The Minister of Pills had arrived. She was some sort of floating pink bubble. Again, more knowledge was required to take full advantage of his higher processing abilities.

"Run along back to your seats, kids," the MOP said.

She was referencing both him and Uchornia. The Pooted Sprout was still stunned beyond belief, trying her best to process what had just transpired.

Understandable.

This was a scenario that she could only dream of.

"Please forgive my friend," Niwla said. "I will bring her back to her seat."

"Oh, thank you. The last thing we want is any accidents when the cauldron pops up from the floor," the MOP giggled.

Niwla nodded.

With a flap of his wings, he was airborne. Circling once, he positioned himself such that he was above Uchornia, talons gently hooking around the rim of her bio-ceramic pot. With precise movements, he lifted her into the air and flew her back to her seat before he made a landing on his own.

"Milvus," the MOP chimed. "If you could, please."

"Absolutely." The triangle smiled. Despite the teacher's desk still sunk within the ground and his tentacles not making any visible movements, the floor in front of the MOP opened up. Ascending from the darkness was a large gray cauldron. Right beside it, perched neatly on a pedestal, were various colorful herbs and ingredients.

Niwla did not know the names of these ingredients. More knowledge was required.

This time, not only did the floor open up, but the ceiling did as well.

A metallic pole with a clear orb fixed to its tip descended from above. It stopped just over the cauldron. Light flashed from its side, and an image bloomed against the board, displaying whatever was happening within the cauldron.

Currently nothing.

"Hi, kids. As part of your Hatchday present, I'm here to give you a demonstration on Pill Refining."

"Whoo!" cheered Gus.

"It's nice to see such enthusiastic students. Why don't you come here and be my assistant?"

"Wait, really?"

"Of course."

Gus blitzed over in less than a second, leaving behind a trail of lightning in his wake. He was salivating, looking at the various ingredients on the pedestal. Somehow, he found the will to resist chomping it all down.

An oddity for sure.

"Now watch closely, kids, today we're going to be making a Healing Pill."

"Wait!" Gus shouted.

"What is it, little one?' the floating pink bubble asked.

"Um. You see. I have this really nice friend who always makes me treats. And…um…she has this dream thing that I don't really get, so she's always working very hard. So…um….can you be her teacher?'

"I'm sorry, little one. But I can't just accept students willy-nilly as much as I would love to."

"Oh…"Gus trailed off, thinking. "Can she be an assistant too?"

"You know what they say, too many cooks spoil the broth. It's the same for Pill Refining. The most I will allow is one assistant."

"Oh…" Gus trailed off again. "Can she take my spot as assistant?"

"Why? Are you sure?" she gasped. "It's not every day someone gets to assist me in making Pills."

"Yup!" Gus said. "She's my friend. And this is what friends do."

"Very well, little one. Return to your seat and let your friend take your spot."

Gus used his large two front paws to hop himself back into his desk. Uchronia, however, still remained rooted to her seat. She had heard the conversation between Gus and the MOP's yet still didn't move.

This event wasn't an oddity in his eyes.

"Uchronia," Gus said, shaking the Potted Sprout. "Uchronia."

"What is it, Gus?" she said.

"Aren't you going to go up?"

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"What for?"

"To be the Pill Refiners' assistant."

"Wait, that friend you were referring to was me?"

"Of course! Who else would I be talking about?"

"I-I'm not sure. It's an incredible opportunity, and you're just giving it up for me?"

"Yup!"

"I-I don't know what to say, Gus."

"It's okay. When you find out what to say, then you can say it."

"Thank you, Gus. This means a lot."

Uchronia hopped off her seat and briskly walked to the front of the class using those root-like legs of hers. She stopped right next to the floating pink bubble and said, "Thank you for allowing me to assist you."

"No problem at all, little one. Now, let us start the demonstration."

"Whoo!" Gus cheered.

"When it comes to Pill Refining, there isn't a most important or least important part. They're all equally important. The quality of ingredients, where you refine the pills, and even the flames. All of it combined will give you the best quality Pill possible. Assistant, hand me the Heartleaf Herb."

Using her leaves, Uchronia picked up the herb that was shaped like a heart and handed it over to the MOP.

"This is the most basic ingredient used to make Healing Pills. And depending on how skilled the Pill Refiner is, the only ingredient. Though other ingredients can be added to enhance and change the properties of the resulting Pill."

The MOP tossed the herb into the cauldron and proceeded. An earthy and hearty scent started to waft through the room as the heat from the flames slowly cooked the herb.

