"Just now."
"Just...now," Aenea scowled, glancing between him and his impromptu workstation. She lifted up the tonic he'd left there for her, and her eyes widened. "After two glasses, you simply...learned it?"
"Yes," Felix said, a smile threatening the edges of his mouth. He clamped down on it. Seeing her flustered may be mean, but it was kinda fun. "Is that not normal?"
"How?"
"Perfect memory," Felix tapped his temple. "Makes repeating things faster. Easier, in a way. But mostly it was because I saw how you used fire Mana to dry out your marinated vine. That little revelation netted me the Skill"
Aenea insisted that they keep going. By her own admission, she found Felix intriguing. A far cry from the derision and suspicion she'd been treating him with, but Felix wouldn't have stayed for any of those reasons. Her good opinion of him wasn't exactly high on his 'Need To Have' list, but he had inadvertently found the craft itself fascinating. So many details, so many seemingly insiginificant steps that combined into a greater whole. It reminded him of sigaldry in that way.
And he had nothing better to do.
This time, Aenea taught him to make a Health Tonic. It was more difficult than the last by far, but the materials were plentiful, easy to replace if he screwed it up. This time Felix failed fourteen times before he finally got it right.
Alchemy is level 2!
"You've just gotten much more interesting, Fiend."
"Thank you?"
After that, he was put to work, mostly with the woman's Apprentices. Aenea was far too busy to actually teach him anything, but she had asked that he try and learn everything he can from her people. Felix went with the flow, and once Aenea left, learned that her Apprentice were all pretty cool. From a distance, he had assumed they were all Human and all female, but that clearly turned out to be wrong. He made a mental note to keep his Voracious Eye activated as often as possible.
Most of them were women and almost entirely Human, but there were two men in the group as well. Given how the Guild seemed to have a bit of a bias against non-Humans, Felix was even more surprised to see one of the men was an Elf. Said Apprentice approached him after his third hour. He was following another Apprentice around and watching her distill a Blindwart Salve, meant to cure basic aches and pains. It had become a favorite among the refugees, especially the older and infirm.
"You're different than I had assumed."
"Hm?" Felix had been copying the other Apprentice's preparations for the salve. He was grinding leaves in a mortar and pestle when he looked up. "Oh, hi. I'm Felix."
"I know. I am Vebranth," the Elf said. He had long blonde hair but it was tied back in a sensibly tight bun to keep it out of his face. Like the other Apprentices, he was wearing a set of well stained, sturdy clothes, covered by a thick apron.
"Nice to meet you, Vebranth," Felix smiled absently. He had to be careful to mash the leaves finely but not too finely, or else the consistency got messed up. He'd messed up the ratio's several times by that point. Ugh, the precision is pretty annoying. "What're you talking about?"
"You're not as arrogant as I would have expected."
"Arrogant?" Felix was nonplussed. "Why would I be arrogant?"
"You are a warrior, aren't they all filled with pride?" The Elf raised a finely shaped eyebrow.
Did people pluck their eyebrows here, or did they just rely on Tempering themselves for beauty treatments? The thought rattled through Felix's Mind for a moment before passing, and he focused on the Elf's point.
"Okay, sure I guess. I'm not--" anything special, was what he meant to say, but that wasn't true, was it? Felix frowned at himself. "I try not to be a jerk, is all."
"Hm," Vebranth hummed, and it was a layered sound. Felix focused on it with his Affinity. It was a chime in the air that sent some wind Mana stirring.
"You're an air mage?" he asked.
Vebranth looked at him, startled. "How did you know?"
"Lucky guess," Felix lied offhand. "Also you're brimming with air Mana."
Vebranth grimaced and turned aside. "Some might consider it rude to stare so at their cores."
Felix nearly kicked himself. "Oh uh, sorry. It's hard not to notice these things, I guess. I'll make sure not to do it again."
"Hm," Vebranth smiled softly, perhaps a little viciously. "Just make sure you don't do that to Master Ty'nel."
Felix laughed. "Yeah, trust me. I don't need more reasons for her to hate me."
Vebranth turned out to be relatively helpful. The Elf showed him how to really get the most out of a mortar and pestle by rolling the pestle around the edges, utilizing more surfaces area. He also pointed out several flaws in his distillation process, things Felix had seen the other Apprentices do but didn't know enough to expect. The complexity of alchemy was a nightmare Felix wasn't sure he would have bothered to attempt were it not for his Voracious Eye and Keen Mind Born Trait. As it was, he barely kept up with the other Apprentices.
By the time Felix left the Alchemist's, an entire eight hour shift had passed and he had made a smattering of Beginner Tier Tonics and Salves. He even got to keep a few that he didn't screw up, which he planned to hand out to his Tin Ranks. They didn't do him any good, at least.
Alchemy is level 19!
Herbalism is level 24!
Felix wasn't sure whether it was the guided learning from the Apprentices, or the specialized equipment he got to use, but he had absolutely blazed through the Beginner Tier of the Skill. Typically those leveled quickly anyway, but this felt very fast. That said, his Essence collection was bone dry, and the lack of it made his core ache fiercely.
Felix stepped out of the shop and stretched until his shoulders and spine popped. It was late, or perhaps too early, but he had to hunt something, and soon. Dawn was maybe two hours away, but aside from that ache he felt energized. He was buoyed by his successesfew though they were. It felt good to create something even if most of what he learned were salves for feet and joints. Something not...inherently violent. It was soothing.
He clapped his hands. Time to wake up the Tin Ranks and kill some monsters.