Hero Of Harmony

While in my room, sitting on my bed, I crossed my legs and used this time to meditate on my mana, something I'm not really fond of doing, but the skill [Meditation] is very beneficial, so I wish to level it up, in turn making it even more potent than it already is.

////////////////////

Meditation–lvl3 (Uncommon): Active [Grants a 15% increase in mana rejuvenation while meditating.]

////////////////////

Although, unfortunately, it's not much of an increase, and since it only works while meditating, in nearly every case, it won't be helpful in battles; still, it's only at level three, and I haven't upgraded it yet. Besides, Master has said that there are skills that grant a passive increase in mana rejuvenation, so it's not too big of a deal, and until I learn one or get my hands on a skill crystal, I'll be focusing on improving this.

'Alright, I've been meditating for about an hour; that should be enough for today; anymore, and I might go crazy from boredom.' Thought Alexander, yawning as he hopped off his bed and exited his room.

Since I didn't have anything planned for today, and I had no intention of training since I'd already taken a bath twice, I just used the remaining sunlight to relax, assist Master, though I didn't provide much help, and talk with Trina, who, for the record is very lively. Once nighttime arrived, I spent a little more time with my lovely Master before eventually heading to sleep, hoping I wouldn't have to experience that nightmare tonight.

'Goodnight, Mother; goodnight, Trina.' Thought Alexander as he hugged his blanket while slowly drifting to sleep.

'Goodnight, Master!' Said Trina quietly in excitement as she watched Alexander peacefully sleep.

___

___

"So you've finally succeeded, Master?" Asked Alexander curiously as he folded his arms while looking at the vial of reddish liquid in Lavender's hands.

"Yes! After several months of painstaking effort, I finally achieved it!" Declared Lavender in pure joy and excitement while carefully holding the vial in her hands as if it were something precious.

Looking at the vial, I activated [Heroes Gaze] and scanned its status, only to be slightly dumbfounded by what I saw.

////////////////////

Potion of Scaled-Defense

Rank: Uncommon

Description: Turns the user's skin into scales for a short time, greatly increasing defense.

////////////////////

'T-That's it? Master is so excited over something like this?' Thought Alexander in confusion, though he opted to stay quiet as he did not want his truthful words to possibly dampen Lavender's joy.

Unluckily, it seemed like Master saw straight through me as she practically read my mind.

"I know what you're thinking, Alexander, and yes, while the potion itself isn't anything impressive, it's the ingredients in the potion that make it unique and special." Stated Lavender calmly with a large smile as she attempted to explain to Alexander.

"I don't mean to be rude, Master, but didn't you just use the carapace of an alpha stone centipede and some plants? I don't understand how those ingredients are special or unique." Replied Alexander in confusion with a raised eyebrow while glancing at Lavender, who gave him a look of pity.

"Haa, my poor dear disciple; too foolish to understand how great of an achievement I've accomplished." Said Lavender in a tone of pity as she shook her head, eliciting Alexanders' annoyance.

"Master, I'm not stupid; I'm just no Alchemist, so how am I supposed to know what you've just done is worthy of praise?" Said Alexander as he sighed while rubbing his nose.

"Relax, I'm merely joking, Alexander, sort of. Anyways, the reason it is special is that I used only Common grade resources, yet I managed to concoct an Uncommon rank potion. Of course, this has been achieved plenty of times in the past, but doing so isn't an easy feat at all; even the most experienced will find such a task challenging." Stated Lavender passionately while holding the vial closer to Alexander.

If she had said that at first, I would've praised or congratulated her, but after giving me the run-around and calling me foolish, I decided to say nothing; she deserved at least that much punishment.

"That's cool and all, Master, but here is the important question: does it work?" Questioned Alexander.

"Such a difficult person to please; if it were my friend, Kurama, she would've been very happy for me." Muttered Lavender in fake sadness, causing Alexander's face to twitch as he decided to ignore her comment.

"No, I don't know if that works, but isn't that why I have you here?" Added Lavender with a light smile as she outstretched her hand so Alexander could take the vial of reddish liquid.

