Chapter 9

They make it to the end of the hallway, he gently pushes the huge door open and the inside appears even more bigger compared to the outside several large shelves obscure their vision stretching so high one could hardly see were they begin.

" Follow me." He grunts before he walks.

Taking different turn, the place stretching like a maze.

" How the hell is it so big in here." Marguerite asks obviously suprised.

" Spatial expansion." Mizuki comments a little Impressed.

" Compared to what you have over at your lands, this is child's play." Balor grunts.

The air in here is filled with the sweet smell of pills and elixirs, short purple creatures with long scrawny arms and legs, slender finger which sharp claws, long pointy ears with an Equally long pointy nose, big black eyes with razor sharp teeth and black batlike wings on their backs are flying around in the room each attending to one business or the other.

The walls are lined up shelves stretching all the way to the roof with vial and vases containing different herbs, pills and elixers each serving a different purpose some dusting the shelves, others cleaning the floor, some packing already finished pill, some gathering waste products from failed pills, one looks like it's even keeping inventory.

There is even a little garden at oneside protected by a special kind of barrier with a makeshift sun and clouds being tended to by the little purple creatures. They continue walking before they finally make it to a huge wooden door obviously made if special material.

He opens the door but this time they're in organized worskhop with black shelves on the walls. Also filled with different pills and herbs, the most eye catching sight is the massive be silver coloured pill cauldron with a lion's head on all sides and three legs. A red magical flame by it's side, that seems like it'll never burn out. He walks over to the cauldron completely ignoring the little creatures ruckus caused by two purple creatures slightly bigger the others. He snaps his fingers and they immediately stop.

Marguerite carefully dodging one of the little beast which was carrying a basket of large orange melon sized fruits.

" Are does ember tear fruits?." Mizuru blurts out bit suprised.

" It seems you know your stuff little girl." He replies without looking back.

She immediately starts surveying the shelves

" A 1000 year old dark ginseng." She yells

" phantom tree pods...frostbite root roots....eleven eared lotus flower....blood hubiscus." She continues listing ingredients obviously impressed by the collection.

Marguerite clueless face obviously confused and wishing she didn't come.

" Your collection is almost as good as grannies." Mizuru

" Well then we better get down to business." He announces, gently patting his cauldron.

The two beasts start to fly towards him but he flicks his wrist at them, signaling them to l leave.

" This might be selfish of me but I'd love to see the hags pupil in action." He says a slight smile on his face.

" And why not?." Mizuru immediately agrees.

" The moonlight iris is a very special type of herb. normal it would've been impossible to refine it without destroying it's potency." He remarks.

" But you're in luck, a master like me would make easy work of that." He says.

" Keep the heat down but the ember around." He says.

" What the heck does that even mean." marguerite blurts out obviously confused.

" That's the only thing i want from you as it stands." He adds.

" Lets begin shall we." He adds.

She nods her head then gently picks up an ember from the fire and starts to mould and kneed it the flame growing larger as it uses her ki as fuel. The flame slowly becoming malleable, She exhales softly then simultaneously spreads both hands beside the caudron and covers it in flame gathering and containing the heat at the bottom.

He smirks she's indeed a faster learner as he observes her delicate gestures, no waste in movements. Now for the tricky part.

He opens the vial and gently drop the flower onto the couldron, it instantly emits a purple flash. Two of his arms moving like a blur around the pills constantly shaping, condensing, adjusting and purifying it with his ki covering the whole place with afterimages.

Wisps of red key barely visible to the eye start to envelope the purple light slowly supressing it, He starts picking up the pace moving faster and faster. Forcing mizuki to do the same her face cemented with concentration as she tries to keep up with him, sweat droplets slowly forming around her forehead.

He starts adding other herbs the light immediately starts swirling but is still suppressed within the cauldron.

" Now raise it." He smirks.

She immediately release all the compressed hit and suppresses the flame. one last spark happens and a single shimmering purple pill jumps out of the cauldron filling the entire room with a purple puff of smoke, it smells so beautiful. He immediately bottles it with his other arm, before raising it up then staring at it. The whole vial is the size if a pebble in-between his index finger and his thumb.

" Intelligence, absolutely beautiful a level zero pill. a random drug." He comments.

Mizuki immediately collapses on her knees, marguerite horridly catching her, She's breathing heavily, her forehead is soaked in sweat, her vision getting slightly blurry.

" That's was impressive really, keeping up to me." He comments.

" You praise me to much, you obviously slowed down for me." She replies

" I'm slightly jealous of the old hag." He ignores the statement and says to her.

" If you ever want a true teacher, you know were to find me." He comments before handing her the.

" Thank you." She shows her appreciation before taking the pill.

" I'd take her back if i were you." He tells marguerite.

" Pill refinery isn't just all about technique and ki manipulation, the mental strength is pretty important.

He flicks his finger and they immediately find theirselves outside. marguerite slowly carrying the princess back to the inn.