ᛋᚾᚨᛈ ᚤᛟᚢᚱᛋᛖᛚᚠ ᛟᚢᛏ ᛟᚠ ᛁᛏ

Chapter 2

    The countdown timer appeared at the top right corner of Joel’s smartphone screen, while the top left corner displayed the number of viewers in the stream, which at this moment still showed nothing. Joel stared at it with anticipation until, finally, a single digit popped up on the top left—someone had joined his stream!

    [MamaBearNumberOne: I saw the topic and clicked in. Is the streamer really a magic user?]

    “Hello, welcome to Joel’s Cauldron Channel. My name is Joel. And yes, I really am a magic user.”

    The small wizard gave the camera a bright smile. When his opalescent eyes without pupils glanced at the viewer count, it had already risen to over ten. Initially, he thought no one would watch—but this, this was already a good start.

    [WishWholeWorldLoveOneAnotherExceptYouAndThem: Is this a scam? Last time we had drama, it was all con artists.]

    [JellyfishJelly: What contact lenses are you wearing, streamer? Why don’t your eyes have pupils? They look stunning—and spooky.]

    [Abubie: Here waiting to see someone get exposed.]

    “Today, I’ll be demonstrating how to brew a simple transformation potion. For potion brewing, you need to have magical energy within yourself to successfully make one. For viewers who are ordinary folks, just treat this as an educational experience. That way, when you go buy potions from shops, you’ll know what ingredients to look for.”

    [MamaBearNumberOne: You talk like those potions only cost a few pennies per bottle.]

    [WantedFriedNoodlesButGotStirFried: Hurry up and brew—I wanna see it already.]

For regular people, potions and magical items were extremely expensive. If one did not have a certified magic user ID, prices could be marked up as much as fivefold. But for Joel—who grew his own herbs and hunted for ingredients himself—he had no idea about current market prices. His beautiful face tilted to one side, pondering.

    “I really don’t know how much they sell for in shops, since I grow and gather all these ingredients myself. Hmm… let’s get started, shall we? First, we need dried Midnight Butterfly flowers—they must be black ones only. Next is tree resin that’s close to becoming amber. You need to dry it out and grind it into a fine powder like this.”

    His pale, slender hand brought the amber chunk close to the camera before adding it to the mortar and grinding it into fine powder. He then poured it onto paper for easier measuring. The viewer count had now reached fifty. Those tuning in for the first time were stunned by Joel’s beautiful face and otherworldly, unique eyes. The way his eyes focused on measuring ingredients made the atmosphere around him feel like something out of a fairytale.

    “After we’ve gotten the amber powder, the next ingredient is moonlight water. This is water that’s been through a ritual and exposed to moonlight for no less than 3 hours. You can even use it to make drinks. If anyone’s interested, I can teach how to make it later.”

    [Uranus: The streamer’s voice is so sweet. But whether he’s really a magic user—we’ll have to wait and see.]

    “The last ingredient is unicorn horn fragments. I recommend grinding them into powder like the amber—it makes it easier to drink… Ah! I didn’t kill a unicorn, okay? If you want some, just go ask nicely—with some rock sugar and carrots—and they’ll shed their horns for you. Unicorns naturally shed their horns in the summer. If you ask during that season, they’ll be much more willing to give one up.”

    [MamaBearNumberOne: Why do I feel so soft for you? The streamer looks so young! How old are you?]

    “My age… I’ve lived so long that I’ve stopped counting, heh-heh.”

    [Abubie: There’s no way you’re even twenty from your look. Stop faking.]

    Joel pursed his lips at the disparaging comment. If he guessed right, these people had probably been scammed by someone pretending to be a magic user before—otherwise, they would not be so snarky and eager to catch him out. But he was not worried. Soon enough, Joel himself would show them the real deal.

    “Alright, let’s get to the brewing process. First, pour the moonlight water into the cauldron and light the fire.”

    The slender figure lifted the potion cauldron and placed it on a small grate atop the island. He picked up the bottle of moonlight water and poured it into the cauldron before reaching for his wand. Truthfully, the easy way would be to use a lighter and an alcohol cube on charcoal. But given how most of the stream’s comments were skeptical about him being a wizard, he figured he would show off a little magic to light the fire.

