Kiro snapped his blades together, clipping off another handful of tough red stalk and setting it to the side. It had been another long day of harvesting, but for once, sparkleaf was adding to his existing energy, not compensating for it.

He stood, placing the fallen crop into a pile of similarly cut grain. He had finally gotten a good night’s sleep, which meant he had enough energy to look forwards to what was happening next...

“Ah, little alchemist! I heard that you've gotten into some trouble! Do I need to personally discipline you?” An old man chuckled from behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Kiro’s mouth twitched, and he turned, bowing before Supervisor Meng. “No, honored Torch. I'd say that if you did that, my sister might need to personally discipline you.”

After losing his job as gardener of the Tang family, Meng had retired to the position of supervisor, where he now spent most of his days. He had helped Kiro when he had first started harvesting, and in many ways was more of a parental figure than Hong Tang Leila had ever been.

The supervisor guffawed, his long white beard shaking with the movement. "Ah, give her my thanks when you meet her again, will you? I've never liked Ba Shou, and after hearing about what she had been about to do to you, my only regret is that she has not been disgraced further."

Kiro smiled. “I'll tell her, supervisor. Now, though, I believe that I must deliver these to Supervisor Ping."

"Of course, of course. I wouldn't want you being considered tardy, would I?" Meng smirked, helping him gather the pile into his arms.

“I wouldn’t dare, honored Torch. Though…” Kiro casually bent down to pick up his harvesting scissors. "That would mean we’d have to wait another half hour until I can show you my breakthrough in alchemy."

The old man's eyes went wide, and he clapped Kiro on the back, insistently tugging him away from the rest of the Suns. "Alright, no time for this final delivery! I’ll talk to Ping myself — for now, I must see your new concoction!”

* * *

Lotus. Dayspore. Frostfrond. The ingredients went in one by one, perfectly timed and prepared based on Kiro’s notes. A flash of blue sparks showered from the top, and he held it away from him, still frantically swirling. Stable.

Finally, he stirred in the catalyst, holding the solution up for Supervisor Meng to see. He was almost certain that this was the most potent version yet — real, properly maintained alchemy equipment streamlined the process, taking out any unnecessary variables in order to create as pure of a concoction as possible.

That should have been it. Flecks of blue and red battled within the concoction, and as the crystal integrated with them...

The elixir flooded the supervisor’s living room with white light, radiating a sense of warmth and peace. Kiro grinned, and as he regained his sight, he could see that Supervisor Meng was also smiling.

"Kiro, this is incredible. When you first came to me with this idea, I have to admit I had my doubts. However, even I, who have only the barest control over mana, can sense the change in the solution."

Kiro stoppered the elixir, placing it to the side and grabbing his notes. "Yes! I had Seira test it yesterday, and she said that it works brilliantly. However, there seems to be an unanticipated side-effect of using powdered crystal — it's far weaker than a normal elixir."

He spread the papers out along the surface of the table, letting the supervisor see his calculations.

"When I use less than this much, the reaction doesn't happen all the way through, and the unchanged fire mana consumes the part that does react. When I use more, though, the reaction grows violent."

The old man stroked his beard, thinking. "Hmm… may I see that vial?"