Eve's Guidance

"It was time." Li Ang murmured, a flash of resolve passing through his eyes.

He planned to brew the [Beginner Lung-Healing Potion] tonight and completely eliminate this hidden danger. He counted his assets: including what he had earned from completing commissions these past few days and what remained from before, he had a total of 20 silver coins and 35 copper coins.

Yet brewing a single Lung-Healing Potion required a full 10 silver coins' worth of materials even at the workshop's internal cost price. That was nearly half his entire fortune.

The most crucial and expensive ingredient among them, [Moonlight Moss Extract], cost 8 silver coins per drop. This extract, which contained a faint power of regeneration, was generally used to treat severe physical injuries. There were even rumors that it could reconnect severed limbs.

To ensure nothing went wrong, Li Ang decided to seek Eve's guidance before starting. Although Fundamentals of Potioncraft recorded the process and key points, for a potion of this difficulty, a few words of instruction from a mentor would undoubtedly raise the success rate.

Lottie was still nowhere to be seen in the dining hall, but since her room was cleaned every day, she should have been fine. After hurriedly finishing dinner, he headed once more to Eve's workshop.

The workshop was still silent. At this hour, Mentor Eve should still be in her room, right? Li Ang thought to himself.

Fortunately, he had previously asked Ginny where Eve lived.

Li Ang made his way to the innermost part of the workshop with practiced ease. There stood another dark wooden door, more ancient in design and carved with intricate ice-crystal patterns.

He took a deep breath and pressed the silver badge on his chest against an inconspicuous groove beside the door.

A faint glimmer flashed, and the door slid silently open, revealing the familiar floating platform beyond.

He stepped onto the platform. Without him noticing at all, the door opened again, and before him lay a circular corridor with only one door.

Li Ang knocked somewhat nervously. Mentor Eve had said he could come ask questions, but she had also told him not to ask stupid ones. He was not sure whether brewing this potion counted as a stupid question. After all, to her, it might have been the simplest thing in the world.

The door opened soundlessly almost at once. A light scent of mint, mingled with a trace of sweetness, wafted toward him.

Before him was a room arranged with exceptional elegance and comfort. Thick silver-gray carpet covered the floor, the walls were a soft ivory white, and several gracefully designed magic lamps cast a gentle glow.

One side of the room held a bookshelf spanning the entire wall. On the other stood a broad, soft velvet sofa and a small tea table.

Mentor Eve reclined against the sofa, dressed in a comfortable silk nightgown, her long aqua-blue hair casually draped over her shoulders.

She held a thick book in her hands and was deeply absorbed in it. Hearing him, she slightly raised her eyelids, her aqua-blue eyes glancing toward Li Ang. There was no displeasure at being interrupted, only a hint of inquiry.

"Good evening, Mentor Eve. Forgive me for disturbing your rest." Li Ang bowed respectfully.

"Come over." Eve's voice remained cool and calm as her gaze returned to the page in her hands.

"I plan to brew the [Beginner Lung-Healing Potion]. I have memorized the steps recorded in the book, but there are some details I would like to ask you about."

Li Ang succinctly explained why he had come.

When Li Ang mentioned the "Lung-Healing Potion," Eve's gaze left the page again. She looked at him, seemingly giving his slightly thin frame and unhealthy complexion a brief appraisal.

"Sit." She pointed to the armchair beside her.

Li Ang sat down as instructed, leaning forward slightly, obedient as a primary school student.

Eve closed the book in her hands and casually placed it on the sofa armrest before beginning her explanation. Her words remained concise, yet struck straight at the heart of the matter. She clearly explained several timing points during the fusion stage where mistakes were easily made, the guidance and control of spiritual power, and the signs indicating that the potion's properties had fused perfectly.

Li Ang listened with rapt attention, afraid of missing even the smallest detail. After all, this concerned whether half his fortune would vanish like water poured into the sea.

During a pause in Eve's explanation, Li Ang's gaze inadvertently swept across the cover of the book she had casually placed on the armrest.

It was not some profound potion tome or spell manual as he had imagined, but an exquisitely bound book with a flamboyant title: <The Starlight Knight and Her Seven Little Companions>.

Li Ang: "..."

He almost thought his eyes were playing tricks on him and blinked instinctively.

That was indeed the title. The cover even depicted a female knight wearing ornate ceremonial armor, surrounded by seven cats standing on two legs in all kinds of clothing?

Perhaps sensing the brief halt of Li Ang's gaze and the tiniest ripple in his emotions, Mentor Eve's aqua-blue eyes flicked toward him. She then casually swept her gaze over the book cover. Her expression remained unchanged, but her tone seemed to carry a trace of embarrassment. "Don't mind it. It's only to pass the time."

Li Ang immediately composed himself, eyes on his nose, nose on his heart, and answered solemnly, "Yes, Mentor. It looks like a very interesting book." Yet his heart was already heaving with towering waves. So this mentor, who looked as though she lived beyond the dust of the mortal world, actually read this sort of fantasy knight novel too?

The trace of embarrassment in Eve's voice quickly vanished as though it had never existed, and she continued explaining the final few key points.

"Thank you for your guidance, Mentor." Li Ang committed every piece of information to memory, rose to his feet, and bowed respectfully once more.

"Mm." Eve lazily waved a hand, signaling that he could leave. Only after she confirmed that Li Ang's footsteps had completely faded away did she pick up the novel again.

Li Ang left Mentor Eve's living quarters. With his mentor's guidance, his confidence swelled greatly. There was still some time before the apprentices' restricted-use period, so he decided to brew the Lung-Healing Potion tonight.

After arriving at the workshop and registering with his badge to collect the materials, he carefully took out the precious ingredients worth 10 silver coins—especially that drop of [Moonlight Moss Extract], held in an extremely tiny crystal vial and gleaming with a soft moon-white radiance.

First, he used the [Blackstone Grinding Mortar], which had already been upgraded to Lv. 2 a few days ago, to prepare Stone Root Grass powder and white crystal powder. So-called white crystal powder was actually just finer crystal sand, requiring a fineness of roughly 1,000 mesh, while crystal sand only needed 500 mesh.

He then gathered magically purified water using [Water Creation Spell] and further improved its quality through the [Rune Distiller Lv. 1].

Once the preparations were complete, Li Ang ignited the [Magic Heat Furnace Lv. 1] and poured the prepared distilled water into the [High-Quality Crystal Cauldron Lv. 1]...

He devoted his full attention to every step, using his spiritual power through the cauldron to delicately sense every change in the potion liquid while precisely controlling the temperature of the [Magic Heat Furnace].

When that precious drop of Moonlight Moss Extract fell into the cauldron, the potion liquid within seemed to be infused with life, rippling with a dreamlike moon-white glow.

Li Ang immediately followed Eve's instructions, using a silver stirring rod to stir again and again at a specific rhythm. Second by second, a strange medicinal fragrance spread through the workshop.