The Messenger of Death

-Boom!!

For the umpteenth time, the contents in the cauldron exploded and Al flew and crashed on the wall.

"Why won't this stupid wall break!?" He punched the wall that he crashed on after every explosion. He was enraged by his failure and he needed something to take it out on.

Al had done a lot of things different, he changed the temperature of the flames hitting up the cauldron, and he followed Nana's advice and poured in 6 drops of the nether-jellyfish's tears in the cauldron. He even attempted to continue after putting in only a drop of the snake vine nectar into the cauldron and skipping the second drop. But as soon as the third ingredient landed in his cauldron, it caused an explosion.

['Al, would you stop acting like a mad scientist!'] Alex demanded.

But his alter was too engulfed in his thoughts. Like he had been doing for the past hour, Al decided to try again. He washed the cauldron and put it on fire again. He picked the bottle where the nether-jellyfish's tears were and noticed that the bottle was empty.

['Al!!'] Alex called out again.

"What!?" Al finally responded.

['Since you have already expended the nether-jellyfish's tears, just head back to the library get some more then ask Nana to show you the basics.']

"If you are that eager to see the woman again, then do it yourself." He said furiously.

-Switch.

Al switched with Alex. "Al, what's your problem?" Alex was surprised to see that he was back in control. He didn't expect Al to switch back with him so early.

His alter ignored his call.

"Arrgghh!" The throbbing pain from his injuries assaulted his brain and caused a frown to surface on his face.

"Goddamn it, Al, Aren't you going to continue!? Hell!! I feel like I got run over by a hover truck over and over again. Ahhh." He cried out in pain.

"Al!" Alex called again but still no response from his alter.

['Let him be, Alex. When he's better he will speak up.'] Lex said gently.

"He didn't have to treat my body like this," Alex whispered.

['Alex, head to the library and restock for Al. Only he knows the formula and steps to make the poison. When he's ready he will talk. While you are also there, you can ask Nana for guidance on alchemy.'] Xander suggested.

"Okay, just give me a minute to rest… I feel a swelling coming up on my back." He sat on the ground, waiting for the pain he was feeling to subside…

When the pain of the injury had subsided Alex left the rented lab with his properties and went back to the library.

He pushed the doors open and stepped in.

"You are back, so quick?" Nana's voice reached his ears and she appeared in front of him not long after that.

"Were you successful?" She flashed a knowing smile at Alex.

"No, I wasn't successful, and some of my ingredients have been exhausted," Alex said stiffly.

"I thought so," Nana uttered and her knowing smile only got wider. "You didn't even have the time to get cleaned up, look at you. Would you like me to help you get cleaned up?" She walked closer and checked his pulse.

"No please," Alex said immediately.

"You did well in not inhaling the smoke from what you were making. There is no toxic substance in you." She let go of his wrist.

"Yeah." Alex shook his head a bit, a headache had started to find its way into his mind.

"So you are here to get more ingredients?"

"Yes, and I would also like to ask you for a favor. In return for the favor, I would do whatever you want me to do." Alex put a serious front on his face as he spoke.

"A favorrr." She dragged.

"Tell me what the favor is first before I agree to anything." Nana looked back at him with the same level of seriousness Alex was showing.

"I would like you to teach me the basics of alchemy."

"Just that?" She sighed. "I thought you were going to ask me for sex, I was already considering agreeing to it."

Alex's demeanor didn't waver even after what Nana had said. If it was Al, he would have been tempted by it, but Alex wasn't. He stared at her with all seriousness present.

Nana chuckled. "I shouldn't have threatened you earlier today, now you don't even want to respond to my jokes. If it's just teaching you the basics that I can do. But you would have to pay for my time." She stated.

"No, problem. How much do you want?"

"10 blue LD-ECs." Nana got ready for Alex's negotiations on the price.

"Okay." Alex agreed without a second thought.

"Huh? You are not going to try and reduce the price?" She was surprised, just a few hours ago she saw Alex as a stingy person when it came to his wealth.

"Did I make a mistake when I checked your pulse? A stingy person doesn't turn generous in a few hours." She wondered.

"Here are the energy crystals." Alex handed the amount she asked for to her.

Nana was still confused by his sudden nonchalance towards energy crystals. "Are you trying to scam me?" She collected the crystals and examined every one of them carefully. "They are all real." She looked surprised.

"I thought I was a good judge when it came to judging people's characters, but you keep on telling me otherwise with your attitude. That only makes me more interested in you."

['Crazy woman.'] Al growled.

"Alright, since I have collected the payment we can start now. What do you want to know first?" Nana snapped out of her skeptical thoughts on Alex.

"Know this, you cannot stop the lesson until I have finished teaching you everything about the basics, and also the important thing is, there's no refund." She added.

"I have no problem with that. I also want to know about the basics too. Uh, we can start at the very beginning I guess." Alex was a bit unsure.

"Hahaha." Nana started to giggle.

"So you knew nothing about alchemy and you went ahead to make something very dangerous to someone of your strength. I don't know if I should call that naivety or stupidity, or maybe the two. Suicidal perhaps."

['B*tch!!'] Al cursed at her for calling him naïve and stupid.

"Alright, the first thing I need to know before I proceed to teach you anything, is how strong your telekinesis is."

"Telekinesis? What for?"

"I see, a complete beginner. Do you at least know what telekinesis is?"

"Yes, I do."

"Either way I'm still going to give a brief explanation of what it is. Telekinesis is the ability to create motion in objects without contact or other physical means. It is born out of willpower.

At a stage in the journey of cultivation, you will have to develop your willpower whether you are an alchemist, runemaster, or a weapon Dao cultivator." Nana started to walk around Alex as she explained.

"It is an essential. Now to the reason why I asked how strong your telekinesis is. It is because alchemists, most especially, need strong telekinesis and stable mental strength when producing any kind of supplement.

Here's why. The oddities and structures of mythical plants and items are intricate. So intricate that if it comes in contact with something that is not of its nature; it can be air, water, germs, dirt, or human skin – its basic structure changes and a little change can lead to failure. In your case, the explosions I assume happened to you. With the ability telekinesis, all of this can be avoided." She stopped walking around him and stretched her hand out.

A brown hard-cover book as thick as the average male adult's arm, from one of the shelves in the distance, quickly flew towards Nana and landed on the hand she stretched out.

Alex watched in amazement. Although he was not one to get blown away easily, since he had arrived in this world Alex had found out that he was easily amazed by whatever piqued his interest.

"With it, you can use your mind to move, protect, or regulate the degree of heat your ingredients in your cauldron comes in contact with. That way you can prevent explosions from occurring and also reduce the risk of failure. But to be able to do that, you also need to know the composition, effects, and defects of the ingredient you use. Yes, alchemy takes a lot of practice, research, testing, and failure before success. You would have to subject yourself to a lot of studying.

That is why a lot of people avoid learning alchemy; perseverance, determination, and intelligence is not an attribute that is seen many people, and that is also why alchemists and runemasters are glorified, respected individuals and are well taken care of wherever they go to." She finished her explanation of the importance of telekinesis.