Ball of Nothing

**This chapter refers back to Training (4) & Training (5). Due to the length, I didn't copy flashbacks of excerpts here. The scene describes Zero's experiment and the making of sixty-nine batches of mana recovery pills to gift to Truen.**

It took Zero a few days to gather all the required materials for his experiment. Hua Tuo didn't give him much time in between lessons and chores to roam around so Zero had to be smart and quick during his hunting trips.

He looked at the ingredients he had now by the river behind Hua Tuo's hut. His teacher was out for the afternoon and Zero finally had some free time for himself.

He had potatoes, yam, arrowroots, wild corn, rye and rice for the starch bases. Zero also worked hard to collect a jar full of honey. He also took pains to collect the oil from fish, seeds and nuts when helping Hua Tuo out in the kitchen.

The boy looked at his array of ingredients and decided to make different combinations of pills using the materials. First, he had to understand the kind of taste these pills would give under different combination. He had some spices and herbs on hand that he wanted to add for other health benefits in addition to mana replenishment. While he wanted to make pills for Truen, it didn't hurt to make some for the overworked Great Gods and King Yama either.

The first batch he made, Zero borrowed all of Hua Tuo's available pots to cook the starch bases while grinding the herbs and spices with the grinding stone. Zero drew out boxes in the dirt and placed some paper with a stone as a paperweight on each box. There were a total of twenty-four boxes for the first trial batch.

It took a total of an hour for Zero to finally cook the starch bases and roll them into tiny balls, adding different types of oils to them to test how they held up. Hua Tuo used animal fat oil from the pygmy boar the last time and Zero thought that the taste would be a little too strong for people like Sedna and Gaia so he didn't include that for the test. Ideally, he thought that water would be great but as the testing pills started to dry, Zero noticed how the water mixed starch pills begin to show signs of crumbling. No wonder Hua Tuo said that while it was a cheap way to manufacture, it was not good for storing pills made with water for long.

With a wave of his hand, Zero absorbed all six failed pills made from water. He would have to wait a little to see the result of the other eighteen pills.

Unfortunately, Zero didn't want to wait a few days for the pills to dry. Who knows when Hua Tuo might give him another day off again? Zero decided to subject them to heat magic for quicker drying. As long as it wasn't a fierce heat, the pills won't cook and it wouldn't lose any effectiveness.

The pills were drying well but Zero frowned. There was now a strange scent in the air. It smelled somewhat dead and pungent so Zero stopped to observe what was happening. After many guesses, he identified the culprit. Yet another six pills were absorbed and crossed out as failed experiments. Fish oil gave off a terrible smell, no wonder Hua Tuo didn't use it even though it was an abundant supply.

Zero tasted the remaining pills after determining that they were crafted sturdy enough for long-term storage. Rice and rye were not favourable because they gave off a strange taste that would clash with the herbs. Zero didn't strike them out immediately. Instead, he tried to mix and blend the different bases together.

The next fifteen minutes were spent trying out different starch combination. Zero wanted to keep arrowroot as the base formula for it because of the benefits it had. Eventually, Zero settled on the combination of arrowroot, yam and rye. The drying process was repeated and Zero chose to go with seed oil instead of nut oil for his pill base.

Satisfied with the results of his initial testing, Zero now tried to blend honey into it while shaping the pills differently. Zero wasn't a crafter but he did his best to create character chewable pills. It was the easiest way to identify which pills belonged to who. Zero wanted to customise different pills for everyone on top of the mana replenishing effects.

He looked at his list once more.

Gaia - Tree lady shaped, primrose and peppermint for fatigue relief and refreshing the tired mind

Sedna - Fishtail shaped, apple and mint for refreshing the mind

Zeus - Half Naked man shaped, Tumeric and Rhodiola for muscle pain and stress relief

Hades - Hooded figure shaped, Lavender and Lemon Balm for stress relief

Freya - Red hair, Rosehip and wild berries for rejuvenation

Isis - Sharp eyes, Green Tea, Cordycep and Holy Basil for nourishment and relaxation

Buddha - Beaded hair shape, Chamomile for relaxation

Enma - Scary Face, Ginger, Thyme and Turmeric for calming effect and increase immunity

Truen - Green eyes and dark skin, Five Flavour Berry and Cordyceps for fatigue and nourishing the eyes

It was getting late so Zero quickly put away his experiment materials and started working on dinner before his teacher returned. He still had to find some of the herbs mentioned in the list because of some last-minute additions so the apprentice planned to spend some extra time foraging for the herbs he needed. he had the basic herbs and flowers but berries, apple and tea weren't things he currently had.

"I suppose I could steal some of Hua Tuo's green tea leaves," he mused and struck that off the list too.

Hua Tuo came back just as dinner was ready and he noticed how Zero had been using the grinding stone while he was out.

