(Brendan POV)
To say that I loathe my weak self would be an understatement.
I knew that compared to my senior sisters, I was unbelievably weak.
No, I was laughably weak.
Master had declared I had no talent for cultivation, but He still refused to give up on me and found my talent in alchemy instead.
But even with said talent, it was obvious I was still quite lacking in my learning as my senior sisters quickly improved by leaps and bounds while I struggled to even comprehend Master's teachings.
Master never seemed to mind my incompetence, merely giving a smile and continuing to guide me patiently with His usual smile.
Despite Master's multiple assurances that I was showing great signs of progress, I still felt inadequate.
All I've managed to do are mediocre potions that require an entire day for me to make while Master could make them instantly and if He had wanted to, possibly even in His sleep.
I know it might be arrogant for me to hope I could reach Master's level in alchemy when Master is literally a God. But when Master had placed such high hopes on me, there was no way I could disappoint Him.
Even now when Master should have been looking for ways to restore His missing memories, He had chosen to prioritise us instead of Himself.
"Right, this is the method I told you about to increase the potion's purity. I might not have explained it in detail back then but here's the process illustrated. You might have a better time picturing it now."
I inspected the diagram that Master had handed to me, further proving Master's genius in being able to convey such a complex procedure without illustrating it to me.
Such is the skill gap between Master and I.
Although I already understood the concept from Master's teachings, seeing it recorded in the book allowed me to have a better understanding of it. The next time I try making a potion, I might be able to brew even better quality ones.
But seeing how Master had even set aside the time now to teach me...
"Master, are you sure you don't want to look for ways to cure your memory loss now?" I asked in trepidation.
Master raised His eyebrow at me, "Why? Are you in a rush to go home or something?"
"N… No… I mean… I would have thought Master might have wanted to regain your memories as soon as possible, especially since… You know… There seems to be a lot of things happening that are connected to your past."
"Pfft, there's no rush. It's not like they're going anywhere are they? I did tell you how I got most of my knowledge in this very archive right? There's still a ton of things I don't know and I think the present takes priority over the past, don't you think?"
Not with the kind of history Master seems to have if you ask me, but who am I to argue? So I just nodded my head at Master.
"Right, why don't you take a look at these books too while I sort out the materials I'd like the others to read in the meantime?"
"Master… I think you're working too hard for us."
"Really? This is the least I can do as your Master you know?"
No Master, other masters would not go this far for their disciples you know? Sure, there might be a few teachers who genuinely want to spread their teachings to others but most masters of cultivation Sects only take in disciples to further their own standings you know?
Then again, it's not like Master would need to do such a thing anyway. There was no one higher than Master in the entire world after all. It can be said that it's our greatest fortune that Master was genuinely interested in teaching us even when He did not really have much to gain from it.
Deciding to follow Master's advice, I took up one of the books and began to flip through its contents.
Just as I picked up the book, a slip of paper dropped out from in between its pages onto the table.
Curious, I picked it up and inspected its contents.
Written in very neat handwriting at the top of the page were the words "The potion that can cure any memory loss one hundred percent working guaranteed".
I frowned at it, isn't this a little too convenient? What's more, the listed ingredients and process seems a little...
It should be a good idea to show Master this first.
"Master? Umm… You might want to take a look at this."
Master came behind me and looked over my shoulder, His eyes narrowing slightly when He caught sight of the title as well.
"Where did you find this?" He asked.
"It fell out of the book you gave me, Master."
"Huh… Let's see… It says the ingredients are a vial of water from the Fairy Lake, a fruit of the Eternal Heaven Tree, three drops of blood from a ten thousand year old Life Spring Phoenix, a tear from the Dragon King Asphart and… A spoonful of pure liquified Origin energy? Also the person this potion is meant for cannot be the one to gather or make it?"
I looked up at Master, "Umm… Does Master know what these are?"
"I only know the last one but I didn't know they can be measured by 'spoonfuls'... I can only assume the rest are things that can be found on this Plane so a resident of this Plane should know."
Master turned towards the only other occupant in the room, "Rina?"
The maid girl appeared in front of him immediately, as though teleporting.
"What is it… Master?"
"Do you know what these things are?" He gestured to the paper in my hand.
Rina squinted at its contents and a frown appeared on her face as well.
"Where did you find this?"
Master gestured to the book that it fell out of.
"This is odd… Before any book is placed here, all of them have to be screened through first and any loose pieces of paper should have been found… For one to be left in there… This is definitely not a coincidence…"
"Are you suggesting someone planted it there knowing I would find it?"
"Very improbable since no one else came here, but the chances are not zero… The materials it mentioned there are also extremely difficult to get even for us. Aside from that 'Origin energy' that I do not know what it might be. If I had to guess, this might just be pure nonsense."
"I suppose… But it might be worth looking into… But the last condition seems weird no matter how I look at it," Master considered, scratching His chin.
I got an idea, "Master, why not we give it a try? If we knew the location of these ingredients, I'm sure senior sisters and I would be able to gather it."
Master considered for a moment, "Hmm… I guess if the girls are fine with it. Do you mind if we take this out?"
The maid girl shook her head, "Since that piece of paper is not part of any book, feel free to do so. I would suggest talking to her most gracious majesty in regards to the materials. She would be able to provide a map with the locations and details of getting these ingredients."
"Thank you, Rina."
"No need to thank me. You are her most gracious Majesty's husband and thus also my Master. As long as you've done nothing to hurt her, I will serve you as I have served her."
Without waiting for a reply, she turned and walked away from us without a second glance back.
Master watched her go before turning back to me, "Well, I guess we're going to get busy. Why don't you go tell your senior sisters about the news first? Then find out about the possibility of getting these materials. I'll clean up a bit before leaving."
I bowed my head, "As you wish, Master."
I'm not sure how the rest would react to this but I'm pretty sure the girls would be on board to help Master too.