Chapter 1: The Synthesis Cube
Starlight Calendar Year 1248, Month of Autumn Twilight (October).
Blackrock City, border of the Astral Duchy.
The weather was gradually turning cooler. A few yellowed leaves danced in the wind, a reminder that the scorching summer was coming to an end.
Old Geller, the butler, walked along the cobblestone path in the courtyard, tightening his collar against the chill. He held a wooden box carefully in his other hand.
He crossed the courtyard and arrived at a secluded area. Frowning at the quiet and deserted yard, he couldn't understand why Young Master Sunan had chosen to move here and instructed the servants to stay away.
Sunan claimed to enjoy the peace, but wasn't this a bit too desolate?
Ever since their father, Baron Ainest, died in battle and the two young masters were essentially exiled to Blackrock City, Young Master Sunan, who had always been introverted, became even more withdrawn.
He spent all day either holed up in his room reading or tinkering with strange things. He even had Young Master Kyi collect various herbs and small animals for him.
His actions were a mystery to everyone.
Fortunately, there was still Young Master Kyi. Unlike Sunan, Kyi had been striving to improve himself since arriving in Blackrock City. At only nineteen, he was already a high-ranking knight, deeply admired by his subordinates.
Having such a leader was a blessing for Blackrock City, which had long suffered from the raids and harassment of the Blackscale Lizards.
Lost in thought, Geller reached the door of the innermost room and knocked gently.
"Young Master Sunan, I've brought you the Silvermoon Flowers."
"Just leave them at the door," a weak voice responded from inside.
"Yes, Young Master Sunan."
Geller expertly placed the wooden box to the right of the door, bowed, and left the courtyard.
A moment later, the door creaked open, and a thin, pale young man of about sixteen or seventeen emerged.
He bent down, picked up the wooden box, and returned to his room, closing the door behind him.
The room was sparsely furnished. Long tables lined the walls, covered with glass bottles and jars filled with strange ingredients.
A large laboratory table dominated the center of the room, taking up almost half the space. It was cluttered with glass bottles, test tubes, beakers, and other tools.
With the doors and windows tightly shut, the air was thick with a mixture of pungent, sweet scents, and the sharp smell of disinfectant.
Sunan casually placed the wooden box on the table, picked up an unfinished book from the side, and continued reading intently.
About half an hour later, he finished the last page and closed the book with a snap.
At the same time, a line of text materialized in the air before him.
[Reading "Fundamentals of Potionology", 'Potion Making' learning progress +0.5%.]
['Potion Making' learning progress has reached 100%, acquired 'Potion Making Lv1']
Sunan exhaled slowly, a hint of joy flickering across his pale face.
After more than two months of studying relevant books and countless hours spent practicing extraction and purification techniques, he had finally mastered the basics of potion making.
Setting aside "Fundamentals of Potionology," Sunan turned his attention to a box in the corner of the room.
It contained more than twenty books.
They were all wizarding texts collected by his predecessor.
The book on top was bound in a hard, black cover. The front displayed a series of strange symbols like cryptic runes, their meaning indecipherable to most.
But Sunan could understand what these symbols represented—Enlightenment.
This was a primer for aspiring wizards.
Those with magical aptitude could activate their spiritual powers by reading it, becoming a lowly first-level wizard apprentice and embarking on the path to seeking truth and power.
Those without aptitude, however, risked coma or even death if they attempted to read it.
His predecessor had recklessly tried to read this very book, leading to his demise and Sunan's subsequent transmigration into his body.
To Sunan's surprise, the world he had arrived in was the same as a virtual reality game he had recently encountered in his previous life.
The game was set in a vast continent where sword and magic reigned supreme.
Sword referred to knights.
Magic referred to wizards.
Of course, this was still the early stage of the 1.0 version, [Knight War].
A thousand years ago, wizards had abandoned this continent, which was poor in elemental energy, and journeyed to the multiverse in search of more suitable realms.
