What Talent Really Is

Li Yu hadn't even started making Intermediate Potions, and Yukino was already thinking ahead. In her eyes, with Li Yu's learning talent, he could easily become a top-tier potion maker.

So Yukino didn't mind continuing to place orders. She could even buy all her potions from Li Yu in the future—they'd be much cheaper than the ones sold elsewhere!

"Oh, right. Let us know when you start making Intermediate Potions," Asuna said with a giggle. She understood what Yukino was thinking, and she was all for it too.

Kato Megumi didn't say anything, but her gaze said it all: Same here!

"We'll talk about it later. We can't use those things yet, and Intermediate Potions are a whole different story from Basic Potions. Let me look into it first." Li Yu naturally intended to keep pursuing the path of a potion maker.

There were also things like being a Formation Mage. With a talent for learning like this, Li Yu would surely study all kinds of things in the future, so there was no need to rush. He would learn whatever he could put to use right now.

Making him spend money? That was out of the question. He'd rather listen to tutorials all night and figure it out himself. It wasn't as if he couldn't do it, so why pay someone else?

"Just don't forget, then. It's getting late, so we should be heading back." Yukino Yukinoshita nodded, then said her goodbyes.

"All right. I won't see you out, then. I need to look into some other flavors." Li Yu nodded. He planned to keep experimenting and come up with a few more flavors.

At that, the corners of the three girls' mouths twitched. Li Yu still hadn't given up on this idea? And judging by the look on his face, he was dead set on pursuing it.

The three sighed inwardly. There wasn't much else they could say. If Li Yu wanted to experiment, then let him.

Maybe he really would come up with a potion in some unusual flavor. If so, that would at least make their meals more interesting.

After seeing the three of them off, Li Yu started searching online for information. A quick search revealed that people had tried making Basic Potions with unusual flavors before.

The problem was that the resulting potions either didn't work very well or cost too much to make. In the end, they became the sort of thing that was too bland to enjoy but too good to throw away.

Selling an overpriced Basic Potion? For the sake of a little flavor, people might as well buy an Intermediate Potion instead. That was why few people bothered experimenting with different flavors.

Li Yu looked over the recipes people had published. They added a ridiculous number of ingredients. No wonder hardly anyone had bothered with this—the costs were simply outrageous.

After thinking it over, Li Yu decided to start with the original recipe for a low-level potion. Why not change the recipe itself and alter the flavor at the same time?

He began studying the medicinal properties of various low-level ingredients, looking for something that could serve as a substitute without affecting the potion's efficacy while changing its taste.

Li Yu spent the next while carefully studying the principles behind the ingredients. He learned incredibly quickly; in just over two hours, he had finished reading an entire book on medicinal properties.

After organizing what he'd learned along with the information on Basic Potion recipes, Li Yu soon came up with an idea. Sitting on his living room sofa, he rubbed his chin.

"Inula Flower is the key to the flavor. Could Clover replace it? Its medicinal properties aren't strong enough—not as strong as Inula Flower's—so I'll need to add something else." Li Yu couldn't help muttering to himself.

Clover tasted sour, and its medicinal properties were similar to those of Inula Flower, just not as potent. So he'd need to add another ingredient to match Inula Flower's effects, while still giving the potion a different taste.

Information about all kinds of ingredients flashed through Li Yu's mind. Before long, he settled on an herb called evening primrose. It had some medicinal properties, but not many.

In this world, it was generally used as a seasoning because of its distinctive fragrance. Clover combined with evening primrose could match Inula Flower's effects without affecting the other ingredients!

Li Yu immediately perked up. Since people rarely used evening primrose in medicine, few paid attention to it. They simply ground it up as a seasoning, and it was cheap.

"I'll buy some tomorrow and give it a try!" Li Yu made up his mind on the spot. He would test the ingredient and see if he could create a potion with an unusual flavor.

With that settled, Li Yu continued thinking about what could replace the ingredient in the Blue Bottle. He had to find something that would change its flavor. Now that he had a direction, figuring out what to do next was simple.

Before long, Li Yu had also adjusted the recipe for the Blue Bottle. After writing down the ingredients he needed to buy, he washed up. Then, as usual, he set his phone aside, continued studying, and began meditating.

In the blink of an eye, morning came. As soon as Li Yu got up, he started organizing the knowledge in his mind. All sorts of new ideas came to him at once.

He had come up with a better idea for the recipe he'd been considering the night before. He'd even found better ideas for some of the moves he practiced regularly.

"This is strange... The things I've learned are getting stronger? Wait... Has my magic power advanced?" While all sorts of odd ideas were swirling through Li Yu's mind, he suddenly realized that his magic power had broken through. He had successfully reached the fourth tier!

At the fourth tier, one could easily project magic power or True Qi outward. After realizing he'd advanced, Li Yu raised his hand and gathered his magic power.

In an instant, pale blue magic power gathered around Li Yu's fist. His eyes lit up, and he understood why so many strange ideas had been appearing in his mind.

It was just like what had happened with Kato Megumi. When her strength improved, her talent grew stronger too, and it could even affect other people. The same was true of Li Yu's talent.

His talent had grown stronger as well. He could learn, surpass what he'd learned, and even become stronger still. Once he understood all this, Li Yu grew excited.

He'd never imagined his talent could become stronger. Or would it grow even more formidable as he became stronger in the future? Just like Miss Nanami?

Miss Nanami had been born strong, but Li Yu hadn't. As long as he kept getting stronger little by little, his talent would grow along with him. And eventually...

Li Yu quickly put the pieces together. Miss Nanami had gained Kenkeiko in order to become weaker, while Li Yu had gained Kenkeiko in order to become stronger.

As his strength grew, his talent began to unlock little by little. And once Li Yu reached a certain level, he could become like Yasuri Nanami—without any of the pain and suffering caused by illness!