Alchemist’s Apprentice

My back arched and my toes curled, then my mind blanked out as the full force of my orgasm washed over my entire body. It felt like it went on for ages, and when it was finally over my whole body felt like jelly. I slumped back on my bed, eyes lidded and a weak happy smile on my face.

I barely had the energy to moan as some aftershocks of pleasure echoed through my pussy and up to my boobs.

"Fuck," I finally sighed. "That was... Wow."

My sister sounded amused as she replied, "It wasn't bad cutie. Now describe your core."

"Give me a minute sis," I groaned. "I can barely remember my name right now, let alone all that complicated stuff."

She giggled softly, "Maybe we'll push you that hard another time Val, but I know you're nowhere near that far gone right now. So quit stalling. Sit up and let's get on with the lesson."

Her words left me with some mixed feelings, mostly a mix of nervous excitement. I'd been exaggerating, but she made it sound like it really was possible to get so overwhelmed with pleasure as to forget your own name. And that thought both scared and excited me.

But like she said, that was for another time. So I weakly pulled myself upright, then saw the mess I'd made on my bed. Fortunately I had a towel under me, but I had a feeling it was going to soak through. And once again I couldn't help questioning the potion she gave me that led me to produce this much fluid. After edging myself for what felt like a solid hour I'd squirted all over my legs and the towel looked like it needed to be wrung out.

"Val," Cathryn stated sharply. "Focus. I want you to describe your core."

"Sorry," I grimaced as I finally looked over to her bed. She was sitting naked on the edge of the bed with both hands between her legs. One was stroking her long thick beautiful shaft while the other lightly rubbing her slick glistening labia.

I lost another couple seconds taking in that sight, but I knew she was doing her own cultivation thing. And where she could do that while also focusing on teaching me, I could barely manage to focus on one thing at a time when I was trying to do my 'cultivation' practice.

After a deep breath I forced myself to look at her face instead of anything else, and responded "It felt like a sphere, or maybe a bit more oval or egg-shaped? Maybe around the size of my fist. It felt soft and warm, and maybe a bit tingly? I couldn't touch it or anything, and I didn't really 'feel' it the same way I can feel my bed underneath me or anything like that? But those are the impressions I got."

"Where is it exactly?" she asked. "Where in your body do you feel it?"

I closed my eyes as I tried to picture what I'd felt right before I came, "Um, I kind of pictured it as being a little ways behind or beneath my mound? I know you said the base node is a line from the base of my spine to my clit, but what I felt was a little higher than that. And not really in the exact middle, it was closer to the front?"

"Is that right?" I added. "Or am I picturing the wrong spot?"

"That's fine cutie, it's slightly different for everyone. The important thing is you're able to feel it and visualize it," Cat replied with a smile. "Good job Valeria, you've finally completed the first method."

That made me smile as well, "Nice. So do I get a prize or something?"

She laughed, "Your reward is to get started learning the second method. So lay back down and get comfortable, and above all pay attention."

I rolled my eyes but lay back down and got comfortable. By that point I was part-way recovered from the mind-numbing orgasm, but I wasn't sure I was ready to start over just yet. Fortunately the new lesson began with another of Cat's lectures, so all I had to do was stay awake and listen.

"Now that you can feel and visualize the mana in your base node, the second method involves learning how to move that mana within your body. As you know, the base node is connected to both the primary and secondary lines. Mana can be pushed into either line, and from there it can be sent up to other nodes or into the tertiary lines."

"Why would you want to do that?" I asked.

Cat explained, "After you become adept at moving mana around inside your body, you'll learn how to condense it in specific parts of your body. For instance if you could push mana into your milk, it would become an even more potent ingredient for our alchemy."

That surprised me, but I could definitely see the benefit. It led to another question though, "So does that mean the potions you make with my milk now aren't as good? Like your health potions are already kind of miraculous right? Could they be even better?"

"No," she shook her head. "There's already some mana in the ingredients you produce. Part of the brewing process involves concentrating that. The biggest benefit for us once you've mastered these techniques is it'll speed up production and increase yield. Maybe we'll get thirty vials out of a batch instead of twenty, and maybe it'll take half the time to brew? That's a long way off though cutie, so don't get your hopes up just yet. But that's one of the things we're working towards."

Before I could interrupt again she pushed on with the lesson, "So now that you can clearly visualize the mana in your core, the next step is learning to take some of that mana and push it into one of the median lines. The secondary line is easier to start with, but harder to control."

"How exactly do you push the mana around?" I asked. "That's the part I don't get."

Cat smiled, "Same techniques you used to find your core in the first place. Visualization, meditation, muscle control, breathing, and self-restraint."

"So edging myself while masturbating for another hour?" I grimaced.

She laughed again, "Pretty much."

After a pause I asked, "Is that it? I mean, for the second lesson?"

"There's more," she responded. "The second method has another facet to it. You learn to cultivate with a partner. The objective is to hone focus while developing a rapport, and learning to feel each others' mana."

I bit my lip so I wouldn't smile too widely, "So that means you and me will be 'cultivating together'?"

She smirked and nodded, "That's right. It's not going to be like you're used to though Val. We won't just be fucking each other for the fun of it. It's work, focus, and training. And I'm going to have to be a little strict with you, because I'd like to get you up to my level as quickly as possible. Until then my own progress is going to be stalled, because I have no-one to train with at my level."

