“Be careful not to get hurt, okay?”
Professor Aiaie allowed me to use the potion-making station, just like in the game.
The potion-making station, with a black cauldron placed on a hexagonal wooden board, was a familiar object to me.
When playing as Reoa, I had to interact with this thing every time I wanted to make an elixir, so I couldn’t help but feel a sense of familiarity.
“To make an elixir… Hmm, wait a second. I’m sure I marked it somewhere…”
“Just throw a bunch of herbs into the cauldron, and you’re good to go.”
Monica said this with a carefree expression, while Nicasia groaned in frustration.
Meanwhile, I, Murmur, skillfully filled the black cauldron with water and tossed in a handful of Mana Glow Roses.
“Ah! Here it is. The well-dried Mana Glow Roses…”
“Murmur already did it!”
“Murmur really can do anything.”
Nicasia held the textbook with both hands and gave me a sweet smile.
“Murmur just studied the book as hard as you did, Nicasia.”
“But Murmur acts like she’s super familiar with all this, doesn’t she?”
Nicasia and Monica would never understand!
This potion-making station had a strangely realistic crafting system that made countless players scream in frustration.
Thanks to that, pouring a bottle of water and a bunch of Mana Glow Roses into the cauldron felt as natural as remembering where to use WASD and QWER.
“If Nicasia is interested, she could do well too.”
“Ugh… I think making elixirs is my limit.”
Nicasia shook her head vigorously as she spoke.
“But I think it’s good to at least know how to make a Healing Elixir.”
I, Murmur, skillfully tossed Honeydew Grass into the cauldron, followed by a handful of Crimson Blossoms.
The contents of the black cauldron began to bubble and boil beautifully.
“I think so too. Even if you can’t make elixirs, it’s good to at least know how to make ointments, right?”
“I thought Monica wouldn’t be interested since she can use Healing Magic, but I guess not?”
“Healing Magic isn’t omnipotent. Sometimes, using ointments or elixirs is much more helpful.”
Nicasia nodded and chopped the herbs I pointed at with a knife.
“Murmur thinks so too. Nicasia, haven’t you had times when Healing Magic didn’t work well?”
“Hmm… Yeah, definitely.”
The ‘Royal Family,’ born with the duty to protect the people from evil demons, naturally possessed strong resistance to magic.
Ironically, this resistance was so fair that it rejected Healing Magic and beneficial enhancement magic alike.
“When I was younger, that felt really unfair.”
Nicasia, you’re still a kid, though?
“I know how that feels~”
“Always having to take bitter medicine… It really felt unfair… Huh? Murmur, did you already finish one?”
Nicasia clapped as she watched me complete the ‘Healing Elixir’ and pour it into a bottle.
“Yeah, I thought I should work hard… because I might fail.”
“That’s true. Even if you follow the textbook, failure is always possible.”
“I heard about it yesterday! Torlin made a mistake and turned Citrine’s hair into bubbling popcorn!”
That was truly a sight to behold.
It was so bad that Torlin was half-crying while apologizing, and I wondered if Citrine’s twin-drill hair would ever recover.
“Murmur thinks it’s fine.”
I, Murmur, planned to make more than just the three elixirs Professor Aiaie mentioned.
So, there was definitely a chance of failure.
But with the potion-making station’s strangely realistic and complex crafting system memorized, there was no way that would happen.
“The color of the cauldron… It’s really changing beautifully.”
“Every time Murmur stirs the cauldron, it sparkles like a rainbow.”
Most first-time players feel that the potion-making station is surprisingly easy to use, contrary to its infamous reputation.
But that’s just a sweet illusion.
After the pleasant first experience, players start to notice something strange when making the next potion.
The expected elixir never comes out.
From this point on, players feel dizzy and eventually turn to攻略 sites, only to be shocked again.
“Murmur really doesn’t hesitate.”
“I don’t even need to warn her!”
Clearly, the potion-making station’s UI shows that only three ingredients can be added, so why are there elixirs made with four or five ingredients?
Players who realize this question begin to understand the strangely realistic and intricate crafting system.
