Volume 3, Chapter 25 – The Highest-Quality, Lowest-Grade Mana Recovery Potion

“It’s just that this alchemy is completely different from what I imagined.”

The alchemy Fia had imagined should have been similar to a chemistry experiment. However, the reality was that alchemy had a more mystical feel to it. For example, before starting, one needed to use a magic stone (a type of ore containing a small amount of mana) to draw a magic circle in the room, and all subsequent actions had to be carried out within that circle.

There were also strict requirements for the placement and position of the beakers. Take the lowest-grade Mana Recovery Potion that Fia was about to brew as an example. At a certain stage of the process, four vessels were needed. Three of them had to be placed in a triangle, and the remaining one had to be placed at the intersection of the triangle’s medians. Failure to do so would result in not gaining the favor of the elements, leading to a failed concoction.

It was quite mysterious and magical.

No wonder the number of alchemists was smaller than that of magic casters. If the process for just the lowest-grade Mana Recovery Potion was this cumbersome, she couldn’t imagine how much more troublesome it would be for higher-grade potions.

Fia couldn’t help but sigh. If the brewing of all magic potions was this troublesome, then their high price was understandable.

With the help of [Telekinesis], Fia quickly drew the magic circle in the workshop with the low-grade magic stones she had prepared beforehand. Her photographic memory saved a lot of time in adjustments.

“First is to prepare the mana liquid.”

According to the book, mana liquid was a clear liquid mixed with mana, and it was an important carrier for magic potions. The quality of the mana liquid largely determined the quality of the potion.

As for how to prepare it, one had to grind a magic core into powder and add it to water in a certain proportion. Of course, this was not ordinary water, but distilled and condensed water to which a liquid called a “stabilizer” had been added.

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This was because after a magic core was ground into powder, its mana would quickly dissipate into the air. The stabilizer could slow down this dissipation, increasing the success rate of the concoction. Although the book did not say how to make the stabilizer, this cheap and common material could be easily bought, so it didn’t matter if one didn’t know.

Fia held the fingernail-sized Fire-striped Frog magic core over the mortar containing the stabilizer solution. Although the book said to crush the magic core with a pestle, she didn’t know how long that would take. As long as it was crushed, it was fine, so Fia directly crushed it with her hand.

Even though a magic core was much harder than ordinary metal, it was no match for Fia. With just a “crack” like an ice sheet breaking, as Fia opened her fingers, fine, light red powder slipped from her fingertips into the mortar.

Like pouring paint into water, a dark red color instantly swirled in the water. However, the presence of the stabilizer quickly calmed the color. In just a few breaths, the liquid had turned back into a transparent, colorless liquid.

Fia did not wait, but with a steady and swift motion, she inserted a rod made of pure mithril into the mortar. Next came the most crucial part of the entire concoction. Fia needed to use the metal rod to feel the ratio of mana to the stabilizer solution in the liquid. Normally, mana equivalent to the First Rank required fifty grams of stabilizer solution. This was the most ideal standard ratio.

If the ratio of mana in the liquid was too high, Fia would need to add more stabilizer solution. If the ratio was too low, she would need to add new magic core powder—it was a bit like adding flour when there’s too much water, and adding water when there’s too much flour. In short, the ratio had to be close to the standard, otherwise, the concoction would fail.

In addition, it should be noted that since the stabilizer only slowed down the rate of mana dissipation and could not guarantee that it would not dissipate at all, the mana in the liquid would always be lost at a relatively slow rate, thus keeping the ratio of mana to water in a dynamic state.

On this basis, no alchemist could mix the two to the exact standard ratio. People could only rely on experience to make the actual ratio as close to the standard as possible. This was the reason why, with the same formula, some people’s potions had good recovery effects, while others’ had poor or even no effect.

However, Fia soon discovered a problem.

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Why could one feel the amount of mana in the liquid just by inserting a mithril rod into it?

The book did not give a reason, but simply mentioned it in passing, as if it were common sense that did not need explanation. But when Fia did as instructed, she couldn’t feel the so-called mana at all.

This is troublesome.

Fia frowned.

She was not from this world, so of course, she wouldn’t know what kind of common sense this was. If she had to think of a way to know how much mana was in the liquid herself, she could only think of using the thermal-imaging-like view of [Wind of Exploration] to observe it.

After waiting to no avail, Fia let out a long sigh.

I’ll just try with [Wind of Exploration] for now. If it doesn’t work, I’ll wait for Anastasia to come back. Although the mana in the liquid will surely have run out by then, I have as many Fire-striped Frog magic cores as I want, so it’s fine to start over.

[Wind of Exploration]

The entire alchemy workshop was quickly dyed a light purple, the base color of the spell. Then, Fia focused her gaze on the mortar on the workbench. She could see that the liquid was a blue-purple color, and there was purple smoke rising from the mouth of the mortar.

This must be the dissipating mana, Fia thought. At this rate, the mana would evaporate completely in less than a quarter of an hour.

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The mana of the First Rank appeared as a standard purple in [Wind of Exploration]. The liquid in the mortar was currently blue-purple, which meant its mana content was higher than the First Rank. She had measured out exactly 50 grams of stabilizer solution beforehand, which meant she just needed to wait for the mana in the liquid to evaporate to the level of the First Rank, and then she could transfer the liquid to a container and seal it with a special lid for later use.

“It should take three minutes and twenty seconds.”

Fia quickly came to a conclusion.

If anyone else had heard her words, they would have wondered how she had gotten that number. But for Fia, it was an innate ability, like a baby knowing how to suckle. She didn’t know how to explain it to others; in short, she was extremely sensitive to all kinds of numbers. As long as a standard was given, she could adjust something to be exactly in line with it.

The rest of the process was simple.

A Mana Recovery Potion was composed of two parts: the mana liquid and the potion liquid. The process of preparing the potion liquid was simply mixing the materials in proportion and boiling them, then extracting the essence with a special solution. This process did not require mana; the only tests were the control of the amount of materials and the heat of the fire. Originally, this process was rather lengthy, taking two to three days to complete, but because of [Slow Catalysis], Fia had finished the mixing and brewing in just half an hour.

With the bonus from [Hyper-computation], [Slow Catalysis] seemed to have become “Fast Catalysis.”

The room was filled with the rich aroma of herbs.

“Only the last step is left.”

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Letting out a soft breath, Fia placed the deep green potion liquid, which was in a small potion bottle, and the colorless, transparent mana liquid on the table. The last step was actually the simplest; she just needed to mix them together and shake well.

Combining the two liquids, Fia obtained a bottle of still-warm, azure-blue potion.

Fia immediately used [Beginner’s Appraisal] on it.

Item Name   : Lowest-Grade Mana Recovery Potion

Quality           : Highest-Grade

Owner            : Dofilia Alexia Yushir

Description  : The pinnacle of quality among lowest-grade mana recovery potions. Seems to be mass-producible.

All that effort wasn’t in vain.

A satisfied smile curved Fia’s lips. Although she really wanted to take it to Liti to try immediately, Liti was still sleeping, and her mana was not depleted. She would just have to wait until tomorrow.

Anastasia hadn’t returned yet. With the remaining time, she might as well try making some other magic potions. If possible, she would make a few more bottles of the lowest-grade Mana Recovery Potion and sell them at the Mage Association. If she remembered correctly, one bottle could be sold for one gold coin, while the materials she had used only cost one or two silver coins. It was definitely a profitable business.

With this thought, Fia put the potion bottle into her spatial backpack and began a new round of concocting.