Chapter 288 – Still No Success

Chapter 288 – Still No Success

Aiko prepared Herb after Herb. It took her a while to get used to the counting and everything surrounding it.

The essence of the first Herb was only successfully created after 20 tries.

The second took her 50 tries. Aiko wasted a lot of Herbs since she didn't understand the counting mechanism. Not to mention that at times her breathing would speed up or slow down when she was too focused, throwing her off the right path.

Aiko had to get used to staying calm and maintaining her breath under these stressful conditions. It was not easy, but Aiko was able to somewhat manage.

The Pill Cauldron's lid shook. The Herbs' essences were in the mixing stage.

Now Aiko had to maintain this kind of flame for at least 2-3 hours to finish the Pill. The important part was to keep the flame steady. She could still ruin the Herbs if she was not careful about it.

Likewise, Aiko could not use Divine Sense since it could ruin the ingredients, so she had to keep slapping the Pill Cauldron in order to mix it properly.

She could not shake the Pill Cauldron since it was too hot and Aiko could get burned by it.

Slapping it was the only way to keep the essence inside rolling so it would mix properly!

The first 5 minutes were the hardest for Aiko, but once she got used to the amount of Beast Core Energy that she had to deliver, things got much easier.

Now was the second challenge for Aiko and that was... to not get bored!

She had to watch the Pill Cauldron for hours!

Aiko didn't want to ruin those materials, but that didn't mean it was fun watching the Pill Cauldron! It was boring as fuck!

Mei nudged her side and Aiko almost jumped up.

"M-Mei!" Aiko yelped. She didn't want Mei to tease her right now as everything worked quite well!

"En~?" Mei teased Aiko. It was no problem wasting their materials and this was the perfect opportunity for revenge.

Aiko was defenceless and vulnerable. She finally achieved something, but that devil Mei tried to ruin it by teasing her!

"I won't forget this!" Aiko yelped.

"Yes~?" Mei kept teasing Aiko. She didn't go as far as teasing, but there was just something so intoxicating about the current Aiko.

Thanks to the fact that Aiko worked with a lot of Herbs and focused on refining the Pill. Her body leaked a very pleasant smell that had the ability to intoxicate others, but also enhance the effects of the Pill!

Mei was completely unaware of this as she had only met the Dew Fox in passing. This was a lethal trap for anyone who watched the Dew Fox refine Pills!

Mei hugged Aiko, making her scream and yelp from the sensation.

"M-Mei! It will blow up! I can't focus!" Aiko was almost crying from Mei's ruthless teasing.

"It's fine. I already set up a barrier." Mei said hazily, her head burrowed into Aiko's neck nook.

Aiko completely lost control from the sensation of the warm breath on her neck.

The essence inside the Pill Cauldron is destabilized thanks to the sudden drop in temperature.

A translucent barrier appeared around the duo protecting from the explosion.

*Boom*

The explosion shook the Grandmaster's Abode. Yet none rushed inside.

They were already aware that Aiko might cause explosions and the connection from Aiko didn't weaken, so they were not worried.

Especially the Grandmaster, who was watching with glee as Mei was on the offensive.

'I was not aware that Dew Foxes could be so beautiful and bewitching.' Dai Lu narrowed her eyes. She could hear Aiko's and Mei's thoughts, but that didn't mean she understood what caused them.

She watched Aiko panic as Mei kept hugging her.

This resistance lasted for a few minutes before Aiko gave up and surrendered to her fate. A fate of being hugged by Mei for a prolonged time in an embarrassing position...

...

In 2 years, the Secret Realm will open and many individuals will be allowed to enter, but the numbers are still limited.

Thanks to Aiko's and Mei's business. Not only did they secure the limited places, but they secured them for Blood Fox and Twins too!

Now the whole team except the Princess would be allowed to head inside, but Aiko had her own plan for the Princess as she could just stuff her in her tails.

It was an unspoken secret that there was a Human living inside the Fox Village, but since she never left the Grandmaster's Abode, nobody tried to go after her.

This saved a lot of trouble for everyone and everything was overly peaceful.

There were some factions that tried to ruin Aiko's business while she was learning things, but Grandmaster and the Muscle Peak easily took care of them.

Aiko was fine and could focus on refining again, but...

"No hugging! No tickling! No breathing on my neck! No smooth-talking!......"

Aiko scolded Mei and made special rules just for her, so that she wouldn't end up as a stuffed animal being hugged for days!

Mei kept nodding, but Aiko felt like this was a pointless endeavour.

...

Aiko started refining again. She already got used to the timing and everything, so the first part went smoothly. The second part likewise went smoothly.

Her [Alchemy Mastery] reached level 5, but was stuck there. Aiko was unable to advance in that way and was slightly upset.

Mei did her best to just comb Aiko's tails as to take her mind off of things. Aiko's scent was a bit too addictive to her for some reason and Mei didn't like that.

However, she had to keep close to Aiko, so that she wouldn't accidentally get hurt thanks to another explosion.

The Pill Refining advanced smoothly and Aiko was in the endgame.

"Do you still remember the hand signs?" Mei asked gently.

"En." Aiko nodded. She was already preparing her hands to do the hand signs.

Mei nodded and left Aiko be. This would be another learning experience for her, but she was happy that Aiko was not yet discouraged!

Aiko slapped the Pill Cauldron after making the elaborate hand signs.

The Pill Cauldron's lid flew up.

Aiko could not wait and looked inside to see the Pills, but just as she looked inside... soot blew into her face.

"AGHHHHHHHH! MY EYESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!" Aiko started screaming.

Mei did not expect this outcome. She knew that those Pills were ruined already, but she didn't expect Aiko to just shove her head inside just to look at them.

Aiko was rolling around and in pain, thanks to the soot getting into her eyes and covering her face with fox ears.

Mei applied [Clean] on Aiko and she stopped rolling around.

Mei came closer to Aiko and she heard her sniffing.

"I hate this!" Aiko was crying. She spent so many hours preparing this shit, only for soot to come out!

Mei was startled. She didn't expect Aiko to cry over this.

Aiko's face was covered with her hands as she sobbed.

Mei leaned above Aiko to soothe her, but she didn't expect Aiko's shocking critical hit.

Aiko's face was covered with tears. She looked like a fragile beauty.

Something about Aiko was strange, but Mei was already intoxicated by that sweet scent and this fragile display.

Mei slowly leaned in... only to snap out of her daze.

"Y-y-you should g-go outside as I clean this place." Mei's was completely red and she kept stammering.

Aiko blinked a few times as she couldn't understand what Mei meant, since she was the one who left the room...