The medicinal ingredients required for an apprentice-grade Fire-element Detoxification Potion were, in truth, extremely simple.
To prepare a single potion, one needed approximately ten grams of Yellow Thorns, ten grams of Clover, five grams of Amy Grass, five grams of White Snow Flower, and one hundred milliliters of Spring of Magic. These ingredients were not rare or hard to find. In fact, all of them were already included among the hundred-plus pounds of herbs Arya had collected earlier.
Two hours passed as she worked steadily, and soon two pots of Magic Potion were successfully completed. After that, another six hours went by, during which a pale-yellow Detoxification Potion was finally refined.
Without much ceremony, Arya tossed one bottle of the potion toward Natasha and only then allowed herself a moment to breathe.
Arya asked calmly, "How's the effect?"
Natasha tested the potion's effects and nodded slightly. "The poison has been removed. I already used a Healing Potion, but I still need to rest for a while."
"That's good," Arya replied.
Even though this was a world governed by magic, there were still clear differences between types of injuries. Healing Potions could restore health and instantly repair external wounds, but lost blood and mental trauma could not be recovered so easily. Those kinds of damage required the body and mind to recover naturally over time.
"Ah…" Arya let out a quiet yawn.
After receiving positive feedback from Natasha, she decided to take a shower and get some rest.
"Chirp… chirp…"
Just as Arya came out of the bathroom, she heard faint chirping sounds coming from inside the room. The sound resembled the weak cries of a small chick.
At that moment, she remembered the tiny creature she had rescued earlier.
Floating lightly across the floor, she found the little chick flapping weakly on a towel. After a full day and night of careful care, along with two Healing Potions, it had completely recovered.
Its body was covered in soft, grayish-white down, fluffy and delicate, giving it an oddly adorable appearance that reminded Arya of a round, cottony toy.
"Oh, so you survived," Arya murmured.
The chick stared at her blankly for a second before wobbling unsteadily in her direction.
Arya reached out, picked it up gently, and pressed it against the small screen device.
If the screen had been able to identify the corpse of the Volcanic Worm before, then surely it could identify this little creature as well. She wanted to know exactly what it was. If she was going to raise a creature that might turn around and bite her in the future, she wanted to be prepared.
"Chirp…"
The small creature struggled slightly against the glowing screen.
The result appeared:
Name: Aurora Snowy Owl
Racial Talent: Aurora (B)
Skill: Unawakened
Description: Aurora Snowy Owls are extremely fast-flying nocturnal demons. They can survive almost anywhere in the world and are highly adaptable night-hunting raptors. This individual is only a chick and is still several months away from full maturity.
"…A B-grade Talent?" Arya muttered.
An owl's natural talent was stronger than her own.
She suddenly felt a faint sense of malice from the world itself.
"I didn't expect you, a little fluffball, to have a B-grade Talent," Arya said quietly. "And Snowy Owl… so you're really an owl?"
She recalled a movie she had once watched, where a snowy owl named Hedwig appeared. But no matter how hard she looked at this round, grayish little creature, she could not connect it to the majestic white bird she remembered.
Perhaps it was because this one was still a baby.
Still, it was clear that the demons of the Karim Continent had little in common with the animals she knew from her old world.
Arya fell into silent thought.
She had originally wanted a test subject for her potions.
Instead, she had rescued a "nocturnal raptor."
Should she throw it away?
It was an unstable factor. Right now, it was harmless and weak, but no one could predict what it might become after it fully matured.
"Chirp…"
The Aurora Snowy Owl, still pressed against the device, suddenly twisted its head in an unnatural way, rotating nearly one hundred and eighty degrees, and began rubbing its face against Arya's cheek.
"So your head can turn that far," Arya muttered.
"Hmph. Don't think acting cute will make me lower my guard."
With a light snort, Arya opened her friends list and found Rogers.
Arya: "I need a plate of raw wolf meat strips."
Rogers: "Didn't you just eat some earlier?"
Arya: "It's for feeding a small animal."
Rogers: "Oh."
Not long after, Rogers delivered a plate of finely cut wolf meat. Since he knew it was for a small creature, he had been especially careful to slice the meat into tiny strips.
Arya placed the plate in front of the Snowy Owl and allowed it to eat freely.
Upon seeing such a large serving of food, the chick chirped twice at Arya, then fell silent.
Instead of eating, it stared at her.
"Hey. Do you want me to feed you too?" Arya asked in disbelief.
The chick continued staring at her with what looked like a strangely intelligent expression.
With a sigh, Arya fashioned a pair of simple chopsticks from thin twigs. She had originally made them to wipe her mouth, but now they proved to be unexpectedly useful.
She picked up meat strips one by one and fed them to the chick.
To be honest, Arya had once planned to dig up earthworms instead. She had been very good at raising chickens in her childhood. She once bought a brightly colored chick for five yuan outside her school and raised it for a while.
It had eventually grown up.
Then it had died.
That memory still felt oddly vivid.
But now that she knew this creature was not a simple ground-dwelling bird, but a flying owl demon, she felt conflicted. Part of her did not want to raise it.
However, another thought soon followed.
If it could really fly when it grew up, and if she used her own weight-reduction magic, wouldn't it be convenient for travel?
With that thought in mind, she decided to keep it for now and observe.
It would only be a few months, after all.
She believed that whether it was a demon or an animal, the chance of it being ungrateful was much lower than with humans.
If it truly turned on her one day, she could always hand it over to Rogers and have it cooked.
At that moment, she realized she had cut the meat too finely. The chick could swallow a full mouthful in a single bite.
With no choice, Arya continued feeding it carefully, one strip at a time.
While doing so, she opened the exchange system and searched for a book on "Demonology." Compared to her own guesses and theories, the knowledge of the natives of this world would surely be more reliable.
She searched for some time but found nothing.
In the end, she posted a trade request.
Request: Demonology book
Offering: 10 bottles of +50 Magic Potions
By the time she was finished, the little Snowy Owl had eaten the entire plate of meat without leaving a single scrap.
"I didn't realize such a small body could eat so much," Arya said with a faint smile. "You finished half a pound."
She then stood up and prepared to go upstairs to rest.
"Chirp, chirp, chirp…"
Seeing Arya about to leave, the Snowy Owl became anxious. It chirped loudly and even nipped at her finger with its tiny beak. Its short legs flapped continuously as if trying to climb onto her hand.
"…You want to come with me?" Arya asked softly.
Although she didn't understand its language, she made a guess and extended her hand.
The chick immediately hopped onto her palm.
She picked up the towel that had served as its bedding and carried it upstairs with her.
On a quiet bookshelf, she made a simple nest for it. This, she decided, would be its place to rest from now on.
The small owl curled up comfortably, its soft feathers rising and falling as it breathed.
Arya finally allowed herself to relax.
For now, she thought, she would keep it.
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