Awakening Potion

Early the next morning, Ian was preparing to continue brewing potions when a knock interrupted him.

"It's Simon!"

Seeing the visitor when he opened the door, Ian's heart tightened slightly.

At present, he was far weaker than the other man, not only in rank but also in mastery of wizardry.

He had only learned Wizard's Hand from the Status Panel to make brewing potions more convenient. It had no combat power whatsoever.

"Brother Ian, have you brewed the potions yet? I still have quite a few herbs here. Want some?"

Simon acted very familiar, barging right in and once again starting to peddle potion ingredients.

"Brother Simon, I just bought some not long ago. I still have plenty on hand."

Ian responded cautiously. After crossing over, he had seen through this man's seemingly kind exterior and recognized the greed and cruelty in his bones.

"That's fine. I've already brought the herbs, and it'd be troublesome to carry them back. I'll sell them to you cheap—fifteen magic stones."

Simon tossed a cloth bundle he was carrying onto the table and stared at Ian.

From the look of it, he intended to force Ian to buy them.

A dangerous aura gradually rose from Simon.

Ian's hairs stood on end as his thoughts raced.

Those herbs were not even worth five magic stones, but arguing now was meaningless.

"Brother Simon, I'll take the herbs for now, but I don't have any magic stones at the moment. Once my family sends some over, I'll pay you back immediately. How about that?"

Ian's family regularly mailed him twenty to twenty-five magic stones every two months for his studies.

Among Low-Level Apprentices, those were considered exceptionally good conditions.

"Oh?"

Simon froze for a moment and stared fixedly at Ian, thinking, He ran out of magic stones so quickly?

However, Ian had never shorted him on magic stones before, so Simon did not care much.

"Then keep them for now. Just make sure you prepare the magic stones soon."

After saying that, Simon left directly.

That kid can't run anyway. I'll come back in a few days to collect the debt.

Ian stood by the window, watching Simon's retreating figure with dark eyes.

Once the other man had gone far away, Ian hurried out as well, heading straight for a neighboring house.

As soon as he reached the front yard, he called out loudly.

"Brother Kenna, are you home?"

A moment later, the courtyard gate creaked open, and a burly man emerged. It was Kenna.

He was tall and broad-shouldered, with long golden hair casually draped over his shoulders.

Two deep nasolabial folds on his face gave him a harsh, severe look.

"Why are you yelling like a ghost first thing in the morning?"

Kenna's tone was unpleasant, but he still let Ian into the house.

"Brother Kenna, I haven't seen you in a long time, so I came to visit."

"Bullshit. Didn't we have dinner together just over ten days ago? Spit it out. I still need to train."

Kenna glared at Ian, cutting off his nonsense.

"Hehe, there is a small matter that requires you to step in and help."

Based on his memories, Ian knew that before joining Shadowmoon Tower, Kenna had been a powerful knight.

His character was quite good. Cold on the outside but warm at heart, he was something of an oddity in the area.

"Just now, Simon forced some herbs on me. I managed to deal with him for the moment, but he'll come back."

Ian had no other choice. His former connections were pitifully sparse, so he could only ask the good-hearted Kenna for help.

"According to wizard principles, I'll pay you for it—a bottle of Awakening Potion."

A single bottle of Awakening Potion sold for five magic stones on the market.

"Oh?" Kenna had not cared much about the matter at first. He had long found Simon unpleasant to look at.

When he heard that Ian could give him a potion, he seemed to guess something and looked at Ian in surprise.

"Have you already gotten started in Potion Studies?"

Professions such as potion brewing, Alchemy, runes, and Enchanting were domains reserved for geniuses.

Not geniuses among ordinary people, but outstanding prodigies among Wizard Apprentices!

Kenna himself was terribly untalented in those areas, and he was deeply envious.

He followed the path of Bloodline Modification, and his combat strength was indeed decent.

But in the world of wizards, what use was being able to fight if one could not earn resources?

Those geniuses who could earn resources were even better fighters than he was!

"I think I'm almost there. I don't know why, but I seem to have some talent for Potion Studies. I'm terrible at everything else."

Ian scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed.

"Fine, I'll take care of it. Just call for me if anything happens."

Kenna agreed readily, and Ian immediately felt a weight lift from his body.

The two chatted casually for a while before Ian took his leave.

Kenna stood outside the door, pondering for a long time.

After returning home, Ian finally settled down and continued grinding away at potion brewing.

On the third night, it was pitch-black outside.

Ian's eyes were bloodshot as he worked nonstop at the workbench.

Three consecutive days of brewing had drained a great deal of his energy, but the gains were enormous.

Seeing that the proficiency of the Awakening Potion was only a little short of a breakthrough, Ian picked up another set of ingredients.

He mixed the extracted liquid from Menthol Crystal with Moonlight Grass solution, gently heated and stirred it until it formed a pale-blue clear liquid.

He then carefully poured it into a glass tube while sprinkling in Magic Catalytic Powder.

He injected a trace of Magic Power, causing it to react.

After a while, the liquid in the transparent glass tube began to stabilize, giving off an enchanting blue glow.

At that moment, his mind shook violently, and a flood of insights surged forth.

Ian closed his eyes and digested the information flowing through his mind.

[Awakening Potion: Beginner (1/100)]

Ian stared at the finished potion in his hand, his eyes filled with excitement.

"I finally succeeded once. From now on, I can keep chugging potions to cultivate!"

Looking at the potion he had brewed himself, a sense of accomplishment filled his chest.

Only then did Ian feel the extreme exhaustion in his mind and the waves of hunger rising from his stomach.

He quickly ate something, calmed himself, and sat cross-legged on the bed.

Picking up the potion he had just brewed, he downed it in one gulp.

The potion slid down his throat, and its effects exploded in his mind.

At once, waves of coolness spread through his previously exhausted mind.

Recalling the cultivation process of the Star-Moon Meditation Method, Ian began to meditate.

He possessed Light Attribute Affinity, which gave him a certain boost in meditation.

At the beginning, a novice only needed to form three Will Runes to successfully advance to a Low-level Wizard Apprentice.

To advance further, one needed to form nine Will Runes.

In a daze, Ian looked at the three crescent-shaped runes at the center of his mind.

Upon magnifying them for a closer look, he saw that the runes were complex three-dimensional structures, their pointed ends interlocking inward as they slowly rotated.

Specks of starlight flickered across the three crescent runes.

Only after forming the most basic three runes could intangible Mental Power have an anchor.

Afterward, meditation could continuously temper and enhance Mental Power.

As for the physical strengthening brought about by Magic Power entering the body, that was merely an additional benefit.

Ian noticed that two slightly smaller runes had already formed beside one of the crescent runes.

The spaces beside the other two runes were completely empty.

[Star-Moon Lower Meditation Method Proficiency +1]

[Star-Moon Lower Meditation Method Proficiency +1]

Two hours passed in the blink of an eye.

His thoughts suddenly began to grow sluggish, while a faint stabbing pain arose at his temples.

For a Junior Wizard Apprentice of average aptitude like him, four hours of meditation per day was the maximum.

Beyond that limit, the body could not withstand the erosion of Magic Power, and Mental Power would also suffer some loss.

He opened his eyes, gently rubbed his temples, and brought up the Status Panel.