Under a gentle taskmaster, I processed the harsh task with incomparable swiftness and efficiency. At least, I wish I could say such a thing. However my ability was not totally lacking, and a pile about 100g sat on the table.

Though my body was different, I did have some experience in the realm of manual dexterity. Parts of my job that couldn't be done by emulation meant that I'd been able to gain access to replica gaming consoles, keyboards, and handheld devices. They're clunky devices at first, but after a while you realize that it's your own hands at fault. Not a good sensation at first, but in short I had experience training my fine motor skills with unfamiliar tools.

A bit of theory and memory goes a long way, but it still doesn't catch up to those skilled in the field. The progress made still hardly scratched the surface of the shade bean leaves Theodore brought over when there was the sound of the door upstairs opening.

It was a rather heavy set door to be able to hear it from the basement, wasn't it?

“Bring the water down here!” Theodore shouted up before turning to the racks of materials. He picked the next play from near the floor, but other than that there were no other clues to discern the reason for its positioning.

As he did so, Klutz came down the stairs with heavy steps. The construction of the building seemed quite sturdy on whole, as even under the weight of the apprentice and water the boards of the stairs refused to deform.

Oops, I got a bit distracted and messed up the leaf I was working on. Oh well, there were plenty more.

However, I didn't stop being distracted by my senior apprentice. Compared to these leaves, trying to get a better sense of him was of much greater value. Hopefully that isn't too disparaging a statement; there was vast difference between the value of the two.

It was lucky that I did so, as it let me notice when Klutz’s foot landed on the edge of the stair, past the center of gravity. My wouldn't be enough to stop him from falling, and the sudden support from it might unbalance him, so I opted to lift the water that burdened him.

“Oi!” There wasn't time for a full warning before Klutz tumbled forward. His legs wildly flailed catching two more steps on the way down before landing on his hands and knees at the bottom. Made of packed dirt, it probably hurt, but wouldn't have been as bad as say, having someone pile drive you into some flagstones.

“Look out.” I finished a bit lamely.

I gave it my best, Klutz-senpai. Please don't look at me with such hostility.

It took a moment to realize what that expression he wore was. Those narrowed eyes and reserved posture, not a look familiar to me, but I did remember it in my past at some point. He averted his eyes, wiping his hands on his pants as I kept thinking on what that reaction was.

“Gah! Should it be these old bones be the ones carrying that water up and down?” There was a clatter as Theodore set down the newest jar down with more force than usual. From the sound, I correctly predicted their contents to be the rock nuts. “It's lucky for you Alric is a Mage, and a quick one at that. Else you'd be soaked and heading out for another run. You can float those to under the table for now.”

As Theodore chastised his apprentice, I nodded and did so slowly. The weight was likely close to what the spell could handle, and as such was harder to control. The increase in difficulty was similar to how it was more difficult to move your own arm when carrying something heavy, except since the process was mental it also meant reaction times were slower. The lack of sensation also made it difficult to adjust the required force needed to keep the load stable. Well, in the end it was still just carrying some water and I did it easily.

“I'm sorry Master Theodore.”

“You should have actually thanked Alric as well. No matter, there’s actual work for you to be doing now. Since you are surprisingly capable at processing rock nuts, I'd like you to show Alric how it's done.” By words alone, one couldn't tell if Theodore meant Klutz showed surprising skill, or it was surprising he showed skill. From what Theodore told me earlier, the first applied, but his tone clearly implied the second in this situation.

Since I was paying much closer attention than the alchemist, I caught Klutz clenching his teeth. Given how little Theodore thought of his apprentice, it wasn't really all that much of a surprise; perhaps there was some hostility due to how differently we were being treated? Neither could really be faulted for their positions though. Klutz was clearly showing himself to be one, Theodore’s dislike for what appeared to be a constant stream of mistakes couldn't be condemned in a profession such as alchemy. His opinion of Klutz in turn was enough for the favorable treatment to me to be a slight. It was understandable on both parts, so I couldn't think less of either of them.

