Alivia

At the Academy entrance.

Ian noticed many small, thin figures in gray robes coming and going through the gates, and understanding dawned on him.

"Two years had already passed. Another batch of new students had stepped into the world of wizards."

Watching the apprentices, their eyes full of hope and youthful vigor, Ian silently wished them well.

"I wonder how many of this batch will be able to stay."

After entering, Ian went to the notice board in the teaching area and carefully browsed the information posted there.

After yesterday's lesson, he had deeply realized how shallow his knowledge of Potion Studies was, so he had come back here again.

The board displayed a list of Potion Studies instructors holding classes in the near future.

[Edgar Peyton, Potion Studies Instructor. Class time: 10:00 a.m. Teaching location: Classroom No. 5, Area XXX... Fee: 3 magic stones.]

[Everett Sinclair, Basic Potion Studies Instructor. Class time: 9:00 a.m... Junior Scholars welcome... Fee: 1 magic stone.]

[Alivia Starwhisper, Senior Potion Studies Instructor. Class time: 8:00 a.m. Teaching location: Classroom No. 1, Potion Studies Area 2. Fee: 5 magic stones.]

Ian's gaze paused. Looking at the final notice, he recalled what Malena had said on the day he applied for the job.

"Alivia? Isn't she the true owner of that Magic Potion Shop?"

Checking the time, he saw that he could still make it to class. He looked toward the table beside the notice board, behind which sat the course registrar.

"Hello, I'd like to enroll in Instructor Alivia's class. Here is the class fee."

"Why didn't you register earlier? People usually sign up in advance. You're lucky, kid. There happens to be one spot left today."

After paying the fee, Ian took a wooden entry token and hurried toward the classroom.

After showing the token and entering, he found that the dozens of seats were already full, almost all occupied by Advanced Apprentices in red robes.

Ian had arrived rather late, so he could only sit near the side in the last row.

"Hello. You're an Intermediate Apprentice too, right? Why did you choose Instructor Alivia's class?"

A young, plump man beside him turned around and greeted Ian.

"Oh, right. My name is Kanon. What's yours?"

Seeing that the other man was also wearing a gray robe, Ian realized that the two of them stood out rather conspicuously here.

"Hello, I'm Ian. Is there something special about Instructor Alivia that you mentioned earlier?"

Kanon seemed rather outgoing and began introducing her enthusiastically.

"Instructor Alivia's classes are quite profound. Most apprentices who come here already have a foundation in Potion Studies. Didn't you see the notice board in the square?"

"Have you gotten started, then?" Ian looked at Kanon. The other man was young as well, probably around Ian's age.

"Some time ago, I luckily succeeded in brewing a potion. I suppose that barely counts as getting started."

There was a hint of pride on Kanon's round face. After all, Intermediate Apprentice Potion Masters were rare even in the High Tower.

"A few days ago, I also happened to brew a Lesser Healing Potion. I realized how shallow my knowledge was, so I came to broaden my horizons."

The Lesser Healing Potion did not count as a true magic potion. It could only slightly treat minor injuries, and the original owner of this body had known how to brew it before Ian's transmigration.

"That still means you have some talent. Work hard, and perhaps you can become a Potion Master too."

Though Kanon might have had his own thoughts, his tone was at least full of encouragement.

As the two chatted, the sound of tapping footsteps came from outside.

A woman in a deep green robe entered the classroom gracefully and stood at the center of the podium.

She set down her teaching materials and lightly tapped the desk with her pale knuckles.

"Quiet!"

Her voice was not loud, yet it was like an invisible wind that suppressed the apprentices' buzzing chatter.

"I am Alivia. Many of you are hearing my class for the first time. You paid a considerable tuition fee, and you did not come here to learn the simple trick of tossing ingredients into a cauldron."

Ian noticed that two pointed ear tips faintly protruded from her light golden hair.

He did not dare stare for long. A Formal Wizard's spiritual senses were extremely sharp, and he did not wish to offend her.

"Remember this: the essence of Potion Studies does not lie in the potion itself."

She bent down and picked up a leaf of Starlight Grass. With a gentle pinch, a faint blue glow seeped through her fingers and fell upon the cauldron wall, stirring up a layer of fine silver patterns.

"The compounding of magic potions is not a simple transformation of one substance into another."

She raised a hand and drew a pale blue magic pattern in the air. The rune flickered for a moment before sinking into the Starlight Grass.

The leaf instantly brightened, then quickly dimmed and returned to its original state.

"At its root, it is energy resonance and directional conversion. In theory, all Magic Power can be converted into one another."

A male student in a red robe at the front suddenly raised his hand, his voice somewhat nervous.

"Teacher, I tried mixing Starlight Grass with a Redfire Feather before... The cauldron exploded, and even my eyebrows caught fire. Did that count as resonance too?"

The classroom erupted in laughter, but Alivia did not laugh. She merely nodded.

"Good question, but you are an idiot. That was merely chaotic resonance."

Alivia turned around and wrote two terms on the blackboard with charcoal—Harmonious Resonance and Heterogeneous Integration.

"The energy of Starlight Grass is gentle, while Redfire Feather possesses a blazing nature. Their frequencies naturally clash, like locking two wild beasts together. The outcome needs no explanation."

She paused, her gaze falling upon the apprentice who had asked the question.

"When you reach a higher realm, you will have the ability to fuse the two. Even water and fire energy can be converted into each other. That is the charm of directional conversion."

At the back of the classroom, an apprentice wearing glasses stood and asked a question.

"Teacher, then what is the relationship between magic potions and our meditation? I heard that drinking a Concentration Potion doubles meditation efficiency. Is that true? What is the principle behind it?"

"Of course it is true, but it is not the magic potion that helps you."

From somewhere unknown, Alivia produced a dark blue potion—the very Concentration Potion coveted by Advanced Apprentices.

"When you meditate, the Mental Power in your mind is like a tangle of loose threads. The gentle magical energy within the potion is like a comb, capable of effectively smoothing out that chaotic Mental Power."

After saying that, she placed the potion on the table, drawing the attention of many red-robed apprentices.

"At the beginning of your studies, your task is to continually make your Mental Power resonate with the Magic Power in magic potions, familiarize yourselves with their frequencies, and then find methods to extract and convert them..."

The room fell silent, broken only by the soft scratch of pen tips across paper.

Watching Alivia explain Potion Studies from a higher perspective, Ian listened with rapt attention.

Many things he had not understood before suddenly became clear.

Though there was still some content he had not fully grasped, she had already pointed him in the right direction. He no longer felt like a headless fly.

Kanon, beside him, had some talent as well. He was unexpectedly absorbed in the lesson, occasionally showing a thoughtful expression or lowering his head to take notes.

Time passed quickly, and the class was nearing its end.

"Finally, let me emphasize this once more. A Potion Master is not a cook. You do not simply toss ingredients into a cauldron according to a formula and call it done. You must listen to the voice of every magical ingredient, discover its characteristics, and then master it."

After saying that, Alivia put away the Concentration Potion and left the classroom.

The classroom immediately burst into commotion. Some hurried to organize their notes, while others gathered together to discuss the lesson.

Just as Ian was about to get up and leave, he spotted a somewhat familiar gray-robed figure in a corner, discussing something with an apprentice beside him.

"Allen!"

A nostalgic look appeared in Ian's eyes. Allen came from the same kingdom as him, but unlike Ian, Allen possessed superior talent.

After entering the Academy, the two had barely interacted. The brief friendship they had formed on the journey to the High Tower had gradually faded amid the tense life of an apprentice.