Potion Preparation

Clearly, everyone but Green, who had been buried in his studies, had already heard the news. On his way back to the dormitory, his keen senses picked up apprentices all across the Academy discussing the sweep of Pale Forest.

Looks like I should go back and solidify three more spells in case something unexpected happens, Green thought, taking in the tense atmosphere around the Academy.

Sitting on his dormitory bed, Green considered which spells to solidify.

My Grand Knight barrier gives me defense, Lesser Energy Fireball gives me a ranged frontal attack, and Treant Summoning covers close combat. What I need now is protection against spells like illusions and curses. A head-on fight doesn't scare me. It's those spells with strange effects that do.

Green had the Chip rapidly record every spell, then instructed it to spend a portion of his Mental Power each day optimizing Sorcery Models without compromising his overall combat strength.

Once the Chip had finished recording them, Green carefully selected three spells for it to optimize, then solidified them in his Mental Space.

He chose Illusion Breaker and Curse Cleansing as two of them.

Green feared no head-on confrontation. What worried him was being cursed and capsizing in a gutter. He also had the Chip construct models for the other spells; even if he needed to cast one on the spot, it would take little time. He studied curses in depth too, though as a practitioner of life magic, he was bound to make little use of them.

There's still a month before the Academy begins its sweep of Pale Forest. I'll spend it practicing my spells and preparing basic potions, Green decided as he lay on his bed, just before entering meditation.

Early the next morning, Green took the scroll Mentor Lilian had given him and went to the laboratory she had mentioned.

The laboratory door looked no different from an ordinary wooden door, but Green could clearly sense the energy radiating from it.

"Chip, scan."

[Scanning]

[Scan results: The door is equipped with Counterattack Sorcery. When attacked, it absorbs the incoming energy attack and returns it with twice the force. Estimated energy limit: 25 degrees.]

It can withstand an attack from a Formal Wizard? Wizards really do take laboratory security seriously. Green nodded at the Chip's findings.

He took the scroll from his coat. The laboratory door reacted at once, and the scroll flew from his hand and stuck to it.

"Verifying passphrase."

"Passphrase verified. Lilian confirmed as highest authority. Granting secondary access."

"Please release your Mental Power to complete the imprint!"

A mechanical woman's voice came from the door, cold and emotionless, with a faint rasp.

At the door's prompt, Green released his Mental Power and sent it surging toward the wood.

It felt as though his Mental Power skimmed across water, stirring ripples of different shapes.

"Mental Power imprint complete. Welcome, Mr. Green."

After the mechanical voice spoke, the scroll stuck to the door dissolved into particles.

The door creaked open.

Green entered the Potion Laboratory. It was spacious, as large as a basketball court, with beakers and instruments lining every wall. A huge workbench stood in the center, covered with everything needed to prepare potions: beakers, glass stirring rods, petri dishes, graduated cylinders, levels, weighing platforms, and more.

Green stepped up to the equipment and touched it with his right hand. Its cool surface gave him the strange feeling that he had returned to his previous life.

The Chip's scan filled Green with delight. Nearly all the instruments were brand-new and sturdily made, enough to serve him for a long time.

It really pays to have a good teacher, Green thought.

At the back of the laboratory, a small door bore the large word "Storeroom."

He opened it to find rows of shelves stocked with all kinds of medicinal ingredients, each marked with a label. A preservation spell also protected the storeroom's contents, extending their shelf life.

"I'll make a Lesser Life Potion first." Green immediately began searching the storeroom for ingredients.

When Green returned to the laboratory, he carried a transparent box in his right hand, filled with green fruit and topped by a plant root. In his left was another transparent box packed with ice. Faint energy fluctuations came from within it, where an organ resembling a heart beat steadily.

He placed both boxes on the workbench.

"Chip, begin simulation."

[Scanning surroundings. Incorporating potion preparation procedure. Full simulation commencing.]

A complete 3D model appeared before Green's eyes, simulating his entire potion-making process.

In the simulation, Green failed many times at first. As the number of attempts rose, the failures gradually dwindled until they stopped altogether.

[Simulation results: 10 preparation attempts, 10% success rate. 20 preparation attempts, 50% success rate. 50 preparation attempts, 85% success rate. 100 preparation attempts, 99% success rate.]

Green broke into a smile. Just as he had thought, the more experiments he conducted in the real world, the less its environment would interfere with the Chip, until it could fully account for every external variable.

Preparing potions in the Wizarding World was no simple task. The slightest variation in an ingredient or disturbance in the surroundings could cause a preparation to fail.

Potion makers learned through repeated failures, building experience, sensing those tiny differences, and continually adjusting their methods until they produced the potion they wanted.

Talent mattered, but accumulated experience mattered more. Talent alone could not eliminate environmental interference.

"Chip, transfer the potion preparation process."

[Transfer commencing.]

The entire preparation process flowed into Green's mind. From unexpected problems to the ways to handle them, everything felt practiced and familiar, as though he could deal with it all with ease.