Basic Potionology (Proficient): Genius Trish

What a shame... If only I could really bind a Fengling Yueying cheat engine to myself.

Then I could just max out all my attributes and skills and become a tyrant in another world.

Ron flipped through Basics of Potionology in his hands, diligently memorizing and taking notes while stealing moments to fantasize in his mind.

Still, this wasn't bad either. The growth bonuses to attributes and skills stacked from multiple extraordinary professions would snowball, making all sorts of values rise more explosively the further he went.

Basic Potionology Experience +1

Another notification appeared. Ron could feel his understanding of Potions deepen a little further.

It felt like weaving a great net, with every piece of knowledge serving as a node upon it.

And whenever his understanding deepened, new connections formed between those nodes.

That was growth—watching the numbers rise bit by bit, feeling knowledge take root and sprout within him.

It wasn't some vague sense of I think I get it, but clear, visible, quantifiable progress.

How wonderful would it have been if studying on Earth worked like this? He couldn't help thinking...

If everyone could see their efforts being permanently preserved in real time and quantified into clear numbers, then that tangible sense of progress—that certainty that effort would surely be rewarded—would be enough to make anyone addicted to the pursuit of knowledge.

To Ron, this was more fulfilling than his entire previous life. Every moment, he could feel himself growing, and every bit of effort left a clear mark on the panel.

...After that, time quietly slipped away as he absorbed knowledge.

In the cramped room, candlelight flickered day and night, casting shifting shadows over pages and notes.

Over the past week, aside from necessary meals and rest, he had devoted nearly all his time to studying Potions.

"The potency of Evening Primrose declines the longer it sits after being picked, but if harvested under a full moon, its effects can last an entire month;

Spider Grass must be cut horizontally, because that preserves the magic within it to the greatest extent; Silver Calamus, meanwhile, must be cut diagonally to make its effects stronger."

The properties of ingredients that had once seemed obscure and incomprehensible now formed vivid connections in his mind.

Knowledge was no longer rigid words on a page. It had become understanding woven into his flesh and blood.

Basic Potionology Experience +1

Basic Potionology Experience +1

Basic Potionology Experience +1

Basic Potionology (Beginner 5/50) → Basic Potionology (Proficient 9/100)

Additional Trait Obtained: High-Speed Memory (Memory Increased)

A week passed quietly amid this near-obsessive study.

This increase in numbers represented countless moments of concentration. On average, a day of grueling study only earned him about ten experience points. Fortunately, the High-Speed Memory trait he had gained was quite good, an unexpected bonus.

And progress would only get slower from here. It was foreseeable that reaching the next stage would require at least several more months of hard work.

So his immediate priority was to change professions and become the most basic Potion Apprentice. Accumulating skill experience with no profession was truly as slow as a turtle crawl.

He just didn't know what the requirements were for becoming a Wizard Apprentice, a combat profession. It seemed he had yet to meet the conditions to unlock that profession's information.

Just as Ron was planning his next steps in his mind, there came a soft knock on the door.

"Hey, Ron? Are you still alive?"

A teasing voice came from outside. "I haven't seen you in the common area for a whole week. I thought you'd silently turned into a dried corpse in your room."

Ron looked up and saw a handsome face peering at him through the half-open door.

The man had a head of dazzling golden hair. Even the most ordinary gray-white apprentice robe could not conceal the elegant bearing in his every gesture.

Ron searched his memories. This person, who seemed so familiar with him, was Andre—the kingdom's Thirteenth Prince, and one of the few fellow countrymen he had in Black Mist Forest.

Back when they were still in the kingdom, unlike the other royals with their Sharp Edge on display, Andre had always appeared humble and polite, even excessively low-key.

It was said that this had reassured several of his elder brothers, who believed this younger brother had no interest in competing for the throne.

Yet now, this Thirteenth Prince stood leaning against Ron's shabby doorway, dressed in the same gray-white apprentice robe as Ron.

"Is Your Highness worried about me?" Ron teased. "What a pity the Ralph Family doesn't serve you."

