Chương 90: Cauldron

"Haah…" I yawned, sleepily sitting up. My eyes were still half-shut, but habit had long since set my morning schedule.

"Morning, Mouse…" I said, glancing towards where she slept- Ah…Right, she's back at her place now… I stared at the empty spot for a few, a reluctant feeling building up.

"Haah…" I sighed, getting up. Turning on my phone, I sent Luna a quick 'Good Morning' text. On the bright side, I didn't have any nightmares last night. I think it's fair to say that I've overcome that trauma? Well, I hope so at least. It's not like I'm gonna go around and test it. After washing my face and using the bathroom, I headed to the kitchen and started cooking breakfast. Today felt like a bacon and pancakes kind of day.

"Hehe." I set two plates on the table and got to cooking.

"Hm~" I hummed, lightly swaying my hips as I flipped the pancakes. A little later, as I went to plate the food, I paused.

"Ah…Right." I had made way too much. Unconsciously, I made Luna's portion, thinking she'd open the bedroom door as usual when she smelt food.

"Can I…Can I even eat this all?" I wondered. … Luna stretched, yawning as she woke up. Groggily getting up, she opened the bedroom door and was hit with the delectable scent of breakfast,"Morning, Bin…" She said with a yawn and then froze. There was no breakfast smell at all. Stella had gone home yesterday since she didn't need Luna sleeping next to her to avoid nightmares anymore.

"Right…" Luna mumbled, "Alone…" An indescribable unpleasant feeling found itself somewhere in her. …

"Paah…" I let out, patting my overstuffed belly. I really didn't think I could eat it all, yet, somehow, I managed. Though, I felt like if I pushed on my stomach hard enough, I might just vomit everything out. So! Let's just avoid doing that! Getting up, I walked around in circles a few times to try and ease my fullness.

"Phew! That feels better." I said. After washing the dishes, I flopped onto the couch. Finally, enough time had past, it was time to check the internet. [Official: Raccoon, the Little Bomber, has successfully cleared the 5th floor.] … Richard Miller? Who the heck is this guy? President of the Awakener's Association? Oh, looks like I attracted a big shot. Hm… Well! Appreciated! Oh my… There's so much posts… It felt like I could scroll infinitely and still see a post about the Little Bomber. Wow… This is hectic.

I really did blow up the internet. Hehe…' Blow up'… Hehe… I should post that later. I scrolled through and read a few more posts. One of them caught my attention. It was of an alchemist explaining the style of alchemy I used.

"He found a book on the 42nd floor…?" I questioned. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. What does that mean… Is the tower connected to the alchemy misters worlds? Or maybe that book is just a copy the tower stole? I don't know… I'll ask the alchemy misters later, I guess. Anyways, the internet was singing my praises. Of course, there were a bunch of haters as well, but I didn't even bother looking at those ones.

Finally, after I had my fill of scrolling, I decided to write my own post. Hehe… What would be the best way to troll them? I pondered it for a few moments as I stared at the text box.

"Got it!" I said, inspired. [Raccoon: First try.]"Hehehehe!" I giggled after I hit 'post'. Immediately, the replies started rolling in. Ah! How fun! … After a little while, I figured it was time to finally check my awakener profile. And when I did, my jaw literally dropped. Alias - Raccoon Title - Little Bomber Followers - 1, 102, 313 Points - 26, 121, 230 I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Am I reading this right? Do I see over a million followers? And over twenty-six million points? Um…

Did I really blow up overnight?

"Holy heck…" I mumbled. I'm rich!! I made 26 million points just from my clear video!? At 8 points per purchase, that means…Over 3 million people bought and watched it overnight?! Imagine if I got the full 100 points instead of only 8%!! I'd be at over 300 million! Gah! You stingy tower! What do you even need points for!? Just give them all to me! Then, I'd be able to afford my cauldron!

"Huh…Wait a minute…" [Alchemist's Cauldron] Search Results: xx [Ghost Cosmos Cauldron (C+ Grade) - 25, 000, 000] I…I can afford it!! I can finally get my starter cauldron! But…Do I really want to spend- [Purchase Successful] The cauldron didn't appear in front of me immediately, instead, the tower was nice enough to wait until I was ready. By that, I mean, there was a 'Receive' option I could click on.

"Hm…" I really didn't think this through. Where am I supposed to put it? How big even is it? I don't want it to appear right now since I have no idea if I'll be strong enough to move it when it does. How does a cauldron even work? Do I need to light a fire under it? If so… Will this even work? I don't want the fire department getting called since I lit a fire in my apartment. This… Is quite a problem, isn't it? I have a cauldron, but I have nowhere to use it. Wow… Actually, thinking about it, do I even need heat?

I made the nerve paralysis potion perfectly without it. Have I been trapped in a bubble this whole time? My first introduction to alchemy was with a goblin's method of brewing potions. It's only natural they'd need heat to draw out the properties, but, I have mana, don't I? Yeah… I don't need fire at all! I'm not a caveman! Standing in an open area in my living room, I clicked 'Receive'. A large, beautiful, black cauldron appeared in front of me. It had exquisite flower designs on the curved side of it.

The cauldron was nearly as tall as me, reaching over half my height. It easily exceeded my wingspan.

