Malena's Departure

The next morning.

Ian woke up refreshed. After washing up, he headed to Malena's residence.

Before he could knock, Malena had already opened the door.

"Malena, I heard the shop has recipes for several other Meditation Potions. Could I..."

Ian did not intend to learn new recipes all over again. He merely wanted to use them as references and expand his knowledge of Potion Studies.

With Malena leaving in a few days, he had no idea who would come to manage the shop afterward. He might as well pull some strings while she was still here.

"You haven't been here long, yet you're already eyeing the shop's other recipes. You're getting thicker-skinned by the day."

Malena ignored Ian's request. "Though I have the authority to give them to you early, I can't casually break the rules. You should focus on brewing Awakening Potions properly."

"As for the shop, it does indeed have recipes for Spirit-Awakening Potions and Concentration Potions. Do you know why I've always had you brew Awakening Potions?"

Ian was no longer the noble youth he had once been. Now, he brewed dozens, even hundreds, of potions every day.

"Because it's relatively cheap and practical, so low- and mid-level apprentices prefer it. One bottle costs five magic stones, lasts for two hours, and the ingredients aren't too difficult to find."

Malena nodded. "Not only that. Tolerance to Awakening Potions builds gradually and slowly. Other potions find it difficult to achieve that."

That confirmed Ian's suspicions, but another question immediately surfaced.

"Then once someone becomes an Advanced Apprentice, Awakening Potions should be useless, right? How do they meditate normally?"

"That's true. I currently take Concentration Potions. They greatly aid meditation methods, but they're expensive. Even Ordinary Advanced Apprentices can only take them occasionally."

Malena sounded somewhat wistful. As a Potion Master, she was far better off financially than most people.

Yet many Advanced Apprentices had no talent for making a living and still lived in hardship.

"Concentration Potions are the premium version of Awakening Potions, but they cost ten times as much."

"They're that expensive?" Ian was stunned. This was only an auxiliary potion, yet it cost fifty magic stones.

"Because Concentration Potions not only help with meditation, but can also directly condense mental power and raise its upper limit by a tiny amount!"

Ian's eyes immediately lit up. At last, he knew of a potion that could directly increase mental power.

Concentration Potion—the key lay in the words "concentrate the mind."

I have to get it!

Malena's departure came even faster than Ian had expected.

Three days later, Malena summoned Ian to the main hall early in the morning. Clayton was seated to her left.

Ian was somewhat surprised. After greeting them both, he took a seat.

"Ian, I will depart for the High Tower this afternoon to join Lord Alivia."

Malena had changed into a crimson hunting outfit. She looked less languid than before and far more capable.

Paired with her alluring figure, it made her seem all the more valiant and spirited.

"I've temporarily handed the shop's daily affairs over to Clayton. Harvey is recovering from his injuries, and the High Tower's patrol team will handle the shop's defenses."

Ian silently nodded. He felt somewhat reluctant to see her go, but more than that, he wished Malena success in her breakthrough.

Though he had not known Malena for long, their friendship had already taken root in his heart.

"As for the potion recipe you've been thinking about day and night..." Malena changed the subject and took a piece of parchment from her robe.

"This is the recipe for the Spirit-Awakening Potion. By the rules, you aren't qualified to exchange for it, but you have considerable talent, and you've also helped me... solve quite a few problems. That's why I'm giving it to you early."

Ian solemnly accepted the recipe. It still carried a trace of her warmth.

Lines of elegant handwriting covered the parchment, recording the ingredients and brewing procedure.

He understood that this was the greatest convenience Malena could grant within her authority.

"Malena, thank you!"

"And one more thing." Malena pointed toward the backyard.

"The spell practice room will be yours to use while Harvey recovers. Fill it with magic stones yourself. Just make sure you cultivate diligently and don't neglect the essentials for the trivial."

"I understand. Thank you for the reminder, Malena," Ian said sincerely.

Without Malena's initial acceptance and subsequent protection, there was no way he could have grown so steadily.

Malena waved her hand and looked at Ian with a complicated expression.

"You... cultivate well. The clouds of war are gathering. The friction between Shadowmoon Tower and the Crimson Court is growing worse by the day, and the future is unpredictable. Strengthening yourself quickly is the only way to survive."

After finishing her instructions, Malena rose and left the hall to make her final preparations before departure.

That afternoon, the sunlight remained bright.

A luxurious carriage emblazoned with a star-and-moon pattern silently came to take Malena away.

The entire process disturbed very few people.

Watching Malena's departing figure, Ian felt strangely empty inside.

With Malena gone, Ian's life entered a period that appeared peaceful on the surface but was in fact filled with intensive cultivation.

His core foundation, the Star-Moon Lower Meditation Method, gained proficiency rapidly every day.

The Awakening Potion, after Limit Break, became his greatest aid.

Every night, without fail, he spent six hours in deep meditation. The runes in his mind grew at an unprecedented speed.

One Will Rune after another was easily traced into existence from nothing.

His scattered mental power was continuously condensed along with them, and its total amount steadily increased.

His realm advanced by nearly 1% every day.

As for spells, Crystal Energy Barrier was also a required course for him.

Every day, he repeatedly cast it, maintained it, moved it, then dismissed it and cast it again...

As he sensed the resonance frequency between his mental power and the spell, as well as the subtle connections between each hexagonal energy crystal, his control precision rapidly improved.

Though its defensive strength was somewhat disappointing, Ian believed the effect after Limit Break would give him the greatest reward.

This spell's proficiency increased relatively quickly, about the same as Eye of Vigilance.

After obtaining the right to use the practice room, Ian's other two spells also improved steadily every day.

Scorching Ray in particular was exceptionally easy and quick for him to learn, thanks to his innate affinity with the light element.

This thrilled Ian. He could clearly feel that whenever he cast this spell, the incantation and gestures flowed much more smoothly than with his other spells.

In the practice room, a rapid incantation rang out.

"Ignis!"

A blazing, brilliant orange-red ray shot forth, leaving a charred black mark on the spell target.

[Scorching Ray Proficiency +1]

Satisfied, Ian began alternating his practice with Lesser Frost Ray.

Icy-blue and orange-red rays continuously streaked through the room, one cold and one hot, forming the beginnings of his combat approach.

The temperature in the room swung between freezing and scorching. Before long, rising mist obscured his vision.

Ian walked to the wall and pressed a red button. The mist was soon vented outside.

Every day, Ian cycled through three things: brewing potions, practicing spells, and deep meditation.

Clayton managed the shop's affairs in perfect order, so Ian had nothing to worry about.

But as time passed, rumors of war grew more numerous.

The prices of potion ingredients began to fluctuate.