Chapter 28: Head’s Spinning

Back in the alchemy lab, Chloe first checked the time.

She had only half an hour of extra practice time. Though no one was watching her now, and she could stretch it a bit, lingering too long might raise suspicions.

Besides brewing the transformation potion, she needed to make a few first-tier healing potions to cover her tracks.

Otherwise, taking so many materials from the storeroom, staying in the lab for ages, and coming out with nothing would look way too suspicious.

‘Not bad, Chloe! Thinking of everything! So clever!’

She set down the box she was carrying and glanced at the wall clock.

Twenty-something minutes left, plus she could drag it out another ten. That gave her about half an hour.

‘Plenty of time!’

‘Who can predict what happens during alchemy? A small mistake costing a few extra minutes isn’t unreasonable, right?’

Chloe thought to herself, then ran back to her room to grab the other ingredients before locking the lab door.

After quickly brewing a first-tier healing potion as a warm-up, she started on the transformation potion.

As a fifth-tier potion, it theoretically required at least fourth-tier magical strength to handle the mana consumption.

Higher-tier mages had more mana to sustain the process and better control to minimize waste, reducing both mana and mental strain.

That’s why high-tier mages made low-tier potions look easy.

Since starting classes with Silia, Chloe had been learning magic.

Her magical aptitude as a human was already decent, and as a vampire, it was even stronger—above average, even for vampires.

Plus, Larvia had been giving her mana-boosting potions. In just over two weeks, Chloe had reached third-tier magical strength.

Still, that alone wasn’t enough to brew the transformation potion. But she was confident.

Her confidence came from her past life.

She’d been a fifth-tier mage before. Her mana control was far superior to a typical third-tier mage.

With her current third-tier mana and precise control, brewing a fifth-tier potion meant for fourth-tier mages wasn’t impossible!

‘Advantage: me!’

Though she knew it’d be exhausting, the thought of life after succeeding filled her with energy.

“Phew…”

She took a deep breath, opened the vial of fourth-tier magical blood, and poured it into the crucible.

The blood was in great condition. Under the light, the still-rippling liquid shimmered with specks of starlight.

For some reason, Chloe suddenly wanted to taste it.

‘Just a tiny sip… should be fine, right?’

She grabbed a spoon, scooped a bit from the crucible, and brought it to her mouth.

The next second, her face scrunched up.

‘Blech—!’

She tossed the spoon back into the crucible, wiping blood from her lips.

‘Gross.’

Though it came from a fourth-tier magical beast, the alchemical processing made it taste worse than raw.

She recalled sneaking a sip of the royal cocktail blood meant for Larvia a few days ago. Even though it was non-magical, it tasted way better.

‘Whatever, let’s brew.’

Using alchemical tools, she measured out the exact amounts needed, setting the rest aside.

Opening her notebook, she followed the recorded recipe.

“Ugh…”

Looking at the notes, Chloe felt uneasy.

The first step was simple: mix the four vegetable extracts, then taste a spoonful.

‘What’s this got to do with brewing?’

She was baffled.

Even when copying it, she’d found this part odd.

‘Fine, just do it. If skipping this ruins the potion, I’m done for… ugh…’

She poured a bit into a spoon, closed her eyes, steeled herself, and drank.

‘Pfft!’

‘Don’t spit, Chloe, don’t spit!’

Forcing down the mix of her most hated vegetable juices, she gritted her teeth and swallowed.

‘My body feels hollow… am I losing years off my life…?’

Chloe thought glumly.

Then, she moved on to the next step…

Some time later, when the transformation potion was complete, Chloe collapsed onto the floor, drained.

‘Ouch!’

‘So painful!’

‘My head’s killing me!’

Brewing a high-tier potion beyond her level had kept her on edge, terrified of wasting the precious materials.

Her mana was barely sufficient. A single control slip could’ve drained it, spelling failure.

She hadn’t dared relax for a second.

Though she succeeded, she felt like her soul had been sucked out.

‘Time… good, still enough.’

‘Gotta make some healing potions…’

‘Ugh, just slap something together.’

Chloe clutched her head, dragging herself up.

Too tired to grind, she tossed in a bit of nettle and calendula. Done and done.

She packed up the materials, pushed open the lab door, and stumbled back to her room.

After finishing, she was delirious, moving on pure instinct.

Lying on her bed, her head still throbbed, unable to relax.

Letting her mind go blank, she surrendered to her body’s instincts.

Then, she got up and left her room.

Five minutes later.

Knock, knock, knock…

“Come in.”

The bedroom door opened, revealing a dazed white fluff ball.

“What’s up, little Chloe?”

“Ugh… Larvia, I’m so tired…”

“Go see the palace doctor for some medicine.”

“I don’t wanna see a doctor…”

Chloe wobbled toward Larvia, each step unsteady, like she might collapse.

Reaching her, her legs gave out, and she fell into Larvia’s arms.

“Larvia, sleep with me tonight, okay…?”