Olivia watches as Wizard Valerie stands behind the central table, her posture straight and composed, her presence alone enough to draw the attention of everyone in the room without the need for force or authority.
Wizard Valerie's gaze moves across each of them, measuring, observing, as if weighing their current level of understanding before she begins.
Then she lifts her hand and gently tucks a strand of her long, light green hair behind her ear, her movements calm and unhurried.
"Today," she says, her voice clear and steady, "I am going to teach you how to refine Puppet Seed."
Olivia's eyes sharpen instantly, and she leans forward slightly, her focus deepening as the significance of those words settles in her mind.
A Puppet Seed.
A Quasi–Tier One magic item.
If she can successfully refine it, it would mean she is standing at the threshold of becoming a Tier One Wood Alchemist.
Her breathing steadies.
Her attention sharpens.
Wizard Valerie continues, her tone shifting into instruction.
"To refine Puppet Seed, what are the main ingredients?"
Wizard Li Jiyun responds without hesitation.
"Memory Liquid and Spiritual Seeds."
Olivia hears the answer, and in her mind, the related knowledge surfaces immediately.
Memory Liquid,
It is refined from the sap of the Mimic Tree, combined with several supporting spiritual materials to stabilise and preserve its properties.
The Mimic Tree itself is a low-level magical plant, known for its peculiar ability to imitate sounds it has heard, using those sounds to lure creatures close before capturing them.
Through refinement, its essence becomes Memory Liquid, a substance capable of retaining and imprinting patterns.
This property is essential.
When used in alchemy, it allows the formation of structured behaviour within constructs.
Then come the Spiritual Seeds.
They are not ordinary seeds.
They are refined from the seeds of low-level five-element plants, each representing one of the fundamental elements.
Only when properly processed do they become suitable for higher-level alchemical use.
When combined with Memory Liquid, they gain the ability to solidify into a stable form.
A puppet form.
Wizard Valerie nods slightly.
"Correct."
She pauses briefly, allowing the information to settle.
Then continues.
"Now, I am going to teach you how to refine Memory Liquid."
The room grows quieter.
Attention sharpens.
The lesson truly begins.
Wizard Valerie steps toward the central table and raises her hand, and from beside her, a wooden vessel floats gently into place, landing at the centre with quiet precision.
The vessel is not ordinary.
It is carved from the trunk of a low-level spiritual tree, its surface faintly glowing with natural patterns that resonate with the wood element.
She places her hand above it and channels her mana inward.
At once, the vessel responds.
It comes alive.
A soft green glow spreads through its structure, and above it, a mist of wood element begins to gather, thin at first, then gradually thickens as it swirls in controlled motion.
Under her guidance, the mist does not disperse.
Instead, it condenses.
Lines form.
Curves connect.
One by one, runes take shape in the air, clearly visible to everyone in the room.
She could inscribe these runes directly into the vessel with her skill, but instead, she chooses this method, allowing Olivia and the others to observe every step of the process.
The runes stabilise.
Then connect.
Forming a complete structure.
"Vitality Retention Formation," she says calmly.
The formation settles above the vessel, rotating slowly as it begins to resonate with the container below.
Without pause, she takes out a portion of spiritual liquid and pours it into the vessel.
The moment the liquid enters,
The formation activates.
A faint hum fills the air.
Vitality begins to emerge from the liquid, drawn out and stabilised by the formation, preventing any loss or dissipation.
The liquid glows faintly.
Alive.
Wizard Valerie raises her hand again.
A single seed appears.
The seed of a Mimic Tree.
She lifts it and suspends it above the vessel, holding it in place with precise control.
Then,
More runes form.
Faster this time.
They gather around the seed, constructing another formation.
"Life Source Formation," she states.
The structure resembles the Blood Source Formation used for magic beasts, but this one is refined specifically for plants, designed to extract life essence from botanical sources.
The formation activates.
Energy begins to flow.
The seed trembles slightly.
Its essence is drawn out.
Layer by layer.
The power of the Mimic Tree is extracted, leaving behind only the empty husk of the seed, which is discarded as useless material.
At the same time, Wizard Valerie guides the extracted essence downward.
It merges with the spiritual liquid within the vessel.
She controls the process with absolute precision.
Blending.
Stabilizing.
Refining.
The liquid begins to change.
Its colour shifts.
Its texture transforms.
Gradually, it becomes smooth.
Reflective.
Like a mirror.
A silver, mirror-like liquid rests within the vessel.
The Memory Liquid.
The process ends.
Wizard Valerie withdraws her hand.
She looks at them.
"Does everyone understand?"
All five nod.
