Information Gathering

On today's commission board, the highest-paying job was [Basic Healing Potion]. A qualified potion could earn 30 copper coins after material costs were deducted.

Not long after he began brewing, Ginny came to find Li Ang. She wore an even more respectful expression as she said:

"Lord Li Ang... Lady Eve asked me to explain the details of the 'Silver Crucible' potion competition to you..."

Looking at Ginny, who had become increasingly deferential, Li Ang felt a complicated tangle of emotions. After she finished explaining the relevant details, he spoke, trying to keep his tone light.

"Miss Ginny, we're about the same age. You can just call me Li Ang."

Ginny shook her head. "Lord Li Ang, even if you don't care about such things, many others will. I can't..."

"Then how about this? When it's just the two of us, you can call me Apprentice Li Ang, or simply Li Ang. At other times, do as you please."

Li Ang interrupted what Ginny was about to say and spoke sincerely.

A flash of surprise crossed Ginny's eyes before she nodded.

"If that is your wish."

After seeing Ginny off, Li Ang summarized what she had told him. The rules were actually simple: one month later, contestants would have two hours to prepare their own original potion before the three school heads. The three school heads would then score them and select this year's winner.

After a full day of hard work, Li Ang returned to his dormitory with the eight silver coins he had just earned. Looking at the six copied volumes of the Level-1 Spell Compendium on his desk, he decided to end this task.

After all, he had originally copied the book only to study more advanced spells. He had planned to copy just one volume, but the feather pen's effect had made him unable to resist copying several more. Now, however, his understanding of Level-1 spells had already reached the limit of his current stage. There was no point in copying any further.

He took the six copies he had made, along with the Level-1 Spell Compendium he had received earlier, and left his dormitory for the task submission counter in the first-floor hall.

The reserve apprentices stood in line there, each looking exhausted and listless.

When it was Li Ang's turn, the expressionless wizard attendant counted the copied volumes and the original book, then handed over four copper coins without even raising his head.

"Six volumes, one copper coin each. Fifty sheets of parchment, one copper coin. One set of ink and feather pen, one copper coin. After deducting costs, four copper coins in total."

The attendant's voice was utterly flat as he mechanically completed his work. He looked exactly like Li Ang had in his previous life.

Li Ang silently accepted the four light copper coins and pinched them between his fingers. Once again, he felt the cruelty within the Wizard Tower. Most apprentices could exhaust every ounce of strength they had and still barely keep themselves fed.

He put the four copper coins away and headed for the cafeteria.

It was already nearing evening. He had made do with some bread outside the workshop at noon, so he needed to have a proper meal tonight and reward his hardworking self.

The cafeteria buzzed with voices. His gaze swept across the crowd, and he quickly spotted Lottie standing in line.

Li Ang silently strode forward and once again cut in front of Lottie.

"Two special set meals, thank you," he quickly said to the cook behind the counter.

Lottie was startled at first, but when she saw that it was Li Ang, a blush instantly colored her cheeks.

She opened her mouth, seemingly intending to refuse out of habit, but in the end she merely lowered her head slightly and said softly:

"...Thank you, Mr. Li Ang."

Today's special set meal was steaming tomato beef stew. The broth was rich, the beef tender and soft, accompanied by a piece of fluffy white bread and a cup of fragrant orange aperitif.

The two went to their usual corner. The moment they sat down, Lottie eagerly began sharing her joy.

"Mr. Li Ang, thank you for your help. I passed the assessment. Mentor Edwin said... he said that for the sake of my efforts, and my grandfather, he would treat this matter as though it had never happened."

As she said this, Lottie's face was full of joy, and even her voice had become a little distorted.

As Li Ang listened, he scooped up a piece of beef with his spoon and put it into his mouth. Its sweet, sour, and savory flavor bloomed across his tongue. He took another sip of the aperitif, whose faintly sour sweetness balanced the richness of the beef perfectly.

After waiting for Lottie to calm down a little, Li Ang raised his glass with a smile. "This is the result of your own hard work, Lottie. Congratulations. Cheers."

At Li Ang's encouragement, Lottie's eyes became wet again, but this time they were tears of joy. She raised her glass with a happy smile. "Cheers."

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Li Ang casually asked:

"By the way, Lottie, have you heard of the 'Silver Crucible' potion competition?"

Lottie was taking small bites of the last piece of bread. At his words, she raised her head, curiosity flashing in her eyes.

"You've heard of it too? It's the Potion School's most important competition every year. The rewards are extremely generous, and many Apprentice Wizards participate."

Li Ang nodded and continued, "I heard participants need their own original potion?"

At that, Lottie's face showed a mixture of helplessness and faint indignation. "Yes... original. But this so-called originality is often actually... well..."

She considered her wording. "It's really just minor adjustments to existing potions."

"For example?" Li Ang pressed.

"For example... the Dark Night's Eye Potion merely extends the night vision effect of the Night Owl Potion by ten-odd minutes, but the material costs increase severalfold."

Lottie took a sip of her aperitif, then continued softly:

"This kind of improvement is actually pretty useless. With that money, you might as well just buy two bottles of Night Owl Potion."

Li Ang raised a brow. "That counts too? Are the judging standards really that... lenient?"

Lottie smiled helplessly and lowered her voice even further. "Apparently... over the past several decades, truly new potion formulas have become very, very rare."

"Nowadays, potion competitions often aren't about genuine creation, but... well... who can more cleverly splice together and fine-tune known formulas, then choose one with relatively larger changes or greater practicality. Everyone understands this without saying it aloud."

After dinner, Li Ang returned to his private dormitory. He sat at his desk, his fingertips unconsciously tapping the tabletop.

"Original potion... fine-tuning... splicing..." he muttered as he pondered a direction.

He was determined to win the potion competition's reward. It was not only about resources, but also an opportunity to show his face before the school heads. But what should he make?

His gaze fell on his still somewhat thin arms.

The body he had taken over after transmigrating had an extremely poor foundation. Although his lung disease had been cured, he was still very frail.

He could not help recalling how, before transmigrating, he had once impulsively bought a gym membership, protein powder, and creatine, dreaming of building some definition.

Unfortunately, frequent overtime had left him fishing for three days and drying nets for two. In the end, with the help of protein powder, he had successfully gained several pounds of fat.

At the time, he had thought that it would be great if there were something one could eat to grow muscle, without the side effects of all that "technology."