Cracking his neck, Luke took out everything required to brew the potions.

Laila and Monica stood to the side in silence, though the curiosity in their eyes was impossible to miss.

Luke chose not to pay attention to them. The night would not last forever, and he still needed proper rest before challenging the dungeon tomorrow.

Without wasting any more time, he got to work.

Taking out the bundles of herbs one after another, he carefully inspected them and selected the finest ones.

Each potion required different quantities of the herbs, and since this was his first attempt at brewing them, he decided to make only five for tomorrow.

Yes, he possessed the knowledge of a master beginner-ranked potion brewer, but knowledge alone did not guarantee perfection. He needed experience as well.

"Five blood twigs, eight ground roots... hmm, this doesn’t look good, but it’ll work."

The quality of herbs was not judged by appearance alone, but by their fragrance, age, and the richness of the juices contained within them.

Every herb carried a unique fluid that had to be extracted and blended with other ingredients to create a potion.

If a herb was too young or too old, it would throw the entire mixture off balance. That was why he had to be extremely careful while selecting them.

"Have you ever seen him this focused before?" Laila asked quietly from the side, her eyes never leaving the man.

Monica shook her head. "He’s seriously working like an experienced medic. Ah, my sweet little Luke has grown up now." The woman cupped her cheeks and swayed from side to side.

Laila smiled wryly at the reaction, but her expression shifted when she saw Luke toss a large number of herbs to the side.

Her brows rose slightly. "You won’t need these?" she asked as she walked over to the discarded herbs.

They looked rather peculiar. She recognized barely any of them, likely because they were not used in cooking.

"Yeah, not usable."

Laila blinked before asking, "Can I keep them?"

Luke did not respond. He was already occupied with the next step of the process.

Taking his silence as permission, Laila gathered the herbs and tied them into the hem of her top.

"What are you planning to do with those?" Monica asked curiously.

"Nothing... I just thought he might find a use for them later," Laila replied. Naturally, the amount Luke had kept aside seemed only enough for the medicine he intended to prepare.

What if something went to waste? Surely, he would not return to the forest in the middle of the night just to gather more herbs.

Monica patted Laila’s shoulder with approval. "Good thinking, dear. Mama is so proud of you."

Laila merely smiled at that before turning her attention back to the man at work.

Luke’s second task was to grind the skull of the skunk he had hunted earlier.

The potion required the bones particularly if its skull, including the teeth.

Naturally, crushing bone demanded considerable force, which was why he had brought the stone grinder inside beforehand.

Dropping the bones into the mortar, he tightened his grip around the wooden pestle.

Taking a deep breath, he raised it high before slamming it down onto the bones.

A heavy thunk echoed through the room as he continued working, watching the bones crack and splinter into smaller fragments.

The process demanded both time and effort since he needed the remains ground into a fine powder.

Using a ladle, he stirred the fragments every now and then to ensure each piece was crushed evenly.

Halfway through, sweat began clinging to his body. Without thinking much of it, he pulled off his vest, causing the two women nearby to hold their breath.

Monica and Laila stood there in stunned silence, their eyes shamelessly drawn to the sight before them.

Only now did they truly understand why people said a woman naturally grows attracted to the man she spends her nights with.

Laila might have felt a little shy watching him, but Monica openly ogled at her mate with parted lips.

The way his body tightened, the way his muscles flexed with every movement... it stole her breath and left her quietly panting.

Completely immersed in his work, Luke failed to notice just how deeply he was affecting the women around him.

After finally grinding the bones into fine powder, he picked up the pot in his hands.

"Monica... can you help me light the flames?" he asked.

His voice snapped Monica out of her daze, and she hurriedly nodded. "Yes!"

She quickly moved toward him and knelt before the hearth.

Pushing back her sleeves, she reached for the bundle of split firewood stacked nearby. One by one, she slid the thicker logs beneath the hollow of the hearth, carefully leaving enough gaps for air to pass through.

After that, she gathered a handful of thin wood peels and dried bark shavings from a woven basket. The brittle strips crackled softly in her hands as she tucked them beneath the heavier logs.

The room remained dim except for the trembling glow of the oil lantern hanging near the doorway.

Monica carefully lifted it and used a twig to draw out the small burning wick from within its frame. Shielding the delicate flame with her palm, she lowered herself before the hearth once more.

The dry peels caught fire first.

A faint orange glow spread through the gaps before thin streams of smoke curled upward. Monica gently blew into the opening beneath the hearth.

The embers brightened.

Crack.

The bark ignited.

Flames slithered across the wood peels before climbing onto the thicker logs. The hearth awakened with a low, hungry roar as heat gradually filled the room.

Monica slowly rose to her feet afterward and stepped aside to give him space.

Luke smiled and thanked her. "I really wouldn’t have been able to start a fire this easily on my own."

Monica smiled back. "It’s nothing worth mentioning. Now go on, continue your work."

Luke nodded before taking the powdered bones and carefully pouring them into the water.

The water slowly began to boil. He needed to move quickly.

If the bones cooked for too long, they would bloat once mixed with the herbs.

Without wasting another second, he knelt before the small grinding stone.

Using a smaller pestle this time, he stacked the herbs over one another before splashing a little water onto them. Then he began moving the pestle back and forth, slowly grinding everything into a fine paste.

The flames had grown fierce enough that Monica asked, "Should I lower the heat?"

"Please," Luke replied, his attention still fixed on the grinding stone.

Monica used a stick to adjust the fire while Laila quietly watched from the side, amazed by how calmly her mother handled such a tense situation. If it had been her instead, she was certain she would have fumbled something and earned a glare for it.

Luke soon finished grinding and rose to his feet.

The bone powder had finally settled, so he scooped up the herb paste with his hand and dropped it into the pot.

Using the ladle, he slowly stirred the liquid, keeping the flames just strong enough to maintain a steady boil without letting it spill over.

He remained there in silence, continuously mixing the fluid as its color gradually began to change.

Nearly half an hour passed.

Monica stayed by his side the entire time, adjusting the flames whenever he asked, while Laila eventually sat down nearby after growing tired of watching the two of them work together.

Finally, Luke spoke.

"It’s done."

Using two thick pieces of cloth to protect his hands, he gripped the pot from both sides and carefully carried it away from the flames.

Monica asked, "Should I put out the flames?"

Luke nodded, already stirring the potion to cool it slightly.

Another ten minutes passed before the steam slowly began to fade. Just as the liquid started thickening, he pulled out the vial of poison he had been carrying.

Removing the cork, he poured the entire contents into the pot in one motion.

A faint hissing sound rose from the fluid before everything settled once more.

Monica tilted her head slightly. "Is it done now?"

Luke shook his head. "One last thing."

He focused Gamma into his hand, particularly his index finger, carefully gathering the essence he had only recently begun to control.

Using his special eye, he made sure the Gamma was concentrated exactly where he wanted it before taking out his knife and sliding the tip across the middle of his finger, opening a long gash.

Monica grew visibly worried but stayed silent.

Crimson droplets immediately welled from the wound before Luke lowered his finger into the pot, allowing the blood to mix with the potion.

This was the final ingredient.

The one thing that made this potion vastly superior to any medicine the medics of this world could ever create.

Magic.

•••••••••

A/N:- I hope you liked the Chapter