Olivia nods as well, her mind replaying each step carefully, ensuring nothing is missed.
Wizard Valerie waves her hand lightly.
Five small magic bags appear and drift toward each of them.
"The bags contain materials for three sets of Memory Liquid," she says.
"You each have three attempts."
Olivia takes her bag and checks its contents briefly.
Three sets.
Three chances.
After that, she will have to use her own merit points to acquire more materials if she wants to continue practising.
Wizard Valerie continues, her tone firm.
"You may begin. Until you finish all materials, none of you is to leave this room."
With that, she turns and walks out, the door closing softly behind her.
For a brief moment, silence fills the room.
Olivia and the others exchange glances.
Then, without further delay, they each take out their first set of materials and begin refining the Memory Liquid, the quiet room soon filled with the faint hum of mana and the subtle tension of focused minds.
Olivia steadies herself and places the wooden vessel before her, her fingers hovering just above it as she channels her mana inward, recalling every detail of Wizard Valerie's demonstration.
The vessel responds.
A soft green glow spreads through it.
Wood-element mist gathers above.
She guides it carefully, shaping the mist into runes, attempting to reconstruct the Vitality Retention Formation step by step.
The lines begin to form.
But something feels slightly unstable.
Before she can correct it,
The structure collapses.
The mist disperses violently, and the backlash cracks the wooden vessel, rendering it unusable.
Olivia exhales quietly.
No hesitation.
She takes out another vessel.
This time, she slows down.
More careful.
More controlled.
Rune by rune, she forms the Vitality Retention Formation again.
This time, it stabilises.
Holds.
A faint hum fills the air.
She pours in the spiritual liquid.
The formation activates correctly, drawing out vitality and preserving it.
A small success.
She lifts a Mimic Tree seed and suspends it above the vessel.
Now, the difficult part.
The Life Source Formation.
She begins forming the runes.
They gather around the seed.
But her control falters.
The formation destabilises midway.
The seed trembles, cracks, and shatters.
Failure.
Olivia tightens her lips slightly.
She takes out a second seed.
Again, she attempts the formation.
This time faster.
Trying to compensate.
But the runes misalign.
The structure collapses again.
The second seed is destroyed.
Only one remains.
She takes it out.
Her movements become sharper, but also slightly tense.
The formation begins,
But fails once more.
The third seed breaks apart.
All materials exhausted.
Olivia lowers her hands slightly.
Then lifts her head and looks around.
Wizard Wang Mingli is still refining, her expression focused yet strained as she continues attempting the process.
Wizard Mu Chen stands nearby, just like Olivia, having already failed, his posture stiff with quiet frustration.
Olivia's gaze shifts again.
Elijah stands beside Wizard Li Jiyun.
She watches closely.
Under her observation, Li Jiyun completes the refinement smoothly.
The liquid in his vessel turns into a silver, mirror-like substance.
Memory Liquid.
At that same moment, Wizard Wang Mingli's attempt collapses, her formation failing at the final stage.
Olivia inhales slowly.
Then steps forward.
She walks toward Li Jiyun's table, her expression calm but determined, stopping beside him.
Ready to ask for guidance.
She speaks briefly, her tone direct yet respectful, asking about the instability in her Life Source Formation and where her control had failed during the extraction process.
Li Jiyun listens, then explains in simple terms, pointing out that her rune transitions were too abrupt, causing the formation to collapse before stabilising the energy flow, and that her control over the seed's essence was not steady enough to sustain the extraction.
Olivia listens carefully, committing every word to memory, replaying his explanation in her mind until the flaw becomes clear.
She thanks him with a slight nod, then turns and returns to her own table without wasting time.
Her spirit immediately connects to the identification card.
The holographic interface appears.
She selects the shop option.
After a brief search, she orders five Mimic Tree seeds.
She has already successfully refined the Vitality Retention liquid earlier.
Now she only needs to extract and transfer the power of the Mimic Tree seed into it.
With five seeds, she has five more chances.
She waits.
The room remains quiet except for the faint sounds of mana manipulation.
After a short while, a knock sounds at the door.
Olivia steps away from her table and walks over, opening it to find a Wizard Apprentice standing outside.
"I have materials for Wizard Mu Chen," the apprentice says.
Mu Chen walks over and takes the materials, his expression still carrying traces of frustration from earlier.
The apprentice turns to leave.
But before they can go, another arrives.
This time,
"For Wizard Olivia."
Olivia receives the package, recognising the contents immediately.
Mimic Tree seeds.
She thanks them briefly and closes the door.
Returning to her table, she places the seeds down carefully, her expression steady once more.
No hesitation remains.
She begins again.
Continuing her practice.