Chapter 16: Synthesizing a First-Order Potion
Gurgle gurgle!
The sound of the boiling liquid gradually weakened and finally disappeared completely.
Sunan picked up the beaker, poured the viscous liquid inside into a potion bottle, plugged it with a cork, and placed it on the table behind him.
On the solid wood table, fifteen potion bottles lined up in a row, shimmering with a captivating luster under the bright yellow light.
Looking at the potions in front of him, a smile appeared on Sunan's face.
These fifteen bottles were the fruits of his labor over the past few days.
The materials consumed for this cost over one hundred and fifty gold coins.
But it was all worth it.
Steeling himself, Sunan placed the potions into the Synthesis Cube one by one.
As the number of potions increased, the information displayed on the synthesis interface on the right also changed continuously.
When the number reached three bottles, the synthesized Inferior Activity Potion changed from 'Zero-order/Inferior' to 'Zero-order/Intermediate'.
When the number reached seven bottles, it changed again to 'Zero-order/Superior'.
Sunan continued, placing more Inferior Activity Potions into the Cube.
Finally, when the twelfth potion was added, the synthesis interface flashed, and the resulting potion was completely different.
[Activity Potion (First-order/Inferior): After consumption, greatly increases mental activity and extends meditation time. Duration: 30 days and 12 hours. No effect when stacked. User's spiritual power must be 5 or above.]
Compared to the Inferior Activity Potion, the description of the Activity Potion added the word 'greatly' to the increase in mental activity.
In addition, it also added 'extends meditation time', which effectively improved meditation efficiency.
However, what made Sunan frown was that the duration only doubled?
The restriction on consumption wasn't unexpected.
Most ranked potions had consumption restrictions.
And the higher the rank, the stricter the restriction.
This restriction was generally reflected in spiritual power.
If someone with insufficient spiritual power forcefully consumed a potion, the consequences would range from mental confusion and soul damage to turning into some strange creature or even exploding and dying.
After pondering for a moment, Sunan put the remaining three bottles of Inferior Activity Potion into the Cube.
Perhaps because the number was too small, the quality of the synthesized potion didn't change this time.
Seeing this, Sunan took the three potions out again and chose to synthesize them.
In an instant, a bottle of Activity Potion appeared in his palm.
Without hesitation, Sunan consumed it on the spot.
He couldn't tell much just from the description of the effects, so he decided to experience the effect of a first-order potion personally.
As the potion went down, Sunan felt his mind suddenly sharpen. The whole world seemed to become clearer, as if switching from low resolution to high resolution.
Without delay, Sunan sat down on the spot and began to meditate.
After an unknown amount of time, he suddenly opened his eyes and immediately looked at the clock on the wall, surprised to find that nearly four hours had passed, and it was already dark outside.
"The meditation time has doubled."
Sunan opened his panel and was delighted to find that his spiritual power had increased by 0.09.
The proficiency of the Star Ring Meditation had increased by 68 points.
"The increase in spiritual power is less than expected, but the efficiency of proficiency increase is almost six times higher than before."
Sunan quickly calculated in his mind.
The results of meditating for a month using the Inferior Activity Potion were slightly better than meditating for six months using twelve bottles of the Inferior Activity Potion. The difference wasn't particularly significant.
But the time spent was vastly different.
For a wizard apprentice with a limited lifespan, it was obvious which was more beneficial.
"This is the irreplaceable advantage of precious resources. They can increase spiritual power faster and allow for faster breakthroughs in rank."
"If I can keep using the Activity Potion, I can construct the second star ring in just over forty days. In less than a year, I will definitely be promoted to a level 2 wizard apprentice!"
Sunan was overjoyed.
After being promoted to a level 2 wizard apprentice, he would be able to use many restricted methods, and his combat power would also be greatly increased, truly giving him the power to establish himself in this world.
"Should I continue synthesizing to improve the quality of the Activity Potion?"
After hesitating, Sunan ultimately rejected this idea.
Synthesizing would definitely not be a loss, but a higher quality Activity Potion would definitely have a higher requirement for spiritual power.
It would be too wasteful if he ended up with a potion that he couldn't consume at this stage.
Although Blackrock City's financial pressure had been greatly alleviated, he didn't have much money to spend freely.
"A first-order inferior Activity Potion is almost enough before I'm promoted to a level 2 wizard apprentice."
Time entered the Month of Thunder (April), and the weather was still hot.
The serfs in the villages around Blackrock City had finished their farming one after another, and the agricultural work was coming to an end.
More manpower was gradually being transferred to the reconstruction of the Blackrock Mine.
It was expected that the Blackrock Mine would be fully rebuilt by the end of the month.
However, in order not to waste time, Kyi decided at the beginning of the month to recruit miners and start mining in advance.
Therefore, the Blackrock Mine immediately started operating at full capacity. Every day, ore was transported from the underground mine to the ground and then put into the furnace, turning into square Blackrock Iron ingots.
The entire Blackrock City was enveloped in a lively atmosphere.
Only the courtyard where Sunan lived was an exception, as quiet and peaceful as always.
In the meditation room.
Sunan, who was sitting cross-legged on the ground, suddenly trembled slightly and then opened his eyes, revealing a joyful smile.
"I finally constructed the second star ring!"
In the depths of his sea of consciousness, two star rings intertwined, forming a chain-like shape, exuding a profound and mysterious aura.
Sunan felt refreshed and happy as he opened his panel.
[Sunan Ainest, human male, 16 years old]
[Spirit 10.85 / Physique 5.04]
[Skills]
Star Ring Meditation Lv3 (28/10000)
Potion Making Lv2 (629/3000)
Bio-modification Lv1 (3/1000)
"Spiritual power increased by 1.21."
Sunan nodded secretly.
Originally, his spiritual power was only 9.64. With the successful construction of the star ring, it instantly broke through the 10-point mark.
At this rate, when he constructed the third star ring, his spiritual power would definitely exceed 12 points, allowing him to be promoted to a level 2 wizard apprentice.
"Physique has also broken through 5 points."
Sunan clenched his fists.
He hadn't deliberately strengthened his physique, but with prolonged meditation and the increase in spiritual power, his physique had been subtly enhanced.
It was estimated that by the time he was promoted to a level 2 wizard apprentice, his physique, even if not as good as a formal knight, wouldn't be far off.
"The proficiency of the level 3 Star Ring Meditation has more than doubled, but with 10,000 proficiency points, I can max it out in half a year if I'm fast."
Sunan's gaze swept across the skill bar and landed on Bio-modification at the bottom.
This was a skill he had just mastered yesterday.
Since he had potion making and puppet creation, Sunan had spent most of his time on these two skills, only occasionally taking the time to increase the learning progress of bio-modification.
However, the learning progress of this skill was already more than halfway there. After a few months of intermittent progress, it finally reached 100% yesterday, thus appearing on the skill bar.
"As long as I continue on the path of a wizard, I will eventually come into contact with the field of bio-modification, and then this skill will come in handy."
On the other hand, his spell learning was also progressing very smoothly.
He had successively mastered the subsequently acquired Unlocking Technique, Detect Poison, and Touch of Fatigue.
The first two were self-explanatory, their effects evident from their names.
Touch of Fatigue, however, was an offensive spell.
It could inject negative energy into the target through touch, making them fatigued.
Its practicality... could only be said to be average.
However, in the absence of other spells to choose from, Sunan learned this spell.
"I previ
ously asked my brother to collect wizard books and magic items. I wonder how that's going?"