"Oh," I frowned. I had some mixed feelings about that, but not the nice kind. I didn't like the thought that I was holding her back, but I was also a little scared of her being strict and focused more on the training rather than the fun we've been having together so far.

Cat noticed my expression and guessed what I was thinking, "Don't worry cutie. This doesn't mean we're going to stop having fun together, it just means in addition to that there'll be times we're focused on the training. And while I want to get you up to my level, I'm not going to push you so hard that it's uncomfortable. I know these things take time, and I'm not going to risk your training or progress or health for my own sake."

"What if I hold you back though?" I asked.

She shook her head, "You're not, and you won't. Without you I wouldn't have any progress at all Valeria. So don't think about it like you're holding me back ok? Look at it like this instead. I'm investing time in your training, and that investment will pay us both back further down the road."

"Ok sis. Thanks," I smiled. "So um, if it's ok to ask, what cultivation method are you on?"

"I've mastered the third method and I was working on the fourth when I had to leave the academy," she replied.

My eyebrows jumped up, "Wow. What's the third method about? And the forth?"

Cat smirked, "The third method is something you'll learn about after you've mastered the second. And the fourth is a secret you'll find out about when you've learned the third."

That made me pout, but we were both just having a little fun with each other at that point. And after a few seconds I got serious again, "So how do we begin?"

"We'll save the partnership work for another time," she replied. "For now, we're going to focus on getting you to start moving your mana around. So back to work Val, begin with the first method. And this time, once you can feel and see your core, try and push some of that mana into your secondary median. Don't worry about a specific target, just try to get it into the median."

I nodded, "Ok Cat. I'll give it a try."

The process was almost routine, and I had mixed feelings about that too. It still seemed kind of weird to me that something as private and intimate as touching yourself was basically considered a meditation technique. And it wasn't something we did because we were horny or wanted some pleasure, it was something we were doing for training.

Like someone in another trade might do physical training to strengthen their muscles, we were stroking and fingering ourselves to strengthen our core.

That also meant this kind of training wasn't necessarily fun or sexy for us, since that wasn't the goal. Which was kind of another sort of mental discipline, to get our bodies arroused and cooperative even if our minds weren't. And I was reluctant to admit it but that's one area where the sensitivity potion helped me. Even if I wasn't mentally horny, it didn't take much at all to get my body going.

And that's pretty much how I started my first attempt at the second method. I took some deep breaths and got into a meditative mindset, then started gently stroking up and down my labia. I was still completely drenched from my recent orgasm, which also meant my delicate folds were even more sensitive than usual. And thanks to that potion they were always pretty damn sensitive.

So it only took a few slow sensual strokes to start sending shocks of pleasure up and down my body. My fat pink nipples quickly tightened and grew erect, while my pussy started to leak in anticipation and my inner muscles tensed and flexed.

I could feel my clit hardening too, and soon I was slowly rubbing little circles around it while I continued focusing on my breathing and controlling my muscles.

No matter how many times I did it, it still seemed like an exquisite form of self-torture. Before long my body was eager for release, but I forced myself to stay in control. I forced myself to harness that growing pressure, and used it to help guide my visualization.

I wasn't sure how long I was at it, but eventually I could picture my core again. Like before it was a fist-sized blob, a sphere or oval, deep within my groin. A stray thought crossed my mind, that maybe it was actually located in my womb. I filed that away for now, I could always ask Cat about it later.

Once I had the image, that feeling of the warm, tingling bundle of energy deep inside me, I tried to push it into the secondary median like my sister said.

I didn't really know how to do that, she didn't actually give me detailed directions so I had to kind of go with my instincts and guesswork. It was even harder to do that while I was basically edging myself and my body was desperate for release, but the last few weeks of practice helped.

The solution I came up with was a blend of visualization and muscle control. I pictured that compressed bundle of mana connected to my secondary median, and started tensing and flexing some internal muscles as I focused on the image of some of that magical energy moving from my core and into the median.

At first I didn't feel anything happening, so I tried harder. I put a little more strength into the muscles I was flexing, and pictured my core being squeezed tighter, like trying to get juice from an orange.

That seemed to do the trick, but when it happened it wasn't anything like I'd pictured. Instead of just a little mana moving into the energy line it seemed like half my core emptied at once. The massive surge flooded my median, with most of it going straight into my clit while the overflow washed upwards then into my boobs and nipples.

The physical sensations spiked and my mind went completely blank. There was no room for any thoughts, there was nothing but pleasure. My body convulsed as I let out the loudest, longest scream of ecstasy ever heard in the town before. My eyes rolled back as I convulsed again, and I wouldn't have been surprised if my heart stopped at some point. It was absolute bliss, it was the biggest, strongest, most amazing orgasm I'd ever experienced.

Eventually the overwhelming bliss receded and I regained the ability to think, but it took me another five or ten minutes before I could speak. And I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to walk again after that. My entire body was still tingling with the afterglow of unimaginable pleasure.

"Wha... what happened?" I moaned as my eyes slowly opened.

Cathryn sounded like she was stifling giggles, "That happens to everyone the first time they try it cutie. And usually the second and third times too. Don't worry, you'll be fine. Eventually."

A soft groan was about the best response I could manage.