Dr. Cortes' finger reached into the bowl in front of me. I watched as his thick digit dug around inside of it, deftly drawing some of the paste I had created and pulled it out of the bowl. When his finger was lifted out of the pestle there was a slimy, unpleasantly smelling paste attached to it.

He studied the paste that found itself on the end of his finger. He had snatched up a thick globule and examined it for a full five seconds before suddenly placing the thing in his mouth. I watched him swish it around as if studying the texture of the paste. And then he swallowed the thing.

I watched as his throat bulged and his Adam's Apple moved in reaction to the entrance of the paste into his body. Seconds after he swallowed the paste he began to shiver. And he banged his fist on the table in front of him, before dramatically swallowing big gulps of air. This was followed by me receiving a notification.

[Alert:

Dr. Cortes has consumed something you created. This has opened his mind to your influence.

In order to increase the amount of influence you gain over living creatures, particularly intelligent ones when they consume things you create you need to increase your influence over the relevant domains and subdomains. For instance, right now if you increase your influence over the subdomains of 'Corruption' and 'Alchemy' and the domain of 'Minds' you'd increase how much influence you gain over creatures who consume your potions and other alchemical concoctions.

If you want to feed creatures to gain influence over them increase your influence over the subdomains of 'Corruption' and 'Agriculture' or in some cases the subdomain of 'Fungi' and the domain of 'Minds'.

Influence over Dr. Cortes: .01%]

Reviewing that notification made me feel quite excited. I had to do my best to contain my excitement as I realized that even creating and giving edible items to people caused them to subtly fall under my influence.

"Oh man, that is good stuff! I feel years younger." He confessed. After he spoke there was a wide grin on his face. Then the old man turned his head towards me, and as he did so his face stiffened. He had a question on the tip of his tongue and I waited for him to ask it.

"Althos... that paste you made just now was skillfully made. Incredibly so. When I tasted it I received all of the benefits of the paste, and none of the drawbacks, which is a sign that it was made by someone who knew their stuff. Have you ever been taught alchemy?" The elderly figure asked curiosity seeped into his voice.

I was surprised to hear him ask that. I immediately shook my head in response to his question. "No, I haven't." I told him, truthfully. That was when the system explained what had happened.

[We quietly unlocked a specific aspect of the 'Purity' subdomain. It's the subdomain that is tied to the virtue you received at birth. It, along with the 'Corruption' subdomain have some handy, and sometimes nasty, effects on alchemy in particular.] The system explained, quietly.

[Any alchemical medicine made by you doesn't have any of the negative effects it may otherwise have. That's what happened to the paste you created. And any poisons you create that may have unintentional or annoying positive effects are similarly affected by the purity power, losing those positives so as to be purely poisonous.] The system revealed. Mentally, I nodded in understanding and appreciation.

________________________________________________

In the safety of my own mind, I took a moment to mull over what I had just learned. A grin appeared on my face as I did so.

"So alchemy allows me to brew up poisons as well as potions? How lovely." I thought, a grin appearing on my face.

"I wonder what sort of things I can brew up..." I wondered, asking the question with the intention that my friend, the system, would respond. I didn't have to wait long to hear a response.

[Alchemy is a fascinating art. Though at lower levels many alchemists craft little more than potions or poisons, higher-level alchemists can create gases that can fill a room or bombs that can cause massive damage or alter the psyches of those who were caught in their vicinities.] My mental companion informed me.

[Alchemy is also highly mutable. It can be affected by several domains and subdomains, as what it creates is incredibly varied. The subdomains of 'Corruption' and 'Purity' are particularly potent and useful for making highly concentrated potions or poisons. The subdomains of "Air" and "Liquid" are handy at the higher ends of alchemical creation, and there is a "Creation" domain that enhances everything created by gods which includes alchemical things.] The system informed me.

"Whoa, everything? Tell me more about that domain!" I communicated, transmitting my thoughts to my companion. I heard a soft, mechanical chuckle on the other end of the mental link that tied the system and I together.

[The 'Creation' domain governs things like cooking, blacksmithing, architecture, art, and alchemy. A few other things as well, but those are the big ones. A key example of this is that the 'Creation' domain and the 'Earth' subdomain mix together to allow for the creation of golems, basic constructs that serve their creator unwaveringly.] The system announced, informing me of a domain I was immediately making a priority of mine.

[In order to gain influence over this domain you need to create things. Be they potions, weapons, buildings, or food. And you need to understand that as a god the things you create are going to be higher quality than they should be. Even the first time you create something it will be of a higher quality than it ought to be. Remember that.] My first friend revealed to me.

My smile widened as I learned this. "So alchemy is something I should work to master huh?" I rhetorically asked myself.

________________________________________________

"So you're a druid who possesses some sort of innate skill at alchemy huh? It's not particularly surprising that a druid possesses inborn skill at alchemy. I'd be a damn fool to let a treasure like you slip from my grasp." The old man said, sounding quite tired as he did so. That said, there was a grin on his face as he assessed me.

