"Lilith, what are you doing? Spit it out quickly."
Li Xi was particularly angry. Originally, Gavaqi allowing him to do experiments and providing raw materials made Li Xi very happy, or rather, excited. Being able to do experiments marked Li Xi's transformation from a handyman to a lab assistant, a significant step forward in his Wizard career.
Furthermore, Gavaqi also sent his pet companion Lilith over, which filled Li Xi with even more confidence in his potion concoction. Perhaps he could, like the protagonists in other novels, use this as a stepping stone to reach the pinnacle of life, with all sorts of powerhouses bowing down to him.
But when it came to the actual experiment, Li Xi, despite a belly full of theory, didn't know where to start and could only fumble his way through by looking at the book.
During this difficult process, Lilith not only didn't help but kept causing trouble.
Li Xi tolerated it once or twice, but when Lilith repeatedly ate the half-finished products Li Xi had already concocted, Li Xi finally got angry.
Fibril Tower is a type of actively stimulating mineral, one of the main materials for concocting Healing Potions. Taking a small amount can stimulate the body's potential, while taking a large amount has moderate toxicity.
While Li Xi turned around to get other materials, Lilith shot out her tongue and ate half of the Fibril Tower in one go. That was something Li Xi had painstakingly prepared for a whole day before finally managing to get it ready.
Lilith causing trouble was one thing; on the other hand, Fibril Tower is toxic. Eating 200 grams at once, even an ordinary Wizard Apprentice couldn't withstand the toxicity.
Li Xi couldn't imagine what Gavaqi would do to him if something happened to this frog under his care.
"Croak, croak."
Facing Li Xi who wanted to pry open her mouth and take out the Fibril Tower, Lilith croaked loudly with her bulging frog eyes wide. She had never seen such a rude man with no sense of boundaries.
Before Li Xi's hand could touch Lilith, a slender black Shadow flashed past. Li Xi only felt as if his chest had been hit by a sledgehammer, and his body instantly flew out.
"Croak."
Ignoring Li Xi, who was plastered against the wall and couldn't get up for a long time, Lilith jumped onto the experimental table and brazenly picked and chose, eating one-third of the materials Li Xi had meticulously prepared.
"I..."
Li Xi's body was already extremely weak, with most of the toxicity still active. Both his strength and physical attributes had dropped below 15 points. Facing Lilith's sudden attack, he was completely unprepared.
He wanted to curse, but swallowed it back as soon as he opened his mouth. Lilith was an ancestor he couldn't afford to offend. Let alone eating a little raw material, even if she ate the entire laboratory, Li Xi wouldn't dare say anything; it all belonged to her.
Fortunately, Lilith didn't intend to kill him. Li Xi took a few deep breaths and stood up.
But when Li Xi stood up and looked at the experimental table and Lilith on it, he was stunned!
He even suspected for a moment that his eyes were playing tricks on him, that he was dreaming!
He saw a frog the size of a human head skillfully using various test tubes, crucibles, and even activating various rune arrays with ease.
A tongue danced, creating afterimages. All the raw materials disappeared at a speed visible to the naked eye, replaced by portions of semi-finished products.
Before Li Xi could close his gaping mouth and hide the trembling little tongue in his throat, fresh Healing Potions were neatly arranged.
The quality was exactly the same as the ones Li Xi had taken from the storeroom before!
"Croak."
Thirty Healing Potions were neatly arranged in two rows. Lilith even had time to clean up the experimental table, wash and put away various experimental equipment, and then stared at the bewildered Li Xi standing in the corner with her bulging frog eyes.
In those eyes devoid of any emotion, something was clearly being conveyed that made Li Xi blush and unable to lift his head.
Li Xi: "..."
This Lilith was clearly also a Potion Master; he had actually underestimated her.
"Master Lilith, don't you like eating bugs? I can buy you the latest bug platter."
Li Xi couldn't see his own fawning expression, but he definitely knew his left cheek said 'flattery', his right cheek said 'lackey', and the middle of his forehead said 'begging to cling to a thigh'.
"Croak."
Hearing it was the latest bug platter, Li Xi saw a sparkle in the bulging frog eyes that had shown no other expression during the past few years of contact.
Seeing this scene, Li Xi chuckled inwardly. These past few years hadn't been wasted; at least he knew a thing or two about some of Gavaqi and Lilith's preferences.
Bugs from thousands of worlds were Lilith's favorite.
"How about Master Lilith teaching me how to concoct potions? As long as you teach me one kind, I'll buy Master ten platters."
Li Xi rubbed his hands together, looking exactly like a shady uncle tempting a little girl with a lollipop.
Li Xi had to do this. If he fumbled his way through without anyone teaching him, he didn't know when he would be able to formally concoct the first potion. But if someone taught him hand-in-hand, that would be like putting a rocket on the progress bar and soaring into the sky!
Lilith nodded very humanly, "Croak."
"Then it's a deal."
