Heart of Light Potion

Chen Chuan returned to his dormitory and placed the black wizard robe and junior pharmacist badge on the table.

The potion and herb designs on the badge glimmered in the lamplight, and the star marking seemed brighter than before.

Chen Chuan sat on the edge of the bed, gently brushing his fingers over the star marking on the badge and feeling the faint but warm fluctuations of Magic Power.

"Researcher... project team..." Chen Chuan murmured, Alex's solemn face and his notebook appearing in his mind.

The third floor of the library.

Upon entering, Chen Chuan found no books on the third floor. Instead, it consisted of separate rooms.

Chen Chuan searched halfway around the floor before finding the project information Alex had left him—the Heart of Light Potion.

He pushed open the heavy wooden door, and a peculiar mixture of herbal and metallic scents rushed over him.

A huge laboratory bench stood in the center of the room, with various vessels and materials scattered across it.

A young wizard in blue robes stood with his back to the door, focused on grinding a purple crystal.

"You're Chen Chuan, the researcher who just joined us?" The wizard turned, his gaze sharp behind his lenses as he studied Chen Chuan.

"I'm Alex's chief assistant, Arwen."

Chen Chuan nodded slightly. "Yes, Lord Arwen. Has Lord Alex arrived yet?"

"Haha, relax. I'm a researcher too, so we're equals. Something came up for Lord Alex, but he'll be here shortly."

"He instructed me to have you familiarize yourself with the core of the project first. After that, your short-term goal will be to work hard at cultivating until you reach Second-Class Wizard Apprentice."

"After all, intermediate and higher potions require techniques like Magic Power neutralization. A Third-Class Wizard Apprentice's total Magic Power isn't enough."

Arwen picked up a glass bottle from the laboratory bench and held it out to Chen Chuan.

The liquid inside was pale gold. As he shook the bottle, ripples spread across its surface, and it gave off a warm glow.

"This is the core of our project—the basic formula for the Heart of Light Potion."

"The Heart of Light Potion is a second-tier potion in terms of difficulty."

"It gives the user a chance to obtain the Body of Light physique."

"The Body of Light physique can forcibly convert any element into the light element, allowing the user to use holy light skills and talents."

Arwen's tone was calm. "But the finished product is still unstable. It needs extensive testing and adjustment."

"What is the Body of Light? Is it rare?"

Chen Chuan looked puzzled.

"Yes. It's one of the essential prerequisites for becoming a paladin, a rare class advancement for knights."

"If we can successfully develop this potion, the Wizard World will be able to steadily produce paladins. Even wizards who use it can gain an affinity for light and use holy light skills."

Chen Chuan took the bottle and sensed the pure fluctuations of Magic Power contained in the pale golden liquid, along with a trace of violent light power.

"What materials do you need?"

"The core materials are Flowers of Light and Cores of Light. Cores of Light are extremely rare, and the academy's stock is almost exhausted."

Arwen placed the ground purple crystal into a crucible and added a few drops of golden liquid. Pale purple vapor immediately rose from it.

"This is an initial test of a stabilizer," he explained, "but it produces impurities every time."

Chen Chuan carefully observed the changes in the vapor and noticed tiny black specks mixed into it.

"Where do the impurities come from?"

"We're not sure. There may be a problem with the Flower of Light extraction process," Arwen said with a frown.

"Lord Alex thinks it has something to do with the phases of the moon, but we haven't found the exact pattern yet."

Chen Chuan recalled the notes in Alex's notebook, and a thought occurred to him.

"Perhaps we could try extracting the Flower of Light on the night of a full moon."

Arwen turned in surprise. "How did you know that?"

"It's only a guess," Chen Chuan said calmly. "Lord Alex mentioned the relationship between herbs and the phases of the moon and sun in the Wizard World in his formula book."

Arwen stared thoughtfully at Chen Chuan, his gaze flickering behind his lenses. "You seem to know quite a bit about Lord Alex's research."

"I was fortunate enough to receive some guidance from him," Chen Chuan replied mildly, gently setting the bottle of golden liquid back on the laboratory bench.

"Looks like you made a good impression on him."

Chen Chuan did not reply. His gaze shifted to the pale purple vapor rising from the crucible, where black specks appeared and vanished.

"Could those black specks be impurities from the Core of Light?" Chen Chuan suddenly asked.

Arwen shook his head. "Impossible. The Core of Light we used has been purified multiple times, and its impurities look completely different."

"Then could the problem be with the Flower of Light itself?" Chen Chuan pressed. "Lord Alex said that certain herbs change in activity under particular phases of the moon."

Arwen fell silent for a moment, then suddenly picked up a sheet of notes. "You're very observant. That's exactly the biggest problem we've encountered—the extraction efficiency of the Flower of Light is extremely unstable. Sometimes it's nearly impossible to extract its active ingredients."

He handed the sheet to Chen Chuan. It was densely covered with extraction results from different dates, and the fluctuations in the data were astonishing.

"Would you be willing to try to find the pattern?" Arwen asked. "Lord Alex specifically instructed me to give you access to the core of the project."

Chen Chuan took the sheet. Its edges were worn, and it appeared to have been handled repeatedly.

"What do you need me to do?" Chen Chuan asked directly.

"It'll be a full moon before long." Arwen pointed to a faintly glowing plant in the corner of the laboratory bench. "That's a Flower of Light we cultivated. You can try extracting its essence on the night of the full moon."

Chen Chuan noticed a thin layer of frost on the Flower of Light's leaves, shimmering with a strange light under the lamp.

"What do I need to prepare?"

"The basic tools are all here." Arwen pointed to the potion-making tools nearby. "But I should warn you: on the night of a full moon, the Flower of Light is extremely active, but also extremely unstable. The slightest mistake will render it ineffective."

Chen Chuan nodded and carefully put the sheet of notes away. "I'll be careful."

"Good." Arwen nodded in satisfaction. "Since you're here, you might as well familiarize yourself with the surroundings first.

"Although our stock of Cores of Light is almost exhausted, there are still some samples available for study."

He walked over to a sealed cabinet on the other side of the laboratory bench and took out a small box.

"These are the academy's only three remaining Core of Light samples. You need to remember their properties. It's vital to the research."

Chen Chuan stepped closer and saw three fist-sized crystals in the box, giving off a soft golden glow, as though they contained a small sun.

"What's special about them?" Chen Chuan asked.

Arwen carefully took one out. "A Core of Light is a crystallized heart of a light-element magical beast, and every one is unique. Our research has found that it can not only purify the dark element but also forcibly absorb and alter other elements. That's one of the core properties of the Heart of Light Potion."

He handed the crystal to Chen Chuan. The moment Chen Chuan took it, he felt a warm power surge out of it, seemingly capable of purifying the impurities in his Magic Power.