Knight Level

It was obvious to everyone in this world that Mages were the superior class, however, Commoners and Knights were also capable of some achievements.

When a Commoner found out that he had no talent for magic, his main goal was to be promoted to Knight. There were various ways to do this, but the two most common factors were money and hard work.

The effects of hard work were obvious - muscle, stamina, as well as training and mastery of various weapons. After all, it was far better to become a Knight and make a good living providing for one's family than to live in poverty like most commoners.

Sure, technically simple nobles were commoners too, but many of them had excellent bloodlines, which meant they had a high chance of awakening a talent for magic, and they also had money.

Money could be used to buy equipment, artifacts, and catalysts. Even a Commoner or Knight could use all of these, the most important thing was that the item could absorb mana from the outside.

However, the potions were the basis for the rapid growth of strength. A single potion could replace months or even years of training. This was crucial for Knights, given their short lifespan compared to mages.

Evan still had a chance to awaken a talent for magic, but for Klaus and Hana, that subject was long since closed. For them, the Rise Potion from an experienced alchemist was a real fortune, so they watched Angus's every move as closely as anyone else.

Even Halvor was no exception.

'Agh, I've seen Angus work many times in my lifetime, but it's still damn beautiful and fascinating. The outcome is known, yet the intrigue is still maintained.' Halvor inwardly uttered, taking another sip of wine.

Whoooooooooosh.

White flames surrounded the Cores, preventing them from falling, as it was dense enough to hold them aloft.

Soon enough, the Cores were red-hot and slowly began to melt into a white liquid.

Relative to the size of the cauldron, it was only a few drops. However, as soon as the liquid cores entered the cauldron, the purple liquid glowed brightly, quickly turning sky blue as if all the ingredients inside had finally reacted.

"Hmm? A little darker than I expected." Angus muttered, staring at the few dark spots floating on the surface like islands in the ocean. 

Then, Angus shrugged.

"Well, I just need to fix that, don't I?"

Whooooooooooooosh.

Angus swung his hands, separating a few particles from his flame and burning away the dark spots, bringing the color to a perfect state.

"Halvor! I need your help! Although... Any one of you can help me!" Angus exclaimed, throwing his arm forward.

Ruby, Lana, Reine, and Hana immediately rushed towards him with eyes sparkling with curiosity. However, Evan, Klaus, and Halvor remained seated with slight smiles on their faces.

Angus nodded slightly, receiving the same smirk.

With the girls' help, Angus managed in just a few minutes, pouring the liquid into 24 rather large flasks.

"Not bad, 3 each, right?" Halvor asked before taking the last sip of wine. He drained the bottle completely.

Angus nodded, "Yeah, although these potions won't be as effective for you and me as they are for the others, but they're still First Rank Rise Potions. We shouldn't miss out on something like this."

"When should we use them?" Evan asked, staring intently at the blue liquid inside the flask.

"Right now. Then, I suggest we head to bed. It's getting pretty late anyway, and you still need a proper night's sleep to meet Alf Lovaas's man." Angus said before opening one of the flasks.

The others did the same. Evan was no exception.

As soon as the potion hit his tongue he felt... nothing. The potion had no taste, nor did it feel like a liquid, it felt like a void was entering him and he could only realize it with his mind.

Evan didn't wait and drank the three potions at once, and so did the others.

In fact, Angus knew that was the maximum they could afford. If someone other than him and Halvor had gotten four or more potions, it would have resulted in serious poisoning.

Any substance could be a poison, it was only a matter of quantity - every alchemist, even beginners.

"How strange..." Evan muttered, looking at his hands, "I feel light as if I've become several times less weight."

"Yeah... I feel the same way too." Klaus agreed.

Angus nodded, "That's normal. I wouldn't say it's a side effect, because that's how it's supposed to be. Your body has been filled with highly concentrated mana, so for a short period, you are much stronger, but soon the mana will start to absorb into your body. The effect will stop being so strong, but it will still be permanent, not for a very short period."

Evan wanted to ask something, but after Angus explained some reason, everything went black in front of his eyes. It all happened too fast, so he didn't even realize he had fallen asleep.

The same thing happened to the others, so only Angus and Halvor were left at the table with smiles, watching the rest.

"Agh, Angus is it just me or are we getting old? I mean, with them I feel like I'm really quite old." Halvor muttered, leaning on his arm.

Angus shrugged.

"Who knows, but you've still got over a hundred years to live, so you can hardly be called old or anything."

Halvor glanced at him, then shifted his gaze to Evan, "Yeah, maybe you're right. It's a shame that Rise Potion can't awaken a talent for magic, it would take away a lot of the problems in this world. It's just unfair that luck decides everything."

Angus nodded silently with a deep gaze.

...

Several hours later, from the light of the sun's rays, Evan finally opened his eyes. He looked around with blurred vision, seeing that he was alone in this part of the workshop.

'I definitely didn't get enough sleep, but... I still feel incredible!' Evan inwardly exclaimed, unable to contain his emotions.

He had only felt this kind of feeling when he was training with Halvor and eating well, but the effect he was seeing was much better.

'I see... Potions are a thing, not just fun. Well, what do the runes say to that?' Evan wondered with a slight smile.

"Sight!