Walking through the door, I enter the small building that acts as the Wizards' Guild's local outpost. While I haven't had to drop in recently due to being busy with my initiation potion, I've gotten to the point where I only need one more ingredient, but I don't quite understand just what it's asking for. As a novice mage, I of course want to be accepted into the Wizards' Guild, but in order to join, I have to prove my worth by solving several challenges, concluding with putting together a quite complex potion. And since the Guild said that prospective applicants can use their resources to aid them in any of the challenges, I'm now going to take advantage of that, because I'm a bit stumped. Looking around, the little antechamber with the front desk seems rather empty, which is good, given that I'm a bit embarrassed about having to ask about this.
From behind the desk, Erle, the older elven lady that is the attendant for this location, waves in my direction with a soft smile. "Why, hello there, Arvid! Haven't seen you in quite some time. Finally got stuck on one of the challenges, then?" she asks, reading me like a book.
Sheepishly, I nod my head and reply, "Yeah, the last challenge I have is creating a Potion of Potency, and I'm not sure just what one of these ingredients in the list is. I was hoping you'd be able to help me out."
To my surprise, Erle starts laughing, though she quickly catches herself. "Um, sorry. It's just been quite a while since someone asked me about the Potency one, and I think I know what you're about to ask me about, but go right ahead. What ingredient do you have trouble with?"
At this point, I can't quite suppress a slight blush as I tell her, "Well... I've got everything I need except... something called 'seed of virgin'. And I was kind of hoping that's something relating to a plant...?"
Again, she laughs, then shakes her head. "Oh, no, Arvid. That's why I laughed earlier. Honestly, it's been a long time since they last used Potency in a potion challenge, so either this year's roster was set up by some ancient Archmage that longs for the good old days when those upstart youngsters didn't get free rides, or by some Rector in a remote university that hasn't updated his textbooks in a century. So, yes, when this ingredient list says 'seed of virgin', it does indeed mean that you need to acquire semen from some sort of creature that still counts as a 'virgin'. Don't ask me how to tell that, by the way, I don't think anybody's truly understood the magical properties of virginity yet," she explains, a more sly smile creeping onto her lips at my clear embarrassment. Just as I want to ask how exactly I'm supposed to tell whether somebody is a virgin or not, then, she turns around and starts digging through a nearby cupboard, muttering to herself.
Eventually, she returns, holding a small flask and a sheet of paper, handing them to me. "Here you go, you're going to need this. This concoction, when mixed with the seed of a virgin, shows a strong reaction by bubbling up. When mixed with the seed of a non-virgin, it remains inert. So once you've, well, 'acquired' some semen you want to test, just take a small sample of it and mix it with this to check. I've given you the recipe for that concoction as well in case you run out, and thankfully, it's really easy to make. Happy hunting!" she says.
Placing the flask and sheet into my pocket, I'm struck by just how difficult this endeavor is going to be, especially given that I don't qualify. Back during my academy days, I had a very, very short fling with a female classmate that lasted exactly one sexual encounter, and that already has me out of the running. "Guess I better get to it, then. Anything else I should know?" I ask, wanting to make sure no other surprises await me.
She nods. "Yes, there is one thing. The, well, 'extraction' needs to be done consensually. If that is not the case, it won't work. Again, don't ask how, it's just the way it is. Don't argue with magic," she explains. "Oh, also, the actual effects of the potion change depending on just what semen you use. So, if it's an elf, the result will be different compared to if you got it from an orc, a human, a half-elf, a half-orc, and so on and so on. Though I'm not sure you're actually going to drink it or just make it for the challenge, but just be aware."
With a soft sigh, I turn to leave. "Alright, I guess I should get to it. This will probably take a while. Thanks for the info, Erle, and I hope to be back with the finished potion," I say, and she waves me goodbye as I step out of the Guild house again. So there I stand, a bevy of options at my disposal. I could go local, simply exploring this village for a shy country boy and trying my luck, or maybe I could travel to the nearby capital city and broaden my horizons. The Guild headquarters also offers teleportation services to far-away lands, which would allow me to visit elven, orc or kobold lands in my search. Alternatively, I could start by hitting up the academy library for some sort of literature on virginity in other cultures, which might give me a hint on some sort of cultural signifier that might let me spot a virgin male at a glance.
No matter what, I have my work cut out for me. I've got to find some virgin guy, somehow convince him to let me sample his semen, and then use that to make my potion. But whatever path I take, I have to start somewhere, so after some thinking, I decide to start by