Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

"I'll give you a stock of my elven ales. Instead of a debuff, this elven ale carries a buff that can nourish her constitution. Give Marla a bottle of my stock. *Sigh. That lass can't be cured of her addiction anymore. We can at least try to channel it differently."

Levine retrieved two bottles of elven tales from her storage space and handed them to Eren. it was clear that the other bottle was for him to relish in. Eren wasn't interested in the intoxicating effects of the ale. But he wanted to try the effects of the buffs the drink can grant him.

"Teacher Levine, you keep calling Adept Marla as lass and she is old. How old does that make you?"

Eren asked without thinking after he retrieved those bottles and immediately regretted it. That was because it seemed that the atmosphere around him suddenly started turning colder.

'Damn it. I should never ask these old female rankers about their age.'

Right after, Eren praised Levine's beauty with a glib tongue. Even with his skill with words, it took him a while to pacify the Master potioner. He tried changing the subject with another question just to be safe.

"Teacher, are there elven ales with buffs as well? Why are they not known or get sold at liqour shops then?"

Levine narrowed her eyes on her disciple as if she was still pondering if she should forgive him or not. She knew he had brought up the question to change the subject. But she answered anyway:

"Of course. There are a few elven ales that come with their own set of buffs. Some can give you a pleasant high and help you circulate your mana through the mana circuits better, making them sought-after drinks to be had just before you start your daily practice of ranking technique.

Some can give temporary buffs that can increase a particular set of your body stats. While the other can help you cast spells better by exciting your mana points. The only drawback of elven ales as compared to the normal potions is the fact that they affect your senses. So they are not ideal for on-field operations."

Eren listened carefully. He had never given a second thought to a relatively expensive yet common beverage within the Edinburgh kingdom. He had taken it for granted in both his lives. There were so many wondrous places, items, and more in the world of rankers. So something such as elven ales, even with their logic-defying effects, could be referred to as common. At least that's what Eren had thought.

Eren had intended to ask the questions just to save himself from the heat. But he couldn't help becoming curious about the Elven ales as a result of the question he posed and the responses he received.

"Teacher Levine, how do they make elven ales? Can anyone make them?"

Levine chuckled lightly by pressing her palm against her mouth before replying:

"The elven ales are easy to drink if you are someone rich with connection. But they are not easy to make.

Why do you think they can only be made by elves? It's not like humans haven't tried to produce ales with the same type of buffs or debuffs. And some came close. However, they remained nothing more than cheap imitations.

The elf potioners guard the recipes of their elven ales with their lives and only pass them down within their families or other elves. It is almost impossible for us to get the recipes from them.

Well, some humans did succeed in illegally obtaining the elven ale recipes. But then they would just mysteriously disappear somewhere. We can conclude what must have happened to them and who was behind them."

Eren raised his eyebrows after he heard more information about the peculiarity of eleven ales. Levine's answers had birthed more questions for him

"Why do human potioneers can't produce or completely imitate a potioneering product no matter how fancy it may seem? Or come up with our versions of the ales? Do we lack talent in our field than the Faeruns?"

Levine shook her head after hearing Eren's question. She drank a sip from her poured tea and explained to her disciple:

"It's the racial difference between us. I hate to admit it but the field of potioning is dominated by the elves because of their inherently higher proficiency in the way of the elements.

It's not a concept you could understand even when I explain it to you. It's something you feel personally. Only that can make you understand the way of the elements.

The recipe is only one part of it. The concoction of elven ales is heavily dependent on the potioneer's understanding of the way of the elements.

Since elves are better than us in that ranking field, our concoction stays as a poor counterfeit while theirs become a sought-after drink throughout the kingdom."

Eren pondered over everything that was explained to him by Levine while caressing his chin. He suddenly remembered that he wasn't a complete human anymore. Considering his newly acquired status as a non-human, he wondered whether this would facilitate his progress in the way of the elements. And if that in turn could allow him to concoct potions and ales that weren't normally possible for humans.

'Can I succeed in making my variant of an eleven ale?'

Eren had this thought and it started to take root in his mind. If he could make his version of elven ale, the elves wouldn't have any bones to pick with him.

Additionally, the humans would think that the ale was made by them. As such, they'll at least try to buy the product as an encouragement to him and to show the elves that they weren't lesser than them.

What if he could use such a novel ale as his USP for the White Raven shop? If that was possible, it would give him the confidence to create his space in the potioneering market.

Eren knew this was a long-haul project that couldn't be achieved overnight. He had never studied potioneering past F-Rank after all. So he didn't know how to incorporate a potioneer's understanding of the way of the elements into the concoction.

'Let's cover the basics first before I even think of something grandscale like this.'

Eren resumed his conversation with Levine after he had that thought. This was the time for him to learn a few things about potioneering from the Master potioneer.