Though it would be nice if Klutz weren't to act so hostile, especially right after helping him like…

Wait.

Information available to Klutz: I could use magic, and was interested in learning alchemy. In the situation that just transpired, I responded almost instantaneously, and he suddenly lost the weight of the water across his shoulders.

Along with the tendency for people to attribute their mistakes to external factors, and that look of hostility...don't tell me…

Evaluating things from his perspective, I then figured that he thought I was the one who tripped him up. It wasn't concrete as to what end, but perhaps he thought I wanted to replace him as apprentice. There can only be one—don't be silly, it's just a little alchemy. The craft was quite interesting to me though.

Klutz stood at the table with reluctance written all over him. He was at the end, equidistant from where I and Theodore stood, apparently not wishing to be by either of us. Preparing to start the demonstration, he reached for the brown scalpel before being stopped.

“You've prepared enough for a few tries, hand the blue knife to Dom. Use the brown one yourself, this is your training after all.” Klutz hesitated for a second before rigidly accepting the scalpel from me. Then taking one of the rock nuts that resembled a gray nectarine pit from the jug, he began as Theodore began lecturing.

“Pick up one of the seeds yourself. Rock nuts are fairly resilient to change, but I've done some experimenting, and it seems like they aren't totally immune. Still, they are one of the few materials that can be handled a bit less cautiously. Now as for the rock nut itself, it's an odd plant that is true to its name. Growing near mountains and other large formations of stone, it usually appears as a normal rock. They can also be found in gravelly creeks underwater, apparently unaffected. While they have a fairly unique appearance, it may be easier to find in the future if you know that it grows in odd numbered clusters along vines of the same color.

“The best way to determine the strength of a rock nut’s effect is it’s shade and gloss. A darker shade means more potency, and it increases with the age of the plant. After being harvested, they lose power and lighten, but it takes months for any noticeable effect. More gloss means the nut has a higher potential and will mature on the vine faster as well as lose potency slower. This increases the fewer on a vine and on those found underwater. However take note that some of the excessively glossy rock nuts actually become lighter with age, some reaching an almost white color.

The gloss works as an excellent insulator for the power of the rock nut, but is detrimental to the Callus potion. Dom is currently working on removing that layer.”

The gloss over the rock nut was a sort of transparent glaze, and harder than I expected for an organic material. With the name of rock nut, I probably shouldn't have been as surprised as I was. More surprising than that, Klutz really did live up to the praise Theodore rarely gave him.

Flowing along the ridges and deep grooves, Klutz acted with deftness as though he were just peeling a lemon. A transparent layer about a millimeter thick fell to the table in long, thin strips. The scalpel ducked into the crevasses and back up as if unobstructed, and though it took all of Klutz’s attention, he didn't seem particularly strained by the effort either.

“Now there are three layers to the rock nut. The gloss, the shell, and the meat. The gloss is as you see, it is rarely used in alchemy though, and for some reason tends to vanish once removed from the shell. The shell is what is used in the Callus ointment, and makes concoctions including it sturdier and more firm. For the Callus ointment, this is the most important ingredient. The meat of the rock nut is the most unstable alchemically, and loses potency quickly unless stored, in which case it will weaken more slowly to a certain point. Luckily it remains relatively stable within the shell. Except for the extremely dark and light rock nuts, the meat is edible. Since we won't be using it, and I don't expect you to be able to preserve the meat your first time you can try some. It can be a bit bitter, but is quite satiating.”

The lecture ended for the moment as I observed Klutz at work. After fully removing the gloss from the shell, he wedged the scalpel in one of the edges of the shell before giving it a half turn. Given how hard the exterior was, I was almost sure that such a thin blade would suffer, but it seemed to pry open with ease, splitting in half. The meat inside was a cocoa brown hue instead of the gray of the shell. As Klutz picked up the tongs, he used the tiny spoon ends to remove it all in one go. As smooth as a ball bearing, the interior of the shell only had several fibers remaining which were removed quickly.

