["Some people always say alchemy is nothing more than a means to brew potions. But I say that is wrong. Anyone who studies alchemy should firmly believe that alchemy is omnipotent!"]
— Albert
At this moment, Lan Qingyou had deactivated her talent.
Lying on the straw — now even softer after baking in the sun — she cracked open Albert's Alchemy Notes.
That first quote was the very first line in the notebook.
It read like a dedication, yet also like a personal reflection on the art of alchemy.
"Alchemy is omnipotent, huh. Interesting."
Lan Qingyou murmured.
But as she continued reading, she realized that alchemy in this world genuinely had some substance to it.
What had started as idle reading to pass the time while her mana regenerated turned into genuine focus.
She was even getting absorbed in it.
Setting aside Albert's personal philosophy on alchemy, his understanding of the craft alone was enough for Lan Qingyou to conclude that this man had to have been a master.
At the very least, as a complete novice with zero prior knowledge, she found his notes anything but dense or hard to follow. She could actually get into them.
It was like having a teacher at a lectern — dissecting academic points one by one, breaking them down into bite-sized pieces laid out before you, explained in a way that was both eloquent and easy to understand.
To support his arguments, he'd even included step-by-step examples of several of the most basic potions.
Reading them, Lan Qingyou found herself thinking: 'I could totally do this.'
'Wait, why am I thinking that?'
Lan Qingyou caught herself.
'Hmm... Maybe I should... give it a try?'
'But can I actually pull it off?'
'A middle school dropout who never attended a day of high school, with paralyzed legs to boot — learning alchemy?'
She closed the notebook and held it against her chest, questioning herself over and over.
Sometimes, once a certain idea takes root, no amount of internal denial or hesitation can keep a person from wanting to try.
Some attribute this to the innate curiosity of sentient beings.
And right now, Lan Qingyou's curiosity had clearly been hooked by the theories of an alchemist named Albert.
"Forget it — why am I agonizing over this? Just try it and find out!"
Making up her mind, Lan Qingyou cast aside her mental tug-of-war. She checked her Mana Points — fully recovered — and decided to head out and gather some herbs.
"Hmm, I'll need something to carry them in too. Should I bring a chest?"
Her hand was already on the door handle when she suddenly thought of the equipment problem.
She couldn't exactly go out empty-handed.
But the moment she went to retrieve a chest from storage, a giant red exclamation mark appeared on the small screen!
"What's going on?!"
Lan Qingyou stared at the oversized red exclamation mark, utterly baffled.
It hadn't been there when she'd eaten lunch. How could lying down and reading a book for a bit produce this thing?
Some kind of emergency alert?
Without overthinking it, Lan Qingyou tapped the exclamation mark immediately. A window popped up.
["Dear Blue Star Earthling: There are 9 hours and 51 minutes remaining before the starter tool distribution ends. Please select your starter tool as soon as possible."]
'Uh... the starter tool?'
'Oh. Right. She'd completely forgotten about that.'
She scratched her greasy head, feeling a twinge of embarrassment.
She was supposed to have chosen yesterday, but the excitement over her talent had wiped the thought clean out of her mind.
Then this morning she'd been too eager to explore, found two chests and the notebook, and forgot about it all over again.
'This is all Albert's fault. Who writes alchemy notes that read like a proper textbook? No wonder I got lost in it.'
So Lan Qingyou opened the starter tool selection and began choosing in earnest.
Setting aside the issue of her legs, close-combat weapons were out of the question.
Bow and crossbow were worth considering, but without arrows or bolts they'd be less useful than a stick.
At least a stick could clock someone over the head.
"Oh!"
When Lan Qingyou scrolled past the weapons to browse the tools, she spotted something on the interface: [Gardening Hoe].
[Gardening Hoe (E)]
[Use: A small tool for tidying gardens and loosening soil around plants.]
[Description: Don't let its size fool you — it's very practical, and also quite cute.]
"This might actually work."
Remembering what Albert's notes said about pulling herbs up from the root to preserve their potency, Lan Qingyou decided this gardening hoe was a perfect fit for her.
'Let's go with this. Even if it's the wrong choice, it's not like I could use anything else anyway.'
A gardening hoe promptly materialized on the small screen.
It was quite short — only about the length of a forearm — with a dual-purpose head.
One end was a palm-sized, downward-facing flat shovel for weeding. The other end was a three-pronged fork for digging soil.
Tool in hand, Lan Qingyou strapped the chest to her back with vines and headed out the door.
Gathering herbs was monotonous work, but easy enough.
Earlier that morning, when she'd looked at the plants on the ground, grass was grass — it all looked the same.
But after reading the alchemy notes, Lan Qingyou discovered that the Abandoned Forest was practically carpeted with treasure.
Though the notebook only covered one recipe — the Apprentice-Level Mana Potion —
it also catalogued the herbs required, complete with detailed descriptions and even illustrations.
Very recognizable illustrations, at that.
Ascetic Grass, with its long leaves and serrated edges. Yellow Tail Flower, with flat, oval-shaped yellow petals. These were the ideal ingredients for brewing Apprentice-Level Mana Potions.
So these two herbs became Lan Qingyou's primary targets.
After all, she was still a complete outsider — interested in alchemy but without the slightest foundation.
Using what Albert called the most basic of potions as her stepping stone was the perfect starting point.
And the Abandoned Forest had these two herbs in abundance — she didn't even need to hunt for them.
One swing of the hoe to uproot the plant, a quick pat to knock off the dirt, toss it in the chest, and move on to the next one. In half an hour she'd filled most of the box. Couldn't have been easier.
"Hm? How'd I end up back here?"
Gardening hoe in hand, chest on her back, Lan Qingyou found herself staring at a familiar mass of vines.
This was the spot where she'd found the notebook this morning. She hadn't expected to wander back here while absorbed in herb gathering.
But it didn't matter.
Or rather — this was perfect timing.
While reading the notes earlier, Albert had mentioned his own Alchemy Workshop.
She'd originally planned to come back tomorrow. After all, it was an alchemist's workshop — no matter how many years had passed, it was bound to still hold something valuable, just like the notebook.
Since she was here already, she might as well look for it.
The notes hadn't been very specific about the workshop's location, so she'd have to search on her own.
After all, what kind of sane person writes down precise directions to their own home in a notebook?
With that thought, Lan Qingyou floated up and circled the area, again and again.
She found nothing.
"Could it be under the collapsed section of that cabin?"
Eyeing the mound of vines, Lan Qingyou decided to go back in for another look.