Runology and Potioncraft

The next day, Dago got up early.

Ever since he had learned the Ice Crystal Technique, he had found a clever use for it.

He could keep hunted venison chilled, so he no longer needed to turn it into jerky.

Chilled venison would definitely sell like hotcakes at the town butcher shop.

Thinking of it, Dago immediately set to work. At sunrise, he headed to the forest hunting grounds in search of prey.

His luck was good. At a watering hole, he easily hunted a Swift Deer.

After skillfully skinning, butchering, and packing it up, rings of light flowed through Dago's eyes as he murmured the Ice Crystal Technique's incantation.

He used his mental power to control the output of ice elemental energy, and strands of cold air curled around the venison.

Once he had packed up the hide and meat, he slung them over his shoulder and headed toward the shelter.

Before long, he returned to the shelter and washed the remaining bloodstains from his body.

He took off his light hunting clothes and changed into the academy apprentice robe.

He took out his brass pocket watch and checked the time. It was exactly eight in the morning.

He planned to reach Ainak Wizard Academy before nine to attend the instructor's open class.

So time was tight.

With the venison over his shoulder, Dago carried a waterskin and cloth bag into the forest.

He knew the direction of every leaf and the moss on every stone by heart, as though he were reading a map carved into the earth.

He moved swiftly. Beneath the loose apprentice robe was a strong body.

Not long after, he arrived at the town butcher shop and skillfully unloaded the venison onto the chopping block.

The plump butcher was busy cutting up pork. When he looked up and saw Dago...

He stopped what he was doing and walked over.

He touched the chilled venison on the chopping block.

"Dago, how did you chill this venison today? It's a rare commodity that's very popular in town."

The owner was surprised for a moment, then said with a flower-like smile.

"My magic has improved a little. Nothing much, nothing much. So, about the price..."

Standing beside the wooden rack next to the chopping block, Dago said between heavy breaths.

"Naturally, I won't shortchange a future great wizard like you."

The butcher took out three times the usual amount of Magic Stone Shards for venison jerky from the pouch at his waist and handed them to Dago.

Dago fell silent for a moment, knowing there was some flattery mixed in.

Still, he accepted them, then sold the deer hide to the leather shop owner as usual.

After passing through the filthy market in the town's residential district, Dago finally reached the somewhat cleaner main road.

It was currently 8:40, and Dago jogged toward Ainak Wizard Academy.

With a beep, the device on the academy gate lit up green, and he ran straight toward the academy's main castle.

"Huff... huff..." Dago bent over outside the ice-element classroom, gasping for breath.

Good thing I made it, he thought as he panted.

When he entered, the apprentices were still sitting in twos and threes, and there seemed to be even fewer than last time.

The small classroom contained only the rustling of turning pages. No one even blinked at the arrival of another person.

As expected of the academy's ice-element class, none of them were particularly lively.

Dago followed the usual routine, found an empty seat, and sat down.

Going with the flow, he pretended to read his black leather spellbook.

Before long, Wizard Rosalyn slowly entered the classroom with her lecture notes in her arms.

A faint chill stirred through the room, and only then did the apprentices turn their attention toward the podium.

"Today, we will review the basic knowledge of wizards: Runology and Potioncraft."

Wizard Rosalyn swept her gaze around the classroom, nodded at Dago, and set down her lecture notes.

"First, what are runes? They are the crystallization of the wisdom and painstaking effort of countless wizards, and an extremely important part of the wizard power system."

"The discovery of runes solved the problems of long casting times and complicated, cumbersome spell preparation for wizards,

lowered the threshold for casting magic, and directly brought about the incomparably glorious age of wizards."

"Whenever the radiance of the Origin Moon shines, somewhere in the world, at least one rune is created, and at least one rune is quietly forgotten and buried..."

"It is a tedious and complex art. A high-level rune may take a wizard's entire lifetime to uncover. It is a wondrous and beautiful symbol of heaven and earth, a gift from nature to humankind."

Wizard Rosalyn began by introducing Runology.

"Next comes the key point. Runes cannot be used directly; they need to be inscribed onto equipment. This gave rise to the profession of rune engravers."

"Runes can absorb free energy particles from nature and store them, then mental power controls their activation. Every rune has its own unique effect."

"For example, this wizard robe I am wearing is inscribed with two low-level runes, [Cleansing Rune] and [Amplification Rune]. [Cleansing Rune] removes dust and stains from my robe, while [Amplification Rune] magnifies my voice."

As Wizard Rosalyn spoke, she raised her hand and displayed the two runes inscribed on her silver-threaded cuff.

The apprentices watched enviously. After all, inscribing each rune was not cheap.

Apprentice robes were merely made from slightly better material and had nothing special about them.

A tutor's robe inscribed with [Cleansing Rune], on the other hand, came with a self-cleaning function. Even if worn for months without changing, it would remain clean and fresh, without picking up a trace of grime.

That was the true luxury of Ainak Wizard Academy.

