Chapter 514
Asher had been watching Dane intently as he finished concocting the medicine. When the furnace was opened, the mold revested four perfectly formed pills, while the rest had turned into a fused lump of blackish dregs.
The sight brought back memories for Asher of the time he had watched Mirabella produce the same pills, prompting him to ask, “Dene, what if you put like twenty in the kiln, and twenty come out all perfect, what would that mean?”
Dane carefully picked the four successful pills from the mold and placed them in a ceramic bowd to cool. Only then did he look up at Asher and respond, “That’s just not possible. No one can put in a certain number and get the same number out”
With the amount of ingredients he used today, the yield was quite impressive. Any other apothecary might get, at best, two or three pills. Asher scratched his nose thoughtfully. “But what if there really was someone who could? Would it still be considered a failure?” He wasn’t an apothecary himself, so he had a limited understanding of the process. His curiosity was piqued because he had seen Mirabella at work before, and now watching Dane, he felt compelled to bring it up
Dane dumped the unsuccessful remnants of the concoction into the trash. “I remember you called me once before to ask about this? “Yeah, it was when Dad had that girl over at our place. He had me shadow her to learn about mixing and brewing, even wanted me to pick up how to make some kind of Incense of Calm,” Asher recalled slowly.
At the mention of “that girl,” Dane suddenly remembered something his father had casually mentioned upon his return – that the gir was also an apothecary.
Asher continued, “I watched her whole process. Honestly, her technique didn’t seem as polished as yours, and the steps she took were too simplistic, almost negligent. But, to everyone’s surprise, she was incredibly precise when it came to measuring out the ingredients.”
Even though Asher wasn’t a fan of Mirabella’s pretentious airs, he was fair in his judgment and couldn’t deny her strengths.
“Precision in mixing?” Dane asked, tilting his head.
Asher nodded, “Yeah, probably because she’s quite knowledgeable about pharmacology and precise with her measurements. That must be why Dad holds her in such high regard.”
Dane heared this, and his gaze involuntarily returned to the few pills he had just crafted. He picked one up, sniffed it, and examined its hue. It seemed slightly superior to the ones he usually produced.
The quality of the final product wasn’t determined by how many pills you could make at once but by their effectiveness. And the key to effectiveness was the precise combination of ingredients.
Today’s attempt was merely experimental, based entirely on the recipe Mirabella had provided, which he initially thought wouldn’t even match a D–grade ordinary medicine. Now, as he looked at it, it seemed to verge on B–grade. It was hard for him to believe.
Seeing Dane engrossed with the pills, Asher called out to break his concentration, “Dane?”
Dane, lost in thought, didn’t look up at Asher and instead inspected the other pills, smelling them repeatedly. His mind was filled with skepticism.
Although the pills weren’t quite B–grade, they were significantly beyond C–grade. He knew there was something exceptionally subtle about this recipe, and it turned out to be a C–grade formula.
Dane’s expression became complex for a moment.
