"Primary Magic Potion: Talent Promotion (D)."
"Limited User: Arya."
"Effect: 5% chance of increasing the Talent level of a user possessing an E-tier Talent."
"Description: Remarkable. Truly remarkable. Someone actually conceived of using their own blood as the key ingredient in a potion. Such a person is either a genius on the brink of discovery or a madman unrestrained by common sense. Yet it is undeniable that whoever produced this potion has already begun grasping the true essence of Alchemy."
"Ha!"
As soon as the appraisal glasses completed their analysis, Arya froze, staring at the floating lines of text. A heartbeat later, a wide grin spread across her face. She tossed the stirring rod aside, raised both arms high, and erupted into ecstatic laughter.
"Hahahahaha! It's done! It's finally done! I actually succeeded! I'm a genius!"
Then—
Ding!
"Your developed item 'Magic Potion: Talent Promotion' has been acknowledged by the Will of the Karim World. The Will of the Karim World hereby grants you the World Title: 'Witch of the High Tower'."
The celestial voice echoed crisply in her ears. Arya's laughter cut off instantly.
Acknowledged by the Will of the Karim World?
World Title: Witch of the High Tower?
She didn't fully understand the implications. But one thing was obvious—
The potion she created was undeniably a success.
Bang!
Just as the realization settled in, Arya's body suddenly lost all strength. She collapsed to the floor, eyes fluttering shut as consciousness slipped away.
"Chirp!"
"Chirp— chirp, chirp!"
Gang Emima, who had been enthusiastically stomping words on its favorite magic desk "game," jumped in fright at the sudden crash coming from the Alchemy Workshop.
Its large, round eyes blinked in confusion.
After a moment of hesitation, it hopped clumsily down from the desk, only to tumble into a messy roll before scrambling to its feet again. With tiny, determined steps, it scurried straight toward the workshop.
"Chirp, chirp— chirp!"
The sight of Arya lying motionless on the ground made Gang Emima panic. It rushed forward, rubbing its feathery head anxiously against her cheek and pecking her lightly in an attempt to wake her.
But Arya showed no response.
Even more frantic, Gang Emima paced in circles around her, its wings flapping helplessly. It hopped onto her stomach, bounced twice, and chirped urgently—but still no reaction.
Only when it noticed the steady rise and fall of Arya's breathing did some of its panic fade. She was alive. Just unconscious.
It made sense.
Arya hadn't slept in days. She had been working relentlessly without rest. Now that she had finally completed her potion, her taut nerves must have snapped all at once.
Of course she would collapse into deep sleep.
At that moment, the same majestic voice echoed into Gang Emima's ears.
"Congratulations to individual 'Arya' for successfully developing the 'Magic Potion: Talent Promotion'. The Will of the Karim World hereby grants her the World Title: 'Witch of the High Tower'."
"Due to the outstanding contributions of individual 'Arya', the Blue Star population has received global recognition from the Will of the Karim World. The World Title system is now activated. Any individual who makes extraordinary contributions acknowledged by the world will receive an appropriate Title."
Gang Emima, of course, understood none of this divine proclamation.
After confirming that Arya was safe, it turned toward the alchemical stone slab still burning with controlled fire. It hopped off Arya's stomach, waddled over, and examined the flames with a tilt of its head.
Then, with all the confidence of a creature that had absolutely no idea what it was doing—
It stepped on the slab.
Crack!
The fire extinguished instantly, and the stone slab split down the middle.
Gang Emima squeaked in alarm.
But after a moment, it simply forgot about it.
Instead, it turned around, hurried downstairs, and dragged—quite heroically and with much effort—the small makeshift bed Arya had crafted for it. Towel and all, it hauled the bed back into the workshop, placed it over Arya like a blanket, and curled up right on top of it.
Within moments, the exhausted creature fell asleep.
The Toy Desk Explodes into Chaos
Gang Emima might not have understood the celestial proclamation, but the humans watching through the magic interfaces certainly did.
The chat at the "toy desk" instantly erupted.
"What did the world will mean just now?"
"Talent Promotion? Magic Potion? What's happening?"
"I'm a linguistics major, and I didn't understand anything either!"
"No way! There's an actual Alchemist in that district! She sells potions—super expensive ones!"
"Yes! Arya from our district is cunning as heck! Her Magic Potions and Healing Potions cost a fortune!"
"Wait—THERE ARE ALCHEMISTS IN THIS WORLD?"
"Magic Potions? Healing Potions? What kind of fantasy setting is this?"
Someone sighed deeply.
"It's normal. We have an Alchemist in our area too—Miss Elisa. She doesn't charge as outrageously as yours though."
Another replied:
"One Magic Point for one basic potion. One Life Point for two units. Total scam."
"That's insane. Those things don't even cost much to make."
"We don't even have one in our district…"
"+1"
"+1"
Someone tried to redirect the topic.
"Guys, are we ignoring something important? WORLD WILL. WORLD TITLE. HELLO?"
"Besides being jealous, what do you expect me to say?"
Another user typed excitedly:
"What about the Magic Potion for Talent Promotion?"
"I want it."
"Same! If I were still on Blue Star, I'd pay 100 million for it!"
"100 million? Dream on. With a 5% success rate? Try higher."
"Yes, but this is a Talent-upgrading potion acknowledged by the world will, and 5% is insanely high!"
"Fine, 200 million?"
"Hate to break it to you, but none of us have money. We're stuck on the Karim Continent."
Someone noticed something interesting.
"Wait—the description says it only works for E-tier Talent users, meaning it upgrades to D-tier. Doesn't that imply Arya is an E-tier as well?"
"Oh… true."
"I'm E-tier too. I wonder if she'll sell it to me…"
"Are you kidding? It'll cost a fortune. And Arya seems pretty sharp."
One participant sighed dramatically.
"Honestly, I've only been in the Karim World for about a month, but it feels like we're all playing different games."
"What do you mean?"
"You won't believe it. A butcher in our district transformed her shelter into a full farm. A literal farm."
"Oh, that's nothing. My neighbor did the same. She never leaves her shelter—she just farms, harvests, and sells."
"See? We're fighting monsters and struggling to survive, while others are playing Harvest Moon."
"Hahaha! So true!"
But the cheerful chatter soon faded as someone reminded the group:
"Everyone, focus. The Mana Tide ends in one hour."
The chat instantly fell into uneasy silence.
Each person stared at their interface, anxiety gnawing at them as they waited for the tide to pass.
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