ch10-Tutorial (5) Talent enhancing potion

Taking out the small wooden box Oliver opened it with anticipation, a small glass bottle with only 1 singular drop of multi-coloured vibrant liquid floating quietly within it.

As an alchemist Oliver could barely keep his cool as he instantly inspected the item.

[Talent Enhancement Potion]

Transcendent Grade

Effects: Raises your magical talent by ???

Restriction: may only be consumed once.

Oliver frantically winked as he read those words, T..T..Transcendent Grade.

'Mike was such a dimwit.'

Oliver couldn't help but think. This was an incredible potion able to turn any half backed magician into the strongest mage when it came to talent. But here Mike was, using such a heavenly potion to be barely considered above average when it came to the highest challengers.

Oliver didn't even wait a single second as he downed the potion, still sitting ton a branch of the tree he got the wooden box from.

The potion tasted sweet, but felt like grain alcohol burning its way down Olivers gullet, sliding over to Olivers magic center.

It wanted to reach his mana.

As the potion flowed through his body, Olivers didn't move. He calmly let the liquid fulfill its purpose while bearing with the pain it caused as it worked its way through his magic network.

Olivers idly thought about magic while he waited.

The two most important organs in a person's body, the brain and the heart, were also the two most important organs for a magic caster.

The heart contained the bulk of a mage's mana inside it. This mini-organ within the heart was commonly called a 'magic core' or 'mana core' once a person started to use mana.

The brain directed the mana that was used to cast spells. Stronger mental power meant better control over spells.

There was no particular term for the brain in magic, though mages tended to call it the 'mind' rather than the brain.

Since not all species that used magic had brains.

Outside the mind that directed mana and the mana core that held it, the complex system of branches and streams that allowed humans to cast magic was generally known as a person's 'magic network.'

The magic network was individually composed of 'mana conduits' through which mana flowed.

These mana conduits were extremely important when casting magic. They needed to be wide, sturdy, and somewhat flexible to become a powerful mage.

The [Tower] would help with exactly that simply by raising one's attributes using AP. In fact, there were only a few attributes situated outside its control.

One of those was talent...

Olivers thoughts were interrupted as he felt an incredible pain throughout his magic network.

His mana conduits strained and creaked as if they would soon rupture.

Oliver was alarmed. Even he couldn't help but grow slightly nervous as his mana conduits were at risk of breaking.

Broken mana conduits would render him a magical cripple. Very few special potions existed that could cure this condition.

His magic network was screaming in protest at drinking this potion!

The potion Oliver had taken was designed to work on his mana core directly. As it improved his talent, it would forcibly purify his mana making it smoother, more powerful, and easier to control.

It worked by continuously expanding and contracting Olivers mana to release the tougher, impure mana stored within.

But Oliver had neglected one key facet.

Had he taken this potion at his peak in the past, it would not have been a problem to expand and contract his mana like this.

But now, his body was basically still developing. His magic network composed of mana conduits was still immature and growing.

As such, using this potion would put an incredible strain on Olivers network. After all, the mana conduits had to contain all that expanding and compressing mana

Inside his body, Olivers magic network, which originally looked like a series of streams carrying trickles of mana through his body, started to widen.

But this was only an incidental effect of the potion, brought on by Olivers developing body.

The real change happened to his mana itself.

When the potion came in contact with Olivers mana, it invaded all the way through his system like a pernicious virus unwilling to let even a single healthy cell go.

His mana instantly had a large reaction.

It expanded rapidly, forcing Olivers conduits open, then contracting until it was almost completely indiscernible.

As this purification happened, a large stream of dark-purple mana was released from Olivers body.

Fortunately, this was not a cultivation scene, so the mana didn't smell like shit and stick on Olivers body.

Rather, it was expelled easily and floated into the air surrounding Olivers body before dispersing and blending into the ambient mana.

After his mana finished contracting, it started to expand again.

The process repeated dozens of times, while Oliver gritted his teeth to bear with the pain.

Fortunately, his conduits didn't rupture. The potion's energy seemed to sense the problem and spontaneously started to reinforce them.

The pain also lessened after the initial push, as his magic network adapted to the newly purified mana.

After an hour, the expelled mana started to take on a more normal, blue-ish tint, and the process was finished.

Oliver let out a breath of relief.

Even with his ample experience, his forehead was still covered in sweat.

But when he examined his body to determine the exact effects, he smirked in delight.

Oliver reaped many benefits from that tiny potion.

His mana conduits had widened, and even his mana core had slightly grown, giving him access to more mana that regenerated faster.

These were only incidental benefits.

The potion was for increasing 'talent' or the 'fluidity' of mana, not the 'amount,' after all.

'This must be a side benefit of taking it before my talent fully solidified.'

Oliver quickly went through the motions of casting one of the two spells he had access to, 'Mana Bolt.'

His eyes widened.

His mana was so smooth! Casting was effortless!

This advantage wouldn't reveal itself until he started casting tougher magic, since he needed little concentration to cast the basic spells in the first place. But Oliver could already feel the difference.

This potion would allow him to build the most solid foundation imaginable in magic, which was perfect for his future growth.

Oliver let out a smile as he imagined his bright future, before calming himself.

He checked his status screen.