Chapter 624 - The Prey (3)

"Micah told me it was the most basic method," I knew I was talentless.

"Tell me all the steps and I'll tell you everything you've been doing wrong," Alex tried to guide me.

I repeated everything Micah explained to me, unsure about some parts since I had to customize the process. Since this was a part of the trial, I had to synthetize everything on my own. When Alex tried to do them for me, his hands passed through the ingredients. I guessed helping me collect the herbs was the furthest the mediator was willing to let others interfere. Meanwhile, the waste was increasing, all those precious ingredients thrown away.

"Just continue on what you've been doing so far. Since you have to customize everything, there isn't a set answer," Alex gave up on me, resembling Micah.

"Isn't this too hard for her?" Ethan frowned.

"It's many levels beyond her current skills," he ordered more bowls of soup.

By the time I finished producing the oils, creams and bowls of soup, there were no ingredients remaining except for the elixirs. I was exhausted, taking me around three days inside this room. To stay alive, I needed to chug more elixirs for myself, bȧrėly able to open the door on my own. I passed some elixirs to Alex, who continued to help me by ordering the servants to clean the mess or bring more food.

Meanwhile, Ethan worked on the next event he was hosting, familiar with all the explosions. Since I had filled myself with taste-testing everything, Alex didn't say anything about dinner. Everyone in this room was full, trying many spoons from thousands of bowls. After transferring everything into my inventory, I mumbled, "I'm going to take a bath before I give them to Luke."

Hoping it would help, I bathed inside the elixirs instead of using water. Alex was right, I was using some of the elixirs wrong even though they were edible. I instantly regained most of my energy, changing into a nightgown that was placed near the bathtub. Once I was fully prepared, I knocked on Luke's bedroom door. When I opened the door, I found him reading his favourite research books on his bed, taking the time to relax.

"I brought dinner," I walked towards him, holding a tray of food.

Luke placed his book down, observing me climb onto his bed after placing the tray on his blanket. I scooped a spoon of soup, trying to imitate his actions again, "I have more than yesterday. Alex helped me this time."

"I made sure they were edible," Alex joined us in the room.

Since Luke trusted Alex, he accepted all the spoons I passed to him, opening his mouth each time. I wondered if he was really hungry, giving all the empty bowls to the servants. When I started to move onto using the creams, Alex stopped me, "you have to wipe the impurities off him first. This is what we have always done for you."

I nodded my head, watching Alex place Luke's shirt off and do some of the work for me. It was nice having help, only doing the things I expected to do. Since I had practice on applying the creams and oils on Luke yesterday, it didn't feel as hard, even though it took me several hours. I had to admit, I had no talent in taking care of others when they got sick. Alex had to show me multiple times how to effectively massage my support items into Luke better.

"Did you work today?" I wondered why he wasn't recovering faster.

"I didn't, I stayed in bed," Luke tried to hide his cold.

"Is the medicine helping?" I hoped the support items were working.

"I think I'll fully recover by tomorrow," he was impressed by them.

My mouth wouldn't close, finding myself about to get hunted for another day. Luke's predictions were nearly one hundred percent accurate, using every single input that existed. How was I going to survive through three more rounds tomorrow? My eyes welled with tears, eventually streaming down my face, "are you sure? What if I use heal on you? Will you recover faster?"

Luke seemed stunned, knowing my intense dislike for him. If he recovered, it meant he would be returning everything back to normal. However, he didn't know I was doing everything for my legendary item. I clasped onto his hands, hoping for better news, "I have enough mana, I bȧrėly used any today."

"I'll make sure to rest more," he tried to comfort me.

"You haven't been resting? I told you to stop working! I can do some of your work," I began to get angry.

"Give me all your research books," I gestured when he continued to stay silent.

I had my life on the line here and he wasn't completely resting? I did think it was suspicious, looking at him holding himself back from coughing in front of me. Alex didn't take Luke's side, knowing how hard I worked in producing the medicine. I turned to Alex, "can you take all his work and research books away from him? He doesn't deserve them!"

"Rika worked really hard in collecting the herbs and synthesizing the medicine together," Alex agreed, acknowledging my efforts.