strictlysupreme Chapter 28 Top-Grade Potions
Chapter 28 Top-Grade Potions
He practically roared the words, then strode toward the source of the explosion, to Lottie's desk.
A pungent smell filled the air. Her crucible had been shattered into pieces. Lottie stood frozen in place, as if petrified. Her face and robes were covered in a thick, black, tar-like liquid. Her eyes were wide open, filled with fear, confusion, and helplessness. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she was too scared to let them fall.
"Lottie Polk," Edwin's voice was filled with undisguised anger, "look what you've done!"
His fingers almost poked Lottie's nose:
"Night Owl Potion, the most basic of all potions. Even if it fails completely, at most it will clump together or have the wrong color. Explosion? I've only ever seen that happen when idiots who don't even know what mental power is stirring it up haphazardly."
His gaze was sharp as an eagle's, fixed on Lottie's pale face: "What were you doing just now? Huh? Where's your mental power? The Polk family is a respectable wizarding family, after all. Your grandfather's [Giant's Strength] potion was even praised by the head of the school. And you?"
Edwin's chest heaved slightly, his anger intensifying, yet tinged with an undeniable deep sorrow:
"What were you doing just now? Were you asleep? Or did you think you could just throw the ingredients in and boil them haphazardly and it would work? You're insulting potions, and you're insulting the blood of the Polk family that flows in your veins. You've utterly disgraced your grandfather."
That last sentence struck Lottie's heart like a heavy hammer.
She shuddered violently, and the tears she had been holding back finally burst forth, rolling down her cheeks in large, silent drops. The immense shame and fear, along with the shock of Edwin's mention of his grandfather, nearly broke her, but she forced herself to hold back her sobs.
Although Li Ang felt a little sorry for Lottie, the wizard Edwin was right; this was a mistake that should never have happened. He hoped she would learn from this and be more careful next time.
Edwin, seeing her like this, snorted heavily, his anger still burning, but he didn't continue to scold her harshly.
He glanced around at the other still-shaken apprentices in the classroom and said coldly:
"All those who failed in refining, come to me after class to receive your punishment quest, 'Emerald Whisper Herbs.' A new batch of potions has arrived, and we need people to manually copy the promotional leaflets. Five hundred copies per person! Class will resume when you've finished copying them and made up for the waste you caused."
After saying that, he stopped looking at the distraught Lottie, turned around and walked out of the classroom, and the class ended in such a depressing and chaotic atmosphere.
The defeated apprentices, their faces crestfallen, silently cleaned the filth from their desks. Li Ang watched as Rufus calmly put away his crucible, as if the explosion had been nothing more than a trivial incident, and left the classroom.
Li Ang wanted to go over and say something to Lottie, but seeing her still biting her lip tightly, trying hard not to cry out, and frantically wiping the table, he finally stopped.
At this moment, any words would be a burden to her, and she needs to learn from this experience and overcome it herself.
He silently helped her clean up some of the medicine residue that had splashed onto the side area, and then left the classroom with the rest of the group who had finished cleaning.
Li Ang returned to his dormitory on the third floor alone, closing the door to shut out the noise from the outside world.
He sat cross-legged on the bed, but did not immediately begin meditating. Edwin's praise of Rufus and his rebuke of Lottie had slightly moved him.
The world values lineage and heritage far more deeply than he had imagined. Li Ang patted his face to clear his mind of distractions…
Lost in his meditation, he didn't notice the time. When he opened his eyes again, the clock had already struck noon, and a wave of hunger washed over him. He got up and headed to the cafeteria.
The cafeteria was bustling with people. Li Ang's gaze habitually swept towards the corner, but he didn't see that familiar figure.
Lottie didn't come. Sigh, I hope Professor Edwin won't scold her too much.
Lunch was again a set meal, but it seemed to lack some flavor.
After quickly finishing his lunch, Li Ang did not return to his dormitory, but went directly to his mentor Eve's workshop.
Looking at the empty workshop, Li Ang took a deep breath and stared intently at the huge crucible in the center of the workshop. It was time.
High-quality crystal crucible: lv0
[Status: Bindable]
[Binding Cost: 10 Spirit Points]
"Bind." Li Ang silently recited in his mind without hesitation.
[Binding successful]
High-Quality Crystal Crucible: Current Level 0
[Current effect: Moderately improves the stability of potion-making]
[Level 1 Effect: Increases stability during potion refining by 10%, enhances mental energy guidance effect by 10%, and increases the success rate of refining multiple potions simultaneously by 10%]
[Upgrade Requirements: 2 Magic Stars in the Spirit World, 10 Spirit Points consumed]
There were actually three amplification attributes! Li Ang suppressed his excitement and did not immediately begin refining the medicine.
Sharpening your axe won't delay your work; the third attribute brought by the upgraded crucible—increasing the success rate of refining multiple potions at the same time—made him eager to try it.
He immediately sat cross-legged on the cool, smooth floor of the workshop and entered a meditative state again, focusing all his energy on restoring his mental strength.
In the enhanced magical environment of the [Acceleration Pocket Watch] and the workshop, his mental energy recovered extremely quickly.
About an hour later, his mental energy was fully restored. He immediately focused his consciousness on the crystal cauldron that was now intimately connected to him.
"upgrade"
Upgrade successful
Feeling the clear feedback in his mind about the new effects of the crucible, Li Ang felt confident; it was time to take on the challenge.
He walked to the medicine cabinet, opened the door with the badge, and this time, he took out the materials for six calming potions.
His goal is to refine two potions at the same time, attempting to achieve higher potion-making efficiency.
Processing materials, condensing pure water, igniting the [Magic Heat Furnace] beneath the crucible...
He performed each step meticulously, with intense concentration, perfectly controlling every change within the crucible through an invisible connection with it.
As he simultaneously added two portions of Tranquilizing Flower Essence, Li Ang's mind was also divided in two, precisely guiding the two streams of purple liquid...
The aroma of medicine gradually filled the air, and the two golden liquids swirled and blended inside the crucible without interfering with each other.
Finally, when Li Ang added pure crystal sand to complete the final purification, two bottles of high-quality potions were produced.
Unexpectedly, he succeeded in refining two potions at the same time on his first attempt, and both were of excellent quality. Li Ang did not stop and continued to refine them in the same way.
With the production of two more bottles of high-quality potions, Li Ang's understanding of calming potions deepened, and his techniques became increasingly skillful.
When the last two bottles of calming potion were finished, Li Ang was stunned. The two bottles of potion were a deep golden color, as viscous as honey, and contained an abundance of magic.
Just smelling its fragrance accelerated Li Ang's mental energy recovery.
This... this could be... a top-quality tranquilizer?