“Well done Dom. Now Alric, time to give it a try yourself. Be sure to watch your hands, it can be hard to get a good grip and blood ruins the shell.”

Since the process took an excessively long time (about 15 minutes), it will be omitted. While I luckily managed to keep from cutting myself, from hands on experience I learned it wasn't so easy to only remove the gloss and not the shell. A little off it wasn't the end of the world, but once again it would degrade the quality and create unnecessary variations. After finishing the first step to the best of my abilities, I turned the now notched nut over on its ends. On one there was a small circular distortion, likely where it grew from the vine.

Strike its weak point for massive damage!

I too was able to effortlessly split the shell. Scooping out the flesh of the rock nut with more ease than expected, I gave it a taste. Like its color it tasted reminiscent of cocoa, and was bitter like unsweetened chocolate. Not bad for a possible survival food.

As the process took quite a while, Theodore didn't give a whole lot of trials for practice runs. We quickly proceeded to the next phase, the distillation of water. That process was fairly mundane, simply purification through evaporation.

“Now we are about to enter the final stage, combining the ingredients. Let me go and retrieve some vials for you to use before we begin.” Theodore put us on hold as he made his way upstairs. For someone who repeatedly called himself old, he acted pretty spry. I wondered how old he was in actuality, there were fewer hours in a day here, but I doubted the timekeeping of this world varied too much from my own. Its magical nature might even mean people who looked my age could be older. That could just be man’s natural desire for longevity hoping aloud though.

So the alchemist left only myself and my senior apprentice in somewhat awkward atmosphere. Klutz was doing an impressive job of keeping his tremors from affecting his work, a truly admirable skill in processing. Wait, the target of nervousness is me, isn't it? Please, you're making me feel guilty.

I tried to break the ice by starting some conversation.

“So, for how long have you been working as an apprentice to Master Theodore? Your ability to shell the rock nuts is quite impressive, you must have worked hard to develop your skills.”

“Six years. Don't think...you can't expect to surpass me so quickly. Even if Master Theodore sees your skill, I work as his hands; I won't be thrown out of here so easily!”

Orz, what’s with this resolute confrontation? Now that he wasn't working, his shoulders were shaking and his gaze filled with fragile confidence. I need to do my best to calm this situation and clear up this misunderstanding.

“I'm really not trying to sweep in and surpass you. My only goal is to help the people back in my village, and Master Theodore is kind enough to teach me despite my short stay. I'll learn what I can and be off, you can remain as his official apprentice.” I tried throwing in something in case the misunderstanding was about a tradition of only having a single apprentice. But the look changed from one somewhat fearful to one I definitely recognized.

That grimace when I ditched a party under threat of a TPK, the anger when I refused to rez someone, and the infuriation when I readied my holy sword to face off the remnants of the party. Raise your arms, [T]/, and feel alive as you watch that kind of face come after you.

The feeling of someone looking down on you, and knowing retaliation is all but futile.

What sort of persecution complex did he have to get that kind of feeling from my words? I really am trying my best to be friendly. Other than your terrible gross motor skills, there's nothing to think ill of you Klutz!

“Really, even if Master Theodore thinks I have some talent for the art, I don't have the time to explore it fully. I’m just dabbling, and be on my way before long.”

“Alchemy may not have been the path I wanted, but it's what I do now. Looking down on it and the practitioners, you'll never get anywhere.” Klutz muttered under his breath. I held in a sigh, don't waste such a cool sentiment on a misunderstanding.

Resigning our relationship to the sidelines, I hoped it wouldn't deteriorate any further. The silence reigned until Theodore returned with some containers, and I readied myself to finish my first alchemical concoction.

A/N:AHHHHHH!

Pol results come into effect after chapter 38(what I'm currently on), but it's not like many of those are alchemy chapters, maybe 2 more detailed ones.