[Star Moon Low Level Meditation Method: Beginner (75/200)]
A single Potion increased his Skill Level by a full 3 points!!!
The other Apprentices didn't have a panel, so their ability to absorb and utilize the Potions couldn't possibly compare to his.
His heart pounded with excitement as he hurried to the Laboratory.
He still needed to confirm his success rate for Potion refining.
After another flurry of activity, Ian stared at the three Potions in his hand, his expression one of utter shock.
He had just attempted the refining process three times in a row, and all of them were successful!!!
It was as if the system had recorded the moment of his successful Potion Alchemy and solidified it on his panel. Now, any future attempts would never fail.
Other Magic Potion Alchemists could earn a steady stream of Magic Stones with a success rate of just over twenty percent.
The greatest costs for an Awakening Potion were the Moonlight Grass and the Magic Catalyst Powder.
The latter was a general-purpose Magic Powder created by Alchemists.
The total cost of ingredients was less than a single Magic Stone, yet the finished product sold for five.
This just went to show how absurdly profitable Magic Potion Science was.
Countless people wanted to get into this line of work, but the barrier to entry was simply too high. They had the ambition, but not the aptitude.
Looking at the large pile of herbs on the ground, which included the ones Simon had repeatedly left behind, he sorted out the counterfeit ingredients and estimated he could still refine about a hundred more Potions.
For a Basic Level Alchemist, successfully refining even ten Potions from this amount would have been considered an excellent result.
'Heh heh! Simon, I really have you to thank for this!'
If it weren't for Simon's strong-arm sales tactics, he never would have collected so many ingredients.
'As for the Magic Stones I owe him...'
Ian lowered his head in thought. The High Tower's official rules forbade Apprentices from killing one another.
However, sparring was permitted, and the 'limits' of such duels were left to the participants' own discretion.
This place was remote, so he still had to be on guard against any of Simon's more vicious schemes.
But the thought of the bodyguard he'd hired for five Magic Stones helped to put his mind at ease.
He glanced at the time; it was already late at night.
He washed up quickly before collapsing onto his bed and falling into a deep sleep.
「The next morning.」
Ian left his room and went to Kenna's residence again.
"Kenna, I'm here again."
"Just come in, the door's unlocked," Kenna called back from inside.
Ian entered and saw Kenna in the courtyard, practicing with a Two-Handed Greatsword.
He was a large man, but his agility was in no way diminished.
As his form blurred, the heavy greatsword seemed as light as a dead branch in his hands, cutting through the air with an audible whoosh.
Ian watched from the side for a moment, nodding in approval.
The greatsword in Kenna's hands had to weigh at least a dozen pounds. An ordinary person would find it tiring just to hold for long, let alone wield it in battle.
"Shouldn't you be focusing on your Cultivation and Potion refining? What are you doing back here?"
Kenna practiced a little longer before stopping and heading back into the house.
Ian followed him inside and, without any preamble, pulled out a Potion.
"Kenna, this is the Awakening Potion I promised you. I got lucky and successfully made one last night."
Kenna froze. He turned, took the Potion, and examined it closely.
"Not bad. It's the real deal. Looks like you've really done it. Congratulations!"
Kenna put the Potion away. His expression was complicated, and his tone was noticeably different from before.
"I warned you about that Simon fellow a long time ago. I told you not to get too close to him, but you just wouldn't listen."
"I was foolish before. Now, I have to trouble you again."
Ian knew that the previous owner of his body had only listened to praise and paid no mind to Kenna's warnings.
"I can only help you fend him off once. After that, you'll have to deal with it yourself."
"Once will be enough. Thank you, Kenna!"
Ian knew that getting Kenna to do even this much was no small feat.
After all, everyone had come here with the same goal: to pursue their Cultivation and break through to become an Official Wizard.
After returning to his room, Ian pulled out a dozen or so thick books from a corner of his bed.
*Star Moon Low Level Meditation Method Introduction*
*Tier Zero Witchcraft Collection*
*Detailed Guide to Mid-Low Level Potion Refining*
*Comprehensive Guide to Basic Potion Recognition*
*Magic Safety Rules and Common Rebound Cases*
...
Aside from the books on Magic Potion Recognition and Magic Potion Science, the rest had been issued by the academy to every new student upon payment of tuition.
He looked over the several Tier Zero Witchcraft spells and considered them carefully.
He chose the only Attack Witchcraft: *Secondary Frost Freeze Beam*.
He didn't expect to master it right away, but he needed to start preparing.
After carefully reading through the entire description of the Witchcraft, his panel updated.
[Secondary Frost Freeze Beam: Uninitiated (0/50)]
Following the instructions in the Witchcraft book, he began to familiarize himself with the Spell and hand gestures.
The principle behind casting a Witchcraft spell was to use the corresponding incantation and hand gestures. These would resonate with the Will Rune in one's mind, which would then channel Magic Power and release it.
Once proficient, a caster could try to shorten the incantation and gestures, drastically reducing the casting time.
At first, Ian stumbled over his words. The short Spell, combined with the hand gestures, took him a long time to complete.
The result, naturally, was failure. But he wasn't discouraged.
[Secondary Frost Freeze Beam Skill Level +1]
Seeing the notification float past the corner of his eye, Ian nodded to himself and continued to practice.
With every failed attempt, the panel provided a bit of positive feedback.
He constantly refined his movements, and the incantation gradually became more fluid.
Finally, as he completed the final hand gesture, a fluid Spell left his lips.
"Glacies!"
Ian felt a humming vibration in his mind.
The Will Rune began to spin, drawing on a portion of his Spiritual Power to gather the Magic Power within his body.
WHOOSH! A pale blue beam shot out from his fingertip.
On the ground five meters in front of him, a thick layer of frost quickly bloomed across a one-meter radius.
The temperature in the room dropped noticeably. Ian walked over and touched the frost, a bone-chilling cold seeping into his hand.
'This level of power can't kill anyone!'
The attack range of *Secondary Frost Freeze Beam* was only fifteen meters at most.
According to the book, its freezing effect could immobilize a full-grown bull for several seconds.
But the casting time was far too long—a full five seconds!
At that speed, forget about fighting another caster; even an ordinary person could attack him or simply run out of range.
Ian wasn't satisfied with the Witchcraft's effect, but there was nothing he could do about it for now.
He didn't have a better Attack Witchcraft. For now, all he could do was grind this one relentlessly.
He continued practicing, and just as he'd expected, after that first success, he never failed again.
He checked his panel and saw his Skill Level rising quite rapidly, nodding to himself in satisfaction.
Compared to Magic Potion Science, practicing pure Witchcraft was indeed much faster.
The only thing limiting him now was his Spiritual Power cap.
A Basic Level Wizard Apprentice could only cast a Tier Zero, Low Level Witchcraft about ten times before needing to recover through Meditation.
Over the next few days, he spent most of his time practicing *Secondary Frost Freeze Beam*.
At night, he would then refine the Potion he needed for his own use.
His room lacked any Constant Temperature equipment, so he couldn't store Potions for extended periods.
When he grew tired of practicing Witchcraft, he would pull out those large tomes and read through them.
Every time he finished a thorough reading, the panel would help deepen his memory of the contents.
[Basic Magic Potion Recognition: Beginner (60/100)]