"Next is Potioncraft. I believe many students have already drunk Mental Potion. It is the most common potion in the wizarding world and is used to aid Meditation Method training."

"A wizard may drink more Mental Potion than water in their lifetime."

"Potions are generally brewed in cauldrons using ingredients with magical properties, and they can produce different effects on whoever drinks them."

"They have widespread applications in the wizarding world, including treating diseases, enhancing magical abilities, and altering the form of matter."

"Making potions requires specific equipment, such as silver or brass cauldrons, glass or crystal potion bottles, silver daggers, mortars and pestles, scales, and so on."

"Runology and Potioncraft are foundational wizard knowledge. They are crafts that can be studied for a lifetime and important sources of income for wizards."

"Once you master either Runology or Potioncraft, you will have wealth and glory for the rest of your life."

Dago immersed himself in the ocean of knowledge, listening to Wizard Rosalyn's words with rapt attention.

The brief thirty minutes vanished in the blink of an eye.

Many apprentices already had some foundation in these subjects. Once the class ended, they packed up their notes and books and left the classroom.

Dago approached Wizard Rosalyn and respectfully performed a disciple's salute from the wizarding world.

"Thank you once again for giving me the Ice Crystal Technique last time."

Dago spoke with utmost sincerity.

"It was nothing. How is your practice of the Ice Crystal Technique going? Have you encountered any problems in training?"

Wizard Rosalyn waved a hand dismissively.

"I can cast it successfully now, but I've been busy hunting in the forest to earn Magic Stone Shards, so I don't have the best control over it."

Dago scratched the back of his head and answered honestly.

"Hunting to earn Magic Stone Shards? That method is a little too foolish. Wizard apprentices should focus on learning magic."

"Still, your talent is fairly good. Here, these are some of my insights into Potioncraft. You can try studying them."

Wizard Rosalyn gave Dago an impressed look, then pulled a sheet of paper from her lecture notes and handed it to him.

"Wizard Rosalyn, you are a guide to wisdom. With the spark of knowledge, you ignite the desire to learn and lead me from confusion to conviction."

Overjoyed, Dago offered his praise with great emotion.

"All right, all right. Things around the academy have not been peaceful lately. I may have assignments and be away from the academy soon. Study diligently. When I return, I hope to see your progress."

Wizard Rosalyn patted Dago's shoulder with her withered hand and turned away.

"I guarantee I'll improve."

Dago shouted as he watched Wizard Rosalyn's departing figure.

He returned to the quiet classroom, found a seat, and began studying what Wizard Rosalyn had given him.

At the top of the paper was the title: "On the Brewing of Mental Potion."

As everyone knew, the main ingredient of Mental Potion was Moonlight Flower petals. This was a publicly known potion formula in the wizarding world.

Moonlight Flower was a pale-purple flower that emitted a soft glow at night and had petals as light and thin as gauze.

The current primary brewing method for Mental Potion was to first place twelve shade-dried Moonlight Flower petals into a mortar and grind them into a fine powder, then prepare an appropriate amount of sunrise dew and Two-Eared Grass.

Add all the ingredients to a silver cauldron, heat it with magical flames, and maintain a moderate stirring speed with a glass stirring rod so that the potion mixes evenly.

After the potion had simmered for twenty minutes, swiftly connect it to a glass condensation tube when purple mist rose from the cauldron, cool it, and bottle it in a glass vial.

That produced a bottle of Mental Potion.

At the end, Wizard Rosalyn argued that Moonlight Flower was a mild magical plant that grew by absorbing the moonlight of the Origin Moon. It preferred cold to heat.

During the process of heating it with magical flames, much of the Moonlight Flower's medicinal potency was destroyed.

Therefore, Rosalyn believed that only a method requiring no heating could perfectly extract the medicinal properties of Moonlight Flower.

However, she had searched for such a method without success, and her words were filled with regret.

Dago seemed to think of something and abruptly rose from his seat.

"Isn't this the Cold-Extraction Method? A method that extracts target substances through long-term soaking at low temperatures. Its gentle extraction conditions can preserve more heat-sensitive components."

He muttered to himself, then hurried out of the classroom, wanting to tell Instructor Rosalyn about the method.

After asking several apprentices, Dago finally found the instructors' staff room, where most of them rested and discussed teaching matters.

He pushed open the door and entered. It was a large room, but only a few wizards sat at desks, discussing something.

"Someone discovered traces of black-robed wizards deep within the Emerald Forest. I heard they were wizards who came from the Dark Crystal Highlands."

"Ainak Academy is taking this matter very seriously. They have sent quite a few academy wizards to investigate, and I heard fighting has already broken out."

Dago inadvertently overheard part of their conversation. Their voices carried the pressing sense of dark clouds bearing down on a city.

"Ahem, hello, instructors. May I ask if Wizard Rosalyn is here?"

Dago cleared his throat first, then asked.

"Instructor Rosalyn had no classes this afternoon, so she went home early."

One of the middle-aged male wizards answered. Dago could only leave the staff room in disappointment.