Chapter 41: Mass-Producing Potions

"Do you have a tool to measure magic intensity?" Anna, yawning, knocked Richard on the head slightly annoyed. "You came to me so early just for this?"

Though generally patient with Richard, being woken up early had left her a bit grumpy.

"Sorry, Anna. I just had an idea and couldn't hold it in," Richard replied, scratching his head awkwardly, realizing it was still dawn as Anna opened the shop door.

"Alright, you're forgiven." Anna pulled out a chair and sat down. "There are indeed tools to measure magic intensity, and several types at that. What do you need to measure?"

"Uh... alchemical materials, herbs, things like that."

"Alchemical materials? Then you need a magic probe. I'll get you one."

Anna walked into the shop's back room and returned with a foot-long bronze needle.

"Snap out of it," Anna said, tapping the table and handing Richard the bronze needle.

"Insert this into the material you want to test, and watch which runes light up."

"Got it." Richard took the probe.

"But why do you need to measure magic? The materials from the Seven Luminaries Trading Company vary in quality but are at least decent. They wouldn't sell substandard goods."

Anna sat back down, resting her chin on her hand with curiosity.

Richard scratched his head. "To put it simply, I plan to refine—no, make precise—our teacher's formula."

"Refine a formula?" Anna's expression changed dramatically. "You've barely learned alchemy, and you want to alter a formula?"

"Huh?" Richard flinched at Anna's reaction.

"Not alter—make precise!" Richard emphasized. "The formula our teacher gave is too vague. There's no way to improve success rates with it as it is."

"Stop! Listen to me, Richard, stop that thought!" Anna's magic flared, instantly suppressing Richard.

Under her powerful magic, Richard couldn't move a muscle.

"Is this the gap between a low-level and high-level apprentice?" Richard was astounded.

Though he had witnessed Eric's power at the gathering, facing a high-level apprentice personally revealed their true strength.

"Listen, Richard." Anna calmed herself and released the suppression.

"I know you're a genius, even more talented than I am, but remember, you're just a low-level apprentice new to alchemy. Your understanding isn't even on par with mine or Chaxes'."

Anna softened her tone, aware that Richard's age was prone to rebellion.

"The knowledge our teacher gives us, whether formulas or designs, is tried and tested. Following his formula, you might fail, but you'll never face danger. Understand?"

Anna's eyes held hope. She had made a similar mistake in the past, and if not for Jolord's intervention, she would have been dead.

She didn't want Richard to repeat her mistake.

"Anna, I think you're overreacting. I'll say it again: I'm not altering, just making precise."

Richard explained with exasperation, noting Anna's reaction was akin to PTSD.

Anna tried to persuade him further, but Richard interrupted.

"If you're worried, you can watch over me. With you there, nothing could go wrong. I'm just making potions, not playing with red mercury."

"You... sigh!" Anna realized her discouragement was in vain. "Fine, to the testing area we go. I'll cover the magic stone cost. Maybe you'll learn after a setback."

Richard was delighted by the unexpected outcome. "Great! Shall we go now?"

Anna shot Richard a fierce glare. "Let's go!"

...

Testing Area.

The laboratory was sparsely equipped; aside from the testing bench, everything else had to be brought by the wizard.

Anna stood in a corner, having somehow procured a screen to conceal herself.

"I'm just here to save you. I won't watch or interfere with your experiment."

Richard shook his head, understanding that in the wizarding world, without patents, leaked knowledge was settled by force.

Before wizard academies, rogue wizards who awakened their mental power without guidance had to seek knowledge alone. Even wizard academies only offered basic apprentice knowledge; to advance, one needed a mentor or self-study.

Thus, specialization was common among wizards. Richard suspected Jolord's vague formula was due to his primary focus not being potions, hence the imprecision or acquisition from another.

"Alright, I'm starting."

After three months of practice, Richard was adept at making Focus Potions. Processing materials, adding ingredients, infusing magic—every step was methodical in his hands.

During experiments, Richard meticulously recorded the magic intensity at each step.

Days turned into weeks as Richard immersed himself in the lab for half a month.

Aside from meditation and magic recovery, Richard spent all his time experimenting. Meanwhile, Anna, determined to safeguard him, brought books from her shop to pass the time.

She harbored a stubborn hope: if she had failed, could Richard succeed?

"Last trial—magic value at step nine is 13.5. If successful, 13.5 is the minimum; if not, 14 is the minimum."

Richard, with dark circles under his eyes, recorded the final trial data. The probe Anna lent measured only to 0.5, but he wasn't aiming for finer precision.

With this final batch, he hoped to achieve a precise Focus Potion formula.

Richard mechanically processed the materials and added them to the cauldron.

His enthusiasm had faded, replaced by numbness.

Repetitive tasks drained passion.

As the cauldron's liquid changed color with each addition, Richard measured the magic intensity at each step. Upon reaching the final step, his numb heart stirred with anticipation.

Boom!

Blue steam erupted from the cauldron. Richard stared at the deep blue liquid, momentarily stunned, then relieved.

"Sis, come out! I did it!"

Richard laughed, tearing down the screen shielding Anna.

"Did it? How did you do it?" Anna was puzzled. Richard had merely been making Focus Potions, with no explosions or significant events.

"You don't understand." Richard shook his head, offering no further explanation.

This marked the first cry of a new era!