"I kind of wish you possessed more physical strength, but... that is an acceptable flaw." Dr. Cortes mused, a mischievous grin on his face as he said so. I chuckled and nodded understandingly at his remark.

"So are you saying that you want me to be your student?" I asked, a wry grin on my face. I could tell that there was visible excitement radiating out of my eyes. I was excited at the prospect of learning more about alchemy and about eventually gaining influence over a new domain.

Dr. Cortes once again stuck his finger in my pestle and took a second to dig out some more of the paste I had created. He lifted it to his mouth and began to suck on the stuff, while slowly beginning to nod at me. I watched this curiously. I turned my gaze to the pestle in front of me and activated one of my new powers: Appraisal.

[Appraising "Iron-Health-Paste"... Appraisal complete!

Iron-Health-Paste properties: restorative (restores health), numbing (numbs pain), lowly addictive (small chance of those who ingest it becoming addicted to it, this is not normally a property of this item, it's due to Althos' corruptive influence that it possesses this property)

Iron-Health-Paste basic information: This paste is the end result of sprinkling iron dust onto forest roots, and then smashing the roots into a paste. This iron-health-paste is needed to create basic health-potions. It is, in essence, a weaker health potion if ingested, but it also makes those who consume it feel sick, which is why it is refined into health potions.]

My eyes went wide when I saw the "lowly addictive" property. Internally I chuckled as I read through it. And then Dr. Cortes began to speak to me.

"In order to create a basic health potion you need to use fire to heat and melt this very paste. What you just created is known as 'Iron-Health-Paste', and it is the... raw form of a health potion." The good doctor revealed, as his lips turned downward into a neutral expression.

"Boy, can you produce the flames you produced earlier? They may just be suitable for our purposes." Dr. Cortes asked, curious as to if I could do it again.

If I had to guess he was likely attempting to test how much magical energy I possessed. Otherwise, his question wouldn't have made much sense. That aside, I nodded at him.

"Good. Now we just transfer the paste you've created into an appropriate place." The doctor exclaimed, a smile once again appearing on his lips.

________________________________________________

A few minutes later the paste I had created was sitting inside of a wide-topped glass bottle. The glass bottle was suspended in the air by a set of tongs. There was a thick cork attached to the thing's top. Dr. Cortes was looking at me, waiting for me to begin my magical labor. I didn't keep the man waiting.

I placed my finger directly underneath the glass bottle and activated my "Ember" spell. A thin but hot flame emerged out of the top of my finger and began to heat the bottle. The fire immediately began to heat the paste, causing the thick green sludge to begin to subtly shift.

________________________________________________

It took a few minutes for my heated magic to finish its transformation of the sludge. But in time the fire played its part. Dr. Cortes and I were now staring at a warm bottle containing a healthy amount of sanguine-red liquid. Dr. Cortes studied it a lot more cautiously than I did.

I merely activated "Appraisal" again and waited the few seconds it took for the power's appraisal to be completed.

[Standard-Health-Potion Properties: Restorative, numbing, minorly addictive (has a bigger chance of causing those who imbibe it to become addicted than the paste does).

Standard-Health-Potion basic information: This is a standard-level health potion. It is created in the same way as a basic-level health potion but takes a higher degree of skill to create. It heals more than a basic-level health potion.]

I was once more pleasantly surprised by this notification and chuckled when Dr. Cortes removed his goggles and looked hard at me after examining the potion. It turns out that he had bright, green eyes and the area between them was riddled in thin scars.

"Hmmm... You did well with this. But I must confess... I don't believe you don't already possess some training in alchemy. That said, I am not a fool. If I want to discover the truth you are likely hiding from me I need to keep you close. Will you become my student?" The doctor asked, a glimmer of excitement radiating out of his eyes.

I shot my hand out in the direction of the elderly gentleman and nodded. As I did so I began to speak.

"Dr. Cortes, if you'll have me as your student I'll do my best to both aid you and to demonstrate the truth of my words. That said, I am hoping that I'll become an even better alchemist than you seem to believe I am." I told him, accepting his offer. He chuckled and took my hand, shaking it with surprising firmness and energy.

"Well, in that case... Given what you've shown me here, I will need to readjust my thinking on how to handle being your teacher. Come back in two days and then we'll begin your training for real." He admitted, quietly revealing that he hadn't expected me to be so innately skilled. I nodded at him, a wide and smug grin on my face.

________________________________________________

I left the old man's house a few minutes later. I received the pay the quest-request form had promised, and was now feeling more ready than ever to begin building my first cult and I even had ideas and the rough outline of a scheme swirling around in my mind about how to do so. I turned my face in the direction of the forest and began to walk towards it.

As I did so, I made a request to the system. "Can you give me access to 'Shapeless One?' I have an idea for how to handle the goblins, but I need 'Shapeless One' to make it work." I asked in the confines of my mind.

To my surprise I didn't get the same answer as before.