My palm was sweating. I had crafted nothing in this world before. Will I get scolded if I break the flask? What if the witch uses her command spell again? What will she do to me? No, calm down. If the witch wanted to hurt me, she could easily have done so by now.

This has to be a harmless test. But then why would she say that I could end with a nasty cut if I fail?

I was so anxious and frustrated that my body just groaned on its own. The witch reacted by laughing.

“Ah yes, my dear, I forgot you were a level one, after all. How silly of me to expect you to know how to be useful. Here is a simple potion brewing 101 for you;”

1) Fill a flask with water.

2) Hold the flask with both of your hands

3) Close your eyes and choose the spell

“Now, there should be some water left in the teapot. Grab it.”

My arm trembled as I reached for the teapot. But I managed to fill my flask with water.

The Witch seemed pleased.

“Relax, let me do the spell along with you.”

“T-Thank you,” I said.

“My dear, I am here to help you. No need to thank me.”

With a single snap of her fingers, an empty flask appeared in her hand. But unlike me, she filled her flask with water by merely digging her finger deep into it.

“Now, hold the potion with both of your hands. Like this,” The Witch said.

That seemed easy enough.

“But how do I choose the spell?” I asked.

“Easy, just ask yourself; What is magic? There is no wrong answer, but if your answer is not honest, it will not work.”

I waited to see if the witch demonstrated the spell for me. But she did not. This had to be a test. What is magic? I did not know. I had seen the witch perform three different magic spells. This living room alone is proof of magic. But is it? This is a game world, to an extent. That means magic has to exist. But have I seen it? The witch very well could be deceiving me.

Perhaps, true magic would be one that allows me to talk to Henrietta. That silly albino girl. Wait…

I could hear the witch laughing. My cheeks were burning hot. My palms were burning hot. I opened my eyes and to my surprise, the water inside of the flask had turned deep red.

[Brewing Skill +1]

“I did it!” I yelled. “I… I did… r-right?”

“Yes, but you brewed the wrong type of potion,” The Witch said. “Look,”

In the blink of an eye, the witch turned the water inside of her flask into a deep blue.

“If you did as instructed, the water inside the flask would be a shade of blue. Given your current skill level, I expected the color to be barely visible. However, you exceeded my expectations despite casting the wrong spell. Tell me, what was your thought process? What were you thinking about when you were crafting the spell?”

If she finds out my mind got distracted, she might get upset. I must not let her find out.

“Why, why does that matter?”

The witch smiled. “Red is the color of love. Whoever you were thinking about must be someone you truly care about, or a place that means a lot to you. A red potion will smell exactly like the target of your imagination.”

Now, I must NOT let her find out.

“Oh, I was thinking about home,” I said.

“I did not take you for the type of person to be homesick. But whatever, we must proceed.”

“Alright, what’s next?”

“Breakfast.”

************

For something as simple as scrambled Eggs and Bacon, it was delicious. The witch's cooking had a motherly touch to it.

“Now let’s do something slightly more complicated,” The Witch said.

Unlike in our previous attempt, the witch emptied the dinning table. Then, she placed a row of six beakers on one edge of the table, and a row of six flasks on another. At last, she placed a big bowl in the middle.

“I want you to do a rainbow,” The Witch said.

“How?” I asked. After all, I only had one potion under my name. Now she wanted me to do five more?

“Easy, just fill the six flasks with different colors. I will take care of the rest,” The Witch said.

“Alright.”

If Love is red, and Magic is blue. Then, would greed be green? Or would green be the color of poison? Were colors determined by emotions? Or abstract concepts? There was only one way to find out.

I had to try greed first. I filled all the flasks. Then, standing near the edge of the table, I held one of the flasks with both hands. Closing my eyes, I thought about money, banks, loans, and corporations. When I opened my eyes, the flask in front of me was filled with a semi-transparent light yellow.

The witch did not say a word. But observed.

I grabbed the next flask, then I concentrated in something nasty, sticky. Slimes. Yes, Slimes. Something cracked. I opened my eyes just in time to hear dripping. All the flasks but the one that I was holding had broken.

“Ew,” There was a greenish stain in my white gown, and my toes were all sticky. “Why did this happen!?”

“You were indeed very greedy, darling,” The Witch replied. “You tried casting a spell way beyond your level. The transmutation of water into a slime is a level twenty spell. Not only that, but you cross contaminated all the water by holding to the spell in your mind. Patience is key. You must clear your mind of all thoughts until your hands are no longer touching your water source.”

“And you only tell me this just now?”

The witch smiled.

“Not only did you not ask. But you really thought you knew the answer up to the moment that everything fell apart. Pride and Vanity are a sin. But I must give you credit for taking the initiative. Besides, it wouldn’t be a test if I just gave you the answers.”

I did not respond.

“You did an excellent job. But you made a mess out of my floor. NOW MOP THE FLOOR, and please get dressed. You can’t be in a gown all day.”

The command was so powerful that I ended up mopping the entire house before I was aware of what was happening.

When I made it back to the living room, I was back on my boots and adventurer gear. My clothes smelled like Lavander. It seems the witch had been nice enough to wash my stuff for me.

“Thank you,” I said.

The Witch smiled.

“I have a parting gift for you,” she said. “Take it.”

It was a book, Demonian-Common Dictionary ~ By Anna The Beautiful Witch.

“Oh, and in case you do not know. I wrote it while you were asleep,” The Witch said.

“I-”

“Oh, and one last thing,” Anna snapped her fingers and the red potion that I had brewed early appeared in my hands.

She is up to something.

Someone knocked on the door.

“It seems Henrietta is here,” Anna said.

“Anna,”

“Yes?”

“Tell me, if I have unlimited potential and you have the power to enslave me. Why do you let me go?” I asked.

It was a valid question. Why would she go through the process of teaching me things? What did she have to gain? Did she not say I was special?

“Darling, I might have such power. But a relationship built by either force or lies - will not last. Command spells do not even work once you reach level 5.”

“Relationship?” I asked.

The smiling witch was ready to respond. Even if Henrietta kept knocking at the door.

“Yes, I want to adopt you. Take you as my apprentice. We would make the cutest and strongest Mother-Daughter Duo. Would it not be amazing if you were my Daughter-Apprentice?” Anna said. She was excited to even mention the prospect of that happening.

She did not seem like a bad person. But the Idea of having an overprotective, over-doting, super-controlling mother was not appealing to me.

Before I could respond, Henrietta broke into the house.

“[] ^ 000%%$ !!!”

“00^^[][][][]$ !!!”

Curses just began flying around. Not the magical kind.

“Wait, the two of you. Shut up,” I said. “Where is Elvin!?”

The witch smiled. Removed her hat, and pulled Elvin out of it. Now, that was magic.

***********************

Once outside, I carried the Demonian book in one hand, and the red potion in another. What would Henrietta do if she finds out about the potion? I had to get rid of it somehow without her noticing.