Potions

To the residents of Spinner's End, the sky seemed forever gray, and the air was always thick with a pungent stench.

The nearby river wound through overgrown weeds and heaps of garbage, stubbornly maintaining its course. No trace of life could be found in its pitch-black waters.

It could be said that, given a choice, no one would choose to come to such a place. Even passing through it would give them pause.

Yet Manus had kept coming to this environment twice a week for nearly two years.

With a soft rasping sound, a sliced Asphodel Root slowly turned into uniform, fine granules inside the mortar. Its juices gathered between the uneven ridges and flowed down to the bottom.

Meanwhile, as the grinding progressed and quickened, an extremely fine layer of oil droplets gradually appeared on the pestle and the inner walls of the mortar.

These could eventually be thoroughly separated and processed with Charms into three Potions ingredients—Powdered Asphodel Root, Asphodel Root extract, and asphodel essential oil.

The last of these was the most complicated to process. The oils currently appearing still had many steps to undergo before becoming essential oil, which was why it was also the most expensive.

Of these three materials, aside from asphodel essential oil having the additional use of making incense, they were generally used in Potions to brew love potions and poisonous concoctions, such as the Draught of Living Death.

As Manus kept an eye on the contents of the mortar, he recalled information about these ingredients: their processing methods, properties, prices, uses, and so on.

That was why Manus had come to Spinner's End for more than a year—to study Potions. From memorization and recognition to hands-on practice, he had maintained a pace that was relatively less outrageous.

More than a year ago, after several rounds of persuasion from him, Griffin and Aivina had indeed softened their attitudes toward his learning magic. They felt they should not dampen Manus's enthusiasm for studying it.

But they still did not feel comfortable letting five-year-old Manus come into contact with Charms. Children that age found it difficult to focus their minds unwaveringly on Charms, and a failed casting could lead to an irreparable tragedy.

As it happened, among the many magical subjects, there was one that required neither incantations nor a wand. It could satisfy Manus's wishes without presenting too much danger.

More coincidentally, they knew a professional in that field.

Eileen Prince. The Prince family's talent and knowledge in Potions had not left this witch simply because she had left the family.

Manus had no objections, either. Before transmigrating, he had not studied pharmacology in much depth, and he was quite interested in Potions. He also felt it might help his research into the Nature Magic system.

Back in the present, Eileen's expression was stern as she taught, carrying an air that had never appeared at other times—or rather, one that had been absent from this witch for far too long.

Watching Manus handle the ingredients, Eileen saw that he had thoroughly mastered everything he had learned before. She nodded inwardly, though she did not show it.

However, when he set up the cauldron, selected the ingredients, and began brewing the potion, Eileen frowned.

"You cannot brew Potions mechanically and rigidly. Precision is not the core of Potions. Feel the subtle changes within..."

Manus paused when he heard Eileen's words, but his movements were not disrupted. He continued following the procedure he had practiced and completed the entire process.

With the final stir, the originally cloudy, bubbling potion turned into a clear, translucent pale-red liquid.

Only after bottling the potion did Manus begin to consider Eileen's instruction.

She had clearly said before that the brewing process could not go wrong, so why was she now saying it could not be mechanical and rigid?

What did she mean by precision not being the core of Potions, and by feeling the subtle changes within?

Hadn't he successfully brewed this potion?

Manus directly asked his questions. Eileen frowned as she organized her words for a while before saying,

"The brewing process of Potions must be followed strictly, but every step cannot be rigid. You must feel the power within it and use the right method to awaken it. Only then can the potion's efficacy be brought out."

"If you merely operate rigidly, you can still successfully brew some simple potions. But when brewing advanced potions, you will only be relying on luck."

After finishing, Eileen paused, and she and Manus frowned together.

Clearly, Eileen had never taught Potions to anyone before. Much of her knowledge remained at the level of knowing how to do something, without being able to express it in a way others could understand or teach it to them.

Manus was left confused by her explanation. He felt as if he had grasped something important, yet Eileen herself was clearly dissatisfied as well.

After holding it in for a while, Eileen's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Although Potions do not require a wand, they are still a branch of magic."

Her tone became somewhat excited, and her speech quickened.

"If you only know how to wave a wand stiffly and recite incantations, you may learn some ordinary Charms from textbooks, but you will never be able to learn truly advanced Charms!"

Manus's eyes lit up at those words. Not because he understood, but because...

"Aunt Eileen, I haven't encountered the Charms from those textbooks you mentioned, and I don't know what advanced Charms are like. Could you let me see the textbooks you used back then?"

Eileen froze, having not considered that. Then she glanced at Manus.

"No, you're still too young. Aivina is right not to let you learn Charms... Let us leave it at that for now. Continue studying Potions ingredients and brewing techniques. As for what I said, perhaps you will understand once you begin learning Charms in a few years."

Eileen nodded, seemingly affirming her own decision.

Seeing that he could not persuade Eileen either, Manus sighed in disappointment.

"All right, then. But if possible, I still don't want to wait that long. Aunt Eileen, could you tell me the difference between ordinary Charms and advanced Charms?"

When Eileen hesitated, Manus pressed while the iron was hot.

"You don't need to teach me any specific Charms. I only want to know where the difference lies. Or could you let me see the difference in how they are cast?"

"This..."

Eileen was somewhat tempted. If that was all, there should not be any problem.

Manus was quite clever. Without textbooks, surely he would not foolishly dare to imitate her casting after seeing it once. Besides, even if he wanted to learn, he did not have a wand.

More importantly, she had accepted Aivina's money to teach Manus. Saying that he would understand later was indeed a little irresponsible. But she simply knew what she knew; if she had to explain it verbally, she truly could not make it clear.

It would be better to let Manus see it for himself...

At last, beneath Manus's expectant gaze, Eileen drew her wand.