She wanted to go so badly!
She desperately wanted to see if there were any other treasures hidden in that basement.
To see if Albert could drop a few more gold coins for her, letting her inherit even more of his legacy.
But she couldn't go.
At least, not right now.
Because the crucible was still brewing potions.
It was just past one in the afternoon. She only needed to wait until around four for the brew to finish, then she could head out. Just a little more patience — it was only about three hours, after all.
So, taking a deep breath and forcing herself to calm down, Lan Qingyou walked over to the crucible and continued stirring the bubbling potion.
She might have looked composed on the surface, but the stubborn little smile tugging at the corners of her lips — one she clearly had no intention of suppressing — gave her away completely.
Still, even though her mind was wandering while she brewed, her thoughts weren't aimless.
For instance, there were the Appraisal Glasses perched on her face.
Sure, the glasses only revealed the most basic scraps of information — nothing compared to what the Small Screen could do — but there was no denying that they were genuinely useful. Enormously useful, even!
And judging from the two different appraisal results she'd gotten for the Medicine Pounding Mortar earlier, the glasses seemed to lean more toward revealing foundational details.
Like the materials used to craft the mortar.
For an alchemist like Lan Qingyou, that kind of information was an absolute game-changer.
Three hours wasn't long, but for Lan Qingyou, every minute felt like torment.
Ring-ring-ring-ring-ring—
The instant the alarm clock on the desk went off, Lan Qingyou expertly yet swiftly deactivated the alchemy arrays on all five cauldrons. Then, under Steel Wire Ball's stunned gaze, she snatched up the potion bags from the water bucket along with her Moonbright Stone Dagger and bolted out of the shelter without a second's hesitation, charging toward the location of Albert's basement.
It was now just past four in the afternoon, leaving only a little over two hours before nightfall at seven.
For someone who needed to search for things, time was getting tight.
And so—
Having come here for the fourth time now, Lan Qingyou navigated her way to Albert's basement with practiced ease and immediately launched a thorough, carpet-search operation.
Her bespectacled eyes swept back and forth across the basement, and before long, she spotted a useful entry in the information panel.
It was a roughly meter-long wooden stick, somewhat weathered and covered in moss.
At least, that's what it looked like to Lan Qingyou's naked eye.
But through the "eyes" of the Appraisal Glasses, it was something else entirely.
"Wooden Stirring Rod (Unknown)"
"Function: Unknown."
"Description: A stirring rod crafted from a branch of the World Tree."
A stirring rod?
The same kind of tool as the stone rod she'd ordered from Li Huai.
'Oh, Albert... Albert. Should I call you bold, or should I call you selfless?'
The World Tree.
She'd read about it in those extracurricular books.
The details were scarce, but she knew enough to understand that the World Tree was a sacred relic of the entire High Elf race — something they revered as their "Mother Tree."
And yet, Albert had actually used a branch from something like that as his personal alchemy stirring rod.
It was beyond anything she'd known about this world.
Then again, her understanding of this world wasn't exactly extensive to begin with.
That was when Lan Qingyou recalled a passage from Albert's Alchemy Notes.
"Mana, materials, money, stamina, spirit — everything an alchemist possesses exists for the sake of alchemy. And alchemy will surely repay your devotion. Remember: alchemy is omnipotent! — Albert"
'Well, well, well. So this is what you meant by "devotion," huh?'
'Absolutely love it.'
After picking up the stirring rod, Lan Qingyou resumed her search, even using the rod itself to do some rudimentary digging.
After about half an hour of effort, she'd added two more items to her haul.
The first was a pair of roughly forty-centimeter iron rods and a hollow, arc-shaped iron plate. The second was a glass jar containing several irregularly shaped, hexagonal transparent crystals — wider at the top and tapering toward the bottom.
"Damaged Thorium Compass (Unknown)"
"Function: Unknown."
"Description: A compass crafted from thorium."
"Chrysalis (Unknown)"
"Function: Unknown."
"Description: Unknown."
She didn't know the exact properties of either item, but if the Appraisal Glasses could identify them at all, they were definitely ranked above E.
Better to hold onto them regardless.
After practically turning the place inside out to obtain these three items, Lan Qingyou climbed out of the basement, thoroughly satisfied.
Seeing that there was still daylight left, she decided to wander around the area with her glasses on.
Her reasoning was simple.
If Albert had possessed items like these, he was clearly no ordinary figure.
And if someone of his caliber had chosen to build his home and workshop in a place like this, then this location clearly had something going for it.
Besides, there was still some time before dark.
Looking around a bit more could only be a good thing.
Especially in spots covered by vines, shrubs, and wild grass.
After all, Albert's house had been concealed by exactly that kind of overgrowth — if she hadn't had that flash of insight back then, she might never have found it.
Sure enough.
Hacking away at the undergrowth with the stirring rod, she discovered a stone well hidden beneath a tangle of vines.
Clearing the vines away, Lan Qingyou could clearly see that the well still had a wooden cover over it.
Unfortunately, the cover had long since corroded away, leaving only a skeletal frame.
Floating in the air, Lan Qingyou leaned over the edge and peered down into the well, where a pool of clear water awaited.
But under the Appraisal Glasses' analysis, this seemingly ordinary spring water turned out to be rather special.
"Spring Water (Unknown)"
"Function: Unknown."
"Description: Appears to be directly usable as a base water for alchemy."
Oh?!
Directly usable as base water?
As a novice alchemist, Lan Qingyou knew perfectly well what base water was.
Put simply, it was the mana-infused water she normally had to neutralize with her own magic power every single time. And this well water could just be used as-is?
No wonder Albert had settled in a place like this.
For an alchemist, having ready-to-use base water was an incredible convenience.
Lan Qingyou was practically drooling over it, but unfortunately, her shelter wasn't anywhere nearby.
With some reluctance, she pulled her head back, ready to go explore elsewhere. But just then, another information window popped up in her glasses' frame.
"Water Elemental Essence (Unknown)"
"Function: Unknown."
"Description: The purest concentration of water-element energy, born from the prolonged intertwining of water-based mana."
'Well now — elemental essence? That sounds like something incredible!'
Without a moment's hesitation, Lan Qingyou drifted down into the well.
The water wasn't deep — only about fifty centimeters at most — but for someone in Lan Qingyou's condition, it was already dangerously threatening.
She plopped down into the well water, the surface reaching up to her neck.
Enduring the bone-chilling cold, she groped along the bottom of the well until she fished out a transparent, water-globe-like Water Elemental Essence.
And at the bottom of the well, there were quite a few more of these orbs.
After admiring them briefly, Lan Qingyou quickly gathered every last Water Elemental Essence from the well.
"Unknown (Unknown)"
"Function: Unknown."
"Description: Unknown."
Just as she collected the final elemental essence from the well floor, another window popped up in her glasses — and this time, the row of "Unknowns" left her completely dumbfounded.