A High-Level Potion That Shocked Eve

"This... this is..." Eve's pupils contracted slightly. As a potion master, she instantly saw the secret behind it.

He was fusing multiple medicinal properties? At low temperatures? Using that powder as a medium for neutralization and guidance? This completely overturned everything she knew about potion brewing.

The entire fusion process lasted nearly half an hour. Eve remained motionless behind the cabinet. After the initial shock had passed, all that remained was embarrassment.

She had missed her chance to leave, making what she was doing now look exactly like a terrible mentor spying on her disciple's research results.

She could only close her eyes, refusing to watch Li Ang's work, and pray inwardly that she would not be discovered.

Seeing that the potion had nearly finished fusing, Li Ang reheated the combined liquid, then added processed moonstone powder and white crystal powder in sequence for the final neutralization of medicinal toxins and removal of impurities.

As the moonstone powder was added, wisps of residual fire toxin were separated and vaporized. The addition of white crystal powder caused the impurities and dregs to rapidly clump together and settle, instantly making the upper layer of potion clearer.

Li Ang had succeeded. As he held that bottle of Muscle-Building Potion, gleaming with an amber radiance and giving off a rich fragrance, its internal mana slowly flowing like a river of stars.

Yet he felt a faint sense of unreality. Had he really succeeded on his first try?

The potion in his hand was still a little hot, reminding Li Ang in this way that he was not dreaming.

Li Ang suppressed the wild joy in his heart, cleaned the cauldron, tucked the potion into his pocket, and left the workshop.

Meanwhile, even with her eyes shut behind the cabinet, Eve could still clearly sense the energy fluctuations of that potion.

"A... a high-level potion?" Eve's mind nearly stopped working. Her rosy little lips parted unconsciously, wide enough to fit a longan inside.

An apprentice? A Level 0 apprentice who had only been here for a little over a month? He had independently designed and successfully brewed an entirely new potion of unknown effects, yet one whose energy level had unquestionably reached the high level?

Using a Low-Temperature Fusion Method she had never seen before? Along with a miraculous compound stabilizer?

How was that possible?

Was she still not awake? Was she reading some fantasy novel? Or was this child actually a legendary wizard in disguise?

The enormous shock left Eve completely stunned, her mind blank.

It was only long after Li Ang had left the workshop that Eve seemed to have all strength drained from her body and slowly slid down from behind the cabinet onto the carpet.

With her back against the cold cabinet door, her exquisite face still held a complicated expression tangled between bewilderment and shock.

"What exactly... did I see?" she murmured, her voice as soft as sleep-talk.

Li Ang returned to his dormitory with the Muscle-Building Potion he had developed himself.

He leaned against the hard door, his gaze fixed tightly on the small crystal bottle in his hand.

It had succeeded... At least judging from the brewing process and the finished product, the Muscle-Building Potion should have succeeded. Yet the hand gripping the bottle hesitated slightly.

The potion's effects were only the result of theoretical deduction. What would its actual efficacy be? Would it have unforeseen side effects? Could it even... contain lethal toxicity? All of that remained unknown.

Fundamentals of Potioncraft had solemnly warned at the very beginning that any new potion not thoroughly verified was no different from poison.

Normally, during the preliminary verification stage, wizards used low-level Demonic Beasts for toxicity testing. Once they reached the efficacy verification stage, they hired wizard attendants who volunteered to test the potion.

That method required a great deal of time to verify toxicity, but the competition was only days away. He had neither the time nor enough potion to slowly conduct tests on Demonic Beasts.

He could only skip the first stage and proceed directly to the second stage: human efficacy testing.

In an instant, countless faces flashed before Li Ang's eyes—those who had chosen to remain as servants for that faint, elusive hope.

In the end, he shook his head and drove the thought away. That left only one path: test it himself.

The risks of testing the potion himself were obvious.

If the potion contained an unknown deadly poison or triggered an uncontrollable energy mutation, he would either die on the spot or suffer a fate worse than death.

In this secluded dormitory, Lottie might not discover his cold, twisted corpse until she came to clean the room the next day.

So if he was going to test it, he had to do so somewhere he could receive prompt aid.

Within the entire faction, there was only one place that currently met that condition: in front of Mentor Eve.

His mentor, who had lived for at least a hundred years, was not only a Level 4 wizard but also a top-tier potion master. With her watching over him, even if the potion truly went wrong, his chances of survival would increase greatly.

Having made up his mind, Li Ang carefully put the potion into his pocket, pushed open the door, and headed quickly toward the dining hall.

Though he had no appetite at all, he still forced himself to eat a serving of selected chicken wraps with chicken skewers.

After the meal, he found Ginny replenishing supplies in the workshop.

"Miss Ginny," Li Ang said as calmly as he could, "could I trouble you to ask Mentor Eve whether I may request an audience this afternoon? I have... important progress regarding a potion I developed myself that I need to report to my mentor in person, and I may need her assistance."

Seeing Li Ang's solemn expression, Ginny did not dare delay. She immediately turned and went to relay his request. Not long afterward, she returned and nodded to Li Ang. "Lady Eve says you may go over now."

"Thank you." After expressing his thanks, Li Ang drew a deep breath and walked toward that familiar wooden door carved with ice-crystal patterns.

As he stepped into Mentor Eve's living room, Li Ang noticed that Eve had changed into that more formal black robe again today.

She was sitting on the sofa, with no novel in her hands, simply watching him enter calmly.

"Mentor." Li Ang bowed respectfully.

"Mhm." Eve responded blandly, her aqua-blue eyes falling on him. "Ginny said you have important progress?"

"Yes, Mentor." Li Ang took out the amber potion from his robes and carefully placed it on the tea table between them.

"This is a new potion I attempted to develop based on the direction I previously consulted you about. It is provisionally named the Muscle-Building Potion. Its effect is to safely and effectively enhance the drinker's physique and muscle mass."

Eve's gaze swept over the potion. She nodded slightly, signaling for Li Ang to continue.

"The initial brewing seems to have succeeded, but its efficacy and safety have not yet been verified."

Li Ang continued, "This bottle of potion is too scarce, and there is no time left to conduct Magic Beast testing, so... I want to try it myself. But to ensure my safety, I respectfully ask that you allow me to take it here. Should anything unexpected happen, I hope to receive your aid."

After hearing him out, Eve still wore that cool, detached expression. She was silent for several seconds before nodding. "Very well."