Li Xi walked to the experimental table with a grin, gently picked up Lilith, and placed her on his head.
The cheat was officially online!
Amidst Lilith's croaking, he began his first potion concoction.
Everything was developing in a good direction, but what Li Xi didn't know was that just as he and Lilith reached a deal, trading ten platters of the latest bug assortment for a potion concoction method,
On the fourth floor of the high tower, Gavaqi stopped his movements and narrowed his eyes, as if watching a wonderful theatrical performance.
"Good talent, and a very strong desire for the unknown. He's more suited for the path of an Element Wizard. What a shame."
Gavaqi shook his head and sighed. There were many things he couldn't control, so he could only continue his work, carefully dripping a tube of blood into a petri dish and adding various high-grade materials.
One could see in the fourth floor, where Li Xi was never allowed up, that in each of the half-human-sized culture vessels, there was a pulsating mass of blood, numbering up to hundreds.
At this moment, Gavaqi was carefully tending to these blood masses, as if caring for newborn infants.
....
"Shopkeeper Shuerqi, here are two hundred portions of Healing Potion. How do you think the quality is?"
It had only been half a month since Shuerqi last went to the high tower, and Li Xi had already arrived at the Violetgold Flower Shop with two hundred portions of potions.
"Brother Li Xi, the moment I first met you, I knew you were definitely extraordinary. I've never seen any Apprentice who just started learning potionology able to refine so many potions in just half a month."
Shuerqi didn't hide the surprise in his eyes. Regardless of when Li Xi started concocting potions, the quality of these two hundred portions was definitely medium to high grade, which was not something an ordinary Apprentice could concoct.
"To support and encourage Brother Li Xi's success, I will add 10 wizard coins to the purchase price of each potion. Don't say I'm stingy; this is the highest price I can offer."
"How could that be? Even one wizard coin is the shopkeeper's support."
Li Xi's mouth twitched uncontrollably. This was the result of him forcefully suppressing his urge to grin widely.
'I'm rich, truly rich.'
"Two hundred Healing Potions are 82,000 wizard coins. Keep it safe."
Facing the pile of wizard coins Shuerqi handed over, Li Xi's heart couldn't help but beat a few extra times, and his breathing became heavier.
The cost of two hundred Healing Potions was only 30,000 wizard coins, and even with losses, it was no more than 35,000. The net profit had reached 47,000. Splitting it fifty-fifty with Master Gavaqi, he could still get 23,500 wizard coins.
Earning 23,500 in half a month, what a huge profit!
Although a large part of the credit belonged to Lilith, without her, let alone profit, the cost of losses would have far exceeded 82,000.
Of these two hundred potions, not a single one was completed solely by Li Xi alone.
Li Xi had talent, but not as high as he imagined. His success was entirely due to the help of the cheat, Lilith.
Lilith spared no effort for those ten platters of bug assortment.
Ordinary Wizard Apprentices don't have such conditions when concocting potions for the first time: unlimited supply of raw materials and a Master-level Teacher providing hands-on instruction.
Therefore, Li Xi's success was merely a manifestation of luck far outweighing strength.
But who made Li Xi have it? He had Gavaqi's provision and Lilith's dedicated teaching.
Li Xi strongly agreed that luck was also a manifestation of strength.
23,500 wizard coins,
The first pot of gold,
Li Xi kept his promise and first used 10,000 wizard coins to buy Lilith ten platters of the latest bug assortment. Then, not knowing what else to buy, he stuffed the wizard coins into his Shadow Space and happily skipped all the way back to Gavaqi's high tower.
"Lilith, look what I bought back for you?"
As soon as the ten platters of the latest bug assortment were taken out, a black Shadow swept past like the wind. In the blink of an eye, only ten reflective plates were left in front of Li Xi, and only the sound of swallowing constantly echoed in the laboratory.
"..."
Originally, Li Xi wanted to repeat Shuerqi's spiel about the bug platter to highlight his own efforts, but he didn't expect Lilith to not give him the chance at all, finishing all ten platters in one gulp.
"Alright, then what potion should we concoct next?"
Opportunities for a good Teacher are rare, especially after Li Xi realized the exchange principle of Wizard Civilization. This was a golden opportunity. If he didn't squeeze out all of Lilith's skills, he would be letting himself down.
Lilith: "Croak."
As Li Xi spent more and more time at the experimental table, Lilith intervened less and less. Although the number of potions delivered to Shuerqi's shop was somewhat unstable and the quality varied, and the growth rate of wizard coins in the Shadow Space slowed down, Li Xi felt very fulfilled and happy inside.
Because these were all refined by his own hands, and Lilith didn't help at all, this meant that he had become independent of Gavaqi and possessed the ability to concoct potions on his own.
Even if it was just the simplest types of potions, it still excited Li Xi greatly. From this moment on, he felt like he had just truly stepped onto the Wizard World. Without help from others, he wouldn't starve himself.
What you learn is truly yours.
Standing at the experimental table, Li Xi felt his future was bright!