"Come on, don't call me Your Highness."

Andre waved a hand and slumped lazily against the doorframe.

"Here, we're all the same. Whether you're a count's son or the Thirteenth Prince, before wizards, those worldly titles are nothing but empty names."

His gaze swept over the table before suddenly stopping on the dog-eared copy of Basics of Potionology.

The pages were crammed with notes, and the corners of some had been curled from repeated turning.

"Don't tell me..." Andre's voice carried a hint of disbelief. "You've been studying this all week?"

Seeing Andre's surprised expression, Ron suddenly realized how insane his behavior over the past week might look to others.

Most Candidate Apprentices with no hope of advancement would choose to waste time in the common areas or try to find shortcuts, such as currying favor with seniors who had already become official apprentices.

Those like him, who shut themselves in their rooms and studied relentlessly, were probably few and far between.

"That's right." Ron nodded, his fingers unconsciously brushing over the pages. "I've found Potions unexpectedly interesting."

"Interesting?" Andre raised a brow, his expression turning serious.

Having grown up in the royal court and being skilled at reading people, he could naturally see the changes in Ron.

That focus and composure in his eyes were not something anyone could fake.

"It seems you've truly gained something from it."

Ron was about to answer when he noticed Andre's gaze fall upon the thick stack of notes on the table again.

Those notes were nearly twice as thick as Basics of Potionology itself, every page densely filled.

"You wrote all of these in a single week?"

Andre looked at the top notebook, lying half open. What met his eyes was neat handwriting and clear diagrams.

Quite a few places contained supplementary notes and questions. Judging from how fresh or old the writing was, some of those questions had already been answered in later study.

"More precisely," Ron said, pointing to the thickest notebook, "this was what I wrote at the beginning. I didn't understand many concepts then, so I recorded everything in great detail. As my understanding deepened, my notes gradually became more concise."

Andre's gaze lingered on Basics of Potionology for a moment, his expression somewhat complicated.

Too many people had hit a wall with Potions. Some apprentices spent years studying without even managing to get started, let alone reaching the proficient standard within a few short months.

Andre had been the one to give Ron this book in the first place. At the time, he had already determined that he had no talent for Potions, so he had simply passed on the book that had cost him quite a few Magic Stone Fragments.

"Do you remember where this book came from?" Andre asked casually.

After thinking for a moment, Ron quickly recalled. "Your Highness gave it to me. You said Potions didn't suit you very well, and that you planned to turn to studying Enchanting."

Andre glanced over the dense notes on Ron's table, a strange expression appearing on his face.

"It seems you're far more hardworking than I am. In only one week, you've actually managed to write this many notes."

"To be honest," he said in a deliberately casual tone.

"I never expected you to choose Potions. You should know that plenty of experienced apprentices have stumbled over it. Just reading books and taking notes is probably..."

Andre chuckled without finishing the sentence, but his lack of optimism was already obvious.

Enchanting, Alchemy, Potions... They were all toys reserved for the talented. He had tried several of the mainstream wizarding arts, but had undoubtedly failed at all of them.

Hadn't he once been just like Ron, desperately searching for a way out under the pressure of limited time?

But reality was cruel—no wizarding art was a Domain easily mastered. Those with talent might not be one in ten thousand, but they were at least one in a hundred, and that was one in a hundred among Candidate Apprentices like them.

Ron smiled. He roughly knew what Andre was thinking, but he didn't mind. He casually brought up another topic instead.

"Come to think of it, I haven't seen Trish in a long time. Recently, she..."

Before he could finish, he noticed that the Thirteenth Prince, who had always displayed impeccable manners, lost control of his expression for an instant.

Though Andre quickly recovered his elegant, composed appearance, Ron still caught that brief lapse.

"Oh, her? She's already an Intermediate Apprentice." Andre maintained an elegant smile, his tone light to the point of seeming deliberate. "She completed her advancement Ritual just last month. As expected of the only genius among us fellow countrymen."