(Finally, I managed to get them to leave).

After lunch, Zack persuaded them to go home. He would visit them soon to check on the healing progress and see if there were any complications. As for payment, they decided to wait until the leg healed before discussing the matter. Anyway, it was obvious that they couldn't earn enough money to pay him for now.

(It's not the time to rest) Zack got up from his seat and started walking towards his bedroom. With all the commotion, he hadn't even had time to change his clothes.

Once he put on something more comfortable, he grabbed the bag of medicinal herbs he had with him all this time and headed to his study.

After entering, he closed the door so Titan couldn't interrupt him. As he was trying to prepare one of the remedies from his recipe book, Titan entered the room. He still has nightmares about that incident. Since then, he has been forbidden from entering when Zack is working.

Not that there was much to worry about; the dog was now peacefully napping after filling his stomach. But still, Zack didn't want to take any risks.

Once he sat in the chair, he didn't immediately start working. He took out the ingredients one by one and began cataloging them. If there's one thing he learned these weeks, it's that an organized environment is crucial for a job well done.

Once he arranged all the herbs he gathered in his little journey through the forest, he began working.

The recipe he was going to try was a skin exfoliant. It's an herbal cream with anti-inflammatory and skin-repairing functions. It's used for burns and the removal of pimples and wrinkles.

Zack decided to learn this recipe first because it's highly coveted by the women in the village. During the time Greta and her group of harpy friends helped him get familiar with the market, they told him that the old doctor used to sell this cream in the city stores to make money, and it was quite profitable. More than once, they hinted that he could prepare it again, and the village would be very grateful. Shaking off that memory from his head, Zack refocused on the medicine.

The other reason he decided to prepare this cream is that the recipe is not too complicated: a teaspoon of ginger root, half a tablespoon of copper flower, a cup of miambre oil, and a pinch of moonlight powder.

Seems easy, right? Far from it. This damn recipe has been tormenting him for almost two weeks.

The damn recipe book forgot to include sensible instructions.

How much of a teaspoon of ginger root? And half a tablespoon? How much is a pinch? And where do I get moonlight powder from?!

These questions have been on Zack's mind since he saw the recipe. The book doesn't include exact measurements to follow. Everything written is tailored to the late doctor. If he could, Zack would grab the doctor and force the answers out of his mouth with punches for all the time he's wasted searching for the ingredient proportions.

Even if he had the correct proportions, it still wouldn't be enough. The ingredients must be ground, grated, and mixed properly for the desired effect to occur. Otherwise, an incomplete mixture will result, and without the full effect.

No matter how hard he tries, he's not a doctor, nor does he have the necessary skills to make even the simplest of remedies. That doesn't mean he can't cheat.

Zack directed his gaze toward the ingredients, and magical power began to flow through his body.

The ingredients started to float and headed to different points on the table.

The ginger root began to crush itself slowly until it turned into a paste that slowly deposited itself into a container.

The copper flower released its petals from the rest of the plant, and half of them were slowly ground in the mortar, which was being controlled with the tier 0 magician's hand spell, ensuring they weren't finer than a grain of sand.

The miambre was placed on the table, and Zack used one of the new spells he had learned to extract the oil from it.

Drain.

He had never heard of miambre until now. Miambre is a vegetable from warm climates in this world, and it is very popular among the inhabitants of villages and small towns. The reason it's so popular is that it's straightforward to cultivate and offers a bountiful harvest, much like rice. Although they are in the northern part of the continent, it gets warm enough to grow the vegetables.

Once the ingredients were ready, Zack put them in the mortar and began mixing them manually. Although he could do it with magic, the excellent control he possesses only allows for a homogeneous mix that doesn't have the effect described in the book, so Zack can only try it by hand.

Zack felt a little strange. Thinking that one of the reasons he can't create the recipes is because he does it too well seems a bit ridiculous.

The recipe he is making now, he has done a countless number of times. He already has the steps completely memorized and does them almost unconsciously.

The problem is that he still doesn't know what he's doing wrong. All he can do is repeat the recipe over and over, slightly changing some of the steps and noting those changes to see if anything abnormal happens in the preparation.

"Huh?"

When he finished making the burn ointment and deposited it into one of the containers to examine it, he saw something curious. The finished ointment had a different color than usual; normally, the leaf mixture leaves a yellowish color, but this time, it turned a dark white color. Zack reviewed the steps one by one to see what had gone wrong, but (Could it be that I've found the solution?) Zack wondered as he shot up to the office. When he returned, he brought one of the medicine books with him.

(Have I succeeded?)

The book details that some medicinal combinations can have a color alteration based on the different elements provided.

(But how do I check it?)

If he had the tier 1 craftsman class, everything would be easier. Despite being one of the basic classes, one of its most iconic skills is being able to identify the objects one crafts on their own. Of course, there are many other identification skills. Unfortunately, he doesn't have any since most are exclusive to each class.

To be honest, he didn't think he would succeed; this was just one of many attempts to try to uncover the true recipe.

Although Zack suspects that the medicine is real, he has no intention of testing it on himself. Who knows what its effects would be if his assumption is wrong? Besides, this is not a game, and medicine is not magic. Even if he wanted to find out if it has real effects, the only way is to apply it, but it's a burn medicine, not a miracle remedy. It would take several days to check if it has an effect once exposed to the skin.

Suddenly, a furry figure came to mind. However, he dismissed the idea quickly. There has to be another way to test its effects.

Then he remembered that there is a class that can identify certain types of objects. Zack got up from his seat and prepared to leave. It was time to go to the city.