Elor added on

"Thank you both and most of all thank you, Solis," Nelly said with a bright smile

"You can decide to stay here and watch or return to the hotel," Elor said

"I'll stay for a while" Nelly replied before walking back to my bench

"Great job on passing Nelly," I said as she stood beside me

"Thank you for teaching me Ken" Nelly replied

"No problem, right now I gotta create my potion before time runs out," I said before grabbing a knife

Now, this Pompus Betty is the key ingredient to my potions. I have to be really careful when cutting it, I can't damage any of the skin tissues. Since these fishes are only 5 inches in size it's normally difficult, but I was taught by Grandma Edna so it should be a breeze.

I place my knife in front of its mouth, in one go I slice right through the Pompus Betty with one swift cut. I opened the fish and none of the skin tissues or anything else was damaged. With the Pompus Petty sliced open, I start to scrape all of its scales off with a small knife and place them into a flask before pouring 30ml of warm water onto it and putting it aside.

"What potion are you making now Ken?" Nelly asked standing in front of my desk

"Well, im making a water breathing potion" I replied as I pulled a skin of mucus off of the fish and placed it in a jar

"A potion that lets you breathe underwater? That sounds amazing!"

"Yeah it really is a neat potion," I said as I filled the jar that had the mucus skin with 50ml of warm water

I placed the jar with the mucus skin on a tripod bunsen burner and turned the heat on medium before placing the raspberries, blueberries and neo barnacles that had already been crushed, into the jar before mixing it until the berries, barnacle and mucus skin combined, then bringing the fire to a low.

I then turned off the fire under the tripod bunsen burner and used a steel clamp to pick up the jar with the mucus skin and berries then poured it into the flask with the Pompus Betty shell. I closed the flask with a cork and shook it vigorously, blending it all together, creating an aqua coloured potion that had bits of scales floating around inside of it, giving it a sparkling look.

"And I'm done!" I said holding the potion in the air

"Wowwww it looks so pretty," Nelly said looking at the potion amazed

I made my way up to Professor Elor and Julie.

"Ken Granfold. What potion have you made today" Elor asked

"This is a water breathing potion made using a Pompus Betty fish" I replied

"Interesting" Elor said looking at my potion

Julie placed a tag on the golem's forehead, once she did this, the golem started breathing as if it needed oxygen to survive. I placed my potion in the golem's hand and stepped back a little. The golem drank the potion in one go and stood there breathing but emotionless

"How long does the potion last?" Elor asked

"About 3 hours" I replied

Professor Elor raised his hand towards the golem and trapped its entire body inside a bubble filled with water. The Golem started taking deep breaths with the bubble of water, upon its third breath, its eyes lit up green, indicating it worked, the golem was breathing perfectly fine within the water bubble.

"wow it's breathing perfectly fine in there," Julie said in a surprised tone

"Well done Ken you pass, you can choose to return to the hotel or stay here," Professor Elor said

Back on Belthon

Somewhere within Belthon, far from the academy there stood a small bar underneath a bridge called Cal's Bar. It was a quiet bar normally empty at times like this and only ever full at night. Within the bar a small party of five mysterious individuals sat in front of the counter, facing another individual who was behind the counter.

"So is everything going according to plan No.6?" The individual behind the counter asked

"Yes it is No.1, all the eggs are set in place" No.6 replied

"That's great, now let's see what the headmaster's first years can really do" No.1 replied in a sinister tone.

Next Time: Zen Island?