First Attempt at Fusion

The Kavi before him had long since lost the arrogance he had shown aboard the ship. Compared to when he had first boarded, he had grown much thinner.

He looked utterly haggard. When he saw Li Ang and the badge on his chest, his face turned deathly pale as if he had seen a ghost.

With a clang, the sack on his shoulder slipped from his grasp and hit the floor with a dull thud. It seemed to be filled with some sort of ore.

Kavi's legs gave out, and he collapsed to the floor with a thump. His body trembled violently as he kowtowed and begged incoherently, "Li... Lord Li Ang, n-no, Young Master... Young Master Li Ang, it wasn't my fault. Back then... back then, it was all Matthew. That backstabbing bastard forced me to do it. He told me to hit you, and I didn't dare disobey him! Please, spare me. I'm just a useless errand boy now. Please, just let me go."

His forehead struck the cold floor with dull thuds, his voice filled with despair and terror.

Seeing him in such a miserable and pathetic state, Li Ang felt little satisfaction. He only found it somewhat tragic.

He shook his head and walked around him, heading straight for his dormitory.

Only after Li Ang's footsteps had faded at the end of the corridor did Kavi dare stop kowtowing. He slumped on the ground, gasping for breath, his face filled with the joy and disbelief of having survived a disaster.

Li Ang returned to his dormitory, closed the door behind him, then sat at his desk and immersed himself in the world of books.

The pages rustled softly as he turned them, but his brow gradually furrowed as he read further.

The book clearly explained the basic barriers of potion-making. Low-level potions usually involved the stable fusion of two materials.

Intermediate potions began to involve the complex balance of three to five materials, and their difficulty increased geometrically.

Most such potions required at least a Level 2 Formal Wizard to handle.

Some potions even required a Level 3 Veteran Wizard before one was qualified to control them.

Yet the Muscle-Building Potion he had envisioned required him to harmonize six primary and supplementary ingredients at once: Sunflower, Dragonblood Fruit, Frost-Patterned Tiger Blood, and more.

That had already entered the realm of high-level potions. Anyone capable of handling a high-level potion had to be at least a Level 4 High-Rank Wizard.

In other words, he needed to be at least at Mentor Eve's level. Neither Karin nor Mentor Edwin would be enough.

A chill shot up his spine. He was merely a Level 0 Apprentice who had just condensed two Astral Stars, yet he had dreamed of brewing a high-level potion comparable to the mark of a Level 4 wizard? That was simply a fool's dream.

The immense sense of disparity was like being drenched in icy water. It left him stunned for a moment, and the confidence he had built from his initial success nearly collapsed.

He leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath, trying to dispel the helplessness in his heart.

Maybe he should be more practical, change direction immediately, and just copy some potion formula. There should still be time.

But a faint impulse stirred within Li Ang, making him unwilling to give up.

This time, he did not want to wisely retreat in the face of difficulty. Even if he failed in the end, he wanted to give it everything he had.

With his fighting spirit rekindled, Li Ang began considering possible solutions.

The advantages brought by his cheat, the [Facility Upgrade Panel], the resources in Mentor Eve's workshop, and the ideas he had brought from his previous life that differed from this world's... these were all things he could rely on.

Li Ang suddenly opened his eyes, determination returning to his gaze. Sitting here and imagining solutions would not solve anything.

He rose to his feet and headed once more to Mentor Eve's workshop.

Using the authority granted by his badge, he carefully took out the materials he needed.

Mentor Eve had given him access to the materials. That support alone further strengthened Li Ang's resolve.

[High-Quality Crystal Cauldron Lv1] preheating complete.

[Magic Heat Furnace Lv1] providing stable heat energy.

Li Ang calmed his mind and focused his mental power to the utmost, carefully sensing every change within the cauldron through his connection with it.

The various materials were added in sequence.

At first, the potion liquid could barely maintain its balance. Energy currents of different colors attempted to blend under the guidance of his mental power.

But when the fourth ingredient, the highly active Frost-Patterned Tiger Blood, dripped in, the balance within the entire cauldron was instantly shattered.

As if cold water had been poured into boiling oil, the potion liquid inside the cauldron violently erupted.

Its colors immediately turned into utter chaos, while a violent energy current crashed madly around within the cauldron. A scorching wave of heat rushed toward him.

Li Ang let out a muffled groan. He felt as though countless red-hot needles had viciously pierced his mental power, and a sharp pain exploded in his head.

The cauldron shook violently. The potion liquid inside emitted dangerous gurgling sounds, its color rapidly shifting between crimson and pitch-black. It could lose control completely and even explode at any moment.

He gritted his teeth, veins bulging across his forehead as he poured a massive amount of mental power into the silver stirring rod in his hand, doing everything he could to keep the energy within the cauldron stable.

At the same time, he activated Breeze Technique, guiding and dispersing the violent energy currents within the cauldron.

It can't explode. If it explodes, everything will be over.

Under his full control, the cauldron's trembling gradually weakened before finally subsiding.

But the potion liquid inside had also completely turned into a lump of sticky waste with a bizarre color and a pungent stench.

"Ha... ha..." Li Ang panted heavily as he staggered two steps back.

He leaned against the cold workbench, his face pale and his mental power nearly exhausted.

A single failed brewing attempt had nearly drained all of his mental power. The terror of high-level potions was plain to see.

Li Ang looked at the lump of waste, feeling somewhat pained.

Although Mentor Eve would cover all the materials used during the competition's research period, wasting materials was still enough to make his heart ache for quite a while.

He forcibly suppressed that feeling and carefully replayed the entire brewing process in his mind.

"The energy reaction was too fast. It was practically triggered at the slightest contact..."

He muttered to himself, enduring the headache caused by his mental exhaustion as he continued his analysis.

"The Stone Root Grass powder, acting as a stabilizer, was almost useless against a conflict of this intensity..."

He keenly caught the crucial point.

"And... among these six ingredients, Sunflower is heat-aligned, Dragonblood Fruit stimulates blood energy, and Frost-Patterned Tiger Blood is even more violent... They all lean toward the fire element. Similar attributes repel one another, making violent reactions more likely. Ordinary stabilizers simply cannot neutralize such ferocious clashes between identical attributes unless powerful mental power is used to guide them."

Still, this failure had not been entirely useless. At the very least, Li Ang now knew the direction he needed to take.

He needed a stronger stabilizer, or he needed to fundamentally change his approach to fusion.

Li Ang checked the time. It was already nearing evening. He cleaned the waste out of the cauldron, carefully wiped down the workbench, and only then left the workshop with his weary body.

The dining hall was filled with the aroma of dinner, but Li Ang had no appetite at all. After casually eating a selected meal, he returned to his dormitory.

He closed the door, lit the Magelight Lamp, and soft light spilled across the desk.

He spread out a sheet of parchment, picked up the [Inferior Gray Feather Quill] that had already risen to Lv2, took a deep breath, and devoted all his focus to devising an improved formula for the Muscle-Building Potion.