Chapter 332 Waters Brewing



[Ace POV],

After deciding to give blue a bath while I had one myself in the bathroom located in the basement, I was able to get a first hand feeling of having to bathe a pet and it was a good experience I'd say.

At first when blue saw the water running from the tap into the bathtub in the bathroom, he just kept looking, unaware of the fact that it was for him.

Things really changed when I suddenly placed him into the water in the bathtub after it had reached a sufficient level.

To this, blue started to trash around and spilled water around and unfortunately for him, due to his aching body, his actions only resulted in him sobbing later.

While I wasn't the one in pain, I wasn't spared from the stress either as I had to figure out a way to show blue that water wasn't something dangerous.

This was incredibly stressful because it took quite a while before blue hot got what I was saying and before that even happened, I had to listen to his wretched cries.

I tried to calm Blue down by talking to him in a soothing voice and stroking his back gently. 

This was something I had seen a few times on the television and in real life so I adopted it.

After a while of doing this, he seemed to relax a bit and I was able to proceed with the bath. I started to lather him up with some liquid shop I had brought from the store and he began to whine again. I could tell he didn't like the feeling of being scrubbed. It was either this or his aching body prevented him from liking the sensation at all.

I continued to talk to him and let him know that everything was going to be okay. 

It was really strange and I felt a little odd whenever I spoke these words considering I copied them from what I had seen in the past.

It was a new experience and I did not know how I felt about it.

As I rinsed off the liquid soap, I noticed that Blue's feathers were starting to look much cleaner. I could tell he was feeling better too, as his cries had turned into contented purring.

Once the bath was over, I wrapped Blue up in a towel and gave him a good rub down. He seemed to love it and I couldn't help but nod at how strangely satisfying he looked. 

'Seems like the gryphon soup is on hold at the moment'

From all that had just happened, I was oddly satisfied that I had taken the time to bathe him and show him that water wasn't so bad after all.

As I dried Blue off, I couldn't help but think about how much work it must be to take care of a pet on a daily basis. 

It was really stressful and the fact that the gryphon wasn't useful to me yet made me wonder if all that I was doing was worth it.

Caring for a pet, uhm, beast, was definitely a big responsibility. 

After the bath, I carried Blue outside of the bathroom to the basement to feed him but by the time I had reached my lab, I noticed that Blu had fallen asleep in my arms at some point so I made my way to my bedroom and settled him onto his bed. 

It seems like he was still exhausted from everything that had happened in the true world and from the experience he just had and quickly fell asleep. 

I watched him for a while, and after seeing that everything was fine with him and nothing appeared wrong, I made my way back to the bathroom to have my own bath.

********

After taking my bath, I made my way back to my lab where I decided to first eat something before starting another concocting session.

The clothes I currently had on were similar to the last one I wore in the sense that it was also casual and did not restrict my movements or make me uncomfortable.

Although alchemy was like magic science and perhaps physics, at least I did not need to wear a white robe.

As I thought of these things as I ate the food I had brought out from my storage ring that were beginning to taste bland at this point, I began to wonder if monster meat was edible.

This was something I was genuinely curious about but had no answer to since I haven't eaten one or seen anyone doing so.

I made a mental note to research more about it later and continued with my meal. As I ate, my mind wandered to the possibilities of what I could create with my alchemy skills. I had already made a few pills and items that could be useful in various situations, but I wanted to push myself further.

I needed time and experience of course but that did not stop me from thinking about what else I could do.

The idea of creating something powerful and game-changing was interesting, but also stressful to bother about. I was surely going to fail a lot but what if I created something but it was untimely useless? This was likely not possible since I know I would surely have researched and thought a little about something I wanted to create before actually creating it.

These were the kind of thoughts that were running through my head as I continued to eat my food but while I did know that these were things I had to think about, it was only something that would become relevant in the future.

After I finished eating, I rested for a while before getting back to concocting rank 1 mana pills.

'Let see how many I can make this time'

*******

As I gathered the necessary materials and set up my alchemy tools, I made sure I was free of distracting thoughts. Creating rank 1 mana pills was no easy feat, and I had failed several times before. But I was determined to get it right again this time.

I carefully measured out the ingredients and followed the instructions step by step. I focused all my attention on the process, trying to make sure every detail was perfect.

I had experiences with attempting to create a rank 1 mana pill so the whole process was rather smooth.

The question was if I would be able to successfully make one in the end or not.

*******

[Third Person POV],

What Ace did not know was that while he was concocting pills in the alternate dimension, an event that was soon going to be related to him was about to take place.

In a certain forest, two females stood opposite each other like they were in some kind of stand off.

If Ace was here, he will recognize them as the first ranked humans he encountered in the true world and if Andrew Dawn was here, he might have also been able to recognize these two females as the ones he had seen close to his rival king whose daughter got affected from his attack.

The twin sisters, Luna and Aurora, stood facing each other in the middle of the dense forest, each of them clad in their usual robes. The air around them grew colder as they prepared to begin their training session.

Luna was the oldest of the twins while Aurora was the youngest and they currently appeared to be training.

Luna was the first to make a move, sending a stream of ice shards towards her sister. Aurora quickly countered with a wall of ice, deflecting the shards and sending them scattering across the forest floor.

The two sisters continued to trade blows, their movements fluid and graceful. Luna would create ice spikes that Aurora would easily melt away with a wave of her hand, and in turn, Aurora would form ice daggers that Luna would shatter with a well-placed punch.

Their powers were equally matched, as they were both with the same jobs and abilities. They had been training together for years and were still together even after the apocalypse and their bond as sisters made their movements almost telepathic.

As they continued to fight, the air around them grew colder and colder, and their breaths became visible puffs of mist. But neither sister seemed to mind the freezing temperature. They were too focused on honing their skills and besting the other.

It was clear that they were evenly matched, but Luna was determined to come out on top this time. She launched a barrage of ice shards at Aurora, forcing her sister to create a dome of ice to shield herself. But Luna wasn't done yet. She sent a surge of ice towards the dome, hoping to break through and catch Aurora off guard.

But Aurora was quick to react. She sent a wave of heat towards Luna's attack, melting it away and causing Luna to stumble backwards. It was clear that Aurora had the upper hand this time.

The two sisters stood facing each other once again, their breathing heavy and their bodies covered in a thin layer of frost. But there was a smile on their faces, and they knew that they had both grown stronger from their training.

"Good job, sis," Luna said, a grin on her face.

"You too," Aurora replied, her own grin just as wide.

As both sisters were about to hug and call it a day, a Jade stone that had been tied to their wrist suddenly vibrated at the same time and a voice came out of it.

"Luna/Aurora, please return to the settlement, the king awaits you", the voice said before disappearing.

Seeing this, both sisters wondered why they had been called but neither hesitated and immediately made their way back home.