    “O flame that slumbers, I summon thee. Ignite beneath this cauldron, heat the waters, and grant me light.”

    Fwoosh!!

    Joel pointed the crystal-tipped wand toward the empty space beneath the cauldron and recited the incantation. Instantly, fire sparked to life without any fuel. The heat caused the moonlight water in the cauldron to start simmering. The wooden island Joel worked on showed no sign of burning, even though it was just ordinary wood.

    [DontFlirtOrI’llCrushYourBalls: //Donated 10 coins with message// The fire’s real!]

    “Oh! Thank you, DontFlirt, for my channel’s first donation.”

    In the bottom right corner of the screen, a coin icon appeared, followed by the number ten. This corner displayed the total donations for the current stream, while the overall donation total appeared on the channel’s profile page. Joel, who had been all set to clap back at the hecklers, immediately softened his expression into a sweet smile as soon as the donation alert popped up.

    Of course—supporters were always more important than haters. Joel’s radiant smile struck like Cupid’s arrow into the hearts of the two hundred thirty viewers now watching the stream. What a guy, smiling like an angel descended to earth?

    Joel proceeded to divide the ingredients into four equal portions on a sheet of paper.

    “You need to be careful not to let the water boil, just keep it warm. Then, add the unicorn horn powder first, followed by the amber powder. These two are harder to dissolve, so they go in first. Make sure to stir the potion continuously, so the ingredients don’t settle at the bottom. Keep stirring until the liquid clears, and then add the dried midnight butterfly flower. After that, repeat the process—unicorn horn powder, amber powder, dried midnight butterfly flower—in that exact order until everything’s been added. Don’t switch up the sequence. Gradually infuse your magical energy bit by bit until the potion and the rising steam turn black. That’s when it’s ready.”

    [MamaBearNumberOne: That’s it? Why does it seem so easy?]

    [Abubie: Drink it already. Let everyone know the truth once and for all.]

    “Actually, this potion isn’t fully finished yet. It still needs a little piece of the person you want to transform into. And well, I don’t have anyone here with me right now… Hmm.”

    As Joel’s opalescent eyes wandered thoughtfully around the room, Romeo strolled in gracefully through the cat door. Spotting the fat, lazy cat, Joel broke into a wide smile and walked over to scoop him into his arms, bringing him into view of the camera. The soft, fluffy fur and squishy belly draped over his pale arms sent the cat lovers in the chat into a frenzy, flooding the stream with heart stickers.

    “This is Romeo—he’ll be my assistant for today.”

    Joel placed the cat down on the island next to the cauldron. Romeo licked his front paw once, posing for the camera like a pro, then sat still, knowing his role.

    The wizard turned toward the shelves of ingredients, retrieved something from a drawer, and dropped it into the cauldron, which continued to emit black smoke. He twirled his wand in a circle above the cauldron to stir until it dissolved, then flicked the wand once to extinguish the fire.

    The slender figure ladled some potion into a small tasting cup and held it close to the camera so viewers could both smell and see the perfectly brewed transformation potion in Joel’s opinion. Then, he set the cup in front of Romeo. The gluttonous cat, assuming it was a treat from his owner, immediately bent down, sniffed, and lapped up the potion in the cup until it was gone.

    [MamaBearNumberOne: Slow down, sweetie.]

    [Uranus: The smell is intense!!]

    [JellyfishJelly: The scent hits my nose hard. Don’t cats usually act like they’re burying something when it smells bad?]

    “Romeo’s a great eater. Whether it’s meat or plants—if it smells safe, he’ll gobble it up.”

    [Abubie: He drank it and nothing happened. We’re being scammed!]

    [WishWholeWorldLoveOneAnotherExceptYouAndThem: Usually, the transformation happens immediately. It’s been almost a minute—admit it, this is fake.]

    “Ah… what you’ve probably seen before is when the potion is loaded with a lot of magical energy, so it takes effect right away. But I recommend not using that method often—it can have long-term health consequences.”

