Potion Making

Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains, falling on Lu Yuan's face.

He opened his eyes, paused for a few seconds, and then realized he was awake.

A rare good night's sleep.

At the edge of my field of vision, grayish-white text quietly emerges.

[Sanity: 60/120]

It recovered to 12 o'clock compared to last night.

Lu Yuan sat up and stretched his stiff neck.

The room on the second floor was small and simply furnished, with a bed, a table, and a chair.

A cacophony of noise can be heard from afar outside the window.

Lu Yuan got out of bed, washed up quickly, and then went downstairs.

The faint smell of medicinal herbs in the first-floor work area was stronger than last night.

Laurina is already here.

She stood in front of the workbench, organizing the bottles and jars.

The movements were very gentle and careful, as if handling something precious.

Hearing footsteps, she looked up.

"Woke up?"

"Um."

Lu Yuan walked over and found that the equipment on the workbench had been reorganized and arranged.

The Mortar and pestle, crucible, distillation apparatus, measuring cup... everything was in its proper place, neat and orderly.

It was completely different from the chaotic scene he had seen last night.

"You got up quite early," Lu Yuan said.

"I couldn't sleep," Laurina said calmly. "Since I had nothing else to do, I just tidied up a bit."

Her complexion was better than last night; although she was still a little pale, her eyes had regained their sparkle.

"I've looked at the orders." She picked up the paper and glanced at it. "The demand for Sanity Potion is the highest, let's make this first."

Lu Yuan nodded.

Laurina put down the paper and suddenly looked at him.

You go first.

"What?"

"I'd like to see how you usually make medicine."

There was a hint of curiosity in her tone.

"After all, we'll be working together, so I need to get to know your skill level first."

Lu Yuan paused for a moment.

His "level"... well, how should I put it?

It's usable, but not much.

"OK."

Lu Yuan walked to the workbench and began preparing the materials.

Laurina pulled up a stool, sat down beside her, rested her chin on her hands, and looked on intently.

Lu Yuan ignored her gaze and focused on the work at hand.

He had made the formula for the Sanity Potion many times before, and he knew the process by heart.

Of course, this "knowing it by heart" is not quite the same as what most people understand.

He lit the fire in the furnace and placed the crucible on it.

Flame licked the bottom of the crucible, and the temperature began to rise.

Lu Yuan stared at the lower right corner of his vision, waiting for the line of gray text to appear.

A few seconds later.

[Pharmacology: +0.1...]

The increased experience indicates that the temperature is not the problem.

He began by adding the first material.

Pour the ground powder into a crucible and stir with a wooden stick.

At the edge of my field of vision, the experience bar flickered slightly.

[Pharmacology: +0.1...]

Okay, let's continue.

Lu Yuan moved quickly, each step decisive and efficient.

Add ingredients, stir, and observe the experience bar.

Continue if you gain experience; otherwise, make adjustments.

This is his method of making medicine.

Simple, crude, but effective.

As for temperature control, material ratios, reaction principles...

He understands nothing about it, nor does he need to understand it.

The experience bar will tell him the answer.

Laurina sat beside her, initially observing intently.

But soon, her expression began to change.

He first frowned slightly.

Then her eyes widened.

Then his mouth twitched.

"Etc."

She finally couldn't help but speak up.

Lu Yuan paused in his actions. "What's wrong?"

Why did you suddenly turn off the heat?

"It feels a bit hot."

"Feeling?" Laurina's voice rose a little.

"Yes, that's the feeling."

Laurina took a deep breath, seemingly trying to suppress some emotion.

"Okay, you can continue."

Lu Yuan continued operating.

He picked up the Mortar and began grinding the next material.

The movements were very casual, without regard to fineness; they would stop grinding when it was almost done.

The experience bar jumped slightly.

[Pharmacology: +0.1...]

Okay, that's approved.

Laurina's eye twitched.

Lu Yuan moved on to the next step, pouring the materials into the crucible.

Order? There's no particular order; I just add whatever comes to mind.

Anyway, the experience bar will tell him whether he's right or wrong.

[Pharmacology: +0.1...]

No problem.

Laurina's breathing became noticeably rapid.

Distillation process.

Lu Yuan looked at the liquid in the crucible and waited for a while.

That's about it.

He extinguished the fire and began collecting the medicinal liquid.

"How do you know it's 'almost'?" Laurina's voice was a little tense.

"Experience." Lu Yuan replied without turning his head.

"Experience?"

You'll learn once you do it more.

Laurina fell silent.

Her hands were already clenched tightly around the hem of her dress.

Lu Yuan poured the medicine into a glass bottle and put the stopper on.

The color is somewhat cloudy and not very clear.

But it does indeed look like Sanity Potion.

At the edge of my field of vision, grayish-white text appeared.

[Detection Target: Sanity Potion (Normal)]

It works.

Lu Yuan put the glass bottle aside.

"It's done."

Laurina stood up, picked up the bottle of medicine, and looked at it in the light coming through the window.

His expression was complicated.

It was as if they were looking at something unbelievable.

"This... can I use it?"

"It works."

How much has been restored?

"Six to eight o'clock."

Laurina remained silent for a long while.