"Are you trying to concoct a new potpourri?"

Zero froze. He didn't think that his teacher would catch on to his newest project and didn't answer right away. That made Hua Tuo suspicious. What was Zero making this time? Now that he thought about it, some of his pots were out of place.

"Sorry! I just wanted to practice making some pills! I'm trying to put together some pills of my own but it's not going very well... I'm still collecting materials."

Hua Tuo chuckled. It was a huge relief that Zero wasn't doing anything reckless this time.

"Understood. Finish up dinner and show me what you have done so far. We'll work on it from where you've stopped."

Zero nodded, unsure if Hua Tuo would be angry when he saw what Zero attempted.

Dinner was a quick affair that evening and the master-disciple combo sat in the tiny hut, hunched over Zero's tiny note.

The physician took his time analysing and tasting the pill bases. Zero did well on holding the pill structure together and even administered honey to get rid of the awful taste. It must not have been easy and Hua Tuo praised his student.

"I can see that you want to make several batches of pills for different people. Have you decided how many pills you are going to make for each person? The quantity that you prepared certainly wouldn't be enough."

Zero blushed. He ran into that realisation not too long ago himself. As it was, he only had materials enough for six pills per person. It was embarrassing. Zero wanted to give everyone a bottle of at least a hundred but Hua Tuo stopped him.

"The freshness of the pills wouldn't be good if you make too many. I would recommend twenty for each person at first."

Zero nodded and sighed. "Can we make more for Truen? I think he might eat more because of his training."

Hua Tuo thought for a while and agreed. Truen would be the only person he could think of eating pills in place of proper meals. It wouldn't do any harm adding more starch bases for the pills when it came to the wood elf.

Hua Tuo helped Zero revise the pill base for Truen to improve the wood elf's diet and left the gathering of herbs and mixing to Zero. Hua Tuo wasn't going to help his student shape the pills into tiny shapes. He wanted to see how far his student could go. Besides, practice made perfect. If Zero made enough pills now, he would be a master of making more on his travels.

Zero was elated when his teacher told him that he would have two hours each day to work on his pill-making project until it was complete. The boy thanked Hua Tuo and brushed his teeth without fuss that day.

For the next week, Zero divided his time carefully into gathering materials, making pill base paste and grinding herbs. Each day, he would make a new batch of twenty pills for someone and left them under the sun to dry naturally. Hua Tuo supervised Zero and even helped the boy gather some colour dye to paint them with.

By the end of two weeks, Zero had eight tiny glass bottles with twenty pills in each of them. Hua Tuo helped to label them and set them aside in a cool corner while Zero worked on the last and most precious of the batch.

He'd been struggling with Truen's pills for days now. For some reason, no matter how Zero tried to shape them or paint them, Truen's pills just didn't look right. However, that was the least of Zero's current concerns. The more worrying part was how the taste of the five flavour berry ruined everything.

Hua Tuo knew his student's struggles and smiled. While the five flavour berry had the effects Zero wanted, it had a strange flavour that didn't go well with honey. Hua Tuo didn't want to tell his student that and waited for the opportunity. Currently, he wanted Zero to learn surgery and acupuncture but the boy has vehemently denied it. He was stubborn as a mountain and Hua Tuo ran out of ways to convince Zero that cutting people up and poking them with needles will cure them more than hurt them.

Zero groaned and slammed his head into the rock beside him. His forty-seventh attempt to perfect Truen's pills ended up as yet another unsurprising disappointment.

"You know, we can always make the pills together," Hua Tuo coughed not so discreetly after hearing the rock crack.

Zero bolted upright. "You will help me?"

Hua Tuo grinned. "On one condition."

Zero immediately became wary. He didn't trust conditions a lot ever since he'd been talking to Baal. Zero often found himself doing things that weren't very fair for him when conditions were involved. Still, he needed his teacher's help if he wanted to perfect pills for Truen.

Seeing this, the doctor sighed. "You won't hurt them, I promise. I can prove that to you, I'll stick needles in my own arm."

Zero hesitated. Although he didn't want animals to get injured, it didn't mean he wanted to see Hua Tuo get hurt because of him. "No, I'll do it. You can stick needles in my arm instead. If it really is true, I'll learn how to do acupuncture and surgery."

Hua Tuo did a mental leap of victory but didn't show it on his face. "Alright, let's get started then. Bring out the grinding stone."

"Yes, sir!" Zero cheered and ran to the workroom. He didn't really think about the consequences as long as he could complete Truen's pills. Besides, if what Hua Tuo said was true, there would be no harm in learning what his teacher was most famous for. Either way, it would be a win-win situation for the apprentice and Zero couldn't stop smiling.

Compared to Baal, Hua Tuo had way better conditions. Perhaps, not all deals are bad after all.