"As you command, Your Excellency!"
Once I heard Celeste's response, I left the Research Center and made my way to the Alchemy Lab.
There were still others I needed to see.
When I entered the lab, Jansen the Chief Brewer and Balma, his second-in-command, were instructing the new brewer trainees.
"…your group will prepare the Dara flowers. Miss Andal, Mister Sondi, Lady Gerthof, and Sir Zihan, your group will prepare the Tawa-Surya mixture. That is the noon assignment. Now go to your station, everyone!"
Jansen ordered to the dozens of brewer trainees.
Our demand for health potions kept increasing that we kept needing more people to make them.
The workload would only double now that Master had issued an order to provide Power Potion to the 3-star trainees on the third floor.
But it was still funny seeing Jansen commanding all these brewers.
I swore it was only yesterday that I cursed him and Vallerynne out for creating a mess in my lab.
"Your Excellency, welcome back!"
Jansen greeted once I approached him.
Balma next to him curtseyed to me.
"It is nice to see you awake and well again, Your Excellency."
"Jonah said you took care of me while I was unconscious. Thank you for that."
I told the veiled woman.
"I was only doing my duty, Your Excellency. Though there was someone else that provided a tremendous assistance in your recovery."
Balma said while turning to a woman cladded in a colorful Tchakran dress.
She was occupied with making a batch of Power Potion in a station of the lab.
That Tchakran woman was also one of the 3-star heroes summoned alongside Celeste and the others.
[Meifa Tiandong (★★★) Lv.11 (Exp 31/110)]
[Class: Mage]
[Strength: 12/12]
[Intelligence: 65/65]
[Stamina: 16/16]
[Agility: 12/12]
[Skills: Healing Magic Lv.2, Intermediate Enchantment Lv.2, Compulsion Magic Lv.2, Basic Alchemy Lv.8, Telekinesis Lv.3, Mana Transfer Lv.1]
A healer.
It was an extremely rare talent in Dunia.
Even though healing skill would become obsolete when health potion was available, a healer's true worth lied in their enchantment.
Healers were very capable enchanters.
Their potent body-enhancement spells were sought after all over.
Jonah said after this healer arrived, she helped strengthening my body and regulating my mana while I was unconscious.
"Balma told me I need to thank you for what you've done."
I spoke to the healer.
She immediately stopped her brewing and curtseyed to me.
"I, Meifa Tiandong of the Golden Spring sect, was only performing my duty as a healer, Your Excellency."
The Golden Spring was well-known even in the empire's mage society.
It was one of the few Tchakran sects that trained mages to become wandering healers.
Of course, not all of their disciples could learn healing magic.
But the sect dedicated their disciples to aid poor secluded regions and places devastated by disaster.
"I've read your evaluation report. From now on, Master and I would depend heavily on the disciples of the Golden Spring."
Meifa was skilled in both supportive and offensive magic.
As a healer, her enchantment skill was no longer questioned.
That degree of proficiency also enabled her to perform compulsion magic on her opponents.
And due to her being trained in a martial arts sect, Meifa was proficient in Tchakran's unique combat arts which focused on maneuvering blades using telekinesis.
Quite a talented mage.
"My sister and I shall give our best to the climb effort, Your Excellency."
The healer replied with a deep bow.
Indeed.
The healer did not come to the lobby alone.
She was actually the sister of the Tchakran glaive-wielder.
[Ding!]
[There is a strong connection between the two individuals.]
[Linked Heroes - 'Meifa (★★★)', 'Gaoling (★★★)']
[A bond called the 'Wanderers of the Golden Spring' has been formed!]
Naturally, there were only good things that came from the bonded sisters.
Gaoling's swift and powerful glaive technique paired with Meifa's enchantment and offensive magic made a very effective combination.
"The boiling pot is ready, Meifa. We can start putting the ingredients now."
A clumsy-looking boy about as old as Tarran came to the Tchakran healer.
He jumped when he saw me.
"Y-Your Excellency!"
"Are you the alchemist Master assigned to the lab?"
I asked the boy.
He nodded while wiping a stain on his cheek which only created a larger smudge.
"That's what the fairy told me, Your Excellency. I'm Cedran Maris."
This boy was a student in a commoner's magic academy in the empire.
He had exceptional theoretical knowledge in alchemy.
Even so, Cedran did not have exceptional combat abilities.
The boy did not have enough mana to cast lasting enchantment, worse than even Vallerynne when she first came to the forged land. His telekinesis skill was also below average. He did not have good tactical sense in the battlefield unlike the other mages.
But the boy was still a 3-star mage with an Intermediate Alchemy and Intermediate Research skill.
Even with the forged land's power, however, Cedran would not improve. Not to the point that mattered.
We had many cases like him back in Dunia.
Not all mages were suited for the battlefield. Cedran was an example.
They might have mana vessel which classified them as mages and the intellectual capability to comprehend magical formulas.
But they simply did not have enough mana to make a difference in battle.
This sort of mages would be fated to become instructors in the academy or private tutors. They might also take on jobs that did not require them to spend much mana, like potion-making.
Master had realized this of Cedran.
After the boy completed his evaluation, Master did not bother to assign him with a climbing party and immediately made him work in the Magic Hall.
He would be a great addition to the Alchemy Lab and the Research Center.
The scale of the climb was getting bigger and we needed more people to support the Raid Team.
So I supposed it was still a good thing for Cedran to be summoned.
The Weekday Dungeons were now able to yield Mannalite in small amount.
That meant we could now constantly produce Healing Stone and Portal Stone. Both of which Master had ordered in large amount for the Raid Team.
We would need the healer and the alchemist's help to fulfill those overwhelming orders.
But Meifa would also be busy with her training and the climb effort. So Cedran could fill in for her when she was absent from the lab.
And he could also provide steady production of research points while the other researcher mages were occupied too.
It was a good arrangement in the end.
I should be grateful for the state of Magic Hall right now considering we lost three mages to the previous Quintal Trial.
The 20th floor had certainly brought us down.
But we had started getting back on our feet again.