“Huh? Murmur, I added the same ingredients as before, but a completely different colored elixir came out?”
When I, Murmur, was bottling the third elixir, Nicasia spoke up.
“Yeah, the energy from the ingredients used in the first and second elixirs is still lingering.”
“Wait… You have to consider that too?”
“Yep, and cleaning the cauldron doesn’t help. There are elixirs that use this residual energy.”
Nicasia covered her mouth in amazement.
Yeah, that’s the expression most players have when they first hear about this system.
‘The effects of the ingredients remain in the cauldron according to the rules after crafting an elixir.’
Without knowing this bizarre and frustratingly realistic system, players can never get their hands on ‘good elixirs.’
Well, it’s not like you can’t get them at all—you could charm Citrine or steal from an NPC’s pocket, but…
—Bubble bubble… Pshhh!
“D-did… lightning just strike inside the cauldron?”
“Now it’s a snowstorm!”
“It’s not going to explode like Torlin’s mistake yesterday, right?!”
Nicasia and Monica, who knew nothing about elixir-making, were now half-hugging each other, reacting like moviegoers watching an intense scene.
“It’s fine. As long as you don’t boil more than four ingredients at once, it won’t explode.”
I stirred the cauldron diligently and made the sixth elixir.
Anyway, this crafting system is really mysterious.
Thanks to it, I can enjoy making incredible elixirs in a 10-combo style, which I quite like.
Most players hate it so much that they recommend installing mods and call it the ‘Noob Mixer.’
Ugh, but this really has the fun of making elixirs in a ‘witch’s cauldron’…
“I-is this… really okay? Murmur?”
“If it explodes, I’ll use Holy Magic to create a shield for you!”
“S-so, Monica!! If you saw the future, tell us exactly what’s going to happen!”
“Murmur’s actions~ are beyond my sight.”
Nicasia trembled and nervously scanned the textbook.
“Ah, so… the Healing Elixir is a pomegranate-like red, and the Mana Elixir is a grape-like blue? Are grapes even blue? Why did they even use this analogy?!”
“Murmur says it’s fine… Achoo!”
“It definitely doesn’t look fine!!! W-wait, Murmur! Aren’t you already on your 10th glass bottle?”
“Murmur wants to say that failure is the mother of success.”
Nicasia let out a small scream and half-hugged Monica’s waist.
The way she’s convinced it’s going to explode is so cute.
“It’s fine. It definitely won’t explode.”
I, Murmur, gave a confident smile and pulled out the ‘Dew of Time’ that Alraune had prepared.
This is the unique herb I worked so hard to get for this assignment! The secret ingredient.
If you don’t know the攻略, you can’t get it for free. You either have to fight Alraune or pass a devastating stat check to obtain it.
It’s a shame I can’t brag about how amazing this thing is!
“What’s that? Murmur?”
Nicasia looked at the small glass bottle I was holding.
In the bottle, small enough to be hidden in my tiny hand, was the dew collected from the ‘Dew of Time.’
I poured every last drop into the cauldron.
“It’s morning dew.”
“Even that goes into elixirs…”
—Poof!
Pink smoke erupted beautifully from the mana cauldron, just as I expected.
“Wow… A pretty rainbow appeared.”
“Cough… Ugh, this smell is really, cough… sweet?”
While Nicasia fanned herself and Monica clapped, I quickly bottled today’s final elixir, the ‘Elixir of First Breath,’ and packed it into my bag.
Great, just as planned, I made all the elixirs I wanted without any failures or strange events.
Now, I just need to pack all of them into the bag Citrine prepared…
“Looks like you finished faster than expected?”
Professor Aiaie approached us with a smile.
“One, two, three… Oh my? You made nine elixirs?”
“Murmur failed a few times.”
“We’re not very skilled, so we could only give Murmur some simple help.”
Nicasia gave an awkward smile, while Monica grinned.
“Did you say you failed just now?”
Professor Aiaie reached for the elixir I hadn’t packed yet.
“This is the Elixir of Animal Friendship, isn’t it?”
