Rowe carefully returned all the herbs to their original positions, then stared at the formula for Andorov's Hair Restorer, deep in thought.
After a while, he got up, retrieved a massive tome from the shelf, and placed it on the table.
The cover read: Greenhilde Pharmacopoeia.
As Asgard's most revered compendium of herbal knowledge, the Greenhilde Pharmacopoeia was both thick and heavy, its contents vast and profound.
When opened fully, the book was nearly as large as Rowe himself.
After a brief hesitation, he purchased a [Meditation (Shard)] from the Sanctuary. As soon as he activated the spell, his mind entered a deep meditative state.
The meditation shard he had previously acquired had already been used, but its effects had been remarkable.
During his last session, Rowe had solved several pharmacological problems that had stumped him for an entire month—all in a single night.
Now, he was meditating again, aiming to deduce the most viable substitute for Khadgar's Beard in this world. If successful, it would save him an enormous amount of time.
As the meditative state deepened, Rowe's face took on a serene, almost otherworldly expression, as if nothing external could disturb his thoughts.
Two hours passed.
Rowe remained submerged in the vast ocean of knowledge.
At that moment, Uncle Peter entered the room, giving him a curious glance. Seeing no response, he simply went about his business, rummaging through supplies.
"Bald…"
Rowe muttered suddenly, breaking the silence.
Uncle Peter turned his head. "What did you say?"
Rowe remained silent, as if he hadn't spoken at all.
Frowning, Uncle Peter rubbed his scalp, his expression growing uncertain as he eyed Rowe.
Eventually, he smacked his lips, muttered something under his breath, and left the room.
Another hour passed.
El arrived at the pharmacy and busied herself with her work.
Suddenly—SLAM!
Rowe's palm struck the pharmacopoeia. His eyes lit up with excitement.
"I've got it!"
El jumped, nearly spilling the potion she was preparing. She patted her chest in shock. "Got what?"
Only then did Rowe notice El's presence. He quickly walked over.
"El, do we have any Horned Mushroom or Green Chip Grass in stock?"
El thought for a moment. "There are a couple of Green Chip Grass plants in the garden. We use them occasionally. Why?"
Rowe hesitated briefly before answering.
"I've come up with a formula… but I'm not sure if it will work. I need to test it with Horned Mushroom or Green Chip Grass."
El blinked in surprise. "You invented a formula?"
"Maybe. For now, it's just a theory," Rowe admitted. "But my instincts tell me this could actually work."
Horned Mushroom and Green Chip Grass were expensive. Normally, a single plant cost more than a rune. Without El's help, Rowe wouldn't have access to them.
Fortunately, El didn't hesitate. "Alright, wait here. I'll grab a Green Chip Grass for you."
She left and returned shortly, carrying a small, onion-shaped herb.
"Here." She handed it to Rowe.
Rowe placed the Green Chip Grass on the Holy Deed.
To others, it seemed like he had simply set the herb on the table. But in his vision, new text appeared on the Holy Deed's interface:
[105% substitution for Khadgar's Beard.]
Rowe froze.
105%?
It can exceed 100%?
For a moment, he was stunned. Then, he quickly understood.
Like forging blueprints, alchemical formulas also had a completion rating. Since some formulas could reach levels of [transcendence], it wasn't surprising that a substitute ingredient could surpass 100% compatibility.
Rowe nodded to himself. His theory was correct. Green Chip Grass was indeed a perfect match for Khadgar's Beard—at least in the context of this formula.
"What are you going to do with it?" El asked as she continued her work.
Rowe suppressed his excitement. "You'll see soon enough. I have a surprise for you, dear El."
El chuckled, shaking her head as if indulging the daydreams of a hopeful teenager.
Unlike the common Shining Star Grass, Green Chip Grass was rare and required complex preparation. To ensure success, Rowe decided to process it while still in a meditative state.
He had less than three hours left in his meditation. That should be enough time.
Without delay, Rowe began working on the Green Chip Grass, carefully following the steps outlined in the formula.
Two and a half hours later…
The Green Chip Grass had transformed into a small jar of transparent liquid. Tiny bubbles clung to the viscous substance, giving it an almost gel-like texture.
It was already quite late.
"Well done."
El gave him an approving nod and playfully ruffled his hair. "I'm heading out. You should get some rest too."
After El left, Rowe moved on to Shining Star Grass.
Perhaps due to the exhaustion from handling the Green Chip Grass, he made a mistake in the preparation process. A single Star Grass was wasted.
Fortunately, there were plenty of backups. Losing one or two wasn't a big deal.
Once the two main ingredients—Shining Star Grass and Green Chip Grass—were ready, Rowe processed the minor secondary ingredients. These were much easier to handle and didn't require as much precision.
Midnight.
After countless steps, Rowe finally completed the formula.
A bottle of thick, black liquid sat before him.
He placed the bottle onto the Holy Deed's formula display. Instantly, new text appeared:
[Completion: Excellent. Its effect will be very close to the perfect "Andorov's Hair Restorer."]
It worked.
Rowe stared at the bottle in silent triumph.
Asgardians were gifted with extraordinary talents, so most of their problems were also extraordinary.
Curing "baldness of the gods" was far more difficult than curing "baldness of mortals."
There were existing solutions—such as Asgardian Hair Growth Elixirs and Hair Restoration Magic—but these treatments were absurdly expensive.
The cheapest one cost at least thousands of gold coins.
By comparison, Andorov's Hair Restorer—which could cure any form of baldness—only cost a little over a hundred gold coins.
The profit margin was massive.
For a fleeting moment, a crazy thought flashed through Rowe's mind—
What if he monopolized advanced hair growth treatments across the entire universe?
Of course, such ambitions were still far off.
Right now, he just wanted to find out which unlucky, bald Asgardian would be the first to test this miracle cure…