"Wait a second, don't tell me the whole reason you summoned me to your office was so that I can test your potion, Master?" Questioned Alexander with a frown while intently eyeing Lavender, who looked away.

"Well, I was going to consume it, but I then realized I had a disciple with very potent vitality, and on the off chance you get very injured, you can always use your skill [Rebirth]." Replied Lavender softly while refusing to look Alexander in the eyes.

'Although I knew Master could be shameless sometimes, this is a new high even for her! Asking her own disciple to consume an untested potion is insane!' Thought Alexander with a sigh as he stared at Lavender's face.

"You, you're truly one of a kind, Master." Stated Alexander as he grabbed the vial from Lavender's hands, causing her to chuckle awkwardly.

Holding the vial of reddish liquid in my hands, I intently eyed it for a couple of seconds before sighing as I opened my mouth and consumed the contents of the vial, which, for the record, tasted disgusting; I had nearly spat it out, and if I did that I intended to aim for Master. After consuming the liquid, I didn't even need to wait a few seconds as I felt my body, partially my skin, heat up before, in a somewhat painful process, my skin started taking on a rough texture while progressively becoming more durable.

When the process was finally complete, and my body was no longer painful, I looked down at my arms, only to notice my skin had seemingly transformed into hardened scales, which weren't as hideous as I imagined they would be; granted, I greatly preferred my normal skin.

"So, how does it feel, Alexander? Make sure to tell me everything, and don't leave anything out." Said Lavender curiously as she grabbed her notebook and mana-powered pen, prepared to write notes.

As much as I found it funny to keep my mouth shut and not tell Master anything, that would've been a little rude; besides, my heart warned me against doing that, so I just informed her of everything that happened.

"The process was a little painful, and it caused my body to heat up slightly; my body feels much heavier, and other than that, I can't discern anything else." Said Alexander calmly as he approached a mirror and checked out his scaly body.

"Hmm, that's good; besides some slight pain, there are practically no side effects! Now we must wait for the effects to wear off, which normally takes about 10 minutes, so I'd expect the time to be around the same length as well." Remarked Lavender with a slight smile as she glanced at Alexander.

Just as Master said, after about nine minutes, the effects started wearing off, and thankfully, the process was relatively painless; in all honesty, the worst thing about the experience was the taste of the potion, which I purposely didn't say, as I intended to get a little revenge.

"Master, I notice you've made extra; seeing how there were no side effects, maybe you should try the potion. I'm sure you'll be able to discern more things than I." Stated Alexander with a slight grin, his words causing Lavender to frown.

"Hmm, well, you're not wrong; I've consumed tens of thousands of potions before, after all." Muttered Lavender while eyeing Alexander, his words filling her with suspicion, though she merely brushed it off.

As Master grabbed one of the extra potions, I watched how she downed the vial quickly, and seeing that, I couldn't help but smirk since I knew the flavor was utterly terrible; I've had a few potions before as well, and none of them tasted terrible. However, after noticing no reaction besides her green skin slowly morphing into scales, I was disappointed that my plan failed.

'Haa, I honestly should've expected that to happen.' Thought Alexander, glancing at Lavender, who suddenly opened her eyes and stood up.

"Everything was as you said, except you didn't mention the terrible taste; why is that?" Asked Lavender with a frown as she stared at Alexander, causing her to look more frightening than usual with her scaly body.

"Terrible taste? I don't know what you're talking about, Master; it tasted fine to me." Replied Alexander while scratching his head in confusion.

"You know, you've never been able to lie to me, Alexander; what makes you think now will be any different?" Questioned Lavender calmly while intently eyeing Alexander.

Seeing how I've been exposed, I attempted to use the skill [Blink] to teleport out of the tree house and run away; unfortunately, when I used the skill, I appeared only a few inches toward the left, filling me with confusion on why the skill hadn't worked.

"Now then, how should I punish you for tricking me?" Remarked Lavender with a dangerous smile as she grabbed a hold of Alexander's shoulder.

'Is this what it's like to have a Mother?' Thought Alexander with a defeated sigh, not knowing his guess wasn't too far off.