    Just as Joel finished speaking, Romeo’s black fur began to puff and swell, making the fat cat look even rounder before his body started stretching—longer and longer. The fur covering his body retracted into his skin. His round, short face began elongating. Romeo, unfazed, raised his front paw and licked it with a tongue that was now long and forked at the tip.

    “Tadaaa. Looks like the potion has kicked in. I added a Komodo dragon’s claw to the brew. Romeo isn’t a cat anymore. This formula lasts for one minute. If, after drinking it, the body doesn’t transform into the person or creature intended, it means there was an error during the brewing. Just toss it out and start over.”

    Joel’s pale, slender hand gently stroked the now bald head of the reptilian creature on the island with affection and tenderness. The fat cat—completely unaware he had transformed—wagged his tail happily and rubbed his elongated body against his owner’s slim frame. What happened left the eight hundred or so viewers in complete shock, eyes wide, before the chat exploded with messages and donations flooding in.

    [Uranus: Holy shit!! It’s real!!! Seriously real!!!]

    [MamaBearNumberOne: //Donated 300 coins with message// The streamer really is a magic user.]

    [WantedFriedNoodlesButGotStirFried: The kitty doesn’t even realize he’s not a cat anymore!!]

    [DontFlirtOrI’llCrushYourBalls: //Donated 100 coins with message// That tail’s longer than the table—stop flicking that forked tongue, I’ve got chills.]

    [HubbySneakingFromWifey: //Donated 1,000 coins with message// I’m really impressed. This is a flawless potion.]

    [WatchingFluffyMouseFightSnakeInItsHole: Teach us how to brew a love potion, streamer.]

    As soon as that last comment popped up, Joel stared at it blankly. Love potions were highly sought after among magic users, as they could make the person you desired fall deeply in love with just a single whiff.

    Love potions were extremely expensive because they took effect immediately and lasted for months. Joel himself had once mistakenly used one on someone—and their relationship ended in heartbreak.

    “I’m sorry, but this channel doesn’t teach how to brew love potions.”

    His plump lips curved into a gentle smile as he softly declined the viewer’s request to teach love potion brewing. He wanted to explain more, maybe even give the viewer a lecture—but as a brand-new streamer, he worried that saying something that did not sit well with people might make them hate him, leaving him without an audience. Just then, Romeo—turned into a Komodo dragon—shifted back into his soft, fluffy cat self.

    Meowwwww

    “Oh! Romeo’s back to normal. As a thank you for all the donations today, I’ll be giving away the leftover transformation potion to one of the donors.”

    [MamaBearNumberOne: To the person who donated the most?]

    “To everyone who donated.”

    And with that, Joel’s chat exploded with a flurry of donations, from small amounts to hundreds of coins. The little white wizard beamed with joy, then tapped the spinning wheel icon to randomly select the lucky winner. A slot machine interface appeared on every viewer’s screen, and all eyes locked on the spinning wheel, turning at high speed until finally…

    [Congratulations. MamaBearNumberOne, you are the lucky winner!!!]

    [MamaBearNumberOne: EEEEEKKKKKK!!! I get to try turning into a Komodo dragon!!!]

    “Congratulations, MamaBearNumberOne. Please send me your address via the channel’s message system. Well then, I have to thank everyone so much for today. See you next time. Bye-bye.”

    Joel clicked to end the stream, then checked the total donations from his very first broadcast. The total came to 2,346 coins, which converted to 782 pounds sterling. After the platform’s 30% fee, he was left with 547 pounds. Goodness gracious, he and Romeo were going to survive this month!

    “Romeo, we’re about to be rich!!”

    The slender wizard grabbed both front paws of the fat cat and danced in a circle, making Romeo’s flabby belly jiggle with the rhythm. Joel laughed with pure joy. He quickly withdrew the money from the streaming app and then opened the BB app to tell Miguel all about today’s streaming success.

    Unbeknownst to him, over on the Swallow app (SL), the hashtags #WizardStreamer and #MiracleCatTurnsKomodo had started trending rapidly. Before long, Joel’s Cauldron channel saw its follower count soar.

    Congratulations, little white wizard.

    Glossary:

    ·       Penny = A subunit of the British pound sterling. 100 pennies = 1 pound.

    ·       Swallow = A fictional app resembling a mix of Twitter and Instagram.