She lacked hands, so she summoned a special tool to help with the process. Instead of a stirrer or even a spoon for that matter, she summoned out a mop—the tool used for cleaning the floor.

"It's a bit unconventional, but this is my preferred instrument of choice," the MOP said. "Now watch and learn."

On the projected screen, the class watched as the MOP plunged her mop into the cauldron. She moved it up and down, crushing the Heartleaf Herb into a fine red powder, staining the white strands of her mop red. Immediately after, she started to stir the mop, spreading the powder all over the cauldron. Somehow, the powder that had been soaked into the mop was extracted from its strands, turning whiter with every stir until the powder was evenly spread throughout the cauldron. Then, the mop disappeared, and the floating pink bubble addressed the class once more.

"Another aspect of Pill Refining is patience. You need to wait until the right moment to get the maximum yield from the ingredients. And the best way to—oops, it's ready."

She summoned out her mop again, plunging it into the cauldron once more. Stirring it, she collected all of the powder, which visually looked the same to him, soaking them into her mop and staining the strands red once again.

"Assistant, the vials please."

Uchronia nodded, grabbing a vial with her leaf and handing it over to the mop.

"Whoopsie, I should've been more specific. Grab all of the vials and place them on the floor, please."

Uchronia nodded again. She placed the first vial on the floor and rushed back to the pedestal, grabbing all of the available vials and arranging them in a grid pattern right in front of the floating pink bubble.

"Thank you, little one."

She placed the mop right over the vials and waited. Through a process completely foreign to him, Niwla watched as the top of the strands of the mop slowly started to lose its red coloration, returning to its original white. It was as if all of the powder substance that it had soaked up was being pushed down the strands of the mops. At the very ends of the strands, red blobs formed before dropping into the vial.

The sounds of small little marbles clinking echoed out as they dropped from the mop like raindrops, each one landing neatly in a waiting vial. One by one, they fell until the strands of the mop were pure white once again.

"And, that's it, kids. That's how the MOP makes Small Healing Pills. It's a unique method that I came up with, so don't try and replicate it until you're ready. If you decide to go on the Pill Refining track, you'll be starting out with the basics. And as an extra special Hatchday present, these are for you."

Multiple tiny pink bubbles appeared next to the MOP. They floated towards the vials on the ground, encasing them before floating over to the rest of the class. The moment all of the bubbles hovered over a desk, they all burst with a soft pop. Vials clinked as they struck the desk, little red pills tumbling within its confines.

"That's all I have time for today, kids. If you have any questions, feel free to ask Mr. Milvus or your future instructors. See you around."

The MOP floated out of the classroom door, squeezing her large pink bubble body through it.

That was a more peaceful demonstration than with the MOD. Although Uchronia's role as an assistant was merely a waste of time. All she did was hand the MOP a herb and place vials on the ground.

Niwla observed her as she made her way back to her desk. She was lost in thought. Was she still thinking about her 'victory' against the MOD? No, her eyebrow wasn't angled high enough. Regret over not asking the MOP for an apprenticeship? No, her cadence was too quick. Disappointed over the MOP's demonstration? No, it was more of a quizzical look.

What was she thinking about?

"Did you enjoy being an assistant?" Gus asked, spraying out crumbs from the muffin that he had just started eating.

"It was intriguing. Seeing her technique in person."

"Even if all you did was menial work that even a child could perform?" Niwla asked.

"Yes. It wasn't that. It felt like she was sending me a message. The way that he herbs were laid out on the table, the way she spun the mop, and even the cauldron. It was all so subtle, and I'm struggling to piece it all together."

"Odd. I did not observe such things."

"It wasn't just sight. It was smell and even hearing too. I think you were too far away to notice it."

"So, what is your conclusion?"

"I think she was dropping hints about something. And the closer you are to her, the easier it is to decipher. That's why she asked Gus whether he really wanted to give up the chance to be her assistant."

"I see. Considering the circumstances, coupled with her rewarding Gus for his enthusiasm. The most likely conclusion is that she was searching for an appropriate student to bestow her teachings upon."

"Yes, but it's more complicated than that. She was leaving a specific set of instructions that—That's it! I know what she's looking for."

Uchronia jumped out of her seat, about to run out of the classroom, when the door swung open. Walking in was a giant onion.

"Hi, class," the onion waved. I'm—"

A blast of fire slammed into the onion, charring her back and sending her rolling to the ground.

In blitzed a familiar-looking diamond-shaped crystal.

"Hi, class. I'm everybody's favorite MOM. Who needs to listen about boring healing when we've got magic? Yay."

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