“Murmur doesn’t know what that is.”
“And this… Oh my, it’s a very intricately made Barkvine Elixir?”
Ah, I really need that.
“I thought it failed because it’s so green.”
“Do you really think this is a failure? Goodness… Isn’t this the Elixir of Binding? You couldn’t have even gotten the ingredients for this.”
“Murmur, um, got some strange herbs from the Star Shadow Forest…”
Professor Aiaie grabbed my shoulders with both hands.
Ah, please!
“Miss Murmur?”
“Murmur… failed six times.”
“This can’t be called a failure. If you made elixirs like this from failures, then you, Miss Murmur, have a ‘talent’ bestowed by the gods.”
Ah, I’m doomed.
“Did Murmur make all these elixirs in one go?”
Monica! Don’t push me into hell with that smiling face!
“Ugh…!!!”
“Miss Murmur… Do you remember the promise you made with me last time?”
Professor Aiaie crouched down to meet my eyes.
No, I don’t want to.
Murmur doesn’t want to do that!
“Murmur has bad memory…”
“Miss Murmur, it seems you have exceptional magical talent. How about learning some advanced magic with me?”
“Ugh, ugh…!”
“Don’t worry too much. It’s just a bit more complex and difficult than the magic you’re using now, okay?”
“Murmur doesn’t want to be exploited!”
I, Murmur, desperately slapped Professor Aiaie’s hands away, grabbed my horns, and ran off.
“Hey! Murmur! Stay… still!! Just learn two! Transformation Magic and Emission Magic are really fun! And if you want, Necromancy too…”
“Murmur still wants to playyy…! Murmur doesn’t want to be experimented on by Professor Aiaie!”
“Murmur! Letting your magical talent go to waste is a historical…!!!”
Professor Aiaie chased me all the way to the dormitory.
Seriously!! What are you trying to make a 5th-grade elementary student like Softy do?!
* * *
“Sigh… If she starts learning Emission Magic now, she could become a mage even the Magica Kingdom would want to recruit…”
Professor Aiaie sighed deeply, but the corners of her mouth twitched.
She really liked Murmur.
‘Her attitude toward making elixirs was perfect, and the results were truly fantastic. Plus, her approach to magic is outstanding.’
Professor Aiaie was genuinely moved by how Murmur treated Monica and Nicasia.
There were no obnoxious or old-fashioned mages at Cosmos Academy that Professor Aiaie despised.
But there were definitely mages who looked down on those who weren’t good at magic.
Murmur, who possessed great power but was incredibly soft with her friends.
Professor Aiaie couldn’t help but adore Murmur.
“I never thought the day would come when that mouth wouldn’t stop talking.”
“Ah, Professor Marea… What can I do? When you think about Murmur’s potential, it’s hard not to get excited.”
In front of the brightly smiling Professor Aiaie sat a woman with faded red hair, Marea von Manstein.
“Murmur?”
Marea skillfully moved her golden prosthetic arm and took a sip of tea.
“Yes, Miss Murmur has exceptional magical abilities.”
“That’s interesting. She barely passes my classes.”
“That’s because Professor Marea…”
Professor Aiaie didn’t want to argue and knew Marea’s circumstances well, so she gave a bitter smile.
“No, it’s not like that. That Murmur girl…”
“Does Murmur act differently in your class, Professor Marea?”
“In my class, she acts like she has no intention of learning anything.”
“What? That can’t be. She’s quite active in my magic classes, art classes… and other classes.”
Professor Aiaie brought her clenched right hand to her ample chest and then raised it to her chin, spreading her fingers.
“I know that too… That’s why I’m saying this.”
Marea clicked her tongue and finished her black tea.
“Murmur really seems like she has no intention of learning anything in my class.”
What was natural for Murmur felt like a kind of provocation to Professor Marea.
![[TS] The End of Magical Girls Has Come](https://i3.wp.com/darkmtl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/1737407792-8993-TS-The-end-of-magical-girls-has-come.png?resize=85,105 "[TS] The End of Magical Girls Has Come")
