Concentration Potion

An hour and a half later.

Chen Chuan sat with his eyes closed as countless pieces of knowledge about refining techniques, mixing ratios, and other aspects of the Concentration Potion burst into his mind.

When he opened his eyes again, Chen Chuan let out a soft breath. He finally understood why the Concentration Potion was the hardest elementary potion to make.

The range of difficulty among elementary potions was the widest in all of potionology.

Simple ones, such as the Elementary Life Potion, could be learned not only by elementary potionmakers but even by potionmaker apprentices of ordinary talent, as long as they were willing to spend the time, effort, and money. It was simply a question of their success rate.

The Concentration Potion, on the other hand, was extremely difficult even for an ordinary elementary potionmaker. Its difficulty was already close to that of an advanced potion, involving many special techniques that required Magic Power, such as Magic Power extraction, mental power control, and resonance. The only reason it was classified as elementary was that it only worked on those up to the Third-Class Wizard Apprentice level.

So even though it was highly difficult to make, it could only be considered an elementary potion.

Very few potionmakers made it, either. Its price was about the same as that of an intermediate potion, yet it was even harder to make, making it less cost-effective for intermediate potionmakers.

The normal cost of a bottle, including losses, was around 50 elementary magic stones. With labor and expertise factored in, it generally sold for at least 100 elementary magic stones.

Only some wizards with family backing could afford to buy it to increase their mental power.

Chen Chuan did not dwell on it. His goal was clear now: increase his mental power first.

He headed straight to Alex's Potion Cottage and spent nearly 250 magic stones on ten sets of ingredients for the Concentration Potion.

Back at his dormitory, Chen Chuan went down to the basement and returned to his workbench.

He took out several dried purple vines and a faintly glowing Concentration Herb. These were the core ingredients of the Concentration Potion.

Chen Chuan brushed his fingers lightly over the ingredients, sensing their Magic Power fluctuations.

Purifying mental power is the key, he thought, picking up a small crystal grinder. Any impurity will cause a backlash. Chen Chuan began grinding the purple vines with precise, steady movements, each one optimized by the analysis system.

Pale purple powder slowly accumulated in the crystal grinder, giving off a fresh fragrance.

Suddenly, the fragrance gradually weakened and turned foul. Chen Chuan frowned. He knew he had ground the vines too quickly, leaving some of the particles incompletely crushed. The incorrect mixing ratio had caused an error.

He took out a fresh set of ingredients and continued.

Too much distilled water. Failure. Continue.

Unsteady mental power control. Failure. Continue.

The basement had a skylight that opened directly onto the garden. The moonlight had grown brighter, and it streamed through the skylight onto the workbench, mingling with the glow of the Starlight Flower.

Chen Chuan poured the ground purple vines into a glass beaker and added a little distilled water. He tapped the beaker lightly with a finger, injecting Magic Power, and the liquid began to rotate slowly.

Chen Chuan took out several dark blue magic crystals, the key ingredient for purifying mental power.

He carefully placed the magic crystals into the liquid. Their surfaces immediately glowed blue, resonating with the Magic Power in the liquid.

This step required precise concentration of mental power. The slightest mistake would cause the magic crystals to shatter.

"Mental power resonance, steady at three pulses per second." Chen Chuan closed his eyes, sensing the Magic Power fluctuations in the liquid.

His mental power had already reached 35.9, far exceeding that of an ordinary apprentice, but making a Concentration Potion demanded even more exacting control.

The liquid in the beaker gradually turned pale blue, and Chen Chuan knew this was a sign of success.

He took out a small bottle filled with grayish-white powder. This was the key ingredient for the final step—Concentration Herb powder. After he added it, ripples spread across the surface of the liquid, which gave off faint mental fluctuations.

"Done." Chen Chuan carefully poured the liquid into a small glass bottle, which immediately began to emit a soft blue glow.

He picked up the potion and examined it closely. The liquid was pure and free of impurities, a sign of success.

When Chen Chuan had been frantically practicing the three basic potions before, his Elementary Potionology had only reached Lv3 (99/300).

When he successfully made the Concentration Potion, the panel showed that one bottle had given him 10 experience points, bringing him to Lv3 (109/200).

The Concentration Potion truly lived up to its reputation as a potion whose difficulty was close to that of an advanced potion.

Even so, making one bottle of Concentration Potion had consumed nearly 80 elementary magic stones' worth of ingredients.

That was after using All-Things Analysis. Otherwise, Chen Chuan felt that even if he used all ten sets of ingredients he had bought, he might not have managed to make a single bottle.

Chen Chuan held the Concentration Potion, sensing the mental fluctuations coming from it.

Just one bottle had already left him mentally exhausted.

Sure enough, it was still too much of a stretch.

Even so, looking at the Concentration Potion he had successfully made, Chen Chuan let a smile appear on his face.

For him, the odds of success would only get higher.

Chen Chuan turned his hand and stored the potion in his ring.

He looked out the window. The moonlight had shifted.

Chen Chuan stood and tidied the workbench. "I need to reach the Second-Class Wizard Apprentice level as soon as possible."

He turned and headed for the lounge.

Chen Chuan needed to try the effects of the Concentration Potion himself.

Inside the lounge.

Chen Chuan took the freshly made Concentration Potion from his ring. The pale blue liquid shimmered faintly in the moonlight.

He pulled out the stopper, and a crisp scent washed over him, entirely different from the slightly bitter scent of a Refreshing Potion.

Chen Chuan took a deep breath and drank the potion in one gulp.

The instant the liquid entered his throat, a cool sensation spread rapidly throughout his body, followed by countless tiny electric currents leaping through his nerve endings. Chen Chuan closed his eyes and concentrated on the changes in his body.

His mental power was like a spark that had been ignited, beginning to grow at an unprecedented rate.

35.9... 36.0... 36.1... The number climbed slowly but steadily on his attribute panel, accompanied by an indescribable swelling pain, as though his brain were being forcibly stretched open.

Chen Chuan frowned deeply, gritted through the discomfort, and continued absorbing the potion's effects.

Just as he felt he could no longer bear it, the growth finally slowed, eventually stopping at 36.8.

"One bottle increased my mental power by 0.9 points..." Chen Chuan panted, his forehead already covered in fine beads of sweat.

The rate of improvement far exceeded his expectations, but it also gave him a deeper appreciation of how forceful the Concentration Potion was.

Sure enough, the effect was greatest the first time he used it. It had actually increased his mental power by nearly one point.

By comparison, achieving the same increase with the Source of Magic Power would have required 1,000 elementary magic stones.

Chen Chuan leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, feeling the effects of the increase in mental power.

The effect was indeed good. Chen Chuan's senses had grown sharper, and controlling his mental power had become easier.

However, according to the warning in the book, he could drink at most one bottle a day.

This would allow his agitated mental power and Magic Power to recover, making a mental power backlash less likely.

Chen Chuan stood, walked to the window, and pushed it open, letting the cool night breeze disperse the smell of the potion in the room.

In the moonlight, the outline of the Mother Tree was clearer, and green specks of light seemed to flicker among its branches and leaves.

He recalled Alex's warning: extraction on the night of the full moon would test not only his potionmaking skills but also his ability to survive.