"Mm…" A strong urge filled me. I couldn't help myself. A moment later, I found myself sitting directly inside the cauldron.

"…Is this how cats feel with their boxes?" I wondered. It was surprisingly cozy and comfy. Is it strange to say I felt safe in here? It's like a security blanket.

"Haah…" I yawned, I could fall asleep in here… No! I quickly jolted up and hopped out of the cauldron before I actually did fall asleep.

"That was close…" I mumbled. I'm a raccoon! Not a cat! I can't be falling asleep in containers! Ah, wait! I'm not a raccoon or a cat! I'm a human!

"Hehe!" I giggled at the situation and shook my head. Circling around the cauldron a few times, I finally pulled up the description. [Ghost Cosmos Cauldron] Grade - C+ Creator: MX River This cauldron was forged from Black Ghost Iron and infused with Cosmo Dust. Potions created will have a small quality boost Properties of materials are more easily drawn out and imbued * Can temporarily store properties in the cauldron for up to 8 hours.

Harmful fumes stay within the cauldron Self-Repairs when imbued with mana * Temperature can be controlled with mana Contact MX River if you have any questions. I stared at the description in awe, reading over it a few times.

"…So much!?" I mumbled. There were so many features that I was stunned. You're telling me, this cauldron can store properties, keep fumes within, self-repair, control temperature, and boost the quality of my potions? This is practically cheating! I was worried about having to light a fire in my apartment for nothing! Oh my goodness! I need to test this out immediately!! … Standing over the cauldron, I pondered what potion I wanted to make.

"Hm…I should probably make something simple that I already know how to make, right?" That way, I could compare it to the pot more easily.

"I've decided." After nodding to myself, I purchased enough materials for a batch of mana potions.

"Hehe…" I giggled excitedly. I'm actually using a cauldron! Clearing the 5th floor was the best decision I've made! But, before I could even start, I paused. A new problem arose. Well, it's hard to say if it classifies as a 'problem', but it's definitely something to think about. The batch recipe for mana potions is suited for cooking in a pot. And a cauldron is way bigger than a pot. That's not to say it wouldn't work but…It just feels like a bit of a waste?

"Hm…" I've decided! If I'm testing something, I'm going big! I purchased even more materials—Enough for 50 mana potions. Alright! Let's do this! … Closing my eyes, I grabbed one of the cauldron's handles and drew mana from my core. That string of mana swam freely through the cauldron as if it was within my own core. There was no resistance, no struggle, if anything, it felt like the cauldron was actually aiding the mana's movements.

"This is…" I let out, flabbergasted. This is so broken! I feel like I'm cheating! It's so easy to manipulate mana within the cauldron! I couldn't imagine being able to do this with my pot even if I had B+ grade mana manipulation! I couldn't hide my smile. This was so exciting! No wonder those alchemy misters were surprised that I didn't have a cauldron! This makes everything so easy! My mana threaded into the materials and the properties were drawn out so smoothly that I thought I made a mistake. Oh my goodness…

Imbuing the properties into the sap was seamless. It was like the sap was regaining what it lost instead of adding something completely new. How does the temperature control work? I wondered. I maneuvered my mana through the cauldron's walls before eventually finding what I think I was looking for. It looked like the dial I use for my stove. Connecting my mana to it, I could freely change the temperature. It ranged from off to high.

It's not quite what I expected, I expected to be able to pick a number like 450C, but, I guess medium works too. Maybe that'd be too advanced? Perhaps a higher grade cauldron has that ability. In any case, I set the temperature to low. I'll have to test the storing properties and harmful fumes feature later. I made a mental note of that. A short two hours later, I turned the heat off and took a step back. I was done. It took longer than making it in a pot, but, I brewed way more potions in this batch.

How much potions exactly? Well, I'm about to find out.

"…" I paused. And how am I going to find out? I wonder that myself. I can't simply lift the cauldron—this thing's like six bajillion pounds! Hm… I wasn't expecting to have this problem. I can brew the potion, but I can't bottle it into a container… What? Do I just submerge the bottles and let them fill themselves or something? When I get to the bottom of it, do I have to scrape the remainder out with a spoon? After thinking about it for several long moments, I eventually just asked the alchemy misters. …

I got laughed at. I swear! I'm never telling that JuxTaps mister anything again! Though, they did kindly tell me how to do it. Apparently, I can use external mana projection to lift it out of the cauldron. To my surprise, it was way easier than expected. Perhaps because I practiced it, the mana was sturdy and could easily lift out small amounts of liquid. It also made me understand why the efficiency mister said it would have been more efficient for me to make a complex shape.

The God triangle certainly isn't optimal for moving liquid. Slowly, but surely, I moved the liquid to glass bottles. After a while, the cauldron was finally empty.

"Phew…" I swiped the sweat off my forehead. This was external mana projection training in itself. But! It was worth it. And so was the cauldron! For just over 2 hours of potion brewing, I ended up with 50 potions created! When I was creating potions in the pot, it'd take me about an hour for a batch of ten. So, 2 and a half hours for a batch of 50 was well worth it!

"Hehe!" I giggled. And that's not all! Unlike the usual D grade mana potions I used to make, these were actually D+ grade! That small quality boost actually helped it move up a grade! Overall, I rate this cauldron a 9/10! I can't wait to brew more!