Then she put down the glass bottle and turned to Lu Yuan.

How did you do that?

"Just... do it normally."

You call this normal?

There was a hint of disbelief in Laurina's voice.

"Grinding doesn't distinguish between coarse and fine, materials aren't processed in any order, heat control is based entirely on 'feel,' and distillation time is based on 'approximately'..."

She paused, staring at Lu Yuan for a few seconds.

Are you an idiot?

Lu Yuan remained silent.

Because what she said... seems to be true.

Laurina sighed and walked to the workbench.

"Let me tell you what normal pharmaceutical manufacturing should be like."

She picked up the iron crucible and tapped it.

First, the crucible.

"Iron crucibles have uneven heat conduction, making precise temperature control difficult. Silver crucibles are the standard configuration, providing even heat conduction and filtering out some impurities."

"But there's only iron here, so you need to pay more attention to the heat, rather than relying on 'feel'."

Lu Yuan nodded.

"Then comes grinding."

Laurina picked up the Mortar, her tone becoming serious.

Grinding involves three stages: coarse grinding, medium grinding, and fine grinding. Different materials require different particle sizes.

"You ground it all at once, resulting in uneven particle size, which will affect the dissolution rate and reaction efficiency."

She put down the Mortar and continued talking, counting on her fingers.

"The order in which the ingredients are added is also important. Some ingredients react with each other, and the order in which they are added can drastically change the results."

"You just added things randomly; it was pure luck that nothing went wrong."

Lu Yuan thought to himself:

I haven't studied it before, so it's already quite impressive that I was able to make it.

"And temperature control."

Laurina's tone became more forceful.

"Temperature is one of the most critical factors in medicine refining. Different stages require different temperatures, and the error should ideally not exceed ten degrees."

"You just said 'it feels hot'?"

She looked at Lu Yuan as if he were an alien.

"Feeling? You control the temperature with your feeling?"

Lu Yuan: "..."

Finally, there's the distillation time.

Laurina sighed.

"Distillation time determines the purity and concentration of the reagent. If the time is too short, impurities will not be filtered out completely. If the time is too long, the active ingredients will evaporate."

"You stopped just now when you said 'that was enough'?"

There was a hint of helplessness in her voice.

"Your method of making medicine is simply..."

She thought for a long time but couldn't find the right words.

"... Outrageous."

Lu Yuan did not refute.

From a professional perspective, what she said is indeed correct.

He never understood these principles.

Only by relying entirely on the experience bar can one barely produce a finished product.

"Never mind," Laurina waved her hand, "I'll show you how."

She rolled up her sleeves and stood in front of the workbench.

Then I started preparing the materials.

Her movements were completely different from Lu Yuan's.

Every step was precise, smooth, and methodical.

When grinding materials, she would rub the powder between her fingers to feel the fineness of the particles before deciding whether to continue.

When controlling the heat, she observes subtle changes at the edge of the crucible and judges the temperature by the color.

When adding ingredients, she uses a small spoon to measure precisely, ensuring that each portion is exactly the right amount.

While stirring, her movements were very even, neither too fast nor too slow.

She was completely absorbed in the process of making the medicine, her eyes focused and bright.

This is a field she is familiar with.

Here, she is not the victim who almost became the subject of her supervisor's experiment.

Instead, he was a genius student in the Alchemy Department of the Tower of Erudition.

Lu Yuan stood to the side, watching quietly.

Sunlight streamed in through the window, falling on Laurina's profile.

Dust particles danced slowly in the light.

This is a rare moment of peace.

Approximately twenty minutes later.

Laurina's potion is complete.

She poured the liquid into a glass bottle, then held it up to look at it.

The color was clear and bright, forming a stark contrast to Lu Yuan's cloudy finished product.

Lu Yuan looked at the bottle of medicine, and grayish-white characters appeared at the edge of his vision.

[Detection Target: Sanity Potion (Excellent)]

[You observed a detailed, systematic tutorial on how to prepare Sanity Potion; Pharmacology +0.5]

Same materials, same equipment.

The effect was almost half as good.

"This is the normal standard." Laurina put the glass bottle down.

She glanced at Lu Yuan's murky bottle of medicine and shook her head.

"Yours... is barely usable."

Lu Yuan did not refute.

"Professionals are just different," he said.

Laurina was taken aback.

Then she smiled softly.

That was the first time she had smiled since she arrived here.

Although it was a faint smile, she did smile.

"Of course they're different."

There was a hint of pride in her tone.

"I'm the number one Alchemy Department in the Tower of Erudition."

Lu Yuan looked at her.

The girl named Laurina at this moment was completely different from the pale, trembling girl she had been the night before.

Perhaps this is how she heals herself.

Use familiar things, use areas you are good at.

Find yourself again, little by little.

"How should we divide the work next?" Lu Yuan asked.

Laurina thought for a moment.

"You'll be in charge of preparing the materials, and I'll be in charge of refining them."

She paused, then glanced at Lu Yuan.

"Given your skill level, you'd better stay away from the crucible for now."

Lu Yuan remained silent for a moment, but when he thought that observing would also increase his experience, he didn't care anymore and nodded.

"... OK."

The sun is shining brightly outside the window.

A new day has just begun.