Feeling a wave of energy wash over his body from the level up, Valyr's pace slightly hastened, making use of the energy to head towards the village clinic faster. With him asking Leon and the others as to where it was, even going so far as to have them walk him to it, it did not take long for him to arrive in front of a modest looking building.
Although the exterior of the building was made out of wood, Valyr felt that there was a hint of mana imbued into it, which made it give off the feeling that it had rooted itself into the ground. Stepping inside the building, he was greeted by the sight of a minimalistic yet clean exterior, with multiple wooden benches neatly arranged in one corner, while multiple shelves containing vials of liquid and other various trinkets could be seen on the other.
In one corner were two stools, with a young boy sitting on one of them. Extending out his right arm, he showed a light wound to the young woman in front of him. The young woman, who sat on the other stool, said a few reassuring words to the boy in response before placing her hands above the wound. Soon after, a soothing green light emanated from the person's hands, allowing the young boy to watch in amazement as the light wound on his arm closed up within minutes.
Stepping down from the stool, the young boy looked at his right arm before moving it around, a smile soon adorning his face as he thanked the young woman. Giving her a small pouch of money, the young boy quickly left the building as he bade farewell.
In response, the young woman waved back at the young boy, bidding farewell to the latter, only to notice that there was another person in the building.
"I apologize for not noticing you earlier," said the young woman in a slightly apologetic tone. After that, the person gave a light bow before asking, "How may I help you today?"
"This is the village clinic, right?" Rather than answering the question, Valyr instead asked a question of his own.
"Yes. This is indeed the village clinic," she replied, a light yet cheerful smile adorning her face. "Do you have an ailment of some sort? Perhaps a wound you would like to have treated?"
Hearing the question, Valyr shook his head. "I actually came here because people said an alchemist could be found here."
"Is sir in need of an alchemist's service?" asked the young woman in response to his explanation.
"Indeed. I need something to be concocted." Valyr nodded. "So, does the clinic have an alchemist?"
"We do." The young woman let out a light chuckle as she nodded. "In fact, you're looking at them right now."
"Hmm?" In response to those words, Valyr could not help but raise an eyebrow, taking a better look at the woman in front of him. With her burgundy hair tied up into a bun, being held in place by a thick stick of graphite, round silver-framed spectacles adorned her face, complementing her sky blue irises. As she wore a light gray robe that covered her petite figure, it wouldn't be surprising for one to think that the woman looked more like a scholar than an alchemist.
"My name's Vera Aschel. I'm a Novice Alchemist, as well as the doctor manning this clinic," she said soon after, introducing herself to Valyr. Not long after, she asked in a cheerful tone. "How about you, sir? May I know who you are?"
"Valyr Zeihardt, one of the village guards." Nodding, Valyr went ahead and introduced himself, prompting Vera's eyes to slightly widen in surprise before giving a respectful bow.
"Thank you for protecting the village," said Vera, making him scratch his head in slight embarrassment from the sudden gratitude. "Anyways, sir Valyr, what do you need have to concocted exactly? Some medicine? A potion of some sort?"
"Er… before I answer your question, can we move to some place more private?" replied Valyr, prompting a light frown to appear on the woman's face. "I know it sounds selfish, but believe me when I say I don't want others knowing of this."
"Hmm…" Pondering over the question, a thought eventually surfaced on Vera's mind as she led him to a more secluded portion of the clinic. Casting a crude barrier made out of mana around them, a slight frown appeared on her face as she asked, "Would this be enough?"
"This would be enough, yes. Thank you," Valyr thanked her before removing the bag slung over his right shoulder, dropping it on the floor. He then spoke in a slightly hushed tone, "Well, to answer your earlier question, I need you concoct two types of elixirs for me."
"Have you heard of Reinforcement Elixirs before?" he asked soon after, which made Vera look at him with widened eyes. "Guessing by your reaction, it seems you have."
Nodding, she replied, "Although I haven't really tried concocting one before, I've heard my mentor mention it in passing. If I can remember her words correctly, Reinforcement Elixirs are capable of giving an increase to one's stats?"
"That's the one." Valyr nodded in response. Giving the bag to Vera, he then told her, "In here are the important materials you need to concoct a batch of Basic Physical and Basic Mental Reinforcement Elixir. Do you think you can concoct them?"
"Eh?" Hearing Valyr's words, a look of great incredulity appeared on Vera's face. As she gave the bag back to Valyr, she could not help but ask, "But why me, sir? I'm just a Novice Alchemist. Wouldn't it be better for you to head to the nearest town and have a true alchemist concoct it instead?"
"Well, that's definitely an option, but unfortunately, I can't afford to do that." Valyr shook his head, wryly smiling as he thought about the remaining time on his quest. "Besides, I consider this to be my own gesture of giving back to the village after it has been so accommodating to me."
"In any case…" With a knowing grin, he asked her, "Although you're giving it back on the surface, you actually want to try your hand at concocting it, right?"
"Yes…" Vera subconsciously blurted out, only to realize what she had said as she scratched her head. "I mean… yes, I do want to try concocting it, but these precious materials would be wasted on me if I used them. After all, I'm just a Novice Alchemist. I don't even know the recipe to the elixirs. It would truly be better for you to find an actual alchemist to concoct it instead."
Normally, at this point, one would heed Vera's advice and head off to the nearest town to get it concocted. However, for some reason, Valyr had a feeling that it would be better to have Vera do it. Although he didn't know exactly why he got that feeling, he decided to trust his gut. "I don't really mind if you waste the materials. As long as you successfully concoct at least one vial of each, that's enough for me. I just have to patrol for another week to get another batch of the same materials anyway."
Seeing as his words were having the opposite effect on her, Valyr could not help but scratch his head. "Seriously, it's no problem. Er… how about this? Think of it as me wanting to help you improve in the path of alchemy… is that helping?"
"No, not really…" Vera murmured in response. As she looked at the bag of items given to her, even though she was ecstatic to try concocting something that was somewhat above her skill level, Vera could not help but wonder why a person like Valyr decided to put their trust into a Novice Alchemist like her.
'Is there something about me that stands out? Is this a confession of some sort? Or am I just making it all up and he actually just wants to concoct the elixir?' Vera could not help but ask herself, her imagination running wild as she looked at Valyr.
Eventually, their gazes locked onto each other, dispelling all of the random thoughts swirling in Vera's mind. Soon, a determined expression could be seen on her face as an air of professionalism soon emanated from her. "Alright. I'll concoct the elixirs for you."
"But as I'm a Novice Alchemist, remember that there's a high chance I might waste your materials," she added, her tone calm. "If you want to grab the bag and have another alchemist concoct it for you, you still have the chance to do so."
"There's no need." Valyr smiled in response. "You do it."
"Oh, for heaven's sake…" Muttering out these words, Vera could not help but let out a long sigh as she gazed at her slightly trembling hands. Taking a couple more deep breaths to calm her nerves, she then asked Valyr to follow her as they headed to the back of the clinic.