They would not return until a thousand years later, when the elements of this continent would recover.
Currently, the dominant force was the knights.
"It's a shame I only started playing in the 2.0 version, [Return of the Wizards]. I don't know much about the 1.0 version. Otherwise, having that information would make things much easier here," Sunan sighed.
But as a transmigrator, he had his own advantages.
With a thought, a translucent screen appeared before his eyes.
[Sunan Ainest, human male, 16 years old]
[Spirit 1.5/Constitution 0.7]
[Skills]
Star Ring Meditation Lv1 (103/1000)
Potion Making Lv1 (0/1000)
The player panel!
This was one of the perks of his transmigration.
The panel clearly displayed his current abilities.
All skill learning was digitized, with progress bars showing his advancement. As long as he put in the effort, his skills would steadily improve.
"Consistent effort leads to steady progress. That's the player's advantage."
With another thought, the screen flickered and transformed into a grid of a hundred squares, ten rows by ten.
[Synthesis Cube]
This was his other cheat.
Simply put, the Synthesis Cube could combine multiple items of the same kind, enhancing their quality, effects, or power.
Sunan opened the wooden box Geller had brought. Inside, nestled on a bed of red velvet, were ten small, delicate silver flowers.
Silvermoon Flowers.
They were known for their invigorating effects.
Many nobles enjoyed brewing tea with Silvermoon Flowers. A cup in the morning could banish drowsiness and leave one feeling refreshed.
This was because Silvermoon Flowers contained components that stimulated mental activity.
By extracting and refining these components, their effects could be amplified.
Sunan carried the box to the laboratory table in the center of the room, took out the Silvermoon Flowers, and placed them in a beaker. Then, he lit the alcohol lamp beneath it.
"It's a pity I couldn't find any magic stones. A magic stone lamp would be much more efficient for potion making."
In the 1.0 version of the game, the Starlight Continent was an elemental wasteland, with a pitifully low concentration of energy particles in the air.
As a result, resources were scarce compared to later eras, including magic stones.
At this point in time, the Starlight Continent simply didn't have the resources to support a true wizard.
Fortunately, Sunan had the Synthesis Cube.
Even without sufficient resources, he could find ways to synthesize them himself.
He added some water to the beaker and covered it with a glass lid.
The liquid quickly came to a boil under the heat, bubbling vigorously.
Within minutes, the water turned a beautiful silver-blue color, and steam billowed out from under the lid. A refreshing fragrance filled the room.
Sunan inhaled gently, feeling instantly invigorated.
After more than ten minutes, the bubbling subsided, and the liquid in the beaker had reduced by more than half.
Sunan picked up the beaker and examined it with satisfaction.
He now had about 100 ml of Silvermoon Flower extract.
[Successfully completed a drug purification and refining, Potion Making proficiency +1]
Sunan divided the extract into ten equal portions of 10 ml each. Then, he activated the Synthesis Cube and placed one portion into a square on the grid.
Information about the extract appeared above the square.
[Silvermoon Flower Extract, purity 37.12%, increases mental activity by 21.47% after consumption, duration 10 hours 35 minutes.]
Sunan placed the remaining nine portions into the grid.
The interface changed, and a larger square appeared on the right, containing a more vibrant, almost ethereal silver-blue liquid.
[Silvermoon Flower Essence, purity 76.44%, increases mental activity by 160.24% after consumption, duration 10 days 14 hours 22 minutes.]
This was clearly the synthesized product.
The effects of regular Silvermoon Flower extract wouldn't stack.
Even ten portions combined would only provide a 21.47% increase in mental activity for less than five days.
But after being processed by the Synthesis Cube, both the effect and duration were significantly enhanced.
This was the power of the Synthesis Cube!
Sunan tilted his head back and swallowed the Silvermoon Flower Essence.
As the potion took effect, his mind felt incredibly clear.
Without wasting any time, he sat down cross-legged and began to meditate.